Awesome man! And I know the feeling. Getting an interview was the hardest part. Glad to hear the first real chance you got, you nailed it.
I just received a job offer in my field that I am going to take. It starts November 27th, and I can work remotely, which is great. The main office is in Philly, which is about 3 hours away, which isn’t too bad if I need to come into the office once a month or so.
Since it is a remote position, and they will be sending me a computer and two monitors, I do have to take a look at my office situation. I currently have a small desk for my PC, but I’m thinking about switching it to a corner desk which can fit both my work PC and my Home PC. Both will have two monitors, and I want them close enough to together that I can access both PC’s from one spot.
Do you have any suggestions?
Anyway, I’m glad to get this job and working from home will be a nice relief from the 2 hours of driving I was doing at my last job.
Congratulations! No suggestions but glad you found something that works out well. Would love to be able to work remotely.
I’m glad to get the chance, but I wonder if I’ll miss being in an office? I have several colleagues that work from home and tell me not to worry too much about it.
I like working in the field, but this isn’t the end goal for me. I’m finally wrapping up my Master’s Degree in Psychology after 9 years, and so the goal is to take a few statistics courses on the side, and maybe apply for a position in the Federal Government as a Statistician. I have the credits and degree, but it’s been so long that I would need to brush up first. But that is a future goal.
In the meantime, in order to continue getting unemployment till the position starts in November, I have to continue applying for jobs every week. I feel kind of awkward about it.
Congrats @legowarrior!
Do you need/want to use both PCs at the same time? If not, I’d consider a KVM solution as a worthwhile investment in saving space. Otherwise, yeah, probably a big fat corner desk. I’d highly, highly suggest a pair of dual-arm monitor stands.
That’s a valid concern. I’ve had jobs that are primarily remote, and they’ve definitely got ups and downsides. It’s great having more control over your schedule and not having to worry about your commute, but it can feel isolating. Also, one tip from a dude that’s been there: you need to be careful that your job doesn’t start to encroach on your life. As you are able, try to set strict boundaries for when and where you will be working, and enforce them. It’s easy to just keep working on stuff past normal hours or to say well, I’ll look at a few emails before bedtime because it’s right here. That’s a good way to make yourself miserable.
Thanks for the insight. It’s something that does worry me as well.
Yep, for sure have good work-life boundaries. Also if you’re like me, you’ll need to make an extra effort to get out of the house and just be around people and breathe some air once in a while. Even if it’s just taking a walk down the block or going to a coffee shop with your laptop for an hour or two or whatever – being at home all the time can be very isolating and again, if you’re like me, you may not notice its impact on your mood and outlook until it’s already a problem.
Living in PA, space isn’t a premium, so even though I don’t need both computers at the same time, it’s not an issue.
That being said, is there is good software for designing a room layout? My office space also doubles as an unused play room, so there is a tv and 2 couches down their. I would like to fiddle with different set ups before starting the process of moving couches.
Yes! I am excited. Living in rural PA made it hard to find a new job without needing to start at the bottom so this is great.
Yeah, that’s really the best solution.
Hey just curious, are you in western PA? I spent some time in Uniontown a few years back, met some great people there.
Not Western, South Central. South of Harrisburg, east of Gettsyburg.
Anyway, Graduated from York College of PA, and married a local, so after a brief stint in NJ, we came back to the area.
I’d suggest getting a desk mount where you can attach the monitors to it, rather than having them sit on the desk… can make much better use of desk space.
Started my new job. Three days in the office this week and next.
I met the team I will be working with and they are a great bunch. The work they do is a above what I am used to, but they said it was pretty unique from the get go and they figure I can pick it up quickly when 401(k) testing season starts. So far, I am pretty stoked. Everyone is a bit friendlier and nicer then my last job, plus I earn a little bit more.
Any tips for salary negotiation?
I am terrible at this, but I did a google search before speaking to a recruiter today. Pretty much the main tip was “don’t be the first one to mention a starting point.” They gave you three different ways to politely decline. I actually used two of those three to avoid mentioning a starting point.
I am SO pleased with myself.
The way we left it is that he will call me tomorrow or Friday and I am supposed to call him before accepting any other offer. I feel much better about waiting today than I did this weekend, I will say that much.
Ha, I’m terrible at this. Back when I started at Microsoft, they asked me what I was looking for a salary and I gave them a figure that was a bit more than I was making. They looked at it and told me the base figure for my role was actually $3,000 more than that, so they’d just go ahead and bump me to that. I felt pretty stupid.
I had that same experience, but not at Microsoft. My first job out of college I said a number that seemed astronomical but was actually a lot less than everyone else was making. The hiring manager gave me a $4 k bump and I thanked her. hahah, I was so ecstatic about making that salary it didn’t even occur to me to feel stupid. A year later I learned that I was way behind everyone else in the department, asked for and got a huge raise (either 10% or 20%?). It was crazy.