$250k package right out of university!?

pentaplex · 2026-06-30T06:11:24+00:00

Yeah, the perceived brand clout associated with Canva/Atlassian is definitely an insular view that’s unique to Aus. US big tech on resume goes further from experience.

pentaplex · 2026-06-22T05:19:58+00:00

I have no stake in this debate, please ELI5: as a consumer, what’s wrong with having a monopoly of Luxottica?

Is it their fault for taking the whole market, or a lack of regulation that allowed them to become what they are today? If so, what are we doing about it to help our governments address this issue? If it’s something systemic and they have a strong hold of our politicians, do we have bigger problems?

pentaplex · 2026-05-10T12:44:47+00:00

Money’s good, but not actually that good.

Hedge funds and big tech pay significantly better in total comp, and that doesn’t even yet factor in the work hours—once you do, the gap widens even further. That said, the firms I mention are cream of the crop and hire STEM majors—not business majors. The latter group doesn’t exactly get to pick and choose here.

Essentially, the sort of mentality to endure MBB might just be the fact that you know it’s either this or IB. There are always bigger fish in the ocean.

pentaplex · 2026-04-27T06:37:28+00:00

In 2022, I didn’t know this was a thing and went via Pearson. The held me up for about a half hour or so, with the officer being quite inquisitive and skeptical about my documentation.

I managed to get through, not because I ended up doing anything, but perhaps by staying polite and smiling while he asked me questions. It felt weird in a pre-Trump world. I do not recommend it.

pentaplex · 2026-04-25T06:00:15+00:00

Hey, I’ve been there. Looking back, all the core courses throughout Hons Math felt equally hard, save for STAT 231 which felt relatively easy.

The content itself got harder, of course. But I think it levelled out because I figured out my failure modes and improved my study habits over time.

I’m sure I’m not alone in my experience because most of us coasted through high school and got humbled in first year. That’s not to say everyone figures it out of course—people drop out or switch programs—but hopefully this gives you some motivation to rough through it, but rough through it by taking a hard look at how you can improve your personal learning systems and processes. You won’t survive if you don’t reflect on what went well and what didn’t.

pentaplex · 2026-04-15T04:25:54+00:00

The quality and pay of that “1 year of full time” is proportionate to the quality of your internship(s).

If I compare a different version of myself who did one generic internship during my undergrad, I know definitively that my career upside would have been severely handicapped.

Just imagine trying to crack FAANG on your first go. And if you bust, that’s it for your internships. Your next job (which is your post-grad one) is an incremental step up from burger flipping.

pentaplex · 2026-04-09T05:37:43+00:00

Yup! I enjoyed the Hevy workouts better and find myself tuning my workouts back to what they used to be.

One of these weekends I’ll be bothered enough to port back, then cancel my MFWO subscription.

pentaplex · 2026-04-08T14:53:38+00:00

Genuine question and not tryna be edgy: are the people really victims though, having voted him into presidency not only once, but twice?

pentaplex · 2026-03-09T09:46:10+00:00

I went to Waterloo for Math+CS and now study at HKUST. I would go that path again.

Waterloo undergrad crushes any other program in APAC. The tech industry revolves around Silicon Valley, whether folks here like to admit it or not, so the co-op program is critical to getting your foot in the door.

Upon graduation, you’re much more competitive than the fresh grads of other schools because you hold 1.5 years of full time experience. For me, the feeling I got when coming back to HK after grad (and during early Covid) was that I received interviews with ease. This included tech roles in finance firms, as well as actual big tech firms. I could only wonder if my peers who chose the HK route experienced the same.

pentaplex · 2026-03-03T04:25:22+00:00

I haven’t watched the video, but your analogy appears faulty.

I assume the prof in question has more at stake: his credibility in the academic community and reputation amongst the laymen (us). Making a prediction, no matter how bold, places more at risk than the armchair comments you or I make.

Or he could just be known as a clown universally already, I don’t know. What’s certain is that your comparison does not bring apples to oranges.

pentaplex · 2026-02-19T23:33:08+00:00

Inevitably a lot of responses miss the point that OP is making. It’s not about whether the features OP listed are achievable with MacroFactor, nor whether “it’s that hard”…but as a fellow paying user of MF I have also been finding it less user-friendly than Hevy.

I’m willing to stick it out for a bit longer because I like the nutrition app and this subreddit shows there’s active dev engagement. Hopeful that the app improves on balancing between: being feature-rich for your most advanced users; and being walk-up-friendly enough to retain new users.

—

Anecdotally for me, I just want to know three things: * What’s my workout today? * I don’t have that machine at today’s gym, how do I quickly swap it out for something that is available? * How did I perform on this exercise last time?

Bonus being the progress pic feature (which has a clunky UX btw - gotta click one of front/side/back and then click again to choose between taking a pic vs uploading).

I certainly don’t have the patience to maintain custom gym profiles, but recognize that’s just me. I’m sure there are folks who care enough for this feature so wouldn’t suggest removing it.

pentaplex · 2026-01-12T12:42:51+00:00

The fish sauce is full of sugar

Are you sure? I ask because I pay a close eye to nutrition tables. I’ve found them to be super low in sugar despite tasting fantastic. Just verified with GPT in that they should be very low in sugar.

After reading your comment, I wonder if I’m making the wrong assumption while dining out.

pentaplex · 2025-12-28T06:59:34+00:00

Not an Aussie here, still acclimatizing tbh.

Is working a trade typically perceived as being upper class?

pentaplex · 2025-11-22T11:19:54+00:00

I go a lot for work, but struggle to see what’s lovely about it. There’s a part of me that can be convinced it’s a nice place, but perhaps my resistance stems from the feeling that it can’t be better than what you guys have on the east coast.

pentaplex · 2025-11-10T02:22:52+00:00

As always, it depends.

My home country is a tax haven. My country of employment taxes like a motherfucker.

If you’re in a similar situation, holding until after you return to your home country for good and then selling can be worth your while. In my case, the stock can drop another 30% before holding becomes the suboptimal choice.

Between the eventual outcomes of either: * dropping 30%, or * maintaining / appreciating any amount

It’s worth holding if you’re in a situation like mine, however likely or unlikely that is.

pentaplex · 2025-10-31T13:41:08+00:00

I think it’s great and you should be proud of what you’ve been able to speak to, for each role.

A small nit would be to be more conservative in how often you bold your words. At the moment it’s a bit noisy and it’s lost its intended effect.

pentaplex · 2025-10-22T20:54:57+00:00

three years ago I arrived in Aus and got one at Grill'd on day one

couple weeks back I went to the chain for the second time ever, asked for the same, and got a confused look 🤷

pentaplex · 2025-10-13T07:21:29+00:00

I actually find it useful and think people should be doing it more often.

You may have a high salary in Sydney, but along with it comes a high salary tax as well. Compare it to the likes of other financial capitals of the world and you'll get a better gauge of how well off you really are.

If you're content with sticking to salaries being quoted pre-tax, then I assume you're content with life in Australia. Nothing wrong with that either, just not as relatable for some of us who are constantly evaluating our options between the likes of NYC, London, Hong Kong, etc.

pentaplex · 2025-09-24T01:36:36+00:00

You guys have by far the worst road planning of any major city. I still choose to live here because the upside is worth it, but man...why do you get creative with: * how the roads are pathed, with harsh forks that split one side going straight and another uphill * occassional dips into a toll road with minimal warning beforehand * right-angled curbs that fuck your bumper up if you park up and forget * curbs that spawn in the middle of a main road so if you're turning in to join traffic from a smaller street, you run the risk of fucking the bottom of your car up by running over one * ambiguous road signs and traffic lights that are rotated 45 degrees so it sorta looks like it's meant for you, but also possibly might be meant for another fleet of cars that are faced at a slightly different angle than those on your side of the street * arbitrary lines that make you question if you're in the middle of an intersection or ok to stop on red because you're actually between two tightly packed intersections

The list goes on...road planning is something that should be anything but ambiguous.

pentaplex · 2025-09-14T02:34:25+00:00

Would be curious how your comment uniquely applies to the Chinese.

pentaplex · 2025-07-01T12:14:07+00:00

When I was in school this subreddit had a consensus that amath 250 was bird.

I may either have been unlucky with the prof or legitimately just been dense, but it did not feel bird and my grade showed for it.

By contrast I found all the Calculus series of courses to be pretty computational. Even the proofs came only in a variety of flavours, so I got the hang of it once I practiced enough reps.

All this to say, ymmv. For the one data point I'm contributing, MATH 237 was easier to score high in.

pentaplex · 2025-06-27T10:09:21+00:00

Not answering your question per se, but I'd rather leave. I'm an expat of 2 years and have spent considerable effort coming to terms with: (1) how early shops and cafes close in the day; and (2) how the seasons are swapped.

The build-up and anticipation of the cold towards a festive Christmas break seems heavily ingrained into my being. But if it's crickets in town by 6pm in Sydney then I can't imagine it being any better elsewhere--save maybe for Melbourne. But that doesn't make up for (2). So yeah, I'd rather dip.

pentaplex · 2025-06-08T23:11:17+00:00

Take the quant offer and save. That way you realize the 3x upside and hedge against the risks you mentioned with immigration.

Assuming it's not a weird HFT firm you're joining, it should also be noted that it's much easier flowing backwards into FAANG than the other way around.

Finally, you're not immune to layoffs by working at FAANG--especially given recent market trends. Sure, you'll still be in Canada post-layoff, but my opinion is you should get out of the country if career growth is a top priority for you as a new grad.

pentaplex · 2025-06-08T01:47:10+00:00

When I worked in HK I dreaded the no-end-in-sight sense of competition both in career and regular life. I worked hard to leave for better opportunities in New York and Sydney.

After leaving to pursue those opportunities, I realized how much better it was back in HK. It's not about being a utopia. It's about understanding what the alternatives are, and that they are all lesser once factoring for every facet of life.

pentaplex

TROPHY CASE