You keep mentioning the subsidy paid by taxpayers.

According to the FHLB site, they've never incurred a net loss.

Their benefit is using the federal promise to pay, thus getting lesser lower rates.

But how are the taxpayers losing $6+billion per year on this? Can you elaborate on this?

I’m a high school math teacher looking to leave education. I look at my resume and it is all very specific to education, and math education in particular. I worry that I don’t have the skills on paper that employers are looking for, but I know I could do well in most jobs if given the chance. I have a masters in math, but I specialized in theory so I do not have the background to go into something like data science. What is my best hope for breaking out of education and into a field where there is potential for salary growth? I’m almost 42 and would prefer not to go back to school. I’m already over educated and have student debt. Thank you!

Couldn’t agree more. I don’t know much about it, but I read his piece and his background and there is zero credibility there. He can’t profit from it anymore as he’s no longer on a board.

Hold on, this guy worked in the FHLB system for 14 years and then immediately turned around and bashed it after no longer being able to make a buck from it? Ha. Then he tries to leverage his knowledge of the FHLBs by trying to pretend to fix some imaginary problem and stay relevant. And teaches at BU, one of the most overpriced mediocre schools in the Northeast. Please, tell me more… Zero credibility.

Avoid the "official" memoirs, which are full of spin. Bob Woodward is great, but he's far from the only game in town. Redemption Song: An Irish Reporter Inside the Obama Campaign by Niall Stanage is a fascinating outsider's take on American politics. Pretend I'm Not Here: How I Worked with Three Newspaper Icons, One Powerful First Lady, and Still Managed to Dig Myself Out of the Washington Swamp by Barbara Feinman Todd is a fun, under-the-radar Beltway account of being a ghostwriter for Woodward and Hillary Clinton.

The goal of the resume/application is to get an interview. Most recruiters scan a resume within 6-7 seconds. This means that your resume should be concise and easy to scan for humans AND ATS (software). It's important to read the job poster carefully for instructions as it's very easy to get screened out if something required is missing. For example, in some corporate/government postings, there are very specific instructions and documents you may need. Additionally, resumes should be single columned. The fancy "Designer" resumes or resumes with multiple columns are difficult for ATS to parse. It also helps to match the keywords if you have the time to go through it. This way, you get a better match and a stronger bias for the recruiters as you would be the most similar to the poster.

If you have any referrals or know anyone who works at that company, this could potentially be an easy way to get to the interview stage.

For being interviewed, it depends on where you're at. You can look at glassdoor (website) to prepare and research interview questions for some companies. It also gives you an idea of the salary range. Another website is payscale. I find it very helpful if a candidate comes prepared with real samples or a portfolio of their work. This is relevant for non-art professions too. If you are a business professional, perhaps you have made reports, marketing materials, etc. Pictures speak louder than words.

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson. Not only is it one of the great short story collections of the 20th century, but it has a special resonance for me because Johnson was writing about his life in Iowa, my home state. I was such a fan of his that I once snuck into a class he taught at the Iowa Writers Workshop. No one noticed I was in the back because they were hanging on his every word.

How often does shady stuff happen in your department?

What are some books about politics you like a lot or would recommend reading?

What are the most effective steps and things a person applying for a job can take and do to get an interview? What are the most effective steps and things someone being interviewed can take and do to get the job their interviewing for?

wanting to invest a decent portion of my savings (500k or so) into real estate if some type. any recommendations? house, duplex, real estate? and how to go about it

All-time favorite book?

I had a joke about Trump calling the Prince of Wales the "Prince of Whales," which then happened in his presidency. There were several other things in the book which became reality as well. I did not ask for this reality-shaping power! But I now wield it with a greater sense of responsibility.

Focus on the transferrable skills and results of your past positions. You may need to rethink what is relevant and no longer relevant on your resume. To do this, you may need to research a few target job posters and assess what are the common qualifications they are looking for. Sometimes, you may have most of the qualifications they are looking for. It also helps to speak to the magnitude of the work that you did. eg: The industries that you worked with, the amount of people that you worked with, and $ amount.

A good technique is to have a "dump resume". This is where you brainstorm everything you did and your results. Do not worry about the page limit. Once you are done, then you copy and paste the relevant parts into your good copy.

In your cover letter, you should speak to why you want to switch careers. This way, they will know that you intentionally are making a change in career and aren't leaving wondering if you would go back.

I have never worn socks with sandals. However, I see the appeal: I was in a subway station in Manhattan waiting for a train once, sitting on a bench in sandals, when a rat the size of one of my cats shuffled within an inch of my bare toes. I would have liked to have had socks on at that time.

Good lesson there! Everyday you think it can't get anymore bizarre but then it does!

I tried to correct something on Wikipedia once -- my place of birth, I think -- and was told that my word wasn't good enough. I needed to link to another source. I had my birth certificate and everything! I gave up and decided to never look at my page there again. In other words, I learned to trust the process. :)

Ageism is not an uncommon concern for those switching careers. It can work both positively and negatively depending on how you present it. The main thing is to make sure that you do not seem out-of-touch or outdated on your resume. Instant call outs could be things like "use of MS Word, WPM, etc". On the positive side, years of experience in transferrable skills, such as drafting (like you mentioned), and managing an independent studio show that you are seasoned and have good worth ethic and discretion. Do you have experience running a team, finances, managing stakeholders, etc? That's an angle that shows more managerial skill and perspective that a new grad typically doesn't have.

Do you have PE or P Eng (credentials are location dependent)? What kind of engineering are you specialized in? Do you have a portfolio?

At the top of your resume, you can have a sentence or two with your elevator pitch. Try not to keep it too fluffy and keep it concise and easy to remember. Some of the other life experiences can go in the cover letter. Interesting school projects can be added to a github or added to the bottom in an "Interests" section. (I believe that some of the newer tech companies are starting to ask for this).

What‘s the best way to update your resume when switching careers?

Have you ever edited your own Wikipedia page?

No, it's been overstated.

The two largest companies, Invitation and Starwood merged to form the largest institutional owner of single family homes, and they have a total of 80,000 units nationwide (out of many millions total of course).

Old-ass amateur engineer/artist who recently went back to engineering school to pursue a new career in real engineering. I spent 25 years self-employed doing CNC/CAD work in my own small studio.

I'm looking to re-invent myself as a real engineer with an actual educational foundation and degree in the areas I've been interested in for two decades now.

How do I pitch myself as an attractive fresh engineering grad to my dream companies (NASA, Spacex, Tesla)? I feel old AF and I'd love to start a legitimate career with one of these organizations, but I fear my age (44) will scare away recruiters looking for young talent with a potential long career lifespan ahead of them.

I have 25 years of real-life experience designing and making things. I am a father. I'm a successful student. How do I communicate that effectively to recruiters? What are the advantages I may have over the fresh young grads that are applying for these same positions? How do I pitch my life experiences to recruiters?

Also the mass increase in populational demand. Both.

Old-ass amateur engineer/artist who recently went back to engineering school to pursue a new career in real engineering. I spent 25 years self-employed doing CNC/CAD work in my own small studio.

I'm looking to re-invent myself as a real engineer with an actual educational foundation and degree in the areas I've been interested in for two decades now.

How do I pitch myself as an attractive fresh engineering grad to my dream companies (NASA, Spacex, Tesla)? I feel old AF and I'd love to start a legitimate career with one of these organizations, but I fear my age (44) will scare away recruiters looking for young talent with a potential long career lifespan ahead of them.

I have 25 years of real-life experience designing and making things. I am a father. I'm a successful student. How do I communicate that effectively to recruiters? What are the advantages I may have over the fresh young grads that are applying for these same positions? How do I pitch my life experiences to recruiters?

Socks with sandals or no?