Hi, I am looking for some career advice in regard to my specific situation. I am an aspiring data analyst who has been trying to break into analytics for several years now, with not zero, but very minimal success. I have a BA in Economics from a what I believe most people would say is a pretty solid university. I recently turned 30, and am currently unemployed.
Earlier this year I applied to a single (I know) MSBA program and am happy to say that despite not expecting to be, I was ultimately accepted. The accelerated one-year program is actually offered by the same institution I got my undergraduate degree from, so again regarded as really solid overall. In all the research I've done it certainly appears that it is a well-regarded program, and their placement report data is very impressive (2023 took a significant hit compared to 2022, but that is being attributed to the downturn in the job market which I don't have much reason to doubt). I am not so much asking about the value of a Master's in this field, or whether it is overall a worthwhile endeavor. Rather I am wondering if given the details/circumstances I've shared, do you think it makes any sense for me to not go this year and apply to more schools and programs in the next cycle? The reason I am asking is because since finishing undergrad I have been pursuing a career as a data analyst, and self-learning "data analytics", not necessarily "business analytics". Aside from a few videos and articles here or there, I haven't actually spent much time thinking about what business analytics is in contrast to data analytics. I have some understanding of the differences between the roles of data and business analyst, but this is not simply a role this is a master's program with a curriculum. I will confess that there are several convenient factors with this program that I would not have with maybe any other, so in other words the reason would have to be pretty substantial for me to confidently choose to look for a different program like an MSDA, or Applied Analytics, etc. But at the same time this is a huge commitment and investment to be making only to realize after the fact that pursuing it has restricted me from certain roles I am actually interested in, especially given that 1. I want to do analytics because I like working with data and 2. I actually never took a single business or management class in undergrad simply because I was not nearly as interested compared to Econ and even Math/Stats. Hope this wasn't too long winded... I suppose it can be boiled down to asking is there a meaningful difference between an MSBA and MSDA, etc. in my situation?
Thanks in advance for any insights or advice.

I'm exploring remote-friendly careers that focus on short-term tasks or projects, typically completed in less than a week. As someone with ADHD, I find that these kinds of roles suit me best due to their flexibility and variety. Remote work is my only option right now. What are some examples of such jobs.

An attractive alternative to traditional rewards for outstanding performance

Synthetic equity refers to a collection of strategies and instruments frequently used to provide employees with financial advantages of share ownership without actual shares changing hands. It is a potent instrument that practically all advanced investment organizations may utilize to attract, retain, and reward competent employees.
The favorable economic qualities of equity are embedded into synthetic equity plans, also known as equity alternatives, without the financial obligations coming from purchasing shares from the initial owner. Instead, synthetic equity programs often develop into cash payments to the employee and a corresponding deduction for the employer. Since it represents compensation, synthetic equity may be easily adjusted to handle almost any scenario.
The following scenarios exemplify the situations in which synthetic equity is an optimal solution:

• An employee desires ownership-like benefits but is unable or unwilling to assume the financial risk of purchasing and paying for company equity.
• An employee aspires to ownership but lacks the credentials or licenses required for a role of a full equity partner in the company.
• Employees feel uncomfortable providing personal guarantees or accepting responsibility for credit lines, office leases, payroll-related expenditures, or the commitments made under buy-sell or continuity agreements.
• A company owner wants to share the economic worth of equity rather than the actual equity. This includes owners not interested in supporting this transaction with seller financing.
• A company owner wishes to motivate an employee to work on increasing the company’s value but also wants to discourage them from leaving and creating competition for the business, engaging in client solicitation, or performing other actions that might harm the company.
• An owner planning to leave the company in the following 5-year period wishes to reward one or more critical workers at the time of the sale without requiring them to purchase and pay for equity.

Tokenization of business and individual performance

The above method has been known for decades. The critical challenge in the modern business world is ensuring that innovation and productivity are rewarded equitably across an organization. At the same time, executives must be compensated for creating these conditions.
However, rewarding innovation and equitably delivering executive-level incentives and rewards across the organization from the top to the shop floor is the alternative made possible only by deploying smart contracts and blockchain technology — tokenizing business and individual performance.
The tokenization of business elements such as performance and innovation is one of the newest ways to drive planned outcomes. The process is about moving your business to blockchain. Although it may seem complicated and challenging to implement, almost any entrepreneur can tokenize the building blocks of their business. Tokenization is simply transforming a company’s value into a digitized resource in the form of tokens.
Tokens represent a value within the organization in a transparent and auditable way. They can be cashed in upon completion of the vesting period if both company and individual targets have been met. What makes Synthetic Equity on the chain unique is its transparency, auditability of incentives, and most notably, equitable distribution of tokens corresponding to each employee’s job size.

The Mechanism Behind Synthetic Equity

For synthetic equity to produce favorable results, a profitable, successful firm with a proper entity structure is necessary. Corporations and LLCs can use the tools relating to synthetic equity. In some situations, they may also be used by sole proprietorships, albeit in a slightly different form.
To fully grasp the idea of synthetic equity, it might be helpful to understand the mechanism behind equity in general. Understanding how equity functions allows those interested in synthetic equity to utilize some of the tools used in working with actual equity.
For example, investing in an independent advisory company generally offers the following considerable advantages:

• The right to vote
• Participation in the corporate governance system
• Access to the company’s financial documents
• Limited liability
• A proportionate cut of the revenue
• Sale-related long-term capital gains tax rates
• Capital growth potential

SyntheticEquity.io app is changing how we think about incentives and rewards.
These advantages have a monetary value. Therefore, purchasing equity carries a price, and awarding employee equity has tax repercussions. A tiny ownership share in a fee-based firm might cost several hundred thousand dollars. In these types of businesses, the stock is often acquired and paid for after tax, and the equity partner or shareholder usually expects to obtain the entire set of rights in return for taking on the investment risk.
The rights can be unbundled, meaning that the current owner does not have to sell or provide the full bundle of rights to an employee or investment advisor. To fulfill specific goals, each of the rights mentioned above can also be further divided or redefined in as much detail as necessary. For example, one or two rights from the total package might be provided, such as the opportunity to grow the company’s worth or a percentage of the profits.
By allowing someone to own a portion of the rights in the bundle rather than all of them, synthetic equity generates an advantage. These unique rights or benefits are often described in a plan document and frequently provided via individual award agreements between the employer and employee. A wide range of flexible options for creating a solid and profitable company are produced when equity-like benefits and a long-term remuneration strategy are combined.
Synthetic equity plans often come in one of the following three forms:

• Full-value plans can result in a substantially big payment to an employee since they pay both the value of the underlying stock and any appreciation that is gained over a certain period.
• Performance unit plans swap out equity as the value metric for another metric like sales growth or profitability.
• The value of any growth in the underlying stock value over a specific period following the date of the award is typically paid out under appreciation-only plans.

These kinds of plans are like conventional non-qualified plans insofar as they offer a possibility of discrimination and a significant risk of forfeiture that often lasts until shortly before the benefit is awarded to the employee.
Essentially, synthetic equity is a type of delayed compensation that links a worker’s financial incentive to the company’s performance. By striking the correct balance between the danger of losing a valuable employee and the potential future cost to the employer, each plan is specifically created to meet the advisor’s needs. The plans are intended to reward employees for contributing to the company’s success, but they also ensure that no payment is due if either the company doesn’t develop as expected or the employee doesn’t uphold their end of the deal by quitting their job to work for a rival company or starting their own.

Synthetic Equity Benefits

Synthetic equity is meant to be an equity-related instrument that helps a company find, reward, and keep hold of valuable people.
Synthetic equity benefits are:

• Synthetic equity inspires employees to adopt an owner’s perspective and put development and shareholder value first.
• There is no debt since important participants do not buy phantom shares like full equity stockholders do.
• If a participant’s job terminates before the designated vesting date, they typically forfeit any benefits under the plan.
• Participants normally do not have voting rights or a vote in corporate governance and may or may not be entitled to collect profits from the company.
• Synthetic equity programs provide flexible vesting timelines; vesting can take place over time, depending on the accomplishment of certain quantifiable company or individual goals.
• If the company’s growth is slower than expected and the stock price does not rise, nothing is exchanged.
• When a synthetic equity grant is issued, owners of genuine equity are not adversely affected by a dilution of their ownership percentages.
• Compared to S-Corporations, which are often more restricted, more freedom is provided in terms of stock class and shareholder count.
• The advising business’s shareholders’ or members’ agreement and associated buy-sell provisions do not immediately apply to synthetic equity.

Synthetic equity options’ versatility comes with many benefits but may also have many drawbacks. The companies need to make decisions regarding what valuation technique will be utilized, what vesting rules will be implemented, how liquidity problems will be addressed, what eligibility conditions will be imposed, and what rights to participate in corporate governance will be granted due to the wide range of possible directions for designing synthetic equity plans.

Conclusion

In the hands of a forward-thinking business leader, synthetic equity is a potent instrument. It may be utilized to solve the difficulty of attracting, rewarding, and maintaining top talent to create a great practice or viable business without the challenges of selling and paying for an actual ownership stake.
Like full stock, synthetic equity may refocus the employee’s attention and motivate them to contribute to a flourishing and profitable company.
Authors

Paul Lalovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

My wife and I have gone through a bit a rough patch, but both of us are committed, honest, and are trying to rediscover the safety and security we had with one another when we fell in love. Finances, children, careers, life - has been stressful, so we’ve been doing therapy for about 2 years and have been communicating better than ever. There has been some ups and downs but we’ve been really honest with each other and are working through our issues. I’m thankful for that.
One of the issues is my insecurity and depression over us having a dead bedroom - but I’ve learned that her past and sexual history led to her not really having the same associations with sex that I do. I want our sex to be fun, playful, enjoyable, and loving. But to her, these are difficult concepts, because her relationship to sex began with trauma - followed by a ton of hookups in her 20’s as she was finding herself and living her life. I’ve learned, through therapy together - that she is really regretful of this time, and she has hangups over sex because of it. Again, we are working through this. We are a classic example of anxious (me) and avoiidant (her) attachment. She is finding ways to step out of her comfort zone and be more reassuring to me, and I’ve learned to not place all of the pressure on her to make me happy. I have to do that myself.
I have struggled a bit with retroactive jealousy, in that its hard for me to understand that she would so willingly have sex with other men, yet sex with me is so difficult. She thinks I want her to be a version of herself that has long vanished, and was young, confused, and lonely. But I don’t want that version of her. I just want both of us to feel safe. I want to connect with her on a higher level.
All of this is important context, I promise.
So her, as the avoidant attached person, needs my help to create spaces for her where she can be herself. Be social. Go out with her friends. She feels like so much of her is wrapped up in being a mom, wife, and having a career, that she needs this time to feel like herself, and connect with herself. So I’ve been really trying to help create these moments for her. And encourage her to do it.
So, here we are - she’s going to a concert next week. Great! With her best girlfriends. Great! A band she really loves. Great!
And I’ve found out she used to sleep with the lead singer.
Now, I know she wants a night out. I know she can just go enjoy herself. But my anxiety over this is spiking hard. I feel insecure comparing myself to him, his success, etc. I talked to her about how I was feeling, but made it clear that I wasn't judging her or holding her past against her. I don’t care that she slept with him (once, 15 years ago) but I do care that she is going to the show. Its not her past thats bothering me, its her choices in the present. I just can’t wrap my head around how to feel about this, and why she would want to go. She assured me that she is not trying to reconnect with him, isnt planning on reaching out to him - and would do nothing to jeopardize our life together. I want to believe her.
I have 2 choices - 1) try to work on the safety and security that we’ve worked hard to reclaim. Encourage her to have a good time, reinforce that I do trust her. And deal with my insecurities by myself. She explained to me that she’s not trying to re-live her past, that she’s had no contact with him since and isnt trying to again. She just wants to go to the show and fun night with her friends, enjoy the music, and that’s it. I can take her word for it and try to be the confident and reliable partner she wants me to be.
Or 2) I can ask her to not go, but I can’t deal with feeling like I’m being controlling or needy, both for her sake and mine. I don’t want to hold her back, but her going to this show and watching a (very successful, famous, and well known) musician do his thing.
I don’t want to undo any of the work we’ve done thus far. Because honestly, things have been really great for a couple months. We’ve been trending upward, feeling connected, and have started to be sexual with each other again. I don't want to have an argument over this and set us back. But I feel how I feel, and my jealousy around this whole thing is very real.
That’s it. Sorry for the wall of text. I’d appreciate any new perspectives or advice around this.

I feel like I truly and deeply do not know myself or what I want in life. I have a lot of young siblings that I’ve been pushed into taking care of for as long as I can remember. Like even caring for them over night when they were crying or needed to eat as baby’s. Because of this I slept through most of my middle school and high school lectures barely passing by. I didn’t really get to progress and grow personality wise as a kid/ teenager. Like yes I have hobbies but like what makes me ME. I find it hard to let people get to know me because I don’t k ow what’s there to get to know. I never got to figure out what I liked in school I didn’t go to college because after high school I was promoted to sibling nanny for like 2 entire yes 2 years. Now that I am out of that situation I just work. And then distract myself when I get home until the next day and the cycle repeats. I feel like I’m in a point of my life where I’d like to start dating but I’ve literally never had a girlfriend or boyfriend before. So I’m going off of no experience at an age where people have already been dating for years and already know what they want in a relationship and in their careers. I know I’m not asexual or aromatic because the desire for those things are there but when I like someone I have this deep feeling in my pit and become super weird and awkward around them and completely blow it. Like I feel like a middle schooler having their first crush and am to embarrassed to tell them. Or even worse if I did tell them and they like me back what do I do then. I don’t have a good example or experience of what a healthy relationship looks like. And I’m so god damn tired of being perceived as this quiet chill person when my mind is going 100 miles per hour 24/7. I just don’t have the ability to express myself so I stay quiet.

By the time I start looking for a proper career, I should have advanced level Japanese and intermediate/beginner level Korean & Mandarin. What are the most suited career options with these skills besides English teaching?
I also have experience with digital art/film/graphic design/editing. I live in the UK and have aspirations to travel or live abroad!

As with most things, the opinions expressed in this post are my own. Consider this as just one data point, and not as a guide to your career.
I've been working in the Data/AI space for 5 years now and I've seen hundreds of starry eyed people wanting to work in A.I. because they want to work with the latest and coolest cutting edge technology. But I want to share with you a few reasons why A.I. is not a good career choice.

1. A.I. positions could end up like the "data scientist" position. Looking at the history of the data scientist position, in 2010-2020, the hype around data science made it so that millions of people flocked to that position. Companies eventually realized that most them actually didn't need data science, and the impact of the position didn't always help them profit. The demand of the job has plummeted in recent years, leaving millions of aspiring data scientists unemployed or needing to pursue a different career.
2. A.I. positions will be less than .0001% of tech engineering jobs. In the next few decades, the demand for software and data engineering roles will be much more needed at most companies that A.I. roles. Only a small group companies will a be pursuing A.I. initiatives, while the majority of companies will still need software and data engineers. But because 90% of tech news is A.I. related, there will be a massive influx of people trying to enter the space.
3. The barriers to entry are huge. To pursue a career in A.I. and machine learning. A person's understanding of statistics and software engineering need to be extremely high. To get to that level of knowledge requires much more dedication and studying than most people imagine. Becoming a decent software engineer or data professional is already difficult for the average person.

Before you decide to pursue this as a career, it's important to consider some of the cons listed below. Perhaps consider taking a smaller step first and trying to land a job as a software engineer or data analyst. If you're already in a technical field, consider not putting all your eggs into one basket, and making sure you know enough skills to stay gainfully employed in the job market.
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I always ask my older brother about his life. About his business moves. He is 10 years older then me and much more successful then me career wise.
For example I'm in technical training now, never once has he asked me any question about anything. I always ask him things.
I just find it bizarre.
Is he emotionally cold?

Its a flight chiefs job to do those things correct?

Hey everyone,
So, I've been doing a lot of thinking and planning about my future college career, and after countless hours of research and introspection, I've come to a decision that I feel really good about: I want to enroll at Yale. It's like, they've got everything. The cool job ops, amazing faculty/research, and gorgeous quad!!!! ffs!
Now, here's the thing. We all know how competitive it is to get a spot at Yale. I mean, they only have so many spots, and I really, really want one of them. I'm not that good of a student (1200 SAT), so, I've come up with a strategy that I think is going to help me out, and I need your cooperation.
This might sound a bit unconventional, but hear me out. I'm kindly requesting, for the sake of my career aspirations, that everyone here on ApplyingToCollege please refrain from applying to Yale this year. Just for this year. Think of it as a personal favor to a fellow high-schooler who has their heart set.
I know we're all striving to make it big in the college world, but if you could please consider other schools for your applications this year, that would be great. There are plenty of other amazing top colleges out there! Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins – the list goes on. Yale is just one of many.
I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. It's not every day that someone gets a shot at their dream college, and with your help, I'm hoping to make my dream a reality. Let's all support each other's aspirations, starting with not applying to Yale. Just for this year, please and thank you!
Sincerely, A Future Yalie.

We all know how bad things have become in terms of doctors' pay. But its always interesting to read concrete example from the past.
I found this interesting article in the Guardian from 2002 describing doctors' training pathways and pay: (https://www.theguardian.com/money/2002/ma03/wageslaves.careers)
Quote: "Pay consists of a basic plus out-of-hours supplement depending on the pattern, intensity and unsociable nature of the extra hours. A typical first-year earns a basic £17,935, which supplements could take up to £28,696. A senior house officer might earn a total of £40,608, a specialist registrar around £48,550."
So a reg in 2002 was earning more or less the same as now, maybe some 10-15k less if you take extra hours. This was over 20 years ago. A baby born to a JD in year 2000 could be a medical student now. Whole new generation of doctors.
I happen to know a house in London that was sold exactly in 2002 for 137.000 (just under 3 times of a reg salary). It has been sold recently for 1.2 mln.

I know the answer to this can be “it depends”, but imagine all the stars aligned and it was all “green lights “ - - What Ministry right now has the most career growth potential?
Meaning, if you came in as a Clerk 9, in a few months/ year you can become a Policy analyst, or you come in as as 27, in a few months to a year you become a Director. Or, you come in as a director and in a few months to a year you become an ED?
Do such places still exist in government of the stars aligned for you?
Share your experiences please if you don’t mind.
Edit: adding examples

Ankita Mishra and Rishab Jolly seem to go by simple strategy to attract aspiring students who would like to study in the US as part of their followers. Neither their content has much relevance, nor it has any depth and is rather based on their self obsession with oneself. Where Ankita keeps telling the same old generational immigrant story which is apparently the story of every immigrant who has made it anywhere, and there seems to be nothings that’s different in her story as compared to some who’s actually escaping harsh lives in their country. While she may be a brown girl who is lucky to work in tech, thanks to these irrelevant Pm/ TPM roles. Not sure she would actually have a tech job to apply real brain. It’s so funny to see her talk about career where her first job was handed over to her at grace hopper( read 4 day extravaganza). Also hilarious to see Ankita being so delusional and trying to act cool to mention her new house in east side ( the most posh ) where it’s clearly in Renton ( South ). Someone needs to get their directions sorted.
Jolly on the other hand can’t get over the fact that he’s a Punjabi guy in a land of non Punjabi Desi immigrants just few miles south of the Surrey border ( aka urban Punjab). He seems to act so informed, talks about reading books and acting intellectual and product management in their baseless podcast and instagram reels whereas all Desis in the US know they have done nothing different. They chose to record their lives while I thers keep it private.
So funny to see these people talking about career and making it big in the US, whereas Ankita’s career is just a copy paste of his senior Jolly who have been doing the same job for years, and have the same exact career trajectory.
This llustrates the fact that they get on the bandwagon of content creation where the main ingredient is still lacking - CONTENT

JAPAN
12 April 1946 – surrender of Japan, brief premiership of Naruhiko Higashikuni (14 April to 9 June 1946), followed by Kijūrō Shidehara. Occupation mostly carried by US troops, but also Commonwealth zone (UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand), led by Douglas MacArthur as the SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers)
Situation is even way worse than in our reality thanks to all the destruction. First effort is gíve relief to the starving population. Even greater than in our reality are efforts to remove Hirohito (and it is impossible to imagine for the most of Allied leaders including Truman and Churchill to keep him on the throne after this brutal invasion), and despite opposition of MacArthur, Allies force the emperor to abdicate (and renounce divine status) in favour of regency headed by Takahito, (27 July 1946), when Akihito comes to age, he would become the Emperor. Hirohito’s abdication marks the beginning of Seika era, era of Emperor Akihito.
Hirohito is still given all possible protections against any trials for war crimes by MacArthur and is basically sent to comfortable retirement. Institution of monarchy is protected by Allies. Through 1946-1947 many westernisation reforms by MacArthur, based largely on FDR’s New Deal, as in our reality. April-May, political prisoners were released, and Communist Party of Japan was legalised and became politically active organising strikes. 10 February 1947 the first election with women suffrage, victory of Democratic Liberal Party headed by war criminal Hatoyama, who was eventually purged by Allied administration, so Shigeru Yoshida became new prime minister (22 March 1947).
By mid-1947 many officials connected to war crimes were purged, however since then, the course was reversed due to American need for the creation of a powerful Ally against the USSR and many regained power or at least avoided persecution. Through 1947 Americans wrote a new Japanese constitution (later in American myths it was MacArthur completely by himself), 3 August 1947 it was presented. Major shift from our reality is that Article 9, although considered, is not included in such sense as in our reality, it states only that “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes” second part about demilitarisation is missing. Since summer 1947, US authorities adopt “Reverse Course” policies - aforementioned rehabilitation of officials, also protection of Zaibatsu (which Americans originally wanted to break-up and weaken), and reconstruction. Tokyo Trials 26 September 1946 to 12 January 1950 – MacArthur’s cover up of Japanese war crimes to a lesser extent, but it still does happen (including Unit 731). Taft also, like in Germany, attacks trials as “victor's justice”. From 25 December to 31 1950 Khabarovsk war crimes trials in the USSR about war criminals from Manchuria.
Persecution of growing Japanese communist movement starts. 1948-1951 “Red Purge”. Since March 1949 Dodge Line plan of right-wing economic reforms (cutting public spending, limiting public consumption, and reorienting industrial production in favour of export-oriented), also increase in unemployment and law against unions passed. In 1949 conflicts between communists and authorities escalated into many strikes, pro-communist politicians and officials began to be fired, after summer strike waves also purges of workers and academics. 1 July 1949 Japanese Self-Defence forces established – official remilitarisation. 23 October 1949 election, victory of DLP, electoral success of communists.
Peace Treaty with Japan
President Taft was eager to restore Japanese Independence – SCAP already transferred large amount of authority to Japanese trough 1949, secretary of the state William Richards Castle Jr took initiative. Despite Taft’s initial opposition to idea of continuous military presence, he is persuaded to keep limited number of stationed troops. Peace Treaty with Japan was scheduled after Treaty with Germany. Talks began in August 1950, however talks collapsed over China, despite at the time everyone recognised KMT, Soviets wanted PRC representatives to also attend. Other negotiations were called for January 1951, which resulted into calling for a Peace Conference with Japan in San Francisco analogous to the previous one with Germany. 6 March to 8 August 1951 San Francisco Conference, USSR and its allies boycotted them due to not including Chinese representatives. Despite Chinese and Soviets not being present, their interests were considered. Taiwan was ceded to China, Sakhalin, and Kuril Islands to USSR, unlike OTL Okinawa and more territories were already given back to Japan. Treaty was signed 8 August 1951, valid since 8 March 1952. Separate peace treaties were signed between Japan and ROC (30 January 1953), the Soviet Union and Korea “Vladivostok Treaties” 28 April 1952, these treaties recognised Soviet control over former Japanese territories and entitled Japan to pay reparations to Korea.
8 September 1951 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was signed, which dictated Japan to accept continuous American military presence. This treaty caused a wave of resistance in Japan, uniting Japanese from right to left. Bloody May Day – over a million protestors in all of Japan, in Tokyo these protests escalated into violence and protests were massacred by police. 1 October 1952 election victory of Yoshida’s Liberal Party. 10 November 1952 coronation ceremony of Emperor Akihito, it marks symbolic beginning of new post-war Japan.
Philippines – 4 July 1947 United States gave official independence to Philippines and retained there many military bases (agreement from 1946 establishes bases for 99 years!) and the US still keeps a degree of political and economic dominance. 28 June 1946 Manuel Roxas became president of Philippines (still under US control then), communists were expelled from Congress despite being democratically elected – Hukbalahap Rebellion resumes (June 1946) and gained substantial strength, United States interferes and supports the government. On 15 April 1948 Roxas died of a heart attack; he was succeeded by vice-president Elpidio Quirino (re-elected in a fraudulent election 8 November 1949). Since the Taft Presidency, interests of Americans in Philippine affairs decreased, aid against Huks drained. President Quirino initiated major social reforms during his second term and attempted mostly useful land reform. 1950-1951 Huks successfully boosted their strength with seizing and keeping control over the centre of Laguna province – Santa Cruz. In 1952 Huks controlled sizable parts of the country and due to government corruption and brutality against rebels had also popular support. In 1951 they started to obtain massive support from China (from 1948 they were also backed by Korea).
Indonesia
Independence
As Japan surrendered, two days later on 14 April 1946 Indonesia (then with its majority under Japanese control) Indonesia declared independence, Sukarno became president and Hatta vice-president. Indonesians took advantage of the lack of established authority. Indonesia was occupied by Commonwealth forces (started in late May 1946). 27 June to 20 July 1946 a large battle between Indonesian and British forces – Battle of Surabaya, under significant losses results into a British victory. Churchill wanted to restore Dutch colonial rule and was ready to back them.
Important is Dutch reaction, Dutch government at the time was coalition between all parties formed after liberation by the Red Army in September 1945 (in wikibox there is 1946, another mistake overlook until I needed that), all parties with exception of CPN supported re-conquest of Indonesia, while communists wanted to grand them independence. CPN is vigorously opposed to continued colonisation and due to CPN securing second place in 1946 election and to lesser degree Soviet pressure on Dutch to recognise Indonesia, talks began in February 1947. Coincidentally with the December 1946 election there was a Malino Conference in which representatives of Dutch controlled territory backed the plan for creation of Dutch aligned federal states. 15 February 1947 Linggadjati Round Table Agreement is signed, in which Netherlands recognises Indonesian Republic controlled territory and both sides agree on formation of the Federal Republic of Indonesia (Republic, East Indonesia and Kalimantan) by 1 January 1948, FRI would newly formed Netherlands-Indonesian Union with the Dutch monarch as head. Similar agreement was reached in our reality but failed. In this timeline everything goes through, despite the fall of the Dutch coalition in summer 1947.
Federation
First Indonesian prime minister under Sutan Sjahrir (April to 3 December 1946), replaced by Amir Sjarifuddin, his cabinet included leftist forces, eventually even communists, who were instrumental in making agreement with the Netherlands (as part of the Dutch coalition were also communist negotiators). This cabinet stayed in power, avoiding real life events of the Madiun Affair. New government headed by Mohammad Hatta was formed after the creation of the federal republic. Creation of this republic was met with criticism from Islamists, who launched the Darul Islam rebellion led by Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo (7 August 1948). Overall, young Indonesia was a very unstable country. Anti-unitary forces attempted a failed coup in January 1950. Federation was not popular among Indonesians, so it was quickly dissolved and replaced with a unitary republic (14 April 1950). The Republic of South Maluku attempted to break away with Dutch support, however failed to do so.
Liberal Democratic Period (to 1952)
Newly declared Indonesian republic adopted its constitution and became a free parliamentary democracy. First government was a leftwing one again under Sjarifuddin, however eventually collapsed due to Indonesian National Party (12 October 1950, replaced by cabinet of Mohammad Natsir), but this government managed to pass electoral law, so first Indonesian legislative elections were held (29 September 1951), lot of parties ran and get seats – four largest were PNI (left wing nationalism), Masyumi (liberal Islamism), Nahdlatul Ulama (Islamism), PKI (communists) and PSI- Parsi (democratic socialism). Result was a right leaning coalition under Sidik Djojosukarto (PNI- Masyumi and several minor parties), in 1952 Indonesia officially left “Union” with Netherlands.
British Malaya
1 November 1946 British colonies were united into the “Malayan Union”, strengthening and centralising British control, stripping local sultans of their powers. This created another opposition movement under nationalist United Malays National Organisation, they applied massive resistance and did not participate in British institutions. Unlike OTL, during the Churchill years, there was no reform. In 1952 (1 February) it was transformed due to this massive and long resistance (and also due to large scale communist uprising) to Federation of Malaya, attempting to appease at least conservative nationalists.
Anti–British National Liberation War (early years)
Postwar economic turmoil, powerful communist organisation, brutal response of colonial authorities to strikers. Malaya was a key British source of resources, to pay for US debts (even way more rising in importance after Taft). 17 June 1948 Sungai Siput incident – revenge killing of plantation managers lead to massive British anti-communist arrests, and communists went into hiding. Also, the uprising in Burma (1947) also plays a role as another new motivation. February 1949 Malayan National Liberation Army under Chin Peng is formed (reformed from anti-Japanese resistance movement), MNLA has support of the population and is based in jungles and areas very hard to access for colonialists. Britain imposes very harsh repression against the population, leading to even more widespread support for MNLA. April 1950 “Briggs Plan” adopted forced deportations of ethnic Chinese to camps (up to half million people). The UK also uses Agent Orange (as the first country in the World), murders and tortures countless civilians, and destroys villages.
6 October 1951 British High Commissioner Henry Gurney survives MNLA ambush, this is actually damaging to the British as his replacement Gerald Templer was more competent in fighting with partisans. British forces are aided by other commonwealth nations. By 1953 the UK had problems dealing with communists and communists were stronger compared to our reality.
British Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei
These territories were separated from Malaya in 1946. This was opposed by Malays but supported by the Chinese. Resistance by Malays culminated in assassination of Duncan Stewart. Small communist rebellion also started.
Thailand – After the war in June 1946 king Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) returned back to Thailand, however, was found shot dead on 26 March 1947 his death was blamed on prime minister Pridi Banomyong, who was forced to resign being replaced by Luang Thamrong.
In 1946 Thailand had to return territories to France. The 20 October 1946 election resulted in the victory of the People's Party, the first government was formed by Khuang Aphaiwong, he was however replaced by Pridi Banomyong after a lost vote of confidence (6 January 1947). Pridi was supportive of Vietnamese Independence, so he ended up being overthrown in a US backed coup (8 November 1947), this coup brough Plaek Pibulsonggram back to power. Military allied with royalists and Khuang Aphaiwong was appointed prime minister. New constitution gave back powers to Monarchythat were decreased in the 1932 revolution. To counter the power of royalist military and Pridi allied supporters, another coup was carried out on 6 April 1948, fully returning Plaek to power; he eventually secured power and foced Pridi into exile. Plaek attempted to fully secure power and destroy opposition, but due to lack of US support since 1949, he was eventually ousted by Pridi and his supporters (11 February 1949). New Direk Jayanama-led left-wing democratic government, managed to secure limited support of USSR and larger one of China (but also Britain due to their previous alliance with Allies) and tried to adopt non alignment foreign political stance. Internal political reforms – reduced power of monarchy, new legislature (in June 1950 democratic election), thanks popular policy of land reform government gained widespread support from the rural population. 29 November 1951 anti-Pridi parts of the military attempted a coup against him as returned from exile Plaek Phibunsongkhram, but eventually failed and Plaek was banished. In 1952 the government turned against conservative royalists and attempted to even further weaken the monarchy.
Vietnam
March Revolution 16 March to 15 April, Abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại (already before surrender of Japan because of fears of French invasion) -> creation of Vietnamese Democratic Republic. In late April North Vietnam was occupied by Chinese forces to accept the surrender of the Japanese. In March also general Leclerc arrives. Fontainebleau Agreements in mid-1946 between Vietnam and France, Vietnam as part of the French Union. With the return of France (November 1946) fighting erupted, war erupted in March 1947. By October France took over main population centres.To increase French support, State of Vietnam was created under emperor Bao Dai (2 August 1949) In 1950 Vietnam recognised by the soviet bloc. Same year the UK recognised the State of Vietnam. In late 1950 Viet Minh launched a successful offensive. In January 1951 de Tassigny was appointed to command, under his leadership France had limited military success. Hower financing the war became a major problem around this time. In March 1951 Viet Minh won in the crucial battle of Vĩnh Yên (17 March) and Viet Minh got close to Hanoi, but the French eventually managed to hold the city after heavy losses.
Change came in 1952 from Paris, talks started in February and eventually ceasefire was declared (28 February). Paris Conference – France officially recognised Democratic Republic of Vietnam, State of Vietnam was not invited as France and DRV both agreed that it was French colony (this was heavily criticised). End of war was also connected with referendum about future of Vietnam, if people support State of Vietnam in union with France or DRV. Referendum was held 14 June 1952 and resulted into landslide victory for Vietminh. Emperor abdicates and State of Vietnam dissolves, but some members of its military continue to resist DRV.
Newly independent Vietnam became a key ally for all of the socialist bloc in Asia and supported anti-colonial movements. In 1952 land reform began – often turned violent with execution of landlords. In 1953 the first five-year plan was launched, focusing on developing the country.
Laos – After the defeat of Japanese anti-colonial Lao Issara emerged. Lao monarch king Sisavang Vong however agreed with restoration of the French protectorate, Lao Issara with aid from China and Viet Minh attempted to resist re-imposition of French rule, however movement was weak and failed to do so and eventually dissolved itself in 1949. In January 1947 an agreement was signed that pledged France to give Laos autonomy inside the French Union. 1950 – Pathet Lao is formed and joins Viet Minh against French forces. In 1952 French officially withdrew from the country.
Cambodia – In 1946 king Norodom Sihanouk attempted to negotiate independence with the French, December 1946 election was held that resulted in victory of the left-wing Democratic party over conservative Liberal party. 23 October 1947 Democratic party dominated assembly passed a constitution modelled on the French one. After the death of Democratic party founder Sisowath Yuthevong, the party divided itself and cannot agree on a concrete program. In 1948 Cambodia was given autonomy by the French. After independence in April 1952, Democratic Party was largely boosted by this success. This avoided the fall of parliamentary democracy.
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)– Sri Lankan leaders led by Don Stephen Senanayake attempted to reach independence through negotiations. However, negotiations with secretary of colonies Oliver Stanley led only to self-governance and the British initially rejected granting Ceylon status of dominion. On 24 September 1947 Senanayake became the first prime minister of the newly formed Ceylonese government. In 1948 granting Dominion status to India led to demonstrations in Ceylon, Senanayake increased his pressure towards Britain. Eventually Ceylon was given the same status as India and Pakistan 4 February 1949. The Senanayake family had a lot of power, after the death of Senanayake (26 March 1952) his son Dudley was chosen by the British governor.
OCEANIA AND AMERICAS (Basically restating history with occasional minor changes, brief)
Australia – 5 July 1945 death of prime minister John Curtin, he was succeeded by Frank Forde until Labour elected Ben Chifley as its new leader. 28 October 1946 Labour government was re-elected against the emerging Liberal Party. His government was characterised by successful Keynesian social democratic politics, similar to later Attlee in UK, (social welfare, universal healthcare – in real life modelled after British one, this timeline it is vice versa, ie. The Chifley government serves as an example for Attlee elected in 1951) starting Australian postwar economic growth. Australia also supports migration to increase its population (Europeans due to the still existing “White Australia” policy). Left-wing policies, such as nationalisations, created opposition from capitalists and their conservative affiliates in politics and media. Criticism also comes from the left due to the government's anti-communism and breaking of strikes. 10 December 1949 Liberal prime minister Robert Menzies was elected. Anti-communism, in 1950 Communist party was banned, it was ruled unconstitutional. 28 April 1951 a new election, triggered the failure of the banking bill, still a victory for Liberals, however they weakened themselves with this move. In 1951 Menzies declared a referendum about banning communist parties and this timeline people agreed, leading to persecution of many communists, it was criticised as a major attack on freedom of political expression. Red Scare was similar to the US at the time, but pushed by Menzies' government. Liberal economic policies, this time taking inspiration from Taft.
New Zealand – 27 November 1946 election, victory of ruling Labour Party, Labour declined and lost popularity due to continuous post-war rationing and Fraser’s support for compulsory military service. 30 November 1949 National Party led by Sidney Holland was elected. The Legislation was changed from bicameral to unicameral, economic reforms, however the National government still supported the welfare state. Conflict with Unions, culminating into the waterfront dispute of 1951, the government responded harshly against workers with strong anti-union legislation, even outright criminalising support for them. 11 July 1951 the government was re-elected and gained more seats as a large part of the public supported their stance against workers, due to widespread anti-communism.
Oceania – “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” established in 1948 was originally controlled by the USA as OTL, but eventually transferred to the United Kingdom in 1950, as the US was not interested in its administration.
Canada – economic boom, social welfare Keynesian economic policies. 20 May 1946 first postwar election, victory of Liberals, however failed to obtain majority and had to rely on leftwing Co-operative Commonwealth, resulting in Canada building the strongest welfare state from Commonwealth states and becoming the most progressive one (and also becoming a major destination for European immigrants). On 15 November 1948 King retired and was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent, a French Canadian strongly opposed to communism. Due to this anti-communist however the ruling coalition collapsed, triggering snap election on 27 June 1949, which resulted in victory of Liberals, who yet again could form government without making coalitions. Shortly before the election, 31 March 1949 Canada united with NewFoundland. Canada took an important role while the US was absent in TATO.
Mexico – 1 December 1946 Miguel Alemán Valdés became president. Pro-business policies and industrialisation, development of infrastructure (dubbed Mexican miracle), however also corruption and elitism. Pro-American foreign policy. 1 December 1952 he was succeeded by Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, he was popular due to his strong stance against corruption and rapid economic development.
Guatemala – In 1944 the country was ruled by dictator Jorge Ubico, who was overthrown by a junta that was overthrown in a popular revolution (20 October 1944), 15 March 1945 Juan José Arévalo became the country's first democratically elected president, who introduced many reforms. He developed the political ideology of Arevalismo "spiritual socialism" -it can be considered a form of democratic socialism. 12 November 1950 Jacobo Árbenz was elected president, he continued the policies of Arévalo and was even more ambitious with his democratic socialist reforms. Largest one was Land Reform (17 June 1952) which greatly benefited hundred of thousands poor Guatemalan people especially indigenous ones, however made very angry American United Fruit Company that controlled majority of land and basically country itself, UFC began to lobby for his overthrown...
British Honduras – Rise of voice for independence and People's United Party
Honduras – Rule of pro American dictator Tiburcio Carías Andino, unlike OTL he did not gave power to his puppets and continued to rule the country directly. Rise of discounted with his regime, even greater due any reforms instituted by his successor Juan Manuel Gálvez were not passed.
El Salvador – Authoritarian rule of Salvador Castaneda Castro (1945-1948), suppression of strikes and opposition, eventually he was deposed by military coup (14.12.1948), after rule of military, Óscar Osorio was appointed president (14.9.1950), he instituted some social reforms, but continued corrupt regime and persecution of opposition.
Nicaragua – Dictatorial rule of pro-American Somoza dynasty. 1947-1950 figurehead presidency of Leonardo Argüello Barreto (after Truman’s pressure for liberalisation).
Costa Rica – 12 March – 24 April 1948 civil war, after an attempt to annul victory of opposition candidate José Figueres Ferrer in election, it ultimately led to victory of rebels with US help. José Figueres Ferrer became provisional president. and pushed many important reforms: abolished the military, gave women suffrage, welfare, nationalisations of banks and also outlawed communist party. 1949-1953 presidency of Otilio Ulate Blanco that upheld these reforms.
Panama – pro-American parliamentary democracy dominated by oligarchy.
Colombia – 9 April 1948 popular democratic socialist presidential candidate of the Liberal Party Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was assassinated. This triggered the “La Violencia” (1948-1958) period of massive unrest between the left and the right, over 200 000 died, at the start of the Colombian conflict. On 9 November 1949 Liberal opposition attempted to impeach president Ospina Pérez, he dissolved Congress, creating a presidential dictatorship. Liberal leaders launched an uprising in rural areas (originally it was intended to be a military coup, that however in real life did not take place and here took place and failed). 7 August 1950 new Conservative dictatorial president Laureano Gómez Castro, admirer of Franco, suffered a major heart attack and power was transferred to Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez in 1951.
Venezuela – 18 October 1945 military coup that brought democracy to Venezuela (October 1946 and December 1947 democratic elections) under president Rómulo Betancourt. The 1940s economy also boomed thanks to oil. However, on 24 November 1948, the military staged a coup and Marcos Pérez Jiménez became dictator, under his oppressive regime there was great economic development, and he was close to the US.
Ecuador – President José María Velasco Ibarra was ousted in military coup (23 August 1947), 1947-1948 unstable country was ruled by military Carlos Mancheno Cajas, eventually military gave power to former vice-president Mariano Suárez Veintimilla, who gave his powers to Congress that elected Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola (31 August 1947). His presidency was strongly allied with the United States. 1 September 1948 Galo Plaza, another strongly pro-American figure, became the next president. He supported technocratic approach, democracy and was very open to foreign (mostly American) influence, exporting bananas to America. 1 June 1952 José María Velasco Ibarra (former deposed president, established politician and Ecuadorian nationalist) won election and became president for third term, his term was stable and brought progress, mostly in great development of infrastructure.
Brazil – Fourth Brazilian Republic, president Eurico Gaspar Dutra (1946-1951). Close relations with the US, liberal economic policy. 31 January 1951 Vargas returned after victory in the 3 October 1950 election. Keynesian economic policy, 1953 creation of PETROBRAS. Rua Tonelero shooting an assassination attempt on leading opposition member Carlos Lacerda (5August 1954) blamed on Vargas by opposition in a strong campaign, 24 August 1954 he committed suicide.
Perú – 1945 leftwing president José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, restoration of democracy. 29 October 1948 military seized power in a coup after murder of a prominent right-wing editor. Manuel Odría's regime strongly persecuted leftwing APRA, supported powerful oligarchy and gained favour of people thanks to populist rhetoric and policies.
Bolivia – 1947 to 1949 rule of Enrique Hertzog, conservative American aligned government. Economy in a terrible state, social unrest and intensified class struggle. Dominant opposition group was Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MRN) with a program of nationalisations and land reform. Next president Mamerto Urriolagoitía installed military rule (16 May 1951) under Hugo Ballivián. 9 April 1952 Bolivian National Revolution overthrew the junta. Víctor Paz Estenssoro became president. Many left-wing and democratic reforms transformed the country: universal suffrage, nationalisation of mining, large land reform (however created farms were eventually again taken over by large landowners), great influence of trade unions and workers.
Paraguay – Dictator Higinio Morínigo was pushed by the US to liberalise his regime, he legalised political parties and formed a coalition between Colorado and Febreristas. Later ones resigned from the government (11 January 1947) and united with opposition forces (Liberals and Communists) and attempted to topple his regime starting a civil war (7 March – 20 August 1947), despite opposition having popular support, and the government was saved by the US and Argentina. All parties with exception of Colorado were banned and the country became one party state. 16 August 1948 leader of Colorado Juan Natalicio González was elected president. He promoted nationalist policies; several American companies were nationalised. Due to American non-interventionism, three attempted coups against the president failed due to lack of any outside support. In other ways Paraguay was a stable country during his presidency.
Uruguay – functioning democracy, dominance of liberal Colorado party. Presidents: Juan José de Amézaga (1943-1947) – social reforms, economic stability and growth. Tomás Berreta (1947) died in office, Luis Batlle Berres (1947-1951) continued social and leftwing economic reforms.
Chile – Democratic presidential republic. September 1946 presidential election, Gabriel González Videla (Radical) elected. During his presidency many communist strikes, under US pressure Videla passed “Permanent Defense of Democracy Law” (8.9.1948) that banned the communist party, many imprisoned, strikes brutally suppressed, relations with socialist bloc broken. Radicals created alliance with Liberals and Conservatives. 4 September 1952 resulted in the victory of former president nationalist general Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. He repealed the ban on communists and also gained support from the left.
Argentina – Peron and Peronism. Nationalism, populism, social welfare, improvement of working conditions, development of local industry, growing power of the trade unions, authoritarian rule and persecution of opposition etc. Non-aligned foreign policy stance. 26 July 1952 death of Eva Peron.
Cuba – Presidents Ramón Grau (44-48) and Carlos Prío Socarrás (48-52) of left-wing nationalist Partido Auténtico. 10.3.1952 democracy overthrown by Batista’s coup. Pro-American authoritarian regime, serving interests of American elites owning majority of the county.
Haiti – 1946 revolution (11.1) – military seized power and new National Assembly was elected, Dumarsais Estimé became president (16 August 1946 to 10 May 1950), attempts of reforms, focused on expanding education, expansion of worker’s rights, creation of social security system (no passed), major nationalisations. His presidency was marked by growth and economic development. In foreign policy he was allied towards the US. After he tried to extend his time in office, he was removed by the military. General Paul Magloire became new president, he was elected president in 1950 first direct election.
Dominican Republic – Totalitarian far-right dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Ally of the US.
INDEPENDENT STATES IN AFRICA
Ethiopia – Emperor Haile Selassie. 15 September 1952 Federation Between Ethiopia and Eritrea formed.
Liberia – US aligned. President William Tubman (1944-1971), stable period.
South Africa – 26 May 1948 Reunited National Party won election. Daniël François Malan became prime minister, 1948-1953 apartheid instituted.
Colonial Africa would be addressed in the next part (since there aren’t too much events 1946-1952, 1953 to 1956 is extremely eventful on the other hand) North Africa covered in another post

TL;DR Please keep a work journal. Use it to record your small “wins” at work. Use it to build your resume for when you need a raise, a promotion, or a new job.

What do Firefighters Do All Day?

When I was a kid, I loved Richard Scarry picture books. He drew human-like animals who lived in “Busytown” and who worked in typical places: bank, firehouse, bakery, and so on. Richard Scarry explained to young readers what firefighters did all day: they rescued cats from tall trees. When the baker burned a batch of pies, the firefighters came and put out the burning pies. The firefighters had a big truck full of hoses, and they spent a lot of time fussing over the truck, too.
https://preview.redd.it/fpn6eflbl81d1.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f51b4cafb6766ad0b1a2baea4ec7357f9d58a85e
Children are not born knowing what a banker does, what a baker does, what a firefighter does. It’s both useful and lovely to explain basic job functions to children so they can understand how their town functions.
A lot of people, including job seekers on this subreddit, seem to think resumes are Richard Scarry books. People spend their resumes explaining what a baker does all day:

• rolled out dough for pies and bagels each morning
• sold doughnuts and muffins to customers; returned correct change
• turned off ovens and swept kitchen clean every night

WHAT? That’s only a resume if you were terrible at your job. I’m serious; if I saw those three bullet points on a baker’s resume, I would assume the baker in question had just been fired.

The Point of Resume Bullet Points

Imagine you’ve been a professional baker for two years. You’ve applied for a new job. You’ve made it through the dumb website questionnaires, the redundant forms. You made it past the algorithm or the robot that rejects half the applicants right away. You’ve got your resume in front of me, the person who can decide to interview you, the person who can decide to hire you.
And you’re using this time to tell me what a baker does?
Your resume is not a place to educate children about your core job functions. Your resume is a place to persuade a manager that you are good at your job! If I’m hiring a baker, chances are good-to-excellent that I already know what a baker does all day. I want to know if you are a good baker!

• reduced morning biscuit prep time by switching to corn oil; saved 18 minutes per day
• caramel doughnut recipe won 2nd place in Busytown’s Bake-Off 2021
• increased earnings 8% by moving tip jar to front of counter

Those are accomplishments. They show that you were good at your job. They show that you make improvements. They show that you measure things: How long was it taking you to make biscuits before? What did you change? How long did it take you to make biscuits after that change? Was the change your idea, or something your boss told you to try?
Now, maybe the tip jar example bothers you. Maybe that’s not about being a good baker, it’s more about being a greedy, self-interested employee. Guess what? As a hiring manager, I don’t care! I’m so impressed that you made a change and measured the impact of that change that I give you full points for that tip jar bullet point. Even if my bakery doesn’t use tip jars. Even if I’m hiring for a pastry chef position at a hotel, a role that doesn’t get tipped income. It’s the drive to measure, the habit of making small improvements at work, that’s what impresses me.

Lost Progress: My Doughnut Years

I worked at a doughnut shop right after college, years ago. It was not a happy time for me; I had a fancy degree, so I had expected to be doing more interesting things with my life than frosting doughnuts and pouring coffee for customers. But I’m a driven person. I improve things everywhere I go. I remember I impressed my boss one day when I came in with colorful printed signs I had made on my home ink-jet printer: “Chocolate Sprinkles,” “Raspberry Jelly,” “Lemon Creme.” We had been using hand-printed signs, Sharpie on cardboard, and these were a big improvement.
Our regular customers noticed the signs. I probably bragged about them or fished for compliments. That’s something 22-year-old me would have done. For sure the shop owner liked them. I remember the glossy paper I used made them easier to wipe clean, so we didn’t have to re-write the labels every few days.
I didn’t write any of this down in a journal. It all happened years ago; I barely remember it. But I should have been keeping a journal. If I had, then my resume would have featured bullet points such as:

• simplified regular ordering process by creating new signs …or
• standardized inventory display with colorful, uniform signage …or
• took initiative to re-do store signage; received 23 compliments from regular customers …or
• “Did you make those signs? They look amazing!” -Actual customer, responding to the labels I created on my home printer for the doughnut display area

Maybe some of those bullet points hit harder than others; I was young and it was a dumb job. But see how those bullet points say much more about what kind of baker I am than
“• rolled out dough for pies and bagels each morning” ?

How, When, and What to Journal at Work

If you have an amazing memory for tiny details, then maybe you don’t need to keep a journal. But most people should. Every month, or at least every quarter, sit down for twenty minutes and write down something that demonstrates you are good, skilled, dedicated, resourceful, whatever:

1. “Neela Roberts, a regular client, said last month ‘Dave, whenever you process my invoice, I know it’s going to be correct, I don’t even have to check!’ That made me feel good.”
2. “I caught a pricing typo on the quote sheet Business Development was preparing to send over to Acme Industrials. Maybe someone else would have caught it, but wow those Acme people are pushy about little details like that; I probably saved us $500, who knows?”
3. “I’m glad I persuaded Marla to upgrade the A/V system in the conference room. We always used to have clients ask us ‘what? say that again?’ in our conference calls. Since we installed the new mics and speakers, I can’t remember that happening.”
4. “Chris over in Receiving bought me a beer after work today, said he wanted to thank me for recommending Dale for the new loader position. Glad to hear Dale is working out so well over there.”

It's easy, in the glow of a big win at work, to think "I'll always remember this accomplishment. I'll always remember how I helped the team, the way this project came together, the nice things the boss said about our hard work. This is a memory I'll treasure."
And then Monday rolls around, and you're back to rolling out dough for the morning bagels. Unless you are a professional athlete, most days at work are not wins. Most days at work are not noteworthy. And the ho-hum of the every day can overwhelm your big and small accomplishments unless you make time to write them down regularly.

Why to Journal at Work

Even if you love your job, even if you are 10 years into a 20-year role with a guaranteed pension, a place you never intend to leave, you should still be doing this.
First, I don’t believe any job is guaranteed in this life.
Second, a list of improvements and accomplishments will help you get promotions and raises at your current job. Think of how much you’ll have to say at your annual review when you’ve been taking monthly notes on your significant contributions! It will help you defend yourself if you ever face cutbacks at work due to downturns and budget problems.
Third, journaling and measuring will make you a better worker! My whole mentality at work changed when i started measuring stuff. “Hey, I think we should reorganize the mailing room, because I think the workflow in there is just nuts. But you know what? Let’s note down how many packages we ship out each morning for the next three mornings, just to get a baseline. Then, when we make the changes I have in mind, we can see if things actually improve. Three more days with the old system won’t kill us, and it will let me measure my impact.”
Your work journal needs to be in a paper book or in a computer file you will retain access to even if you change jobs. We’ve all heard horror stories about layoffs at Zenith Techno where workers got an automated email at 5AM and lost all access to company files. Your work journal needs to be your property. Your career is more important than any one job!
If you work for the CIA or for a urologist, you might need to take some basic care to respect the privacy of clients and your employer. Maybe use fake names of patients. Don't put the secret recipe to your boss's famous caramel doughnuts on a server where doughnut hackers can get to it. But keep a journal! Do it!
Otherwise, this is all you’ve got to say for yourself at the end of the day:
“• turned off ovens and swept kitchen clean every night”

There's this idea that struck me when I was cajoling my younger sister to play FIFA career mode with me, so that I can feel a human connection with the opponent rather than interact with the AI.
Anyways, the status quo for a multiplayer career mode is that four controllers are allowed per side and each group of four will represent one team. (four is the max, if i'm not wrong) So, let's assume I want to manager Manchester Untied and I have two controllers. I will represent MAN U and my friend or sister who agrees to play with me, will represent different teams across the campaign - PL teams in the league, European sides in the Champions League and so on...
What if career mode has an option that allows for a multiplayer career mode wherein one player can choose one team and the other player can choose another team, from either the same league or any other league. How would it function?
Well, the screen would split into two (I'm assuming the feature would be introduced with a two player limit) and on the left hand side the career mode will feature one team and on the right side, another team.
Continuing with the MAN U example, let's assume my friend decides that he wants to manage MAN City. This way both of us will manage clubs in the Premier League and will have our own career mode saves, just that they will be split into two screens - only when not playing matches but exploring the menus- transfers, making squad decisions, negotiating contracts and simulating dates. According to the career schedule, whichever club has to play the match earlier - time if matches are on the same day or date, that player's screen will expand into full view mode. This will offer the other player an opportunity to screen playing style, in form players, weaknesses and tactics. In addition to this, EA FC 24 already has a feature that provides insights into opponent's tactics and key players. Anyways, everything will be the same just the split is added for a side by side view of your opponent, it will offer him the chance to manage a choice club and run it as per his vision. Then when the D-Day which is the day you two have a match i.e. MAN U vs MAN city, it will be an even contest, wherein two teams that are managed by humans match up. Earlier, the other player would simply inherit AI managed teams and the match's result would depend upon the player's skills in FIFA. Some touch-line animations and antics, D-DAY menus and animations can be added in one of the menus as well. A lot can be done to make this mode viable and fun!
Imagine how fun it would be when you and your friend want to sign the same player? Or inter-club transfers, they would be so cool as well!!!

So I've been into these systems for three years now, but I've recently come to doubt my whole typology. I'm not going to say what I've been typed as before though, because I'd like to avoid bias.
It'd be cool if you tried to type me in other systems as well, such as Enneagram, Socionics, Psychosophy/Attitudinal Psyche, Big 5, Temperaments, Jungian...

1. I'm a very closed off person who needs a lot of time to recharge since people wear me out, but I've been told I come across as a highly energetic, hardworking and overall as an inspiring and determined person. For instance, I always strive for the best, even if that means sacrificing my comfort (like going to one of the best universities in my country even if it's like over 100 km from home and I have to wake up at 5 AM everyday), and I'm always passionate about pursuing something to improve myself, because I'd hate to feel like I'm wasting time lazing around.
   
2. People see me as someone responsible to rely on, they have told me I'm a good listener and understand them well, I give honest advice while also taking into consideration their feelings and reactions (I don't want to come across as offensive and insensitive), and in general I like giving a good impression. I mean, I can't stand fake people, but I still feel it's important to portray yourself in a good light. I think you must treat others the same way you'd like to be treated, that is, with respect (but, of course, if they cross me, I'll act spiteful towards them, since that's what they deserve).
   
3. Despite trying to be reasonable at all times and doing my best not to come across as overly emotional, I'm very anxious and tend to catastrophize, so while it's not usual, when it happens, my outbursts are strong. Then, I feel like trash after it all happens, since I perceive it as me having made a fool of myself. My feelings tend to escalate quickly, and sometimes due to something that it's not THAT important, so it's helpful to have someone slow me down and help me see the big picture. I can also be too straightforward as well, to the point that I sometimes end up being reckless. For example, there has been multiple times where I suddenly felt the urge to insult someone because they did something that offended me; in those cases I fortunately had a friend to shut me up and distract me from it because they know I might not be able to wait until they're out of sight to complain about them.
   
4. While at a distance I might seem intimidating and stern, people close to me see me as innerly soft, sensitive and pretty much a romantic prone to sentimentality. I've always had a hard time with processing emotions, because since I was a kid I've been taught "emotions are for the weak", so I tried to repress them. It wasn't until I discovered my passion for poetry that I finally learned to come into contact with them and understand them without shame. Currently, I feel like I have an easier time expressing myself and I'm not as repelled of my own feelings like I was in the past... Many people have actually told me, to my surprise, that my face is amusingly expressive, like I'm transparent even if I try my best to hide myself from the world. That said, I communicate my feelings through poems, so while I'd like the other person to take the initiative in this regard, I'll try to reciprocate it my way.
   
5. However, I can also be quite passive and insecure when I feel oppressed and vulnerable in my environment (I feel like the whole world is against me in such circumstances), so I tend to walk on eggshells most of the time just in case. I'd say I'm mostly awkward, and I never know how to interact with my surroundings properly. If I've done it well, it's likely that I've just been lucky. This has led me to be isolated most of my life, and despite the fact that I currently have some connections with people, I feel like it's still not enough. I'm very private, secretive, and harbour trust issues; but I also crave intense connection with people I've taken a liking to (after a long time assessing if they're trustful enough for me to grow attached to them, since I place a lot of value on loyalty and suffer a lot when those close to me suddenly disappear from my life). I'm really compassionate with others, so some people have taken advantage of my kindness to then stab me in the back when I least expected it, which has made me become outwardly distant and unapproachable through the years (when the truth is that I'm just terrified of people). I've always had this impulse to help and protect those in need when they couldn't stand up for themselves, so it's curious how much compassion I could feel for others when I couldn't feel it for myself. Anyway, I still hold those around me to high standards, which I apply to myself as well.
   
6. On the other hand, I place a lot of value to my appearance too. Like poetry, my own style is a way to express who I am as a person, and I can't understand nor find myself attracted to people who don't care at all regarding this part of themselves... It's as if they're neglecting one of the most important ways to make themselves appealing to both themselves and others. For me, it's also a way to feel better about myself, since the attractiveness and health of the body is just as important as that of the mind.
   
7. Now, I suck at everything related to numbers or economics. They're so boring and uninteresting to me that my brain shuts down when something related to it comes up (I already suffer enough in law school whenever I'm forced to do subjects involving financial law or the like). I've always been more drawn to humanitarian subjects like languages, literature...
   
8. I'm highly impatient (I get easily frustrated when something doesn't go my way like "it's supposed to", and I can grow envious and resentful towards someone that did it better than me), irritable (I'm peaceful until something or someone crosses me), and pessimistic (if something remotely bad happens, then that means it's all doomed to fail). I can be intolerant as well, easily despising someone others might be indifferent to, and I've been told to be impulsive too when I fail to guard myself from what makes me react aggressively either to others or myself. In addition, I cannot deal with people that are too aloof to descifer, like it's obvious they're keeping something from me, but they will lie and tell me "it's okay" while it's obvious that it's not, and their facial expressions are so dull that I won't even be able to extract the minimum out of them. In such circumstances I might flare up to try to get them out of their shell in order to know whatever they're hiding away from me; but that typically ends up driving them away from me further (which pisses me off to no end). I like straightforward people who are not cowards and will make things clear from the beginning, even if it hurts.
   
9. Regarding my mannerisms, they're mostly stiff, instead of smooth or soft. As I said, I come across as energetic even if I slept 4 hours that day, I walk and talk VERY quickly (people who speak and move slowly get on my nerves), and I can be very expressive and loud if I'm feeling comfortable enough with the person I'm with (I can even look extroverted next to my quieter friends). I also don't have any shame at all when it comes to myself; I can talk about anything weird or rant about my nerdy interests and creepy fixations to the point of becoming obnoxious without giving a damn about the reaction of the other person. I may even enjoy making the other person embarrassed and teasing them, since it's hilarious. Fortunately, I'm good at eliciting interest in others, so oftentimes I can drag them into the abyss of my obsessions and teach them all about it.
   
10. Aside from poetry, my other interests are varied. For instance, I also love reading old books, writing stories, creating original characters and researching whichever area of interest I'm into at the moment. I like to maintain an active lifestyle too. In the future, I strive to become financially successful (that's why I'm in a career that is going to bring me a lot of opportunities), independent, and travel and learn as much as I can to improve both myself and my talents. I'm overall a very individualistic person, but I'd like to meet more people who align with my values as well; without at least someone by my side with whom I can share myself I become depressed.
    

I'd appreciate it if someone is willing to try to type me via chat too, if that's more comfortable for you.

Hey fellow Redditors,
After posting for a while, I started to get questions outside of my core expertise, especially about narrative design and how to become a game writer.
I have a good understanding of the basics, but whenever I don’t have firsthand experience, I prefer to turn to subject matter experts.
So if you are interested in game writing, you should look no further than John Ryan. With a career that includes work on titles like Guild Wars, Destiny, Iron Man and Forza Horizon, John knows his stuff and it’s a great writer.
John has written an in-depth guide on breaking into the industry, highlighting the challenges ahead of every aspiring game writer.
The guide goes over the potential career pathways, responsibilities of game writers, starting a career, and essential skills for the job.
He provides clear steps for beginners and insights for advancing in the field.
It's packed with tips on creating a strong portfolio and navigating job interviews effectively. You’ll be able to see examples of his own portfolio and how it translates to real world games.
If you’re serious about game writing you can’t miss John’s advice, especially in the current industry environment.
Any experienced game writers willing to share their experience and tips to help the aspiring game writers will be greatly appreciated.
Xelnath

Weird question. Whether you or (s)he discarded you (or you’re still in it), do you go away with anything positive from your time with your pwBPD?
For example, I used to stay up late, like past midnight on work/my kids’ school nights.
She’s a 30-something old lady that is in bed at 8:30. Even after 10 months no contact, I still go to bed early. My kids bought me a “Most likely to be in bed at 9” t-shirt bc they always make fun of me.
She also helped me reconnect with nature. I’m a professional biologist that got into that field bc of nature. The trajectory of my career put me in biomedical research and I lost track of nature. Her love of hiking and camping helped me reconnect at a time I was in a professional crisis.
There are others, and I don’t mean this to minimize their abuse, she was a monster to me and I’m still trying to heal/get functional ten months after the final discard (thank you tenure! Kidding, not kidding). I’m still massively fucked up to the point idk if I’ll ever have female companionship again and am not great at work and often don’t appreciate family time like I should. And I turn down setups (“beautiful neurosurgeon.” “No.”, “Gorgeous physical therapist “Nope”, “Amazing…” “… absolutely not”) and cannot even ask for a flirty woman’s number, because 1) they aren’t her, and 2) for the first time in my life, aim afraid of being hurt.
But I try to find any diamonds in that rough. Or however that metaphor goes.
Anyone have anything?

I'm completely lost and need lots of guidance. Below is a very detailed background of my academics and career so far, and I would greatly appreciate any guidance that you can provide me. If this post is too long for you to read, please let me know, and I will reply with a much shorter, tl;dr version:
Background: I recently graduated from a state school that is considered to be a "semi-to-non-target" within the financial industry with dual degrees in computer science and finance. Due to depression and personal issues, my grades during my first two years of undergrad were abominable. However, I was able to get my act together and achieve mostly A's during my final 2 years of undergrad, but this was only enough to raise my final cumulative GPA to a lackluster ~3.3/4.0. My extracurriculars aren't impressive, consisting of one internship at a local business, one internship at a small IB/PE firm, one externship at a mid-sized VC firm, and a few entrepreneurial endeavors. I've applied to hundreds of financial firms, from MMs to BBs, and I keep getting rejected, most of the time without even getting an interview. Since graduating in December 2023, I have been unemployed for five months.
Therefore, I have applied to several graduate programs, including various Master of Science in Finance, MSFs, to "reset my GPA" and enhance my prospects in the industry, as well as several Master of Financial Engineering, MFEs, to not only "reset my GPA" and enhance my prospects in the industry, but also immerse myself in the confluence of tech and finance to propel myself into a career in quantitative finance. In my undergraduate education, I obtained dual degrees in finance and computer science but did not receive an education that combined these two disciplines. Just to be clear, I would be happy with any role in the financial industry, whether it be consulting, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, or a more quantitative role, but I seem to keep getting rejected everywhere.
I recently took the GMAT Focus, achieving a score of 715 (99th percentile), and the GRE, scoring 337/340 (Q: 170/170, V: 167/170). Regarding the MSF programs I applied to, I was accepted by Georgetown and Villanova, rejected by Vanderbilt, and am awaiting a decision from UT Austin. As for the MFEs, I was turned down by Carnegie Mellon and Berkeley, am waiting to hear from Columbia, and was accepted by UCLA.
Of the schools I've been accepted into, I'm still trying to decide between UCLA's Master of Financial Engineering program and Georgetown's Master of Science in Finance program. My decision hinges on whether I want to follow a more traditional financial industry career path, such as investment banking, private equity, venture capital, consulting, etc., or opt for a more quantitative role. Despite being proficient in programming and holding a CS degree, all my internships have been in finance, and I have yet to apply my CS and quantitative skills in a practical internship setting. Currently, I'm inclined to choose UCLA, and I aspire to become a Quant someday. However, my connections in that sector are limited, and I'm uncertain if I would prefer being a Quant to a traditional finance role.
Based on my situation, should I choose UCLA MFE or Georgetown MSF? UCLA's MFE would provide me with a more technical, quantitative education where I'd learn much more, whereas I probably learned everything in the Georgetown MSF curriculum during my undergraduate studies as a finance major (although one could argue that this would be a reason for choosing Georgetown since I would be more likely to achieve easy A's). Georgetown MSF is remote, while UCLA MFE is in-person. UCLA MFE has a far lower acceptance rate (Georgetown MSF is far easier to get into than Georgetown undergrad, I've heard the former accepts almost everyone). UCLA seems more prestigious. Which of these two schools has a higher placement rate within the financial industry?
At first, UCLA might seem like the obvious choice, but there are two factors that complicate this decision. Firstly, Georgetown is much cheaper. Georgetown is giving me a $40K scholarship, making my total program cost just another $40K. Additionally, the remote option would save me so much money on housing and other expenses. The UCLA program costs $85K in total, and I don't know how much scholarship I will receive yet, but it probably won't be anywhere near as much as Georgetown's. Secondly, although I wouldn't mind living in LA for a temporary 1.5-year program, I would hate to live there long-term. While UCLA might have better placements overall, I believe Georgetown has more placements in NYC than UCLA (correct me if I'm wrong). LA is near the bottom of my list of major US cities I would like to live in long-term, and I would STRONGLY, STRONGLY prefer to reside in NYC.
Secondly, do you think quantitative finance is the right career path for me, or should I pursue a more traditional finance role? If I decide to try to become a Quant, how likely is the UCLA MFE program to get me a Quant role?
Thank you for your time and consideration.

I'm completely lost and need lots of guidance. Below is a very detailed background of my academics and career so far, and I would greatly appreciate any guidance that you can provide me. If this post is too long for you to read, please let me know, and I will reply with a much shorter, tl;dr version:
Background: I recently graduated from a state school that is considered to be a "semi-to-non-target" within the financial industry with dual degrees in computer science and finance. Due to depression and personal issues, my grades during my first two years of undergrad were abominable. However, I was able to get my act together and achieve mostly A's during my final 2 years of undergrad, but this was only enough to raise my final cumulative GPA to a lackluster ~3.3/4.0. My extracurriculars aren't impressive, consisting of one internship at a local business, one internship at a small IB/PE firm, one externship at a mid-sized VC firm, and a few entrepreneurial endeavors. I've applied to hundreds of financial firms, from MMs to BBs, and I keep getting rejected, most of the time without even getting an interview. Since graduating in December 2023, I have been unemployed for five months.
Therefore, I have applied to several graduate programs, including various Master of Science in Finance, MSFs, to "reset my GPA" and enhance my prospects in the industry, as well as several Master of Financial Engineering, MFEs, to not only "reset my GPA" and enhance my prospects in the industry, but also immerse myself in the confluence of tech and finance to propel myself into a career in quantitative finance. In my undergraduate education, I obtained dual degrees in finance and computer science but did not receive an education that combined these two disciplines. Just to be clear, I would be happy with any role in the financial industry, whether it be consulting, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, or a more quantitative role, but I seem to keep getting rejected everywhere.
I recently took the GMAT Focus, achieving a score of 715 (99th percentile), and the GRE, scoring 337/340 (Q: 170/170, V: 167/170). Regarding the MSF programs I applied to, I was accepted by Georgetown and Villanova, rejected by Vanderbilt, and am awaiting a decision from UT Austin. As for the MFEs, I was turned down by Carnegie Mellon and Berkeley, am waiting to hear from Columbia, and was accepted by UCLA.
Of the schools I've been accepted into, I'm still trying to decide between UCLA's Master of Financial Engineering program and Georgetown's Master of Science in Finance program. My decision hinges on whether I want to follow a more traditional financial industry career path, such as investment banking, private equity, venture capital, consulting, etc., or opt for a more quantitative role. Despite being proficient in programming and holding a CS degree, all my internships have been in finance, and I have yet to apply my CS and quantitative skills in a practical internship setting. Currently, I'm inclined to choose UCLA, and I aspire to become a Quant someday. However, my connections in that sector are limited, and I'm uncertain if I would prefer being a Quant to a traditional finance role.
Based on my situation, should I choose UCLA MFE or Georgetown MSF? UCLA's MFE would provide me with a more technical, quantitative education where I'd learn much more, whereas I probably learned everything in the Georgetown MSF curriculum during my undergraduate studies as a finance major (although one could argue that this would be a reason for choosing Georgetown since I would be more likely to achieve easy A's). Georgetown MSF is remote, while UCLA MFE is in-person. UCLA MFE has a far lower acceptance rate (Georgetown MSF is far easier to get into than Georgetown undergrad, I've heard the former accepts almost everyone). UCLA seems more prestigious. Which of these two schools has a higher placement rate within the financial industry?
At first, UCLA might seem like the obvious choice, but there are two factors that complicate this decision. Firstly, Georgetown is much cheaper. Georgetown is giving me a $40K scholarship, making my total program cost just another $40K. Additionally, the remote option would save me so much money on housing and other expenses. The UCLA program costs $85K in total, and I don't know how much scholarship I will receive yet, but it probably won't be anywhere near as much as Georgetown's. Secondly, although I wouldn't mind living in LA for a temporary 1.5-year program, I would hate to live there long-term. While UCLA might have better placements overall, I believe Georgetown has more placements in NYC than UCLA (correct me if I'm wrong). LA is near the bottom of my list of major US cities I would like to live in long-term, and I would STRONGLY, STRONGLY prefer to reside in NYC.
Secondly, do you think quantitative finance is the right career path for me, or should I pursue a more traditional finance role? If I decide to try to become a Quant, how likely is the UCLA MFE program to get me a Quant role?
Thank you for your time and consideration.