About being laid off and unwanted when you're 59

The Star (South Chicago) ^ | 4/23/6 | Michael Bowers

[JasonC]

new = next - mental typo.

[Dick Vomer]

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp

 

http://www.salliemae.com/

 

 

http://www.nassgap.org/

 

http://www.studentjobs.gov/d_grants.asp

 

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

 

Have them do what I did.. work carpenter from 8am-5pm, bartender at restaurant 6:30-10:30 and nursing home orderly from 11pm-7am(got to sleep but helped bathe patients and get up to go to the bathroom at night)...got to sleep Sat/Sun cause no building on the weekends.  No time to spend money or get in trouble.. made me appreciate my college and get the heck out ASAP as opposed to getting money from my parents, who couldn't afford much...look below. 

 

your kids are much tougher than you think.  test them.

 

http://jobs.aol.com/article/_a/10-legit-jobs-that-dont-require-much/20060424101809990001

[Windcatcher]

I'm sorry but I don't buy the "be happy you're working, no how matter how much you hate your job" line. There *are* problems in the IT industry, big problems, and I'm not going to play the "don't complain or the GOP might look bad" game. Maybe where you live it's great, maybe you're one of the lucky ones who is either young and working in the hottest technologies already or who is lucky enough to have an employer who will let you keep up to date in addition to creating product. In this area, the IT industry is in serious pain. I talk to two recuiters weekly and development is dead here (and we're a top 10 U.S. city). You should take a look at Slashdot sometime. A lot of people are complaining about how the "skill set" mentality is pigeonholing vast portions of the IT workforce, and all we keep hearing is how employers can't find the talent they need and want more H-1B visas. Sorry but I call ***BS*** on that one. They can't find the 100% exact match talent they want and won't give anyone who isn't a 100% match the chance to meet their needs. The recruiters aren't helping things at all either because all they see is the list of buzzwords in front of them and they won't market anyone who isn't a 100% exact match for fear of not making their sell or for fear of sending the wrong candidate (and many of them don't know what a close match is because they don't understand the buzzwords they hit you with -- I don't know how many times a recruiter has openly admitted he/she doesn't know what they mean and has actually asked me to explain them).

[Blackirish]

Good post .....really bad things happen to people...I know.
I can count on one hand in 30 years I called in sick.

Although I always gave 110% things but went very bad.
I'm slowly pulling out of it but it's been an extremely stressful situation. At one point I could not find a job waiting tables...at 45. My wife left. It was Christmas and I was getting evicted from a lousy apartment. When the rest of my friends and family were very prosperous.

All that got me through was hope, prayer and guts.
After 31/2 bone grinding years the lights at the end of the tunnel. Still have to pay off a lot of debt. God tests people in different ways. You think some of the so called Christians on this thread....

[Nowhere Man]

Although I always gave 110% things but went very bad. I'm slowly pulling out of it but it's been an extremely stressful situation. At one point I could not find a job waiting tables...at 45. My wife left. It was Christmas and I was getting evicted from a lousy apartment. When the rest of my friends and family were very prosperous.

All that got me through was hope, prayer and guts. After 31/2 bone grinding years the lights at the end of the tunnel. Still have to pay off a lot of debt. God tests people in different ways. You think some of the so called Christians on this thread....

Amen. I know myself, I was in s similar siutation as you. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn;t get a better job. For a while, I developed pictures in a drugstore, but the money wasn't there. Last year, on July 8th, I turned 39, I laid in bed, asking God and Jesus into my heart to guide me. I wasn't doing it on my own, for some reason, I kept crashing and burning. So I asked for Their help and by July 17th, I got a better position. I'm still not out of the woods yet, recently, I've been hit with huge bills for my truck to get inspected, mom's car, and one of my cats, Greystone, passed away Easter weekend, but the bills we racked up to keep him alive was a hit too. I don't begrudge anyvody or anything but it seems like there is a lot of arrogance here and there are times people need to have a heap of humble pie served to understand what we have gone through.

[pollyannaish]

Gratitude, people. If you live without it, you would be miserable even if money grew on trees.

I think you have discovered the key to lifelong happiness. ; ).

[Revolting cat!]

I'm in software and every word you say is honest-to-God truth. There are no breaks today, no opportunities where I sit. Years ago, I got my own break or two, and today I am not seeing anyone hired beside me getting a break. And that's a shame, because I'd like to pay back for my good fortune, but I can't. As you have said, they are hired now for their most recent experience in some esoteric and passing area, and never for their general skills. I think that in my working group, or maybe department, I was the last one hired for that (general skills), and the hiring manager was then new and European. A good guy, since then, he hasn't given anyone a break. If I were to lose my job today, not having the latest set of acronyms listed on my resume, would perhaps help me land a job like my first ever job: washing dishes at a Holiday Inn, if that!

[Alouette]

1. It's their fault.
2. They should "retrain."
3. They should start their own business.
4. They should have saved more (variant of #1 above).
5. Move to "where the jobs are".
6. Line up for "The Next Big Thing".
7. Those are just "buggywhip jobs" anyway so we don't need them.

You forgot: "They shouldn't have had so many kids and sent them to private school."

[ntnychik]

Free at last, indeed! I highly recommend it!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Just ratchet the argument up another step, and another, and another, and pretty soon he should have been a millionaire at age 20.

[CindyDawg]

I just want to know how many here are not telling the truth about being millionaires and how many really are rich that are pretending to be poor:')

[durasell]

Just ratchet the argument up another step, and another, and another, and pretty soon he should have been a millionaire at age 20.



Only if he's lazy. With hard work and some financial savvy, he should have retired by 18.

[ntnychik]

Thank you for your comments. Yes, we had the bottom fall out a few times, but weathered it due to our conservative lifestyle and savings. Of what I've accomplished in life, I think I'm most proud that my two 20-something children have adopted the same principles, under withering criticism from their friends. If I had to reduce it to two words, it would be "deferred gratification."

[HiTech RedNeck]

Oh, the shame that we aren't all Bill Gates.

[CindyDawg]

lol

[durasell]

Even Bill Gates isn't Bill Gates (the myth is less than accurate). Similarly, the mechanisms of hardship and struggle are more difficult to understand than simply placing blame.

[CindyDawg]

Well talk to my husband. I announced this evening I was quiting in July. He's in shock.

[Wiseghy]

At 43 I have 20 years in my biz and a large 401k and savings. I have no doubt that self-employment is the best option for me within the next couple of years.

Truth is that you really don't want to be in a position where you have vastly more knowledge and experience than those directly supervising you in the regular corporate world. Work on a skill set that you can use to acheive independence. I work everyday on serving my community, learning from my customers and reading up on being a better business person.

[SwordofTruth]

By 59 he should have developed a useful skill that employers would want and be willing to pay for.

Too bad, so sad.

The same could be said for a certain occupant in the White House.