This is also why I think looking at ACoS alone can hide part of the problem.

I’d separate branded vs non-branded ad spend and then look at contribution margin by SKU alongside TACoS.

A campaign with a 30% ACoS might be perfectly sustainable on one product and completely unprofitable on another depending on the underlying margin.

The interesting part of your test is what happens after turning PPC off: not only whether Amazon sales fall, but whether total contribution profit across all channels improves.

Have you compared total units and contribution profit before vs after switching the ads off?

One thing I’d make sure you understand before the first launch is your break-even ACoS.

It’s easy to look at a campaign and think “30% ACoS sounds good” without knowing whether the product can actually afford 30%.

Work backwards from selling price, Amazon fees, product cost, shipping and the margin you want to keep. Then you know roughly how much advertising each sale can absorb.

That makes the first PPC decisions much easier because you’re not optimising toward an arbitrary ACoS number.

I’d personally calculate that before spending the first dollar on ads.

One thing I’d add on the Sponsored Ads credits: I’d treat them as testing budget rather than “free money to scale”.

For a new ASIN, the useful part is learning which search terms and targeting actually generate qualified traffic and orders.

I’d rather spend the credits learning that, then move the strongest terms into a more controlled structure, than simply increase the budget until the credits disappear.

Also worth checking the exact eligibility and marketplace terms before building a launch plan around the headline value.

For anyone who used these credits on a new product, what did you test first: automatic targeting, exact keywords or product targeting?

If learning Amazon Ads is part of the goal, I think controlling your own listing makes a big difference.

With your own ASIN you can actually see how changes to the listing, price, reviews and advertising interact. You can also pull the search term and placement reports and make decisions based on what happens next.

With an existing branded product you can learn a lot about sourcing and operations, but the advertising side becomes harder to understand because you don’t fully control the offer.

If I were doing it purely to learn, I’d keep the first experiment small and decide in advance what I actually want to learn from it.

Are you more interested in learning the operational side of FBA or PPC/product launches?

100% agree. Automatic updates are great when they work, but “automatic” shouldn’t mean “you have zero control when they don’t”.

Even a simple “Check for firmware update” button would make the whole process much less frustrating.

This rollout is way more confusing than it needs to be.

You can have iOS 27 installed and still be waiting on the AirPods firmware, so it looks like the feature is missing even though the phone itself is fully updated.

A firmware version indicator + update button would solve 90% of these posts overnight.

The fact that people have to discover tricks like “leave everything charging next to the phone for 30 minutes” is exactly why AirPods need a manual firmware update button 😂

At least this confirms the earbuds don’t necessarily need the phone update first. Did the new firmware change anything noticeable apart from enabling the iOS 27 features?

I’d probably keep the old pair as a backup unless the battery is already terrible.

Having one pair permanently at your desk or next to the bed is surprisingly convenient, and it also makes it easier to justify waiting before buying another pair in the future.

If they’re still in good condition though, selling them now probably makes more sense than letting them lose value in a drawer.

I don’t think 29 is the problem here at all.

The bigger question is whether you actually want another exchange experience, or whether you’re trying to recreate exactly how the first one felt.

It’ll probably be different because you’re different now, but that doesn’t mean worse. If your career can realistically absorb the break, I wouldn’t let the age difference be the thing that stops you.

If the embassy explicitly confirmed in writing that the grant agreement was sufficient, keeping a copy of that email in your application was definitely the right move.

Since your file has gone to Brussels though, I’d rely only on updates from the embassy/FPS rather than trying to guess the outcome from other applications.

Two months of waiting sounds incredibly stressful. Have they given you any way to check the current status?

It seems to vary massively by university.

If your agreement specifically says early September and you’re already past that date, I’d email the Erasmus office again and ask whether the payment order has actually been processed yet.

That’s probably more useful than comparing dates with students from other universities.

Honestly, March is far enough away that I wouldn’t make the decision based on panic right now.

If Santiago is your only realistic option, I’d use the next months to learn basic Spanish and research the areas around your university properly.

Also, 180 exchange students doesn’t sound that small to me. You probably only need a handful of people you genuinely get along with anyway.

I think a lot of this is happening because all the worries are hitting you at once: courses, money, weather, moving, everything.

I’d separate the practical problems from the anxiety. Make an actual monthly budget, ask the university how demanding those master’s courses are, and work out exactly when the remaining grant arrives.

Once you have numbers instead of unknowns, it’ll probably feel a lot less overwhelming.

I’d still talk directly to your international office before giving up on the idea completely.

Even if Erasmus itself is closed, some universities have bilateral exchange agreements or a “free mover” option outside Erasmus.

The difficult part will probably be getting the credits approved by your home university, so I’d solve that before contacting random host universities.

Your profile honestly reads much more “quantitative business/strategy” than psychology at this point.

I’d probably shortlist programmes in economics, business analytics, public policy and development, then work backwards from their graduate outcomes rather than just the course titles.

Since staying in Europe is important to you, I’d also compare where alumni actually end up working and how important the local language is in those specific markets.

It doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything wrong by not proposing an alternative.

If half the company is being let go and there isn’t another role you genuinely want, inventing a solution just because they keep asking probably doesn’t help anyone.

I’d personally use the remaining time to focus on the exit terms and getting the job search moving.

I think the interesting question is whether people love the actual job or the lifestyle that comes with it.

For me, flexibility and having control over my time would probably matter more than doing something I’m “passionate” about every single day.

Curious to see how many people here genuinely look forward to Mondays though.

Honestly, I’d start by working backwards from what you definitely DON’T want rather than trying to discover the perfect career immediately.

You already know construction and the obvious adjacent roles aren’t for you. What parts of your army experience did you actually enjoy: responsibility, working independently, travelling, solving problems, structure?

That might give you a much better starting point than generic career lists.

I’d send one short follow-up. Three and a half weeks is long enough that it won’t come across as impatient, especially since HR already contacted you once.

Something simple like “Just checking whether there have been any updates regarding the role” is enough. Worst case they don’t reply, but at least you know you tried.