Looking for work is so frustrating

[jhogan3132]

I was unemployed from June until mid-February and had to go to Virginia Beach for work (I live in Columbus, OH). I'll be heading back home to telecommute soon but I'm only doing a 6 month contract so come September I will be unemployed again most likely. It's just difficult to find a full-time job now and I think it'll only get worse with this healthcare law taking effect soon.

Odogg what do you do for a living?

Samsung Galaxy Note II

[ODogg]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

Unless you're working for a non-profit or something making an easy $40k (in CT terms) I don't think you'll find many 9-5p jobs anymore. We have a lot of NPO's as clients and outside of management pretty much everyone is there just to bring in a little more cash to their family and for the benefits. Everyone comes in late, most leave early or right at 5, most take 1+ hour lunch breaks. Every time I look at a workstation at those places it's littered with games the user downloaded. I don't think too many people want those types of jobs either, I'd be bored out of my mind and go mad. Better than being unemployed though.

Not really true, I'm a contractor in Engineering at Cox Communications and those guys are 8am to 4pm hardcore and on a Friday at 4:05pm the parking lot is empty. ALWAYS...

These guys work hard and dont goof off to do it that way but that's how they roll..I think it's because Cox really stresses work/life balance which more companies need to do IMO.

Also a reason I am trying to get a full time gig here (not to mention they still have pensions, a rarity nowadays)..

[ODogg]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

Odogg what do you do for a living?

Samsung Galaxy Note II

I do network design for telecommunication and cable companies. Right now is a great time to do what I do as there are a lot of jobs due to data growing thanks to smartphones. The pay is great but the difficulty is finding a FULL TIME position. All these companies want contractors now for flexibiltys sake. And so they don't have to provide benefits. I have not been a full time employee since 2008 when I got laid off at T-Mobile when they closed the Richmond, VA engineering office.

Typically I work 6 months, bank money for my job hunt then spend 6 months or so looking for my next best contract, best location and best rate etc, all the while searching for full time employment.. I been doing this for 5 years and it's really getting tiresome..

So all u cats who are tired of looking or work for six months or so, imagine doing so for five freaking years, lol

[23]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

Not really true, I'm a contractor in Engineering at Cox Communications and those guys are 8am to 4pm hardcore and on a Friday at 4:05pm the parking lot is empty. ALWAYS...

These guys work hard and dont goof off to do it that way but that's how they roll..I think it's because Cox really stresses work/life balance which more companies need to do IMO.

Also a reason I am trying to get a full time gig here (not to mention they still have pensions, a rarity nowadays)..

Those are the kinds of jobs that need to be done... I have to come in at 730 and take a half hour lunch to get off at 4 now, and i've been at this place for 13 years....

Dont get why companies dont understand the importance of everyone's time, not just theirs

[dickey1331]

I think some of you would really benefit from implementing a written budget. Something to think about.

I have a budget that I follow. I also have $900 in car payments a month.

[23]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

Thats insane man... what do you have 2 brand new cars?

[dickey1331]

Thats insane man... what do you have 2 brand new cars?

I won't buy used cars. I understand the financial reasons but I can't drive a used car.

[TheShizNo1]

I would ask as many opinions possible by the teachers themselves. My girlfriend is a teacher for about 40 more days. She was getting paid $29k/year and put in way over 40 hrs/week. She also teaches the exceptional children who have behavioral problems and lag behind their grade level. MAN it sounds like the worst damn job on the planet. Every single day is terrible.

Point - make sure you do your DD

To brag about her for a minute: she got accepted into the Occupational Therapy Masters Program at a school which has reasonable tuition. She is going to make at least 2x her salary when all said and done and she is so amazing in her field the sky is the limit for her future.

She busted her rear so hard to get a 4.0 GPA while she was teaching. She literally was a full-time student & teacher at the same time.

Every situation is different. I work at a school for kids on the autism spectrum, ad(h)d, emotionally disturbed, etc. I make 35.2K a year. For someone that was making minimum wage this time a year ago, that might as well be more like 60k. There are other places within 40 miles of me in which I could've started off at 40-45k, but I student taught at the place I'm at now and comfort>money w/ me.

I put in over 40 hours, but it's calling parents, running detention, helping a kid after school, etc. It's not like putting in hours at a job w/ physical labor. If you can handle kids and adjust your tolerance level, you'll be ok. Now, if you jump into any school and find yourself at an East Side High or a Criminal Minds type school, good luck.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to just become a teacher. If you're going to do it, you need to be math or science or what I am; am intervention specialist (IS). Fancy way of saying guy that works w/ slow kids. Federal laws are being passed that are making schools higher more IS's. Huge reason why I chose to do this. I'm also HQT (Highly Qualified Teacher) in social studies. Most schools wants IS's to be HQT in 2-4 subject areas. Guess the areas? Yup, math and science. I'll be working on that during the summer.

You also need to be for the kids. I express on twitter and in OT how much I love my job. I love the kids. Cannot stand the administration. But the love for the kids keeps my focus where it should be. There's a teacher that isn't like that and the kids can tell. They hate her and know she doesn't like them. If you're gonna go w/ that career, make sure it's for the right reasons.

I enjoy what I do. From dreading my minimum wage job to now waking up 6am and not thinking twice about it, I'm grateful for it. I have fun bull ****ting w/ the kids and helping them grow academically and socially. I also coach varsity football. In my world, I'm living the dream.

I don't see how you guys work all those hours and days. I tip my hat to you.

[Lava]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

I won't buy used cars. I understand the financial reasons but I can't drive a used car.

Why is that?

[XtremeDunkz]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

I won't buy used cars either. After buying a new car I could never go back to used. Just the comfort in knowing you are the only one that drove it and taking care of it knowing no one before you ****ed anything up.

[daflyboys]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

This is exactly the kind of automated response I was talking about. Just got this today after inquiring about a job I applied for TWO months ago:

Spoiler

Under the column entitled: Job Status

If the status is Open, that would indicate that the job has not yet been filled.
If the status is Filled, that would indicate the job has been filled.
If the status is Withdrawn, that would indicate that the hiring area will not be filling the job at this time.

To check your personal status:

Under the column entitled: Personal Status

If your status is Active, that would indicate that you are still being considered for the job.
If your status is Closed, that would indicate that you are no longer being considered for the job.
If you status is Withdrew, that would indicate that you elected to withdraw your name from candidate pool and are no longer being considered for the job.

Unfortunately, Recruitment and Compensation does not get involved in the interviewing/hiring process, so, we’re not aware of when the hiring area will begin the interviewing process nor do we know where in the process they are. However, on an average, it can be four to six weeks before candidates hear anything. This will depend on the pool of candidates and how quickly the hiring area notifies individuals. The hiring area will contact you directly, if they wish to interview you. Or you will receive notification if you are no longer being considered for the job.

We’re sorry we can’t be more helpful but do hope this helps some.

Have a nice day.

Recruitment and Compensation Staff

Have nice day my ***.

[23]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

I could show you a bunch of generic responses I got from different companies that are all the same, word for word. SMH

[clipperfan811]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

Every situation is different. I work at a school for kids on the autism spectrum, ad(h)d, emotionally disturbed, etc. I make 35.2K a year. For someone that was making minimum wage this time a year ago, that might as well be more like 60k. There are other places within 40 miles of me in which I could've started off at 40-45k, but I student taught at the place I'm at now and comfort>money w/ me.

I put in over 40 hours, but it's calling parents, running detention, helping a kid after school, etc. It's not like putting in hours at a job w/ physical labor. If you can handle kids and adjust your tolerance level, you'll be ok. Now, if you jump into any school and find yourself at an East Side High or a Criminal Minds type school, good luck.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to just become a teacher. If you're going to do it, you need to be math or science or what I am; am intervention specialist (IS). Fancy way of saying guy that works w/ slow kids. Federal laws are being passed that are making schools higher more IS's. Huge reason why I chose to do this. I'm also HQT (Highly Qualified Teacher) in social studies. Most schools wants IS's to be HQT in 2-4 subject areas. Guess the areas? Yup, math and science. I'll be working on that during the summer.

You also need to be for the kids. I express on twitter and in OT how much I love my job. I love the kids. Cannot stand the administration. But the love for the kids keeps my focus where it should be. There's a teacher that isn't like that and the kids can tell. They hate her and know she doesn't like them. If you're gonna go w/ that career, make sure it's for the right reasons.

I enjoy what I do. From dreading my minimum wage job to now waking up 6am and not thinking twice about it, I'm grateful for it. I have fun bull ****ting w/ the kids and helping them grow academically and socially. I also coach varsity football. In my world, I'm living the dream.

I don't see how you guys work all those hours and days. I tip my hat to you.

I hear you man,

Sometimes I think I would really enjoy becoming a teacher and being a basketball coach (head or assistant) on the side. I know I could adjust my lifestyle to almost any pay scale because I've been unemployed in the past and squeaked by. To me money is down on the list of priorities. At the same time I have my first son due in August so I know it's my duty to provide a stable yet family oriented environment.

I've thought about a number of possible career paths, psychology: maybe a school counselor or child psychologist. Some sort of web design: no experience but I'm one of those guys who can sit and work on a project for 8 hours straight by myself and be happy as can be. I used to do stuff like that all the time working on music projects, mixing a track or whatever.

I've also thought of trying to open up some sort of business, I'd love to someday have a little music instrument shop where I sell old guitars and people can just hang out and jam in some sort of rehearsal room.

I really just want to be able to enjoy my family and feel passionate about what I do. It's a shame that we've gotten to a place as a society where that almost makes you sound crazy.

Without getting too into it, this whole huge corporate landscape is devastating to not only our country but human society as a whole.

[ODogg]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

I finally landed a full time job with benefits in Columbus, OH. I'm heading back there Saturday morning. Been on the road working as a contractor for 3 months in Virginia Beach. I'm really glad to be able to get back to having a regular job but I had to take a pretty large pay cut. It sure will be nice to be back home again though for the holiday weekend. And I sure as hell won't miss my $442 per month dental and health insurance bill either!!

[Skyboxer]

Re: Looking for work is so frustrating

I finally landed a full time job with benefits in Columbus, OH. I'm heading back there Saturday morning. Been on the road working as a contractor for 3 months in Virginia Beach. I'm really glad to be able to get back to having a regular job but I had to take a pretty large pay cut. It sure will be nice to be back home again though for the holiday weekend. And I sure as hell won't miss my $442 per month dental and health insurance bill either!!

Awesome man!.. best of luck!