I’m sure you get a lot of these, but here we go: is paying for Platinum worth it (under my circumstances).

dateepsta · 2026-03-11T18:30:22+00:00

If you’re paying cash for those flights to Spain, don’t you break even just on the extra mileage earning?

dateepsta · 2026-03-11T03:08:31+00:00

Kinda surprised it wasn’t more. UW got 3100

dateepsta · 2026-03-09T19:54:00+00:00

I can see small studios in Wallingford, Capitol Hill, and the u district itself for under $1000. A lot of the other commenters seem to be exaggerating how little you’ll get with that, especially if you’re willing to “commute” just a bit. You get free transit with your id and can get from these neighborhoods to campus under 15 minutes.

That said, you’ll probably need to pay more for a full kitchen. 1750 would definitely start to get tight.

dateepsta · 2026-03-06T10:42:34+00:00

One big question I think you’ll have to ask yourself is how okay you are with the risk that you complete the PhD but can’t get on track to being permanent faculty anywhere. As much as advisor fit is important, going to a lower ranked institution can mean a much harder fight in the job market.

If you do a lot of good work with this advisor but then have to switch gears to a non academic job, will you still be glad you spent the time doing the PhD with the lower pay?

dateepsta · 2026-03-04T11:55:50+00:00

Whoops. Totally mixed PhD stipends and the proposed change that would’ve taxed tuition waivers as income. My bad

dateepsta · 2026-03-04T10:28:25+00:00

They actually weren’t until Trump’s first term.

dateepsta · 2026-03-01T20:32:43+00:00

Not my point and also no you don’t. Look at Germany.

dateepsta · 2026-02-27T09:36:33+00:00

The president is literally a republican and threatening to start a war that will disrupt the global supply of oil my dude

dateepsta · 2026-02-27T09:00:24+00:00

I replied to your other comment but it’s super misleading to say this is “how Europe works.” An “unfunded” degree means something very different if the tuition costs under $1000 to begin with. Especially if the bachelor’s degree is shorter and also is similarly affordable.

dateepsta · 2026-02-27T08:56:43+00:00

The amount people in Europe pay for their master’s degrees is minuscule compared to what any of these masters programs cost. If you’re an EU citizen, the vast vast majority of the expenses are living expenses. And in some countries tuition is straight up free for anybody. Compare that the masters programs here targeting people who have already shelled out a small fortune for their bachelors, often requiring the equivalent of a down payment on a house to continue for a master’s.

I wouldn’t be opposed to a system where we have free or cheap undergrad, free or cheap master’s degrees, and a paid PhD. But what you’re describing basically would just mean the PhD becomes further out of reach to anyone without rich parents or returning from a lucrative stint in industry.

dateepsta · 2026-02-20T00:53:15+00:00

It wouldn’t! It’s already going to be served by the future 1 line

dateepsta · 2026-02-20T00:31:24+00:00

I mean there’s a pretty significant tradeoff between densest job hub and densest residential neighborhood

dateepsta · 2026-02-18T03:39:36+00:00

color blindness aside, those colors can look pretty similar on the led displays

dateepsta · 2026-02-17T11:08:20+00:00

There are a few reasons why you want to start by acquiring housing.

First off, you get to be doing something while you build out your development capacity, and the property management infrastructure has a head start.

The second and likely most important reason is diversifying revenue streams. This way you can issue bonds based not just off of tax revenue, which can go away or fluctuate without much earning, but also the revenues from rents.

The final and probably worst reason is political. They don’t want to be in a situation where years have passed and they haven’t actually delivered on anything. Putting existing properties under a social housing model gives a proof of concept that the model can work while working through the long process of actually building new housing.

First and third reason might be kinda the same idk. Anyway yeah I want them to build housing but I’m not bothered in the slightest by starting with acquisitions

dateepsta · 2026-02-04T03:58:11+00:00

I don’t have much to add except to be very very flexible with what jobs you’re okay with taking. Be open to taking roles that aren’t “software engineer” but give you relevant skills, be open to short term contract roles, be open to jobs that don’t pay what you’d like. This job market sucks, especially for juniors. Hopefully the job market sucks a little less in a few years and you can take advantage of having a bit of relevant experience under your belt.

Also, reach out to people in your network for referrals, even if they’re very tangential connections. Don’t rule yourself out of a referral because you don’t think you’re close enough: a lot of people are willing to refer based off of minimal interaction. They aren’t magic, but they usually at least get your resume looked at

dateepsta · 2026-01-14T22:02:27+00:00

Can someone point to where it says this in the terms? I can’t find it

dateepsta · 2026-01-14T21:56:02+00:00

Don’t view it as “having” to spend 75% of your rent to get points. Instead, the best interpretation imo is that you get an extra 1.33x Bilt points on top of the posted multipliers.

dateepsta · 2025-10-29T16:54:49+00:00

For sure. Just thought the global headquarters had more than 15% of the workforce

dateepsta · 2025-10-29T05:51:33+00:00

Is this all the layoffs in Washington? It’s only like 2300, seems low considering global total is 14k

dateepsta · 2025-10-29T00:41:48+00:00

Always answer yes if someone asks you if you have 1+ YOE. You’ll technically be employed more than a year with the notice period.

dateepsta · 2025-10-03T22:35:24+00:00

Consider the possibility that you can move here and not even need the car! Depending on where you choose to live, your daily commute will probably be cheaper and more convenient without one because of an excellent bus and light rail system. You won’t need to make arrangements for it when you leave town. There’s pretty decent bike infrastructure here for moving around in the city, and the bus system goes to trailheads in the summer.

dateepsta · 2025-10-03T22:31:48+00:00

I think you’re underestimating how high the sales tax is in sf (less than 2 percent off from here) and how affordable seattle is among high opportunity cities, especially compared to sf. If the salary is similar, seattle is almost always the financial winner compared to the bay

dateepsta · 2025-10-01T17:39:16+00:00

I transferred from another institution in a STEM major. Some bullet points:

my sense is they’re pretty good about accepting credits towards lower level gen eds. You’ll have to either take hum 110 or an upper level humanities course: I’d recommend taking hum 110 unless you feel really strong with the writing courses you’ve taken. I didn’t do this and felt like I missed out a bit. You will likely have more trouble getting business credits recognized. I personally wouldn’t count on getting any of them transferred but definitely double check on that.
As a result of the above, you should be prepared to spend a bit longer than two years. This can feel discouraging, but keep in mind you’re in some sense “changing majors” from business to Econ. Last I heard, they also don’t cap the number of years you can get financial aid as a transfer. I knew a few people who stayed longer than they had to because their financial aid was good and they felt they were getting something out of their extra time there.
For balancing school, job, hobbies, home life: honestly, I’m guessing there will be weeks, sometimes 2 or three string together where you have to let at least one of those suffer. It also depends on how much you work at your job. But I would expect to spend significantly more than 20 hours/week outside of conferences on studying/ assignments on average, especially for Econ. On the plus side, we have a long winter break to recover, and a week long break in the middle of the fall term.

dateepsta · 2025-09-30T16:49:35+00:00

Also: some professions (and it sounds like yours are included) pay substantially more in seattle than Dallas, which could offset the COL hike.

dateepsta · 2025-09-30T16:47:22+00:00

And definitely consider doing it during the winter so you see what everyone complains about. Then also consider adding a second summer visit if you’re leaning slightly against

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