things are looking up, the news said the recession is over so i hope everyone looking for work has good luck.
Times are tough. ill help out someone without a job , if you come and help me put on the front sheetmetal on my 56 olds, align doors and trunk. i took it off easily, but ive never aligned a front end. cars in buena park ca. message me
Ok... this post and the last couple of "Unemployment" posts have really wanted me to ask this question. It's not meant to offend anyone. For those people that have been out of a job for 6+ months, what prevents you from getting "any" job to keep a roof over your head, gas in the tank, and mouths fed? Is the town you live in a factory or mill type town where there's only one place to work? Is your skill set so narrow that you can't find anything else at all? <-- NOT meant to offend... but some of my friends only know how to do one or two things. Are you holding out for something that pays more, or a managment position? I've been fired before and layed off and have been able to get a job within weeks (sometimes a day). It wasn't always at the same pay, but it was a job. I stuck it out at this one and it's paid off for me so far. I don't have any technical training, nor do I have a college degree. That hasn't hindered me from finding a job. My neighbor has been out of a job for over a year and it drives me nuts. I've helped him in every way I could, short of GIVING him money. He just says "oh, I can't find a job". I tell him BULLSHIT and even set up an interview for him once at a job that paid more than his last one. I'm really trying to help this guy out but i'm done. If he wants to lose the house because he can't find a job that he's "interested" in, then so be it. Luckily all of his children are grown. I'm just sick of the moaning and groaning coming from his direction. Sorry to rant there, i'm just trying to understand. My question is asked with the utmost respect for the unemployed. Best of luck to all of you who are looking for jobs. I hope you get to where you want to be, and SOON! -Chris
You have all my respect OldWolf. My folks have a ranch/farm here in Hutto and are trying to be self sufficient. We've got hogs, cattle, a horse, even some old horse drawn equipment if push really came to shove lol... chickens... wood burning stove... gas stove from the 40's... pretty much everything out there is manual or uses basic machinery. You'd be amazed at what you can do with old technology. Best of luck amigo. -Chris
Really sucks when you can do about everything, but can't find no work. I am going on 10 months now, and there isn't even a hint of a job out. what to do ?????
I was out of work at the beginning of January. At that point I decided I no longer wanted to work for someone else, so I thought about starting up a business of my own. In March I launched a small junk removal, light hauling, and odd job business. It was slow in the beginning but picked up once the weather improved. I was busy all summer, and fall is keeping me hopping as well. I'm not going to get rich at my current level, but I'm making enough to get by and as people get to know my name, thing will only get better. The best part is I'm my own boss! No more BS from management.
I feel you man. My brother in law hasn't worked in over 2 years. His problem is that he has his Bachelors and his Masters and if he isn't making a shitload of money that it is beneath him. He thinks average joe jobs, even for the time being, are not good enough for him.
I understand you're not trying to offend and I'll answer as far as my situation was. For one, most jobs use internet applications. Sure they are convienant, but in the end, you get tossed into a system that basicly looks for key words as to who will get an interview, much less a job. The days of filling out an application and getting to sit in front of an employer to impress him or her are gone. I looked EVERYWHERE for work. I usually got the over qualified excuse for not hiring me. I got that at one place and told the guy I'd work lower wages than what they were paying. Still didn't get it. Dude, I even applied at a fucking Mac Donalds and got turned down! At that point I figured I'd take all the unemployment I could. Hell, I payed for it all the years I was working. I was just getting back what I put into it. Unemployment is not mooching. It's yours, so take it if you have to. No shame in that game. I was told that places won't hire someone older because they will only stay till a job with the wages they want comes along. Or they figure a younger person just starting out will stay longer. They also figure it's easier to train someone to do a job their way, than have someone try and do it the way they had learned over the years. I recently got a job, but it's a lot less than what I was making and I was lucky to get it. So, it is tough out there. Believe it. As for your friend, I can't answer for him, but I do know some guys who won't take just any job. I wish them well, but when the rent comes due or they end up sitting in the dark, maybe that attitude will change.
Where I live the Mcdonalds work force average age has risen from about 18 too somewhere close to 50. Not many jobs here and a lot of folks fighting for them. I am glad to be retired and everything is payed for. Good luck to you guys that are going thru hard times.
Fred, thank you for your honest and enlightening response. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully things will look up for you soon! I'm glad to hear you found something. Keep on keepin' on -Chris
Yup... a friend of my family was in the same boat... higher education, big salary, and unemployed. It took him blowing through his whole savings account and on the ragged edge of losing everything for him to wake up and get a job at Home Depot. Now that he "woke up", he said... hmmm... maybe if I got this job from the get go, I wouldn't have had to touch my saving I worked on the last 12 years. Go figure. I hope your brother in law snaps outta his funk before anything really bad happens. -Chris
Thanks Chris. I'm okay, but only because my dad left me the house when he passed. I'm making enough to pay the bills and have a little left over. My lawyer says I will have the check from my accident Friday, but I'll most likely us it to catch up on bills that I had let slide. I may have some left over for my T, but I'll be taking care of priorites first. Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I wish all looking for work the best.
low wages south of the border and cheep manufacturing in China and hi profits for big companies. I was told on this board thats the American way and stop whining. I feel for you guys because the country can only be as strong as its working class. Now I will go stick my head back in the sand because I have a job.
I was laid off for six months then finally landed a job. What really sucks is after working for two months I ruptured three discs in lower back now they are saying I may be off two to six months no insuarance and hurt at home wish I could get unemployment again. On the bright side the wife is working and the hamb and my church are keeping me some what sane.
To answer some of your questions where I live the county seat is 2700 people, largest city in the county. A couple of the factories closed down and the place hasn't been the same since. Milk prices are low so farm jobs are few and far between. A good paying job is 10 bucks an hour. Heck starting pay for a sheriff deputy is 10 an hour. There where 10,000 more people living in my county in the 1920s as compared to now. The population is 32,000 for the entire county. For most folks a decent paying job is one of two choices, over the road construction, or over the road truck driving. I live near a reservation and some of those folks are really dirt poor. My friend growing up dealt with no running water and electricity. There are still a few Natives that live that way. Even when I was going to school there were some non-Natives that didn't have running water (90s). I used to spend my time with my buddies knocking on people's doors looking for old beaters and I found a lot of folks didn't have phones. Real estate was super depressed around here all the way up until the 2000s when every big city slicker and their brother discovered that they could buy land for 500-1000 an acre. Needless to say those days are long gone squeezing those who want to stay here. Still cheap places are around, I bought my house and five and a half acres for 30,000. Most of my friends have moved on to larger areas. I stayed because it isn't real built up and I like country living so I deal with the low wages and long stretches of unemployment. I save up while I am working and pretty much plan on getting laid off of where ever I work eventually because it might be a long time before I find work again. I have no family or wife/gf to take care of so I can get away with it. Other folks either are on some sort assistance or leave. There are a lot of people who grow their own food where I live. Most people do a variety of things to get by. I do a lot of off the books sort of work myself. It was tough though when I went from making 23 an hour to 6.50 an hour trimming christmas trees. Guy who was hiring had no problem find people, there were some 40 year old guys out there working their asses off to get by. No illegal help needed around here. Plenty of regular desperate Americans willing to do anything to get by where I am.
Phil, your reply has opened my eyes to what it's like not only in a small town... but a small town in a county with few people living in it. I mean I live in a small town, but it's right up the road from Austin, so i'm obviously not in the same boat as you. Sometimes I like to cruise through the VERY rural areas here in Cen Tex in my Willys pickup. I go way out a couple of hours and come across towns that have only 1 stop sign, but still see people around. Not everyone can be a farmer rancher... I'd always wondered what all those people do to make ends meet way out in the middle of nowhere. Thanks, -Chris
What Tfeverfred said Ditto for me except the finding a job part. Same crap 55 yrs old, over qualified (probably wants a decent wage). I worked 39 years stright without a break half of the time 50 plus hours a week or two jobs. Never collected a penny of unemployment comp until now. I have been out 17 mths. I had a couple of maybes but they were paying less the Unemployment. I never was offerd one of them any way. My neighbor took a job he absolutely hates after being out 9 mts. He is making $25K less than his previous job. At least when the UC runs out I can go on early retirement but that is only half of my UC. Good thing the wife is still working.
When I went back to school after being laid off, 6 out of 19 of the students in my class were over 50 years old. All but one got a job before we even finished with school (the one who didn't was an idiot, charming, but an idiot none the less). Another 9 of us were over 30 years old, the remaining few were 18 year old kids who got a hell of a life lesson for free from the rest of us. Everyone except the idiot had a job by graduation from the two year trade school we attended. For you information, it was an electrical program, non union, and the rate of attrition for electricians over the next 5-10 years is over 60%... Everyday on Yahoo there's a headline, "These jobs are growing and paying more". It might take some sacrifice to break out of that shell but it's worth it. Find out if there's money available for you to go back to school, get that trade, and be more than you were.
thats what it's like here, I was only making ten bucks an hour, no real way to move, and now i get 2/3 of that and they want to cut that off. They are opening a churches chicken here, 500 people applied to work there. a fast food joint. there is simply nothing. The unemployment office? five million dollar new building is a joke, you are no longer allowed to speak to a rep, they won't tell you about jobs, when you come in here's the computer find your own job. what a joke.
This my friends is the truth. The people we have elected have turned their backs on us in our time of need. If you don't or didn't vote it is as much your fault as anyone else. I hope we all learn from this trying time and can make changes to better ourselves. Vote, and fight for our freedom. If you think thats wrong go live in a country that doesn't have these liberties!!! Just my 02. I still have a job but lost the best one 2yrs ago. We are like LONE WOLF trying to be more self sufficent. I'll put some deer in the freezer this year, and I'll barter and trade all I can. I keep praying for a job that pays more and I like better I'll get it sooner or later. I'll pray for the rest of you guys also!!
I posted earlier. Now I want to ask what is your plan if things dont improve? It is possible that given the world economy policies in place that this recession could turn into a full blown 1930,s type depression? But with a twist in that all of the things like electricity, gasoline, groceries, insurance ect are inflated . Prices so high even those who are retired or even still working cant afford them. Hambers are a resourseful bunch because they have imagination and the willingness to work with their hands. Right now all of our hot water is being heated by our wood stove. I have placed a 10 gallon water heater on top of the stove. I had to relocate the pop off pressure relief valve 4 ft from the tank also had to install a one way check valve to keep the hot water from backing up into the cold water inlet. But i been thinking what if i couldnt afford electricity to pump my water. I have two wells here one had a sumersible pump 450 ft down. The other has a jet pump Where the electric motor is horizontal above ground. I was thinking of building a savonis rotor windmill to turn the jet pump. They are made by halving 3 55 gallon drums . Free water! We could water the garden during drought for free. What if you couldnt insure a vehicle or buy gas ? I have a 250 gal LP tank and a 1944 farmall LP tractor. LP dont go stale like gas or diesel. Most places you dont have to insure or license farm tractors. The tractor has a mag for ignition dont even need a battery. Thing,s most likely will get better but it wont hurt anybody to get prepared for the worst. And if the worst does happen and you dont have some plan it will surley hurt. If every one will do what they can to become as self reliant as they can it will help to make things better OldWolf
Damn sounds like you are applying at the same places as me! that is the same lame excuses i get told! autozone told me i was over qualified, yet they will hire some pimple faced kid that don't know what a mopar is! i have used up all the extensions and thought we were going to get a new one but the dictator says no!
Yea....... Its a humbleing. embarrasing, frustrating back to the basic's ordeal. I actually liked getting up and going to work. I loved the people I worked with.... drifting along.
I am a self employed design engineer. My "job" is designing prototype machinery and automation for industry. Due to the nature of my job, I am tied in very tightly to what is happening in our manufacturing industry. My job is one which can't comfortably be moved to China, because a certain percentage of what I do requires me being "On site" at whatever customer I'm designing equipment for. BUT--and its a very big BUT--all of my customer base is hurting so bad this year because of the recession that they have no work for me. I counted up all my invoicing for the year last week and the total was pretty God damned dismal. I've earned 30% of what I normally would have made by this time of year. I'm not going to starve.---I'm an old guy (63). My house is paid for and my wife works. However, I'm going totally batshit trying to figure out what to do with my time every day when there is no work!!!
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