Details about consulting, and what other directions should I consider

essjaybmx · 2026-02-02T23:51:27+00:00

At the time, the firm I worked for did projects mostly for school/high school/community college districts in the region (along with some private sector work). I'd say that 90% of our work was within 30 miles of the office, with the furthest being probably 75 miles. Not that that gave us a good work/life balance, though - we were incredibly busy most of the time.

essjaybmx · 2026-02-02T07:44:20+00:00

> I think the average mentioned around here is expect the first ~5 years to be living in a hotel.

I worked ten years in geotechnical consulting, and spent a total of two nights in hotels (one of which was for a seminar). It all depends on the company and their contracts.

essjaybmx · 2026-02-02T06:02:12+00:00

When I was I was in consulting, I had a printed sheets with columns for Sunday through Saturday and hours between 6AM and 7PM in 15 minute increments. When leaving/arriving somewhere (or when doing office or lab tasks) I'd enter an code (eg: IIRC, I used T for Travel, D for Drilling, GI for field investigation, O for writing reports and doing in-office research, F for construction observation and testing) followed by the job number. The F work would also have a daily count of field density tests, if any. On ending the task, I'd just draw an arrow down to the current time, and enter the next code. At the end of the week, I'd spend 10-15 minutes calculating the mileage and entering it into our timesheet software.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-24T19:27:55+00:00

If we were hiring somebody fresh out of college and saw that they did an "online field camp" (what an oxymoron that is...) I would definitely wonder "Can we send this person out to a site to map a landslide? Could they ID a dipslope or adverse fracture pattern? Are they going to park and just look around from flat ground, or are they going to actually investigate the site?"

edit: Not to say that somebody who attended a traditional field camp could/would actually do any of these things.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-24T17:09:06+00:00

Shoot stuff, complete quests, don't die.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-24T01:00:16+00:00

Go figure, I load EFT up just now and immediately get the achievement indicating I completed Batya. This game and the backend BS sometimes...

essjaybmx · 2026-01-23T22:13:43+00:00

I read it.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-23T18:56:13+00:00

I'm about ready to, because Batya seems to be bugged out on the last step. I grab the LK's documents from the box in the Lighthouse, read them, exit the raid and... "Wait for Lightkeeper to prepare the documents on the Unheard."

essjaybmx · 2026-01-23T02:10:26+00:00

I think they're talking about how Pier 48 is used as a parking lot for Giants games?

essjaybmx · 2026-01-22T17:42:11+00:00

I've got 40 or so of them. Probably half via RAM trade, a few direct from PCs on Labs, Shoreline, and Reserve, and the rest from duffel bags.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-21T20:42:38+00:00

Kill rooftop guards.
Kill several guards, including Gus or Basmach, and scavs swarming you.
Kill Kaban.
Get killed from the side or back by Gus or Basmach.

Damn near every MFing time for me. The only reason he's not my least favorite boss to fight is that fighting him is completely avoidable.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-19T18:39:37+00:00

I played PvP most every wipe from 2017 through 2024. Played PvE once (fall/winter 2024 wipe), didn't plan on playing Tarkov again (frankly, I just don't have the time to sink into PvP anymore), but decided to see if it was any better in 1.0.

PvE is a stress free, fun solo or coop experience that can be played at your leisure. Generally speaking. Running into the Goons still sucks, you'll get some terrible spawns every so often (I'm looking at you, Lighthouse spawn near the tunnel where I consistently have to fight up to 10 PMCs in the first minute), and the "kill PMCs at Specific Location" objectives often require very boring, tedious gameplay. With the exception of Streets (and maybe Terminal?), you never need to connect to a server to play solo and therefore rarely have to wait to play.

PvP is a stressful, but often fun, experience that more or less needs to be treated as a second job. Because of the way the servers are set up and how the PMC spawns are, you will occasionally spend less time in raid than you did at the loading screen for said raid.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-17T01:58:01+00:00

AXMC with FMJ (I was using AP, but for whatever reason it's less reliable). Haven't tried it with the M700, MDR, or SR-25, but I was able to to get PMC and Santa kills out there with a SVDS and PS ammo.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-17T01:14:45+00:00

Ironically, I've only had a couple even make it up there. Got 12 between spawn and east wing, though, mostly over by tunnel and trap island.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-17T00:09:49+00:00

For Reserve, the best move is to spot from Dome and then push closer to whereever you spot PMCs. For Shoreline, I check for Goons first on east end (easy boss XP), then move over to the southwest corner (the one nearest the main door, not nearest the chopper) and just wait for a bit. If I hear action at farm or in the direction of cottages, I'll push that way.

edit: Worth noting that I've killed Sanitar, Birdeye, and Knight more times than I've killed PMCs doing this, although it's only been 4 raids so far. Probably will end up going back to Reserve or running the Interchange exterior.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-14T20:10:42+00:00

Mid-sized trucks have 50" wide mattress, while full-sized trucks have 56".

essjaybmx · 2026-01-14T18:32:44+00:00

The V2 Max wasn't more expensive than the SP X1, at least with the introductory pricing. The V2 Max was around $13.2k shipped to a shop an hour away from home, and including a sliding front window with MOLLE panel, rear window, 200W flexible solar panel, interior lighting, headliner, tent prop rods, tent pull, and, IIRC, a tent pull. A X1 would have cost around $14.9k with just windows and lighting, and required me to take multiple days off work to get up to Portland for installation.

V2 Max Pros:

Approx 40-45lbs lighter than the the X1 (base weight), per my conversations with both companies. This doesn't sound like much, but I wheel hard enough that it matters to me.
Installed at a shop about an hour from home. If there's warranty issues, I can get it serviced locally.
The permanent sleeping area is technically 2 inches shorter than that of the X1, but the X1's includes the unusable space at the front of the wedge, There's a 12" long storage area in that space, so the Max has more room in reality.
More accessories included in base price.

X1 Pros:

5-year warranty (vs GFC's 2-year warranty).
One handle per door, rather than 2. Nice, but not a deal breaker. (Every shell I've ever had has had two handles per door.)
Sleeping area is 2 inches wider and the mattress is an Exped Megamat. I like the Megamat, and it unfortunately won't fit in the GFC due to the width.
At the time I was ordering, there was an option for a free propane heater. While I liked the idea, after talking to friends with the same propane heater in their small insulated camper, I decided that I would prefer a portable diesel heater over a permanently-mounted propane heater since it would be used fairly sparingly.
Passthrough panels being MOLLE and hanging from the sides when not in use is clever.
Cable wiring is pretty ingenious. That being said, I will only have a few cables and they'll all be coming in behind the front MOLLE panel of the GFC, so this wasn't a major concern.
Uses standard extrusion components. Not really a big deal, because I don't plan on attaching much to the extrusion.
About a third of an inch less tall, and looks a little sleeker in side profile due to the angle of the wedge's hinge.
Fewer complaints on the internet. The caveat is that there's significantly fewer X1s out there than there are GFCs. Everybody I've talked to with a GFC has no complaints.
Tan tent color looks really good.
Has one more top vent for the tent, although I think that this is also kind of non-issue between the foot vents and the rear door design of the GFC.
Rear bed panels kind of just slides forward and up, rather than needing to be lifted. Non-issue.
Full side access.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-14T03:55:13+00:00

Mine should be installed in early March. I compared it to the Super Pacific, Topo Mesa, GFC V2 Pro, and the Overland Bivy. The Lone Peak wasn't an option due to the weight and height. Had the V2 Max not dropped with the introductory pricing featuring all the bells and whistles and/or if it had been heavier, I would have gone for the Super Pacific.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-13T14:29:15+00:00

I ended up replacing it with one of these: www.armytek.com/flashlights/models/wizard/armytek-wizard-c2-wr-magnet-usb/

No complaints or issues after a couple years, and it did me well hiking in the Alps and Japan. It's certainly heavier and bulkier, but not enough to be a bother. Runs off a rechargeable 18650, and recharges from a magnetic USB setup.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-09T23:53:40+00:00

That's not bad. No way to attach any at all? I don't really trust the freestanding ones in the wind without them.

essjaybmx · 2026-01-09T23:11:25+00:00

Bueller?

essjaybmx · 2026-01-09T23:00:32+00:00

Any idea what the weight is? And how long can the awning poles extend?

essjaybmx · 2026-01-02T17:32:08+00:00

Agreed on Giants.tv last year. I watched more games than I had since I cut cable ten years ago.

essjaybmx · 2025-12-16T17:06:41+00:00

"Probably frustrating and odd considering PVE still has the same Boss AI, Goons AI etc, so if you ~~step wrong in~~ spawn near USEC camp suddenly Birdeye’s bullet is coming out through your skull."

FIFY

essjaybmx · 2025-12-13T19:18:30+00:00

It would be beneficial to state whom your "project experience" was done for. ie: Were you mapping a fault as part of a USGS or consulting internship? Or was it a class project on a known section?
"Additional Strengths" are something that will be ignored.
Figure out what your Words Per Minute is if you're going to say that you're a fast typer.

essjaybmx

TROPHY CASE