The Doom Room: ILF Edition

[D.o.S.]

I have some friends who are pretty far into academia, and the salary isn't really the point.

And not to be a dick, but I think it's important to have some perspective. $50k/year is more than enough to live on.

[Droneforbreakfast]

i would rape random strangers for 50k a year.

[Krosis]

Doombros, you gotta take into account regional location as well. 50k/year in Northern NJ/NYC suburbs is barely enough to live on after taxes and with the crazy rent/property taxes around here. Not to mention student loans. You really wouldn't have much disposable income for doing much of anything fun. Yeah I know this region is kinda redonkulous but that's just the way it is.

My buddy makes 70k/year but with his house and 2 kids he's still going into credit card debt trying to raise a family around here.

I teach as an adjunct at a local university and I would totally take an academic job for 50k though, because I could still do my main business on the side and bring in extra cash. Plus, I really enjoy teaching.

[D.o.S.]

That's a good point -- I forgot you were down in that glorious hellscape.

[Krosis]

Yeah, another buddy of mine picked up his whole family and moved to FL. He got a house on the bay for what would get you a starter home around here. It's sad.

[deathmonkey]

Doombros, you gotta take into account regional location as well. 50k/year in Northern NJ/NYC suburbs is barely enough to live on after taxes and with the crazy rent/property taxes around here. Not to mention student loans. You really wouldn't have much disposable income for doing much of anything fun. Yeah I know this region is kinda redonkulous but that's just the way it is.

My buddy makes 70k/year but with his house and 2 kids he's still going into credit card debt trying to raise a family around here.

I teach as an adjunct at a local university and I would totally take an academic job for 50k though, because I could still do my main business on the side and bring in extra cash. Plus, I really enjoy teaching.

I never realized you were also from jersey! Whereabouts?
It's kind of true though, I lived in central pa for years and lived on 18k/year and paid max 600 a month for a 1 bedroom with electric, cable, and Internet free. In jersey, I pay over a grand just in rent for an apartment that isn't a shit hole. And the fucking car insurance! I paid less than 800 bucks/year for full coverage on my own car. When I got married, we added my car and name to the wife's insurance, and the insurance rate increased by 1700/yr.


I should also note that I do not have a PhD. I sort of got kicked out with my masters for telling my advisor to fuck themself when they accused me of fabricating data and I proved them wrong. (Yea, tenure!) the economy of being a chemist was also shit the past ten years.

[Krosis]

I never realized you were also from jersey! Whereabouts?
It's kind of true though, I lived in central pa for years and lived on 18k/year and paid max 600 a month for a 1 bedroom with electric, cable, and Internet free. In jersey, I pay over a grand just in rent for an apartment that isn't a shit hole. And the fucking car insurance! I paid less than 800 bucks/year for full coverage on my own car. When I got married, we added my car and name to the wife's insurance, and the insurance rate increased by 1700/yr.

I'm in Bergen County.

Yeah forgot to mention car insurance, NJ rates are pretty bad. Try taking a defensive driving course, they're like $40 and might lower your payments a tad.

[mc_muench]

Got the family together for a picture...


Also starting to plan a playcation tour thing for my two piece, Galatic Hatchet. Use up some vacation before i lose it. Planning on it being 3/11-3/17, and were headed down to austin to experience SXSW and play everyday if we can book sone shows. Got the first show booked in Iowa City and now im looking for somewhere in the middle of Iowa city and Austin for 3/12. Anyone have any ideas as where a good spot to stop for a show or some bands in that area? Anyone live in austin know how to get on some unofficial shows? Help a doom bro out.

[ShaolinLambKiller]

Rent around here is more along the lines of that grand a month and up. MS has reports of the lowest of just about everything but here on the coast is completely different than the rest of the backwater hick ville rest of the state.

I only carry liability on my truck cause it's 12 years old I don't need anything else on it. So insurance is like 300 a year.

[samzadgan]

This is the impression I have gotten from talking to recruiters for various companies. I still think it's a huge load of bullshit that the starting salary for a chemistry PhD can be lower than 50k. I've read that the most lucrative average career trajectory is to get a 2 year accounting degree and work your way up the corporate ladder.

Finance degree and corporate ladder...yeah, thats what i did...i don't recommend it

Luckily i went into business that i liked, tv, publishing, online advertising etc...and even with that there was a good 10 years of soul destruction...but these days in a good place where work is actually interesting.

[Barracuda]

I have some friends who are pretty far into academia, and the salary isn't really the point.

And not to be a dick, but I think it's important to have some perspective. $50k/year is more than enough to live on.

50k with prospects for advancement is just fine if you don't have crippling student loan debt that has accrued interest for the 5+ years of grad school. What's much worse is that many jobs in the sciences these days require you to post-doc to be competitive, which means you are working as a PhD for $35k or so for 60+ hour work weeks.. That is total bullshit.

[emptyparadigm]

I have some friends who are pretty far into academia, and the salary isn't really the point.

And not to be a dick, but I think it's important to have some perspective. $50k/year is more than enough to live on.

This. I didn't go into academia to get rich -- in fact, EVERY adviser I had in college and in my MA training made sure I knew that. Teaching means a lot to me (as much as DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, if not more), and it satisfies some part of me that nothing else does. Same with my partner. We both know we won't be rich, nor will we travel the world and own luxurious things. But this life makes sense to us and, hopefully, we'll have jobs that provide some degree of security in the event we decide to start a family.

[deathmonkey]

I managed student loans well. Only had like 40k when I was done with 10 years of school

[t-rey]

It's partially perspective and age. I thought the same when I got out of grad school, but took my first job for 45k, I see kids starting at my current place for 13/h... My degree is in chem, and that field is horse shit and still run like a caste system, where you can't even apply to some jobs unless your degree is the proper level.


I thought it was really limiting, but the thing that seemed to happen with me is that it allowed me to jump past people. I manage 13 people now, and several of them are 10+ years older than me. But in the end it's because my degree really did present opportunities that others didn't have. It's not something you realize when you first graduate, because you still are starting at the "bottom" it's all in career trajectory, you start slightly higher, but once you prove yourself, your career rises much faster, without all the years of grinding along.

Yeah...I just get bitter because my masters is in counseling. Unless I parlay that shit into some sort of high level HR position that I shouldn't have, I'm close to the top of where I can be. The money is decent, but the idea that I'm 29 and have little to no opportunity to advance in my career is disappointing at times.

As far as theory goes, I don't know a lick of it. Like…zero. I'm not proud of it, and I wish I did know a little something, but I've never learned. I'm not much a a technical player though, and it's never really been an issue.

As far as treble boosters, that's kind of been my thing lately. That and cocked wah sounds.

You know theory. You just don't know what theory you know...good musicians learn it and apply it even if they have no formal training and can't verbalize it.

Also, I flunked music theory in college because I couldn't play piano.

Music History was the lowest grade I got in college. What a horseshit class that was - I learned way more about Jewish history and the Holocaust than I anticipated and learned exactly nothing about music.

[ryan summit]

I'm in Bergen County.

i grew up in bergen county too
F.L.to be exact
get the fuck out of there