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Unemployed since July of '09. Field is accounting [I'm actually about to get my CPA]....I was fired [basically a constructive layoff disguised as a termination] from a "Big 4" firm at the end of my first year.
I live in CA, which is good, because I am able to collect unemployment even though I was terminated. Without it we would have lost everything. We are hanging on so far, I'm hoping to get federal employment and probably to relocate at some point because there is really no job opportunity at my current location [we're stuck for the moment due to the housing market.] I've had one interview during this entire period, and didn't get called back for a second interview.
I'm 37 years old. Accounting was a career change for me, but now I find myself in the difficult position of being an older worker [accounting tends to be a pretty young field at least for entry levels] with very little experience in my field. I'm really thinking a federal job may be my only chance at employment since neither my age or my experience would be a handicap. These days they are paying more than a lot of other accounting jobs too. I just had the bad luck to have the recession hit just as I was starting my first job.
I got the laid off in august 08. Hot and cold rolling rolling mill operator. The company closed its doors and most likely for good. I am 59 years young and absolutely can not find a job. This employment situation is beginning to bug me.
Craigslist for Orlando, Fl had a posting for that type of position within the past few days under skilled labor or manufacturing.
I`m 47 , have been unemployed since Jan. 2009,and live in Maryland. I was a settlement officer/account manager for a real estate title company. After the real estate collapse several of our mortgage clients went out of business.We had a big local account with countrywide but they got bought by Bank of America and so we lost that account. Before I got into the real estate business,I worked for a major airline for 20 yrs. The airline went into bankruptcy and downsized considerably after 9/11.
This is the first time I`ve been unemployed since I had a paper route at the age of 12. Like everyone else,I have sent out numerous resumes. I am divorced and had to move in with a friend. As someone else mentioned on here,it is very hard being older and used to making 60,000 or more and find yourself unemployed,because a 10.00 an hour job just isn`t going to help. Not only that, most of those employers won`t hire you anyway when they look at your age and experience. They see what your salary was and know that you will leave as soon as you find something better so they would rather hire someone younger and inexperienced. But I do appreciate forums like this. At least I can take comfort in the fact that others are in the same boat as me. I hate being unemployed. I now have no life and I`m running out of options and hope at this point. I never fully realized how much of your life centers around a job. Money to a very real extent, determines your quality of life.
I'm 30 years old, and have been unemployed since December of 2008, the week before Christmas. I am in the field of landscape architecture, and have eight years of experience. I was living in Australia for the majority of 2008 on a work and holiday visa working for various companies over there in contract roles as their economy was doing pretty well for the better part of a year and there were numerous opportunities for work in my field. However, once the financial crisis really started to hit the worldwide economy in Sept. / Oct. of last year the work really started drying up and a few big projects that I was working on fell through, and the company in Melbourne I was working for terminated my employment with them in December because of my temporary visa status. I ended up moving in with a friend in Sydney soon afterward and found work there as a bartender for a few months, but my work visa ended in April, and I had to leave the country.
Unfortunately, I had left a very good-paying position with an employer that held me in very high regard in Florida in early 2008 to take advantage of the opportunity to work in Australia, and most likely I would still be working there now. So of course I do not qualify for any unemployment like many of those "more fortunate" unemployed do. So with very limited funds and no immediate job prospects in sight, I was forced to move back in with my parents in Florida.
I have sent out so many resumes that I have lost count, and have carefully tailored each one for the position advertised. However, there really seems to be a complete lack of jobs AT ALL in my field due to the huge hit the construction market has taken in this recession, and I honestly have seen almost nothing to apply for in the last few months. I did have one interview, but the company didn't even have a job available at the time and were just "seeing what talent is out there" until they knew more about their future work situation. I even started applying to places like Home Depot, Walmart, Publix (where I used to work as a teenager) and various other entry-level positions, but no responses at all. I did have an opportunity to go for an interview for a commission-only insurance position but I turned it down due to the huge cost of getting licensed by the state and the fact it was commission-only.
After living here at the parent's 7 months, I am seriously over being here and losing all hope of ever even having a decent job again. It makes it even harder when certain family members and friends that are still working / retired don't even seem to understand how dire it is out there for us unemployed and seem to think I'm not trying hard enough to find anything. I'm sorry but when you were in a very specialized field with multiple years of experience you're not gonna get hired down at the local McDonald's or Applebee's, even if you're willing to apply there....
I'm 30 years old, and have been unemployed since December of 2008, the week before Christmas. I am in the field of landscape architecture, and have eight years of experience. I was living in Australia for the majority of 2008 on a work and holiday visa working for various companies over there in contract roles as their economy was doing pretty well for the better part of a year and there were numerous opportunities for work in my field. However, once the financial crisis really started to hit the worldwide economy in Sept. / Oct. of last year the work really started drying up and a few big projects that I was working on fell through, and the company in Melbourne I was working for terminated my employment with them in December because of my temporary visa status. I ended up moving in with a friend in Sydney soon afterward and found work there as a bartender for a few months, but my work visa ended in April, and I had to leave the country.
Unfortunately, I had left a very good-paying position with an employer that held me in very high regard in Florida in early 2008 to take advantage of the opportunity to work in Australia, and most likely I would still be working there now. So of course I do not qualify for any unemployment like many of those "more fortunate" unemployed do. So with very limited funds and no immediate job prospects in sight, I was forced to move back in with my parents in Florida.
I have sent out so many resumes that I have lost count, and have carefully tailored each one for the position advertised. However, there really seems to be a complete lack of jobs AT ALL in my field due to the huge hit the construction market has taken in this recession, and I honestly have seen almost nothing to apply for in the last few months. I did have one interview, but the company didn't even have a job available at the time and were just "seeing what talent is out there" until they knew more about their future work situation. I even started applying to places like Home Depot, Walmart, Publix (where I used to work as a teenager) and various other entry-level positions, but no responses at all. I did have an opportunity to go for an interview for a commission-only insurance position but I turned it down due to the huge cost of getting licensed by the state and the fact it was commission-only.
After living here at the parent's 7 months, I am seriously over being here and losing all hope of ever even having a decent job again. It makes it even harder when certain family members and friends that are still working / retired don't even seem to understand how dire it is out there for us unemployed and seem to think I'm not trying hard enough to find anything. I'm sorry but when you were in a very specialized field with multiple years of experience you're not gonna get hired down at the local McDonald's or Applebee's, even if you're willing to apply there....
Hey gator, I know exactly what you mean. It is hard for the employed to understand. I would have had the same feeling 2 years ago. But this is a much different unemployment environment. There are so many people out of work, that it has become very competitive for the few jobs that do pop up. Most of the lesser paying jobs go to the younger less experienced people because the employer knows more experienced people will not be happy there and will only leave after they find something better. So why go through the time and expense to train someone who you know is looking for a lot more money and challenge in a job. I can`t blame them. If I was an employer I would feel the same way.
I do find it funny when I see ads for jobs that state GREAT PAY and benefits,only to find they are paying 9.00-10.00 an hour. Who can live off of 10.00 an hour? There isn`t a whole lot left after taxes. Maybe if you lived with parents and had zero bills that might be enough. It is really looking hopeless. I`m sure the best jobs don`t even get advertised. Most probably go to referrals because everyone knows someone who is unemployed at this point.
I worked for a road construction company for 11 yrs till the goverment offered money to help companys hire new people. So they let 30 of us go just to get that money and hired in new people. And then fired alot of them. I was laid off December last yr for the winter and let go march 31 this year when we were being called back to work.
Traverse city,
Road Construction
Female 53yrs old
I was living in Australia for the majority of 2008 on a work and holiday visa working for various companies over there in contract roles as their economy was doing pretty well for the better part of a year and there were numerous opportunities for work in my field. However, once the financial crisis really started to hit the worldwide economy in Sept. / Oct. of last year the work really started drying up and a few big projects that I was working on fell through, and the company in Melbourne I was working for terminated my employment with them in December because of my temporary visa status. I ended up moving in with a friend in Sydney soon afterward and found work there as a bartender for a few months, but my work visa ended in April, and I had to leave the country.
Any chance you could get another work visa to Australia? Would having been there before make that easier? I say this because if you research some articles, their economy is actually doing well right now, including growth in employment.
Any chance you could get another work visa to Australia? Would having been there before make that easier? I say this because if you research some articles, their economy is actually doing well right now, including growth in employment.
I wish I could get another work visa to Australia! The visa I had was called a work and holiday visa. Americans ages 18-30 who have a college degree are eligible, and it allows you to work for up to one year, but no more than six months for each employer. Unfortunately, once you have used the year visa, there are no further extensions to it. The idea is to allow young people to work while they supplement their travels there. I used it to actually work in professional office positions in landscape architecture.
I wanted to get my work visa sponsored there to be able to stay when the economy really started to tank here, but a lot of employees in my industry had started to get made redundant at the time so very few employers were willing to sponsor a foreign worker in my field when there were so many Australian workers available. Yes, the economy there is doing quite well now relatively speaking, but the employment situation in architecture / design over there is not doing stellar, especially for foreigners without a lot of local experience and no permanent residency status.
Status:
" You’re not getting another penny out of me"
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I'm a retired musician who had some success a while back, but never hit the big time.
Ended up working in various blue collar fields over the years in order to support my family, the music gig just wasn't enough to sustain a mortgage and 3 mouths to feed in NY. I ended up making a decent living in a seasonal occupation, but with the economy the way it is, the season has been getting shorter and shorter, heh heh.
Up until about 2 years ago, I basically worked year round weather providing.
Last year we made it to mid December before the well ran dry, and did not get busy again until late March. Totally caught me with my pants down, because every week you keep thinking you're gonna have some work, and last year, it just never happened. This year the well ran out 2 weeks ago, with no prospect of work.
It is really frustrating and depressing not knowing where your next buck is coming from. At this point, enough is enough. I made the decision: CAREER CHANGE
I'm tired of this crap every year. Work like an animal for 8 months and then stress out wondering how I'm gonna keep the lights on.
So now, I have filled out applications for every Civil Service job that I qualify for.
It has become very competitive, when I show up for exams there are hundreds upon hundreds of people lined up, You really have to score high on these exams to even have a shot. At my age(38), I'm looking for stability and security. I'm getting too old for hustling around the clock to make ends meet. When you're young, you think you are invincible, and often procrastinate things like "security" because you think you have your whole life ahead of you to make your mark on the world.
I was 20 years old, and then the very next day I woke up 38. Yes, it literally went by that fast. Anyway, the biggest issue with Civil Service is the time frame. It takes anywhere from 6 months to a few years before you get appointed to some of these jobs. So, now I've gotta really hustle and try to keep money coming in until probabally March or April. I've been trying to find a steady job but it just isn't working out. There are just soooo many people out there looking for work, that you almost don't really have a chance, especially in skilled trades. No matter how good you are at your craft, there will always be someone a step above you. And now, people are willing to take less money in order to have any job at all.
Whatever. everything is just so screwed up right now. Maybe one day things will turn around for everybody.
I don't consider myself fully employed since I'm working a 90-day temp-to-hire position and could very easily be on UE benefits again.
I was unemployed for 9 months and currently work 1 part-time job in a bookstore and 1 temp job.
My field is marketing.
I live in Baltimore, MD
I am 31.
I'm glad we have this forum.
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Who can live off of 10.00 an hour? There isn`t a whole lot left after taxes. Maybe if you lived with parents and had zero bills that might be enough. It is really looking hopeless. I`m sure the best jobs don`t even get advertised. Most probably go to referrals because everyone knows someone who is unemployed at this point.
