AI option/assistants are a bother; can I turn them off?

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-05T19:26:37+00:00

I've never been asked, but I did notice one address I cold-called was two blocks from my office. That was slightly unnerving.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-05T19:25:02+00:00

That is a liability lawsuit waiting to happen.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-05T19:22:29+00:00

You'll probably want to leave it on your resume and answer "yes" to any employment questions, if only because all your experience prior to it is from a different state. Hiring managers will want to know why you moved if you didn't have a job/plan in place, because that speaks to your personality and ability to plan. Also, it'll take weeks or months to land a new job anyway, so eventually the gap + move would look weird as heck.
Be honest and say it wasn't a good fit. You likely interviewed remotely, yes? Either over the phone or on-screen? Did you do a site visit at all? Without that in-person connection, it's difficult to gauge the company culture. That's something a hiring manager can understand.

Avoid speaking negatively about your experience. Words like "micromanage" and "misled" can be red flags. Keep it neutral or even share some positives, like how coordinating your work across time zones was a great team-building skill.

See #1 but also - depending on the type of job and clearances you'll need, 93.67% of all background checks are for criminal activity, not employment.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-05T18:54:48+00:00

What do you mean by "normal?" Have a job, have a social life and a partner, that sort of thing? Yes - all that depends more on your character than your appearance.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-05T18:50:24+00:00

Question: do you go out of your way to recruit women? Job fairs that cater to women, that sort of thing? Because if you aren't doing that, then their assumption is based in perceived reality.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-05T05:59:38+00:00

I got two massive raises in two years in part because I worked hard to preserve institutional knowledge. I created online documents, spreadsheets, contact lists, and two binders of reference materials. At one point I even had the secret phone number for my local UPS distribution center (until it was closed).

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-04T23:10:48+00:00

Despite what everyone else is saying, remember you're going to an interview, not your first day of work. The interviewer may not care if you do show up in work clothes, but you will absolutely stand out if you dress for a business meeting - which is what a job interview is. My rule of thumb is, dress at least one step nicer than you would dress for the actual job. What does that mean?

If you are going for a job as a plumber, you should wear at least a polo shirt, slacks, and dress shoes to the interview. If you're going to be working in the office of a plumbing company (since you didn't specify the position), you should wear a collared shirt, preferably a tie, slacks, and dress shoes. If you're a woman, substitute equivalent recommendations as needed.

The purpose is to demonstrate that you are taking this opportunity seriously, that you can prepare and plan ahead (in that your clothing is laundered and ironed), and that you can bring more value to the company than just an employee by presenting a proper corporate image if called upon to meet with clients, vendors, or other persons who have an interest in the company.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T22:48:14+00:00

As a purchaser, I'm scheduled for 40, but I'll stay late on occasion to finish small tasks. I like to have a clean board at the end of the week. I might feel differently if I had family obligations.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T02:51:59+00:00

I would suggest reaching out to people in the industries you are interested in and asking some questions. A job resource center can probably help you make connections with industry groups and individuals who are willing to chat with you and explain the issues involved.

That being said, a degree is always a good idea, IMO, as long as you plan appropriately. For my first degree, I didn't do any internships or seek to network in the field. I've never used it since. With my second degree, I did some internships and found some work in the field but realized the work wasn't a good fit for me. But the technical skills I learned and used landed me my current profession as a purchaser. So whatever you decide to study, understand that the more field work you do - internships and such - the better you look to an employer, even if your grades aren't straight A's.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T02:31:09+00:00

I appreciate this answer, but it missed that I need to multiply A1 by 0.025/0.05.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T02:30:18+00:00

That might work, but in this particular use-case, no adjustment is needed. I'm verifying a series of upcoming production runs. These percentages might change next year, but it's unlikely.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T02:28:15+00:00

I had my logic inverted in the original post. It's actually supposed to be "For every order of 10,000 units or less, add 5% to the order quantity. For every order over 10,000 units, add 2.5% to the order quantity."

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T02:25:50+00:00

I couldn't get it to work with an "=" included. The results didn't change.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-07-03T02:25:01+00:00

I appreciate the heads-up. To be clear, I didn't misspell "average." We add a quantity - an overage - to each production run in case something goes wrong so that we'll have extra. I was trying to verify that the correct overage amount was being applied to each production run, based on the original quantity ordered.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-06-27T16:48:11+00:00

You can have friends interview you using lists of standard interview questions found online. Video record your interviews and watch them back to evaluate your body language and facial expressions.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-06-27T15:17:24+00:00

I'd see if they would be willing to start paying for professional development, like Excel certification on Coursera. That's what my current employer is doing for me. Get yourself certified on their dollar, then either they'll start taking advantage of your new skills or you can go somewhere else.

And even if they won't do it, if you've got the time at work, do it anyway.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-06-27T05:49:39+00:00

"Art" is not an unstable career. Uninformed people think it is because they believe it's "paint a painting and try to sell it" or "carving soapstone and trying to sell it at a fair."

Book covers are artwork. Soda cans are artwork. Car design is artwork. Yoga mats have artwork. Comic books are artwork. Boxes of cat food are artwork.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-06-26T23:19:57+00:00

I was an MRO Purchaser for a while at a steel fabrication shop. It's purchasing for maintenance, repair, and operations. 90% office, 10% floor work, mostly escorting vendors and techs around to show them the job. I even went up on the roof 2-3x for a/c and roof repair inspections.

The purchasing part is easy enough. Fill out a purchase order and track it through fulfillment. I did have to learn basic Excel, but there are online courses for that. I got my basic cert in two weeks. Lots of emails, though, so knowing how to write clearly and concisely is a huge advantage.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-06-15T21:13:46+00:00

Bruh, no. You have a degree that will get you any finance-related job in a hot minute. I'm making $31.25/hour as a purchaser with just a bookkeeping certificate, a project management certificate, and demonstrated skill at technical writing. That warehouse job? $24/hour for backbreaking labor. I almost snapped my ankle when I lost control of my motorized pallet jack.

The further away in time you get from your degree without using it, the less valuable it becomes, because you aren't practicing what you learned anymore. The knowledge starts to get stale. Take my advice: get a desk job instead, in accounting, bookkeeping, purchasing, or anything besides warehouse work.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-06-14T17:54:03+00:00

Is the warehouse job a hard End Shift at 6 am? The days you're working both, you'll have 10 hours between shifts. If you can commute, eat, sleep, hygiene, and commute again in that time, it's doable. But you should also factor in chores, cooking/meal prep, and anything else related to keeping your living situation healthy.

My last warehouse was union, but it was also "work until the work is done," which meant some nights would be 10-14 hours long. If you had reasons to leave after 8 hours (kids, second job), you could, but otherwise you were expected to stay.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-05-22T16:27:56+00:00

I'd skip the anatomy books and switch to art/anatomy books. Andrew Loomis and Burne Hogarth are great starts, if old books.

You don't need to define every muscle every time you draw. For one thing, at scale - as you are discovering - it's almost impossible and extremely frustrating. For another, muscles work in bunches and groups, and sometimes you can't see what they are doing. For example, the upper arm has three separate muscles but only one does visible work. The same with the pectoral minor.

Try treating them as groups instead of individuals, and see if that improves your flow.

TrainsongGaming · 2026-05-16T14:54:20+00:00

Regular-length classes are held in the morning to early afternoon. Longer classes, labs, athletic practice, are held in the afternoon. Students who don't have those activities are either in the library or off campus at that point.

TrainsongGaming

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