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With a BSME, I do any Mechanical Designer, CAD, Mech Eng, or Tech Writer jobs. But I've been unemployed since August 15, 2008 [181 weeks]. I've been applying to these type of jobs mostly locally since Feb 2009 but it seems I can't get a good job in Chicago. Since Feb 2011 I've been stuck with only applying for Chicago jobs because my aunt moved to the Philippines and my mom visits the Philippines every Winter so someone has to be in the house to manage it. The only way I can do and apply for jobs in other cities are if the cities are nearby, like Rockford or Peoria. I bought a home security system but it's complicated to install but it has internet monitoring. Maybe in the future if I get desperate I might have to have my friend Noel live in my house while I'm gone. Currently, he does this in my neighbor friend's house... He lives there free and isn't stealing anything.
So now, stuck in Chicago, it's seems I can't find a good paying career job to save my life. I should go back to contracting or doing jobs around the nation, like my last 3 jobs that were in Bowling Green and Houston.
Since my job history from 1987 my non technical jobs were Toys R Us, a door to door sales internship, and working as a bike and driver messenger. All not great paying jobs, and they were hard. I did try door to door job hunting once and got in Elkay Manufacturing as a sink polisher but they laid me off in a week when upper management knew I was a BSME and wanted to work my way up. I think they were conceited racist white management that didn't want an asian to work his way up to management, or maybe they thought I was gay. And when I put sink polisher on my resume and Baxter MS degree employees interview me they laughed at me.
So now I'd say I don't know what other jobs I can do besides my career job if I can't work. SSDI and Medicare, Medicaid, and Food stamps take care of my needs but my Parent's $7000 total pension pays the bills, property taxes, and house maintenance and repairs. I'm trying money making ventures like website and Youtube videos that make money but that's so hard to do. I wish I could make a 7 million hit Youtube video and make a lot of money from that. Otherwise, another money making venture is to publish and ebook on bicycling for transportation and fitness, and there's a lot of stuff to talk about and this takes a lot of work and research. I found an online company where I can make money doing online prior art Patent Research but doing Patent Research, searches, and comparisons take a lot of time too. I just "use" this company to lie on my resume that I've been employed since August 2009 doing ocassional Prior Art Patent research. I got me by on some job interviews but I still was never hired.
I searched Craigslist for other jobs non-career related that I can possibly do. Being a messenger [car or bike] is a very hard and undesirable job; I don't ever want to go back to that stuff. I don't want to be a cabbie. So maybe I can try retail and being a waiter, but I'm kinda shy on being a waiter. I don't know what else I can do, but if my parents die I will have to take any job to supplement my SSDI but not make over $1000 a month.
If I become older, like 50 - and no one will hire me... and I can't pay property taxes, I can just sell my house and 1/3 of my possessions and move to the Phillippines and live off my SSDI there. My SSDI now is equivalent to $48,000 peso per month so I can live well in the Philippines on that. We have a small house there so all I have to do is pay utilities and a tiny property taxes. I hope no future President get rids off Social Security, many of us poor, disabled, and middle class need to live on it for retirement. SSDI has saved me big time during my 181 weeks off unemployment; it probably gave me $39,000 so far to spend on stuff. Money that would have taken me 2 to 3 years to save while at a good job.
My I should look into gov or city jobs, but that's throwing away all my years of experience and training to be a Mech Eng. Mech Eng is becoming a field that sucks. I look at many resumes on LinkedIN and my own and many jobs don't last long. They expect you to have a lot of knowledge and qualifications for a job and sometimes they don't pay much. Jobs were being lowballed in 2009 and 2010. It improved a little in 2011.
So what jobs would you do if you couldn't practice your career? And what is your career and how has been employment and job hunting been during this 2008 to 2012 jobs recession?
Why don't you do freelance work in technical writing? That's something you can do telecommuting too.
This August, it will be four years you have been unemployed. It seems you have taken too long to do something. The longer you go, the less likely anyone will hire you. You really should go back to contracting. You need to be doing something to fill in the gap on your resume. If you have to move, you have to move. Get someone to watch your house. Or be under employed is better than not being employed. Or go back to school. Do anything you can to show you've been doing something for the past four years.
News Flash: You're already in a desperate situation. The future is here. It's time to look outside of Chicago, Rockford or Peoria.
The prior art patient research fascade isn't anywhere near close to your technical skills. You've created fake employment that doesn't show your skills as staying current. And claiming to do it "occassionally" doesn't help.
I am kind of stuck in Chicago too. This city sucks for finding a job and the companies mostly want to pull the permatemp games. Also they are completely stupid.
I had one company whine the entire time I was interviewing with them (temp to hire) that they kept getting poorly qualified chemists and they really needed someone with good technical skills. The next day they told the temp agency well we don't like the way he answered the where do you see yourself in 5 years question and didn't talk with enough enthusiasm about his current job.
I am looking to relocate and focusing on govt jobs.
MSchemist - it's sad chemistry jobs stink and are low pay. When my brother messed up in college for his Chem Eng degree they downgraded him to Chemistry. My mom prayed and talked to the Dean about his girlfriend problem so they readmitted him to Chem Eng. Chem Eng is a good career and my brother makes about $120,000 a year. He got deep in debt in a failed computer business, but he was good at it. So now I know how hard and unworthwhile a computer business would be.
The only business I can think up that isn't too complicated is running your own restaurant. But I don't have a recipe database to work from.
I don't know how to do or find freelance CAD, Eng, or tech writing working. And for CAD, I have "bootleg" copies of Solidworks, Autocad, and Proe to self learn on... I could get in trouble using this software for freelance work.
Life is hard nowadays and there are very few simple easy jobs that pay a lot. Like a UPS Delivery man, - easy but hard work. Usually easy jobs pay little, like fast food or retail work.
MSchemist - Chicago is a manufacturing and design mecca, and it should be good for Pharmaceutical work like at Abbott or Baxter or so. I feel bad that I could get a job in Chicago since Feb 2009, and my first interviews where on May 2011! Such a dead job market.
My only saving grace is my paranoid schizophrenia disability which easily got me SSDI, Medicare, Food stamps, and Mediciad. But they cut funding for Mediciad and Medicare Prescriptions so now I get less.
I really don't know what kind of low level job I can do. To me being a CAD Drafter or Tech Writer is already a low level job that pays ok enough [$20 to $25 often, Tech Writing up to $45/hr].
It would be interesting if I can work at Macy's in a skirt suit though!
News Flash: You're already in a desperate situation.
I hardly think Jesse's in a desperate situation when in three and a half years he's not only managed to get by on SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid, and Food stamps but has also out of that money been able to spend $39K on "stuff".
I hardly think Jesse's in a desperate situation when in three and a half years he's not only managed to get by on SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid, and Food stamps but has also out of that money been able to spend $39K on "stuff".
No kidding. I am unemployed, but I do freelance work. I am about to lose my health insurance. If it weren't for credit cards I would be starving right now, because I can't get food stamps. My only hope is that I get this job in Dubai I applied for or maybe the world will end on December 21 and put me out of my misery.
MSchemist - Chicago is a manufacturing and design mecca, and it should be good for Pharmaceutical work like at Abbott or Baxter or so. I feel bad that I could get a job in Chicago since Feb 2009, and my first interviews where on May 2011! Such a dead job market.
Heck with Abbott labs (layoff-to-permatemp jobs) and Baxter is pretty much the same. In fact all the companies in this crapo town do permatemps Pepsi, Kraft, Conagra, UOP-Honeywell, Abbott, Baxter...
As for restaurants I've seen Chef Ramsay's show. It is a work yourself to death to eek by business.
I am kind of stuck in Chicago too. This city sucks for finding a job and the companies mostly want to pull the permatemp games. Also they are completely stupid.
I had one company whine the entire time I was interviewing with them (temp to hire) that they kept getting poorly qualified chemists and they really needed someone with good technical skills. The next day they told the temp agency well we don't like the way he answered the where do you see yourself in 5 years question and didn't talk with enough enthusiasm about his current job.
I am looking to relocate and focusing on govt jobs.
I find this shocking. How can a city that is much bigger than the city of Philadelphia be a place where it's hard to find jobs? Or is it just Chemist jobs?
I hardly think Jesse's in a desperate situation when in three and a half years he's not only managed to get by on SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid, and Food stamps but has also out of that money been able to spend $39K on "stuff".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse
SSDI and Medicare, Medicaid, and Food stamps take care of my needs but my Parent's $7000 total pension pays the bills, property taxes, and house maintenance and repairs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse
SSDI has saved me big time during my 181 weeks off unemployment; it probably gave me $39,000 so far to spend on stuff.
The OP isn't supporting himself. That 39k is what the OP has gotten over the 181 weeks. So that's only $251 per week and the OP only has that extra money because the parents are paying the bills.
And he states that the payments have since been cut for SSDI so there's even less coming in now.
No, the OP isn't making it. The OP started this thread because the OP knows he isnt' making it.
If his parents die, he will be desperate. The longer he sits around and doesn't work, the less likely he will be able to find employment. If he stays on disability, he can only add 12k per year to his income.
He knows he is in a financial mess. The longer he postpones getting back into his profession, the less likely he'll ever get hired. That's desperate because 4 years may already be too long to get back into the game.
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My only hope is that I get this job in Dubai I applied for or maybe the world will end on December 21 and put me out of my misery.
