I'd spend it on something that helps your mental health. I worked in a very dreary office under a lot of stress for a long time before I realized I could change my environment. I'm still doing the same work with the same equipment, but the walls are a color I like. The desk is comfortable. I have green plants to look at, and nice things on my wall. I have funny action figures on my desk. I spent my time and energy making my workspace nicer and it makes dealing with workspace stress a LOT easier.
How would you spend a $5k setup budget?
11–14 of 14 posts
Re: How would you spend a $5k setup budget?
#12Really have to know what sort of engineering you're doing....I have four monitors now, so that's what I'd recommend. If you're an iOS developer, get a Mac. If you are doing a lot of video processing, get a few graphics cards and build a PC...
For video processing I'd recommend a Macintosh as well.
Re: How would you spend a $5k setup budget?
#13Really have to know what sort of engineering you're doing....I have four monitors now, so that's what I'd recommend. If you're an iOS developer, get a Mac. If you are doing a lot of video processing, get a few graphics cards and build a PC...
For video processing I'd recommend a Macintosh as well.
Video processing wasn't a good choice of terminology; what I meant was something like Unreal Engine.
Re: How would you spend a $5k setup budget?
#14Spend a bit of money on some desk plants. My desk looks like a little rainforest. All the extra green keeps you happy, you get a bit of extra oxygen, and gives you something to take care of to distract you from staring at nothing but your screen.
Beyond that I'm shocked no-one has mentioned getting either the comfiest chair you can find, or a standing desk. Either of those two will make a night and day difference.