What's the longest you've been unemployed?

[cr0w]

The longest I ever went was a year or so. Back when I just didn't give a ____. No bills, lived at home, whatever. Just didn't care. I was working retail then, so it's not like I was making much money in the first place.

Then, back in '08, I was working pest control when Hurricane Ike hit here in Houston, and due to all the damage to Galveston, we lost a lot of business and I got laid off. I was out of a job for 6 months then before I got hired on by the grounds contractor at NASA to do their pest/weed control work.

That lasted 3 years up until May 21 of this year, when I was involved in a small accident due to a mechanical failure on my work truck. The day it happened, my mechanic and project manager looked at what happened and confirmed the left front ball joint gave out and caused me to swerve fairly close to a light pole, but I wasn't at fault because the ball joint was what gave out. The next day, I got fired because I got blamed for the accident after my mechanic switched his story and said I hit the pole, which caused the ball joint to give out. This is not at all what happened, and I have pictures to prove there was no damage from the pole to the truck. But, being as how I had told my manager two weeks earlier that I had had another job offer but wasn't taking it, maybe they figured I was looking for a new one anyway and would cut their losses before I could leave.

This was also two days after my fiancee had emergency surgery to remove a dead ovary that was a day or so from putting her into sepsis and possibly killing her, so she had to take a leave of absence from work to recover from that, so yeah. Bad timing.

I got offered a job yesterday, which I start this coming Monday, working for a collision repair center doing parts inventory and inspections and whatnot, so that was...2 weeks without a job. Drove me nuts. It's a bit of a pay cut from what I was doing, and it's longer hours but I'll be getting 10 hours of overtime a week so that helps with the money a bit. I'll gladly make a bit less if it means I don't have to work outside anymore. 5 years of working outside in Houston has damn near killed me. So maybe it's all for the best.

So yeah, good luck on your search. The only advice I can give is to just keep looking. Stay on it. And don't consider anything beneath you. The way the economy is right now, a job is a blessing, no matter what you're doing.

 

[The Ween]

IMO, nothing is beneath anyone. It's a job.

 

[The Josh]

I agree with you on this. If I ever find myself without work again, I am going to go to a staffing company. At least there will be a paycheck and they don't expect you to stay forever.


Also...many companies are hiring that way now. Although that might not work so well for a teaching position...for many other positions it is a great way to get a permanent job.

It's something I may look into if it ever happens again. I'm real close to thinking about getting out of teaching myself. I just don't know what to do next if I do.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Higher education isn't all it used to be from a pragmatic / financial standpoint. It used be that going to college was a way to learn life skills as well as prepare you for employment. Now some degrees aren't worth it, considering the amount of student debt that follows you afterwards.

have fun paying that student loan the rest of your life

 

[The Josh]

Yes, I have student loan debt but I don't regret going to college. It's something I would urge my kids to do someday but I also know school isn't for everyone.

 

[The Ween]

It's something I may look into if it ever happens again. I'm real close to thinking about getting out of teaching myself. I just don't know what to do next if I do.

Josh, have you thought about teaching to a younger age?

 

[AllisonAmy]

Really, and why waste more money on school? You can always do that later if you want to finish it.

Exactly! He came home from Afghanistan last month and decided not to take any more contracts over there (he has been doing that since April of 2005). The position he turned down was in Seattle for Paul Allen's security team. One of his buddies works on it and put in a good word for him, so he was offered a job. He said for that kind of job, you become part of that person's family and he wasn't sure he wanted to become a part of someone else's family.

Yep, he will be going to the local community college in the fall to take the two math classes he needs to finish his degree. . He said he then wants to apply for a diplomatic courier position. I told him he should have taken that offer and try it for a year. If it didn't work, he could
always quit. He could always go back to school after trying that out or even look into finishing school on-line. He has some padding to live on, but I don't know how long he will stay unemployed.

Some of his buddies quit contracting in the Middle East to go to North Dakota for the oil boom. He said you don't need oil field experience and prior military service is a plus to get a lead position. The demand is high for workers and there is also a housing shortage. If anyone wants to make money another way, open some RV parks over there and rent space to the workers.

 

[AllisonAmy]

IMO, nothing is beneath anyone. It's a job.

For the most part I respect people who can hold a job, whatever it may be, compared to people who are holding out for something better or think they are too good to do "x".

 

[The Josh]

Josh, have you thought about teaching to a younger age?

I have no interest in teaching anyone younger than the 5th/6th that I've taught in the past. I don't have enough patience for younger than that.

 

[IronFingaz]

27 years

Got my first job last November, was done May 1st (6 month contract with option to extend another 6. Passed).

 

[preeny101]

Three weeks between jobs. One week to decompress and two weeks to complete the hiring process for my next job. Oh, and that 14 years from birth to when I started at Nick's Carwash.

 

[crows]

Exactly! He came home from Afghanistan last month and decided not to take any more contracts over there (he has been doing that since April of 2005). The position he turned down was in Seattle for Paul Allen's security team. One of his buddies works on it and put in a good word for him, so he was offered a job. He said for that kind of job, you become part of that person's family and he wasn't sure he wanted to become a part of someone else's family.

Yep, he will be going to the local community college in the fall to take the two math classes he needs to finish his degree. . He said he then wants to apply for a diplomatic courier position. I told him he should have taken that offer and try it for a year. If it didn't work, he could
always quit. He could always go back to school after trying that out or even look into finishing school on-line. He has some padding to live on, but I don't know how long he will stay unemployed.

Some of his buddies quit contracting in the Middle East to go to North Dakota for the oil boom. He said you don't need oil field experience and prior military service is a plus to get a lead position. The demand is high for workers and there is also a housing shortage. If anyone wants to make money another way, open some RV parks over there and rent space to the workers.

wait so he said no to the job to do 2 math classes? wtf? lol, Math is super easy to do online, I dont mean math is easy, I mean doing the work online is easy, and doing the tests is easy too, he could have worked and do the classes easy

 

[MadCow]

This month I will hit 1 year of being unemployed, my longest ever. I've been able to collect unemployment while staying home to raise my youngest daughter so it hasn't been all bad. I'm not going to lie though, I really do miss working.

 

[The Ween]

I have no interest in teaching anyone younger than the 5th/6th that I've taught in the past. I don't have enough patience for younger than that.

I'm just the opposite. I have more control over the little ones and they don't have attitudes or smart mouths yet, at least for the most part.

 

[Matt S]

Took another analytic test today, so we'll see...........man, these companies and their crazy left brained designed kinda deals - and they are all timed - thats the part I hate

 

[The Josh]

Older kids don't usually give me too much grief. I just make it clear I'm gonna treat you like an adult and not meeting those expectations has repercussions. It works with most of them so I tend to stick with it.

 

[The Ween]

Older kids don't usually give me too much grief. I just make it clear I'm gonna treat you like an adult and not meeting those expectations has repercussions. It works with most of them so I tend to stick with it.

As long as it works!

In our schools, repercussions are few and far between. The little kids don't know that, but the older they get, the more they realize that they can get away with just about anything next to murder.

 

[The Josh]

Yeah, if there isn't a strong leadership making sure rules are followed things go down hill fast.

 

[vodoun]

Yeah, if there isn't a strong leadership making sure rules are followed things go down hill fast.

Our country leaders are setting a fine example, aren't they. What I found frightening was watching some of the American channels a few weeks back on the dire problems with California. Food banks. Even here.

All I ever hear is more getting laid off than employed. Yet all our leaders are such chicken sheets. Scared to make a move incase they lose votes. They're losing votes and getting kicked out as it is.

 

[Matt S]

Some truth to that!

Well, hopefully I am nearing my unemployment end. Test went well, so doing phone interview mon! Finally some progress...!