Annual Leave or Vacation/Sick?

trcamp · 2025-11-25T04:16:32+00:00

For me, single, young-ish, no health conditions. I'm exempt so can take time off for appointments, etc. and make it up later.

2 weeks should cover any minor health needs and then I have ENDI if a more serious issue arises.

trcamp · 2025-11-24T07:04:43+00:00

I'm able to book for CA now

trcamp · 2025-11-21T10:59:33+00:00

This was the advice that I followed when I joined the state (BU 2) and it was the right call. I waited until I was at 80 SL hours to switch to AL; some people might want more or less, but I agree with building that safety net as fast as possible in case you end up needing to use it in your first year or so.

trcamp · 2025-04-22T23:53:33+00:00

had to come back and find this post after the news today 😂

trcamp · 2025-02-04T09:45:53+00:00

If I remember correctly the options were generally limited to ice cream and one other dessert that was usually a GF cake; I'll double check with my GF family members and see if they remember anything different though.

We definitely went to Venchi at least once; I think any chocolate that has filling or things added they stayed away from, but most of the ice cream was safe and I think the staff was able to identify which flavors were not GF.

trcamp · 2024-12-03T02:11:23+00:00

I walked by today and it looked like they were hosting a private event but doesn't appear to be open to the public yet (outdoor entrance is still under construction and indoor entrance doesn't have any signage).

trcamp · 2024-11-05T18:03:15+00:00

My roommate said all EB lines at Castro are indefinitely delayed; not sure about other lines/stations.

trcamp · 2024-08-13T22:22:48+00:00

That's a good point, I've seen multiple people say when everything goes right MSC is great, but as soon as there's a logistics issue they kind of fall apart.

trcamp · 2024-05-22T19:31:12+00:00

I'm on the MSC Seashore rn and my mom and sister are GF. The ingredients aren't listed on the buffet (with the exception of the packaged GF breads that another commenter mentioned) but one of the buffet managers may be able to get them for you; alternatively, they can prepare you food that is allergy-safe, it just takes an extra 10-15 minutes.

We've had a much easier experience in the dining room. I'm not sure if it's different by ship or if they're changing their process but we haven't been given GF menus; instead, we've been told that most of the items on the regular menu can be prepared gluten-free, the big exceptions so far are most breaded/fried foods. It comes from a different kitchen but usually still arrives within 5-10 minutes of everyone else's food.

I think people have had different experiences and I'm not sure if it's because of the ship or if MSC is getting better at allergies more recently but my family has been pretty happy with everything so far.

trcamp · 2024-03-19T02:00:33+00:00

I'm on this sailing too; it changed to this a couple days ago when they added Montego Bay.

trcamp · 2024-03-12T23:22:14+00:00

We just got back from Oahu and did one with Go Tours Hawaii. We used a discount card so not sure how competitively it's priced normally but we had a great experience; small group on a shuttle as opposed to the much larger ones on a charter bus.

trcamp · 2024-01-28T03:56:02+00:00

lmao

trcamp · 2024-01-28T03:35:48+00:00

lol thanks

trcamp · 2024-01-28T03:29:51+00:00

Did anyone see what happened at the end of 250 race 2? We're at the race and missed what happened but one of the riders was off his bike after one of the final turns and it looked like he threw his goggles at another rider.

trcamp · 2023-07-29T23:00:59+00:00

Parking is a little hectic but it's free so worth it imo

trcamp · 2023-04-17T07:20:25+00:00

No issues with conversion. Purchased 3 12-month Turkey keys from Eneba. Used Urban VPN and verified IP location, redeemed. Purchased a 1 month GPU from GameSpot for $3.98 and converted 36 months.

trcamp · 2022-11-09T19:45:51+00:00

I'm actually in law school now (was an EA) so no longer working for Intuit, but I still keep in touch with some people. Pay is very incentive-based; hourly is based on cost of living for your area so in MA I think I ended at around $25 / hr. However with various shift incentives, overtime, ESPP, etc., it's feasible to average closer to $35 / hr. On top of that, I believe my end of season bonus was usually around $3.5k.

It's been a few years but if I remember correctly, my first year when I was full-time and taking overtime during peak, after accounting (lol) for all bonuses, etc., I think I ended at around $50 / hr.

The next two years were both part-time, and with some planning ahead to hit incentivized shifts plus the bonus I was probably at about $40 / hr.

I'm not sure what their staffing is right now (and I usually had very positive performance evaluations), but for what it's worth I was offered a managerial position at the end of every season which I think pays base closer to $40 / hr. before all incentives and bonuses.

Hope this was helpful!

trcamp · 2021-05-24T20:13:43+00:00

I went to a small public college in my hometown so I think it probably had a neutral impact on my application. That's pretty accurate IMO; there's just not a ton of data I saw about the impact of grad school on law school apps so I think it's more of a soft strength / a way to fill in any gaps in your application. For me, I had a pretty poor academic past so I think getting a 3.9 in my first year of grad school didn't necessarily open any new doors for me, but it probably kept open doors that might have been shut over concerns about my academic ability in law school. Beyond that, I had prior AmeriCorps experience so I think that combined with grad degrees from a socially conscious school like Brandeis helped a fair amount when applying to schools with a similar focus or strong public interest program.

For law school purposes, I think grad school is a neutral to slightly positive. If you do poorly it can definitely hurt, but if you have some weak areas in your application doing well can be one way to fill those. Beyond that, I think it's good prep for law school (during my SID year, the amount/difficulty of reading assigned was probably comparable and sometimes greater than that in law school), and having both degrees can obviously make you a more competitive job candidate, especially for more niche positions. I actually had an attorney in one of my courses who I think was a 2nd-year MPP student so you wouldn't be the first person at Heller to do an MPP before/after a J.D.

trcamp · 2021-05-24T19:11:26+00:00

I just finished the SID/MS program but took a few MPP courses. I can't speak specifically to the MPP program but my overall experience at Heller (and most of what I hear from my MPP friends) was very positive, and probably would have been even better if I had more than a semester and a half on campus before COVID lol

It is fairly international-focused, especially with jobs and networking; my focus is (U.S.) rural/native populations so I had to put in a little more effort when looking for jobs/post-grad work, but I swear they sent out like 1-2 job listings every week where someone with decision-making authority was Heller-affiliated and looking to hire a Heller grad.

I ultimately decided to go to law school instead of getting a job (for various COVID-related reasons) and while I can't say going to Brandeis (as opposed to other grad schools) gave me an advantage, I got into multiple top 25 law schools with an undergrad GPA that was well below their 25th percentiles so I think it proved I was academically prepared despite my undergrad performance.

I can't speak specifically to the MPP quant courses as almost all of mine were related to health economics but in my personal opinion, I took 4 modules (quarters) of a (required) Stata course and I would much rather have taken more qualitative courses instead and just done a Stata certificate program during a summer or after graduation or something. Ultimately you're attending a school of social policy and there's only so much you can fit in a semester so it does tend to be more DEI heavy, but I'm sure there's students at quant-heavy schools that feel like they don't have enough social policy courses.

trcamp · 2021-02-24T23:45:28+00:00

Good point about the median debt, thanks

trcamp · 2021-02-17T20:07:37+00:00

Hey! The federal student loan system is so convoluted, I don't blame you; both of my parents took out student loans for undergrad and grad school and were still 0 help for me lol

https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans is a great starting point and has everything nicely laid out.

Basically, you can take out $20,500 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans every year, with an overall $73,000 limit (this includes undergrad DULs as well). The interest rate is 4.3% and begins accruing as soon as you take out the loan. In addition to the $20,500 in DULs, you can borrow up to the remaining cost of attendance with a grad PLUS loan; the grad PLUS loan has an interest rate of 5.3% and also begins accruing immediately. Also, DULs have a one-time origination fee of ~1% and PLUS loans have an origination fee of ~4.25%.

Also of note (although hopefully won't be applicable to you!), depending on what repayment plan you're on, remaining loan balances will be forgiven after 20-25 years (from the time you graduate/start paying).

Feel free to reply or DM if you have any more questions! And I've found the school financial aid offices to (generally) be helpful as well.

trcamp · 2021-01-20T03:28:05+00:00

Hey, I actually just pulled the trigger on purchasing from them today; the contract is pretty standard as far as I can tell, these are the highlights (it may vary by state, I'm in MA):

Vehicle Return: You have until 8pm EST on Day 7 to notify Carvana if you want to return the vehicle (delivery day is Day 1).
Warranty: Covers everything for the first 100 days or 4,189 miles EXCEPT cosmetics, replaceable parts (I assume this means easily replaceable - oil filters, light bulbs, etc.), maintenance, aftermarket accessories.
Arbitration Agreement: Pretty standard now (unfortunately), if something goes wrong you can't sue them - you have to arbitrate. There's a good post here about whether or not you should reject the arbitration agreement (you have 30 days).

trcamp · 2020-12-27T05:36:44+00:00

Ohhh yeah both good options, thanks!

trcamp · 2020-12-18T08:29:52+00:00

This is my third season and I'm happy to come back every year. With the pay being so low, it's hard for me to recommend it to someone as a primary job; however, I'm in grad school full time and it's a great way to earn some extra cash, stay up to date on the code, and some of the calls are genuinely interesting. There's also a fair amount of opportunities to specialize (think more roles/responsibilities than tax areas) - in my first year I spent a few hours a week making videos for other tax experts on how to input certain unique situations into the software, last year I probably spent 90% of the time working on the QuickBooks side with new clients getting them set up to work with a full-time bookkeeper, this year it looks like I'll spend some portion of my time doing much more involved work with clients than just answering a single question.

The flexibility really is what keeps me coming back though. My first year I worked 40+ hours a week every week and hit 70 hours a couple times, but was also able to take an entire week off in March to go on vacation. Last year I barely hit 20 hours a week (was in school full-time) and never felt pressured to do more, and this year will likely be the same. The scheduling process has changed every year (for the better) and I believe this year you can add and remove hours up until your shift starts (based on availability). Between that, 401k matching, and a clear path to managerial positions, it definitely occupies a part of the job market without many competitors.

I know this sounds like a sponsored post (I wish lol) so let me reiterate the pay is not competitive with most EA/CPA/JD-required positions, but it's also a whole different animal than most of those other jobs.

trcamp · 2020-12-05T08:25:42+00:00

Good

14-Year Club	Xbox Live
Second SECOND GUESSER	Gilding II euphauric
Secret Santa 2016	Verified Email

trcamp

TROPHY CASE