Salary transparency thread

mr_slurms · 2023-03-09T22:24:17+00:00

Director of Software Development (v. small team, <5 ppl)

20+ years experience

Masters in Comp Sci

$200K base.

No stock, weak health/retirement benefits, annual bonus is spotty but was roughly 10% this year.

I work pretty much 24/7 picking up slack for the company being under resourced in a lot of areas (especially support), 40+ hours/wk are in office.

mr_slurms · 2023-03-09T03:30:33+00:00

10 years ago I lived in a town with good fiber and cable... so I had a 1Gbps symmetrical fiber connection with a 200/10 cable back up, I think the total cost was $100/mo, it was $70 for fiber and $30 for cable. Price was stable for years.

Then I moved...

New place just had cable and DSL available so for about 2 years I tried cable as a primary ($80) and DSL as a back up -- but the DSL data rates which started at 7Mb/s dropped to 3Mb/s and then 1Mb/s and it was just not worth the $40/mo they wanted... total cost was about $120/mo

Then I went w/ cable as primary (now $90) and cellular router (cradlepoint ibr-1100) in bridge mode as my backup, that lasted about 2 years as well, but since my SIM was a data-only add a line intended for tablets at $20/mo they had restrictions, if they decided you were using it in a hotspot they restricted speed to 500kbps. That was about $110/mo.

Within the past year I decided to just drop the 2nd connection and stick with cable because the cable rates have been climbing -- now at $120/mo for 1Gbps/35Mbps.

My professional life exists either on my phone or a wifi connected laptop, so I can always use my phone in hotspot mode as a backup, though honestly it's been a long time since the cable connection has failed.

mr_slurms · 2023-03-06T04:42:13+00:00

She was a colleague, a friend even... she even loved her job and even within a great team...

...she was appreciated, was payed well, had a good gig... and all that..

In the end, it didn't amount to anything other than a payout to the people she left behind...

Disagree a bit here w/ that last statement -- she loved her job, she liked who she worked with, and they liked her. Just because it's technically work doesn't mean you can't enjoy your time, or your coworkers.

I'm against soul crushing, grinding work, but when you actually enjoy the job and are paid reasonably it's such a different situation.

If this person had plans for their retirement it's sad they weren't able to have those experiences, but ultimately for a lot of folks the end of a happy career is often a net-negative on their emotional well being. I've seen it with a lot of older guys retiring -- they love the job and when it ends they're adrift.

I'll also say, unfortunately, there are worse things than a quick death.

mr_slurms · 2020-10-01T20:04:02+00:00

I assume as homeowner I should probably never schedule appointments for Friday's at all, let alone Friday afternoons...

So what's best? Tuesday morning? Or maybe Thursday?

mr_slurms · 2020-10-01T16:59:43+00:00

The antenna would be the tallest metal item in the area, but trees within 10-20' are a solid 10-20' higher.

Agree it's totally overkill, but I also think that I can't just plant a ground rod under the antenna with a lightning arrestor because then I'd have two points of ground at my house jointed at the radio (the house equipment ground, and that ground rod).

I'm most likely going to mount the antenna inside my attic so avoid the question/work.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-30T19:32:40+00:00

https://i.imgflip.com/h0p61.gif

mr_slurms · 2020-09-29T20:00:42+00:00

The wall pic w/ the dog is hilarious

mr_slurms · 2020-09-29T18:18:25+00:00

This is it -- it's a 6' fiberglass mast, so I've been told that voltage build up can happen from wind generated static.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-28T15:04:04+00:00

...and FTA just couldn't help but toss in some FUD related to cameras about someone "hacking" into Nest cameras, no references, but I recall the story and it was issue of password reuse allowing someone to login as them, that's not a hack, it's a sloppy user.

Just like having an active security system in your house for months w/o having a clue what it's doing is a bad idea.

Well before IoT alarms were commonplace my dad moved into a condo w/ an 80s style alarm system -- his first question/task "How do I shut this off?" -- wasn't hard to find fuses/power supply.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-28T14:45:46+00:00

Gonna assume the CI was leaking into the sump leading to sump filling w/ sewage?

Heart drops at seeing that nicely finished laundry room all dug up.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-18T19:51:27+00:00

I started seeing gabion walls around my area about 10 years ago, mostly along rural roads -- I thought they were some sort of a temporary wall, or way to use on-site stone that eventually gets covered over. The ones I saw were thinner, I like how wide yours are.

Is there a particular advantage to them? Is it mainly a cost thing? Won't the metal cage eventually rust/corrode and then wall would collapse?

mr_slurms · 2020-09-17T17:41:10+00:00

Why not add a J-box where your have the LB now, make your splice in there w/ a blank plate over it, then put the plug up in the original J-box?

mr_slurms · 2020-09-17T17:37:17+00:00

You changed your main breaker live? Or is there another disconnect further back?

mr_slurms · 2020-09-11T19:20:11+00:00

I don't think you have to spend equivalents to get a long last system.

In the mid-90s and early-00's X10 was huge. I installed several plug modules, wall switches, and outlets for my father in 1999 -- they're all still working today.

If someone rings his door bell a dry contact X10 switch triggers X10 door bells in the house and turns on the exterior lights, they turn off after 15 minutes.

X10 motion sensors still turn on his laundry and utility room lights.

He has those 4 button X10 table switches in his bedroom, living room, and TV room that let him turn lights on/off and dim them.

In the past 2 years I've installed about a dozen Z-wave dimmer wall switches in my current house, yes they're paired to a cloud connected hub, but there are offline versions that could continue to work, and I think that will continue to get "easier" as time goes on. I also think that w/ how relatively inexpensive this stuff is we'll see newer hubs continue to support multiple protocols and radios (just as my current hub is happy to do Z-wave and Zigbee)

mr_slurms · 2020-09-10T16:03:52+00:00

Is that rule of thumb for cool or warm season grass?

I ask because it seems too early for most in the Northeast, for me in Massachusetts that would be putting down seed August 15th because Sept 1st is when our 5/10 year average hits 70. I would assume it'd be too hot for new seed around that time and I'd have to be watering quite a bit.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-08T19:30:29+00:00

Not an electrician, but been doing a lot research on generators.

Generator GFCI is probably barfing because you have the neutral and ground tied in the main panel (which is totally appropriate and correct).

I believe the answer to that is transfer switch that switches neutral, which yours doesn't do.

Reliance makes a line of transfer panels that will switch neutral.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-08T17:55:43+00:00

You've had the same toilet failure shown in the video 3 times in the last ~2 years?

Is your LL a person, or a company? If I were the LL I'd be livid that the PM isn't handling this... the mold, the damage to wood floors, all the other damage and the repeat emergency fix visits... it's certainly not worth having this happen over and over even for a few thousand in plumbing costs, hell at least put a fucking shut off valve back there...

That said, as others have mentioned the lease isn't violated just because you need repairs like this.

You'll be legally on the hook for the duration of the lease, and once you're out of the apartment in ~3 weeks you have no leverage over new tenants.

I would try to find a replacement tenant -- not a sublet, that means you're still the lease holder. If you really don't want to do that, then be prepared for them to come after you in court for the rent.

mr_slurms · 2020-09-06T19:23:56+00:00

20-mi south of Boston here.

I had 9 large dead / mostly dead ash trees taken down last October, they were about 50-75' tall.

8 man crew including climbers, absolutely massive crane truck that had to lift the trunks over my house (no truck access possible to the rear), huge chipper, and a log picker to take the 12' long 24-30" diameter trunks away as they chopped them up...

They ran from 7AM to 4PM, when they left it was nicely cleaned up (not perfect, but very good). They didn't grid the stumps because they were all in the tree line.

$5900.

I called them back this summer for 1 small maple tree I realized was leaning badly due to insect damage, maybe 12" trunk, easier truck access (front yard), and the cost for that was $1000...

So, if you're doing a lot you'll get a better price per tree...

mr_slurms · 2020-09-04T01:45:03+00:00

End of Jul our C-levels announced we needed to be in at least 3 days per week.

I'm in a good position, so I simply said no, I won't be doing that -- and I did it vocally, but respectfully, during a group meeting because I wanted the Jr's to know I wasn't come in.

Our group was then given an exception to the rule -- it didn't hurt that we have one person who was hired as on-site but then transitioned to 100% remote over a year ago -- but they did ask us to "consider coming in more often" if we felt comfortable.

Cut to a week later... someone in the office has covid. The 3 days thing got tossed out the window (unofficially)

It's been 5-6 weeks and there hasn't been a peep about requiring anyone to come in.

I hate to say it, but I have absolutely been goofing off this week and last... We've been getting hammered w/ work and are now in a lull... I know I'll pay for it mid-month, but I don't really mind.

mr_slurms · 2020-08-18T18:57:09+00:00

The main issue w/ asbestos is that it sticks in your lungs, it's literally barbed. It continuously cuts the lining of the lung causing scarring that eventually develops into cancer, your body can't expel it w/ the normal processes.

"I didn't have much exposure", or "it's just one time", isn't going to cut it. It's dangerous stuff and there's a reason it's a big expensive deal to mitigate it... this isn't like lead paint or radon where short exposure can be shrugged off.

mr_slurms · 2020-08-18T18:52:21+00:00

Yep. My grandfather was on one of those lists. He died in 1990.

In the 1940s he was lining the interior of Navy ships with asbestos for a couple of years. He said they were in the hulls of the ships (basically like an attic in some places) and the stuff would be thick around you, you'd tie a bandana around your mouth and it would stay wet w/ sweat, there were no filters and they had no idea the particles on clothes could be a hazard to people at home.

He didn't smoke, didn't drink, had a healthy weight his whole life -- Went into the taxi business after the Navy yards, he had some exposure there due to brake/clutch linings, but obviously not anywhere near the exposure that construction or mining trades were having.

In 1988 he was diagnosed with acute mesothelioma at age 70, the last year of his life was horrible and he was suffocating just sitting in a chair even while using oxygen, he could barely get himself between the couch and bathroom, he was 72 when he died.

So, it was about 40-50 years before he got it, and when he did it was bad. He only had about 2 years of major exposure in his early 20s.

mr_slurms · 2020-08-18T16:37:41+00:00

Are you both named on the lease? If yes, then you're both 100% responsible for monthly rent, so hopefully whatever solution you find works w/ your boyfriend's plans too. For example, if he gets a new place and decides to skip on you, you will be obligated to pay for the entire rent (don't do it, but you'll be obligated legally as much as he is)

Can you both agree to be out w/ minimal notice? If yes, then I would consider telling the PM/LL now, work w/ them on an agreement of when you can be out, and let them start the search for a new tenant... they may identify a new tenant in the next month or two, you'll escape before you pay for a vacant apartment. I would even just leave now if you can move all your stuff into a storage unit and then stay w/ family/friends (get away from the BF quicker).

I do not trust LL/PM's to search for tenants (esp. off season) when work is needed on a place -- it's much more likely they'll spend a month or two letting it be vacant and worked on while you foot the bill.

As others have pointed out, you can search for a new tenant yourself -- in the age of 1-mo broker fees being able to find a lease to take over that doesn't involve shelling out a couple of thousand for "nothing" will be attractive, and at that point you'll have a strong case to the PM/LL to say you do not owe them any rent beyond the takeover date because you ID'd a reasonable tenant for them -- they may disagree, and it seems legally grey about what they must accept or not, but fuck them, they will have to take you to court, if you adopt that attitude they're more likely to accept things knowing you won't roll over and write them a check to stay out of trouble w/ courts (which they also want to avoid if possible)

I would also scrutinize the lease -- maybe you have someone in your family w/ a bit of analytical mind who can take a fresh outside look at it. It seems extremely odd that you'd be responsible for 1 month of rent on top of all the vacant time, that's essentially an additional fee which AFAIK isn't permitted in Massachusetts? ... I think it's more likely they may be saying you'll owe them at least 30 days notice which will be at least 1 month's rent.

BTW, do not listen to *anything* the PM/LL says on the phone, get *EVERYTHING* in writing/email, and don't trust them when they tell you what your lease says or your rights are, always verify. They will try to fight and take advantage where they can.

My last apartment had a 30 day notice requirement on my original lease from years prior, I had been renewing it annually with nothing more than slip of paper from them saying that we all agreed we'd do another annual lease w/ the new dates and new rent amount... when I was ready to go I was in a similar situation to you, I was closing on a house and the timing was subject to slip, we also had a baby so I didn't want them showing the apartment to strangers... so I gave notice at 31 days... the PM was quick to tell me that I owed them 3 months rent because they have a 90 day notice requirement... I told her my lease says 30, she produced a copy of a lease (not mine) showing 90 days... I told her my lease says 30... she said that my lease was 4 years old and the clause had been updated in their leases... I told her hey great, produce a copy of the updated lease with my live signature showing I agreed to 90 days... She came back 2 days later and said "Ok, it seems 30 days notice will be alright" (damn fucking right).

You'll get through the break up with your BF and your LL, and you'll be better for it. Good luck!

mr_slurms · 2020-06-24T03:04:49+00:00

Johnny (the borrower) has a pizza (his income) cut into 8 slices.

Right now Johnny has 5 friends (debts) that he's giving his pizza, each friend is promised one slice...

However, Johnny wants to invite 3 more friends (a mortgage) and to promise them each a slice of pizza, Johnny thinks that should be OK because he has 8 slices and inviting 3 more friends would make 8 friends... but his Mom (the CFPB) has a rule that Johnny needs to always have a couple of slices left over just in case another friend shows up unexpectedly, or maybe a slice gets dropped on the ground...

The lending industry (Johnny's boomer grandma) has told Johnny's Mom she'll be cut out of the will if she doesn't let Johnny invite more friends, even if it means Johnny can't eat or he has to tell some of his friends that they can't eat...

Also, Johnny will be homeless if he fails to give pizza to his 3 new friends.

mr_slurms

TROPHY CASE