I’m a full-time data center engineer making $69k with flight benefits (standby). I’ve been offered a contract role at the same company to move into a SOC analyst position — which would finally get me into cybersecurity, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. But with AI changing the landscape so fast, I’m second-guessing whether it’s still a smart move. Worth the jump or not?
I’m new to DIY/home projects and I started trying to remove old paint from our deck. My girlfriend wanted it done today, but I honestly didn’t realize how involved this project was going to be.
At first, I bought an orbital sander because I thought I could sand the paint off. I tried that and it barely did anything. Then someone at the store told me I’d probably need to remove the paint first before sanding, so I got paint remover. I also pressure washed the deck for around 2–3 hours, and I spent about another hour applying paint remover. Even after all that, it barely removed much because the paint seems really stuck on.
I moved the deck furniture/stuff onto the grass so I could work, which I know made the yard look messy. My girlfriend got upset and said I didn’t plan right and that I just made a bigger mess. I get why she’s annoyed because it doesn’t look finished, and there’s stuff everywhere, but from my side I was trying to take initiative and figure it out as I went.
I’ll admit I underestimated the job and probably should’ve researched the timeline better before starting. But I wasn’t trying to be careless or lazy. I genuinely thought this was something I could knock out in a day, and once I realized the paint wasn’t coming off easily, I tried different steps to fix it.
Is this something that realistically could have been done in one day, or is deck paint removal usually a multi-day job? Did I actually plan this badly, or is this just one of those DIY projects that gets messier before it gets better?