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Invest in my Child's Education

This close to an e-Sport Super Star Supposedly, every 9 years your investments should double. At an 8% average yearly rate, this is just math (8% compounded 9 times is 1.999...I'm going to round up). Historically, the S&P has averaged 12%(!!)  so doubling is even faster - 6 years (again, this is just math). I bring all this up because towards the end of 2021, my wife became pregnant, and in 2022 we already needed to think about how to pay for Little P's college - if she choses to go. I know I'm on the hook for thousands of dollars' worth of Diapers, Food, and Formula in the near term. Perhaps we'd need a larger SUV or House. None of that scares me...but for some reason, College Tuition does. Perhaps it's due to the fact that my parents partially paid for mine, and I remember the stressed it caused. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I paid my own way through Grad school, and I still know the stress  that caused. Perhaps it's due to the fact that my en
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Embrace and Fear the M in STEM

A $15 Minimum Wage will Make your Big Mac $12!!! What a headline. And this is probably the headline that many media outlets love to share - especially if they're opponents to an increased minimum wage. You know the types:  Loud as a motorbike, but wouldn't bust a grape in a fruit fight. If you're doing some quick math, raising salaries by a factor of 2, should  increase the cost of a Big Mac by that same factor. And you could even do more complicated math, and get the same result. BUT  this is a scenario of using Math to prove a point of view instead of using Math to find an answer. A subtle yet powerful distinction. Using Math to Prove a POV (Count the Assumptions) According to the BMI aka  Big Mac Index , individuals pay about $5.66 every time they order the sandwich. By doing some Algebraic Scare Tactics (Trademark pending), I can "prove" an increase of wages to $15 will increase the BMI to $11.71, or $12 since that's a better headline. First things first,

Find you a Grad School Program

It's been a while... It's no surprise I received my MBA from the University of North Carolina, but what might surprise you is how long the process took. Folks, this is what winning a Case Competition Looks like 😉 It's 2006 and I am staring at the US Patent Office Job Boards... I had plans to be a Patent Attorney, so I  majored in Computer Science and Philosophy at Pitt.  I was fascinated with Intellectual Property - especially the thought of defending the rights of inventors. I was furious at patent trolls, and I felt like my calling in life was to defend the Little Guy. Nope.  I recently finished a Programming course where I built a Messaging App for a Palm Pilot. It was exciting creating my own thing  that I stopped looking at Jobs at the USPTO almost immediately. I also noticed a lot of IP Lawyers worked for Big Companies...so I would probably end up squashing  the Little Guy.  As a side note, my Philosophy degree helped me tremendously, so if

Discuss Internal Job Postings

Keep doing Job Searches To me, a successful career has lateral and upward movements which challenge me. And so even if this is how I view success, others may view success as not  getting fired or doing better than their parents . That's perfectly acceptable, so hopefully this post works for you as well. Traditionally, I think most people do job searches when they're unhappy in their current situation. But I want you to think about looking at Internal Job Postings when you're happy. Doing searches at happy times are much less stressful in my opinion, but more importantly it allows you to gain insight on potential job growth . Know what Opportunities are Out There This is the most obvious for those looking at other jobs, but you can also look at open jobs to dictate where the company is moving. Recently, a lot of openings appeared for Data Analysts within Xfinity Mobile and Business Services -- this tells me that Comcast is really focused on an analytics approach i

Write an Advice Blog

Enjoy? This blog will be similar to other advice and/or anecdotal blogs, but more importantly, this blog is for me to write down my thoughts before I get the Old Timer's Disease.  This first post is about me and why I'm probably qualified to write this blog... My background I earned a Computer Science degree, Philosophy degree, and an MBA. I have over 10 years of work experience in Technology roles across a couple large companies. I've bought 2 homes, I've sold a home and I've filed my own taxes since I was 15. I'm a Millennial, I'm a dog owner, I'm a sports fan, and I'm getting married in 2019. I enjoy board games, Quizzo, television and movies. I try to steer clear of politics, but if there's a bozo in office saying we need to arm teachers to solve problems - I might have an opinion. One in 440 Million I did a Google search on the number of blogs - over 440 million , so I understand if this blog isn't going to