bigruss

Mark Wahlberg with a video for Jimmy: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=276498705894797

When I get bored I typically look at Redfin for houses in my area or near work, just to see what's out there and to explore new areas. I was looking at some northern suburbs near where I work and happened to notice prices start to drop incredibly in an area, turns out it's North Chicago. Anyone have any idea why that suburb is so damn cheap? There are tons of houses under $75k, granted they aren't top of the line and most need work, but to even see property that cheap in the Chicago area seems surprising.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 03:49 PM) Kyle Austin ‏@kylebaustin 2h2 hours ago Izzo quote of the day candidate, about John Calipari: "If he was Pinocchio we could have hung 10,000 shirts on that shnobber of his." Ha, Izzo has been annoying me the last few years but that was great.

Gilder to TAMU, I think that sets us up better for Elijah.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 10, 2014 -> 10:05 AM) That money isn't going to the state, it goes to the National Restaurant Association. Damn the NRA!

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 07:53 PM) Here's how tech saavy I am - I don't even understand he problem. Just throw out your computer.

NSFW (language)

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 07:20 PM) When it comes to MBA, my rule of thumb is the value is when your company pays, when you are going to an elite program, and when the program is offering differentiation in your skill-set that is viewed positively within your industry or more specifically by a company. I think the value for a business person lies in whether they want to get into Ibanking or wall street or various areas which statistically you need an MBA to get a gig. This differs for engineers / IT professionals who are moving outside of their typical technical area into more project management and overall business management and thus the skills obtained from an MBA (while often times, still common sense in my view) can be beneficial to someone who maybe has historically had a different viewpoint / skill-set as often times the skills of a project manager are much different then the skills of a design engineer with one having to be more focused on more general business concepts, etc. Not sure if that is helpful or not and obviously everything is industry specific but I'd also say that it won't hurt, as long as you aren't breaking the bank to do it, with them subsidizing over 50% of the costs, it makes the pay back opportunities more attractive. While I don't think that piece of paper makes you more qualified for a job, it often is one of the hurdles at certain companies to get into various levels (and other times it isn't) and I think that depends on the industry you play in and what your specialization is and understanding that (both at your company but more in general within your sector). The key is really understanding that. Well I'm a bit unique, my undergrad was in Business with an IT concentration, but I work in IT Security. I would say internally it isn't much of an issue, our former Sr. Dir. IT Security didn't have one, the director before him didnt have one and our newly hired Sr. Dir doesn't have one. That said, many of our top execs have some form of masters degree. QUOTE (SnB @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 11:13 AM) Jas has it down. I would REALLY recommend getting something that is a little more unique than just a general MBA. I vouched for an MSA (Masters in Science in Accounting) and it really helps you stand apart from the regular ol MBA crowd. Yea that's interesting, I planned on getting a concentration in IT but a masters in MIS may be more relevant/useful anyways.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 04:34 PM) Anyway you could do it at a public university instead of a private one? That will probably save you a ton of dough. UIC is an option, it's not as convenient for me and I would probably be limited to their weekend program since it would be hard to get there after work for me (I work in Lake Forest, and live in Southport now). I could wait to do the weekend program (starts only in the fall) and that would save me a lot, that would be roughly $14k out of pocket.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 03:20 PM) I'm a manager in my company, and I think having an advanced degree helped legitimize me to those who do not know me well, and it is certainly a big part of my knowledge base, but I'll be honest, the skills I learned managing Abercrombie & Fitch stores when I was 20 are still what I believe helps me out the most. And I know, that is humorous. I get that, people are people. The work is totally different but knowing how to lead people is pretty transferable, and that job probably offered as wide of a variety of personalities to manage as any you've had.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 02:50 PM) Yeah I would think as a general resume/recruitment tool it would be good, but it's tough if your company doesn't attribute any specific salary grade to education/degree level. My wife got her graduate degree because she immediately made 20% more for having the piece of paper. If you don't have that situation and if you think you're going to be at this company until you hit a management level position, I wouldn't waste the money. Remember that 30k turns into 40k-60k+ depending on how long you take to pay it back. There isn't an immediate bump, it would be from (hopefully) getting a manager/supervisor position earlier. QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 02:52 PM) Yeah, I dunno...I have not heard a whole lot of buzz about MBAs for like 5-7 years. Not saying it wouldn't be helpful, but I don't know that it's the boost it once was... Yea I'm leaning towards this being not worth it right now, but I need to talk to my mentor and manager more. Both of them have encouraged me but who knows if that's just being supportive or if they both believe I need it (neither of them have it, and my mentor is a director which is telling imo).

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 02:37 PM) It seems like MBAs are a dime a dozen these days... So is it a checkbox you need or so common it doesn't really make a difference as long as you're proving yourself? I know this is kind of company dependent, but trying to get more perspective. My thoughts right now are that at my company it may not make much of a difference, but for headhunters/recruiters it may make more of a difference as they may have a checkbox for initial screenings (moreso for first time managers).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) Any chance you can get your company to pay for it? They pay 5k per year and anything above that 50%. So rough calculations on an estimated time frame would be around $30k over 3 years.

I've been pondering going for an MBA lately, I applied to Loyola and I'm awaiting their reply, but I've gotten very different feedback on if I should go or not. One side is telling me that it's not worth the cost (probably around $30k or so from my end after company contributions) and that getting into management doesn't (or shouldn't) rely on having it. The other side is saying that my competition has it and it's one less thing on the resume. Considering both sides, I'm not sure if it's worth the effort/time/money to get it considering where I am in my career. FYI, I'm about 2.5 years out of college and have been progressing well (was promoted to the next level about 9 months ago). I'm held in good regard at the company and my immediate management really likes me as a future leader. That said, I have no idea if/when an opportunity will open in my specific department, my first option may have to come from outside it, so I'm not sure if having an MBA would really make a big difference or not. I think anything that proves that my intent is to get into management and to become the best leader possible is beneficial, just not sure if it makes that much of a difference to make it worthwhile. Any thoughts or similar experiences?

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 10:37 AM) It's not a broad brush, it is literally every U of I fan I know. Missouri has a bunch of Cardinals fans so I'm not trying to throw stones, but I've never seen another fanbase so focused on the payoff aspect of things. Part of that may be that many of the recruits we lose out on are from Chicago, where we know money plays a factor for many of those players and their handlers.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 09:41 AM) I've heard lots of Illini fans say everyone is dirty. Look, Kansas has great facilities, an incredible history and fieldhouse and the knowledge that if that if it's the best 2 or 3 programs in the country. When they come to talk to you, it just validates that you are the best to everyone. They also likely have a great booster network that is interested in helping out the team. This is also the case for many many programs. And if you sit down and listen to the recruits, every program is going to make you feel like you are taken care of, everyone has a great campus, but the thing that makes you put your ink down is the relationship you feel with the coach and program. Bill Self is Bill Self because he's made great relationships with programs across the country and those coaches trust him and those recruits trust their coaches. But if you listen to Illini fans, every recruit is about to sign on with Ole Jim Groce if not fer Bill Self comin in with a helicopter full of money! Well first of all, I don't think head coaches ever mention money these days. The boosters on the other hand.... KU wins out because they're KU, they have a better everything than Illinois. It's just a fact. Groce has been trying to win recruits by having the better relationship and offering not just star status but the hero title of turning Illinois back into a powerhouse. So far, that's worked on top 30 and top 50 kids, we haven't snagged the top 20 kid with that offering, yet. And maybe we don't until we make a run in the tourney with a team full of 4 stars, maybe we have to prove ourselves first and not rely on vision. That's all very fair, but I love that Groce is getting high ranked 4 stars to build a good team and going for the 5 star guys to make it a great team. Hopefully it all works out, I really believe this year is going to be the start of a great run of basketball at Illinois.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) You've never heard anyone say Kansas is dirty? I mean if he's doing it there it just makes sense he was doing it at Illinois. I'm sure he was and is. Just like I bet Groce has some dirt as well, it's just the nature of the game.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 05:28 PM) Illinois should be a program that wins 7 games a year and makes a bowl 9 out of 10 years. Mike Thomas made a horrible mistake hiring Beckman. Beckman only took the job after he called Urban Meyer who told him he was crazy to turn the money down. Beckman hitched his wagon to Tim Banks this year who quite simply may be the worst DC the Big Ten has ever seen, numbers wise he is. I kind of understand keeping Banks, and only for the reason that I don't think any sane person would take that job. Unless you somehow performed a miracle you were giong to just stain your resume for a most likely 1 year gig. That's not excusing the initial hire or keeping him after that first year. Banks has been terrible as has most of Beckman's hires. Even Cubit has been disappointing this year.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 04:04 PM) Build from within? I don't even know what that means. You need the right head coach to build ANYTHING. Haven't had that in a while. Of course you aren't going to attract high level in-state kids if you win 1 BT game in 3 years. However, they have landed some good in-state kids this year (but who knows how that will shake out with the coaching change). I don't understand the living in the past thing. Whatever guys, kick Illinois while they are down, pile on, whatever, if you hate Illinois that's fine with me. But there's no reasonable answer as to why they can't be Iowa level in the BT on a regular basis with the right coach, staff, and scheme (followed by recruiting by said coach). In fact, any program in the BT can do that right now with those things. Look at Minnesota. Right hire, and they are respectable. The right coach built up the program there. Yup, low goal should be Minnesota (around a 6-7 win annual team), high goal should be Wisconsin (annual bowls with a chance at a B1G title every other year or so). We have to get to the Minnesota level first, and that is very possible. We have better instate talent, better exposure, etc/ We just need the support and right people in charge of getting us there. There's no reason why we can't get to the Minny/Iowa levels.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 03:57 PM) That isn't a bad comp at all. Glory days gone by for sure. We were in the Rose bowl 6 years ago. Depaul has won 1 game in the NCAA tournament since 1991 (and only 4 appearances in that timeframe). That comparison sucks. Illinois isn't a powerhouse, and we're on a bad streak, but we have a good history and with the right coaching staff and with support from the administration we could be right back into 6-8 win territory every year with the occasional B1G title run.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 02:40 PM) The reason coaches are avoiding Illinois is likely money. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/salaries/ Not sure the accuracy but Illinois is at 60, which isnt something you jump at. If Sumlin agreed to come to Illinois that would be much higher. Why would we pay a hire like Beckman more than we are? If the right coach wants to come to Illinois they'll pay them.

Elijah Thomas is announcing on October 21st, my guess is OSU but wouldn't be surprised if he chooses Illinois.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) That's a negative, now it wastes the red shirt year that he should have used last year. That's why you have to fire him now, tell Cubit to work with O'Toole and save Bailey's RS.

There's no way Beckman saves his job, he would have to pull off a miracle to do it. Reports from around the team are saying the team is quitting on Beckman now, I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't fired after the Wisconsin game and Cubit is named interim. Then find your next guy and clean house (save Bellamy if you can).

LOL so bad.