O/T Add me to the list of unemployed.

Knock on wood but my job is doing well.I have worked at an Aluminum Extrusion Plant for the last 11 years.They are buying machinery and upgrading the existing machinery constantly.The only thing i have lost is my regular overtime due to the weak economy.I have had to tighten my belt a bit because of it ,but a paycheck is better than no paycheck i guess.Its a union plant and they provide free health insurance for you and your family .I count my blessings every day for what i have and feel for you guys that are out of work right now.I was in the same boat in 97 when i got laid off from LOF glass (wife wasnt working then,my daughter had just turned 2 and had no other family to help me out ).You guys will make it though this ,its what makes us men .I have heard that my company is planning to do some hiring in the spring (as they always do),if they do, i will spread the word on here ,and put in a good word for any of you in my area that are interested .Its physical work ,but its indoor and they start you out well ...

 

I was nurturing this opportunity since last June at a start-up company. I had worked on projects with half the staff there at the company I was cut from in May. They left about 2 years earlier and started the new company. Here is the email I had just received from them. They had planned to make me an offer mid-Jan mid-Feb

Dear Mike:

We’ve reviewed your qualifications and we decided to go another direction for our mechanical design support. I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out here, and I wish you the best in your search.

 

Add me to the list. I do ( did ) architectural fabrication. These are the last to places that I worked for. Check out the portfolios. PM me if any of you guys know of any jobs within 50 miles of San Jose CA, I would appreciate it.

3 yrs here
http://www.metropolismetalworks.com/portfolio.html

6yrs here
http://www.eclipsedesigngp.com/

 

Like CHOPSHOP said, Im always open to taking applications for guys (or girls) who are good at fabricating and bodywork. I live in a little podunk part of Georgia out in the sticks (kinda like a Heaven on Earth kinda place) The cost of living is OK, and without sounding bragadocious, we've got a stellar rep as being on of the the best restoration shops in the South. We're very quality conscious and always lookin' for a good pair of hands.

 

I got one for ya I got fired Tuesday for being sick last week and I even had a note from the doc....REAL CRAPPY ....

 

My wife just finished a class at adult school for sterilization tech ..cost less than $1000 and when she gets certified it pays about $25/hr ....and there's probably 20 openings in the bay area...seems people start at sterilizing instruments and move up leaving openings. Her class was a couple of months of evening classes and 120 hours of internship....may be time to get retrained if you are out of work!

 

I have received the "shaft" twice in two years, not fun. Good Luck to all.

Jon

 

Sometimes that doesn't work out either, I had a career of driving truck and being a laborer before my back injury. I went back to school for some computer training with hopes of a new career, 100's of resumes out and still nothing. Yesterday I drove 40 minutes each way to work for 2 hours while my son is in pre-k. It sounds crazy but after fuel expenses it leaves 15 bucks in my pocket, if I can do that a few times a week it'll help put the food on the table. Look hard enough and you can find something to help ease things a bit.

 

The local paper said Waterloo (my old work place) laid off 80 people today, that doesn't include the 16 that went when I was laid off. I called a guy I know that still works there, and he said he is laid off. He also said that 180 people where laid off, not 80.

 

Circuit City is tits up. Closing all 500+ stores immediately.

 

KB toys outlets bite the dust in February, I did go in and get some cheap Hot Wheels...this is getting scary.

 

Yea..sorry to say you trained in an area that already has a huge workforce...seems like every kid in america wants to train in computers....gotta go train in an area or field where there may still be some hiring. Hospitals may cut back but they will always be needed. Xray tech,strilization tech,OR tech...hell be a people mover or bedpan dumper,doesn't matter and most hospitals offer a decent medical plan (I know Kaiser does) Hell go work in building services if you can get in. Anyway if I were to lose my job (No layoff clause in the contract right now) I would be running to get retrained to work in the medical field.

 

Brewsir is right! My wife is a supervisor for a group of physician owned x-ray clinics. You may want to check out medical tech training sites in you're area, there never is a shortage of sick people, no matter what the economy!!

 

Dart, I may be doing the same thing. Only, leaving my husband and home. He'll have to work alone while I work out of state.

 

My only advice, having been laid off 3 times since 2000, is don't wait for something to happen. Get resumes out, make contacts, apply for EVERY job you think you might qualify for and don't say no to anything. Hit the online job boards weekly, go to the job fairs, call employment agencies, call the HR department of local employers, make yourself a pest.

Above all, take any opportunity that comes your way. Now is not the time to be picky. I spent 6 miserable months in 2002 working as a directory assistant operator. I hated the job, but it kept us from filing bankruptcy.

Ask your friends and family for leads and recommendations, even here on this forum. Most people will gladly assist you, as is the spirit of our hobby. Don't pass up any chance to network with others in your industry. Don't be too proud to take ANY benefits from the government. Ask them for more benefits like retraining or special benefits. The worse they can say is no.

A few members here have PM'd me about working overseas contracts in war zones. If you have any questions about doing this I will honestly answer you. Please PM me. This isn't for everyone, but if right for you these can be very lucrative.

For everyone facing a layoff, keep your chin up and a positive attitude.

 

Believe it or not, there are medical places going out of business in the SouthWest Michigan area. People don't have jobs or insurance and can't go to the doc or anything else when sick.

 

My only advice, having been laid off 3 times since 2000, is don't wait for something to happen. Get resumes out, make contacts, apply for EVERY job you think you might qualify for and don't say no to anything. Hit the online job boards weekly, go to the job fairs, call employment agencies, call the HR department of local employers, make yourself a pest.

Above all, take any opportunity that comes your way. Now is not the time to be picky. I spent 6 miserable months in 2002 working as a directory assistant operator. I hated the job, but it kept us from filing bankruptcy.

Ask your friends and family for leads and recommendations, even here on this forum. Most people will gladly assist you, as is the spirit of our hobby. Don't pass up any chance to network with others in your industry. Don't be too proud to take ANY benefits from the government. Ask them for more benefits like retraining or special benefits. The worse they can say is no.

A few members here have PM'd me about working overseas contracts in war zones. If you have any questions about doing this I will honestly answer you. Please PM me. This isn't for everyone, but if right for you these can be very lucrative.

For everyone facing a layoff, keep your chin up and a positive attitude.

 

With the baby boomer generation set to retire and need medical assistance when they age, there will be presumably safe job security in the medical fields.

 

Sanford&wife, when I posted my comments, I didn't take in account you're state! You guys are really getting hit hard and it is difficult to imagine for us outsiders! Believe me I meant no disrespect.

 

Rick, no disrespect taken at all. I always thought the same, that there will always be sick people, so we'll always have medical facilities. But I just got laid off from a TOP heart hospital in the U.S. 11 months ago. I'm not an RN or a doctor, but they lay off the other important people who help keep the operation running. If anyone knows of a job in my area, I'm interested. Trust me, I have looked every single day at every job site in state and out of state, I make personal calls, I talk to family, friends, and strangers. I have applied for jobs that take me back 30 years in pay, but they don't offer to me because they say 'i'll get bored and leave'. They don't even give me that choice.
Anyway, you're a great guy Rick! This has been very difficult, as I have never been out of work for this long, and most here know that bodymen or self-employed (such as my husband) don't have insurance or benefits of any kind. I am between Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor Michigan. I'm now looking in Chicago, and would have to live there during the week (but the pay would have to make it worth the rent). God Bless All! And I am looking for miracles and living by Faith! Cindy

 

Oh yea...you guys up there are really getting hit hard...and you are right, there are a lot less insured people now so there will be some closures and cutbacks. But if unemployment is 10-15% that still leaves 85% of America working and hopefully still with some form of insurance (until they take that away from us too) Anyway, Good luck as I really feel for the people getting hit hard....out here there's even tent cities starting to spring up...it's definately getting rough.

 

Here's a CLASSIC!

My son had a 100K + per/year job as a regional manager for 4-years with a major company. He got an e-mail telling him to dial in to an 'important confrence call' the next Monday morning at 10:00 am. After dialing in and sitting there listening to pretty recorded music for several minutes, there was a 'click' and a 90-second RECORDING came on thanking them for their services, and announcing that they were laying everybody on the conference call off! A total of 140-people!! After the recording ended, just a 'click' and back to the pretty music!!

How's that for class???

 

[I would recommend working for goverment, education, higher ed, etc. to anyone. You won't get rich, but you won't worry yourself to death either from an unexpected layoff......[/quote]

I wonder if Marie Antonnette, Jefferson Davis, Nero, Napoleon, Nixon and dozens of other and their underlings thought they couldn't get laid off unexpectedly to?

 

Yea....LOW CLASS!

 

Never underestimate the lack of humanity in big business.

 

There is a good article in this months Rolling stone magazine about the economy, and how bad it REALLY is.---Brian

 

The same thing is happening to me and that is less than I take home on unemployment!!!!

 

I searched out that article and read it. I don't usually read gloom-and-doom articles, but the author points out ways to fix the economy and he actually has a qualified opinion! It is a pretty good read...

 

Well, my last day was friday. They came for me at my work area and let me go, even before break. They let 220 go. This was the third series of layoffs. Who knows how many more. There were 1400 employed about a year ago, now there is about 900 left. I used to work at BorgWarner. Worked there for almost 12 years. They build timing chains and timing systems for the major auto makers. I worked in the dyno cells, mostly in the NVH department. I've got some time to look and I am hoping for the best