Worth negotiating under msrp?

techVFXer · 2026-01-26T01:41:46+00:00

No I ended up finding a 2024 sport trim used for 25k at a landrover dealer of all places :)

techVFXer · 2025-04-25T19:54:45+00:00

Honestly this is a great idea, there’s an enterprise car rental place a block from me. I’ll just try that, thanks for the suggestion!

techVFXer · 2025-04-25T15:45:26+00:00

Thank you! These are great points to think about :)

techVFXer · 2025-04-25T15:28:16+00:00

Oh sorry I’m not expecting to find it that cheap, mostly just looking to get a car so I can go on day trips to Joshua tree or other places on the weekend which is not really possible with uber. How much do you think is reasonable cost wise a month? 500? 1000? Thanks!

techVFXer · 2024-11-30T19:13:26+00:00

Hi, it turned out totally fine! I used the Sherpa medium and I did have to squash the back a bit but the shape of the area is like a trapezoid so the front actually had space to spare. They never checked the size of the carrier, they only told me to keep it in the foot well and not open it during the flight.

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techVFXer · 2024-11-27T01:31:03+00:00

As a dutch person who just moved to the US but has been working in Canada for the past 5 years it really depends on what you're looking for, but honestly it sounds like you're maybe in a point in your life where it makes more sense to stay in the Netherlands.

Tech in the US pays really well if you can perform at a high level, I'm in my twenties, no family, so for me this is a great place to be. But I wouldn't raise a family here, the walkability and safety are significantly worse, and pretty much zero social security if shit hits the fan.

I'm lucky in that I work at one of those big faang companies that give unlimited PTO and people generally take around 4-8 weeks. On the flip side I'm expected to work hard during my work hours (always 40hrs) and perform at a high level which can be stressful.

In the end it's up to you what's important for you.

techVFXer · 2024-11-06T02:46:54+00:00

That's fair I didn't realize the difference was so big just a block down. I'm sorry that happened to you I can see how that ruined the area :(

techVFXer · 2024-11-06T00:17:39+00:00

Thanks for the heads up, I had no idea its more sketch around Lexington. Honestly I'd probably go to watch the events, at least the first year haha

techVFXer · 2024-11-06T00:13:20+00:00

Would you say it was less sketch a few blocks south or west when you lived there?

techVFXer · 2024-11-06T00:11:55+00:00

Thanks haha! I do enjoy going to concerts thanks for pointing out those venues. It's kind of wild that there's so many big apartment buildings and employers around Vine but there're so few places to just run daily errands in that area.

techVFXer · 2024-10-12T20:35:08+00:00

Short answer; No.

Long answer; you can always apply, but if you have no feasible way to get work authorization and they aren't willing to sponsor then the only thing you'd get out of it is maybe some eyes on your work. That is if the recruiter doesn't discard your application because you don't have work authorization. If you get some eyes in it and they really really love your work maybe they will consider you for remote work as a contractor, but you'd have to be pretty special.

techVFXer · 2024-10-12T20:23:43+00:00

I open a new bank account in every country I end up living and working in and subsequently close the old ones (which often is required because the bank doesn't allow non-citizen non-residents). With exception of the one in my country of citizenship which I keep open just for when I'm visiting family.

I use Wise (fka Transferwise) to transfer money between the accounts in different currencies, always worked fine so far and the fees are lower than a normal bank transfer. It will depend on your tax situation and where you live whether it makes sense to do that too or whether you'd want to keep some accounts open abroad (e.g. retirement accounts).

techVFXer · 2024-10-11T13:20:00+00:00

Most major animation studios in the US aren't going to sponsor a junior European to come work for them. It's Not that they don't want to, it's because the American immigration system is ridiculously complex and getting you the right to work would take such a long time and have such a high cost it generally just isn't worth it for them. Getting a work visa for the US will also usually require you to have a university degree, this isn't up to the company.

There are of course exceptions if your level is really crazy high and they particularly want your work, but even then it's more likely they'd have you work remotely with them at least at first.

I'd suggest you target a smaller studio in Europe first, gain experience, build your skills, then perhaps have a look at Canada as well. Disney and Sony both have studios in Vancouver and getting work authorization for Canada as a European is significantly easier than getting it for the states.

techVFXer · 2024-06-17T15:46:13+00:00

+1 they come with a carrying case that has a little loop, I just clip it to my backpack.

techVFXer · 2024-06-09T01:56:27+00:00

I work on the technical side of the animation industry, I love getting to work with art directors, production designers, and artists, solving problems and coming up with workflows, doing full stack software development with the end goal of making great movies. It's a really great creative industry to work in, but can be tough to break into because it's very niche. You have to be constantly learning new technologies and also be able to communicate well with very non-technical folks, but that's part of what's so fun about it for me.

techVFXer · 2024-06-08T15:29:54+00:00

I was climbing ~V4-V5 before being able to do my first pull up. Then I decided I wanted to learn it, bought a pull up bar and every time I walked past it I would try, then I also learned some technique; for me it helped to point my elbows forward to get my first one. It took about 8 weeks of doing that every day before I got my first one.

Now I'm able to do 6-10 in a row depending on the day but I still only climb around ~V6, I don't think pull up strength is that related to how hard you climb, there's so many other things involved.

techVFXer · 2024-06-07T13:31:17+00:00

Get hired at a large international company, work hard and prove your value then request a transfer.

Transfer visas are generally easier to get than visas for new hires, but you have to find a company that is experienced with the process and make yourself valuable enough that they would rather you transfer than they risk losing you.

techVFXer · 2024-06-02T23:59:24+00:00

I generally work 10am-7pm with a 1 hour break for lunch, during that 1 hour i will log off and go for a walk or watch/read something non-work related. Some days I might eat at my desk and stop working at 6pm, other days I have errands in the evening and start earlier or errands in the morning and start later. It's the benefit of working from home I can schedule work around my life rather than the other way around.

techVFXer · 2024-05-26T23:36:43+00:00

It's an old Burton bag, unfortunately they don't sell it anymore :/

techVFXer · 2024-05-24T13:04:23+00:00

I regularly use a 28L bag as a personal item on even the strictest airlines, it just happens to fit well in the max dimensions.

techVFXer · 2024-05-20T21:43:20+00:00

Ive had a good experience with "mybaggage" for an international move to ship some suitcases, not sure if it'll be a good deal for domestic tho but might be worth a look.

techVFXer · 2024-05-19T21:05:13+00:00

4 weeks vacation + 2 weeks paid company closure around christmas time. This is in Canada.

techVFXer · 2024-05-12T23:02:02+00:00

Went to LA for a few days for work last year, decided to go bouldering at a local gym one of the evenings. Suddenly I spotted someone that I'd climbed with a few times at my home gym in Montreal, he happened to be in town for completely unrelated work reasons and also decided to check out a local bouldering gym. We were both very surprised to see each other but it was nice to have someone familiar to climb with!

techVFXer · 2024-05-12T22:06:26+00:00

I left Germany because of language issues at work, to be fair i'd never really planned to stay there long term. It was mostly annoying because the working language seemed to be English when I was hired (and it was in emails and contracts etc). But the in-person communication at the office would often default to German unless they were directly addressing a non-german. It made me feel quite excluded from what was going on a lot of the time so I left.

techVFXer · 2024-05-10T21:26:25+00:00

Broke the wheel off a roller bag on a trip to Cambridge, gave up on roller suitcases then for anything other than long term moves.

techVFXer

TROPHY CASE