r/nova

Got laid off in April from a consulting firm that went through acquisition. I’ve been looking for a mid-senior level finance positions in DMV and having terrible luck.

I’ve going through last stage interviews with Amazon, Google, EY, and Capital One (whom I used to work for a few years back), and have passed - but they all end up going with other candidates.

Even junior level positions are rejecting me. Not sure if it’s my resume, or me, or the market. I’m getting referred to jobs as well and getting rejected. Not a single referral has gotten me an interview.

My most recent salary was $165k, I’m willing to drop down to even $110k-$120k but no one seems to care.

I’m reaching my breaking point.

Hi! This might not be nova technically, but I am looking to start the process on finding a home. The catch is I want to go further west (foothills of the blue ridge hopefully).

Don’t know of solid agents out that way; most of my friends have bought around here. Had a brief call with a guy recommended this week and the vibes were …not great.

Please let me know if you know of anyone that works in that area! Thank you!

I'm 26. I make 20 an hour at a doctor's office answering phones. Even If I had a great paying job I wouldn't get approved for an apartment because my credit is bad. I always had to rent rooms. I haven't been on a real date in 5 years. I don't have a close friend group. I'm depressed and borderline suicidal at this point. I don't where to improve my career and social life. Everything feels like a competition here. I really struggle with imposter syndrome. I drive a 17 year old car that's on it's last legs. I can't afford a new one.

Edit: Im a guy so for the dudes pm asking for a date I’m not a woman.

I’m 27f and the last single friend standing. All my friends are taken and busy with their SOs and as a chronically single person, I am BORED. I’m always traveling alone, going to cafes alone, exploring DC alone…. Where do I meet friends my age that are single?😩

Yesterday, son and I were in his car headed home from a lovely vacation at the beach. His car was going along just fine when suddenly it just completely turned off. Zero power! We were in the middle of 6 lanes somewhere in the Alexandria area and thankfully people in the right lanes noticed me waving for them to slow down and let us over to the shoulder.

It’s about the worst place to have car trouble in NOVA and I appreciate all of you taking a few seconds to let us over safely!!

By the way, it was so hot yesterday his car got vapor lock in the fuel lines. Yikes!

Apologies if this doesn't fit here, but I wanted to share a project I recently completed which is local to NOVA.

tl;dr I made an AI powered 1930s radio station set in the (fictional) history of the 1930s and plays music and commercials from the 1930s.

Recently my grandmother passed away - my grandparents were wonderful people who helped raise me until I was 7. When my grandfather passed away in 2020, I inherited an old vacuum tube radio of theirs which has just been sitting on the shelf collecting dust (since there's not really much broadcasting on AM anymore).

I decided to make a 1930s radio station that would broadcast a signal to the radio using an AM modulator and a Raspberry Pi to serve up the music. From there it snowballed into a huge fun project. I've been learning AI software development recently and used that to create a living radio station, which I call "WBRG" since it's broadcasting out of Woodbridge. The AI controls the station, determining when the commercials should play and making sure songs aren't repeated.

The announcer is an AI DJ, which broadcasts the station identification and the current weather and conditions, and gives an upbeat message at the top of the hour. At the quarter of the hour, an AI news announcer comes in and gives the current (real) weather and conditions - along with any weather alerts that might be active - then reports the news which are upbeat, mostly fictional whimsical news bulletins for the fictional town of Woodbridge, VA back in the 1930s (pretending it was a major city back then). The news bulletins are sponsored by fictional businesses named after some of our pets and the pets at our store.

The radio also features drama shows, such as The Shadow hosted by Orson Welles, and live broadcasts of the World Series games from the 1930s.

The commercials are all from the 1930s (though I did make two of my own). Otherwise, it's just a fun happy little upbeat project that I'm very pleased with and proud of how it turned out.

To share it with my sister back in Ohio, I decided to stream it online for a bit so she could hear it. I thought I'd share with you all as well in case you're interested.

Please note that I'm not doing this to make money, or to advertise anything, or promote any agenda - just a project to honor my loving family who has passed and share in their memory.

I hope you enjoy it.

Got laid off from my first job out of college yesterday after six years. They provided a severance package though, so I will be okay for a bit with savings. Would I be eligible for VA unemployment even though I'm still getting paid?

I learned a lot of what I do now through the company and moved to a few teams to build on that. Now that I'm out, I will take some time to get some certs.

For this area, if I want to go government side, I guess baseline I would need at least the Security+. I worked a lot with Azure networking infrastructure and setting it up, but never had to do the automation side of it. Would this be a good path to go down on? Terraform/Bicep etc. A little lost and disoriented, so hoping to get some advice from some cloud/network (or both) engineers within the area.

Edit: Live in VA, was employed in Maryland.

Starting school year 2024-25, select middle schools at FCPS (see list below) will be phone-free during the school day in order to limit classroom disruptions and improve student engagement and learning. The following schools are participating in the cell phone storage pilot program:

• Frost Middle School

• Irving Middle School

• Jackson Middle School

• Poe Middle School

• Robinson Middle school

• Thoreau Middle School 

• Twain Middle School

Previously:

Just bought a new build home in NoVa and the builder chose Bertazzoni appliances. One month after moving in the fridge broke. No one can repair it. The brand doesn’t stand by their product - No one responds to our builder from Bertazzoni. It’s been 2.5 months. I hope someone can find this post in the future and save themselves before it is too late.

I'm so tired of trying to find reliable contractors in this area who don't just randomly overcharge and think people won't realize.

I've done a lot of projects lately and it took months for each one to finally find a reliable contractor who would show up, provide a reasonable quote, do the work in a timely fashion, and have attention to detail about the work.

Most recently had a contractor quote me $7K for basic masonry work. I got 3 other quotes ranging from $550-3800. None of them will actually send me the proposal to sign since texting me quotes except the ultra expensive one. I had another guy I signed a proposal with who wouldn't schedule the work to start after two months so I had to ditch him and move on. Another guy who finally sent something I researched his company and it's all reviews about him being a scammer. His BEST score on any review site was 2 stars.

I don't want to have 500 Zoom meetings or negotiations over the phone. I just want to email your company, get a proposal emailed back after you've looked at the place, and then have you give me a start date after I sign.

Looking for a family lawyer with a free consultation to get things rolling. DV experience is needed too. I’m just having a tough time finding someone. Any advice is appreciated.

Come to Fort Hunt to meet owls, hawks and other raptors up close and in person at Pavilion A on September 14! Learn more about the lives and behaviors of these exquisite creatures.

Raptor Rapture is open to the public free of charge, no registration required. Parking is available in front of the pavilion. For more information, call (202) 439-7325.

Date: Saturday, September 14
Location: Fort Hunt Park (8999 Fort Hunt Rd, Alexandria, VA 22308) Pavillion A
Time: 1:00-3:00 PM
Price: Free!
Follow the Facebook event page for the most up to date information: 

There’s so much happening this weekend! I noticed: Otakon and the DC Open in DC (anyone here into tennis?).

Otherwise, it’s a free entry weekend for the national parks so get there early (and avoid Georgetown Pike and Old Dominion Dr.).

It’s also festival and fair season! Anyone have recommendations?

I cannot be the only one fed up with the dump trucks dropping rocks or worse everywhere they go. I’ve replaced the windshield on two vehicles and now I have a giant chunk out of my replacement window.

Can’t state police do something about this? I change lanes as soon as I see a truck, but they drive like maniacs.

I may or may not be living in this condo area in the future. I've seen mixed reviews online. Anything that anyone wants to share or say about this condo company. I will not have any pets if that matters. Any insight to the HOA fees would be a plus. Thanks.