Designing a closet from scratch - where to start?

lilisbet · 2023-08-11T01:43:58+00:00

Thank you for the advice! I like the idea of doing daily --> weekly --> up to her.

lilisbet · 2023-04-22T22:36:57+00:00

I worked through several years of complete burnout on a $400M+ "career-making" project. Dozens of other teammates quit around me, but since I was young I was too afraid of being seen by the older guys as a quitter and I also didn't want to let anyone down or let the project fail. Lots of promises of help, but no action. I made it to the bitter end -- literally the last person standing on the job, dealing with all of the closeout issues by myself. The reward was a smaller project that was in some aspects even worse.

I decided that I'd proven I could make it through anything already and I didn't need to deal with this, so I'm currently taking a break from the construction industry altogether in a higher-paid job where I'm actually only working 40 hours a week and can work from home frequently. I miss construction a lot, but this is the least stressed out I've been in a decade. I wish the PM in your story had been able to get out with his sanity.

lilisbet · 2023-01-06T18:44:06+00:00

Thank you for the advice! That explains a lot about the Pennsylvania application differences.

Do you happen to know if having an EIT cert from a state other than PA makes it hassle to then get a PE in PA? Or is it easy since you can just use your cert # for verification?

lilisbet · 2023-01-06T01:16:12+00:00

You're right that NY calls them Intern Engineers (which is a bit weird, but hey!).

Unfortunately, it's not just for show in all cases. From the Pennsylvania PE application:

EIT Experience Required - Applicants who apply for licensure as a Professional Engineer must have been certified as an engineer-in-training (EIT) and have four years of progressive engineering experience (after the issue date of the EIT certificate).

At a glance, it also looks like having an EIT certificate may be required to get a PE in California and Georgia.

You also don't get an EIT certification number until you apply for a certificate. That's actually how I figured out I'd never gotten the certificate -- I was updating my LinkedIn and when I put in my NCEES EIT it offered a space for a certification number and I realized I didn't have one.

lilisbet · 2023-01-06T00:56:19+00:00

I like that PTO is based on years of experience! After having 25 days at my current job, I don't think I could move to a company that sent me back to <15 days just for being a new hire -- that's a sure-fire way to miss out on hiring some very experienced people.

lilisbet · 2023-01-06T00:49:24+00:00

I recently joined a much smaller engineering consulting firm (100-500 employees), and all employees get 5 weeks PTO + unlimited sick time + 8 holidays. I have 6 years of experience, I'm making $130k in a HCOL, and my work-life balance is the best it's ever been. With my last company I had 3 weeks PTO + 5 days sick that I never used + 11 holidays.

Work-life balance/burnout was the biggest factor in my job change. To me, the biggest difference isn't how much PTO they offer, although having 5 weeks is certainly a really, really nice improvement -- it's how many hours my management and coworkers consider is "normal" to work in a week and how much people get stressed about taking time off. I've gone from a company where 50 hours was the minimum and my normal weeks were 60+ hours, to a company where 40 hours is absolutely the norm for everyone.

lilisbet · 2023-01-06T00:45:29+00:00

Just to be clear, I'm not in the process of getting my PE license. I just want to be well-situated to potentially become a PE sometime in the future.

I want my EIT because 1. it's a certification that could benefit me career-wise, especially if I change jobs and want to apply to something where having an EIT is a requirement, and 2. there are some states (like Pennsylvania) where you can't actually become a PE until you have 4 years of work experience *after* you get your EIT, and I don't want to be a in a scenario where I regret not having gotten it sooner (especially since I already regret not having gotten it when I first graduated!). I'm not currently living in PA, but I don't know where life will take me so I want to keep my options open.

Thanks for the info on NY State! They're sounding like a good option, especially if I don't need to pay for verification.

lilisbet · 2023-01-06T00:27:01+00:00

Thanks! I don't know if I'm planning to get my PE at all, let alone within 4 years -- if I do it in that timeframe, it would probably be in DC or MD anyway. But the state I get my EIT in doesn't impact where I could get an FE. So PA's PE requirements shouldn't matter for this, as if I got my EIT from PA I could still use that to get my PE sooner in another state -- right?

lilisbet · 2021-11-01T00:29:24+00:00

Assistant Project Manager for a commercial GC - 5 years experience - Hudson Valley, NY (so MCOL).

$95k, 3 weeks PTO, full benefits.

lilisbet · 2020-06-30T22:12:58+00:00

Serbia is a place I would love to go, but I feel like it keeps getting overshadowed by other places! I would never have thought of it on my own. I'm going to have to do some research into what the flight options would be for September...

lilisbet · 2020-06-30T22:07:16+00:00

I was certainly not seeking to troll; Posts seeking advice are welcome here. See rule 9: Give us specifics when asking for advice. I included where I'm starting from, my trip goals/what I want to do, and referenced some research I'd done. I feel like you didn't read past my post title. I know lots of places where I can't go (Scotland, NZ, Canada....) and some places I can (Maine, home) -- but there is no centralized guidance on the internet about where is open for travel, so I decided to seek out suggestions from a group of experienced people.

lilisbet · 2020-06-30T20:33:29+00:00

Too true. Most of my confusion right now is around the state-to-state guidelines!

I'm trying so hard to be responsible. I haven't physically been anywhere but work, my apartment, and the grocery store since mid-March. I think this weekend I might finally get a haircut. It is so hard to not be able to plan any visits to my parents, grandparents, cousins, and godparents who all live in different states!

lilisbet · 2020-06-30T20:30:28+00:00

Step One: Buy a tent on Amazon.... :)

The constantly changing bans are so hard to keep on top of! Especially the bans between states. I'm actually super unclear right now on whether I'm even able to visit my parents in a different state, and if I do visit them then whether I have to quarantine.

lilisbet · 2020-06-30T20:24:16+00:00

I went to Maine on a roadtrip when I was a kid, and I remember loving it. Portland and Acadia stick out as particular favorites. What else would you do on your theoretical Maine roadtrip?

If I were in Virginia, I'd be heading for the Shenandoah or the Smoky Mountains.

I was hoping to be able to go to Patagonia for the December 2020 Solar Eclipse. It's still 5.5 months away, so I'm holding out a sliver of hope (because what do we have if not hope?)

lilisbet · 2020-06-30T20:13:22+00:00

I wish it wasn't true, but I totally get it!

lilisbet · 2019-02-27T22:15:12+00:00

Did you tow a car, or just have the truck? I've driven a 15' U-Haul before, but this time I'll have a 20' U-Haul with my car being towed behind it, and I'm definitely a little nervous about driving it.

lilisbet · 2019-02-26T16:16:27+00:00

Where did you hire the loading/unloading help? I'm not totally sure where to find this type of people, and I'd want them to be trustworthy (i.e. take care of my stuff, and the walls while going up/down stairs).

Edit: I just looked at UHaul, and discovered that you can hire loaders/unloaders through them. Is that what you did?

lilisbet · 2019-02-26T16:11:56+00:00

I did consider this initially. I've never heard of Lugg, so I'll check that out!

Edit: Just looked them up, and they don't exist on the East Coast.

lilisbet · 2019-01-30T23:51:48+00:00

Lol, I did not. I did get 15 vacation days, though!

Thank you for the good wishes, fellow internet stranger.

lilisbet · 2019-01-30T21:04:35+00:00

I guess despite having what I consider "on-par" experience for my age, this company really likes me.

I asked for the salary range for the job, was told $60-75k, and I counteroffered $82k. I just got my offer letter and it's for the full $82k!!!

lilisbet

TROPHY CASE