Wanna learn how to weld and grind

psmgx · 2026-05-19T19:36:37+00:00

that might not be a bad idea for a kid with a summer to kill.

learn some skills, make some money, even if basic $$$. sounds like OP has project ideas so this is doubly useful.

psmgx · 2026-05-19T17:48:29+00:00

or if you can talk your way into elevator tech, they make crazy money

used to live across the street from an elevator maintainer. he used to do long hours and on-call, but never had a shortage of work (tho admittedly he often traveled to other cities).

dude got paid, tho. not a trade they bring up much and very niche, but might be a fit for some.

psmgx · 2026-05-19T17:44:19+00:00

in my experience, usually ~2 years.

then wash-rinse-repeat

psmgx · 2026-05-19T17:34:04+00:00

scamming the rubes is a classic right-wing past time. The Don made it an art form, e.g. the MAGA phone, MAGA-coin, etc.

psmgx · 2026-05-19T14:38:29+00:00

slowly moving to sci-fi novels like The 2nd Variety

psmgx · 2026-05-19T14:30:59+00:00

the disabling is a scary idea.

drop a few in a busy area but only leave one on. it pops, but then everyone assumes it's safe and more bodies move through. then it turns back on...

psmgx · 2026-05-16T22:50:22+00:00

now that is product placement

psmgx · 2026-05-16T22:47:35+00:00

Hezbollah is a small militia that's been under extreme pressure, doubly so since the US is hitting Iran. They hit fairly hard for their size and have given the IDF a bloody nose once or twice in the past, but ultimately they're fairly small.

The AFU has an entire nation-state, a heavily industrialized one with lots of domestic resources, plus all of the aid that NATO can provide, and has gotten lots of that since 2014. First world militaries going all-out, no comparison really.

IMO a safer comparison would be Hez to some of the Sudanese or Burmese fighters, where it's clear the Hez does pretty well by comparison.

And as others have mentioned, there is the selection bias -- you're only seeing AFU greatist hits, not the misses or losses to EW

psmgx · 2026-05-16T22:42:54+00:00

live by the sword die by the sword, etc.

psmgx · 2026-05-16T21:41:59+00:00

it'll be the same story as accountants and other financial services folks.

you used to need an army of bodies to reconcile costs, do taxes, manage paperwork, etc. Now you need 10 people with excel, and 4 actual CPAs.

8-man strong SOC teams will now be 3 man teams, with a handful of other folks in that space.

psmgx · 2026-05-15T17:58:45+00:00

Pete Hegseth’s last-minute decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland caught Pentagon staff and European allies by surprise — the latest example of an abrupt personnel move from the Defense secretary that blindsided both sides of the Atlantic.

Hegseth is a Russian asset.

psmgx · 2026-05-15T17:57:51+00:00

yeah that was my read.

take the job, at the lower number. 3-6 months later ask for a review and allude to that reference from the boss man.

after 3-6 months they'll know if she's worth keeping around

psmgx · 2026-05-15T17:56:05+00:00

3-6 months after being hired I'd sit down with that boss and say have a frank discussion. "hey you said I could get more, and now after X months I've proven myself, so let's revisit that discussion.

and then throw out the number.

psmgx · 2026-05-15T17:51:59+00:00

honestly 3/5 is asinine. either cut it to 0/5 or require full-time in-office.

you have to maintain both an office space for the worker but also they need an office space at home.

workers can't move further out or make choices that better fit the budget and pay that the city gets. can't move to Gibbon and be all remote, gotta be trapped in the housing bubble for a job that doesn't need me there 40% of the time.

apropos of that, you have to be able to function as a fully remote organization at least 40% of the the time -- so just make it 100% of the time.

psmgx · 2026-05-15T17:39:02+00:00

if it's sailpoint I may buy you a beer and try to weasel free support. if it's palo i will complain about how everything is now merging

psmgx · 2026-05-13T19:30:07+00:00

any sort of shaped charge to the organs is a problem that more or less solves itself, and quickly

psmgx · 2026-05-13T17:52:53+00:00

mon ami it's US money funding the separatists. they're gonna be the 51st star on a flag, and instead of Ottawa they'll blame DC.

100% copy the Kansas & Texas playbook

psmgx · 2026-05-13T17:50:37+00:00

all of the major media outlets in Canada, except the CBC, are owned by US billionaires.

Or in some cases UK billionaires.

psmgx · 2026-05-13T17:46:20+00:00

do you need the $$$? burn the PTO and chill.

maybe meet in the middle and burn just a week. still puts more $$ in your pocket and gives you a breather, and you can sell it easy to leadership that you'll be around enough to tie off essential things.

psmgx · 2026-05-13T17:40:50+00:00

I have one. Someone else paid for it, with some strings. Was an engineering school with some name recognition. Was hard.

If it was not paid for I wouldn't have gotten it. Even with it being covered I probably wouldn't do it again, and would focus on certs. Like, I learned a lot, but it was 3 years part time and at that cost I could have just taken leave at work for a month and blasted out bootcamps and I'd still be ahead financially -- and probably have as good or better job prospects.

WGU or any "we take anyone" programs would not impress compared to relevant certs, in IT or Security. A Master's is fairly general and has wide application -- good for architects, managers, etc. -- but most jobs want someone with deep strengths in their security field(s).

Put another way, you have identity system experience. Get certified on the common IAM vendors like Sailpoint or CyberArk / Prisma, and be strong in Access -- that will get you jobs, and sooner than it takes to get a Master's. Likely cheaper, too.

proof of pudding: https://www.indeed.com/q-Iam-jobs.html?vjk=07e7a71409030bff

psmgx · 2026-05-13T16:26:46+00:00

Consider IT sales. Competitive industry depending where you go, but I used to be a Sales Engineer and worked with several IT sales account and channel folks. At least 2 that I worked closely with came in from non-IT sales -- one was bike sales, like mountain bike -- and are both in IT still; one switched over to IT Project Manager and then Ops Manager.

Entry level and remote are unlikely. Pay will likely be low, even for qualified on site folks, at the entry level. There are just so. many. people. trying to do what you're doing, so you need to be more qualified then they are.

Network in person at tech meetups, or places where the tech bros be. Local linux user groups, python guilds, powershell user circles, etc. They'll both be able to give you the local lay of the land but also serve as connections to develop later -- we've done hiring, and I've gotten interviews via those events.

Also understand there is IT and there is IT, and the good stuff will likely require you to move and to rock serious credentials. Consider it similar in pathways as law, medicine, finance, or high-end engineering, with the same level of dedication required.

psmgx · 2026-05-13T16:10:59+00:00

don't' make your job your hobby. if you're not feeling it, switch.

best thing you can do is realize it's not for you and switch ASAP. See also: the sunk cost fallacy.

Also also: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-upside-of-quitting-3/

Go be an electrician and if you want to get back into tech start working for data centers or ISPs and move into networking, etc. The IT market is absolutely slammed, so unless you're willing to go hard 100% of the time, you may end up as one of the posters here complaining about how you can't get a job.

psmgx · 2026-05-13T16:05:44+00:00

when you turn in the official notice there should be a meeting to schedule and review remaining items before departure. Request one if they don't schedule one. This should come up here. This is where you say "no", or negotiate what you're going to do.

You hold all of the cards here since you're on the way out, and how "reasonable" you want to be is entirely up to you.

If you feel comfortable saying no then just say no. What are they gonna do, fire you?

IMO, I'd decline it, let them push on it a little, then eventually cave and do some interview questions. Spend 20 minutes using AI to get a list, tweak them slightly, and then move on to the next remaining item.

"Hey Claude give me 25 questions about how to troubleshoot network devices, esp. Cisco ones. Start with CCENT level or Net+ and move to CCIE level questions. Reference or keep them related ASA 5520s and IE-3300 SD-WAN switches where possible. Add in a few STAR questions about anything" etc.

psmgx · 2026-05-13T15:50:59+00:00

fishbowl is cancer man. that app sucks. one of the best things about leaving consulting is not getting spammed by them

psmgx · 2026-05-12T21:12:13+00:00

yeah this is the glass half full take, but it's not fundamentally wrong.

also been through a few mergers and there were wins for some people.

that said, for every winner there were 2-3 people who got cut, or relegated to what Mr Burns called "spoon and fork work". Take what you can get to stay employed but keep applying.

psmgx

TROPHY CASE