How is everyone's work situation these days??

CHANGEinWAVES

I finally have a job... Though I hate it. I go to work reminding myself that it's the only way to get payed now and to suck it up and do my job.
I do apply for new jobs daily though.

*I just keep in mind that one day I'll have enough money to finish school and be an art teacher... And LOVE my job!

ajedigecko

my job is great.

when i went to college and informed my family i would like to teach.......they all said why, you will not be rich.

i said......my hobbies/goals in life do not require me to be rich.

ajedigecko

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

I finally have a job... Though I hate it. I go to work reminding myself that it's the only way to get payed now and to suck it up and do my job.
I do apply for new jobs daily though.

*I just keep in mind that one day I'll have enough money to finish school and be an art teacher... And LOVE my job!

i do not know you....but i wish you lived in wichita. my wife's school will be short 3 art teachers and it is a top performing school

dcfaithful

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

I finally have a job... Though I hate it. I go to work reminding myself that it's the only way to get payed now and to suck it up and do my job.
I do apply for new jobs daily though.

*I just keep in mind that one day I'll have enough money to finish school and be an art teacher... And LOVE my job!

Been there before. Keep it up, you'll get where you want. It's all about hope. I'm in the same boat as you, waiting and working towards being able to complete school so I can get closer to getting an actual photographer job. I can sell my photos, which I don't refuse, but I'd rather have somethign steady...

decides2dream

ajedigecko wrote:

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

I finally have a job... Though I hate it. I go to work reminding myself that it's the only way to get payed now and to suck it up and do my job.
I do apply for new jobs daily though.

*I just keep in mind that one day I'll have enough money to finish school and be an art teacher... And LOVE my job!

i do not know you....but i wish you lived in wichita. my wife's school will be short 3 art teachers and it is a top performing school

too bad i don't live in wichita......i gave up teaching art - and i taught it for 10 years - b/c not enough hours, and no even half-way decent public school has been hiring in like, forrreeeeevvvvveeeerrrrrr. where i am it's all who you know on the school board b/c schools around here have amongst the highest salaries in the country, so you've got to wait out reitrements or deaths for an art position to open and then it's given to someone's niece or nephew in any case. :P i taught in private schools, but the hours and pay were soooo lacking. i finally decided to change careers. i changed a lot more drastically than i had initially intended, haha, but far more work and $$$....and i like it well enough.

CHANGEinWAVES

decides2dream wrote:

too bad i don't live in wichita......i gave up teaching art - and i taught it for 10 years - b/c not enough hours, and no even half-way decent public school has been hiring in like, forrreeeeevvvvveeeerrrrrr. where i am it's all who you know on the school board b/c schools around here have amongst the highest salaries in the country, so you've got to wait out reitrements or deaths for an art position to open and then it's given to someone's niece or nephew in any case. :P i taught in private schools, but the hours and pay were soooo lacking. i finally decided to change careers. i changed a lot more drastically than i had initially intended, haha, but far more work and $$$....and i like it well enough.

So you think this is a career choice I shouldn't make?

youngster

I am currently unemployed, since March 13th. I am a construction worker and got laid off after finishing a job I was running. The company laid off the entire crew on that job which was 5 people. Said they were cutting back. Come to find out they laid off 14 people total that day. Sucks but I'm getting by. I've been calling other shops seeing if they are hiring but nothing yet. The company I used to work for has a bid in on a building in Cambridge, MA and said he'd hire me if he gets the bid. Can't bet on that but it's something. Things will get better I'm sure. Fingers crossed.

bigeye21

Worked in building materials outside sales for the last 7 years and got laid off in January. Victim of the awesome economy and slumping residential market. Still looking for another job but the online postings have been particularly paltry the last few weeks.

Kind of frustrated too cause I feel like I hosed myself a bit. I had been on the safer, cushier manufacturing side for some time but left only a year and a half ago to work on the dealer side which has more commission potential but fewer perks and benefits. It also takes time to build your clientele -- usually 2-3 years for most guys before they are really making good money. Basically from the time I started there, the economy was in a recession. To make matters worse, I had taken a significant cut in base pay and benefits. Never really got the opportunity to prove my worth before getting laid off cause I was the newest sales hire -- first in, first out. To add insult to injury, for a variety of reasons (which all seemed good and reasonable at the time) this last job was my 3rd in 4 years. Two of those I was recruited for better offers and the one before I left because I was being pressured to move (something I wasn't willing to do). But the net result is the same today: I look like a job-hopper on my resume in one of the worst economies in history and in one of the hardest hit sectors.

I'm willing to do other things but it's so competitive right now that you won't be considered for most positions if you aren't a companies' dream candidate with exactly the experience they're looking for. I've thought about going back to school to do something else but don't want to make that kind of time and money commitment again unless it's something I really want to pursue.

Thankfully, my wife is still working and we've always been thrifty so I'm getting by on unemployment benefits for now but those will run out eventually. The worst part is staying sequestered in my house all the time continuing the hunt even though most days it feels pointless. A lot of old colleagues and associates never call these days even to check in; guess they're afraid to catch unemployment. You really discover who your friends are in times like this. To some extent, that's probably one reason why my activity on this board has accelerated lately -- before then, I was mostly a full-time lurker. I miss that daily human connection.

If you've read this far, thanks for allowing me the opportunity get all that out.

pjtradeking

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

Are things getting better??? worse??? dealing with cutbacks?? dealing with paycuts??

im just curious...

My work situation (at the moment) is fucking GREAT!!!! actually i feel like i have won the lottery...

we picked up some new accounts recently....and i am getting 8-12 hours a week of overtime(knock on wood)

how about everyone else????

Im just happy....but i know that could change at any given moment....

Same here, and I am almost ashamed to post this reply what with everything going on.......In the last 2 weeks, I have received a new car....a BIG bonus and was told to be expecting a raise the 1st of May.....Just shows how much I am appreciated at this company....Even in these trying times, he has ALWAYS taken care of me. I have never had to ask for anything here...He just simply handed me the keys and a check, and said...THANKS!!

yoke

Well I have a Municipal job.. I am a garbage man, we keep hearing rumblings of layoffs etc but to be honest its hard to tell in that place because rumors fly around like nobody’s business. I just heard that we are good for this year but who knows for 2010. The town is cutting back on a lot of things while trying to keep the services needed to operate from what I understand. If we do have cutbacks we are a Union shop so the last 10 hired are the first 10 fired and I am #7 on that list. It won't be the first time I have been downsized and I am sure it won't be the last.

This is one reason why I am back in school getting my certifications.

decides2dream

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

too bad i don't live in wichita......i gave up teaching art - and i taught it for 10 years - b/c not enough hours, and no even half-way decent public school has been hiring in like, forrreeeeevvvvveeeerrrrrr. where i am it's all who you know on the school board b/c schools around here have amongst the highest salaries in the country, so you've got to wait out reitrements or deaths for an art position to open and then it's given to someone's niece or nephew in any case. :P i taught in private schools, but the hours and pay were soooo lacking. i finally decided to change careers. i changed a lot more drastically than i had initially intended, haha, but far more work and $$$....and i like it well enough.

So you think this is a career choice I shouldn't make?

i would seriously NEVER say such a thing, it's so individual!
i did love teaching, but was definitely growing a bit weary at the time. i was an excellent teacher and probably still would be if at the time i decided i had 'enough' at my last school (private and cut my days along with other *specials* teachers) if i was able to make the jump to a good public school. i probably stayed in the private sector too long, and when i first left college it was impossible to get into a public position, so i went with what i could find locally, taught part-time went to grad school part-time...and stayed private even after completing. i was happy and comfortable where i was, until a new principal...and then days cut. i think if i went public then - and i DID interview for numerous positions, 3 of which i was PERFECT for (and it was obvious they already had who they wanted, just going thru the motions b/c by law in NYS, must always interview others) i am sure i would've stuck with it, got reinvigorated, etc. i DID get numerous calls for less than desirable schools/districts/areas....but yes, it was my choice that after 10 years in education i was unwilling to go there. i thought i would stay in education/art, at least semi-related......and tried and tried for a good long while (working retail to get by )....and then finally, by pure dumb luck ended up where i am now, totally unrelated but an excellent firm, excellent position/pay/benefits, entirely unrelated. for me, it works. i am happy, i also ironically have more time with my husband though obviously less time off...but since he wasn't a teacher and his vacation picks were slim, we rarely had time off together when i taught.

so blah, blah, blah...sorry for rambling. :P teaching is an excellent career choice and there ARE jobs out there. in all honesty tho, art, music and elementary ed are fairly saturated and/or hard to come by positions......but if you are willing to go just about anywhere, stick it out until you get some experience so you look good for better districts, you definitely can succeed. i do not regret teaching one minute, but for me personally, while sometimes i miss aspects of it, i don't really miss it that much and think i am happier. perhaps if my husband taught too, would be entirely different. the high need subjects are math and science, special ed, languages, ESL...all levels. obviously tho, there has to be openings for all subjects at all levels, somewhere...all the time. as i said, i happen to live in an area where teachers are paid extremely WELL, far better than most of the country, so yea....far more competitive and people don't tend to leave, especially if/when they have tenure. it could be a very different market by you. just be sure you LOVE it (b/c even with all the time off, you still manage to work a LOT, on your own time) overall, the pay isn't spectacular given the education requirements....and remian flexible at about where you will go to teach. there are definitely a LOT more careers out there with better pay and all....but teaching, if it's your passion, most definitely can be worth it. i always say maybe someday i'd go back to it....but the longer i am out, the more i realize that is quite unlikely. i know lots of teachers who taught 5 or less years, and i also know lots of people who had first careers and then swithced to teaching. so just do what you think is right for YOU! good luck!

sorry for such a long-ass response......you really should know better than to ask me a question, haha....;)

shell bell

More layoffs today. As of June 12th,the tv station that I work at will have an automated master controll, so 4 people got the ax today. That's 7 so far (3 from sales a few months back). There is a meeting today to "talk" about budget cutting methods. Still worried about my job. The reporter that I work with is leaving the end of May, and my shift is up in the air (I'm a newsphotographer).Kinda worried, but shit happenes.....

Flagg

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

Flagg wrote:

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

be careful in mexico........

Yeah, I already told my boss I am not going back. This isn't Cancun or Cabo. This is shithole town up in the desert mountains. Big manufacturing city. I told her she can take me to HR if she wants but I am not going back. I don't get paid enough or do an important enough job to warrant it. I am not saving babies or anything.

But the way my job works, once we implement a new location and train up everyone, we rarely if ever go back. So it may be a moot point anyway.

well, if you need a bodyguard....i know a few guys...who know a few guys....hehehehehe

DAMNED RIGHT YOU ARE NOT GOING BACK!!!!!!!

wtf?? that must make your wife sick to her stomach worrying about you....

Yeah, she was worried. It looks like Iraq in some places. Military convoys and bunkers and chekpoints and humvees, etc.

Anyway, I am glad to have a job but no more Mexico. At least that part of it anyway.

Phantom Pain

The company I work for has been doing really well even in this crappy economy

We're a huge Mail Order Pharmacy...I work in the IT department..last month was my 8 year anniversary

I guess people need more drugs in this environment

My wife on the other hand was told they had to take a 10% pay cut :evil:

She is a Senior Sales Manager for a Hotel so the economy is hitting them hard

CHANGEinWAVES

decides2dream wrote:

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

too bad i don't live in wichita......i gave up teaching art - and i taught it for 10 years - b/c not enough hours, and no even half-way decent public school has been hiring in like, forrreeeeevvvvveeeerrrrrr. where i am it's all who you know on the school board b/c schools around here have amongst the highest salaries in the country, so you've got to wait out reitrements or deaths for an art position to open and then it's given to someone's niece or nephew in any case. :P i taught in private schools, but the hours and pay were soooo lacking. i finally decided to change careers. i changed a lot more drastically than i had initially intended, haha, but far more work and $$$....and i like it well enough.

So you think this is a career choice I shouldn't make?

i would seriously NEVER say such a thing, it's so individual!
i did love teaching, but was definitely growing a bit weary at the time. i was an excellent teacher and probably still would be if at the time i decided i had 'enough' at my last school (private and cut my days along with other *specials* teachers) if i was able to make the jump to a good public school. i probably stayed in the private sector too long, and when i first left college it was impossible to get into a public position, so i went with what i could find locally, taught part-time went to grad school part-time...and stayed private even after completing. i was happy and comfortable where i was, until a new principal...and then days cut. i think if i went public then - and i DID interview for numerous positions, 3 of which i was PERFECT for (and it was obvious they already had who they wanted, just going thru the motions b/c by law in NYS, must always interview others) i am sure i would've stuck with it, got reinvigorated, etc. i DID get numerous calls for less than desirable schools/districts/areas....but yes, it was my choice that after 10 years in education i was unwilling to go there. i thought i would stay in education/art, at least semi-related......and tried and tried for a good long while (working retail to get by )....and then finally, by pure dumb luck ended up where i am now, totally unrelated but an excellent firm, excellent position/pay/benefits, entirely unrelated. for me, it works. i am happy, i also ironically have more time with my husband though obviously less time off...but since he wasn't a teacher and his vacation picks were slim, we rarely had time off together when i taught.

so blah, blah, blah...sorry for rambling. :P teaching is an excellent career choice and there ARE jobs out there. in all honesty tho, art, music and elementary ed are fairly saturated and/or hard to come by positions......but if you are willing to go just about anywhere, stick it out until you get some experience so you look good for better districts, you definitely can succeed. i do not regret teaching one minute, but for me personally, while sometimes i miss aspects of it, i don't really miss it that much and think i am happier. perhaps if my husband taught too, would be entirely different. the high need subjects are math and science, special ed, languages, ESL...all levels. obviously tho, there has to be openings for all subjects at all levels, somewhere...all the time. as i said, i happen to live in an area where teachers are paid extremely WELL, far better than most of the country, so yea....far more competitive and people don't tend to leave, especially if/when they have tenure. it could be a very different market by you. just be sure you LOVE it (b/c even with all the time off, you still manage to work a LOT, on your own time) overall, the pay isn't spectacular given the education requirements....and remian flexible at about where you will go to teach. there are definitely a LOT more careers out there with better pay and all....but teaching, if it's your passion, most definitely can be worth it. i always say maybe someday i'd go back to it....but the longer i am out, the more i realize that is quite unlikely. i know lots of teachers who taught 5 or less years, and i also know lots of people who had first careers and then swithced to teaching. so just do what you think is right for YOU! good luck!

sorry for such a long-ass response......you really should know better than to ask me a question, haha....;)

Thanks for the honest reply.... This is my 4th career choice and I can't think of anything else I'd like better than teaching the love of art to kids!!

blackredyellow

I work in an arena box office, and luckily we are pretty much isolated from the economy (as far as job losses). The building has a pretty small full-time staff, so who gets hurt are the part time/event workers.

Shows have definitely struggled in the last 12 months.. both the quantity of shows (a lot of acts just not touring, or if they do, they aren't coming to B-markets like Albany), and ticket sales for the shows that we do get.

But this spring/summer seems to be turning the corner and is shaping up to be our busiest summer in years.

yoke

shell bell wrote:

More layoffs today. As of June 12th,the tv station that I work at will have an automated master controll, so 4 people got the ax today. That's 7 so far (3 from sales a few months back). There is a meeting today to "talk" about budget cutting methods. Still worried about my job. The reporter that I work with is leaving the end of May, and my shift is up in the air (I'm a newsphotographer).Kinda worried, but shit happenes.....

Little off topic but I actually thought about making that switch( I was a photojournalist for newspapers etc..) until a few years ago and was getting a little bored with still photos. I looked at the market back then and I thought it was to saturated plus I wasn't willing to pickup and move across country for a job. How is that market holding up overall these days? If you lose(lets hope you don't) your job do you think you will be able to find another? I know in the PJ filed is was damn near impossible to find a staff job or anything. Do you think you will move to another city/town for employment?

Wobbie

Don't hate me, but I have 23 years of seniority in a Union protected job..........so I think I'm pretty safe.

Plus, I love my job!

BrinkofForever

The past year has been a long strange trip for me personally. I left a job at one of the mega-banks that I had been employed at for five plus years. They had started to outsource many of our jobs to Mumbai and I didn't feel comfortable working there anymore. Plus, in the very specialized work I did, there was little room for advancement.
So, I left in January of 08 to go full time at my part-time weekend job. I was an account manager for a software company that serviced fast-food franchises across the country. It was great work and allowed me the opportunity to network and develop my b2b skills. Unfortunately, in August I was let go as we started losing many clients to the poor economy. Turns out that fast-food is a nickel and dime business and a lot of our clients just couldn't afford to keep the software system in their store. Since I was the last hired in, I was also the first to go.
So I sat on my ass and felt sorry for myself for a day or so, then went out and got a job at a call center contracted to support Verizon FiOS service. They hired me on the spot. To be honest, it was the worst job I've ever had. The pay was sub-par, the management were all 22 year old WoW addicts and the benefits were laughable. Still, it was a job and I helped offset the income reduction by working nights delivering pizzas and taking in a roommate.
Meanwhile I spent six months looking for something better. There were times where it felt hopeless. I would email thirty resumes out at a time and get no response. I felt hopeless and started making plans to move back to the west coast. I was crumbling under my bills, even with the roommate, and seriously felt that I would have to move back in with the parents to survive. Those were dark days.
Then, this last month, I got a call from that bank I had left last year. They called me in to interview for a Customer Care position in Home Mortgage. I had no experience in that field, but thought I might as well give it a shot. I aced the interview and was offered a job within the week, making nearly four dollars an hour more than I was prior. I've been in training for a week and a half and I can already tell that I'm going to love this. I love working with people and really enjoy helping people through their problems...and this job will allow me to do that. I don't say things like this often, but I feel really blessed, especially given the state of the economy, especially here in Ohio. Ironically, this whole mortgage mess that killed the economy also directly led to the creation of my job, as the bank is expanding it's work force in mortgage lending to handle the new Obama plan.

mfc2006

congrats on the new job, ChasingDogma!! that's great, man!!