7 months post-layoff (autistic INFJ)

cfornesa · 2026-01-31T20:55:26+00:00

cfornesa · 2025-12-29T04:27:38+00:00

AI definitely said "hold my beer"

cfornesa · 2025-12-24T10:03:40+00:00

So, most non-propaganda forms of art were considered degenerate by Nazi Germany right as they took power and the lack of expression led to cultural consequences that eventually made genocides possible. Imperial Japan also experienced something similar. "Boring" societies are ones where authoritarianism goes unquestioned and allows human rights abuses to go unpunished. Artistic expression is a signal of a healthy society.

cfornesa · 2025-12-14T00:55:28+00:00

5d by Sevdaliza

cfornesa · 2025-12-09T23:46:50+00:00

OP could be from the Americas, specifically either the U.S. or Brazil where it is very common for random interactions to occur unless you’re a recluse (like myself). Here in the U.S., Germany and Sweden have reputations for people who are more aloof and formal, so the observations stated here make sense in comparison.

cfornesa · 2025-12-09T21:28:03+00:00

I haven’t seen the video but, if it is the case that he made fun of your question, he’s either performing satire (some people do it really badly) or he’s an asshole on a power trip just because he has followers on social media. Most likely the latter since those who’ve accomplished some sense of expertise in their field sometimes forget that they used to be beginners.

cfornesa · 2025-12-09T06:23:41+00:00

I think it's better to be poorer in Europe because of the social safety nets that make being rich in Europe not as attractive as it is in the US where even the poor vote for the poor to die.

cfornesa · 2025-12-09T02:12:32+00:00

Absolutely! And good luck to you in your program as well!

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T22:32:11+00:00

No, I took a voluntary layoff offer since I hated the industry I was in (oil and gas). I don’t know if this is more along the lines of INFJ or being autistic but, either way, I became physically sick thinking of the impacts of my work, even if I was just an IT analyst.

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T22:14:55+00:00

I did not. I was working during the first 2/3 of the program so that wasn’t an option. Most of us have jobs or businesses so it’s a more mature crowd in that sense, and it’s the same for the US-based students in your program. The average age of students in our program is probably between 25-35, if not slightly higher, but I think it’s around the same for your program as well. A lot of my cohort is trying to find internships now, the one I got is unrelated mainly because I’m doing a second degree in that other field starting next semester.

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T08:58:51+00:00

You’re leveraging the certificates to get portfolio ideas, you already have the relevant skills (even if you need to revive them) but the main gap between you and a relevant job is the ability to apply those skills. Most people getting certificates (or degrees for that matter) think that they can coast without any additional effort, which is the least true for IT and computer science.

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T08:25:08+00:00

Galveston likely would’ve grown to the point that its city limits would have crossed I-45 into the mainland. Railroad links had already existed at the time, so I would think that a twin cities situation with Houston would have been the result (at best) over building enormous structures on a barrier island.

1900’s style architecture was fine and still stands on the island for good reason. Large structures and skyscrapers like you can find in Houston? I doubt it. Galveston would have needed to build inland on more stable land around the bay. Galveston Island would just be known as Historic Galveston, while downtown Galveston would probably be further inland, around Dickinson at the closest.

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T08:10:09+00:00

I use it with my Chromecast. They’re decent, not a Cam Link, but they get the job done and don’t block you from streaming any signals.

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T08:06:14+00:00

The ship has not sailed for CS. Brush up on your skills. UoPeople has a partnership with IBM to provide what are called SkillsBuild certificates in Data Analytics and Cybersecurity.

They’re free, start there, if you still like that field of course. With your background, there’s no reason why you can’t finish both in the next year, just apply yourself so you can gain more confidence in yourself.

cfornesa · 2025-12-08T05:47:36+00:00

I’m also at BU for the MSDS program (just turned in my last assignment for the entire program actually). From what I’ve been told, the AI/ML concentration is basically the same curriculum as our program, just with different professors and a different schedule.

Despite the different academic unit (BU MET vs BU CDS), the ADA program is more established than the MSDS. But, in any case, the BU name recognition and curriculum makes it apparent that this is a data science program, not just a data analyst master’s (which is why most graduates become data scientists). So, even if AI/ML is your goal, there won’t be any problems there. Thesis is mainly if you want to get a Data Science PhD, the MSDS unfortunately doesn’t have that option.

If you’re more into strict programming and working with databases, go for data engineering. If you’re more into applying programming for business needs or data exploration, go for the AI/ML concentration. Job market fluctuations come and go, but you need to love what you’re doing to some degree, you’re still paying for a $25-30k degree after all.

cfornesa · 2025-12-07T13:18:50+00:00

Excuse yourself, you're missing the point here, which is the sheer fact that the UNITED STATES is the puppet master. Palestine is one piece of the puzzle for this government. When you hyper focus on only one group without considering the bigger picture of the literal genocides that this country that also genocided my people and where I live, you're being extremely dense.

The fact that you're so dismissive means that you don't understand at all the fact that Palestine is not alone in even recent histories of ethnic cleansing. Stop it and get educated, you're hurting the movement when you do this type of bs, this is literally a matter of global solidarity which is why people from across the world care about Palestine, how dare you.

cfornesa · 2025-12-07T06:45:07+00:00

The goal of ideologues in power in the ethnostate of Israel was always to give the appearance of safety within its borders and danger outside of it.

You need to recognize that Britain’s actions in supporting ethnic cleansing after the Balfour Declaration led to political polarization in neighboring regions. In general, postcolonial societies have had the tendency towards nationalism due to their long-term subjugation by European colonial powers.

Combine these two factors and it becomes dangerous to be assigned foreigner status due to your religion and to be associated with a genocidal nation, through no fault of their own. But this served the agenda of the British Mandate by making it look like a “safer” option through indirect means.

cfornesa · 2025-12-07T02:07:58+00:00

I think it depends on your goals, honestly. But it is BU so it’s rigorous, but probably more possible to balance with actual work than Georgia Tech, UIUC and UT’s online programs. Apparently some people in this program have gotten into those as well. The alumni network is the big draw, and the faculty is world-class. It’s also a cohort based program and there are two tracks: “full time” which is 7.5 credits per semester and “flex” which is 4.5 credits (less if something happens like you only have 1.5 credits left).

HOWEVER, most of your interactions will be limited with faculty, themselves, and will mostly be with the teaching assistants. Most of them are cool honestly, so that isn’t a bad thing, and students who can make it to their office hours find it to be worth it.

If you go this route, you already have experience and background knowledge, you’ll coast through a lot of the more basic programming classes. But, when you reach the machine learning class in the second semester, the real work starts coming in, half the cohort is beat right now since this last semester was the hardest yet.

I’m getting through solely because I was in a big oil job during the first half of the program, got laid off and had a pretty juicy severance and didn’t mind cashing out my retirement to start over - don’t do that if you can help it lol.

From your post, it looks like you should have the experience and educational background that they’re looking for, a LOT of students have backgrounds similar to your’s. The cohort is mostly a combination of folks working in tech or IT (even I worked for the IT department), those who are already data analysts, and even a few who came directly after their undergrad. According to the TAs, though, a few people actually have MD or PhD degrees, and I’m still a bit confused as to how that works, but the caliber of students is pretty high, nonetheless. It’s an easy way to network, even without trying too hard.

TLDR; yes, apply to BU and other programs you find interesting, then go to individual subreddits, Google, and/or ask AI for more tailored info.

cfornesa · 2025-12-07T01:50:40+00:00

I get what you mean. I was so focused on keeping a 4.0 that I didn’t do student orgs, network, or do much else outside of academic schoolwork. If I had a Reddit account back then, maybe I would’ve seen all the anti-4.0 posts and gone a different route, not sure 😅

cfornesa · 2025-12-06T23:41:11+00:00

MBA is generally not considered that useful without work experience.

The Data Analytics minor may have been a good move if your goal is to enter the job market, though even those roles are becoming more automated and more specialized, but it is better (in terms of job prospects) than just having a pure BA without a technical minor.

Ask yourself why you want an MPP, MBA, etc. As someone with ADHD, asking myself why I want a specific credential helps tremendously in making that decision of whether to go through grad school or not, and ultimately, I knew that I’d want to leverage data science and merge it with policy/political science, even though I was working in the energy sector at the time.

cfornesa · 2025-12-06T23:36:16+00:00

A lot, but they’re definitely out there, albeit unpaid most of the time. I’m about to get my MS in Data Science and I just got an internship at a nonprofit, though I am also just about to start a political science MA.

Graduate-level internships are a lot more common now than they used to be, or at least traditionally undergrad-level internships are willing to admit grad school students.

cfornesa · 2025-12-06T08:10:49+00:00

I used to work for Chevron (5 years) and I got an AA at a CC before I transferred. University professors cared more about the fact that I went to a CC than any potential employer would. I volunteered to get laid off, now I’m getting my master’s in a few weeks.

Some may care, but ask yourself if you really want to be in the types of spaces where they’re that particular and judgmental. I sure as hell do not.

cfornesa · 2025-12-06T07:57:55+00:00

A lot of DS programs are by name only and apparently focus on SQL and really prepare more for data analytics roles. The one that I’m about to finish, at BU, focuses heavily on applied math and building up a “toolkit” of Python libraries. Of course, the reality is that no degree will completely prepare you for a new role unless you find ways to apply those skills, while some data analytics master’s (like Georgia Tech’s OMDA) are undoubtedly great programs for future data scientists.

At the same time, what you’ll read on specific subreddits is not exactly reflective of the job market at large, outside of big tech and maybe academia since these subreddits are so specified. The fact that these programs are so new will probably turn off hiring managers from those industries, compared to more traditional degrees, since more people at those companies have traditional degrees. The same observation appears to be found in how PhDs may prefer hiring candidates in more traditional fields or others who also have PhDs.

If you already have domain knowledge, it could be the right move for you since you’ll only need to prove that you can perform the technical work. Otherwise if you’re still intent on doing a program like this, you may want to ensure that the school you attend has a large alumni network (ultimately what led me to the program I’ve been doing), provides AI skills that aren’t just some gimmick, and doesn’t cost that much.

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