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Hey andywire - mfg companies typically have many machinists, machine operators, or assembly workers. Then they have just a few Mfg Engrs, Mech Engrs, Tech Writers, or CAD Designers.
But I sometimes think I am being blacklisted by recruiting firms and companies for being long term unemployed. Getting laid off before 2009 was really bad timing, because 2009 was the year of Mass Layoffs / hardly any hiring / the economy going down the tubes.
I have to resort to a little lie that I do online work since summer 2009 as my "employment." Makes my resume looks a little better and it did get me an interview.
Have you tried applying to smaller job shops? You might only fetch 40K/yr right now, but it's better than nothing. Most of them are extremely busy right now.
If it's a contract job shop that does manufacturing / machining of products for other companies usually they don't need a Mech Eng / Cad guy, maybe they need a Mfg / Project Eng. There is an ad for a job shop near Franklin Park but they want 3 years Solidworks experience and I have only 7 months experience in this.
Welcome to the Global Economy. Americans get the debt from going to school. Foreign workers get the jobs. The same thing is going on in Physical Therapy, Nursing, and for Physicians.
How are the kids going to support this Baby Boom generation? Maybe they should ask the Chinese workers how they feel about paying Medicare tax to pay for our seniors. They seem willing to make bad investments. One thing is for sure, all American's have is their debt.
We can thank our Government for allowing us to feed out of the palms of their hands. They are not stupid. They have more tax funded PhD experts at their disposal than they'd ever need. They have slowly taken the Country from the People, and have given it over to the "Globalists" (Bankers, etc.)
All the higher education and we're just not that smart.
Speak for yourself...I'm brilliant. I have no student debt, no children, and I smoke. I don't have to worry about the cost of raising a child and hopefully I'll die before 70 so I don't have to eat dog food in retirement.
I don't how you can't find a manufacturing job here. I've had seven shops call me in the past month begging me to come in. The only issue is no one wants to pay a dignified wage for even experienced workers. I can still do plenty better working 60-70 hours a week where I am working now than to take a manufacturing job for an "up-and-coming" shop that wants to pay $18/hr while they "get on their feet". The business men are just as delusional as the younger crowd expecting $20/hr for shuffling paper and looking at porn all day. This country is fast becoming the laughing stock of the world, especially for all the foreigners taking our jobs.
Why is $18/hr so laughable to laborers and $20 such a strange and optimistic concept for office workers?
I don't get it. Granted, the spectrum of "laborer" and "office worker" includes so many things, I can't infer much from that.
Why is $18/hr so laughable to laborers and $20 such a strange and optimistic concept for office workers?
I don't get it. Granted, the spectrum of "laborer" and "office worker" includes so many things, I can't infer much from that.
I say $18 is laughable because they won't let me work OT at many. I'd rather be working for an established place that offers all the OT I can eat. It's also risky to work for the "up-and-comers" because they expect you to do everything, including some of the office stuff, for the same pay. They also tend to go out of business when you've had enough and quit. I am not a "laborer", that's someone who digs ditches or mows lawns... Although I do have to get my hands dirty and walk on concrete all day.
Certainly office workers can make great money. It depends on what type of office work they are doing. Many paper shuffling jobs in offices around this area are being taken by perma-temp workers at $12/hr, no benefits. Lots of hungry folks out there who would be happy to draw simple excel spreadsheets and answer phones. I've worked in offices before, I see the crap that many of the workers do. Many of the simple office jobs simply don't require a company to offer +$20/hr to fill these days. Heck, $15/hr would be generous for some of them. It depends on the type of office, and the type of job.
I have actually found that not to be the case. HR "professionals" have successful convinced most managers that how people answer retarded psychobabble is more important than their knowledge skills and abilities. As a result, most managers will pass up a person perfectly qualified for a position in favor of a lackluster candidate who can BS his way through an interview very well. It is stupid and I've personally seen and had to help deal with the fall out when they hire technical candidates this way.
Frankly over the past few years as HR has become more involved in directing how candidates are hired we've seen rudeness reach epidemic levels and companies make the news with morally repugnant behavior all the while constantly complaining they cannot get qualified candidates.
Being a technical person myself, I can vouch for this. Many people I have come into contact with that have certain qualifications that don't come from college, generally only know what the book tells them and cannot think for themselves. As with everything else, some people will muddle through and eventually do well and some will have to look for another job. But they get the job because they managed to impress the person doing the hiring. You also have to consider the politics of the thing. Many managers don't want to hire someone who can eventually either take their own job or surpass them.
And I've seldom met an HR person who knew how to turn on a computer. but that seems to be a common problem these days.
Being a technical person myself, I can vouch for this. Many people I have come into contact with that have certain qualifications that don't come from college, generally only know what the book tells them and cannot think for themselves. As with everything else, some people will muddle through and eventually do well and some will have to look for another job. But they get the job because they managed to impress the person doing the hiring. You also have to consider the politics of the thing. Many managers don't want to hire someone who can eventually either take their own job or surpass them.
And I've seldom met an HR person who knew how to turn on a computer. but that seems to be a common problem these days.
HR as a whole is destroying many once decent professions. Trying to hire for jobs they don't understand, or care to understand, is the norm. They often aren't paid that terribly well, and tend to take issue when trying to fill a position that pays better than their own, especially when it's a position they deem below their own (which is likely everything that pays hourly). For companies to become competitive once again, there needs to be more attention paid to the people doing the hiring. Ideally, they would be people who have actually served in the roles they are trying to fill. Of course, I would be dreaming if I thought that would happen. The American business model is screwed up these days, and it's showing.
I just went through this mess and it wasn't easy. I was laid off of my job after 7 years and I had to start all over again at the age of 40. I was competing with kids with Degrees, although the job stated they wanted someone with experience. Not knocking anyone with a degree (good for you), but it was frustrating because I knew I had the skills to do the same job. What they don't tell you is that "piece of paper" is what they want or prefer, so when you get that email stating why you didn't get the job, they state someone else has qualifications more than you. Whatever...if you are faced with this, KEEP APPLYING anyway if they say they want one or not.
Another note: Your resume has to be spot on and you need to clearly state your accomplishments and not what software programs you know. That helps, but employers want to know what you can do for them. When I re-did my resume I got some valuable tips from Blue Sky resumes (Google them) and it was the difference from no interviews to my phone ringing off the hook. After a month off of work, I got an offer for $26k more than my last job and it's better than the last.
Note: one interview I was on, the CEO stated he made the mistake of hiring someone fresh out of college because they had a degree and they turned out to be a total idiot and he had to hold her hands the entire time. Lesson-learned as he stated, and now was on the hunt for someone with experience.
Keep applying and never give up because the right job will come along. For one company that doesn't hire you, there is another company out there that will.
I just went through this mess and it wasn't easy. I was laid off of my job after 7 years and I had to start all over again at the age of 40. I was competing with kids with Degrees, although the job stated they wanted someone with experience. Not knocking anyone with a degree (good for you), but it was frustrating because I knew I had the skills to do the same job. What they don't tell you is that "piece of paper" is what they want or prefer, so when you get that email stating why you didn't get the job, they state someone else has qualifications more than you. Whatever...if you are faced with this, KEEP APPLYING anyway if they say they want one or not.
Another note: Your resume has to be spot on and you need to clearly state your accomplishments and not what software programs you know. That helps, but employers want to know what you can do for them. When I re-did my resume I got some valuable tips from Blue Sky resumes (Google them) and it was the difference from no interviews to my phone ringing off the hook. After a month off of work, I got an offer for $26k more than my last job and it's better than the last.
Note: one interview I was on, the CEO stated he made the mistake of hiring someone fresh out of college because they had a degree and they turned out to be a total idiot and he had to hold her hands the entire time. Lesson-learned as he stated, and now was on the hunt for someone with experience.
Keep applying and never give up because the right job will come along. For one company that doesn't hire you, there is another company out there that will.
With the exception of certain jobs (engineer or jobs requiring certification under Federal law) we look for experience over education any day. It's too bad more employers don't do the same. Glad you found one of the smart ones.
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