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Just wondering if anyone is having the same hard time we both are trying to find jobs? Hubby went to school after leaving a 21 year career(Ready Mix Concrete management) to learn HVAC-R. He can't get his foot in any door. What's up with that? Everyone has a furnace and with the cold weather-these places have to be super busy. I am losing my job due to fracturing my ankle so severely I can't be certified any longer to drive a school bus. And the district doesn't have to be ADA compliant since their jobs are civil service and based on seniority. We have very little left in our retirements now since he's been out of work since June 08 and me since Feb 09-I get no disability since districts don't have to carry it. We may have to sell the house we own and find somewhere else to live. We are stuck here because I have a elderly parent who's 86 and refuses to leave and she's house bound and I'd be the shumcky kid who left her alone.
It's so frustrating to send out all these resumes and never hear a word. I've sent out for him well over 70 at this point. Me about 30. Doesn't matter at all if you have a degree-mine means nothing in the work climate.
What creative things have you done to get jobs? Where are good area that might still be hiring for work? We are in the Dutchess County area. Should be head south to lower counties or is it just as bad? We never imagined ourselves in this situation ever. We are pinching pennies so tightly and even wondering which car we should sell. What other items in the house to get rid of-we had two yard sales this summer to get us through.
Where is all this job creation that was to happen from that stimulus package? Employers seem wary to hire-like they are waiting to see what other taxes are going to be thrown on them. It just can't go on here for us much more.
My guess is that shoe leather would be a ticket for HVAC jobs. I doubt the people doing the hiring have much time or inclination for reading through papers. As far as telephone skills, it's hard enough to get a call back from these guys when you have a project that you're paying good money for. It's doubtful these guys have any inclination at all to call from resumes.
This procedure is easy for me to say sitting behind a keyboard. Show up at each shop in town at 7:02 a.m. to talk to the dispatcher - probably also the owner - obviously there will be interruptions and perhaps a few curt requests to "Get out!" Be unfailingly polite and move on to the next shop the next day. I would imagine that within the first ten shops there would be someone who needs a gofer and is sick of dealing with entitled kids. I would imagine quick advancement for someone with a positive attitude and the ability to do those increasingly more difficult HVAC calculations, after first demonstrating humility and common sense. After two years, if the boss is a jerk, open up a shop and advertise "I call back!" The world will probably then beat a path to your door!
Yeah he's been doing both. All those jobs on Hudson Valley Help wanted never pan out-do they really ever hire anyone off there? He's been doing all you say. He goes back to the same place every couple of weeks. But we know there are so many more out there just like us trying to find work too.
Here's another question for the masses. Since I'm losing my job, how good is Healthy NY for use for medical insurance? We still aren't sure what we can qualify for with that-we have money like other a IRA-can they force us to use that before we can qualify to get health insurance?
Well here's a kick, I called Senator Saland's office yesterday to see if there was somewhere we could get help-every agency here in NY has turned us down because we rolled our retirements over so we'd be able to pay the bills-we have an "income". Told us we'd hit everything that they could think of-our best bet and I quote-"is to move out of NY". Wow-that's pretty sad that someone who's serving the people is telling us it's time to leave here. It may just come down to that.
Have you expanded your searching area or are you sticking close to home? You are dealing with some heavily populated counties between you & NYC metro, someone has to be willing to hire an individual trained in HVAC.
I'm blown away by the "move out of NY" comment but only because it came from a politician, otherwise it does hold some truth. HVAC is a much more in demand profession in the south & west. If you are hoping to get better help/benefits/freebies outside of NY you can forget it. NY takes care of the unemployed better than pretty much every other state in the union. If you cant get help here you likely wont get it anywhere.
Please tell me, that in this economy, your husband didn't willing quit a perfectly good job he had for 21 years to learn a new trade.
Can't you file for unemployment due to losing your job?
Have you expanded your searching area or are you sticking close to home? You are dealing with some heavily populated counties between you & NYC metro, someone has to be willing to hire an individual trained in HVAC.
I'm blown away by the "move out of NY" comment but only because it came from a politician, otherwise it does hold some truth. HVAC is a much more in demand profession in the south & west. If you are hoping to get better help/benefits/freebies outside of NY you can forget it. NY takes care of the unemployed better than pretty much every other state in the union. If you cant get help here you likely wont get it anywhere.
Please tell me, that in this economy, your husband didn't willing quit a perfectly good job he had for 21 years to learn a new trade.
Can't you file for unemployment due to losing your job?
He left his job after a really bad change in management in his company and not for the good. He was due for the 1st promotion ever in 21 years with his company and the treasurer vetoed it-everyone else said yes. So he'd had another job lined up-we were involved in a car accident that he broke multiple ribs and sternum 2 weeks later-couldn't work-so that job he'd had line up was given to someone else. So while he was recovering-he went back to work to learn HVAC. Construction here has tanked-no matter which end your in-he had been a concrete dispatcher/weighmaster/quality control tech. Problem he's found is that no one wants entry level right now-5 or more years is what they want for experience. One guy down in Rockland wanted to pay him $10 an hour half on half off the books. Seemed a bit shady. He's looking as far down lower Westchester, so far no luck.
We aren't looking for a free hand out at all. It just sucks we've had to use our retirement at a penalty of 30% tax to the government because we are too young to use it. We are forced to use it because we can't get qualified for anything. I can't even qualify for Healthy NY because we have half a year's salary equivalent in our IRA. We have to spend it down to have less than $2000 to our name. NYS just sucks. And let's face it, selling a home we own outright, we'd be able to by a affordable place down south for cash-I don't need a McMansion. I could invest the other half and live on the dividends.
I can't collect unemployment. The district I work for won't fire me because of union contracts and such. I found I am eligible for COBRA-so we'll take that for now. I passed the test to become a teacher assistant-but there's no openings here in our area-I am heading south bound to to apply for jobs.
We know that. We've got to find something soon or we'll be totally broke-not even money to pay for food, shelter, nothing. Something has to come up somewhere. Even if it means we have to leave NY to find it.
My wife & I moved to NY because we got better positions/opportunities, higher pay & cheaper housing than what we had in the south (though WNY is much cheaper than your location so this really doesn't apply to you I guess).
Companies are looking for people with experience because they can afford to be picky right now due to the high percentage of people without a job ...... this isn't a NY specific problem.
What we've found is that either employers who are looking are low balling the pay or wanting to pay under the table. Neither of us can afford to work for $10 an hour-not with the cost of living here. My mortgage isn't that much, it's the costs of car insurance, taxes, electric and gas that are wiping us out. We've spent the weekend deciding what we should sell-which vehicle, the piano, everything that we can. We are worried about what our taxes are that we owe to NYS since we had to pay a 30% penalty to use our IRA to pay to keep our heads afloat. I had so many health bills due to having this fracture-the copays and physical therapy added up to a lot. I found I'll be eligible for COBRA-but not for unemployment. I think it should be illegal for any employer not to A-have disability insurance and B-not be ADA compliant. That's two strikes straight off the top for me. Anywhere else I'd have had something coming in while out on medical or they'd have found a new position somewhere in the company for me that I'd be able to do.
I absolutely refuse to get involved with NYS Social Services. I don't want them into my business. I'd rather sell my home and live in our camper at a campground and store our possessions before I'd let that nest of corruption into my home.
At least I found out I passed the test and now have certification to be a NYS teaching assistant. That opens some doors for me at least. Now it's hubby that needs to find something that pays a real living wage. He's spent time this weekend looking online for HVAC and refrigeration contractors down in Putnam and Westchester counties. He'll be knocking on doors tomorrow. He's also going to NYS labor department to see what they have along with two temp agencies. Any other ideas would be great.
It still boggles my mind that we are in the position-never in my wildest dreams did we ever think we'd hit rock bottom. At least the only way we can go is up even if it means selling everything and going to a new state to start fresh.
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