I work at the University of Southern California and one of the perks is tuition assistance.  As an employee, you are eligible for 6 credits/semester of undergraduate level courses and 4 credits/semester of graduate level courses. Children or dependents get free tuition and a spouse/domestic partner gets 50% off tuition.  I have outlined the steps to take if you would like to start taking courses, but have not been accepted into a degree program. This is called Pre-Admit or Limited Status.  You can take up to 16 credits this way that will count toward your degree.  Most of the people reading this will be interested in graduate school. The curve ball here is you are taxed on any tuition assistance over $5250 per year.  This equates to roughly 3 credits at USC.  The only way to get around this is if the course is job related.

All you really need to do is fill out the appropriate forms and turn them in.  Below is a step by step breakdown of what forms you need to fill out and where to turn them in. I wish someone had laid it out like this for me, so I passing my knowledge along.

Here is what you do for limited status, pre-admit (once you are admitted all you need to do is fill out the Tax For Graduate form and the Staff-Admitted Student form and you can take whatever you want):

1. Fill out the Pre-Admit form and get the appropriate departments heads to sign it (details in form).
2. Fill out the Limited Status Form to register for classes.
3. If it’s graduate work, you need to fill out the Tax For Graduate form and see if you can get it to be Job Related or not. If the class can be signed off by a supervisor as job related, you do not have to pay taxes on the tuition. Turn that for into Payroll.
4. Take the Pre-Admit to USC Benefits (USC Credit Union Building 2nd floor)
5. Take the Limited Status Form to the Registrar Office, and they will enroll you in the class.

Forms:
Limited Status Registration: Form_4005a_Limited_Status_Form

Pre-Admit: TAB_PreAdmission.pdf
Job Related Audit: http://www.usc.edu/dept/Benefits/forms/tuition_assistance/TAB_Audit.pdf
Tax For Graduate: http://ais-ss.usc.edu/empldoc/forms/forms.html (all the way at the bottom)

Reference:
USC Tuition Assistance Benefit: http://www.usc.edu/dept/Benefits/edu_assistance.html
USC Tuition Assistance Forms: http://www.usc.edu/dept/Benefits/forms_tuition.html

Monday I put together the IKEA FREDRIK Computer Workstation in my office and set it up as a standing desk. The workstation was not designed to be used as a standing desk, so any little vibration from typing or fidgeting moves the monitors. To solve this I plan on anchoring it to the wall. After a full week of use, I can tell you it does take a bit to get used to. I still use my trusty BreakTimer application, but instead of getting up and walking when the timer goes off, I sit down for a bit. I have noticed my back is hurting less, but my legs get fatigued and my feet kinda ache. Specifically my quads and hip-flexers. I can already tell that I need a fatigue pad (should be here next week).

Even though I am getting some relief from my shooting back pain, that goes down my left leg, standing all day is not exactly relaxing. I used to enjoy reclining in my chair after lunch and perusing the interwebs. Getting my daily does of technology news. But reading the news while standing doesn’t quite have the same effect. On the other hand I do not notice a decline in work quality. If anything the quality of work has increased. I guess standing and being physically engaged makes me focus more; though I am still only able to work in spurts of 30 minutes to a max of 1 hour straight before I have to take a break. Only this time, instead of having to get up and stretch my legs because of the pain in all the diodes on my left side, I need to sit a minute to rest the legs and feet. Hopefully the cheap Office Depot fatigue pad coming next week will ease the foot aches, which is the main reason I have to take a break from standing.

I still fidget and shift my position, constantly. Alter my wait from side to side. Widen my stance. Put a foot up on the bottom shelf of the desk. The same amount of fidgeting I did while seated. I guess I just can’t sit still.

The other option, the $1400 tangram desk with a slightly smaller work area and no higher shelf for monitors, was a lot more stable and it goes up and down with a push of a button. It even has height presets for single touch action to go to sitting height or standing. But 10 times as much money. Even with all those features, I don’t know if it’s 10 times as better. Maybe there is a way to make one and sell it for less…

So after the first week, I would gladly exchange dealing with fatigued legs than the pain going down my leg. We shall see how it is after next week.

photo of my standing desk at work

I am an active guy. One of those NCAA athletes that went pro in something other than sports. But after years and years of volleyball, my body has taken a beating. My back and knees in particular. So naturally, after I graduated and started working, sitting in front of a computer all day, my workout regime decreased dramatically in intensity. After about six months, I noticed an increase in lower back pain. I am not unfamiliar with lower back pain, but the pain was more intense than during college. I would rest, stretch, ice, rehab, and it would heal. Than it would happen again. Always after a hard workout or cleaning all day. But it would always go away after about a week.

After I moved out to Southern California, I started playing in some adult volleyball leagues. Three times a week. Warming up, optional. And thus I got lazy, my technique waned, and became prone to injury. The mix of playing without warming up or stretching and then sitting down for several hours the next day caused my muscles to tighten up. One day I woke up crooked. Leaning to the right. And like an idiot, I did not stop playing volleyball. I just figured it would heal like normal and I could push through it. But this time it just got worse. Rehab didn’t help anymore. I started to suspect a herniated disc. I went to a chiropractor, who suspected the same. Yep, the MRI confirmed it. L2 and L3 herniated disc with all the other lumbar discs also protruding. No surgery required to heal, thankfully. Just rest, rehab, NO VOLLEYBALL.

This really got me thinking about the ergonomics of my workspace. USC has a whole department devoted to it. I called them up for an ergonomic evaluation of my work area. Result: desk is too low, chair too small, not enough leg room, monitors too close, poor lighting, etc. Anyone over six feet and 200 pounds can relate to everything being too small. The ergonomics guy told me he uses a stand up desk and loves it. Sweet! That’s the only position that is pain free for me! Oh, they are over a grand? Grrr!

Searching the interwebs for stand up desks revealed not much under a thousand dollars. There were super sweet ones that go up and down with a push of a button, some with air compressors, or cranks. But I would be satisfied with just a desk that was 49 inches high. I’ll commit to standing all day. I did find lots of helpful DIY standing desks from Lifehacker which gave me some confidence in creating my own. Which is find for at home, but for work: you gotta go through all the proper channels, penetrate the bureaucracy, and wait.

I think I found a solution though. A single purchase, inexpensive desk that can be used as a standing desk or one of those old fashion sit-in-a-chair desks. It’s from IKEA: FREDRIK Computer Work station. Metal frame with notches every two or three inches to move the surfaces up and down. There is also a smaller one, 38 inches vs. 50 inches wide ( I just bought the smaller on for a standing workbench at home). I will post back with the result of if my work will spring for the new desk to replace my current setup as well as how my home setup works out. I also plan on making some wood boxes to put under my current desk (which is only 31 inches high, so the box needs to be 49 – 31 = 18 inches). I’ll use the new workbench to make those!

My current career path has me sittign on my ass infront of a computer for most of the daylight hours. I have back issues, and sometimes I get too involved in my work and forget to move.  Combine that with years of volleyball and tight muscles I got a herniated disc.  So I made a simple AIR application that will block out the screen and tell you to take a break after a proscribed period of time (30 minutes).  This can be set from 0 to 180 minutes (no person should be sitting for 180 minutes straight though!).  If you have multiple monitores it will block all your monitors.

The source is there for you to tweak, right click on the app and view source.