u/Lani_19

Just a thought I had as I am trying to figure out my life. It seems like to be successful in life right now (I live in the USA for context) you either have to be a slave (work under someone who is most likely doing something nefarious) or a villain actually doing a nefarious thing. Even doctors and people who save lives are often slaves to their work and if you decide to pave your own way almost always you have to act somewhat villainous.

Maybe thats just my "ivory tower" POV and it isn't true but it seems that way a lot of the time.

Hi

I have noticed that each time I finish a section even looking back at the map of where I am kinda makes me have an anxiety flash lol. Like the idea of ever doing that part again freaks me out and one time I even felt like crying at the idea that I could "wake up and be back in Georgia having to do it all again". It seems insane but I am actually losing my desire to ever do physical activity again haha. When I took off some extended time I actually hated the idea of walking up even the slightest incline that I would avoid stairs, even small hills, and didn't want to do a THING. I assume this wears off.

I've just only seen positive comments about how people reflect on the trail, but right now I actually have a panic attack at even the thought of hiking the parts I have done again. I have to delete the maps and throw the physical ones away because I jsut can't imagine it.

Socially the trail is great, but I don't know maybe I am not enjoying the physical part so much but suppressing that emotion? Did anyone else feel this way? It is so weird it is like an automatic response not even a conscious one.

Hi All,

I have long curly ringlet hair naturally (type 3b-3c) so I won't need to curl my hair to get the ringlets for the style, however I do need to know how I should pin it up so it looks like I have the ringlet bangs (the hair will be under a bonnet). I searched around for a tutorial but so many are just how to curl the hair in the front that is already short but not how to kinda "fake it" and pin it up under the hat. I tried a few things and it did be looking CRAZY. Does anyone have a video link?

Thanks!

Hey all,

What is the banging and whirring that seems to go on at the incyte in Wilmington between midnight and 1am?? It’s stupidly loud for the people living in the area! It’s really bad! I recorded the sound and next time it happens I was going to complain but I’m also wondering if it’s road construction or something as I hear truck backup beeping too. It sounds like it’s coming from the Incyte. Are they loading CO2? Any number to call and complain?

They should do that work during the day not in the middle of the night if it’s going to be that loud.

Thanks.

edit: this was not the first night

Hi all,

Unfortunately for me I have an event in less than a week and will need to order ~something~ to wear to it. I used to have some regency dresses but since I wasn't wearing them much I gave them away. Well now I do need one again. It doesn't have to be GOOD but I would prefer it not be SO bad because it is trying too hard haha. I have an AprilCon dress that is cut to the period but it is so dark and I don't think spring appropriate but it is my backup. Any places, even terribad amazon which I don't like buying from : / that I could potentially get something from. I don't know if anything from Etsy would come on time.

In case someone has one they don't want anymore, I am 5ft5, about 140lbs, pretty small up top tbh and waist is about 28" (I'm all hips although I know that doesn't matter much for regency).

Thanks,

Hi,

Just looking for folks experience with benchwork in these areas. I have done an MS and worked in the lab for my thesis and paper publication but it was kinda brutally dull to me. I’ve worked in a genetics lab as well in my undergraduate and had to quit because I was kinda miserable. I’ve worked in industry since then and did some computer modeling projects with weather etc as side work for them and realized I really loved working with research and PhDs and then looked for a new job to find it seems most required or preferred a PhD candidate.

I am an engineer (undergrad planetary science masters chemical and environmental engineering, I took a ton of classes that were not in my major in undergrad, was one class away from a chem e and pne lab from a chemistry major and every math course etc even though they were not required, hence why I could do the MS without issue). I LOVE abiotic environmental chemistry and figuring out how those systems work through math, modeling, theory, data, and SOME benchwork but I never liked the benchwork stuff…

So does anyone have a PhD field closer to what im interested in? My capstone in undergrad was a redesign for extreme flooding in cities and also a predictive hurricane modeling for future generation type thing and I genuinely loved that.

Im thinking chemistry isn’t the right direction but I do love atmospheric chemistry dynamics.

Just looking for some day to day examples of STEM (but heavy planetary science and chem) grad students or PhDs who don’t majority do benchwork.

Thanks!!!

Hi all, (summary at bottom for quick read)

My whole life I have loved chemistry, physics, and doing things. I mean I was going to serious lab “camps” and research activities at age 12. It’s been my whole thing. I went to school at a top uni for undergraduate but the fear of the job market made me pivot into business and engineering (more than science or research) and the sadly toxic environment of top academia too pushed me. I got great well paying jobs right away from the pivot and have slowly tried edging my way back to more research and project creation roles by doing a MS after about 6 years of industry and then worked again in the public sector (my MS was in environmental/chemical engineering i did this in Europe but I am a USA citizen) for 4.5-5 years after that. I did not like my job in the pivlic sector but it was an improvement to the largely non STEM work I was doing before. (I was tasked with extremely hazardous chemical response and also with compliance work). I was able to find and push a project of my own and build a cool tool with folks from different places during that job though. Everyone else had a PhD but since it was my idea and funding I led the project. Realized I liked that more than my job by so much that once it was finished I couldn’t stand the day to day of my other job.

I saved up money and fortunately had a place to live and I quit that job because otherwise I was going to jump off a bridge lol. Spent some time backpacking in my beloved east coast USA home and decided to try again at figuring out what to do. But the problem is nothing feels happy anymore, as in nothing is exciting to me the way so much of my life has been up until now. I’ve always been excited about opportunities but now they all feel like bad choices for some reason or another.

I think if I got an offer to work at a research lab like APL or a national lab or on a project I really believed in I would be very excited to start. However after looking it does seem I need a PhD to get into these roles. I’ve applied a few times and get rejected within 24 hours so to me that says my resume isn’t passing the initial Ai screening. I’m considering going to conferences to see if I can meet with some folks and get some guidance but I don’t know anymore. PhDs are SO expensive time wise, and the European PhDs (I did my MS in Scandinavia) seem to be better paid in terms of work life balance than the US but I would be so sad leaving my home in the USA again as I really love where I live (north east USA and mid Atlantic). I’m just half heartedly looking at stuff now and feel really sad my normally optimistic energy is totally divided by the lack of promise in every direction.

(phd might be cool but toxic and unstable especially in the USA so I could go back to Scandinavia but then it’s isolating and introverted with pretty bad weather and I never see my family) (staying in my current roles is a non starter I hate compliance excessively and the emergency hazard response is super dangerous and exposes you to chemicals even if the pay was VERY good)

I think the phd is the right choice…because I reat want to do more work that builds things and pushes the bar forward in the world in science and I can’t seem to find a way to get into these roles otherwise. But the massive cost to life and quality of life could be catastrophic especially if I have to leave the USA again. I also wonder if I’m leaning too hard into engineering and not enough into science. I love both for what they do, engineering lets me make stuff science lets me discover it but engineering pays the bills massively which makes the headwind I think push people on the fence towards it hard and they find out years later they are just maintaining a system and not investigating new ones???

I just want to have that happiness back again in my career direction. I feel it’s largely back outside of that after quitting the previous job. I just can’t seem to get thrilled about any of my options…which is odd for me. Any advice at all either for phd or no phd or in finding that spark or any of this would be hugely appreciated.

I’m NOT prone to depression and often am very happy and juggernauting through life manically haha so this period of uncertainty is really bumming me out!!!

Thanks,

SHORT SUMMARY

Environmental and Chemical engineer MS. Planetary science undergrad with Chemistry/Engineering course focus.

I have been passionate about science since childhood but shifted into business/engineering due to job market fears and academic culture concerns. After years in industry and the public sector, I found the most fulfillment leading a self-initiated project, which reignited my desire to do meaningful scientific work. Now, I feel stuck: jobs I qualify for feel unfulfilling, while the research roles I want often require a PhD, which comes with major personal and lifestyle tradeoffs. I’m torn between pursuing a PhD (possibly abroad) and trying for roles that might not be possible to obtain with an MS or could get me stuck back again in the compliance and response vortex, and I’m struggling with a loss of excitement and direction. Ultimately, I want to regain a sense of purpose and joy in my career that I do genuinely feel for science.

QUESTIONS:

Should I pursue a PhD to access meaningful research roles?

Is there a way to enter research/project-driven work without one?

How can I regain excitement and clarity about my path?

Hi all, (summary at bottom for quick read)

My whole life I have loved chemistry, physics, and doing things. I mean I was going to serious lab “camps” and research activities at age 12. It’s been my whole thing. I went to school at a top uni for undergraduate but the fear of the job market made me pivot into business and engineering (more than science or research) and the sadly toxic environment of top academia too pushed me. I got great well paying jobs right away from the pivot and have slowly tried edging my way back to more research and project creation roles by doing a MS after about 6 years of industry and then worked again in the public sector (my MS was in environmental/chemical engineering i did this in Europe but I am a USA citizen) for 4.5-5 years after that. I did not like my job in the pivlic sector but it was an improvement to the largely non STEM work I was doing before. (I was tasked with extremely hazardous chemical response and also with compliance work). I was able to find and push a project of my own and build a cool tool with folks from different places during that job though. Everyone else had a PhD but since it was my idea and funding I led the project. Realized I liked that more than my job by so much that once it was finished I couldn’t stand the day to day of my other job.

I saved up money and fortunately had a place to live and I quit that job because otherwise I was going to jump off a bridge lol. Spent some time backpacking in my beloved east coast USA home and decided to try again at figuring out what to do. But the problem is nothing feels happy anymore, as in nothing is exciting to me the way so much of my life has been up until now. I’ve always been excited about opportunities but now they all feel like bad choices for some reason or another.

I think if I got an offer to work at a research lab like APL or a national lab or on a project I really believed in I would be very excited to start. However after looking it does seem I need a PhD to get into these roles. I’ve applied a few times and get rejected within 24 hours so to me that says my resume isn’t passing the initial Ai screening. I’m considering going to conferences to see if I can meet with some folks and get some guidance but I don’t know anymore. PhDs are SO expensive time wise, and the European PhDs (I did my MS in Scandinavia) seem to be better paid in terms of work life balance than the US but I would be so sad leaving my home in the USA again as I really love where I live (north east USA and mid Atlantic). I’m just half heartedly looking at stuff now and feel really sad my normally optimistic energy is totally divided by the lack of promise in every direction.

(phd might be cool but toxic and unstable especially in the USA so I could go back to Scandinavia but then it’s isolating and introverted with pretty bad weather and I never see my family) (staying in my current roles is a non starter I hate compliance excessively and the emergency hazard response is super dangerous and exposes you to chemicals even if the pay was VERY good)

I think the phd is the right choice…because I reat want to do more work that builds things and pushes the bar forward in the world in science and I can’t seem to find a way to get into these roles otherwise. But the massive cost to life and quality of life could be catastrophic especially if I have to leave the USA again. I also wonder if I’m leaning too hard into engineering and not enough into science. I love both for what they do, engineering lets me make stuff science lets me discover it but engineering pays the bills massively which makes the headwind I think push people on the fence towards it hard and they find out years later they are just maintaining a system and not investigating new ones???

I just want to have that happiness back again in my career direction. I feel it’s largely back outside of that after quitting the previous job. I just can’t seem to get thrilled about any of my options…which is odd for me. Any advice at all either for phd or no phd or in finding that spark or any of this would be hugely appreciated.

I’m NOT prone to depression and often am very happy and juggernauting through life manically haha so this period of uncertainty is really bumming me out!!!

Thanks,

SHORT SUMMARY

Environmental and Chemical engineer MS. Planetary science undergrad with Chemistry/Engineering course focus.

I have been passionate about science since childhood but shifted into business/engineering due to job market fears and academic culture concerns. After years in industry and the public sector, I found the most fulfillment leading a self-initiated project, which reignited my desire to do meaningful scientific work. Now, I feel stuck: jobs I qualify for feel unfulfilling, while the research roles I want often require a PhD, which comes with major personal and lifestyle tradeoffs. I’m torn between pursuing a PhD (possibly abroad) and trying for roles that might not be possible to obtain with an MS or could get me stuck back again in the compliance and response vortex, and I’m struggling with a loss of excitement and direction. Ultimately, I want to regain a sense of purpose and joy in my career that I do genuinely feel for science.

QUESTIONS:

Should I pursue a PhD to access meaningful research roles?

Is there a way to enter research/project-driven work without one?

How can I regain excitement and clarity about my path?

Hi all,

I bought (what I thought was) a real 100% silk bonnet that started out very silky and smooth but became weirdly rough and tacky after a recent wash. I don’t know if this was a real silk bonnet or what. I looked up washing but people described stiffness and roughness that sounds like it wasn’t that much different from the original whereas mine is a completely different product now, zero silky smoothness almost cotton like. Is this what people meant by roughness from washing? It seems impossible for it to go back to its old state but I can try the vinegar hack or anything else someone can suggest. Thabks!

Does anyone have any data or historical backing on the impact of countries like the USA having a majority of their workers (and thus their spenders) gaining their (relatively) high incomes from globalization of labor and wealth?

I was wondering if this is why it’s not possible for “high quality local products” to really exist as much without having an ulterior earning scheme. (like a subscription model or something.) Compared to a six figure salary from cheap labor done in other places (most white collar economy sources at some level with blue collar work feeding from that stem as well) you can’t really make a viable business that would pay you well enough if you made the product yourself.

Just wondering given the rise of scam business culture and if the massive cash flow is in anyway part of the problem.

Thanks

Hi all,

I did some back of the napkin on what someone working as a local creator in a western country (the USA in this case) has to make in order to make enough money to live normally in a community here and basically it was so insanely absurd it clearly made more sense to join white or blue collar work (that is often paid by white collar workers). But the scale was wild. I thought about where the white collar money was coming from and as we sorta all know it’s largely, at the end of the day, coming from exploitation of workers in other very low paying countries to make products sold at global scale both to medium and high paying countries. That’s a huge amount of capital coming in to a much smaller pool of folks, (USA citizen numbers for example vs a lot of the rest of the world) and it made me realize there’s no way to compete with that influx of cash. Your white collar 6 figure job that’s largely fueled in some way by that cheap labor means the cost of living in the place that money comes into is going to go way up to the point where if you are less connected to that global stream (running a local farm, knitting sweaters to sell to folks) you can’t possibly easily make up enough to fill the windfall.

So then I wondered if this is why everything, even products like bread or icecream, are barely not or complete scams. Obviously the mega rich are the worse examples of needing to make more money because their personal spheres are so hyper inflated they feel like they need millions more everyday to stay in the running and are most plugged into that global stream of cash.

I just feel like everything is a scam these days trying to get as much as possible out of you and while I can see the greed of big business, small businesses also it often feels are playing the scam game but many times it’s not a billionaire trying to make 10 million more than the neighbor but likely someone struggling to compete in that globalized market. I will say plenty of small businesses and local businesses I know are much more offering of quality and not scams but it does feel hard to believe that historically every grocery store or tailor or car wash company was a huge scammer trying to get you to subscribe to a package and not just offering a quality product in return for compensation. (In fact I was born before the subscriber shit so I know in fact that much was not a thing really back in the day)

Is it the influx of cash that changed this? People say generically “greed” but that doesn't answer the specifics of what changed in our economies to cause this seemingly stark change in culture.

Off the wall question but I’m not an Econ knowledgable person (chemical engineer/enviro Eng).