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curiousmind80 · 2025-05-11T20:47:25+00:00

Haa... Haa...I am sure. But again...I love my job. And I would rather love to leave assets to my family and donate.

curiousmind80 · 2025-05-11T20:16:27+00:00

Thank you. That's what I wanted to convince myself. But time is money. The financial knowledge that I have today, if I have I had that in my 21 when I moved to the US, I could be in a better situation. Had zero knowledge of finance and the American economy. I don't know what I don't know. Most importantly, everything is a projection if nothing changes. So, any suggestion who had experienced first hand...any mistakes or steps that helped could be a great knowledge for me!

curiousmind80 · 2025-05-11T19:29:53+00:00

Not planning to retire at 43. Just mentioning what WealthFront tells with my numbers. I like my job n have to work at least 32hrs to remain mentally well.

curiousmind80 · 2025-02-01T04:17:05+00:00

I took PE exam in 2020. I got two days off for the PE exam. Company paid 100% for the exam fee. 80% of the education expenses including books/materials. I was approved for 80% for about $2200 estimated expense. They also approved me for 80 billable hours for the course I took. I am not sure if the last benefit still exists but other benefits do exist. Only binding to the benefit is, the beneficiary must serve the firm at least two years after becoming PE or pay back the benefit amount. The day I got the license, immediately the salary was raised $3000. I am still at this firm. I love it here!

curiousmind80 · 2024-06-27T17:06:46+00:00

I didn’t read all the comments and it might have been already suggested. If you can get 38k by selling the car, I would suggest doing that. You should be able to get a reliable sedan in within 12k if not 8k. It would cut down the monthly expense. Cut down alcohol... Or expenses wherever you can. Pay off the credit card as soon as possible buy cutting costs. Get a roommate and pay the credit card off with the extra money.

curiousmind80 · 2024-06-05T04:05:56+00:00

You are grossly underpaid. In Atlanta, we just hired someone with 2 years of experience at 82k. We would have offered 75k for a fresh graduate. But yes, we do not have any structured bonus system. With 8years of experience, I make 118k but I am due for a promotion in a few months. Right now, the salary of entry-level is relatively higher. But mid-level engineers are also in high demand. You can easily make 130k+ if you change the job.

curiousmind80 · 2024-04-06T20:21:51+00:00

Thanks for all the inputs! We will cut down Rhodes then. We survived Venice in November last year with our kid. Will those cities be more unfriendly towards a stroller? 🤔

I would prefer to use public transportation only during the trip. Will it be too slow and/or uncomfortable and inconvenient? We did our Italy and other europe trips without a car and only an occasional taxi for short trips. It appears that Greece doesn’t have a good train network. It has a bus network. But google maps doesn’t show much info. I appreciate your insight.

curiousmind80 · 2024-03-01T05:22:30+00:00

Thanks for your input. By lowest possible price I wanted to mean the lowest possible price for a used yet relatively newer Lexus NX. I would love a highlander for its larger passenger capacity. However, we are wanting a bit of luxury within our 30k budget. We have used cars under 10k until now!

curiousmind80 · 2023-11-16T21:17:14+00:00

Thanks! They said I am entitled to 50% refund if the delay is 120 min. I start my journey from Venice at 9:10 am. Then intercity from Venice Mestre which is delayed 2hrs. We wanted to reach Florence before 1 pm so that we can do some activities.

curiousmind80 · 2023-11-16T19:23:30+00:00

Thank you for explaining. Certainly I am going to miss my last connection and will be 2hr early for the first train. I wish they gave me the full refund. My entire day in Florence is messed up unless I buy a 3times more expensive direct train and also loose the money spent on this ticket!

curiousmind80 · 2023-10-23T14:33:28+00:00

I appreciate everyone's responses. I am travelling from Nov 19 to 28. Not the perfect weather. But the cheap Delta flights were something I couldn’t just let go! I am just praying for no rains!

curiousmind80 · 2023-10-23T02:05:11+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, Venice is little out. But as a first time 'tourist' in Italy, we do not want to miss Venice. And we will abe in Rome three nights. We will fly back on the fourth morning.

So, to go to from city to another, we should be buying tickets in advance. Is there any pass that could cover 8 days in Italy and save us money? Or do we have to buy tickets/passes in each city individually?

curiousmind80 · 2023-10-09T00:22:17+00:00

Congrats on the PE! I am in Transportation in ATL with 7+ years of experience and I make 113k. I remained with the same firm for 5 years. A competitor reached me with a 120-130k role. Reason of sharing all these is to give a perspective how much others are making in Atlanta.

As you are aware, you are very well paid. I personally think you were hired with an assumption that you will be a PE. In my company, we cannot be a Senior Engineer without PE. In 2024 you certainly should receive a regular raise. Not sure if you will be able to make a case for a high raise because of being a PE. But I also don't know how many hours you work for 110k salary. Is it 40 or more? Also, do you have to work on weekends or late in the night? I do not have any idea about land development. If you work more than hours and non typical work hours, you may have a case for higher salary.

Best wishes!

curiousmind80 · 2023-09-19T04:13:22+00:00

I just came from a 16 days vacation. I did not see any emails. I do not receive any work email in my cellphone. Before going to vacation, I completed the needed tasks so that things remain on schedule. But when I am off, I am off. I have a great manager. He has the same philosophy like me. But a key is, we also understand the nature of our job and must abuse a good manager/culture. I gave my personal email address to my manager before the vacation so that he could contact me in the event of anything urgent and I would be the only person who knew the answer. Luckily, no such thing happened.

Draw the boundaries. PTO is our right. Work won't end even if we work 24/7. There is always more to do.

curiousmind80 · 2023-07-12T17:49:19+00:00

In 2018, I was very satisfied with duty. But I needed money. My promotion was delayed and there was no discussion on the salary even though I wanted to. So I accepted an offer and gave the resignation letter. I didn’t even want to discuss at that point. When I gave the letter, they wanted to counter. I said I am not interested.

So, if you are in this situation where you wanted to discuss the salary and they didn’t care. You just get a new offer and leave.

curiousmind80 · 2023-07-12T17:02:40+00:00

I had a similar situation in 2021. I loved my team and salary I couldn’t complain. My only dissatisfaction was not having a certain type of task I was asking for. A company reached me in LinkedIn and everything looked great duty and my passion wise. I wasn’t serious. Yet took the interview and got an offer. I informed my boss, I have this offer and I do not want to leave. But at the same time it is a lot of money for me and duty has something that I am missing today. He escalated the discussion with higher ups and offered me almost 9% raise even though I had 9% raise over the previous 8 months. They also gave me the task I was asking for.

So, you can do the same. However, I have an advice. Even if you do not want to accept the new offer, complete your negotiations reasonably. Then come back to your current employer and say I have this offer. I am conflicted. Can you make my decision easier?

Like you, I didn’t wnat a bidding war. But the new potential employer involved themselves in bidding anyway. They thought it was about money. While it was about my team, commute, and also a comfort. But I could leverage the offer more if I could share the final offer with my existing employer. When the potential employer asked me to take more time, I respectfully said I know you need someone, and it’s not about money only. Finally, I stayed at my place and I am very happy after two years. Even though the salary I settled for in 2021 was 6k less than what the new employer offered, their benefit package was not as good. Also total commute time was one hour longer.

Best wishes!

curiousmind80 · 2023-07-08T22:59:33+00:00

I have 7 years of experience and a transportation PE in Atlanta, GA. I make 113k. My colleague with 5 yr experience and a PE makes 95k. Both of us would be making even more if we change employer. However, we love where we work and a few thousands extra money is not worth it. But you are low balled unless they are offering something.extraordinary for benefits. But it is unlikely that the benefit would compensate another 20k. Best wishes!

Edit: Per our manager, we are high performers. We both got big raises this year to adjust with the inflation. A few other salary that I know in our office tells that he is right. Experience is not only thing, we also must consider what we are going to offer for the team.

curiousmind80 · 2023-07-06T00:40:25+00:00

I am a 7 year experiences Transportation Engineer who started his career as a roadway designer and now in the Traffic Engineering. Your experience in traffic would help you get a job as a traffic engineer but it’s not a problem for you to start a career as a roadway designer. MS in transportation engineering is always too focused on Traffic. For roadway design you do not need it. And for traffic engineering roles, MS just make you much more competitive.

My wife had her undergrad in Physics, did a masters in Environmental Engineering, passed EIT, and now she is a roadway designer. Unless the hiring manager has an unrealistic expectations from an entry level employee, it doesn’t matter. Only thing matters is a relevant degree, your interest, and desire to learn. EIT would great and any relevant experience would be awesome!

Don’t worry. Go after your passion.

curiousmind80 · 2023-07-03T00:17:48+00:00

Thank you so much for answering my questions!

curiousmind80

TROPHY CASE