Being unemployed sucks.

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Sepen
My friend who had worked at Waste Management for the last 13 years and who was making 43k a year calls up and quits 5 weeks ago. Why? He said he was bored and stressed out. He can't find a job and he says he didn't think it would be this hard to find a new one! WTF, he doesn't even have a HS Diploma, what a tard! Now his wife is talking about splitting up with him and going bankrupt. I guess the morale of my story is "being unemployed can be catastophic in more ways than one".

Good luck.

What a MORON. RULE #-F**KING-ONE: DO NOT quit your job until you have another one lined up UNLESS your job is so bad that you are suicidal or being sexually abused. There are no other reasons to do it.

Anyway yes being unemployed sucks balls. I was unemployed 6.5 months last year. This year April 30 I get notice that if nothing comes through in projects I'm gone end of May with another couple of folk. Something came through last week - very short - but I will find out today if it's enough to tide us over another month to give us extra time.

Those of you who have never known job instability do not take it for granted. Life is harder when you can never say with certainty you'll still have a job in 3 months. You have to spend more sparingly and think long and hard as to whether you really want to buy that new car, knowing full well that you could be unemployed for long stretches. Most of this is because I'm in IT, which is a terribly sh**ty field to be in right now if you don't have a lot of experience or contacts.

I'll tell you something though! Being unemployed is both a humbling and educational experience. It gave me a more mature outlook on the world and forced me to turn my outlook on finances around 180 degrees, so that when I got the job I have now I knew how to handle the money properly. If I'm unemployed this time I'll be better set up than I was last time. I hope I get lucky though and they keep us on for a while yet, or reinstate us as full employees and rip up those termination papers!

My thing is I never burn any bridges, and work hard to make myself appear "indispensable". I tend to stay at a job 4-5 years and then another better offer pops out of the blue. Just lucky I guess. I've never been unemployed for more than three months---and that was voluntary. Anyway, don't be afraid to take a job that's "beneath" you if things get bad. It gives you the opertunity to meet people that might have leads to other positions. For example, a buddy of mine got a job at McDonald's while out of work for a few months. After a month or two, a position opened up in McD's corporate office for IT personel. He now develops McD's point of sale software and makes a nice living.

 

[Descartes]

Just ride the wave out. By your mid to late 20's you'll not have acne anymore most likely

I sure as hell hope so. I had very few problems until about a year ago. I had problems for about a year in high school, but they stabilized on their own. I have never been on any antibiotics or anything until recently. I only breakout around my chin/jaw, so I decided to see a derm about it. He gave me some antibiotics (minocycline), and I've broken out more now than I have in the past several years.... hmmm?

My family doc says it could be lack of sleep and stress as well. Who knows, who cares, just go away please, thanks.

 

[Jarwa]

I was unemployed for 13 months ending September 6th of last year. The good thing about it was that the government paid for me go back to college. I'm still working on my second degree, and they are still paying. Going to shcool and working full time sux, too. I just don't have a lot of time to study. I'm working on a two year degree right now, and I already have a four year degree. Isn't that something.....going BACK to school already having a BS and working on an AAS. Heh heh. The government would not pay for graduate hours, though. Anyway, just keep looking. You never know when opportunity will knock on your door. Oh, almost forgot... I got to draw unemployment for those 13 months, too. Talk about having lots of free time on your hands......

 

[StageLeft]

descartes I was on minocycline as well. For me it was about as useful as drinking urine. Chin/jaw is where I get mine too. Damn, why couldn't it be on my ass or something?

 

[walkur]

Reading all of this i'm glad that we have a good (maybe even too good) social security plan in the Netherlands.
That, combined with the fact that getting fired can be quite dificult over here (they first need to give you a number of written warnings and try to solve the "problem" together with you) job security isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Tangerine]

I finally got a job after searching for over 4 months, so I can sympathize. It's not my dream job, but it will do for now, I have a ton of bills to pay At least people I'll be working with seem nice.

 

[wyvrn]

I have been laid off once, almost twice in last 2 years. My wife's parents don't expect to survive the latest cuts at Boeing in a few months, even though they have been there forever. I'm just glad my wife is in a field that has more demand than supply, at least we know she is safe.

 

[SCSIfreek]

There is a shortage on my field of work especially in the government sector. But no one wants to be a civil engineer. 2 reasons 1) pays less than any other engineering field unless you have got PE and 5+ years of experiences. 2) too much things to consider about during construction (lots of headaches and lawsuit).



--Scsi

 

[satori]

Actually, I'm curious why everyone says you should have a job lined up. I've been thinking about quitting for the past couple months. 95% of the time, it's just coming into work, getting a >little< bit of stuff done, then heading back home. I used to wake up looking forward to coming into work. Heck, sometimes I'd sleep at work instead of going home, since it'd waste time. Classic case of burn-out? Maybe. I've been at my current place for almost 5 years, which is >extremely< long for someone coming out in technology.

One thing I've been thinking of doing is taking a couple months off. Go do a Taiwan+China+Korea trip. Maybe buy a new car. I took off for a week to Hawaii last year with my g/f and that was just soooo freaking relaxing. I can still remember what it was like to just lie on the beach, sipping my drink and just chilling.

Yah, maybe I'm just doing being stupid. I went through this same "malaise" when I was in college and almost ended up getting kicked out of the program. Maybe I should take a break for a while to re-energize and then come back. Maybe I can see if they'll let me do a sabatical for a couple months. I dunno...

 

[StageLeft]

One thing I've been thinking of doing is taking a couple months off. Go do a Taiwan+China+Korea trip. Maybe buy a new car. I took off for a week to Hawaii last year with my g/f and that was just soooo freaking relaxing. I can still remember what it was like to just lie on the beach, sipping my drink and just chilling.

Nice plan but things don't always work out that way. A couple of months would be fun! Would you still be having fun when 6 months in you've now wasted 4 months and still can't find another job? It has happened to people (like me). The job market is crap. If you want to leave your job find a new job and try and get them to let you start in a month or something like that or more, and then quit your current job.

If you've been employed for 5 years you have no idea how hard it can be to find a job for some people right now in tech. And don't go thinking that 5+ years of experience (I don't know if u have more) means people will be lining up at your door cause they won't be.

 

[satori]

Skoorb: Well, 6 months doesn't sound too bad right now. Discounting the month off between summer and spring quarter in college, the last time I was relaxing for more than 2 weeks was sophomore year in high school. So, I've been really working towards this career thing for over a decade. Man, time flies.

Plus, looking for a job >while< I'm working at a place just feels weird to me... Sorta like cheating on your g/f. I think it's mainly because I've been with my manager for so long and I feel I owe her something. Now if >she< left, my decision would be a lot easier...

BTW, the reason I'm not >too< concerned about finding another job is that our project is still hiring people with my skill set. And I figure if my company is still hiring, other places must be, also.

 

[wyvrn]

Those of you who have never known job instability do not take it for granted. Life is harder when you can never say with certainty you'll still have a job in 3 months. You have to spend more sparingly and think long and hard as to whether you really want to buy that new car, knowing full well that you could be unemployed for long stretches. Most of this is because I'm in IT, which is a terribly sh**ty field to be in right now if you don't have a lot of experience or contacts.

I'll tell you something though! Being unemployed is both a humbling and educational experience. It gave me a more mature outlook on the world and forced me to turn my outlook on finances around 180 degrees, so that when I got the job I have now I knew how to handle the money properly. If I'm unemployed this time I'll be better set up than I was last time. I hope I get lucky though and they keep us on for a while yet, or reinstate us as full employees and rip up those termination papers!

I agree completely. Being unemployed was the best thing to happen for me financially, ironically enough.