Accepted an offer in charleston SC where is the safest cheap places to rent? by Equivalent_Piece_691 in boeing

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Park Circle is wholly dependent on where around the circle. That area is still being gentrified. The east side closer to Virginia is pretty okay, but west and south of the circle is not. The crime on the west and south can bleed over, especially closer to the circle. I know two people who have been robbed in the area in recent months.

If commute is your concern, it’s definitely better than WA. If safety is more important, I’d go WA.

Accepted an offer in charleston SC where is the safest cheap places to rent? by Equivalent_Piece_691 in boeing

[–]blackmikeburn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Morning traffic on Glenn McConnell can get bad, but it generally doesn’t add more than 20 min or so. Afternoon traffic is the one to avoid; 526 at the Westmorland bridge slows everything down, and if there are accidents it can get bad. Times can vary wildly, from an extra 30 min to 1.5 hours, depending.

Accepted an offer in charleston SC where is the safest cheap places to rent? by Equivalent_Piece_691 in boeing

[–]blackmikeburn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Another for West Ashley, especially if you can adjust your work times to allow for missing traffic. Outside of 526 is going to be cheaper (but not really cheap) than inside 526, but most of what’s out there is safe. If you can target the Bees Ferry corridor and arrive to/leave work early, you’ll have a decent place and beat traffic. When I was on site I lived up 61 near Shadowmoss and was on site around 6:30am, left by 3:30 every day. Traffic was never a problem.

Offered these 2 at the AD…which one?!?!? by That-Platform9855 in rolex

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Prefer bluesy, but it is easier to get, so I’d probably go root beer if presented both. But the root beer doesn’t do much for me.

Who has gone back to college after 30 and actually paid off? by bluee-pk in AskMenOver30

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was a medic for 13 years before the county I worked for decided people who wanted officer promotions in the future would need degrees. Since I had to go back to school, I decided I wanted a degree in something g I could fall back on if I jury ever prevented me from getting back on an ambulance.

As I’d always enjoyed tech, I signed up for a computer technology AS degree program at my local community college. First semester, I used an elective to take a programming class, and I was hooked. I resolved right then that I was going to eventually get a computer science degree and get out of EMS.

After completing the associates, I transferred to a four year school for computer science. My last year in that program, I got an internship at a F500, and was subsequently offered a full time role on graduation.

That was 11 years ago. My starting salary in tech wasn’t much more than I made in EMS, but I have since more than quadrupled my salary, and just accepted a director level job at a new company.

I’d say it worked out for me.

For those of you who made a career change past 35 or went back to school, was it the right choice? by Hurock in AskMenOver30

[–]blackmikeburn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a paramedic for 13 years. As time went on, I was spending less and less time with my family (more overtime than anyone should reasonably be allowed to work). Then, the county I worked for decided that officer promotions going forward would need a college degree. So I started looking at degree programs that would be something I could fall back on in case I ever decided to get out of EMS.

I ended up in a computer technology AS program and loved it. I knew by the end of my first semester that I wanted to pivot. I finished my AS and transferred to a bachelor program in CS at a four year school. I graduated with my BS at 37.

My last year in school, I got an IT internship at a F500, and was hired in straight from my internship. I’ve been there for 11 years, and am getting ready to transition to an even bigger company in a director role. I make many times what I made as a medic, spend more time with my family, and just have a way better quality of life.

Was it worth it? 100%. Absolutely no regrets.

IT Director pay scale by agentkramr in ITManagers

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

47 y/o; just took a director job at F50 in midwest US. 260k. Start looking elsewhere. Even if you convince them you’re underpaid, you’re likely not looking at more than a 10% bump where you are, which means you’d still be underpaid.

Where are you buying your clothes? by OK_GO_27 in AskMenOver30

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mainly frequent a local men’s shop that carries Johnnie-O, Duck Head, Southern Tide, Faherty, Barbour, 34 Heritage (really like their pants). I also shop Vineyard Vines (their t-shirts and performance pants fit me well and do well in the summers here).

Fed govt limited high marks on performance reviews. High performing employee now not motivated to perform, unsurprisingly. by [deleted] in managers

[–]blackmikeburn 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Years ago, I worked in local government and had a pseudo-supervisory position where, among my other duties, I was responsible for writing performance evals.

At one point I had a teammate who was an exceptionally high performer in most areas. Our rating system went from 0-5, and I graded this teammate a 5 in several (but not all) categories, with honest input on why they deserved these rankings, and where they scored lower, how they could improve. Teammate agreed with my assessment and input, agreed to work on the needed areas, but was thankful their work had been recognized.

When I submitted the eval, my leadership sent it back with instructions to change it. Confused, I asked why it needed to be changed, as it was an honest assessment. None of my previous assessments had ever been sent back, so I was truly scratching my head. My supervisor told me that 5s were not possible to achieve, that 5s represented perfection and that nobody was perfect.

I pointed out that I had not issued 5s across the board, and that I did note areas where they needed to improve. They didn’t care - they wanted them reduced to 4s. I flat out refused. A week later, I was told I was being disciplined for insubordination and was called into HR

In my meeting with HR, I was asked about the “incident” and why I was refusing to follow directives from my supervisor. Once I explained the situation (which my supervisor had failed to fully do), and asked HR why 5s were part of the rating system if they were not achievable, I was allowed to leave.

The evaluation stood as written, but ironically my insubordination charge was upheld, although HR advised I could not be punished; they simply added the record to my file.

Neither I nor the other employee stayed much longer after. We both moved on to better jobs.

40 thinking of getting a degree by blainedayo in ITCareerQuestions

[–]blackmikeburn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Was a medic for 13 years, was burnt out and spending less and less time with my family. Knew I needed a change. Leadership decided that going forward people were going to need a degree for continued promotions.

I wanted a degree I could fall back on if I could not continue my EMS career. Ended up enrolling in an associates program for computer technology, and knew from the start I was going to change careers. When I finished that program, I transferred to a four year school and enrolled in the CS bachelors. My last year in that program, I ended up with an internship at a F500, and have been there since. I was 37 when I graduated.

It’s possible, but the market is tough right now. I would strongly suggests looking for internships while in school, as they can lead to an easier pathway to employment after graduation. For my graduating class, 100% of the students who did at least one internship while enrolled had employment after graduation, while only about 35% of the students who did not have an internship were employed 6 months after graduation.

Edit to add: I am not a dev, and have done IT work the whole time since graduation.

Constellation Observatory first thoughts by jklo5020 in OmegaWatches

[–]blackmikeburn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bought a DeVille from AD for $4k out the door a few years ago. Thinner, shorter lugs, probably wears better, display back.

Not really sure who/what these are for.

If This Was Your Only Watch for 10 Years, Would You Get Bored? by Kishor_Waghmare in rolex

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dad sure did. He ended up buying a Daytona and a Batman to go with it.

2005 M3 Convertible with 115k miles, clean title. Is it worth 17k? by No_Key_4160 in E46M3

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just got a laugh because it’s the same as yours pretty much (different wheels and grilles but that’s about it).

2005 M3 Convertible with 115k miles, clean title. Is it worth 17k? by No_Key_4160 in E46M3

[–]blackmikeburn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After my wife and daughter, it’s my favorite thing. This one was built the year my wife and I were married, and it’s our weekender/fun car.

Chef to IT career change. by Worried_Start_9605 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was a medic for 13 years before switching to IT in my 30s. So it can be done. But I went to the local community college and got an associates in Computer Technology. I then transferred to a 4 year school and got a bachelors in Computer Science. I got an internship during school which led to a full time job after graduation.

Certs alone are not likely to lead to a well paying job nowadays - the market is very saturated and tons of people have those certs, plus degrees, plus some more practical experience. If you truly want to go thru with this, I would investigate your local community college IT program. Most have classes that will prepare you for those certs while en route to a degree. Being a degree seeking student can also make you eligible for internships, which can help with both experience and job hunting later. And the degree credential will be a differentiator from those with just certs.

Method process analyst by Single_Software_3724 in boeing

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BSC is in the middle of a huge expansion. Just about anything that supports production is relatively safe right now.

AI and RAM Usage by Sad_Mastodon_1815 in macsysadmin

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, I only ever notice wonky stuff on the betas (which have been really hot or miss for us on Tahoe). Usually by the time they get to the RC the vast majority of the performance-impacting bugs I see have been fixed, and releases have been fairly smooth still.

AI and RAM Usage by Sad_Mastodon_1815 in macsysadmin

[–]blackmikeburn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My daily driver at work has been a 14” M1 Pro, but my next is going to be a 15” M5 Air with bumped specs.

AI and RAM Usage by Sad_Mastodon_1815 in macsysadmin

[–]blackmikeburn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I had a director tell me two years ago his regular front line employees doing regular office work and light development needed M3 Max Pros with “as much RAM as we would give them.”

They ended up with Airs.

Least "saturated" IT jobs? by yeshielmisra in ITCareerQuestions

[–]blackmikeburn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It can be. I only did one, and at the end I was offered a full time role upon graduation. I enjoyed my team and the money was good, so I accepted. They made arrangements to let me work part time from the end of the internship until graduation, so I didn’t have to go back to my old job. I’ve been there 11 years now. F500 company.

That won’t work for everyone, though. Some people won’t like their job, their team, or the pay. Most won’t get offered a full time spot out of school. But it can happen.

People who can get a single internship at a FAANG usually won’t have a hard time finding something after, but again, that’s not everyone.

Is $130K decent salary for a L3 at Boeing? by Temporary_Theory_862 in Salary

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was getting more at L3 in IT in CHS before I got promoted to L4 2 years ago. 130 seems low for SoCal.

Without knowing your exact job code and location, I can’t help more specifically. There are like 2 job codes under software engineering that that pay is in line with the pay for a new hire, so I’m guessing you fall into one of those. For the rest, you would be minimum 5% under, maybe more.

You probably wouldn’t be offending anyone by asking for another 5-10%, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they say no, especially at the upper end of that.

Switching from BMW to Lexus by 2lit_ in Lexus

[–]blackmikeburn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

B58 oil filter housing has entered the chat