"This Economy"

[squishles10]

ive been laid off 3 times in 2 states. can i vote more than once? frankly im tired of this cuz its screwing up my resume big time.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Ouch. In what period of time?

That can be sticky when updating the resume.

 

[squishles10]

feb 2007, june 2008, feb 2009. i can explain it away somewhat but yeah, it looks bad. the first one was in california right as the housing market tanked. second was a small firm in tx that overhired as the economy was iffy and i was the newest person, and the last one was when everyone got laid off. but yeah, it blows. this is the longest ive been unemployed though- im getting bored.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I was unemployed for two years. Looking back, I don't know how I did it. yeah, it was boring.

 

[squishles10]

luckily the hubby has sporadic schedule and is home a lot, and his coworkers are off on different days than him so i hang with them too. and unfortunately there are a lot of unemployed folks around here to hang out with which also helps. plus, hopefully bschool in a few months. prob with that is they require you to be employed full time. sheesh. i talked them down from that requirement, and hopefully that MS and extra years of experience make up for it. just cant win...

 

[Slugger926]

luckily the hubby has sporadic schedule and is home a lot, and his coworkers are off on different days than him so i hang with them too. and unfortunately there are a lot of unemployed folks around here to hang out with which also helps. plus, hopefully bschool in a few months. prob with that is they require you to be employed full time. sheesh. i talked them down from that requirement, and hopefully that MS and extra years of experience make up for it. just cant win...

Is there some niche areas that you can go out and solicit work for, or do on your own? Flood Plain evaluations for houses, environmental impact studies for developments?

I have a friend's dad that is handing over his environmental impact business to me and his son at no cost as he is retiring. His son doesn't have a PE, so that is why I am getting half of it. They get all of their business by knowing where to look on government websites, and regular engineering firms don't want to touch the work.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I think things are beginning to look up. I just got the stement for my IRA and it is up 16% for this quarter.

Yea!

 

[wilheldp_PE]

We were profitable for the month and quarter. We get quarterly bonuses on Aug. 21.

 

[benbo]

I think things are beginning to look up. I just got the stement for my IRA and it is up 16% for this quarter.
Yea!

What is this invested in? Is it a mutual fund?

 

[benbo]

Almost everyone else in the state has 3 furlough days, and some of that will probably eventually hit me. But my salary has tripled in the past 6 years (due to PE and promotions) so I can't complain much. Of course, I am just about at the same level I was when I left my last job in the semiconductor business.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

What is this invested in? Is it a mutual fund?

S&P 500 indexed fund.

 

[benbo]

S&P 500 indexed fund.

I forgot the S&P was up that much, because in the past couple weeks it's been tanking. Except today.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

VT,
Love your avatar. Do you work in Vermont? It seems the Northwest has been hit pretty hard unless you work in Seattle.

I voted no as well, and am in Portland, Oregon lucky for me the consulting firm I have been with for about 1 1/2 years is heavy into the fuel terminals and pipelines. We have been either pretty steady or overloaded and have added a few people here and there. My last employer was mostly into Paper Mills and we have hired a handful of their old employees.

We did have a couple layoffs, but they were really firings for lack of production.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

ive been laid off 3 times in 2 states. can i vote more than once? frankly im tired of this cuz its screwing up my resume big time.

What field are you in?

I doubt it will really hurt your resume long term. Once we are out of this thing, HR will look at your unemployment and go "Oh yeah the 08-09 Recession"

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I doubt it will really hurt your resume long term. Once we are out of this thing, HR will look at your unemployment and go "Oh yeah the 08-09 Recession"

Well, I'm not sure I agree. I didn't get, "Oh, yeah..recession and 9/11" responses. Just, "Can you explain this lapse?"

 

[Katiebug]

I doubt it will really hurt your resume long term. Once we are out of this thing, HR will look at your unemployment and go "Oh yeah the 08-09 Recession"

This is what friends who are in HR tell me. This recession is so wonky that very educated, qualified, experienced people are taking jobs they never expected to have to take - simply to keep their family afloat. Having Starbucks or a retail job on one's resume isn't an automatic kiss of death at the moment. It's pretty straightforward to explain the situation.

I am pleased to say that after 9 loooong months of unemployment and job hunting, Mr. Bug is again gainfully employed. It's a bit less money than we were hoping for but at this point we're just thrilled that he's working. There is hope!

 

[snickerd3]

I am pleased to say that after 9 loooong months of unemployment and job hunting, Mr. Bug is again gainfully employed. It's a bit less money than we were hoping for but at this point we're just thrilled that he's working. There is hope!

Awesome news!

 

[Supe]

Congrats to Mr. Bug!

 

[FLBuff PE]

...I am pleased to say that after 9 loooong months of unemployment and job hunting, Mr. Bug is again gainfully employed. It's a bit less money than we were hoping for but at this point we're just thrilled that he's working. There is hope!

That's great news, Katie! Tell him congrats!

 

[Kephart P.E.]

Well, I'm not sure I agree. I didn't get, "Oh, yeah..recession and 9/11" responses. Just, "Can you explain this lapse?"

That seems to be your typical response to my posts.

The 9/11 recession, wasn't nearly as deep, long lasting, and widespread as our current one. I graduated in 02' and I still had a couple of offers to pick from. I doubt I would have had a good of luck if I had graduated in 2009.