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Old 03-12-2013, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
4,789 posts, read 14,740,035 times
Reputation: 1966

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I came back from Houston Feb 2009, to ride out this bad economy by looking for jobs while I live at my parent's house free, - no paying rent. I just pay internet and my parents pay all the bills. I keep from getting major depression because my SSDI is enough to let me buy some nice stuff without working a crap minimum wage job, which is even hard to get, too. The only way I know to job hunt is through job listings on monster and careerbuilder. I search for Mech Designer, Mech Eng, Proengineer, Solidworks, Technical Writer, and Autocad jobs. In 2009 and 2010 I had no interviews. I started getting interviews in 2011+ after employers were used to seeing many long term unemployed candidates. I guess one reason I'm long term unemployed in Chicago is because IL has a high unemployment rate. When I interviewed at Cummins Alison for a Tech Writer job, they said they got 221 resumes for it. They didn't call me for a 2nd interview because my $48,000 minimum salary was too much for their cheap company. Salaries are also getting cheap for Mech Engrs, I've seen job listings for 5+ years experience and they start out at $60,000, which stinks.

I have never gotten a professional job through networking. Is there any other way to get a job in Chicago? Sometimes I feel like giving up and working a City job, but my neighbor lost his City job back in 2009.

How about you? Do you know people who are suffering bad unemployment in Chicago? What's their story?

Last edited by Jesse69; 03-12-2013 at 04:50 PM..
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Old 03-12-2013, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Mishawaka, Indiana
7,010 posts, read 11,966,491 times
Reputation: 5813
You are scaring off employers with your high starting wages. If you can get your foot in the door with that on the job professional experience, the starting pay is not overly important. You can keep that job and work your pay up or continue to scout out other possible jobs while you remain at your parents and eventually become self sufficient. Instead you'd rather be unemployed for over 4 years still living with your parents.

What is your age and what degree do you have?
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Old 03-12-2013, 04:48 PM
 
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
4,789 posts, read 14,740,035 times
Reputation: 1966
I have a BSME and I'm 44. I have 5.79 years experience doing CAD, some engineering, and tech writing. $48,000 / year should be a minimum for someone with my skills and experience, especially for a mfg related tech writer job. I have some knowledge of automated machinery and PLCs, great procedure documentation, plus I use artificial intelligence in writing comprehensive documentation. Companies in Chicago are too cheap to pay good money for a Mech Eng / Tech Writer combo. I also interviewed at Cozzini, for a Tech Writer position taking the place of a Mech Eng Tech writer there too, - who was white and moved from Engineering to Tech Writing. I bet they were paying him more than $60,000 a year to be their Tech Writer, since he went from Eng to Tech Writing. Yet they were to cheap to pay me $48,000 / year and they said my ideal $56,000 a year is "way out of league."

Part of my unemployment problem is that I'm mostly stuck to Chicago area or suburb jobs. If my mom lived here all year round then I could work temp contract jobs around the nation. But my mom visits the Philippines every year to take care of my Dad there.

Entry level Mech Eng salary is around $56,000 a year. I'm 20 years out of college and yet I can't get that. I get a rare few jobs for jobs that pay $60,000+ though, but they contract jobs / no health insurance.
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Chicago
3,569 posts, read 7,194,357 times
Reputation: 2637
You went to a job fair in womens clothing
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:14 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,323 posts, read 23,903,789 times
Reputation: 7419
Depends on what you're going into. I know a lot of people with the opposite story but a few here and there with a story like yours.
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:23 PM
 
28 posts, read 97,145 times
Reputation: 19
Man, get back to Houston! I studied in Chicago and wasted half a year looking for jobs there and find nothing! pay is cheap and they don't respect engineers.
Houston is the place for engineers, the economy is doing well here. I left chicago without job and finally got one down Houston.
Good luck

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse69 View Post
I came back from Houston Feb 2009, to ride out this bad economy by looking for jobs while I live at my parent's house free, - no paying rent. I just pay internet and my parents pay all the bills. I keep from getting major depression because my SSDI is enough to let me buy some nice stuff without working a crap minimum wage job, which is even hard to get, too. The only way I know to job hunt is through job listings on monster and careerbuilder. I search for Mech Designer, Mech Eng, Proengineer, Solidworks, Technical Writer, and Autocad jobs. In 2009 and 2010 I had no interviews. I started getting interviews in 2011+ after employers were used to seeing many long term unemployed candidates. I guess one reason I'm long term unemployed in Chicago is because IL has a high unemployment rate. When I interviewed at Cummins Alison for a Tech Writer job, they said they got 221 resumes for it. They didn't call me for a 2nd interview because my $48,000 minimum salary was too much for their cheap company. Salaries are also getting cheap for Mech Engrs, I've seen job listings for 5+ years experience and they start out at $60,000, which stinks.

I have never gotten a professional job through networking. Is there any other way to get a job in Chicago? Sometimes I feel like giving up and working a City job, but my neighbor lost his City job back in 2009.

How about you? Do you know people who are suffering bad unemployment in Chicago? What's their story?
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:43 PM
 
639 posts, read 1,071,050 times
Reputation: 825
He's a cross-dresser with a criminal record whose family helps support him, you're wasting your time here. I'm not making this up.
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Schaumburg, please don't hate me for it.
955 posts, read 1,830,988 times
Reputation: 1235
Quote:
Originally Posted by cm1988 View Post
Man, get back to Houston! I studied in Chicago and wasted half a year looking for jobs there and find nothing! pay is cheap and they don't respect engineers.
Houston is the place for engineers, the economy is doing well here. I left chicago without job and finally got one down Houston.Good luck
Judging from your grammar skills, Houston must be recruiting its Engineers out of middle schools instead of colleges these days.
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Old 03-12-2013, 06:08 PM
 
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
4,789 posts, read 14,740,035 times
Reputation: 1966
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alacran View Post
You went to a job fair in womens clothing
That was only once, and I did that for a Secret Service job.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Genghis View Post
He's a cross-dresser with a criminal record whose family helps support him, you're wasting your time here. I'm not making this up.
My record is clean since 2002. I don't crossdress at work and they shouldn't know about this unless they spy on me or else if known by gossip. But they shouldn't discriminate against gays, but I'm not totally gay either.

I can't move back to Houston because the Governor hasn't pardoned my felony, and almost all Apt complexes in Houston don't rent to felons.
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Old 03-12-2013, 06:33 PM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,619 posts, read 8,164,989 times
Reputation: 6321
It's clear you don't want to be hired.

If you're lucky, a 4-year gap in experience might drop your career back 8 years.

In reality, a 4-year gap in experience coupled with a felony basically negates all your experience and pushes you back to fighting for an entry-level position, and you have to appear eager to work even then.

Why haven't you gone back for a Masters?
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