[Consensi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hermit', '
')Would really like some ideas.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('heroineworshipper', 'Y')ou have to make your own work.

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('heroineworshipper', 'Y')ou have to make your own work.

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hermit', '
')Would really like some ideas.

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hermit', '
')Would really like some ideas.

[beamofthewave]

Why not check out USAjobs.com. Go work for the feds.

[mekmek]

Hi - I finished a contract in IT early last year and decided to retrain as a teacher. I am sure if I had have persisted in applying for jobs I would have got one in my field. However, it was (still is) a tough labour market and it may have taken me 6 months or more. I decided to go back to uni. and retrain as a high school teacher. As I already have a degree it will only take me 1.5 years of full-time study to get a teaching degree. I am not sure how these things work in your country, but it may be worth looking into.

[SeaGypsy]

Lots of people in exactly this situation have gone to the outsourcing country and got jobs as administrators in the same field. The pay is about half what you would be used to in the USA but the lifestyle on that is much higher. It's not going to cover a mortgage in the USA though and taking wife/ children to India or the Philippines might not work.
Sometimes in life it is necessary to completely clear the slate; look at things in a very simple, stark and honest way then seek a new direction.
Anything is better than sitting around waiting for the axe to fall, ending up litterally on the streets with your family.
You mentioned your back problems: are they incurable/ spinal? Or connective tissue problems which can be fixed up by getting highly active/ building up a fitness regime?
This is a very important factor. Being physicly inactive is very bad for the mind, and doesn't help one get a job of any sort. Being fit and multi skilled broadens horizons in the employment market greatly.

[Roy]

Hermit I'm sorry to hear about your situation.

Briefly, my company is being bought out by a competitor and that deal closes next Friday. Current leadership won't tell us who is going to get the axe and who isn't. I'm the main network admin/server./workstation/pbx/ everything IT guy. I am as good as gone if I wait around.

I have been looking for a new job since last August. Had one really crappy offer last year and didn't take it. At every other interview I have been told "1XX people have also applied for this position". I've had many interviews, and just yesterday FINALLY received a job offer at a better company, that pays a bit more and has better benefits. Again that was after many rejections. Of course I took it. I turn in my resignation at the current place tomorrow.

I started my career out of college as an Industrial Engineer. Within a year, the sewing plant I worked in was moved to Mexico (1994). I internalized what Ross Perot was saying back in the '92 election, and then it happened to me. I saw the future for IEs not being all that great. As a result, I have had to re-invent myself 3 times so far and I'm 42 now.

One thing you might be eligible for is what we call the TAA here in NC -- maybe MT has something similar. Trade Adjustment Act. If your job is outsourced due to foreign competition, the HR lady at my now former company tells us that we are eligible for 2 years of unemployment benefits and tuition reimbursement/waivers for retraining.

If I fell into that, I had planned on going into either medical or solar power, depending on what I could find in terms of training programs nearby. Around here, Physical Therapy Assistant pays what I made at my now former job, and that only requires a 2 year degree. And there are many, many jobs for this. No bed pan changing or the gross stuff nurses do.

I think that's overpaid but it is what it is and that's where the jobs are.

If I were you I would try to get on any sort of TAA in Montana, and start cruising ALL the help wanted ads and see what the most common job is that pays what you need to make.

Also there is a decent site called www.salary.com that is free; it has something called the 'job search wizard' that will send you an email every day; it automatically browses most of the job websites for you, including some company sites and public as well. They will send you 1 SPAM email every day too, asking you to pay them for a salary report, but you don't have to buy it, and you will still receive the job search wizard email also.

I don't work for salary. com and I actually got a few interviews via that mechanism so maybe it will help if you want to stay in the same field.

Hope this helps and your mileage may vary.

Roy

[Olaf]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('2cher', 'A')ll the computer jobs are gone for the incompetent people, the half assed programmers, the half assed designers, the half assed network admins. But those who have actual talent and actual knowledge, are not having trouble finding work.

[Olaf]

Well, people are always getting sick, hurt, and dying. So medical field could be a place to go if you can get the training you need. Trade skills are definitely useful to have, but I find lots of these people are out of work right now too. I've seen professional cabinet makers that used to run their own businesses working at Home Depot now. Those are the folks you would be competing with now for those 'retail' jobs.

Olaf

[rangerone314]

If I become dictator, I am going to legalize "CEO, banker and stockbroker tossing" as a profession, since they aren't kindly throwing themselves out of windows themselves like in the Great Depression.

And the neat thing is throwing elites out of windows can't be outsourced.

[mcgowanjm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'I')f I become dictator, I am going to legalize "CEO, banker and stockbroker tossing" as a profession, since they aren't kindly throwing themselves out of windows themselves like in the Great Depression.

And the neat thing is throwing elites out of windows can't be outsourced.

[centralstump]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your job.

The APT is going to require a new breed of network admin that can not be outsourced for obvious reasons. You might want to think about Information Security.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Sorry to hear about your situation. The last ten years of my job at IBM in mainframe I/T was a slow descent into hell, largely fed by the pressures of outsourcing and the threats they entailed. So, I know where you're coming from.

This might be simplistic, but given:

1). That we have an aging population, and that most folks can't do sqaut except their jobs and to consume stuff.
2). That for physical on-location work, you CAN'T outsource that.

If your health will permit it - I'd consider something like maintenance or plumbing.

Once you apprentice and learn, you could be your own boss if you are a self-starter. If your health gets dicey (strength, joints, etc. as middle age progresses -- I know from direct experience) -- MANY successful such folks get young healthy apprentices to literally do all the heavy lifting. These guys THINK, apply their know-how, keep the customer happy, etc. and do quite well. This is NOT pie in the sky - I've seen this directly in plumbing, auto mechanics, A/C techs, etc. etc. (And the folks running THESE businesses CAN'T get laid off). The main trick is to take CARE of your customer and encourage feedback so you get:

1). Repeat business.
2). Good referrals to friends of clients.

It's also good honest work and REAL work. Some of the most directly rewarding work I did was mowing lawns when I was a kid, because I could do the job well, and see the results, every time I did the job.

If your health permits, the main downside would be less income short term, but some basic retail job isn't likely to be much better -- and your income and security outlook long term would be MUCH worse, it seems to me.

Best of luck in your pursuits.