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I'm an IT generalist, mostly a sysadmin but I was once a coder. Closer to the end of my career than the beginning. I've given up on getting hired as an FTE and I want to put together an IT contracting practice in a more current niche than sysadmin. If you were in my situation, I'd like to hear from you about how you found yourself there and what you specifically did to pivot to success. [more inside]
posted by Quesaak at 4:35 PM - 1 answers

I have never taken unemployment before, but according to my state's calculator (Oregon), I may qualify for, what is to me, a significant amount of money. I teach year-round at a college on a class-by-class basis, usually teaching two classes at a time. A couple of months ago, due to low enrollment, I was dropped to teaching one class, and this may go on for some time. (Not sure if these particulars matter, but I thought I should include them in case they affect my question). Are there any downsides I should know about before applying?
posted by anonymous at 3:01 AM - 7 answers

My parent and I have have essentially permanently swapped cars. Both are paid off and insured. Is there a good reason to go through the process of changing titles/insurance/etc. Or is it ok to just leave it as it is? [more inside]
posted by roaring beast at 1:14 PM - 19 answers

My daughter is 20. She has no driver's license or picture ID, but needs an independent checking account. Help? [more inside]
posted by Orlop at 5:28 PM - 11 answers

My 6-year-old is going to make $100, how could we use this to start his education about money? [more inside]
posted by Toddles at 9:16 AM - 12 answers

My brother got a job with the United States Post Office. However, due to series of unintended errors he did not get an Employee Id Number (EIN) until the end of the first pay period. So he was unable to sign up for direct deposit and on payday there was no paper check for him. He is wondering if this is normal so anyone with experience with working for USPS would be helpful. [more inside]
posted by clocksock at 6:35 AM - 3 answers

Is it possible to set up a mutual fund / ETF investment account that does automatic WITHDRAWS every month, quarter, or otherwise periodically? I know auto-invest is a common feature and in fact I use it on at least one account. I'm asking for the opposite: a platform that can cash out a certain proportion of my investments periodically, on autopilot, until they're used up. See within for more details and why I would want to do this. [more inside]
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 6:40 PM - 5 answers

What are your best tips and tricks for email management in Outlook? I'm about to start a new job (yay!), and my inbox had gotten way out of control at my current one. I'm looking for some ideas to be more organized this time.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 4:02 PM - 12 answers

This fall I'll start studying to become an experience designer (yay!), coming mostly from a web dev/e-com background. I want to better understand what companies look for in an experience designer, so I can start taking appropriate actions to improve my chances of landing a great job in the future. What are the things I can do (skills, tools, activities) in the next two years that will wow future employers and recruiters?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:55 AM - 9 answers

I have been trying to find a new job with very little success since the end of 2020. After a lot of failed attempts. I finally landed an interview for a data science position at a startup, which I thought went very well. After the interview, they asked me for professional references, including from my current supervisor. After a very prolonged process from there, I finally learned I didn't get the job. Today I learned from a personal contact within the company that despite his assurances to me that he'd be happy to give me a positive reference, my boss failed to do so, and his equivocal endorsement was a major factor in their decision. In fact, prior to speaking with him, they'd been enthusiastic about hiring me. I'm gutted, but also very concerned this will happen again. How do I deal with a less-than-positive reference from my supervisor in future applications? [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 5:49 AM - 22 answers

I had a streak of bad luck with jobs, and then suddenly maybe a ray of hope? Looking to rid some guilt with quitting and some reassurance that it will hopefully be ok? [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 10:32 AM - 28 answers

I'm self-employed and get my health insurance through the NY exchange. I earn too much to get tax credits, but I guess because of some Covid legislation, they've widened the eligibility, so now I AM eligible, but I can't figure out how to show it. Do you know anything about this? [more inside]
posted by gigondas at 5:19 PM - 3 answers

Well, I accepted a job in a manager position and I've been here for two weeks and I truly DESPISE it. What do I do now? [more inside]
posted by VirginiaPlain at 10:33 AM - 27 answers

Fake unemployment claims have been filed under my name in two states. I'm confused as to how this scam works for the scammer -- I assume they used my social security number, but why did they use my actual address? It was the letters from the 2 Departments of Labor to my home address with my claimant info that alerted me to the fraud, and today I even received a Visa debit card from the NJ Dept of Labor & Bank of America. [more inside]
posted by oh yeah! at 9:20 AM - 4 answers

I've got a few related tax questions, and I'm not sure where to go to the get the answers. This relates to sharing custody of my kid and who claims him as a dependent, and also figuring out what my actual 2020 tax return looks like. If I need to talk to a tax accountant, that's fine, and I'd welcome tips on finding a good one, but perhaps you all can shed some light in the meantime. [more inside]
posted by bluedaisy at 1:35 PM - 3 answers

I inherited some money from my aunt, in the form of an IRA. I'd like to use some or all of that money as a down payment on a house, but since it's an IRA, my understanding is that I'd end up paying a penalty for withdrawing it early. I know pretty much nothing about finances, and trying to read stuff online often makes me more confused. What's the best way for me to use this money to buy a house while incurring the smallest possible penalty? Is there a way? [more inside]
posted by kevinbelt at 10:40 AM - 15 answers

An international development consulting firm (we are both in the USA) is interested in adding me to a proposal that's due next Friday, and is asking for my participation in a "design session" in the next week and potentially a "technical presentation" if the proposal goes into the next round of review. This feels a hell of a lot like writing the grant one's own salary gets paid from, which I learned early on was a major no-no. Is this normal? How should I respond? More details below. [more inside]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 3:42 PM - 9 answers

I Love helping people in excel. I notice, two years into my current job, that about 30 people ask me for help in excel in the regular, and I'm formally training about 50/year in hour long sessions. I just love it. But how can I /should I monetize it? [more inside]
posted by bbqturtle at 3:07 PM - 13 answers

I run a site which accepts (paypal) donations to help with expenses. Not a lot of folks donate, but someone recently asked if they could donate cryptocurrency (not sure which currency). Is there an easy way for me to allow this without becoming enmeshed in some byzantine or sketchy ecosystem? [more inside]
posted by maxwelton at 2:42 PM - 3 answers

I've recently started working as a manager of a non-profit-ish organization (I need to be vague, but think public service). It turns out that the previous manager let go due to poor conduct, to put it nicely. I've kind of inherited a mess because of this and I don't really KNOW where to begin or how to wrap my head around walking into a shit storm. This is also my first managerial position. Gulp. [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 1:12 PM - 22 answers