raccoon_cat said:

Confession: my corporate tech-y job has taken a huge toll on my mental health over the past few years, and my efforts to find a new one have all been unsuccessful. It's really starting to wear me down and make me want to get out of this line of work. However, I would either have to take a much lower paying job or go back to school to do that. I have two young kids and a mortgage, so the idea of taking a barely-above-minimum-wage job just to stick it to my corporate overlords is an idiotic move. It wouldn't even cover the cost of daycare.

As the child of two educated professionals, it was always assumed that I would do well in school, go to college, get a white collar job of some type, work 30-40 years, blah blah blah. And I was fine with that. Went to college, did everything you're supposed to, but then really "fumbled the bag" after that in terms of career path. I eventually found my way into the tech field because up until 2022 the jobs were plentiful and the barrier to entry was relatively low. Well, now if you're not doing all the AI all the time (and also cheerleading about how amazing it is), nobody gives you the time of day. I am not an AI enthusiast, let me put it that way. I just want to punch the clock and work on my shit.

Confession: the idea of enrolling in an HVAC/R program at a tech school near me is pretty appealing. I feel like a lot of you shroomers are rough-hewn tradespeople. Is the idea of a 36 year old, college educated father of 2 preschool kids going to HVAC school ridiculous? Any time I take a career strengths assessment type thing it says I'm a pragmatic fixer type person and I think that's true. The idea of showing up to the job site, fixing/installing/etc the stuff, go home, do it again....that's SUPER appealing. And HVAC seems to be very in demand. But that's just my outsider's viewpoint bolstered somewhat by a glance at my local pipefitter's union website and the school's program descriptions. I don't want to be naive. I'm somewhat concerned that everyone else has this same idea and I'll come out the other side competing for scraps with every other white collar refugee who got replaced by AI or what have you.

So...TL;DR just looking for thumb-in-the-air shroomified takes on the trades job market and any advice. I enjoy lurking and reading all your conversations.

---

OLDDAD77 said:

mushboy said:

one of the best things i did was quit my middle management job and go into beer distribution.

for me, not having to fone in the fakeness to enforce dumbass procedures and policy was worth the 10k salary cut.

kinda hard to enjoy the money when you spend it all to cope with how awful the work is.

---

I have some friends that work for Premium. They all love it. One of my close friends from high school is the sales director for New Belgium, east coast and Canada. At least he was last time we spoke. He may have been promoted by now.

---

the only downside to the beer industry is the toxic culture. no matter how you cut it or what your beliefs are the entire beer world is filled with assholes.

they do drink all day so i guess you get what you get

mushboy said:

OLDDAD77 said:

mushboy said:

one of the best things i did was quit my middle management job and go into beer distribution.

for me, not having to fone in the fakeness to enforce dumbass procedures and policy was worth the 10k salary cut.

kinda hard to enjoy the money when you spend it all to cope with how awful the work is.

---

I have some friends that work for Premium. They all love it. One of my close friends from high school is the sales director for New Belgium, east coast and Canada. At least he was last time we spoke. He may have been promoted by now.

---

the only downside to the beer industry is the toxic culture. no matter how you cut it or what your beliefs are the entire beer world is filled with assholes.

they do drink all day so i guess you get what you get

---

Quote:

---

Churpee Choozle said:

What does your partner think of your plans, assuming you live together etc? And how much leeway do you have anyway, in terms of mortgage / bills?

---

As the primary recipient of the shitty fallout from said mental health struggles over the years, my wife supports anything that gets me away from it. She has a pretty stable, mostly bullshit-free desk job of her own where her boss actually respects her competence and leaves her alone to do her work. She doesn't make great money, but it would be enough to cover mortgage and most bills if I were to go get that certificate. We would probably dip into savings a bit here and there but it wouldn't be too bad.

Childcare is the big unknown. I love pretty much everything about where I live except for the outrageous childcare costs. I pay over $3K a month for daycare (2 kids.) It's more than my mortgage by a good margin. Absolutely insane that a society as rich as ours makes parents pay such a hefty tax for daring to reproduce and also have a job so we can contribute to society and shit, but I digress. Whether it's feasible to juggle stay-at-home-dad plus grandparents as a childcare alternative will be a big factor in whether I can actually go back to school soon. That's what I need to figure out - what programs are available, can I start in the spring semester, what the actual class/lab schedule looks like, budget, etc. Because while my wife can cover mortgage/groceries/etc, we definitely would not be able to afford daycare on top of that if I'm not working.

@Headass, that's an interesting path for sure! I don't mind monotonous. I've been doing monotony for years. I can get my kicks from playing music and shit. I just want a job that is nothing more than a job. Doesn't need to be a passion, a calling, or whatever. I could go on and on about that but that's kind of where I've landed as far as this whole career thing goes.

Thanks for reading my rants and weighing in.

AZ Starman2112 said:

Can you get me a keg of Sour in the Rye? You’d be the king of distro in my eyes if you could!

---

ha. i know the beer. its been discontinued for awhile

personally i found it absolutely revolting

smoked beers are my jam. if youve never had a smoked beer with a burger holy shit

mushboy said:

AZ Starman2112 said:

Can you get me a keg of Sour in the Rye? You’d be the king of distro in my eyes if you could!

---

ha. i know the beer. its been discontinued for awhile

personally i found it absolutely revolting

smoked beers are my jam. if youve never had a smoked beer with a burger holy shit

---

Vegeta said:

Not a bootlicker = no TC tag

---

boxtrotalpha said:

I've never even heard of smoked beer but I want it. Any good recommendations?

---

this import is kind of the standard.

some 'micro' breweries will make them. think of a really good dark lager but has a camp fire taste. like a super roasty porter that drinks like a lager.


von trapp makes a good seasonal called trosten. cant think of any larger breweries at the moment. but they are out there.

i love to cook with them. braised meats. deglazing a browned beef taco pan ... oh man

Mackload said:

you must have a large stove

---

raccoon_cat said:

Confession: my corporate tech-y job has taken a huge toll on my mental health over the past few years, and my efforts to find a new one have all been unsuccessful. It's really starting to wear me down and make me want to get out of this line of work. However, I would either have to take a much lower paying job or go back to school to do that. I have two young kids and a mortgage, so the idea of taking a barely-above-minimum-wage job just to stick it to my corporate overlords is an idiotic move. It wouldn't even cover the cost of daycare.

As the child of two educated professionals, it was always assumed that I would do well in school, go to college, get a white collar job of some type, work 30-40 years, blah blah blah. And I was fine with that. Went to college, did everything you're supposed to, but then really "fumbled the bag" after that in terms of career path. I eventually found my way into the tech field because up until 2022 the jobs were plentiful and the barrier to entry was relatively low. Well, now if you're not doing all the AI all the time (and also cheerleading about how amazing it is), nobody gives you the time of day. I am not an AI enthusiast, let me put it that way. I just want to punch the clock and work on my shit.

Confession: the idea of enrolling in an HVAC/R program at a tech school near me is pretty appealing. I feel like a lot of you shroomers are rough-hewn tradespeople. Is the idea of a 36 year old, college educated father of 2 preschool kids going to HVAC school ridiculous? Any time I take a career strengths assessment type thing it says I'm a pragmatic fixer type person and I think that's true. The idea of showing up to the job site, fixing/installing/etc the stuff, go home, do it again....that's SUPER appealing. And HVAC seems to be very in demand. But that's just my outsider's viewpoint bolstered somewhat by a glance at my local pipefitter's union website and the school's program descriptions. I don't want to be naive. I'm somewhat concerned that everyone else has this same idea and I'll come out the other side competing for scraps with every other white collar refugee who got replaced by AI or what have you.

So...TL;DR just looking for thumb-in-the-air shroomified takes on the trades job market and any advice. I enjoy lurking and reading all your conversations.

---

mushboy said:

AZ Starman2112 said:

Can you get me a keg of Sour in the Rye? You’d be the king of distro in my eyes if you could!

---

ha. i know the beer. its been discontinued for awhile

personally i found it absolutely revolting

smoked beers are my jam. if youve never had a smoked beer with a burger holy shit

---

AZ Starman2112 said:

mushboy said:

AZ Starman2112 said:

Can you get me a keg of Sour in the Rye? You’d be the king of distro in my eyes if you could!

---

ha. i know the beer. its been discontinued for awhile

personally i found it absolutely revolting

smoked beers are my jam. if youve never had a smoked beer with a burger holy shit

---

Yep, had quite a many of smoked beers. They do go well with grilled foods! I hate to admit, but I’ve got well over 5000 unique untappd check ins. Almost 8000 check ins. I gave up trying to log them all in. Sad to hear they discontinued Sour in the Rye. If sour isn’t your jam, then I could understand why you would t like it.

I’ve been out of that loop for a while. The Bruery used to make great sours and stouts. I have quite a few in my cellar. Personally on the west coast though for sours I think my faves going back were The Rare Barrel, De Garde & Cascade were better than Bruery Terreux. I’ve got a bunch of those too. Last year I opened a 2011 Cascade Tangerine Dream and it was still delicious.

---

I confess I spent way too much time and money chasing beers. This was a good sour night…

RoscoeReturns said:

AZ Starman2112 said:

mushboy said:

AZ Starman2112 said:

Can you get me a keg of Sour in the Rye? You’d be the king of distro in my eyes if you could!

---

ha. i know the beer. its been discontinued for awhile

personally i found it absolutely revolting

smoked beers are my jam. if youve never had a smoked beer with a burger holy shit

---

Yep, had quite a many of smoked beers. They do go well with grilled foods! I hate to admit, but I’ve got well over 5000 unique untappd check ins. Almost 8000 check ins. I gave up trying to log them all in. Sad to hear they discontinued Sour in the Rye. If sour isn’t your jam, then I could understand why you would t like it.

I’ve been out of that loop for a while. The Bruery used to make great sours and stouts. I have quite a few in my cellar. Personally on the west coast though for sours I think my faves going back were The Rare Barrel, De Garde & Cascade were better than Bruery Terreux. I’ve got a bunch of those too. Last year I opened a 2011 Cascade Tangerine Dream and it was still delicious.

---

I confess I spent way too much time and money chasing beers. This was a good sour night…

---