[midnight-gamer]

I was laid off recently after 6 yrs of employment. I had been among the most experienced employees on the job. I was given my walking papers with no notice at all, 2 days before a one week vacation. Rotten .... any advice would help out cuz my wife is not dealing with this well.

[holmes]

Im sorry maybe its a time to renew and change your life. sell off the shit and migrate. simplify. It might have been a blessing in disguise. If she cannot except the truth abou the situation we are in and that nothing is stable or sacred than she might not be the right one for u. Be a tuff guy. You might be alive for a civil war anyway.

[Aaron]

Depends on who you are and what you do of course.

Has happened to me a couple times as well.

Fear of the unknown does little to help you achieve your goals, and everything to distract you from doing your best.

Take being unemployed as seriously as you took your old job...

You won't be jobless long.

[legit]

Were you part of a union? Surelty you've got a case, no notice?

[NEOPO]

#1. you were unemployed before you found that job.
#2. the best time to find a job is when you have a job.

#1 still applies but we are past #2.

Hopefully you are not living paycheck to paycheck and have managed in 6 years to put away a decent savings just for this sort of thing?

From my experiences and to make one of my long stories short......
You will probably look back upon this event as the kick in the ass that you needed

Now is maybe the time to transition to something else.
Perhaps its an opportunity for you to pursue a path that you could not before as we all fall into routine and comfort zones making it very hard if not impossible for many of us to voluntarily disrupt our daily "flow" if you will.
Maybe now is the time to prepare for post PO?

Embrace change.

Your wife needs to understand that shit happens and after 6 years of steady employment she must believe that you:
1. will work
2. will find another job regardless

Give a guy a break!;-)

[holmes]

Gynocracies do not give the "guys" breaks. Quite the contrary actually. Been there. theyll ride ur ass no matter what. Shell just move on to the next joe with a job and cash if shes that type. Theyll actually make a hard time even harder. Drama!

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('midnight-gamer', 'I') was laid off recently after 6 yrs of employment. I had been among the most experienced employees on the job. I was given my walking papers with no notice at all, 2 days before a one week vacation. Rotten .... any advice would help out cuz my wife is not dealing with this well.

[Bleep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('midnight-gamer', 'I') was laid off recently after 6 yrs of employment. I had been among the most experienced employees on the job.

[eastbay]

A friend of mine ( I have all kinds of friends...lol) was fired from his job not too long ago. He was earning around $60,000 which, with his, uh, how shall I put it kindly... 'limited skills', wasn't too bad. Anyhow, he was really frightened and upset, thinking of what to do next. His job search lasted many months.

Well, next think you know old Richard's found fat-city in Iraq performing private security at $15,000/month, which was the last thing anyone would have thought he'd do. Hey, you never know what opportunity might surface.

[Bleep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'W')ell, next think you know old Richard's found fat-city in Iraq...

[eastbay]

.... yeah, he tells me his co-workers are getting shot and blown up all the time. Now that's a strange job. The dead private security guards and consultants ( he calls himself a 'consultant'...lol ) aren't counted among the occupation army casualties but they must number in the hundreds at least.

[Schweinshaxe]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('midnight-gamer', 'I') was laid off recently after 6 yrs of employment.

[midnight-gamer]

bleep wrote: "Most experienced" = "most expensive."


I only made $25k per year, which was not a huge amount. Should be able to match that without too much trouble. Problem is, I have some college but no degree. Tuff to do much without college. I belive what happend with the job could turn out to be good. Just wish my wife would support me instead of bring me down. Thanks for all the quick replies.

[Bleep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('midnight-gamer', 'I') only made $25k per year, which was not a huge amount. Should be able to match that without too much trouble. Problem is, I have some college but no degree. Tuff to do much without college.

[midnight-gamer]

"The fact that your job was paying only $25k after six years and you got fired suggests you might be the problem."


That could be true. hopefully it will be the kick in the butt I need. Spending 6 years in a dead end position was not a good career move.

[Bleep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('midnight-gamer', '"')The fact that your job was paying only $25k after six years and you got fired suggests you might be the problem."


That could be true. hopefully it will be the kick in the butt I need. Spending 6 years in a dead end position was not a good career move.

[mgibbons19]

Good luck. Unemployment sucks and is very scary. Even though working sucks and is also scary.

[Free]

Yes good luck and all the best!

And give this guy a break! All he asked for was a little mental support and advice, and all he got to hear was that he was overpaid, should have had a second job in the pipeline, that his wife is bad and will leave him, and that he is in a really bad situation. Gotta love the doomerish honesty of PO.com....

[seahorse2]

midnightgamer,

We need more details to offer you any real suggestions. For example, if you have kids, minors, living at home or are paying child support etc., it makes a difference as to your options. If it was just you and your wife, I would see this as an opportunity to move to a different part of the country. Literally, just pick up and move, screw the mortgage, give everyone the finger, and go.

If you are paying child support, you need to immediately file a motion with the court to reduce your child support based on your drop in income. If you cant afford an attorney, contact a local law school. Local law schools often have programs where student attorneys are allowed to represent indigent clients. Further, there are many federally supported legal aid clinics that provide free legal services for indigent clients. If neither of those are available, contact the local county bar association to see if there is an attorney that would provide pro bono services to reduce the child support.

Further, you need to immediately file for unemployment insurance benefits if you haven't already. The unemployment office usually has a person that can help you find a job or at least point you in the right direction.

Immediately look into temporary employment agencies.

Consider applying for medicaid to cover medical bills if you are not covered by any other insurance. Medicaid is based on income levels. You may qualify. You need to apply. All they can do is tell you know, but the date you file determines your eligibility. If you have a serious accident or illness, you want to make sure your application date would cover the onset of that illness. So, apply now.

With kids at home or somewhere else that depend on you, its a different situation entirely. Without a college degree, there are lots of things to do. I would consider becoming a fireman or police officer, as I think there is job security in those jobs even in a depression. Put your app in now, take the civil service exam, and good luck. Private security work will probably do well even in a depression.

Keep in mind, that many of us here feel there will be a recession or depression in the coming years brought upon by a number of factors. In my opinion, its better to get laid off now than later in a recession or a depression, when you would be competing for a job with millions others. Now is the time to find a job like police/fire/security work that should fare well even in a depression, before you are competing for that job with millions others. Go to nursing school. You don't need a degree and many of the courses are taught at local schools or hospitals, about 9 months long. Nursing should do well in a recession/depression.

f you got fired in the best of economic times, it means your job would have folded soon in a recession anyway. This is an opportunity, run with it.

[Doly]

Midnightgamer, you haven't mentioned at all what sort of job you had. You should consider your job options taking into account what you know how to do. For example, if you work in IT, I think it's safe in the short term to go for technical support roles. Computers aren't going to disappear overnight, and while other things (like developing new stuff) may be considered a luxury in a recession/depression, somebody will have to maintain the current computer infrastructure.

In general, think of whatever you know how to do, and think of something in that line that will be needed even during an economic depression.