u/rajan_h_joshi

So apparently I broke my wife's laptop, and I have to buy it for her

We packed both laptops in one tight bag because we didn't want to carry separate bags while travelling. This brilliant optimization strategy was suggested by me, so yes, I broke it My wife has been surprisingly calm so far, which honestly scares me more than the repair cost.

It was her M1 MacBook Air 2020. Around 5 years old with ~86% battery health. We both are researchers, so the laptop's hardest job was surviving PDFs, thesis typing, 38 Chrome tabs, emotional damage from Zotero and formatting issues

No heavy editing or anything

The laptop still works somehow, but the screen is damaged and I don't trust its long-term survival anymore.

Now I'm trying to fix my mistake as cheaply as possible before my wife remembers this incident during every future argument.

Options currently:

Repair the display Costs around 35k. Feels difficult to justify spending that much on a 5-year-old machine with 86% battery health. Best current offer I got is around 12k if I sell/exchange it.
Buy Neo-Getting it around 63k after discounts + GST benefit.
Hunt for M2/M3/M4 deals

If I somehow get one around 75k with discount + GST benefit, maybe worth stretching the budget slightly and surviving on air and regret for few months.

Important context: We are researchers. So I have knowledge but not the money

So please guide me:

- How inferior is Neo compared to M1 for normal academic/research work?

- Which offers can actually be combined?

- Can GST benefit + student offer work together?

- Is buying Mac during Back to School and selling AirPods still financially smart?

Please help me make the least stupid financial decision after already making the first stupid decision.

I’m very sad today.

Honestly, I’m tired of giving interviews in Indian universities and government academia.

I’m a Sanskrit student.my qualifications are I did M.A. in Sanskrit I have cleared NET and JRF in 4 different subjects, published 3 research papers (I mean really good paper which are rare in Sanskrit), and I’m about to submit my PhD. For years I’ve been trying for Assistant Professor posts, both permanent and temporary.

But now I genuinely feel the whole system is broken.

Everywhere it feels like merit comes last.

If you don’t know the Principal personally, if the Dean doesn’t recognize your name, if nobody from some “sangathana” recommends you, if you don’t have a political or personal godfather, then your chances become almost zero. And if you are not willing to give bribes or do unethical things, then sometimes it feels like you are already rejected before entering the interview room.

I’m exhausted now.

Recently I gave an interview where there were 4 posts. Honestly, I felt I was one of the strongest candidates there. I still didn’t get selected. In another interview, the selected candidate was literally the neighbour of the registrar.

And these things hurt even more because the interviews themselves often feel fake.

One time I travelled for almost two days in sleeper class to attend an interview. I entered with so much preparation. The panel asked only my introduction and ended the interview in 3 minutes. Not even one question from my actual subject. Nothing. Just a formality.

This is not one isolated incident. This keeps happening again and again.

I have given around 35–40 interviews now, and slowly I’m losing faith in the entire process. Most of the time it feels like they already know whom they want to select before the interview even begins.

The painful part is, it’s not like I have zero contacts. I probably could ask for favors from some people. But I don’t want to build my career that way. It feels unethical to me.

And now I’m stuck between two things:

Should I continue struggling in academia with self-respect?

Or should I leave the career I genuinely loved?

I don’t know anymore.

[QUERY] Accidentally broke my wife’s MacBook. Need suggestions for budget-friendly damage control.

After 40 Academic Interviews, I’m Starting to Feel the System Was Never Meant for Merit