diff --git a/backend/server.js b/backend/server.js
index 990b930..2c462c1 100755
--- a/backend/server.js
+++ b/backend/server.js
@@ -109,9 +109,10 @@ app.use((req, res, next) => {
 });
 
 // =============== USER REGISTRATION (MySQL) ===============
+// /api/register
 app.post('/api/register', async (req, res) => {
   const {
-    userId,
+    userId, // random ID from the front end
     username,
     password,
     firstname,
@@ -123,62 +124,54 @@ app.post('/api/register', async (req, res) => {
     career_situation
   } = req.body;
 
-  if (
-    !userId ||
-    !username ||
-    !password ||
-    !firstname ||
-    !lastname ||
-    !email ||
-    !zipcode ||
-    !state ||
-    !area ||
-    !career_situation
-  ) {
-    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'All fields including career_situation are required' });
-  }
-
   try {
     const hashedPassword = await bcrypt.hash(password, 10);
 
-    // 1) Insert into user_profile first
-        const profileQuery = `
-          INSERT INTO user_profile (user_id, firstname, lastname, email, zipcode, state, area, career_situation)
-          VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+    // Insert row in user_profile, storing both user_id (random) and letting id auto-increment
+    const profileQuery = `
+      INSERT INTO user_profile
+        (user_id, firstname, lastname, email, zipcode, state, area, career_situation)
+      VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+    `;
+    pool.query(
+      profileQuery,
+      [userId, firstname, lastname, email, zipcode, state, area, career_situation],
+      (errProfile, resultProfile) => {
+        if (errProfile) {
+          console.error('Error inserting user_profile:', errProfile.message);
+          return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to create user profile' });
+        }
+
+        const newProfileAutoId = resultProfile.insertId; // auto-increment PK
+
+        // Insert into user_auth, referencing the auto-increment PK
+        const authQuery = `
+          INSERT INTO user_auth (user_id, username, hashed_password)
+          VALUES (?, ?, ?)
         `;
-        pool.query(
-          profileQuery,
-          [userId, firstname, lastname, email, zipcode, state, area, career_situation],
-          (err2, results2) => {
-            if (err2) {
-              console.error('Error inserting into user_profile:', err2.message);
-              return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to create user profile' });
+        pool.query(authQuery, [newProfileAutoId, username, hashedPassword], (errAuth) => {
+          if (errAuth) {
+            console.error('Error inserting user_auth:', errAuth.message);
+            if (errAuth.code === 'ER_DUP_ENTRY') {
+              return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Username already exists' });
             }
-
-            // 2) Insert into user_auth
-            const authQuery = `
-              INSERT INTO user_auth (user_id, username, hashed_password)
-              VALUES (?, ?, ?)
-            `;
-            pool.query(authQuery, [userId, username, hashedPassword], (err, results) => {
-              if (err) {
-                console.error('Error inserting into user_auth:', err.message);
-                if (err.code === 'ER_DUP_ENTRY') {
-                  return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Username already exists' });
-                }
-                return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to register user' });
-              }
-              return res.status(201).json({ message: 'User registered successfully', userId });
-            });
+            return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to register user' });
           }
-        );
-
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error('Error during registration:', error.message);
+          return res.status(201).json({
+            message: 'User registered successfully',
+            dbId: newProfileAutoId,   // the auto-increment PK
+            customId: userId, // the random ID
+          });
+        });
+      }
+    );
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error('Error during registration:', err.message);
     return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Internal server error' });
   }
 });
 
+
 // =============== SIGN-IN (MySQL) ===============
 app.post('/api/signin', async (req, res) => {
   const { username, password } = req.body;
@@ -190,6 +183,7 @@ app.post('/api/signin', async (req, res) => {
     SELECT 
       user_auth.user_id, 
       user_auth.hashed_password, 
+      user_profile.id,
       user_profile.zipcode,
       user_profile.is_premium,
       user_profile.is_pro_premium,
@@ -200,7 +194,7 @@ app.post('/api/signin', async (req, res) => {
       user_profile.career_priorities,
       user_profile.career_list
     FROM user_auth
-    LEFT JOIN user_profile ON user_auth.user_id = user_profile.user_id
+      LEFT JOIN user_profile ON user_auth.user_id = user_profile.id
     WHERE user_auth.username = ?
   `;
   pool.query(query, [username], async (err, results) => {
@@ -219,11 +213,11 @@ app.post('/api/signin', async (req, res) => {
       return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid username or password' });
     }
 
-    const token = jwt.sign({ userId: row.user_id }, SECRET_KEY, { expiresIn: '2h' });
+    const token = jwt.sign({ userId: row.id }, SECRET_KEY, { expiresIn: '2h' });
     res.status(200).json({
       message: 'Login successful',
       token,
-      userId: row.user_id,
+      userId: row.id,
       user: {
         user_id: row.user_id,
         firstname: row.firstname,
diff --git a/backend/server2.js b/backend/server2.js
index ff431a6..4db43c5 100755
--- a/backend/server2.js
+++ b/backend/server2.js
@@ -1,16 +1,20 @@
+/**************************************************
+ * server2.js - MySQL version
+ **************************************************/
 import express from 'express';
 import axios from 'axios';
 import cors from 'cors';
-import helmet from 'helmet'; // Import helmet for HTTP security headers
+import helmet from 'helmet'; // For HTTP security headers
 import dotenv from 'dotenv';
-import xlsx from 'xlsx'; // Keep for CIP->SOC mapping only
+import xlsx from 'xlsx'; // For CIP->SOC mapping only
 import path from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
-import { open } from 'sqlite';
-import sqlite3 from 'sqlite3';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import readline from 'readline';
 
+// ********** NEW: use mysql2/promise for async/await queries **********
+import mysql from 'mysql2/promise';
+
 // --- Basic file init ---
 const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
 const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
@@ -33,41 +37,31 @@ const mappingFilePath = '/home/jcoakley/aptiva-dev1-app/public/CIP_to_ONET_SOC.x
 // Institution data
 const institutionFilePath = path.resolve(rootPath, 'public/Institution_data.json');
 
-// Create Express app
+// ********** CREATE TWO POOLS FOR TWO DATABASES **********
+// salary_data_db => poolSalary
+// user_profile_db => poolProfile
+
+const poolSalary = mysql.createPool({
+  host: process.env.DB_HOST,
+  port: process.env.DB_PORT || 3306,
+  user: process.env.DB_USER,
+  password: process.env.DB_PASSWORD,
+  database: 'salary_data_db',
+  connectionLimit: 10
+});
+
+const poolProfile = mysql.createPool({
+  host: process.env.DB_HOST,
+  port: process.env.DB_PORT || 3306,
+  user: process.env.DB_USER,
+  password: process.env.DB_PASSWORD,
+  database: 'user_profile_db',
+  connectionLimit: 10
+});
+
 const app = express();
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5001;
 
-/**************************************************
- * DB connections
- **************************************************/
-let db;
-const initDB = async () => {
-  try {
-    db = await open({
-      filename: '/home/jcoakley/aptiva-dev1-app/salary_info.db',
-      driver: sqlite3.Database,
-    });
-    console.log('Connected to SQLite database.');
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error('Error connecting to database:', error);
-  }
-};
-initDB();
-
-let userProfileDb;
-const initUserProfileDb = async () => {
-  try {
-    userProfileDb = await open({
-      filename: '/home/jcoakley/aptiva-dev1-app/user_profile.db',
-      driver: sqlite3.Database
-    });
-    console.log('Connected to user_profile.db.');
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error('Error connecting to user_profile.db:', error);
-  }
-};
-initUserProfileDb();
-
 /**************************************************
  * Security, CORS, JSON Body
  **************************************************/
@@ -141,13 +135,7 @@ if (socToCipMapping.length === 0) {
 
 /**************************************************
  * Load single JSON with all states + US
- * Replaces old GA-only approach
  **************************************************/
-// const projectionsFilePath = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', 'public', 'occprj.xlsx');
-// const workbook = xlsx.readFile(projectionsFilePath);
-// const sheet = workbook.Sheets['GAOccProj 2022-2032'];
-// const projectionsData = xlsx.utils.sheet_to_json(sheet, { header: 1 });
-
 const singleProjFile = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', 'public', 'economicproj.json');
 let allProjections = [];
 try {
@@ -205,7 +193,7 @@ app.get('/api/onet/questions', async (req, res) => {
   }
 });
 
-// geocode
+// Geocode
 async function geocodeZipCode(zipCode) {
   const apiKey = process.env.GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY;
   if (!apiKey) {
@@ -394,7 +382,7 @@ app.get('/api/schools', (req, res) => {
   // 1) Read `cipCodes` from query (comma-separated string)
   const { cipCodes } = req.query;
 
-  if (!cipCodes ) {
+  if (!cipCodes) {
     return res.status(400).json({ error: 'cipCodes (comma-separated) and state are required.' });
   }
 
@@ -422,8 +410,7 @@ app.get('/api/schools', (req, res) => {
       return cipArray.some((cip) => scip.startsWith(cip));
     });
 
-    // 5) (Optional) Deduplicate if you suspect overlaps among CIP codes. 
-    //    E.g. by a “UNITID” or unique property:
+    // 5) (Optional) Deduplicate if you suspect overlaps among CIP codes.
     const uniqueMap = new Map();
     for (const school of filtered) {
       const key = school.UNITID || school.INSTNM; // pick your unique field
@@ -441,7 +428,6 @@ app.get('/api/schools', (req, res) => {
   }
 });
 
-
 // tuition
 app.get('/api/tuition', (req, res) => {
   const { cipCodes, state } = req.query;
@@ -489,11 +475,9 @@ app.get('/api/tuition', (req, res) => {
   }
 });
 
-
 /**************************************************
  * SINGLE route for projections from economicproj.json
  **************************************************/
-// Remove old GA Excel approach; unify with single JSON approach
 app.get('/api/projections/:socCode', (req, res) => {
   const { socCode } = req.params;
   const { state } = req.query;
@@ -548,7 +532,7 @@ app.get('/api/projections/:socCode', (req, res) => {
 });
 
 /**************************************************
- * Salary route
+ * Salary route (uses poolSalary)
  **************************************************/
 app.get('/api/salary', async (req, res) => {
   const { socCode, area } = req.query;
@@ -576,10 +560,17 @@ app.get('/api/salary', async (req, res) => {
   try {
     let regionalRow = null;
     let nationalRow = null;
+
+    // If area is provided, fetch regional
     if (area) {
-      regionalRow = await db.get(regionalQuery, [socCode, area]);
+      const [regRows] = await poolSalary.query(regionalQuery, [socCode, area]);
+      regionalRow = regRows.length ? regRows[0] : null;
     }
-    nationalRow = await db.get(nationalQuery, [socCode]);
+
+    // Always fetch national
+    const [natRows] = await poolSalary.query(nationalQuery, [socCode]);
+    nationalRow = natRows.length ? natRows[0] : null;
+
     if (!regionalRow && !nationalRow) {
       console.log('No salary data found for:', { socCode, area });
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'No salary data found' });
@@ -597,12 +588,12 @@ app.get('/api/salary', async (req, res) => {
 });
 
 /**************************************************
- * job-zones route
+ * job-zones route (uses poolSalary)
  **************************************************/
 app.post('/api/job-zones', async (req, res) => {
   const { socCodes } = req.body;
   if (!socCodes || !Array.isArray(socCodes) || socCodes.length === 0) {
-    return res.status(400).json({ error: "SOC Codes are required." });
+    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'SOC Codes are required.' });
   }
   try {
     // Format them
@@ -614,28 +605,34 @@ app.post('/api/job-zones', async (req, res) => {
       return cleaned.slice(0, 7);
     });
     const placeholders = formattedSocCodes.map(() => '?').join(',');
+
     const q = `
       SELECT OCC_CODE, JOB_ZONE,
              A_MEDIAN, A_PCT10, A_PCT25, A_PCT75
       FROM salary_data
       WHERE OCC_CODE IN (${placeholders})
     `;
-    const rows = await db.all(q, formattedSocCodes);
-    console.log("Salary Data Query Results:", rows);
+
+    // Use spread operator for the array
+    const [rows] = await poolSalary.query(q, [...formattedSocCodes]);
+    console.log('Salary Data Query Results:', rows);
+
     const jobZoneMapping = rows.reduce((acc, row) => {
-      const isMissing = [row.A_MEDIAN, row.A_PCT10, row.A_PCT25, row.A_PCT75]
-        .some((v) => !v || v === '#' || v === '*');
+      const isMissing = [row.A_MEDIAN, row.A_PCT10, row.A_PCT25, row.A_PCT75].some(
+        (v) => !v || v === '#' || v === '*'
+      );
       acc[row.OCC_CODE] = {
         job_zone: row.JOB_ZONE,
         limited_data: isMissing ? 1 : 0
       };
       return acc;
     }, {});
-    console.log("Job Zone & Limited Data:", jobZoneMapping);
+
+    console.log('Job Zone & Limited Data:', jobZoneMapping);
     res.json(jobZoneMapping);
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error("Error fetching job zones:", error);
-    res.status(500).json({ error: "Failed to fetch job zones." });
+    console.error('Error fetching job zones:', error);
+    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch job zones.' });
   }
 });
 
@@ -665,26 +662,10 @@ app.get('/api/skills/:socCode', async (req, res) => {
 
     const data = response.data || {};
 
-    // 3) O*NET returns:
-    //  {
-    //    "code": "17-1011.00",
-    //    "group": [
-    //       {
-    //         "title": { "id": "2.A", "name": "Basic Skills" },
-    //         "element": [
-    //           { "id": "2.A.1.a", "name": "reading work related information" },
-    //           ...
-    //         ]
-    //       },
-    //       ...
-    //    ]
-    //  }
-
-    // Instead of data.characteristic, parse data.group
     const groups = data.group || [];
-
-    // 4) Flatten out the group[].element[] into a single skills array
     const skills = [];
+
+    // Flatten out the group[].element[] into a single skills array
     groups.forEach((groupItem) => {
       const groupName = groupItem?.title?.name || 'Unknown Group';
 
@@ -702,43 +683,42 @@ app.get('/api/skills/:socCode', async (req, res) => {
 
     res.json({ skills });
   } catch (error) {
-  console.error('Error fetching O*NET skills:', error.message);
+    console.error('Error fetching O*NET skills:', error.message);
 
-  if (error.response) {
-    console.error('O*NET error status:', error.response.status);
-    console.error('O*NET error data:', error.response.data);
-  } else if (error.request) {
-    // The request was made but no response was received
-    console.error('No response received from O*NET. Possibly a network or credentials error.');
-    console.error('Axios error.request:', error.request);
-  } else {
-    // Something else happened in setting up the request
-    console.error('Request setup error:', error.message);
+    if (error.response) {
+      console.error('O*NET error status:', error.response.status);
+      console.error('O*NET error data:', error.response.data);
+    } else if (error.request) {
+      console.error('No response received from O*NET.');
+      console.error('Axios error.request:', error.request);
+    } else {
+      console.error('Request setup error:', error.message);
+    }
+
+    return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch O*NET skills' });
   }
-
-  return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch O*NET skills' });
-}
-
 });
 
-
 /**************************************************
- * user-profile by ID route
+ * user-profile by ID route (uses poolProfile)
  **************************************************/
-app.get('/api/user-profile/:id', (req, res) => {
+app.get('/api/user-profile/:id', async (req, res) => {
   const { id } = req.params;
   if (!id) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Profile ID is required' });
+
   const query = `SELECT area, zipcode FROM user_profile WHERE id = ?`;
-  db.get(query, [id], (err, row) => {
-    if (err) {
-      console.error('Error fetching user profile:', err.message);
-      return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch user profile' });
-    }
-    if (!row) {
+
+  try {
+    const [rows] = await poolProfile.query(query, [id]);
+    if (!rows.length) {
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Profile not found' });
     }
+    const row = rows[0];
     res.json({ area: row.area, zipcode: row.zipcode });
-  });
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error('Error fetching user profile:', err.message);
+    return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch user profile' });
+  }
 });
 
 /**************************************************
diff --git a/src/components/SignUp.js b/src/components/SignUp.js
index 50ad145..1801a07 100644
--- a/src/components/SignUp.js
+++ b/src/components/SignUp.js
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ function SignUp() {
   const [areas, setAreas] = useState([]);
   const [error, setError] = useState('');
   const [loadingAreas, setLoadingAreas] = useState(false);
+  const [frontendUserId] = useState(() => Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000000000));
 
   // new states
   const [showCareerSituations, setShowCareerSituations] = useState(false);
@@ -168,23 +169,30 @@ function SignUp() {
   
 
   const handleSituationConfirm = async () => {
+   
     try {
-      // Verify payload clearly:
       console.log("Payload sent to backend:", {
-        userId: Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000000000),
+        userId: frontendUserId,
         username, password, firstname, lastname, email, zipcode, state, area,
         career_situation: selectedSituation.id
       });
   
       const response = await fetch('/api/register', {
-        method: 'POST',
-        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-        body: JSON.stringify({
-          userId: Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000000000),
-          username, password, firstname, lastname, email, zipcode, state, area,
-          career_situation: selectedSituation.id
-        }),
-      });
+  method: 'POST',
+  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+  body: JSON.stringify({
+    userId: frontendUserId,
+    username,
+    password,
+    firstname,
+    lastname,
+    email,
+    zipcode,
+    state,
+    area,
+    career_situation: selectedSituation.id
+  }),
+});
   
       const data = await response.json();