Anyone else recently unemployed?

[RobRR]

Just curious if anyone out there is in a similar situation... Got (supposedly temporarily) laid off in June from a US Defense Contractor due to lack of funding/project renewals. Manufacturing work is pretty hard to find, and the few jobs that come up want to pay barely above minimum wage. So after 6 months, still haven't been able to find work, and now that the extended unemployment benefits haven't been approved, Im left without income. Pretty scary time, especially since Ive got a family to provide for! Luckily I have savings in case of an emergency, though Id rather not tap into them. Then the icing on the cake, I find out through the grape vine last week that they "closed" my occupation and that chances are that I will not be getting my job back. The union had led me to believe that this was suppoed to be a short, temporary layoff... then I find this out. Really pissed off that the union couldn't even be bothered to tell me that my position has pretty much been eliminated. Hopefully in my future endeavors I don't have to deal with this union BS anymore. I was the best in my occupation, but because I didn't have seniority, I had to be let go. Meanwhile the guy who has done nothing for 30+ years gets to keep his job and go out on medical every 6 months or so. So now, Im considering going back into carpentry/home remodeling. Last time I was laid off for almost 5 years, I went right to work for my stepdad doing it. Unfortunately he passed away 3 years ago, so I cant work for him now, but have been considering getting my own thing going. Just not sure how to pursue starting a business like that. I did all the work, he took care of the paperwork, so no real experience in that department.

[artonsafari]

Sorry to hear. My buddy who opened his own independent auto repair shop tells me all the time, "If you ever want to start a business... don't!"

He's actually doing ok, but is "working" 24/7 and if he's not, he's still thinking about work and how to get more income, etc...

Good luck getting something going.

[Razor]

I went through it from November 2008 to February 2009. It was scary then, and I'll bet it's more so now. I don't know how the government can say we're coming out of a recession when it seems worse now than it was then. The economy is crap now that's for sure, and things look grim. People are scared and holding tight to their money right now. Everyone I know in sales and talk to are down real bad right now, and have been for quite a while.

I wish you the best of luck in finding something that pays you what you're worth. It's good you can fall back on carpentry. The owner of the shop I work at has a carpentry business also, and he's the only person I know that is stacked up with more work than he can really get to.

[RobRR]

Btw I did have separate paragraphs, for some reason it all got compressed into one big one when I posted it lol.

I'm not expecting to make what I did at my old job, but 2/3rds of that I don't think is unreasonable, but seems impossible to find.

[leftykingv2]

Just curious if anyone out there is in a similar situation... Got (supposedly temporarily) laid off in June from a US Defense Contractor due to lack of funding/project renewals. Manufacturing work is pretty hard to find, and the few jobs that come up want to pay barely above minimum wage. So after 6 months, still haven't been able to find work, and now that the extended unemployment benefits haven't been approved, Im left without income. Pretty scary time, especially since Ive got a family to provide for! Luckily I have savings in case of an emergency, though Id rather not tap into them. Then the icing on the cake, I find out through the grape vine last week that they "closed" my occupation and that chances are that I will not be getting my job back. The union had led me to believe that this was suppoed to be a short, temporary layoff... then I find this out. Really pissed off that the union couldn't even be bothered to tell me that my position has pretty much been eliminated. Hopefully in my future endeavors I don't have to deal with this union BS anymore. I was the best in my occupation, but because I didn't have seniority, I had to be let go. Meanwhile the guy who has done nothing for 30+ years gets to keep his job and go out on medical every 6 months or so. So now, Im considering going back into carpentry/home remodeling. Last time I was laid off for almost 5 years, I went right to work for my stepdad doing it. Unfortunately he passed away 3 years ago, so I cant work for him now, but have been considering getting my own thing going. Just not sure how to pursue starting a business like that. I did all the work, he took care of the paperwork, so no real experience in that department.

Just put adds out there and spread word of mouth. Facebook, local businesses sometimes have billboards that you can put a card on and as long as you know how to bid the job and do the work you'll be fine bro. The hardest part will be finding the jobs. After that it's all gravy. Good luck man and keep your chin up.

[Chad]

I have a couple friends who have done the carpentry thing in recent years. The hard part is getting known and finding jobs. Once your name gets around that you do quality work, you'll likely have more work than you can do. One friend went through this same process: 4 years ago he was hungry for work and I could get him to do some work for me within a day's notice most of the time. But after a couple years......I'm lucky to get him in a month or two. I have another friend who just quit his job to start a carpentry business.....it's tough for him because he can't get enough jobs. Owning any business is both about marketing/people skills (finding work) and actually doing the work. Some are good at one or the other, but not both. If that's the case, it'd probably be best to piggy back with somebody again like you did with your dad.

[Jaxsnake]

I work for myself and am very happy that I do. You need to make more money because you lose things an employer typically provides, (health insurance, retirement plan, paying half your social security tax,, vacation time, etc.), and make sacrifices like working weekends, odd hours, etc. You also won't get a weekly paycheck of a known amount you can count on, (at least not right away), so you need to be careful budgeting. But in return you'll have flexibility and know that any rewards for your hard work and dedication will go directly to you and your family, not someone higher up the ladder.

Having dealt with half a dozen or more contractors over the years, they all seemed to suffer from the same challenges. They'd take twice as long as promised to get me a quote, the job would take twice as long as promised, and they were hard to get in touch with. If you didn't have those issues, I'd think people would rush to you. And in that business, you're making money as long as you're "pounding nails" . . . doing quotes, billing and customer service are time spent making nothing. So if you had someone that could at the very least type up quotes, create invoices and return calls just to say you'd be in touch after the work day is over, you'd achieve a level of efficiency and service that many others lack. I vote that the wife handles that part!

If you have the tools and could keep start-up costs low, I'd take the plunge. The worst that happens is that you put a little bit of money into it and it gets you by while you look for something else. If you have to sink a lot of cash into starting up . . . well, that has to be thought out a bit more. And in terms of not knowing the paperwork side of it . . . I didn't know any of it until I started my business. Get Quickbooks software, stay on top of entering your purchases and sales, hire a good accountant for the occasional question and once a year tax prep and you'll be fine. There's a good chance you'd look back in five years and think having your position eliminated was the best thing that ever happened to your career.

[artonsafari]

BTW. by no means am I saying don't go for it. My buddy just jokes with me all the time. He's surrounded himself with some really good business savvy folks, and has run into some stumbling blocks along the way. Overall, I think he's happier than working for "the man"

[Larz]

Wish you the best luck in finding something.

From the carpentry perspective, isn't there still a lot of rebuilding going on in parts of New Jersey post-hurricane?

[DonP]

Don't do IT. They outsource the jobs to India or China. Try to do something they can't ship overseas. I was thinking of being a body shop man for high end autos.

Anyone else have thoughts of good jobs that would last more than a handful of years?

[RobRR]

Im way past the IT thing, got MS Certified back in 02 and that got me nowhere but $8k in student debt. Only thing putting me off about the contracting thing is the whole becoming licensed and insured... that takes money (which I need to save) and lets face it, people generally don't want someone working on their home uninsured. As far as working with someone else, Ive been out of the field for going on 4 years so Ive lost all my contacts.

[Newc]

Minimum wage may be shit pay, but it's money coming in. Beats begging/bumming. Nobody wants the shit work for shit pay, so there's "no jobs to be had".

There's jobs to be had. Bury the dead, collect the trash, scrub the shitters. It sucks, but it pays.

You won't win Man of the Year from those, but society would collapse without someone to do those jobs, moreso than losing another doctor or lawyer or construction worker.

[Jaxsnake]

How are your acoustic skills? I had a buddy that went out one day because the weather was so nice and decided to play a little acoustic on the street corner. Next thing he knew, someone threw a dollar in his case, (he wasn't out for that . . . just wanted to play in the sunshine). By the end of the day, he'd collected more than his days wage in any job he'd had up until then. And tax free!

[veemagic]

Rob,
First I'm sorry to hear about everything going on. In 2009 I started my own Millwright contractor company and have never looked back. I do everything. The books, quoting, the work, you name it. I will not blow smoke up your ass, it's a ton of work, and yes sometimes, most of the time it takes 12-16 hours a day, but I wouldn't do it any other way. The risk is high, but the reward is great. If you decide to do this, and want to talk, or need some help with anything, just let me know. Anything from pricing, invoice templates, quickbooks, whatever. Good luck man, I know this is a pivotal time for you and I empathize.

[j2379]

I have friends that do carpentry on Long island and NYC. Most of the guys on Long Island are still slow and just getting by, unless they do really high end work on the shores. NYC is booming right now, how far in NJ are you.