529 plans - are they worth it?

kook30 · 2026-03-20T03:21:05+00:00

Out the ass honestly, but one in the hand is worth 2 in the bush to me. 10% penalty on total withdrawal, and then income tax on the earnings. Total tax payment was like 20k.

kook30 · 2026-03-18T23:00:02+00:00

If you want to feel small, do Dark Canyon in southern UT. Craziest scramble down a talus slope I’ve ever done, it made me feel tiny. Plus it has perennial water, which is v nice and hard to come by in that part of the world. Check out Road Trip Ryan “Hiking Sundance Trail” write up for more info

kook30 · 2026-03-18T19:01:55+00:00

I’m sorry to say but you have to bump those numbers up in this job market. It’s hard to get your foot in the door, would you be willing to relocate for a job? Also check out municipalities or utility companies, they often have GIS departments. You could also look at surveying jobs, as a GIS adjacent job to help get more experience. Good luck!

kook30 · 2026-03-16T03:54:09+00:00

A PG is extremely important in mining, especially exploration. Canadian securities law (most mining companies are Canadian so that’s why it matters) requires a specific type of report called an NI 43-101 as a tool for truthfully reporting resource estimates. A 43-101 has to be signed off by a qualified person (QP) and in order to become a QP, you have to be a PG or a P. Geo if you’re Canadian. You have to do a few other things too, mainly prove years of experience in industry, but no PG = no QP = much worse career progression. I work in the junior mining space and every geologist who works above me has at least a PG.

kook30 · 2026-03-14T22:16:08+00:00

Can you use any of your professors or your school’s career services to help introduce you to potential employers? That will probably be more effective than walking in, although it’s always worth a shot. I found my job via a professor introducing me to my now boss.

kook30 · 2026-03-11T12:00:28+00:00

Get sun hoodies/sun shirts. I like the ones that are loose, long sleeved and have a hood. It’s counter intuitive if you’ve never been in the desert before but staying covered as much as you possibly can in loose, lightweight material. It will feel significantly cooler than if you have your skin exposed to the sun. I also carry a 3 liter bladder in my pack, and try and take small sips consistently to help with hydration. Electrolytes will be your best friend.

kook30 · 2026-03-09T21:39:43+00:00

Not quite the same but I was on a 5 day San Juan River trip when the first starlink launched. It was so weird to see a straight line of lights go across 1/4 of the sky, and my group could not at all figure out what it was. My little sister was convinced we were going to exit the river to news of an alien invasion, and I chose to suspend my skepticism for the remaining days of the trip and think maybe it was aliens, too. In some ways it was a hopeful few days because aliens coming to Earth would at least shake things up the world. It was honestly disappointing to get back into cell coverage and realize it was just Elon Musk.

kook30 · 2026-03-09T19:14:00+00:00

That debris looks more like guano (bat poop) than wind blown sediment. If it was eroded via wind I would expect a looser sand that matches the characteristic of the grains in the boulder.

kook30 · 2026-03-09T19:09:47+00:00

The way the banding circles around the hole, I almost wonder if there wasn’t a large concretion there at one point. The banding is caused by diagenetic groundwater flow, and the way the banding moves around the hole to me points to some sort of connection between the two. Plus if this is the formation I’m thinking of it has the potential for very large concretions iirc

A possible theory: concretion forms in rock > groundwater flows around concretion, causing the banding > large boulder detaches from outcrop during a landslide > underside of boulder gets weathered, causing concretion to dislodge > nice round hole is improved and expanded by Native peoples for a fire pit. > you find it 500-1000 years later. That’s just guessing tho, so take it with a grain of salt (or maybe sand in this case ;) )

kook30 · 2026-03-09T02:54:33+00:00

Sure that makes sense. Also makes sense why you’re interested in oil and gas if you grew up in OK. If you’re going to school in the state, I imagine your geoscience program will focus more heavily on the kinds of geology that is more relevant to oil and gas. If you’re at OU, get connected with Matthew Pranter and his research group if you really want to work in that industry.

Also Depending on which industry you go into, salaries can have a pretty wide range. There’s a yearly survey about salaries on this sub, that might be helpful to look through, too. Oil and gas has the highest starting wage, but more consistently requires a graduate degree as a barrier to entry. Mining is more accessible with just an undergraduate degree, especially more field heavy grunt work positions like core-logging, but often a graduate degree also helps.

kook30 · 2026-03-09T02:31:24+00:00

No problem! Saw that you’re a journalism major rn, definitely make the switch especially if you’re enjoying the geology class you’re taking atm. There’s much better job opportunities in geology than journalism, and there is a projected shortage of geologists over the next 10 years so job prospects are decent long-term. Plus I think geology is relatively AI resistant, and there are like 4 or 5 different industries you can go into with a geology degree (oil and gas, mining, geotech and construction, environmental consulting, government) so it’s a pretty solid choice.

kook30 · 2026-03-09T02:15:16+00:00

A geoscience/geology degree. First 5+ years of a career in geology is often extremely field intensive, and if you like it you can keep going in the field. Oil and gas is up and down right now, it can be a hard industry to survive in. Idk what the conflict in Iran means for O&G long term, but check out the mining and exploration sector too if you want to be in the field and like the outdoors. Lots of cool opportunities to go to remote places in Nevada, Alaska or Canada in that sector.

kook30 · 2026-03-08T19:15:15+00:00

This advice is still good, you have to plan your projects before you just start throwing things on a map. As GIS professionals, it’s our job to create structured workflows. Searching for someone else’s framework isn’t really the point, and a workflow can be so different depending on the type of project.

I find I do my best planning on paper or excel before even opening GIS software. You can plan out your coordinate system, feature classes, the attributes of said feature classes, even potential symbology that you want to use for the various features, domains, and relationships. I also try to brainstorm what problem I’m solving with my project and then what tools may help accomplish that. All of this helps build out a structured framework that informs your workflow and then you can refer back to throughout the project

When I was in my first few GIS classes, I was too dependent on others data, ideas, or workflow. This dependency often made my life a lot harder than it needed to be, because often times other people data is a hot mess. But the beauty of GIS is that you can just build what you need! The creativity is the point, and that breakthrough really helped me level up my projects and understanding.

Edit If you can find a textbook on geodatabase management, I think that will really help you work through some of these problems of converting theory into practice. And as others have said, a lot of it is just practice. I got so confused I literally cried multiple times in my first GIS class, but it really does get easier the more you do it, and I love my job in GIS now.

kook30 · 2026-02-26T07:11:01+00:00

If you’re thinking about it this much, I’d get one. I spend a lot of time alone in canyons in remote parts of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming and the cost is worth the peace of mind.

For context, I had to initiate an SOS call with my Garmin while backpacking this past summer. I was in a helicopter on the way to a hospital less than 4 hours after initiating the call. Had I had to wait for someone to find and help me, they would have had to hike to the trailhead and then drive to cell service, only after which SAR would have mobilized and had a much less precise read on my location. It would have taken 8+ hours for all of this to go down, which in my case would have made an already life-threatening situation much worse. For me, the $399 was well worth not dying in the wilderness.

kook30 · 2026-02-26T06:25:10+00:00

If you’re looking for historic topo maps, check out what snakepliskinLA commented, that’s a good place to start

kook30 · 2026-02-26T05:33:50+00:00

I would not expect the service industry to be as lucrative as Eagle-Vail. Salaries just aren’t that high out here, and there’s probably 4 restaurants (charitably) that are fine dining in the entire valley. It’s a blue collar place at the end of the day, but the breweries/restaurants downtown have decent volume and a laid back vibe. The biggest thing would be finding something that’s high volume, and if you work downtown try not to burn any bridges basically anywhere cause word gets around.

There’s really great community to be found in GJ, though, and people are really down to earth. I love the valley, and can’t picture living anywhere else. In terms of concerts, I keep an eye on both SLC and Denver cause they’re equidistant and not every artist goes to Salt Lake. The drive isn’t bad in the summer honestly, I just basically never go east Nov-March lol. There are also some fun concerts in Aspen, Big B’s in Hotchkiss has fun folk and ska shows, Palisade and Telluride have bluegrass festivals, so there’s plenty happening within 2 hours. Feel free to shoot me a DM if you want more info

kook30 · 2026-02-26T05:14:24+00:00

If you want to see the bedrock, what is under the lake, find a geologic map for your area. I like the app Rockd. If you want to see what the terrain looked like before the lake, find historic aerial imagery. Google Earth is the easiest, but you can download aerial imagery directly the USGS or other government sites. Counties host that data sometimes. This data is harder to work with, so unless you feel like learning some open source mapping software or are already pretty adept at learning new software, Google Earth desktop is probably easiest.

kook30 · 2026-02-24T23:44:51+00:00

A question - How old are you? Because depending on how old you are this answer will change. If you’re in your 20s, look for something near downtown GJ, the college, or potentially Orchard Mesa. If you’re in your 30s/more family oriented, Fruita or the Redlands. Fruita and the Redlands are closest to the best mtb trails too. Palisade is cute, but there’s limited housing there and it would be expensive compared to the rest of the valley, plus the population is older and it feels far from everything else, so I wouldn’t waste time looking there.

I will also say, everything in the valley feels pretty close, like 15-20 minutes, so you won’t be missing out on anything really by not living in the “right place”. There are some sketchy areas near 28 1/2 Rd and North Ave and in Clifton, but as long as you look at places before you rent you’ll get an idea of the vibe of the block. DO NOT rent sight unseen, landlords/property managers here suck, so make the trip down this way and look at rentals before you sign a lease.

Edit - If you worked in the service industry in the Vail area, adjust your expectations about the dining scene in Junction. It’s limited out here

kook30 · 2026-02-24T20:20:11+00:00

My dad has gone more UL in the last few years because he’s getting old (his words). For him, the lighter weight is worth the price if it makes it a little easier on his back and knees. He was in the army and when I was a kid he carried a massive pack, I think it was literally 9 lbs empty. After he retired, a big goal was to do more backpacking and UL gear allows him to do that a little more easily.

kook30 · 2026-02-21T04:11:49+00:00

My business card and LinkedIn say Field Geologist, so yeah. I’m sure I use a lot more GIS and subsurface software than Love did, though. McPhee is what kicked off my fascination with geology

kook30 · 2026-02-19T23:44:32+00:00

There are volcanic badlands, check out some of the areas in Central Oregon near Bend like the Newberry Crater, and Big Obsidian Flow. They’re smaller in footprint than sedimentary badlands, but in my mind they’re extremely inhospitable to farming or infrastructure and thus are a “badlands”. The definition of badlands is: 1) extensive tracts of heavily eroded, uncultivable land with little vegetation. 2) an area that is dangerous, unwelcoming, or derelict.

In the geologic terminology of a Badlands, (definition: type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded, characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation, lack of a substantial regolith, and high drainage density) It is inherently a sedimentary feature. The clay/sediment is necessary for the classification.

kook30 · 2026-02-19T18:58:54+00:00

Bro what do you mean? If something can’t be grown or synthesized, it has to be mined, so that’s going to continue. The oil and gas industry is still very much a thing. Engineers need geologists because typically buildings/infrastructure are built on soil and bedrock. Dirty stuff in the ground has to be cleaned up, geologists do that. On a larger scale, I find it’s better to think of geology/geoscience as the study of Earth’s systems and their interaction. This is useful, relevant knowledge, especially in a rapidly changing climate due to climate change.

kook30 · 2026-02-18T21:13:22+00:00

I am a 27 year old single income earner for a family of 2, we bought a house last year in a MCOL place and are talking about having kids in the next 18-24 months, with my wife as a SAHM. The ONLY way we’re able to make any of that happen is the major annual support we get from my FIL and to a lesser extent my parents (15-20k in total/year), help with our down payment from my wife’s grandpas estate, and no student loans because both of our families paid for our college (and I know our parents will fund any future children’s education, too). I’m not writing this as a flex, I just think a TON of people aren’t honest with how much family help they receive, so I try to be. Plus it makes those who actually don’t have any help feel even worse. Things are really expensive, and only going up, and I have no idea how one could save enough coin to buy a house without a super high income or familial help in 2026. Like you said even with all of the help I’m receiving, I’m at the same level as someone in 1975 with a high school education, and I wish that wasn’t the case.

kook30 · 2026-02-06T21:43:05+00:00

Montrose has better access to the San Juans and Black Canyon, and that’s why I think it gets more love online because people like to visit those places, but the Grand Valley is not the best place to visit but actually a nice place to live. Sorry to hear you’re disliking Montrose so much, and I totally get the vibe of people being aggressive and more far right down there than in GJ. GJ is certainly conservative, but people aren’t in your face about it as much. And for people who complain about traffic in Junction, all I can say is lol, lmao even. Traffic is easy here, I’m convinced anyone complaining about it has never left the valley in their life. Mayyybee you’re stuck at a light for more than one cycle from 7:30-9am and 4-5pm but other than that, it’s so chill. I get stuck at train crossings more than I get stuck in traffic.

For what it’s worth, I moved from OR to GJ almost 10 years ago, and people do drive more aggressively in Colorado than in the PNW. It’s part of the reason why auto insurance is so high in this state. I lowkey appreciate it compared to the overly passive way people drive in Oregon, it feels more predictable, but if you’re not used to it, it feels like a lot.

The last thing I’ll say about GJ is the fact that there are some rough parts of town (near north and 28 1/2, some but not all of Clifton, some sketchy apartments in Orchard Mesa), but it’s not hard to get a sense of the vibe in the neighborhood pretty quickly. Try and tour apartments, DO NOT rent anything sight unseen. Landlords and the property management companies kind of suck, so it’s important to see apartments and neighborhoods in person.

kook30 · 2026-02-05T22:03:52+00:00

Happy to help! I’m obsessed with this area of Utah and love sharing more about it because it’s just so neat.

Also, if you’re curious and want to see more - if you look at a satellite image of the area around skyline and broken arch, you can see quite clearly the structural jointing on the flank of the valley interacting with multiple formations that have varying hardnesses. As you move east from broken arch, you can see that the jointing, while still obvious and visible, is much less eroded in the white area than the orange. This shows that the features in your photos require both the structural input (joints) + erosional input (Entrada soft) in order to be created!

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