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I'm happy where I am right now as a manager for a small test prep company (10 employees). I was promoted earlier this year and negotiated a nice raise thanks to the smart people of BFC. Things I think worked for me: - Working for a small company. There's no chance I would be able to take on the roles I have at a big-box prep place, and it's a lot harder to stand out if you're one in a thousand other employees. That said, I'm pretty much at the top where I am now. I think it's good practice to move up in a small company to get managerial experience and then move to a larger company if that's what you want. - Adding extra value. I've always pushed myself to do the best work and volunteered for projects that would help my skills grow. That's led me to a place where I'm a pretty irreplaceable part of the company, which definitely helps for negotiations. - Social stuff. I'm a huge introvert but if I were a dick to people I could never be a manager. I try to be friendly and helpful and I think it's definitely helped me get where I am. Now, I love my job and don't see myself leaving anytime soon. However, my goal is to be able to travel much more than I am right now. So I'm working towards that by doing a number of things... Pushing towards online development of our materials. Diversifying into side businesses. Now that I have some free time, I'm moving into developing my online freelancing work that will hopefully push me towards more independence. I don't ever want to HAVE to do one job. Networking with other people in different fields so that if I need to switch jobs, I will have a number of prospects already lined up. moana fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Aug 5, 2019 |
# ¿ Feb 11, 2013 18:41 |
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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 15:43 |
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Wagoneer posted:I've already made the mistake of telling the internal recruiter what I currently make. She said I "had" to and I foolishly disclosed. Response Strategy 1. I was paid well and in line with job market conditions. 2. You'd be happy to discuss salary history later in the hiring process 3. You're interested in the opportunity so far Specific Examples When asked “What was your most recent compensation?” state the following (or something similar that is comfortable for you). “I was paid well in my last position and in-line with market conditions and the results I delivered. I will be happy to discuss my compensation history in detail when we have decided that I'm the right person for this position.” If they asked again; “I realize that you need to make certain that my salary expectations are consistent with the salary range. To ensure we are aligned, please tell me the salary range and I'll let you know how my salary matches the range.” If they ask yet again; “When deciding on a position I consider the following factors; quality of the opportunity, quality of the company and the people I'd be working with, long term growth potential, location and compensation. Compensation is the least important criteria I use to evaluate a position. So far I'm impressed with what I have learned about this opportunity and remain very interested.” *** Apart from that, if it's a computer issue ("I need to put in a number into this field to continue") a good response is: "Okay, just put $1 and we'll revisit it later."
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# ¿ Mar 20, 2013 04:25 |
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Magnetic North posted:I don't want to get all E/N, but suffice it to say I am 30 and I need a new gig. My problem is that while I like working and I am not lazy, I have no specific work related aspirations (except totally unrealistic hopes that I cannot alleviate myself of, such as 'become a novelist' ). I really like Paul Graham's essay How to Do What You Love: http://paulgraham.com/love.html "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you'd like to like. That's what leads people to try to write novels, for example. They like reading novels. They notice that people who write them win Nobel prizes. What could be more wonderful, they think, than to be a novelist? But liking the idea of being a novelist is not enough; you have to like the actual work of novel-writing if you're going to be good at it; you have to like making up elaborate lies." didn't realize it would be so apropos, but there you have it
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# ¿ Jan 30, 2014 10:40 |
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Magnetic North posted:Any specific advice for that path? (I will accept 'Don't.')
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# ¿ Jan 31, 2014 09:03 |
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MoosetheMooche posted:I am a good writer/editor
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# ¿ Mar 10, 2014 04:37 |
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The job switch to SF would set you up for moving back to Boston later at a much higher pay level if you decided you didn't like California. If you don't think you would burn out at 50 hours a week, then that's the direction I'd lead. And honestly, if the work is more interesting, 10 more hours a week isn't going to hurt you as bad. Have you ever lived or visited SF? It's a very different feel than Boston. The other main difference, which might not be too problematic if you're a guy and a recent college grad not looking to settle down, are the dating possibilities. I've heard from all my friends in SF that there are very few women available compared to men. Not sure how good/bad it is in Boston, but dating pool is usually one of the other criteria for young workers, so that's something to consider. I'd suggest picking up Richard Florida's Who's Your City from the library to read through and see if you've missed any other important factors in quality of life. But yeah, don't burn bridges in either case.
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# ¿ Jul 11, 2014 15:09 |
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If you're also good at English and standardized tests in general, Manhattan GMAT pays their tutors super well. If not, then math tutoring on your own or through a small boutique tutoring company will net you the most $$.
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# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 20:19 |
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Valex posted:I've been interested in tutoring but I got the impression it was more of a part-time gig. Would it be possible to make a livable wage from that?
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# ¿ Nov 30, 2014 22:31 |
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I taught high school and would not recommend it. If it's one class, then maybe. You will want to murder, that is for sure.
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# ¿ Mar 11, 2015 22:43 |
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litany of gulps posted:For what its worth, you work like half the year and get a million days off. Also you might feel some personal satisfaction if you teach kids with no opportunities and convince some of them that they can make something of themselves.
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# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 02:22 |
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Radbot posted:How do you make that jump - from a job you like and are comfortable in, to one that's a total wildcard but that promises to pay more?
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# ¿ Mar 16, 2015 20:41 |
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That's so awesome!! Here's hoping it goes through for you
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# ¿ Mar 17, 2015 19:36 |
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T. J. Eckleburg posted:I do feel overwhelmed at the prospect of just... starting on my own. I've felt that way before, though, and I know that a lot of the time that overwhelmed/terrified feeling is just what learning really fast feels like. I kinda needed to be reminded of that. Guiness is totally right. Never stop learning. That alone will put you leaps and bounds ahead of everyone who stopped after "I got a degree."
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# ¿ Mar 27, 2015 23:12 |
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Tacier posted:After turning 30 years old last week I've been having a huge, prolonged panic attack about my non-existent career.
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# ¿ Sep 9, 2015 04:49 |
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CHARLES posted:I've got a part-time research contracting job currently that runs until next year. It pays 40K (pre-tax, no benefits) and I can do most of the work from my house (so no commute). It's also in a field that's related to my career interests and there's a potential for a full time position with the company down the line. I could see myself picking up spec work to fill out the hours down the line and maybe push my pre-tax earnings up to 55K through those. That's a big pay gap (over 30k if they actually value those benefits correctly) but I still would not take it. Assuming that's a full commute of an hour and a half, you're giving up a lot of hours for a pay bump to do full time work you're not interested in. I'd keep the part time job that you enjoy and focus on building skills and side income apart from the job. You can also stash away more money pretax if you work both for an employer and self-employed.
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# ¿ Mar 3, 2016 00:20 |
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El Mero Mero posted:Can you tell me more about that last bit? Like if I have two jobs I can contribute extra money to a 401K or something? http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2013/06/06/sep-ira-vs-self-employed-401k/ http://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-save-more-than-100000-a-year-pre-tax-open-a-sep-ira-or-solo-401k/
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# ¿ Mar 7, 2016 07:11 |
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Earth Table posted:Second, that earnestly helps me feel better. Thank you. I came across as rambly, but I guess what I'm trying to ask is what I can do right now to bolster my career/earnings. I know I have to figure out what I really want to do. God, and if you know InDesign, you can get tons of gigs helping people format their lovely books and workbooks. I loving hate Indesign with the passion of a thousand suns. it is posted:Holy poo poo I know it's only 8 days in but good call. It's like every single thing in this job was designed to motivate me. Maximizing all my numbers and talking about people's businesses all day is fun. I actually want to wake up in time to get to work at 8:15. RC and Moon Pie posted:So, uh, does anyone perhaps have further suggestions?
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# ¿ May 26, 2016 05:06 |
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buglord posted:The problem with the self reflection is that I could answer all those but I'm pretty sure I would be wrong. I wanted to go into archaeology, and while it was cool, it was not at all what I expected and was happy to get out. This lab job wasn't something I was looking forward to. While its not my ~dream job~, my boss gives me a lot of control on how I do projects and at what rate. I thought I was the type to like very structured work, but it turns out that I flourish in very "open ended" jobs. I was teaching math when I started learning graphic design and writing, and in a few years i was making more from my side stuff than my actual job. Met lots of cool people at conferences, in local groups, etc. You get that steep learning curve that's so fun. In my opinion, you should always be learning new skills, developing the ones that interest you and seeing where they lead. You don't need a job to develop skills for a lot of stuff. Pick something with a low cost of entry, try it for a bit, rinse repeat.
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# ¿ Jun 16, 2018 04:01 |
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nitsuga posted:Teaching has always interested me, but so do a number of other things (some trades, dentistry, even career counseling). I’d need schooling for these and would make less to start, but I am in a position that I could manage that. I want to do some volunteer work to hopefully find some more clarity, but I’d really appreciate hearing anything from anyone who has thought about or navigated a change like this. That will not be you. For the first few years, and perhaps indefinitely, you will be the teacher you hated. The teacher who can't even get to the material because the students run wild, because classroom management is 99% of the difficulty of teaching. You will be unfair and make mistakes every single day. Your kids will despise you. You will work long hours for low pay. You will spend hours on lesson plans that suck. You will spend hours on lesson plans that never get used. You will fail miserably in your first year, because even if you are halfway decent at teaching you have this expectation you've built up in your head and reality will come nowhere near it. Teaching is not fun or easy for the first few years, and I think you would be insane to go back to school for it.
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# ¿ Jul 19, 2019 15:17 |
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nitsuga posted:It sounds like you’re speaking from experience. Are you still teaching? If not, what did you end up doing instead? What I say to anyone who asks is that if you want to teach, it needs to be your absolute passion, and even then it's not enough most of the time. You won't get paid poo poo, will have zero prestige ("those who can't, teach") and you'll be working in the most broken lovely system possible. After tutoring I made another big career change into self publishing romance novels and made a crapton of money. Taught myself photoshop and did some graphic design work. Now I'm switching careers again into financial planning. Just keep trying out new things, keep learning new skills, and you'll find something that works for you. Don't hesitate to jump at new opportunities if you have a good net to fall back on, and keep learning things so your net gets stronger. Hang out with people who are smarter and older and better than you and ask for their advice all the time.
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# ¿ Aug 4, 2019 02:11 |
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Jedi Knight Luigi posted:I thought it was great personally. Surprised it only took a year to find out it wasn’t what you wanted, but even before that, did you not student teach during college? Bi-la kaifa posted:For the last 4 years I've been teaching. For the last two I've been running a middle school classroom. The first year was hell, and the second wasn't a whole lot better. If my SO wasn't a teacher I don't think I would have made it through, and probably would have gone back to school for something else. Once I got my own class and figured out how to manage the little hormone monsters it became kind of fun. Most of the time though you'll be living for the next stretch of vacation time. What skills do you have? I was making decent money making book covers for self publishers. If you can learn about Facebook ads/ SEO/ other internet marketing skills, you won't have to go back to school to switch fields. What do you want to do?
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# ¿ Aug 4, 2019 20:25 |
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I've gotten a couple PMs about the romance novel thing, so here's my quick and dirty rundown: 1. Read the self-publishing thread OP: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3639693 Sundae also made a crapton of that sweet sweet not-at-all-sweet-romance money, so listen to what he says. 2. Understand that romance in particular has gotten pretty well saturated. I wrote from 2012-2016 or so, beginnings of the Kindle era. Now it's much harder to break into the market. If you're not tied specifically to romance, consider targeting other less served niches: cozy mysteries was an underserved niche as of a couple years ago, not sure what else is out there now. 3. It's easier to make decent stable income from microniches: historical gay romance novels, polyamorous rom-com, serial killer dark romance, Quaker sweet inspirational... just to name some niche examples from the romance genre. You won't have the breakout potential of a general billionaire romance, but you also won't be competing against as many authors. Your fans will be more loyal. 4. Do your research before you start writing. 5. This isn't an easy way to make money. I made a crapton of money, but I also wrote 25 novels over the course of 3 years and handled all the coverwork, formatting, marketing, newsletter, book bombs, etc. That's a lot of work, and most people aren't cut out for it. I liked writing but even I burned out pretty quickly. Don't know if I should have to say this, but: if you don't like writing, don't become a writer! 6. Nonfiction can be pretty lucrative if you have specialist knowledge, especially tech stuff. Those books also tend to have more longevity than novels. 7. Plenty of networking opportunities online for every genre under the sun. Join writer groups and bounce questions to indie authors who are successful. Make sure you have done the work (written a couple of books) before approaching successful indies to ask for advice. Don't ask them to read your books, they will not want to. Ask them if there are online groups you should know about, because that's what's going to help you. 8. Can't be said enough: pick indie authors whose books sell well in your chosen subgenre. Read them, study their marketing and covers and blurbs, emulate style without plagiarizing. Study the heck out of what works, and then do it again but with your own twist. Most of my money was made with kinky billionaires in the wake of 50 Shades. 9. Your super original novel that's completely unlike any other book out there? Nobody wants to read that poo poo, that's why it's not out there. There's nothing new under the sun, but if I told all of you to write a romance between a firefighter and an arsonist, each one of you would write completely different novels in completely different styles - that's part of why writing and storytelling is so awesome. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, just make your wheel the sexiest wheel possible and people will buy it.
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# ¿ Aug 5, 2019 02:50 |
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REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:Good info. Is fantasy still a poo poo show to try and get into?
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# ¿ Aug 5, 2019 05:44 |
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shrimpwhiskers posted:Do you have, like, infinite self control? I have an art degree and photoshop skills. If you have no dignity, people will pay top dollar for sexy art of themselves as their fursonas or bronies or whatever. I don't know if it will make you want to kill yourself less than retail. Sex sells in any form imaginable. KillHour posted:A million a year? gently caress, smut pays.
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# ¿ Aug 6, 2019 01:20 |
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Empress Brosephine posted:Yeah I’d figure I’d be like “Hey saw you had a great event this weekend the photos looked fun! Was just checking in to see if you received my email earlier I. The week? I know sometimes Google can eat up emails with large amounts of attachments”.
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# ¿ Sep 6, 2019 05:25 |
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Is it hopefully a jump in title, like associate manager or something? Because if so, I would take it and job search like heck.
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# ¿ Sep 8, 2019 04:19 |
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If you're entrepreneurial, marketing with an emphasis on video content could be very lucrative.
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# ¿ Jul 28, 2020 16:12 |
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Fionordequester posted:Marketing with an emphasis on video content... What do you mean? As in, I keep producing content, just, I put more effort into advertising it? Obviously you could pick a different industry to try to get into, finance is just what I'm familiar with, but being able to slap some captions and a nice intro/outro onto raw video footage is a ticket to printing money if you can get a toehold into some industry. I'm also a self publisher and authors pay lots of money for video book promos. Get yourself a drone and edit together wedding videos. Video tours are big right now in real estate for obvious reasons. If you really enjoy doing video, it's totally a viable field to launch into.
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# ¿ Jul 29, 2020 05:49 |
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Farming is great until you realize you have to do it every day or hire someone to take care of everything for you, or your goats and chickens and corn and whatever will die. No breaks, early rising, it sucks when you HAVE to do it. How close are you to early retirement? If your wife is willing to move, you could probably save a lot more money living in not the bay area and get some land you could work on for fun on weekends. What do you do on weekends now? Because if it's not gardening things then you probably don't really want to farm, you just want something different.
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# ¿ Nov 18, 2020 07:10 |
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:do not go in to management in a company with incompetent management would be my advice on that specific path. you will learn extremely bad habits.
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# ¿ Feb 26, 2021 07:13 |
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rainmstr posted:Hi, Let me preface this by saying if you were 30 years old and asking this, the answer would almost 100% be "don't do it." Here are my reasons: - Turning a hobby into a career sometimes makes you lose passion for your hobby. If you do this 40 hours a week, will you hate it? How much time do you spend doing it now? - Everybody thinks game design is cool, therefore game design is a field that is wildly underpaid. Just know that going in. You are probably not going to get rich ever doing this. Is that something you care about? - You really have to be the tits to go pro in this field. I don't think "good tier" cuts it. Hopefully you're being modest. I don't know how far modest goes in this field. If I were you, and I wanted to break into the field, I'd learn some coding to go along with the graphic design. I would spend the entirety of my junior year making some sort of demo game - ideally a live phone app or similar. If you don't have anything else on your resume, you need something like that. OR, I would shoot for an entirely different career and work on game design as a side project. To be brutally honest, if you've just been "looking into portfolio ideas" for two whole months without producing anything, then no, game design is probably not your field. If you're serious about this, produce something.
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# ¿ Sep 9, 2021 04:58 |
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Look around job postings and see which ones look like you want to do them as a next step in your career, then ask for that title. Also, i am curious: What the gently caress does an ontologist do?
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# ¿ Jan 11, 2022 08:33 |
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Or post your own thread and link it here.
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# ¿ Jan 21, 2023 16:58 |
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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 15:43 |
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Excrucian, if you're into technical writing let me tell you that can be a very lucrative career, and it's one of the easiest to do remote (not sure about breaking into the field remotely though). Although if I were starting a new career now, "Will my job be replaced by AI in the near future?" would be a top consideration.
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# ¿ Feb 1, 2023 06:36 |