u/collegeqathrowaway

For context, early/mid 20s looking to FIRE/FATFIRE at say 45 - I am currently at 280k, in line for a promo next review cycle, and at my firm VPs are averaging 355k.

I run a low overhead, my current car payment is 350 a month for a decent trim, but non-luxury car it’s functional but not fun or super comfortable. I am balancing with the idea that I can easily afford say an 800 a month car payment, but trying to set goals and boundaries to not inflate my life. I’m able to aggressive invest in pre and post tax investments/retirement, and have a small (but growing!) RE portfolio.

As others have said “use your bonus” I don’t touch my bonus really - it’s already preallocated each year - I add a property to my RE Portfolio and then use the rest to take a trip with my partner.

As a native east coaster, I wanted a simple lox bagel, Shugs was recommended to me, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I spend 20 dollars on a lox bagel. They are out of their minds.

So is there any other suggestions in Uptown/Park Cities/Lower Greenville area?

Hey guys, I’m in comp discussions with a F100 for a Director of AI & Technology Innovation role. I am wrapping up my PhD dissertation (Economics) and plan to defend next semester. I went to an undergrad that is a decent target, but my graduate degrees were at known but nontarget schools (think Alabama, UC Boulder, or UPitt).

In this organization the hierarchy is Director > VP > C-Suite. My ultimate goal is C-Suite at a PE PortCo, I have owned P&L, and in this role will be essentially building out the AI transformation department, heavy leadership, direct C-Suite exposure, ownership of P&L and Cloud FinOps.

I am considering an eMBA at a target school in order to have that checkbox because on paper my career trajectory is solid, but I have worked in rooms where people joked on Cornell being a “State School” and I know that classism does exist in these circles, so I am considering Wharton, MIT, Duke, Booth, Kellogg, and a safety at Darden (I am an alum of UVA and legacy + have a great relationship with some people at UVA)

My question is will my profile be completely destroyed in the admissions cycle? I am significantly younger than the average eMBA applicant, have significantly less work experience (but senior level ownership), and I am not the target demographic for eMBAs. I feel there’s no value add at the FT MBA level due to my career trajectory, OpCost, and current total compensation.

From an academics and testing POV, I am fine. I am also published and working towards becoming an SME in my niche field. I think the eMBA is a better fit due to the abundance of senior level students as opposed to FT programs. I’m not targeting MBB or IB, but want to leverage the program to either reach VP internally or externally at a similarly prestigious company, before exiting to C-Suite PE PortCo or Late Stage Startup (CDO, CTO, CIO, COO, etc - not gunning for CEO or CFO due to lack of direct financial exposure)

Currently interviewing at the final stage with a Director level role at a F100 company. I am slated to finish my PhD in Economics in 2027, thus thinking about MBA applications this fall. I previous got into UT Austin and Tepper with money but not enough to make the OpCost worth it.

I know there can be a lot of title inflation at the Director level, but in this org, it’s a senior level. The trajectory from Director is: Director > VP > C-Suite. We [recruiter and I] had a salary discussion - 220 base / 25% bonus / RSUs (not fully sure on RSU package).

My goal is C-Suite at a PE portco. I have a target undergrad degree, but for my graduate degrees I went with solid, but non-target programs (think Indiana, TAMU, Arizona) so I am conflicted because I can do an online MBA and get it paid by the new employer at like BU ($25K) or IU ($30K) but feel to get to C-Suite I really need to push for an in person, t-10 for networking.

I am worried about the OpCost now because assuming M7 with no scholarship, that’s 750K+ lost. Whereas an online program like BU, would be free, and I’d have the opportunity to work and potential promo to the VP level , which gets me closer to my C-Suite goals.

Any advice? I’m mid 20s, so still not eligible for eMBAs, plus not looking to take out 100K in debt.

My last post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/s/IQL6R2obXF

Just signed a 3 month lease in one of the cities listed in the last post. After that 3 months is up, I’ll be likely doing Toronto or LA for the fall!

Thanks guys for the suggestions, I am partly scared because this is a totally new place to me, I am worried about homesickness, but excited to experience everything I can.