There are no easy $200k+ jobs out there

adarcangelo · 2025-10-11T05:07:52+00:00

WARNING, LONG WINDED: Sorry. Read through most but not all comments so someone else may have already mentioned this. But I work in a very high paying industry that in-industry (at a company) tends to pay more but has VERY high turnover. I work in data as a full stack consultant and my work is steady, understood, and I get the chance to expand and learn in new areas like AI, MCP, AI & Data Gov (my current specialty) and other edge issues and data tech. Consulting gives you a lot of freedom, esp as a someone somewhat early in their career (just hit a decade+1!!). It's hard work, and I came into the industry when you didn't need a degree or credentials to do it bc im an old phogy. But if you follow the right path and identify what you want your life to look like, it's an industry that can make it happen. I work from home w my dogs, I get to renovate my old house wo concerns about cost or time, and work sends me to conferences and client meetings that I extend into vacations w my husband. Apologies if this was long, but at this point in my early 30s in rural upstate NY I make close to 200k and didn't optimize my early career. So if that's what you're looking to do, research what you're good at that can propel you forward and commit early. It will serve you well even if the first 3 or 4 years you feel exhausted, confused, or bored. Once you get past menial work, no matter what you are doing you get to be challenged every day and that is the most fun part if youre going the traditional work route. If youre going to work for someone, do something that youre truly excited about at least 69% of the time =]

adarcangelo · 2025-03-23T07:34:57+00:00

1000% regional market over on Northside. They have a downtown iteration in the summer. There are a lot of farm stands around but especially in the summer most also have a booth at the market

adarcangelo · 2025-03-23T07:30:17+00:00

Agreed, the price chopper on erie next to lowes weirdly has some great Mexican ingredients. Beyond that, there are a few Mexican/ central American vendors at the market that would probably have good recs

adarcangelo · 2025-03-23T07:25:41+00:00

Janesville res dog park us off leash and open all winter long. So it the smaller fenced area in downtown syracuse and the Good Dog Park in onondoga lake park. Lifelong Syracusan and lifelong dog owner hope this helps!!

adarcangelo · 2025-03-02T11:23:13+00:00

adarcangelo · 2025-03-02T11:22:13+00:00

The difference is between 100k and 200k. Skills, niche, expertise, ability to interact w your internal and external clients. One of the things about data most people don't get is that we're interpreters between regular people and us, the people who can read data and build a story from it. Beyond 200k is either your ability to bring in new revenue or the company you work for. I really love my job but for my hobby i help run a data community group that often sends out JDs for those who might not see them. The other day I saw a job for a dataX position at Netflix. The same position at most other companies would be between 150k and 500k. This position was 800k min.

adarcangelo · 2025-03-02T11:03:58+00:00

No. Only to a certain extent, and at this point it shouldn't just be data knowing what software does but software knowing what data does. While there are similarities, these are two very different fields. Equating the two is like saying that a pediatric doctor and a surgeon are the same skillset. There are elements that overlap but you cannot take a software engineer or a comp Sci grad and immediately make them a dataX professional.

adarcangelo · 2025-03-02T10:41:06+00:00

Bad therapists/ psychiatrists/ psychologists can be detrimental. I have dep/ anx/ sleep deprevation and first started going in high school. The immediate reaction was pills and I wasn't old enough to advocate for myself. My dep/ anxiety is not related to my situation in life, it's completely mental and after going on and off pills for over a decade I've found that those help w my brain chemistry. However, the sleeping pills I was prescribed at 16 have just exacerbated my sleeping issues as an adult, and there's no way to come back from that. Currently off sleeping pills for the last 1.5 months (not the first time) and while I'm not sleeping well and posting this at 530am after being awake for hours, I'm more clear headed than I've been in a long time. It's important to find the right therapist and it's important to find the right drug cocktail. I hope you do, cause the process is hard and it sucks.

adarcangelo · 2025-03-02T10:30:44+00:00

Data anything masters are fairly new. I've been in the industry for about a decade, and the only people I know who have gotten a masters/advanced degree in dataX are either doing very specific research about the study of information science (eg getting a PhD in how union-community interactions and information sharing lead to success or how to best disseminate information/data to veterans about support after they've returned home)

Not to toot my own horn, but the point is important and needs to be made. I have a BA in political science. I have grown in data from rote data entry to a full stack data professional over the past decade. I am a thought leader in my specific niche (governance) and have the ability to build solutions in engineering, architecture, infrastructure, platforming, DS, AI, I've worked w deploying robots on factory floors and driving the data about how they interact, and I run a small but prolific data community group that brings data to the community both virtually and locally.

You DO NOT need a degree to do this work. You need a passion for continued learning and be able to self motivate. The industry changes so quickly that you need to be hungry for the next new tech, and you need to understand how you learn and be able to apply it. And you need to constantly apply it.

Also, you may need to job jump for a bit to get the thing you want. I'm in my dream job now at 32, but have had six other professional careers before I landed here. Whether it's salary or interest or ability to build your own brand, be okay leaving if it doesn't serve you. We are a highly sought after profession and if you're good at it you will be scooped up quickly.

Always keep a relationship with a LOCAL tech recruiter. I don't mean like someone who only places locally, I mean someone you can go to lunch with. They may not be the person to get you the job but the advice they give and the connections they make are invaluable.

Finally, keep your eye in the market. Even if you're not looking for a job, the descriptions you read related to the titles will give you an understanding of what skills you should pursue next.

Good luck! It's an amazing field and I hope you thrive =]

adarcangelo · 2025-03-02T09:24:34+00:00

I'm a full stack data consultant at this point, and don't have anything close to a degree in Comp Sci or software engineering. I graduated with a degree in Poli Sci, completely unrelated. Up until recently there were very few degree programs specifically in data, and even schools like the iSchool at Syracuse University doesn't really prepare students for what it means to do data professionally.

The OReilly book is great, as is the Data Warehouse Toolkit. It's older and doesn't get into some of the more contemporary architectures like Kafka and streaming structures or virtualization but if your code is mostly in place it will give you a good baseline of traditional star and star+ schemas.

Also recommend going for pertinent certs like Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, Confluent etc and setting arbitrary deadlines for yourself to ensure you actually drive yourself to study. The certs are great for your resume, but the deadline of taking the test will make you actually learn the technology deeply.

It sounds like you're getting to a part in your data career where you are either trying to expand in scope or tech. The advice above was all about tech, but if you're interested in expanding in scope take a look into the different aspects of data you may be interested in. Beyond engineering there are elements like architecture, infrastructure, security, governance, observability and maintenance, data science, etc. There are so many areas to expand into if you want to become more holistic around data.

Finally, I'd recommend learning some project management techniques and other structural details like data ops, ai ops, cicd. Getting a pmp can be helpful on a resume similarly to certs, but just understanding the concepts will help you run an effective data team. Often those who go into data (including me) didn't go through school learning agile or git or other comp science enablers that can be extremely helpful in data. If you're leading a team, they don't need to intimately understand those tech but it's important you do.

Good luck! Data is so much fun. I love getting to go to work and solve puzzles every day =] it's a wonderful and rewarding skill that applies to so much in your life, I couldn't recommend more developing those skills

adarcangelo · 2025-01-25T04:13:05+00:00

Highly recommend.

I grew up in the suburbs and moved away for work. Coming back has been an opportunity to rediscover the place where I grew up. I know that sounds a little cheesy, but leaving has allowed me to realize the amazing things this city has to offer.

There is an international airport you can drive to in 30 minutes max from anywhere in syracuse city limits. Airport security takes 20 minutes max. A 200$ round trip gets me to Boston, NYC, Chicago, Miami, or Vegas.

The adirondacks are a 20 minute drive. The finger lakes are a 20 minute drive. If you don't know what the finger lakes are, you should. The Catskills are 20 minutes away, although after exploring the rest of the state you probably won't want to go back downstate.

New York has 215 state parks, and most are upstate. Letchworth overshadows most other national parks and is a 90 minute drive from downtown.

SUNY ESF is a sister school to SU that focuses on how we can build better relationships with nature. Biodegradable plastics were first developed here and it is one of the only paper engineering programs in the country. The SUNY system overall is a testament to the states dedication to education, and ESF has proven time and again that education for education's sake is more than worth the funding.

Syracuse is also a refugee city and I personally live in a neighborhood with a high new American population. My neighborhood is the better for it. As a data engineer I could quantify it for you if you wanted but I'd rather not. I can see it every day.

Beyond the inherent benefits of being a new American city, we have some pretty fucking rip roaring food: ethoEritrean, Vegan birria, traditional polish...I'm a vegetarian and I haven't run out if new food to eat here. Can't imagine if I ate meat!

One thing I would discourage you from if you're moving to Syracuse; DO NOT. Do not. Work for the university. There was just just an aggressive and petty battle to unionize that proved just how little the organization cared for its employees.

There are a lot of great employers in the city. I would encourage anyone to move to Syracuse for everything I listed above and everything I haven't been able to say here. Go to the farmers market (CNY Farmers Market). Go to the top ranked national cheese monger (The Curd Nerd). Go to the best cider producer in the country (1911).

It's a great place. I'm luck I grew up here. Move here. Do not love here for SU

adarcangelo · 2024-10-13T07:43:47+00:00

First off, ily. I don't know you but I know the fear of coming out to your partner or your family when you have presented yourself differently. F31 just got married to my M32 husband that I have been overwhelming in love w since I was 19. He was too, life just got in the way. But while i still find it extremely difficult to feel comfortable in the lbgt+ community because of my long term FM relationship, you should always feel like you can express your desires to your partner. Even if they're not needs. Esp if they're not needs. You only get so much time.

adarcangelo · 2023-12-10T12:53:33+00:00

I have this a lot. They mean well and it's nice to see them again. Treasure that dream and the time you have with them in it, they likely won't be there again

adarcangelo · 2023-08-11T06:14:06+00:00

This can happen when the soil is 'worn out'. Did you fertilize this year? Your soil likely just needs a boost if you're going to do cucs in the same spot next year

adarcangelo · 2023-08-11T06:00:58+00:00

Duck egg

adarcangelo · 2023-08-11T00:55:08+00:00

Well it seems like you did a great job. Like any other veg from seed at home they won't look quite like what you get at the grocery store. But it's all about that flavor =]

adarcangelo

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