november

That is quite the collection your grandfather has! Not to mention yours as well, sounds like a very good time at those outdoor ranges.
I actually did not know there were public outdoor ranges, the ones near me all require permits.

I prefer outdoor ranges when I have the opportunity but unfortunately geographically indoor ranges are more practical for me. Most indoor ranges will charge by the hr most outdoor ones are members only with long wait-lists.

I'm going to an outdoor range soon, looking for a good time to break in my first handgun!

Once I’ve e gone just to shoot a five rounds just to test something

I was mainly wondering about how many rounds are spent so I can get the best value for my time while I'm there. Maybe you have a membership, so it didn't cost you anything for that visit, but only five rounds, really? I wonder what you were testing out, haha.

My personal pet peeve is just on the general quality available to non club members. If you aren’t a club member or taking a class your options are shoot from a booth or the boonies. Not many options to shoot from positions other than a bench or standing.

Yeah, I can get that. Especially if you're at an indoor range, you're really only stuck with a booth and targets.

These days I try to do a jog or a little hike before outdoor range days because I’ve got this (misguided) idea that any drill you can’t do while already fatigued isn’t worth doing.

I agree that being under duress or some kind of fatigue is probably an effective way to train.
I've watched some competition recordings and I like the idea of shooting some targets, then sprinting to the next position to shoot more.
Maybe at an outdoor range, shooting at some yard away, then turning 180 degrees, running some tens of yards away to shooting the same target more. I've seen a YouTuber do it, and I feel like that could be a common drill.

I'm about to start going to one.
I guess the tone of my post sounds a little too...corporate(?) 😅 Not sure if that's the right word, haha.

Every Sunday when I do my weekly backup routine

If I'm being real, I just want a reason to shoot and go to the range 😂 Although you're right on some points, having a gun doesn't necessarily make you feel safer, its a liability if anything.

Of course, I didn't think to take a class; was relying on the YouTube route, but I think it's a better investment to check one out.
Good idea on throwing ear plugs under the ear muffs, I'm gonna do my research on that combo.
Also, Thanks for the note on getting an oversized range bag too. Most likely going to stock up later down the line.

I used PowerDeleteSuite when I cleaned my Reddit account out. It's a Javascript Applet that runs in your browser. It supports filters too so you can choose which subreddits you don't want it to touch.

Thank you for your insightful response. I was initially considering grad school in something that is lateral to my degree in Computer engineering and CS minor, like data science or similar. I actually haven't even considered applying to grants so that is a great suggestion. I'll do some research on what kind of programs I can apply to and see if there are any grants that are applicable to me.

As for location, I am around NYC. While I have been applying mostly in this area, I'm also applying all over the country as well, but still strongly prefer to work in or around a city. While I do get that certain cities have their own share of different industries and hubs, I didn't realize that the market for jobs is also dependent on area but it all makes sense when you put it together...

I failed to mention that I did actually land one offer at a tiny defense company in a rural part of the east coast though I declined it as I wasn't comfortable working in that industry and I wasn't willing to move out of a city area.
While I ultimately do not regret declining the offer, I reflected on the idea that I probably don't have a choice on which industry I work in as a first job; the main goal is to gain experience.
I haven't aspired to work in a government position too much because of my condition mentioned above, but I guess I need to sacrifice my idea of an ideal job and rough it out for maybe a year in that type of industry.

Per your last point, reaching out has been very effective in me finding opportunities, so that's a great suggestion. I've been using Linkedin to connect with alumni to seek mentorship and advice, and I've even gotten referrals to some target companies through them and their network. I've also been reaching out to friends who are working and while these all translate into some interviews, there still hasn't been any cigar.

I've been feeling a lack of drive after having bombed some technical interviews and still not generating any experience nor cash and so that's why I was thinking about pivoting in the first place. Even with taking account of the current market situation, it's still crushing to see others land something and all my friends around me working while I'm still at home. /rant

Regardless, I'm grateful for your insight. I'll look further into grad school while applying, and open up my breadth in terms of industries I should be applying to.

I think I'll spend my day tomorrow at my library reading a career book like this. Thank you for the recommendation.

That's a fair point of saturation in IT, I feel like it might be harder to break into because of that. I'll look into database-oriented roles too.

Thank you for your suggestion of looking into Data Science. I have some machine learning experience from uni classes, I can maybe expand my domain by looking at some certs.