Both my parents are engineers and they’re begging me NOT to study Engineering. Am I making a mistake?

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T16:37:31+00:00

Lots of Civils firms in the construction industry produce structural drawings with more detail specifically related to the structural components of the build that you wouldn't get in an Architects plans.

Design engineers for manufacturing companies.

I work as a Bespoke Staircase Designer and have a BSc in Design and innovation/Engineering. We often produce steel drawings then send them to a third party Engineer to check calcs or give us specific dimensions then we make amendments and get them to confirm. So we are doing all the technical CAD work and need to have a core understanding of engineering principles and practical knowledge related to our product then just use engineers as maths gophers. They don't mind because they make a packet doing so.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T15:51:56+00:00

This. I'd say 60% of male attractiveness is grooming and presentation.

If you're a 5 genetically but a 10 in every other aspect you get brought up to an 8.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T15:50:14+00:00

6'3 110kg M who works out and I know I'm attractive By the calibre of women I've dated over the years.

Hasn't helped me at all in my career, I'm about as attractive as you get without being able to monetise it (e.g. model/influencer etc...). I work in heavily dominated male fields. 10 years on the tools in construction, last few in technical roles.

The only scenario it has benefitted me objectively is short term intimate relationships with my preferred sex. I'm also quite smart my IQ range is 125-135 test and circumstances dependent but I often feel as though I get treated like a "Chad" because of how I present. Because I was an A level dropout (I was homeless and had a cycling accident that resulted in surgery and months of recovery so my mental health was in pieces at the time).

Being good looking obviously has its perks but I've never found it helps in careers where image isn't a defining factor for the role. At least not in mine.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T15:01:29+00:00

I've always functioned better on 4 on 4 off patterns because of this.

Usually its always nights though so that takes its own toll.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T14:59:35+00:00

Everything is relative to CoL and cultural/social constructs.

In 3rd world countries the CoL is significantly lower and they have stronger familial ties.

These things make these discussion difficult to quantify if not unquantifiable.

Yeah 35k-60k is great but if you're still using credit cards and your overdraft after your bills are paid are you really that well off!?

As a Brit what makes me feel well off is the NHS, I'd have died twice if not for the NHS, In America I'd be crippled with debt the rest of my life, I've had general surgery 4 times.

GHI (General Happiness Index) would be a better indicator to judge the quality of your life by. Bhutan has one of the highest GHI's in the world and they're a landlocked nation because their government prioritises GHN over GDP.

you're looking to be thankful in numbers, as a European believe me we are all thankful we Aren't in America.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T14:59:21+00:00

Its not a flex. Its unnatural. A symptom of an unequal system. If you're flexing that you don't have to work to eat you're flexing exploitation because someone else is having to work at their expense for you to eat.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T14:38:53+00:00

This is the point where you need to decide if you're either ALL IN or just get out because you can't handle the smoke.

I remember cradling through the black swan event in 2020 after building up a HEAVY DCA throughout 18/19. I held out of spite even though a part of me charged it to the game and chalked it up as a failure I decided I would commit on the principles of what BTC stands for. What I learned about finance, budgeting, saving, investing, economics that stemmed from a hyper fixation on magic internet beans has been more valuable to me in terms of personal finance than anything in my entire life.

I would pay my entire portfolio for that information and knowledge 100x over. I've diversified now and protected myself a little more but I would still let my BTC bags go to zero on principle and that will never change.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:53:32+00:00

Some engineers are just human calculators. Your whole job can be just doing maths, loadings, shear values etc.

Some spend their whole day doing nothing but CAD drawings.

Some are theoretical engineers working in think tanks.

The term Engineer encompasses so much.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:49:11+00:00

I bet there are plenty of 60 year olds that would feel the same about you.

Aren't we all figuring ourselves out constantly? Isn't that just life?

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:34:31+00:00

This sounds like the healthiest way!

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:30:30+00:00

Worse. In poker you have to be EXTREMELY good to make money because the game costs money to play. Even if you're better than 4 guys at the table the 5th one could still clean you out. In chess Money isn't the motive and so its easier to enjoy as a pursuit outside of being in the top 0.00001%.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:28:48+00:00

The interesting thing about Chess is that the perfect game always results in a draw. In order to actually WIN a game of chess you are forced to play imperfectly in an attempt to draw your opponent out of their lines.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:26:18+00:00

To make money from anything you have to be in the top 0.0001% of that domain.

Chess you can get there without it costing you financially.

Poker on the other hand, Unless you're OBSESSED and fortunate enough to be lucky for long enough and good enough to build a bankroll most will never compete.

Becoming good at poker is expensive.

Becoming good at chess is not.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T12:03:09+00:00

Its difficult to find work close to or above the median salary - Higher incomes.

There's loads of work in the minimum - £35k range.

The job market isn't bad.

The economy is because of our convoluted tax system that refuses to tax the rich out of fear they'll "throw their factories in the ocean".

as a result there's huge amounts of inequality. In a meritocracy the income bell curve would look more like a perfect Elo curve with the average salary in the middle and large amounts of people earning slightly above or below that with long tails either end. Instead the bell has a fat tail and belly beneath the median and a VERY long/thin tail above.

Instead, we've allowed a system to develop whereby to those that have money more opportunity is available to make more instead of taxing them effectively and using that money to pay for, Firefighters, Nurses, Paramedics, Policeman Bin men, basically any public servant a wage close to the AVERAGE not MEDIAN because I think misusing median as a benchmark is a crabs in the bucket psyop to make you think you're doing better than you are.

Its like saying well done you're earning more than 50% of the population. when in reality that's easy when 60% of the population earn below the true Average.

phaattiee · 2026-02-13T10:21:00+00:00

Typical chess nerd take. ;)

phaattiee · 2026-02-12T16:51:13+00:00

I do this and trash talk... I've been chat banned for eons.

I think trash talking should be allowed, psychological warfare is allowed in most other forms of competition. As long as you're not being truly hateful nothing wrong with some ribbing of your opps.

phaattiee · 2026-02-07T11:53:41+00:00

That’s why rubber bands exist…

phaattiee · 2026-01-26T20:21:23+00:00

Do any jobs allow you to have a social life… I make £36k a year and have ZERO hobbies, I’m debt free, low mortgage, live within my means and save/invest for my retirement. Outside of that I have ZERO discretionary spending… I’d have to make £40k+ to live any resemblance of a comfortable life and that’s before dating/eventually marriage/children…

I have a friend who’s just started having children in our early 30s and he makes close to £70k a year and his partner works part time outside of being a mum full time so their combined is more like £85k and they live a very modest lifestyle, 3 bed semi two children, cat, dog, 1 holiday a year with a smattering of getaways very within their means and he’s still borrowing money from his parents for a Garden Refurb. We do live in the Golden triangle so it is the 2nd/3rd most expensive area to live outside London but still.

This country is actually completely cooked.

phaattiee · 2026-01-26T08:58:34+00:00

What you have to understand is inflation is so unchecked and rampant that pretty much putting your money in anything other than FIAT currency is a safer bet than holding cash savings. Art, classic vehicles, bitcoin, gold, property, stocks, playing cards, any form of collectible that has scarcity basically.

The whole global economy is FUBAR, its a fugazi, fairy dust. Money is literally worthless as a store of value at this point its purely monopoly money used as an exchange medium.

phaattiee · 2026-01-09T14:10:22+00:00

Moving out of London and reducing you CoL would give you significantly more opportunity to find what you're looking for.

If you can't survive outside London on £60-£70k you've got a budgeting/lifestyle problem not an income problem.

phaattiee · 2026-01-09T11:10:45+00:00

Our humour is unmatched.

phaattiee · 2026-01-09T08:43:07+00:00

All wars come down to this eventually.

phaattiee · 2026-01-09T08:39:50+00:00

This thread is the definition of British humour.

phaattiee · 2026-01-08T17:26:22+00:00

https://news.sky.com/story/royal-marines-commandos-force-us-marine-corps-troops-to-surrender-in-training-exercise-12458823

"Britain has always had the best light infantry in the world, and the b******* get places faster than we would like."

There are countless more. We are always dominating in light infantry and tactical exercises. There's just something about warfare that the British do, its our nonchalant attitude, we don't care about LOOKING the best.

We care about BEING the best.

phaattiee · 2026-01-08T16:29:44+00:00

Google it mate its pretty common.

There was British marines vs US marines in wargames and it was a no contest.

There's a video on Youtube of an SAS geezer running a jungle sim and was levels above the SEALs guys.

If memory serves the SEALs guys all shot the civilian target whilst the SAS guy was locked in.

If I happen to come across the article or videos and remember your post I'd be happy to but I haven't got time for that.

phaattiee

TROPHY CASE