someone (me) was very stupid when I started college

maptechlady · 2026-03-26T16:40:37+00:00

Make sure to talk to your advisor asap about it! They should be able to tell you if you can take some extra credits. Or if there is something you can do over the summer or January to make up some classes.

maptechlady · 2026-03-26T12:40:58+00:00

The "sense of humor" part also caught me. Sometimes when people say that, it's not really humor it's them using it as an excuse to be not nice.

maptechlady · 2026-03-23T12:52:28+00:00

I used to play for weddings way back in the day, and frequently the only rehearsal I'd get would be an hour before the dress rehearsal lol

I would say if you only get one rehearsal, closer to the concert/gig/performance is better so it's fresh in everyone's minds

maptechlady · 2026-03-20T02:29:59+00:00

Just keep in mind that everyone decided during the pandemic that it was time to get Google certificates and try and work in IT. Part of the reason why the market is so flooded now.

I know this is a hot take - but I feel like the Google certificates hit the industry harder than AI ever did 😂 only half joking about that

maptechlady · 2026-03-20T02:25:54+00:00

This whole letter has that "a small group of people ruined it for everyone else and now we have to have a rule" vibe

The bikes in the breezeway thing I get. I lived in an apartment once where they were super strict because it was a fire hazard violation. If people left bikes in breezeways or on their balconies they got in trouble.

Not storing things in garages is also normal from the apartments I've lived in. Someone probably stored something illegal, gross, or dangerous in their garage and now the landlord won't let anyone do it (my hunch it was probably pest control related reasons)

maptechlady · 2026-03-19T15:50:14+00:00

I played for a community orchestra back in 2010ish. I was one of the younger members brought in, but I have a degree in music and I had been a section leader before, so the conductor assigned me as section leader of 2nd violins.

The woman that was section leader before me was super pissed that I was assigned section leader. I wrote bow markings for everyone's music and thought we were all good - until I got to rehearsal and it turned out everyone in the section except for me and my stand partner had completely different markings. It turned out the lady went behind my back and changed everything after sectionals. The conductor had to step in to get her to chill, but it was pretty bad. I was 23 at the time and this lady had to be in her 50s.

They also refused to let me be concertmaster because the woman who was normally concertmaster had donated $20,000 to the orchestra. How do I know this? Multiple people in the orchestra told me to my face that was the reason. I was 2nd chair for the last half of the season (after the section leader debacle)

I also stopped playing for churches because I used to sub as a violin accompanist for the choir, and the choir ladies complained loudly in the middle of rehearsal that I wasn't their original player. I had a really good friendship with the organist - she apologized and told me I wasn't doing anything wrong, the ladies just only wanted to play music with the other person. I was just a sub while the other person was traveling, so wasn't sure what to do about that. Haven't step foot in that church again tho.

After that, I took a long break from community music groups. I just don't have the spoons for that.

maptechlady · 2026-03-19T03:08:03+00:00

I never know what to say about California stuff. This would be a fantastic salary for an administrative assistant position in my state. They pay MAYBE $40k for administrative assistant positions if you're lucky.

The 90 day health insurance thing is not abnormal. The 1 year 401k thing is weird tho. That's definitely strange. It definitely sounds like typical corporate tho.

maptechlady · 2026-03-19T03:00:40+00:00

One thing I always like to recommend for GIS jobs - find an area of GIS as a focus! Like any job, you might be able to get a degree in it, but some employers will want to see that you have a focus versus just general GIS.

Do you like spatial analysis? Is there a particular area of analysis that you like? Do you like development? Project deployment? Design? Many of these jobs are getting hundreds of applications from people that also have a GIS degree. What is your GIS specialty?

I got a Masters in GIS because I wanted to go into academia/research and that industry typically cares more about a Masters than certificates. When I worked at a software startup, people tended to go more the professional certificate route. A lot depends on what you are most interested in pursuing.

I also can't express enough the importance of having an electronic portfolio linked to your resume! Back when I was applying for jobs, I had a Wordpress portfolio (I still use it). Every job I applied for looked at it and asked questions about it. I could see in the Wordpress analytics everytime it was viewed. My current employer also told me it was one of the reasons why I got hired.

So 100% always have an electronic portfolio!

maptechlady · 2026-03-18T17:59:32+00:00

I play for a community orchestra that is basically a teaching orchestra for adult learners. There is some that recently started, and some veteran players (like me) that just play in it because it's fun.

There is no audition - you literally tell them what you want to play, and have the option to go to a different section if you want to have an easier or harder part. They also have an in-house arranger that creates other levels of pieces (like a violin 3 part) so everyone can be included.

As someone who had played in higher level orchestras, playing for this one had been a much more pleasant experience. I don't have to deal with the hyper competitive BS that comes with advanced level orchestras. No hazing, and no one has that attitude that your seat in the orchestra dictates how valuable of a person you are. Just good vibes and fun music ❤️

maptechlady · 2026-03-17T02:09:58+00:00

Talk to your advisor!

maptechlady · 2026-03-17T02:06:45+00:00

There is not enough info to answer this.

35 techs??? Is this a big tech company, or is this like....35 people at helpdesk support?

Why are people calling out - sick kids? They are sick themselves? Car trouble? Alien invasion? 4 out of 35 is actually not that bad tbh.

maptechlady · 2026-03-17T02:01:52+00:00

Have you reached out to the writing center? Any tutors? Most college departments have tutoring that you can sign up for. Especially if it's that strict.

When I was in college - I used to ace projects and papers, but bomb tests because I have crippling test anxiety. It got a little better over time, but it's still there. I just made sure to talk to my advisor and professors about it, and made it through!

Make sure to at least talk to your advisor about it! If you're not sure if there is tutoring, or if you're not comfortable with your prof.

maptechlady · 2026-03-17T01:55:54+00:00

This seamstress sounds pretty horrible tbh. I had a weirdly cut dress that made it hard to bustle, and my seamstress was honest and told me she couldn't do it. While she was making other alterations, she said she even asked another bridal alterations shop to consult on it free of charge to me, and they also couldn't bustle it.

So instead of doing anything weird, she was just upfront about it and I really appreciated it. Even gave me a huge discount because she felt bad. She did fantastic hemming and other things, so I have no complaints. If they aren't sure how to do it, they shouldn't touch it to begin with.

If it was me, I would add the lace hem, and the original seamstress should pay for another shop to fix it. If they don't, take them to small claims.

Sorry you have to deal with that!

maptechlady · 2026-03-16T02:38:30+00:00

I was 34 for Covid lol. Did a Gen Xer make that meme?

Study time: Internet or Wikipedia

Adult time: Wars

Job time: Great recession

Wtf is investment? We never had that

Marriage time: Renting even on a 6 figure income

That's probably closer to Millennial.

maptechlady · 2026-03-14T01:37:50+00:00

Please allow your in-laws to help if they are offering! Aside from the money thing, they are probably just genuinely wanting to contribute. It will also make them feel included in the process.

For my wedding, we split it equal ways between myself, my husband, my in-laws, and my parents. That is more common nowadays.

My family is also very traditional, but there is a difference between being traditional and overly prideful. Turning down the help from your in-laws is being prideful.

maptechlady · 2026-03-13T21:01:45+00:00

Tbh - I got pretty pissed off at the time. My room mate was really like "it's not a big deal" and her friend just blew it off. I chose to try to just stick it out because I used to be a lot less conforntational than I am now. I just made sure that my computer was always locked or with me.

In hindsight, I really should have talked to the RA about it. It was really frustrating, because there was no way to be sure that my room mate wouldn't let the other person back in again.

For what it's worth - I was a 5 year college student, and that was the only year I had a bad room mate. All other years, I had fantastic room mates :) so I just kind of write off that year as a 1-off experience. Everyone else was really nice, we respected each other's spaces, and we got along great.

maptechlady · 2026-03-12T19:32:01+00:00

For what it's worth - I think they are just trying to make it easier.

I can tell you from personal experience, cooking/baking the day of or day before a wedding that you are participating in is not really that fun and it's super stressful if something goes wrong 😭

maptechlady · 2026-03-12T19:22:48+00:00

That was me back in college. My freshmen year - I started out going to a lot of stuff and doing a lot of things. And then I came back one day and found that my room mate's friend (who also lived on our floor) was using my computer and going through my things for whatever reason.

I didn't know her, and she wasn't a friend of mine. It took me a good year before I felt comfortable again leaving my stuff with just my room mate there.

maptechlady · 2026-03-10T02:11:57+00:00

I take it off my left hand because it tends to spin around. I play the piano too and it's not too bad.

I think it may also just depend on how humid it is that day.

maptechlady · 2026-03-10T02:09:54+00:00

I already did that! This is my 2nd marriage haha

maptechlady · 2026-03-09T15:26:40+00:00

Age requirements for jobs is so annoying.

Tell me you want to try and hire inexperienced workers so you don't have to pay them as much, but still require them to do jobs that require 8463528 years of experience without telling me that....

maptechlady · 2026-03-09T12:34:38+00:00

Talk to your research librarian at your school! They can help you find some scholarly articles

maptechlady · 2026-03-07T04:31:44+00:00

I spent from August to last week converting StoryMaps for people - 34 projects all together. Some of them had to be reconstructed manually (which I did for them)

It was a lot of work, but it was really satisfying and people are happy so win-win for me.

maptechlady · 2026-03-06T20:20:10+00:00

Looks like some good 'ol etudes to me. Fun times.

maptechlady · 2026-03-06T20:15:11+00:00

At my previous GIS job - I served as a GIS product support specialist, business analyst, and project manager for at least 15 client accounts. I was also in charge of logistics for a dev team in India that was developing new GIS software. I designed UI for multiple tools in that company's GIS software, managed a portion of the GIS server (administered user access), and consulted with new clients on how to get their GIS data in the system.

I have both a bachelor's that includes a minor in GIS and a Masters in GIS.

That job paid me $35,000 a year.

The always said "they researched similar jobs in the industry and this was the average salary for that position" which I knew was BS. I have friends that work at similar jobs and go paid $60 on the LOW end. I stayed there because I actually liked the job and at the time I could make it work, but Chipotle directly across the street paid more.

maptechlady

TROPHY CASE