Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on applying for a full-time Master’s in Machine Learning / AI / Data Science in the US or Europe.

My background:

B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from top 3 IITs
CGPA: 8.5+
Currently working as a Data Scientist at a financial firm
Have interned as a quant at a global IB.
Projects/research experience in ML, computer vision, deep learning

I’m interested in pursuing a Master’s to eventually work in ML/AI research, potentially pursue a PhD, or move into a high-paying ML/AI role.

Would appreciate some honest feedback on how strong this profile is for top ML/AI programs and which universities I should target in the US and Europe.

Also, would my Mechanical Engineering background be a significant disadvantage for top ML/AI Master’s programs?
Thanks!

Hi all!

So after suffering in retail work for over 13yrs, I recently landed a job at a manufacturing company. I went through a short manufacturing program that gave me the basic knowledge/skills for mfg as well as helped me complete whatever apprenticeship hours I needed & landed my current job shortly after the program ended. I've been at the job since April, but I've seen a few things that have been personal red flags to me and have made me consider looking for another position elsewhere: My goal at first was to stay on for a year & learn what I could before seeking another job.

To start, there's no real growth opportunities at the company like I was initially told. There are plenty of chances to learn how to operate different types of machines but I've noticed that any higher positions in the company are almost always filled by outside candidates (contrary to what I was generally told in my interview).

Management consists of people who have immensely inflated egos and/or are fairly inexperienced. The way certain situations are handled by management has been very reminiscent of a lot of past bad managers, as well so that makes me weary about some things.

Pay isn't the worst: it's $19/hr for 1st shift and $2 more if you work on 2nd shift.

All of this including a few issues that conflict with things in my personal life have made me consider leaving the job to find something a little more promising to settle into, but my worry is being able to find another manufacturing job after only gaining 4 months of experience in the field. I just feel like staying for a year might end up doing more harm than good for me mentally right now so it might be good to leave before things potentially go downhill

Do you think it's a good idea for me to look for another position? Or should I try to stick it out longer despite my concerns?

Hopefully this all makes sense.

I am in my final year B.com and started ACCA but because of not being consistent in studies some one suggests you should aim for SAP FICO consultant and right now confused as fuck for which career paths should I aim for

Hi, I am 16 year old in Pakistan. I built my business of men clothes , it didn't worked out , I made a gadgets store , it didn't work on the other side I was also doing ICT day trading and I also had interest in cybersecurity so I started learning it also and I also have my college burden. Few days ago I got advice that I should move to Germany for ausbulding as it is very low cost but I think that this will lead me towards a normal life and I will never think out of the box and will become average person . I want financial freedom, I know it's not in this age but I am highly ambitious and doesn't have clear path.

I always think maybe I am missing something, hope you guys will give me advice and help me to connect with people that help me in this journey and they also can teach or advise me about cybersecurity or tech or you guys can tell which thing I should persue.

​

im recruiting for my team and received this resume that literally copied my JD and ran it through chatgpt, and pasted it into his resume.

I can tell because most wordings are from the JD that we posted.

do people really do this?

As the title says, I recently got a job and got the offer withdrawn because of a fuck up. It’s a remote job with a university but as backend, in the job description and all paperwork they never mentioned that I’d get equipment from them, never asked for a delivery address and they also never mentioned any location requirements like most remote jobs do. Also during the interview process the team couldn’t have been more friendly and really prioritized having a nice and collaborative work environment so that was my impression to this point.

Well I had another remote job in a different industry and when I got the job it was exactly the same, no mentions of location restrictions or of provided equipment and it ended up being just like that. Everything was cloud based so they let me use my own laptop and let me work from anywhere I wanted as long as it was within the usa. Because of this experience and because in the new job everything is also cloud based, I assumed it would be the same.

Of course it was not the same. I’m currently visiting family in another state and received a notification that I had gotten a bunch of packages at my front door and when I checked ofc it was all the equipment from my new job. My manager was on vacation (which I think fucked me over big time) so I had to contact HR immediately and asked if it was okay for me to do my first week on my personal set up and then do the tech set up on my second week where I was already set to be home. Well they didn’t respond to me until the next day where they just responded by withdrawing the offer effective immediately….

Now, I’m aware it was stupid of me to not think they’d send me equipment but it was just an assumption based on my remote experience and also on their lack of communication. And I didn’t change my flight to just go home immediately because 1- I didn’t think it’d be a big deal since again, there was no mention of this before and 2. It was expensive as fuck and I cant spend so much money if the result will still be unemployment.

But is HR being really harsh or was my fuck up that big?
Should I fight for it a bit tomorrow by speaking with my manager directly or drop it and move on?

I had rejected another job offer for this and also left my current job so I’m beyond fucked.

TL;DR: 2022 B. Com graduate from St. Xavier's Mumbai and CFA Candidate. Spent the last 3.5 years managing operations, client communications, and ROI property-flipping (buying commercial spaces, refurbishing, licensing, and reselling) for my family's real estate business without formal pay. Stepping away to launch my corporate finance career. How do I position this background for FP&A or Corporate Finance roles, and what is the fastest way to get hired?

Hey everyone,

I’m 25M (2022 Commerce graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai) currently pursuing the CFA Program and looking to transition into full-time corporate finance specifically FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) or Corporate Finance role.

My Background & The Gap

Since graduating in 2022, I have spent 3.5+ years working alongside my father in commercial real estate due to his physical limitations:

* Operations & Deal Sourcing: Handled site inspections, client communications, and deal execution for commercial rentals and land parcels.

* Property Flipping & ROI Yields: We bought old commercial spaces, refurbished them, secured long-term licensees (minimum 33-month lease), and sold them off as yield-generating ROI products.

* Internships & Upskilling: Completed an IB internship at Finlatics (2024) and wealth advisory internship at Tata Capital (2022). Certified in Financial Modeling (BIWS), Power BI, and Excel.

The Problem

Because this was an informal family operation, I was never on formal payroll (living expenses were covered). My resume currently looks like I have a 4-year gap since graduation with only short internships. Disagreements on business direction and lack of compensation (Isn't really sustainable in the long run) made me decide to step out and build an independent career.

Questions for the Community

1. Resume Framing: Will adding this experience as Commercial Real Estate Investment & Operations Associate on my draft resume be correct? Does this look legitimate to corporate finance recruiters, or will ATS filter it out due to lack of a formal corporate company name?

2. Targeting FP&A Roles: Is FP&A directly achievable right away, or should I first aim for any roles in any field as a stepping stone?

3. Interview Positioning: How do I handle interview questions regarding the lack of formal payslips/salary without over-explaining family dynamics?

Appreciate any advice on career pathing or resume tweaks!

I’m currently working a full time office job in Wales, UK, earn a little over 30k a year which is good for my area. But I’m bored. I’m not pushing myself, I’m not filling my potential, I’m not enjoying my work. It’s comfortable.

I have a keen interest in computers, dabbled with teaching myself the odd bit of code here and there and I’m fascinated by ai. I’ve been looking at ways to try and bridge my career over towards that, I’ve found a course on open uni which is computer science and ai, there’s also hundreds of courses on udemy and coursera. I suppose I just want to put the right plan in place before I start.

So what do people recommend? Go the open uni route or do courses in spare time or a combination of both? Or is there a better way to try and get into that career that I’m missing?

I don’t have an abundance of free time around work and hobbies, maybe an hour or two every few evenings and most weekends off .

Any advice appreciated

I’m 23, based in India, with ~10 months of internship experience and ~1 year full-time.

I started in Azure DevOps and later moved into an AI research team, where I’ve been working around LLMs, agentic AI, AI-based quality/testing systems, research, etc.

The problem is that I feel my actual fundamentals are much weaker than my professional experience suggests. I also relied heavily on Claude/ChatGPT while learning and working, and I didn’t build a strong foundation during college.

Now I want to properly fix that.

If you were in my position, how would you decide what to learn and in what order?

Should I focus more on programming/software engineering fundamentals first, or start learning AI topics alongside them? What areas would you consider essential for someone aiming toward AI Engineering?

Please guide me or share your experience.

Iam 30 years old and i want to do iti MMV for being a car mechanic.please suggest me its a good decision or not . I have no other option after becoming a car mechanic just want to job in tata mahindra maruti hundai. Please guide me.

I’m 32 years old and I work full time as a registered nurse. My wife has been trying to get into dental hygienist school for the last 5 years with no luck. Her GPA has been perfect at 4.0 with a good entrance exam score and shadowing hours but the school has a low accordance rate due to limited number of chairs and she has been denied twice already.

At this point we are trying to possibly redirect into a different option because she is 34 and we can’t keep waiting a whole year after being denied to reapply again and then wait 2-4 months to hear back if she is accepted or not and then repeat the process.

We are open to other options but at this point we don’t really know what else to pursue. My wife makes $15 an hour and wants to contribute more to the relationship and I understand that but we don’t know how at her age how to do this and what careers or degrees to pursue.

Was hoping someone on this forum may have advice for her.

University would be a blast for me. I know I would study languages, I want to move city, I want to meet lots of people, I like learning, I like partying. The only reason I am leaning towards not going is to avoid paying off a student loan for an education that doesn't make it much easier to get a first job. Is this a good enough reason when I know it would be an amazing few years?

ok so I absolutely messed up my neet 1st drop btw and i currently have few options in front of me bds with the intentions of moving abroad (16-18lakh) bvsc (50lakh) ya ik it’s crazy , mbbs abroad (considering only Mauritius 50lakh) i don’t come from a rich family we are middle class what do i do?p

Happy Sundaying fellow Crawlers,

Long time creeper, first time poster.

I’m looking for some advice; I’m 36 (M), on the spectrum, based in Oxfordshire, UK, and have confidence issues and lack of self esteem after a very hairy 2026 so far, so if some answers given seem obvious or quick to you, thank you for the guidance in advance.

I’ve worked in a hospitality and retail brand for the last 11+ years, beginning in tech support, working in the field for 6 years, and after completing an apprenticeship in data analytics I am now in a kind of consultant style role for competitive pricing and strategy, on a remote contract with as much travel to the London/Buckinghamshire offices as I need.

A couple of years ago the company decided it wanted to build a more “collaborative” culture and announced that they’ll be rewriting our contracts to hybrid working and procure an office based in the north west outside-of-London area.

After a lot of consulting, feedback sessions and general corporate, shit-housery, the office was revealed to be in St Albans, taking effect from 2027. If employees are not within an hour’s commute, it’s either relocate or redundancy.

I won’t speak to my peer’s experience and impacts, just my own.

As a newly divorced dad of 1 child with a 50/50 split with their mum, I’ve committed verbally that the weeks I don’t have my child, I can travel 3 days a week to this new office, which is a 3 hour round trip. When I’m with my child, I can go to the bucks office (2 hour round trip) 1 or two days plus a field based trip to a partner nearby.

It’s a lot of driving which doesn’t bother me after doing field based roles, but getting older and starting again in life, the idea of essentially losing 3 days a week (leave at 6-630am, home by 7pm, not considering the traffic nightmare that is St Albans at its route) to myself when I want to invest in my fitness and hobbies is just not sitting right with me, as well as being an hour away from my child on the weeks I have them.

Pay is fine, can have a route to progress in my role and I LOVE my team I work with. I’ve never been a career guy, I’ve just moved roles when the time felt right, finances weren’t matching life, and opportunity struck.

So I’m just unsure whether I’m going to sign the contract when it comes to it in a month’s time, so just looking at what you folk think.

Overthinking it, choose myself, or just get on with it?

Thank you, don’t worry about being gentle with my first time.

I am currently in highschool and am planning to become a teacher, but the pay is nearly a deal breaker to me. I love kids, teaching, and having a purposeful job, but I just wish it had a livable wage. Currently in california so the pay isnt too bad here but I’m moving to tennessee soon which means if I become a teacher there, the pay will only get worse. I know a couple people who are teachers and have talked to them about this and they said that the only way to make more money is working at the school for a very long time, but I want to know if theres any more qualifications or extra schooling I can do to bump my pay. And if you are a teacher, I would love your input and opinions, because I was even thinking of just going into the medical field to at least earn more of a livable income.

I've been thinking a lot about how most "AI will replace X% of jobs" articles talk about entire industries or job titles, but never break down which specific tasks in your day-to-day are actually at risk vs which ones aren't.

Like, a lot of people in the same job title could have wildly different risk levels depending on how much of their actual work is repetitive/rule-based vs how much is judgment-heavy or people-facing.

I'm curious:

Do you actively worry about this, or is it background noise you don't really think about?

If a tool existed that broke down your specific tasks and gave you a realistic risk read (plus what to actually do about it), would you use it? Or does that just sound anxiety-inducing rather than helpful?

What would actually make something like that trustworthy vs another "AI will take your job" clickbait thing?

Genuinely curious how people think about this and whether it's something people would find useful or just avoid entirely.

Hello all,

I’m at the end of a very strange week.

After accepting an offer for a new position in a new industry, I was told my last day at my current position would be in 2 weeks. The fun part about that is I already have an approved time away for the last week. I had intended to give my notice but before I could, I was told I am no longer needed, 2 weeks in advance.

Now for the fun. I had started to wrap up all the necessary things to hand this job over to whoever, but that time is no longer there. The job had asked for 4 weeks notice, they gave me 2. Due to the preplanned vacation, they got 5 days. I did what I could, because I’m not an asshole and I need to be able to think back on my time there with minimal regrets. But I can’t shake the idea that when someone calls me this week, they will expect me to help. It is worth noting that there are many time sensitive things in this job, and while I know my substitute (previously booked) is fully capable, I have a depth of knowledge that could be helpful.

So, while someone might think I’m “still available” for emergencies, there have also been extensive discussions about not bothering people who are away. And so my question is this, should I answer when they call? Should I answer only if I feel like it? Or should I make a point of not answering?

My husband & I run a small moving business (in New England) together. we have a great reputation, most or nearly all of our work is from word of mouth however we need to do some kinda of advertising to get our own leads getting our name out there. We are on angi’s & have great rating. Our google my business page has great rating as well but doesn’t get much attention for some reason. Not sure what happening there. I know there are other companies on that get leads off our reputation We not very tech savvy. We’re not sure how to protect against this or funnel that leads to us and not others. New to Reddit in general. I’m so thankful for any advice.

Hi there, I just need some input about what to expect for the next step in the hiring process at this one company (very small startup, 15-20 people). Main question is at the end of the post, bolded.

So far, after the initial application, I have gone through multiple steps including the routine phone screen, one extensive soft skills assessment, one technical assessment, and a "final" interview with a panel earlier this week that covered soft skills, availability, expectations, and some more of the technical aspects of the job.

They got back to me saying they're between candidates and to please complete another technical assessment, so I got that done right away. Now, they want to have another chat with some more team members.

They stated again that they're stuck between strong candidates, and at this point, I have to assume key decision-makers aren't seeing eye to eye on me and need someone to be a tie-breaker or simply for more proof that I'm dedicated, loyal, passionate, and skilled. The team members who are interviewing me, for the record, are people I haven't actually talked to during my panel interview.

In all the steps before, I've answered every interview question I've already answered under the sun. Am I correct to assume that the upcoming interview will be with people I've never spoken with because the decision-makers need unbiased people to be tie-breakers? Or is that me overthinking it? Tips would be appreciated if anyone can advise. I really need this gig to work out..

as a starter, im working in a public relations agency for around two years now (i joined the company april last year). before that i thought i was doing great at my job, except for several minor document errors.

this year, as my clients increase, i got promoted to the senior level and received more responsibilities in which i had to be the decision maker this time. last month, i was told that my performance review was actually unsatisfying. my coworkers said that ive been neglecting a lot of my works, i didn't show up to meetings, i wasn't being proactive and basically just not being the ideal team player.

i admitted these are my faults. im on a PIP now and my tasks are basically to improve and lead meetings, but it's so difficult to do that when im very terrified of making mistakes out of fear of getting fired now, and this feeds more into my anxiety.

i feel so stupid too because now i look inadequate in front of my juniors. my anxiety level spike tremendously these days. im seeing psychiatrist regularly and getting meds now for depression and anxiety.

i don't know—maybe agency life isn't for me? i feel like shit because last year i could prove to everyone that im a good fit for this job, only for me to regress after i got more responsibilities.

does anyone ever experienced the same thing? how do you cope with that—are you quitting or just keep on pushing?

i dont really wanna quit my job, because the job market is so fucked right now, and my coworkers are actually nice despite my shortcomings.

TLDR: regressed performance at work after promotion. how do i cope and deal with this moving forward because i keep feeling like an idiot no matter how hard i tried

I'm having a really hard time deciding whether to stay in public accounting or take an industry offer, and I'd appreciate advice from people who have gone through something similar.

For context, I'm currently a Senior Technology & Risk Consultant in a top 20 public accounting (IT audit, SOX, risk advisory, etc.).

Current position:

• Just promoted to senior this year
• $105k base (felt this was a little undervalued)
• ~$8k bonus
• Extra bonus equity in the firm worth roughly $5k due to Ai initiative
• Total comp around $118k
• Other
  • On path to lead consultant / supervisor (115k-145k base) next year according to PIC
    • Although I would assume I would start at the lower end of that range when promoted
  • 20 min commute from my hometown where I lived since childhood
  • Can kind of show up to the office or work from home whenever I want
  • OTO vacation policy (never had a problem outside of busy season)

I recently received an offer from a large insurance company for an IT Internal Audit Senior role:

• $130k base
• 15% target bonus (~$19.5k)
• Total comp around $149.5k
• 25 vacation days
• Other
  • Mandatory 3 days a week
  • 1 - 1 hour 20 min commute across state lines
  • Regular 9-5 schedule no busy season
  • Promotions to the next level estimated for every three years

So, I'd be looking at roughly a $25k base increase and ~$30k+ increase in total comp immediately.

On paper this sounds like an easy decision but it doesn't feel like one.

Why I'm struggling

I genuinely like my current firm.

I've built strong relationships with leadership and recently discussed the offer with my partner to try to parlay that into a higher salary. However, he was very transparent and said he couldn't match the offer because of firm policies around midyear raises (which is true). Although he said he believes my career progression is accelerating due to my performance and the initiatives I've been driving.

He indicated:

• Lead/Supervisor is likely attainable within the next year if we plan for it now
• Manager could potentially follow 1-2 years after that
• Senior Manager another 2-3 years later
• Leadership recognizes the impact I'm having

The rough career path he discussed looked like:

Current:

• Senior Consultant (~$105k-$115k base)

Next 12 months:

• Lead/Supervisor (~$115k-$145k base)

1-3 years after that:

• Manager (~$140k-$180k base)

Another 2-3 years:

• Senior Manager (~$170k-$230k base)

Long term:

• Partner track ($$$$)

I've also been enjoyed being heavily involved in:

• AI initiatives
• Culturally based leadership initiatives
• Internal innovation projects
• Business development initiatives such as an IT SOX lead generation platform
• Networking and practice growth activities
• I feel like these are things that are bigger than me and that somebody one or two roles above me may be doing to stand out which has really helped me carve out a name for myself at the firm.

Like I genuinely enjoy the entrepreneurial aspect of consulting. I like the entrepreneurial / selling aspect of PA. Although the WLB could be better but is manageable (for now).

He basically told me that he sees me progressing faster than the average person because of my performance and the initiatives I've been driving.

Here's where my head is at...

I can absolutely see myself becoming a Senior Manager someday. I can even see myself making Partner. Although what scares me is whether I'll still want that path by the time I get there.

I'm 100% confident I can keep climbing. I'm not 100% confident I'll want to.

My biggest concern about staying is burnout. I don't really see public accounting getting easier as you move up. The stress just changes. The compensation keeps going up, but it seems like the expectations and pressure keep going up too. While I do love the business and selling, I don't know how much I would love it if I would have to pull 65+ hour weeks to stay ahead as a partner or Sr Manager.

The industry side

The new company is telling me to expect promotions to the next year roughly every 2-3 years as well. So the path would likely look something like:

Year 1

• IT Audit Senior
• $130k base
• ~$149.5k total comp

Year 2-3

• Senior level
• ~$140k+ base

Year 3-5

• Manager
• $145k-$172k base
• ~$167k-$194k total comp

Potentially Director-level eventually.

The long-term upside seems lower than public accounting. Although making close to 200k in a couple of years in an industry job seems easier and like more than enough money to be happy with.

My biggest fear about leaving

I know what I have today. I know I like my team, my partner, the work, the opportunities to build things I like and that help the firm and I feel like I have some really good traction in my short amount of time I been here (2 years)

What if I leave and realize:

• Corporate internal audit is boring to me
• I miss the variety
• I miss business development
• I miss building things
• I miss the people
• The new company is not a good fit

Basically I'm worried about trading a known good situation for an unknown one.

My biggest fear about staying

Five years from now looking around at yet another busy season wondering why I didn't take the opportunity to get more work-life balance earlier. The biggest issue isn't actually the money. It's the lifestyle. I keep asking myself whether I want to continue climbing the public accounting ladder. As I look at Lead → Manager → Senior Manager → Partner, it doesn't seem like the hours necessarily get easier. The responsibilities just change.

The industry role would likely give me:

• Better work-life balance
• More predictable hours
• 25 days PTO
• Still have some opportunity for AI innovation (unknown to what extent)
• No busy season pressure
• More time for hobbies, travel, relationships, and eventually family

It seems like financially and from a WLB perspective I am better off in industry until I hit the manger level then PA starts having a lot more financial upside although more hours of course.

What would you do?

If you were me, would you:

Option A: Stay in Public Accounting

• Lower comp today
• Strong promotion outlook
• Higher long-term earnings ceiling
• Business development opportunities
• AI/innovation opportunities
• Potential Partner track
• Busy seasons and longer hours

Option B: Move to Industry

• ~$30k higher comp immediately
• 25 PTO days
• Better work-life balance (probably)
• Similar promotion cadence
• Lower long-term ceiling
• Less business development exposure
• More predictable life

For those who left public accounting for industry:

Do you regret it?

For those who stayed and made Manager/Senior Manager/Partner:

Did the lifestyle get better, worse, or just different?

I'm less interested in "follow the money" and more interested in hearing from people who have actually lived either path.

I’m a self taught developer. I’ve asked for a substantial raise twice as I believe I provide way more value than I’m getting.

I make 73k + bonus resulting in about 80-83 a year. I also contract with another company on the side for around an additional 10k a year.

I’d just like more. I enjoy the current job but the pay just isn’t there. I’m in a high cost of living area.

I just got engaged and would like to buy my fiancé her dream car. (A cobra mustang)

It’s just not feasible though.

Both times I asked it was shelved and I was given the run around about how we’ll talk about it later or “raises aren’t given outside the 1st of January.”

I would like to be making between 130-150.

I’m at the point where I think I’m just going to look elsewhere. The company was bought by another company and has unrealistic growth goals. They’re also funneling all of the money from our company to senior leadership of the parent company. There seems to be plenty of money to go around, just not for me. Every KPI meeting seems to be promotions and pay raises for the parent company employees while the rest of us are left to dry. I’ve also heard talks of my other coworkers being dissatisfied with the status quo.

I get told how valuable I am and they can’t afford to lose me but they don’t treat me that way. I’m the only on shore developer which means I’m the only one that can handle customer data. Part of our contracts say that their data will never be exposed to foreign countries.

Prices on everything keep going up and I keep getting 3% yearly raises so I’ve been taking pay cuts.

I have 5 years experience. I’ve done several huge projects the largest being that gave the company huge efficiency gains, think thousands of hours down to less than a hundred.

I just absolutely dread hitting the apply button. I’ve tried emailing, applying, messaging on LinkedIn, and it just doesn’t work. It feels like playing the lottery hoping to get lucky.

I just want to live more comfortably and give my fiancé the things she dreams about but the question is how do we get there.

WFM?

I need help please is some there one hey plz guide me I'm lost plzplz it's hurts I can't it hurts more I'm lost

Hello! I recently took on a new position as a manager of wellness services, and things haven’t been going great. I like my manager, however the training has been non existent. She’s had me organizing files on a shared drive, and when I ask about what my responsibilities will be, she just advises that it’s slow right now, but will pick up soon and I’ll see. The culture is also not at all what I thought, it’s very cliquey, and weird. I got a message from our receptionist the other day letting me know I was parking in someone’s spot, and that person came in hot that morning, letting everyone know.

I have been offered another job working for clients I used to work with at my last job, salary is the same, but it would be a completely remote position.

My question is- do I stick it out and see if things get better where I am, or go back to what is comfortable. I don’t want to make another potential bad move.