u/Cardiologist3mpty138

Just recently moved to town. Looking for a place that has a machine in like their drive thru where you can insert your card and then do direct cash deposits onto that card. Preferably places where you can do this without having an account with that particular institution. Like an ATM.

I only ask because I have some cash on hand I need to put on my personal card but my credit union is several hours away.

Thanks

Hello I’m a new hire at Collins in Iowa. Started June 29th. When should I expect my sign on bonus? Our first paycheck? When should I expect my first paycheck?

Serious responses only please. Thank you.

Hello. I’m a new grad in computer engineering. A few weeks back I started a “systems engineering” role in the defense industry. For the sake of anonymity I won’t disclose where. I’ve discovered that the kind of work differs quite radically from my expectations. It’s endless “requirements traceability/gathering” in DOORS and Microsoft Excel. People with the title of “engineer” spending all day getting paid to do what is essentially glorified, mindless data entry. That or sit in meetings all day, conducting “reviews” where the only “work” is to literally correct grammatical/formatting errors in Microsoft Word/Excel. No real, hands on, technically challenging engineering work whatsoever.

I’ve posted about this here before, and the usual response I get is to “stick it out a year” then start trying to find something else. My issue is that I don’t know how I can last an entire year in this kind of a role, or how I’m going to land ANY kind of new role, internally or externally, with this kind of experience if I can’t do anything technical. If all I have to show is requirements work. I am concerned that my role, and really my entire team, is also likely to be the first targeted by any potential layoffs in the future. It feels like easily outsourced work, given you could literally train a middle-schooler to sit and manually enter requirements into Excel and DOORS all day. There’s little to no skill involved, in my observation.

I’m really, really torn right now. I’ve had several people tell me point blank that my entire career is ruined. That it’s gonna be virtually impossible to do any hands on work unless I’m a senior engineer or above. That getting hired will be difficult if not impossible with requirements experience in my CV. Meanwhile, others have said doing work with requirements is useful and could serve as a good stepping stone towards helping me land better roles. Personally, I feel like this easily may set me behind a year or more in terms of my career progression. At this stage of my life, time is the most valuable asset, and so this is disappointing.

Another thing I don’t understand with systems engineering is why entry roles for it even exist in the first place. Like don’t you need years of actual technical design experience with a product before you can reliably understand the requirements for said product? It seems like a primarily later stage career path for seasoned engineers with a wide breadth of knowledge accumulated throughout their career, not a launching pad for the career of an entry level engineer. Like I don’t know how you make an actual impact in a systems engineering role, when most of the work requires built up knowledge of products/hardware/software you haven’t even had the chance to interact with in a technical engineering setting.

Obviously though, at the end of the day, a job is a job. Experience is experience, and in the current job market, I’m beyond grateful for anything at all. I have no intentions on quitting my role without something else lined up obviously. It’s just I want to be doing more actual engineering work while I’m still young. I went to university for 5 years for engineering, and to be stuck doing simple data entry tasks with no opportunities to apply any of the skills I learned in school feels like such an immense waste of so much money and time.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, particularly from any young engineers who may have started in this kind of role, but found their way into a better position for their second role. What tips would you give to someone like myself? Thank you!

Hello. I’m a new grad. A few weeks back I started a “systems engineering” role in the defense industry. For the sake of anonymity I won’t disclose where. In short, I took the offer because I really need to start my career, and didn’t have the wherewithal for grad school. I’m 26 and have been in school too long due to the pandemic. Since starting, I’ve discovered that the kind of work the team is doing differs quite radically from my expectations. It’s endless “requirements traceability/gathering” in DOORS and Microsoft Excel. People with the title of “engineer” spending all day getting paid to do what is essentially glorified, mindless data entry. That or sit in meetings all day, conducting “reviews” where the only “work” is to literally correct grammatical/formatting errors in Microsoft Word/Excel. No real, hands on, technically challenging engineering work whatsoever.

I’ve posted about this here before, and the usual response I get is to “stick it out a year” then start trying to find something else. My issue is that I don’t know how I can last an entire year in this kind of a role, or how I’m going to land ANY kind of new role, internally or externally, with this kind of experience if I can’t do anything technical. If all I have to show is requirements work. I am concerned that my role, and really my entire team, is also likely to be the first targeted by any potential layoffs in the future. It feels like easily outsourced work, given you could literally train a middle-schooler to sit and manually enter requirements into Excel and DOORS all day. There’s little to no skill involved, in my observation.

I’m really, really torn right now. I’ve had several people tell me point blank that my career prospects are ruined. That it’s gonna be virtually impossible to do any hands on work unless I’m a senior engineer or above. That getting hired will be difficult if not impossible with requirements experience in my CV. Meanwhile, others have said doing work with requirements is useful and could serve as a good stepping stone towards helping me land better roles. Personally, I feel like this easily may set me behind a year or more in terms of my career progression. At this stage of my life, time is the most valuable asset, and so this is disappointing.

Another thing I don’t understand with systems engineering is why entry roles for it even exist in the first place. Like don’t you need years of actual technical design experience with a product before you can reliably understand the requirements for said product? It seems like a primarily later stage career path for seasoned engineers with a wide breadth of knowledge accumulated throughout their career, not a launching pad for the career of an entry level engineer. Like I don’t know how you make an actual impact in a systems engineering role, when most of the work requires built up knowledge of products/hardware/software you haven’t even had the chance to truly interact with.

Obviously though, at the end of the day, a job is a job. Experience is experience, and in the current job market, I’m beyond grateful for anything at all. I have no intentions on quitting my role without something else lined up obviously. It’s just I want to be doing more actual engineering work while I’m still young. I went to university for 5 years for engineering, and to be stuck doing simple data entry tasks in Excel and Word with no opportunities to apply any of the skills I learned in school feels like such an immense waste of so much money and time.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, particularly from any young engineers who may have started in this kind of role, but found their way into a better position for their second role. What tips would you give to someone like myself? Thank you!

Hello. I have just started an entry level engineering role in the defense industry (my title is officially systems engineer) in Iowa. I come from a computer/electrical engineering background. My interests are embedded systems, hardware design, and cybersecurity testing of hardware.

On paper, I should be happy. I’m starting this entry level role a month after graduation, giving me a perfect opportunity to begin paying off my loans ASAP and saving up. The starting salary is solid, and likely the highest I could have reasonably received in the timeframe I had. Coming from someone who had to work all throughout high school and college, and has never had family helping me financially, I was desperate and took the offer because I need to start my career. I didn’t have the energy for a masters.

Still, I am very concerned currently about my career prospects over the next 2-3 years, to put it mildly. I’m very afraid I’ll be stuck doing work purely relating to requirements traceability/gathering or other nontechnical documentation. I’ve been told this is a less than ideal path to take especially for someone directly out of college. I really don’t want to pigeonhole myself and get stuck in Iowa forever, which is what many people have told me will happen if I take this current route.

I’m in my mid 20s (left for two years due to COVID) and really want to work somewhere with better weather, and more social/career opportunities while I’m still in my prime. I want to do work that’s more technical, hands on, and fulfilling to me personally. But I just don’t know how I can network my way into those kinds of locations. There’s so much competition, and I just don’t know what more I can do to make myself stand out enough. Again, I had to work constantly during undergrad and had no ability to get involved in extracurriculars.

It just kind of hurts. I see all my friends landing jobs in Seattle or the East Coast effortlessly while I’m stuck wasting my youth away in the Midwest. I know I’m good enough to get out of here, I just don’t have the huge network a lot of my other fellow graduates do. I’m the first in my family to do any form of engineering whatsoever. Neither of my parents were in anything remotely resembling engineering for careers.

Just curious to hear from any other young engineers out there who started their careers in a less than ideal location and, despite thinking or being told they would be stuck, managed to get something in a better location. What advice would you give to someone like myself?

Hello. I have just started a systems engineer position at Collins in Cedar Rapids. I come from a computer/electrical engineering background. My interests are embedded systems, hardware design, and cybersecurity testing of hardware. I want to do work that’s hands on eventually, and greatly value job security over the next 5-10 years.

On paper, I should be happy. I’m starting this entry level role a month after graduation, giving me a perfect opportunity to begin paying off my loans ASAP and saving up. The starting salary is solid, and likely the highest I could have reasonably received in the timeframe I had. Coming from someone who had to work all throughout high school and college, and has never had family helping me financially, I was desperate and took the offer because I need to start my career. I also didn’t have the energy for a masters.

Still, I am very concerned currently about my career prospects over the next 2-3 years, to put it mildly. I’m very afraid I’ll be stuck doing work purely relating to requirements traceability/gathering or other nontechnical documentation. At least this was the type of work I did during my internship, which was more integration planning and beginning to lay the foundation for later work over many years. Alas, I’ve been told requirements work is a less than ideal path to take especially for someone directly out of college. I really don’t want to pigeonhole myself and get stuck in Iowa forever, which is what many people have told me will happen if I take this current route.

I’m in my mid 20s, single, and really want to work somewhere with better weather, and more social/career opportunities while I’m still in my prime. I want to do work that’s more technical, hands on, and fulfilling to me personally. But I just don’t know how I can network my way into those kinds of roles/locations. The few times I have tried networking I’ve either been ghosted or the conversation has turned incredibly awkward. There’s also so much competition for more desirable locations, and I just don’t know what more I can do to make myself stand out enough. Again, I had to work constantly during undergrad and had no ability to get involved in extracurriculars.

It just kind of hurts I guess, seeing all my friends and classmates graduate and immediately get offers in Florida or California or Washington while I’m stuck in the Midwest. It was great to grow up here, and is great to raise a family, but as an adult I feel like I’m wasting my potential here. There’s nothing for me here. You’d think I’ve proved myself enough up until this point with the degree, but the corporate world is an entirely new ballgame.

Just curious to hear from any other young engineers out there who started their careers in a less than ideal location (be it Iowa or elsewhere) and, despite thinking or being told they would be stuck, managed to get something in a better location. What advice would you give to someone like myself?

Just moved from Ames to Cedar Rapids to start my first job on the 29th, and really need to drive the 2 hrs back to Ames to pick up additional items I wasn’t able to bring with me during my first trip.

My issue is that Enterprise, who I usually rent cars with, has no cars available at any locations here in Cedar Rapids. I’ve tried multiple times over multiple dates and literally nothing is available. I don’t get it. People have recommended other places like Budget and Hertz, but the issue is that all these places seem to require proof of insurance and a major credit card. Usually renting with Enterprise is super simple. I just show my license, pick up the car, and then drop it off when finished. No credit check, no nothing.

I don’t have a major credit card currently as I’ve been waiting to start my first real full time job before really opening one. I have proof of insurance, I’d just need to probably have my agent email me my updated policy card. I haven’t had my own car in 10 months, so I haven’t really had the need to keep tabs on my insurance.

This is just really frustrating, because I’m literally just trying to drive less than 2 hrs to pick up some basic stuff I need before I start my job. I don’t have any family or friends that I can rely on to give me rides either. Any advice is appreciated. I’m new to town, so not really sure what to do.

Anyone have the link to the local discord for Pokémon Go. Not sure if it still exists or not, as it’s been several years since I was in there.

Just moved to CR for my first job and looking for a new doctor/general physician as I’ve been with the same doctor back home in the Quad Cities my entire life thusfar. Any recommendations? It seems like MercyHealth is the main place in CR.

Hello! Just moved to Cedar Rapids and looking to open a new account with a bank and or credit union in town. As far as credit unions go, I’ve heard most people recommending either Collins, Veridian, or Dupaco. How do these three compare?

Similarly, what are some good banks in the area? For background I’m in my mid 20s, just starting my first job, and wanting to start seriously investing/becoming more financially independent. In particular wanting to open my first high yield savings account soon. I am looking to likely open a new account with both a local credit union and a bank for more widespread coverage. Thanks

Hello. Just recently moved to Cedar Rapids from out of state. Trying to rent a car for a day from the local Enterprise but it says there’s no availability. Are there any other legit, affordable places in town where one can rent a vehicle for an afternoon?

I know there’s a lot of posts regarding this similar topic, but hear me out. I’m 26 years old, never dated, never had friends, and I just graduated college. I was raised in a very toxic, violent, abusive, religious home environment that, put it simply, forced me to focus only on school until now. I have a male dominated job, and live in a rural, mostly religious red state (Iowa) without any real friends or family connections. My only social opportunities are bars or churches tbh.

I’m gonna be honest, I’m really scared. Everyone constantly says if you blow it dating-wise in high school and college, you’re fucked. The issue with this is that, in addition to my toxic family, I also had to work while I was in school. This made it virtually impossible to get involved in literally any fucking clubs or extracurriculars. The thought of my life being this way, alone without any form of companionship, until I’m old and fragile regularly keeps me up at night. As more and more of the people I knew growing up are locking themselves into place with relationships, marriage, and children, I feel like a failed person. Like my window is quickly closing and I am utterly powerless to change my fate.

There is nothing more painful emotionally than to watch the prime of your life slipping out of your hands, to watch everyone else experience love and affection and validation as a teen and early adult while being unable to experience it in any form yourself, not even from family. It’s gotten to the point now where it’s taken such a heavy toll on my psyche. I’m so far behind everyone else my age sexually, and have no idea how to catch up. They had all these first experiences over a decade ago, while I struggle with the basics. I don’t know if it’s my looks (feel free to stalk my profile and see pics I’ve posted of my face) or if I’m just too socially awkward.

I guess I’m just posting here to hear from any others who experienced something similar in life and managed to turn things around in their mid/late 20s and early 30s. I really just need any reassurances. Thanks

Currently been on Verizon for about 6 months. I have the lowest tier plan I believe ($70 or $80). Anyways, I’m currently on a 2 week trip to Japan, and really needing to make calls/text SMS back and forth with family/friends/my bank in the U.S.

Everyone online keeps telling me to upgrade to the “international” plan through Verizon, but the problem with this is in order for me to log into my Verizon app, there has to be a confirmation code sent via SMS. I can’t receive SMS texts or make calls, so I can’t even log into the app in the first place.

Sorry if this is a really dumb question, but how can I approach this issue? Any advice is appreciated. I just mainly want to make sure I can pay my monthly bill within the next week.

Let me preface by saying… I’m an idiot and this is my first time visiting Japan, so if this is addressed at length in this sub, I apologize.

I just landed in Haneda 2 hours ago and have been scrambling a bit. I was under the impression before I came here that an eSIM, the one you buy electronically, covered calls and SMS. I have since found out that is not true, and that I will need a physical sim. This is at least according to someone working in the airport. I also simply tried doing it myself and it doesn’t work.

I have an iPhone 17 Pro on Verizon. I have an eSIM for data but am trying to figure out a way to be able to call and text over the 2 weeks I’ll be here. This is important as I need to be in contact with my bank and other people back in the U.S throughout the next week. Around the 1st of the month in particular.

I’ve been told they only sell eSIMs here in the airport. Are there any places nearby that have what I would need?

Just landed in Japan and wanting to load money from my Apple Wallet (Apple Cash specifically along with an physical card I have linked through Apple Wallet) onto Suica so I can use the trains. Whenever I try loading money in through Apple Pay, despite having enough, it declines. Any reason for this?

You’re ruthlessly fighting and competing against other people who were literally born with nothing but privilege and wealth. They have every imaginable advantage over you. Every aspect of life in the U.S is pay to play: education, the corporate environment, taking care of your health, everything. If you have money, you can be the most incompetent person on the face of the earth and still stumble into your dream job and eternal financial stability. You can live in the best, healthiest, most walkable, in demand cities. You can have a vibrant social life, well balanced diet, and overall have an enjoyable existence with little stress.

But if you weren’t born into the lucky sperm club, every single moment of every single day is a nerve racking stressful shitstorm capable of inducing an anxiety attack. Not only are you walking on a tightrope trying to avoid emergencies that could wipe you out for years, but you’ve got people who were born into the “special club” who try and belittle you every step of the way. And often in very subtle, petty ways too. They observe you like an animal. They try and act condescending towards you because you don’t look the way they do, have the same kind of lifestyle as them, or come from the same kind of cookie cutter suburban neighborhoods they do. This is all regardless of actual ability, btw. In many cases, especially in the corporate world, they’re no smarter than you are. They simply got to where they are through ass-kissing and nepotism.

Not everyone with money is like this, I’ll be the first to admit. But in my experience many of them are. Many of them are disconnected from how reality is for most people and have very weird, quirky mannerisms and belief systems about other people. They’ve never had to wonder where their next meal comes from. Never have had a family emergency. Frankly, their money detaches them from objective reality and turns them into mindless corporate drones. Dressing the same way. Talking in the same cadence and inflection. There’s an alarming preponderance of people in the corporate sphere who, despite claiming to be “religious”, are some of the most close-minded, bigoted people to ever exist.

And then you’ve got people you grew up with who are stuck in poverty and have no desire to escape who you suddenly can’t relate to anymore. They treat you differently once they find out you have money. Everything changes. It’s like night and day. I’ve had old friends become jealous and cut me off, which really hurts. Many remain supportive though. And then you start seeing bad habits that oftentimes keep them from living a better life. It begins feeling like a curse. A curse of knowing too much. Of being too overly aware.

I just don’t know who I can trust anymore. I don’t know how to navigate any of this. People in the corporate environment are fake as fuck and will backstab you at the first opportunity to advance up the ladder, yet my friends back home in poverty just don’t understand that I don’t wanna live my life like I’m fucking 16 years old anymore. I want stability. I want independence. I can’t eat junk food and watch TV for the rest of my life. I want to have a slightly better standard of living.

If you’re currently on the fence trying to decide if you should return to college, particularly for engineering, beyond the conventional age range of 18-22, this post is for you.

I graduated high school in 2018. Immediately after, I went to community college to get prerequisite courses out of the way for engineering. I was always in love with science and math and wanted to use those skills to create a positive impact on the world. Everything seemed to be going well in my life at first. Fast forward to 2020 though, and I wrapped up community college right as the pandemic hit. I transferred to university hectically that July.

Two weeks into my first semester in September 2020, I had several family emergencies that forced me to leave school. My dad died suddenly, and I needed to support the rest of my family financially. It was just too overwhelming. I was also living in an apartment with people I hardly knew. We were approaching the 2020 election and all the resulting chaos and talks of civil unrest. There were riots near me due to the circumstances involving George Floyd. Truly a horrific sequence of events—the greatest string of bad luck in my life thusfar.

I left school, and moved back home in late 2020. It was one of the hardest decisions to make. 2021 was a rough year. I was living back with my mom. I worked retail and other IT jobs that paid nothing. I felt like I was stifling my potential. Fast forward to mid 2022, and I finally snapped while working overnight shifts at Walmart, and decided to return to school. I knew I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t try and go back. I got my car repaired, and drove to my university and started looking for apartments. I fully started school again at 22 years old.

The first few years, the age gap wasn’t really noticeable tbh, but as I neared the end of my degree (particularly the last year), it became more and more obvious. By the time I graduated last week at 26, trust me, I was more than ready to get the hell out of school. I was so burnt out from all the bullshit. Now, I’ve just graduated with a job lined up making more than I ever could have made on my own in 3.5 years back in my hometown. Easily. And once I get a year or two of experience, I intend on trying to get a much better paying job elsewhere (preferably out of the Midwest). Sure I have debt, but a small enough amount that I can easily pay off in several years.

All in all, I’d say my age put a LOT more into perspective. It made me more able to tune out a lot of the irrelevant noise that infiltrates your life in college. I didn’t really care about being popular. I wasn’t as focused on having the highest GPA, yet still managed to get internships and co-ops. I was more confident in myself more importantly, and didn’t have the pressure of expectations from parents weighing down on me constantly like a lot of kids. This allowed me to figure so much out on my own which was very cathartic.

Obviously there’s people older than me with more inspirational stories to tell, but I just thought I’d get my story out there for anyone who’s really trying to decide if it’s worth going back to school. My answer is an emphatic yes. It’s worth returning, but keep in mind that it gets harder and harder each year. Obviously, returning to school at 30 is much easier than 40 or 45. Ultimately you and you alone are the one who can make that determination. No one else.

First time booking with AA. Booked a flight to Japan in February. I honestly can’t remember if I added on a carry on bag to my flight. Where can I find this out?

Spring 2026 graduate. How long after graduation before we receive our diplomas in the mail and online? This is my first time graduating so no idea what the protocol is