ARRRGGGGHHH!!! I am now a statistic in the unemployed job numbers

[radfringe]

just got laid off - punched my last time card.

No nice little talk, or words of "gee we're sorry" - just a pink slip

so if you have candles - Light them
if you have beads - shake them
If you have a rubber chicken - sacrifice it

I need all the luck I can get.

the last thread of hope which is keeping me from putting my head through a wall or running through the streets naked is that I have a job interview this coming Wednesday (3/28)

wish me luck

[RB TexLa]

1. I'm going to let my rubber chicken live, but best of luck on your interview

[Ignacio Upton]

2. Why were you laid off?

n/t.

[radfringe]

10. company has been going downhill for at least the past 6 years

the business is owned by another company located in St. Louis, I'm in PA

They havn't been replacing people when they have left, and have had one or two lay offs over the past couple of years.

We were small to begin with. When I started in 1999, there were about 40 employees, at the beginning of this year there were about 23 employees - as of today there are less than 20

I wasn't the only one laid off, 3 guys in production, my immediate "supervisor", and the receptionist were also laid off today

There hasn't been any real management/leadership for the past 4 years or so, everyone just does what they think needs to be done.

When the bigwig in St. Louis was let go a month ago, he was sort of replaced with a guy that has been pushing to move our manufacturing down to St. Louis.

they had tried to do this back in 2001 - it was a disaster and cost us our biggest buyer, and they haven't recovered since then. We took over all the manufacturing again, but they laid off our sales staff and expect us to pull in big clients out of our ass

[AnneD]

14. If you work at an at will state...

it can be for any reason or no reason. The point is it is emotionally hard and financially devistating for those suddenly thrown out of work. It is a time for tea, sympathy, an offer of aide if needed, and brainstorming if asked.

[MissB]

3. Positive thoughts!

Best of luck with your interview.

[pacalo]

4. Anyone who could write such a witty post in spite of having been laid off

would certainly be successful in his/her next interview coming up on Wednesday.

Sending you good luck!

[enid602]

8. witty

Anyone who wrote such a witty post should probably not have been laid off in the first place.

[radfringe]

19. Witty... lol

driving home I came up with a cartoon...

there's a big car, front view, on the right side of the car it looks great, shiny, brand spanking new, the left side of the car is dented, winshield busted, door and mirror falling off

on the right side of the car is Bush saying "hey it looks great to me"

the car is labeled "ECONOMY"

[pacalo]

67. What a great mind you have! I love your idea. :)

I wouldn't be too worried about next Wednesday -- it's a cinch that you'll charm them. :)

[radfringe]

83. thanks - and a sneak peek of the toon for you

[Maat]

88. That is a great cartoon!

Did you do that? Jeez, it should be sent to all of the major newspapers!

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Dang, hon :^(

[bahrbearian]

6. It happened to me last thursday, I wonder if it will affect the Dow.

[madokie]

7. hey thats my 59th b day

You'll be getting lots of good vibes from me I guarantee

[blues90]

9. I am sorry to hear this

I do wish you luck . I had lots of interviews in this now cold world , most times even though the interview went well I have never heard back .

I called many of them back asking how many interviewed for this position , answer , hundreds . I feel better off playing the lottery .

[butterfly77]

36. That's not going to good either...

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Best of luck on the job interview

And you can count on me to sacrifice a rubber chicken in your name to help insure your success.

[Ioo]

12. What do you do? Where do you live?

[radfringe]

17. I'm an AutoCAD drafter

also handle some graphics, create tech manuals, ISO Documentation Control, bills of material, set up some access databases for trending, device history control, repair returns

I live just outside of Wilkes-Barre PA

[madokie]

25. AutoCad is what I bought my first computer for way back when acad10 first came out

I work in 3d mostly.

[radfringe]

41. started with autocad 10

had autocad 2000 at my now former job - they wouldn't keep up with the new versions

but a neighbor of mine (a computer wizard) did load up autocad 2006, been playing with that

previous job back in Massachusetts I did most of the drawings in 3-d, not so much with the former job

guess, I'll be playing with it this weekend. Although the job I'm interviewing for on Wed. only wants someone with Autocad 2000, so it may not be a big issue

[madokie]

77. AutoCad 2000 is what I have now and its a big improvement over 10

When I started modifying the menu is when it really started getting interesting for me.
2000 comes with a sample drawing of the cherokee turnpike which starts only 3 miles east of here. I was just looking for it and I guess I have erased it, oh well I guess its been too long since I looked at it.

I'm sure I'll be up early wed morning and so I'll be sending good luck vibes then.

[Firepit 462]

73. "Way back" ??? version 10.

Holy shit I feel old. I could go out and grab a smoke and a soda pop in the parking lot while my "cutting edge" autocad station regenerated a verion 6 drawing.

3d for us back then was still pretty futureistic stuff. I have a pirate copy of Autocad 6 on 5 1/4 floppy disks,...about a dozen or so is how many it took. It belongs in a time capsule with an abacus now.

[madokie]

79. my first drawing of anything of substance was a house plans all the way down to the lightbulbs

Never figured out how to put the writing on the bulb though. anyways it would take several hours to hide the lines. now with 2000 it'll do it in a matter of seconds. Then an 80286 10 mhz with 1 meg ram and a 20 meg harddrive with a math co-processor. Yep that first computer cost me 1270 bucks with a 12 inch b/w monitor, the math co-processor was another 200 bucks. windows wasn't even a gleam in bill's eyes yet

[Clark2008]

51. Would you consider teaching?

There is a market for AutoCAD instructors like you wouldn't believe.

Let me know.

[radfringe]

53. yeah, I would

but I don't have any teaching credentials

the only degrees I have are AA Graphic Design, and AS Computer drafting

graduated from ITT tech in '94 for CAD, been doing that ever since

previously I mostly worked various social service kind of jobs, working with mentally ill, mentally retarded adults in hospital, residential programs, sheltered workshops

went into drafting after I was laid off during the Poppy-bush trickle-down economy

had enough of social services - computers may crash, but they don't throw chairs and they don't poop on the floor

[knitter4democracy]

56. Maybe ITT would hire you.

You'd be a great teacher--you know what it's like in the real world, you know how to deal with difficult people, and you've got great experience using AutoCAD.

It's something to think about at least.

[radfringe]

59. would have to move to another state

the closest ITT to where I live doesn't offer CAD drafting, I checked that out when I first moved here, to see if they had an advance course...

[knitter4democracy]

70. Community college? That's where my dad learned it.

He learned AutoCAD at Lansing Community College here in Michigan and then talked the lab into paying for all of the machinists who worked for him to go there, too. They use it for a couple of the machines.

How far are you from a big university with a good physics department? They usually have a lab that needs people who can draw up and program stuff for experiments. I know the cyclotron lab my dad worked at with Michigan State had a great shop and a good-sized drafting dept.

[onethatcares]

66. rad, I don't usually do this but

if you can do archetectural drafting, you can probably move to the sunshine state and do pretty good for your self. Do you have a engineer degree or an architect stamp? I'm in the remodeling industry down here, it slows down, but everyone that is selling room additons, etc, has to have plans drawn, and we're always bitching about how hard it is to get them done in a short time. I'm just saying and all that. \\

P.S. I moved down here from Reading 30 yrs ago, best move I ever made.

[radfringe]

68. no engineering degree, no stamp

I did do a little bit of architectural mechanical (hvac systems) for about a year - hated it

but back Massachusetts I did do remodeling plans, drawing on the side for a couple of contractors - free lanced

as far as Florida or moving anywhere else at this point in time, would have to talk that over with my partner. at the moment it's not in the cards

[truedelphi]

13. Husband and I spent a lot of last year in Unemployment Hell

In a society where you are constantly expected to take care of yourself,
Unemployment Hell is not a pleasant place to be.

In a society wherein the average worker has only two weeks of assets to
help themselves through hard times, UH is not a good place to be. (We had about
nine months of assets to live off of, but when the good times are over they
are over.)

Remember thinking "How in the world did COFFEE FILTERS climb to the high
price of $ 2.12" (Yes, tea would have been healthier, but
every box of tea was over $ three bucks.)

The minute you are truly broke, (or eligible - the two are usually one
and the same) apply for food stamps, apply for local poor people's insurance.

Don't forget the Employment Development People. And one thing we both wish
we'd done - if you have a skill you can use - post it on local community
bulletin boards.

Our prayers and thoughts are with you. And we are pulling for that job interview.

[helderheid]

15. lighting candles and sending even better employment vibes your way - what's your specialty?

[radfringe]

20. Specialty - other than the toons ;)

I'm an autocad drafter, manufacturing. draw screws, and gears etc.

[DemReadingDU]

34. I love your toons!

I'm praying you find a job.

[AikidoSoul]

60. You can draw other things, right? n/t

[radfringe]

63. yeah

on a more serious note - I do water colors, acrylic, oils, pen&ink, woodcut prints, doodles

part of my job was to design and create the user manuals, tech service manuals too, so there was some illustration involved with that

[stellanoir]

16. You're gonna do better than ever.

Mostly because you make great toons.

Take it easy 'till Wed. We'll all be sending our very best.

[geardaddy]

18. Did you get severance pay?

Two weeks? A month?

In any case. Good luck. I've been there before.

[dysfunctional press]

21. "time card" is the telling statement.

people who punch a clock generally don't get "severance pay"...unless you count their last regular paycheck.

[geardaddy]

24. Yeah, that's true.

Sorry.

[Nikia]

90. One of hour hourly guys did get a small severance package

He was a legal immigrant with a big temper. He repeatedly told those who he thought would be siympathetic that the reason that the supervisor and most of his coworkers did not like him was because he was from (foreign country). While that could have been true, it did not change the fact that several times he stormed out of work, yelling obsentities for reasons not related to any harassment. While he was getting warnings, he repeatedly told people that if he was ever fired that he would sue for ethnic discrimination. He was fired, got a severance, and didn't sue.

[radfringe]

no severance

just dumb luck that I have 30hrs vacation accrued...they'll add that to my last check

also forget COBRA health insurance, can't afford it on unemployment.

I'll be on PRAY-GO insurance: PRAY I don't have to GO to the doctor

there's a very small 401k, depending on what happens Wednesday, I may just cash it out. I know I'll take a hit, but I am one of those people who are one pay check away from disaster

maybe I can set up a chair on main street with a sign "Toons $1,00"

it's kinda funny in a way - the only other time I was laid off was during Poppy Bush's trickle down economy. Shit trickles down not far from the asshole

[Maat]

89. I'd pay for that toon above.

I'm designing a website now; maybe I will pay for it to be up there (within the next couple of weeks).

Great toon.

[wicket]

22. I'm so sorry rad

:( You are in my thoughts.

:hug:

[Bjornsdotter]

23. Best of luck to you

...we've been there before and we know exactly how it feels.

The last time it happened we found out because my husbands cell phone was shut off and later he received an email....classy.

Nothing but positive thoughts heading your way.

:hug:

[Double T]

26. GOOD LUCK and be and stay positive............

where YOU are going is better than where YOU have been; YOU are just not there yet!!

[Jacobin]

27. That sucks

I went through something similar a few years ago and thought it was a disaster. turned out to be a good thing with new situation.

Wishing you the absolute best!!!

:thumbsup:

[Pugee]

28. You are taking my place.

Been laid off for 8 months now and just got off the roles as a number. So I don't count anymore even though I am still looking. I worked for years and now am competing with dozens of applicants in my field for every job. Good luck to you!

[madrchsod]

29. join the club

do you get unemployment? oh crap i need to read better--good luck on your interview.

[mmonk]

30. Sorry about that. I hope you find what you're looking for soon.

Best wishes.

[blues90]

31. I believe the only state without that damn at will clause

Is ND . With at will it is a real shot to the soul . I went through this 2 years ago and again Feb 14th 2006 . I have been unemployed since with no luck , this is not to say you will have no luck .

My entire 33 long career in the ford dealership service field is now shot to hell since ford is in big trouble . In oct 2004 when I was laid off the next week they laid off 15 others . Even a few years before my layoff they would fire of layoff people and put thier work on others like me without new hires , This is a sign of bad things to come .

[EFerrari]

32. Hang in, radfringe!

:hug:

[Nimrod2005]

33. I was let go 2 weeks ago, after 16 years of hard work with same company

Very good pay, healthcare benefits...etc. My life has been hell for the past 2 weeks.

[The Straight Story]

35. I'd sacrifice a virgin, but Coulter's the only one left and I ain't getting near her

:rofl:

[radfringe]

37. reports of her virginity

are greatly exaggerated... :rofl:

[The Straight Story]

39. I'd rather have sex with

A hole in a tree stump filled with glass, rusty nails, and inhabited with fire ants.

If she is not a virgin, there is someone more mentally disturbed than me out there!

[radfringe]

40. there is someone more mentally disturbed than me out there!

yeah there is - the 3-toed gun monkey sitting in the oval orafice

[radfringe]

38. about the toons on Comics Sherpa site

I have to pay for it - next payment is due end of this month, so I'll be cancelling it

have to tighten the belt (if I had a belt... ;) )

but I do have a photobucket account (free - free is good) so I'll post them through that

doing the toons helps me keep my sense of humor

[rosesaylavee]

52. RF - you are talented, witty, and a creative

problem solver. I know this because of your posts here and your cartoons reflect those abilities. You will find the right job to keep your self in essentials and a bit more. Perhaps an opportunity will arise that will allow you to make money doing your toons? Be open to the possibilities!

I lost my employment last week and know a bit about facing the unknown and wondering how the bills will be paid. My very best wishes to you that you will find something more positive and lucrative to do with your time. :hug:

[radfringe]

54. maybe we should start a DU Group

for those of us unemployed

rules:

1. must be unemployed
2. upon finding a reasonable living-wage paying job, you leave the group

goal: to eventually have zero members

but seriously, it could serve more than just a misery-loves-company support group function -- we can pass info/tips/job leads around

something to think about

[rosesaylavee]

75. There is one already - sort of...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=362

[davidwparker]

42. good luck. this economy stinks.

[leftofthedial]

43. I am no longer unemployed

My unemployment checks stopped 15 months ago, so I guess that means I'm now "employed."

[blues90]

46. It used to be 12 months but bush cut it to 6 months

I found this out real quick , last time it was 3 months because the second job I found only lasted 4 1/2 months before i was laid off .

This unemployment situation is a hell you never forget and the jobs out there are not much better than what you get on unemployment .

Many of us out there in this swill of america are really screwed especially if you are past 50 and spent 10 or more years at the last job because now you are obsolete and behind the times and just plain old .

[leftofthedial]

47. over 50?

forget it.

[radfringe]

49. me too

I turn 52 in July... sucks

[LibDemAlways]

44. My dad grew up in your area and I still have

cousins there. One handles SS disability claims and the other two are retired from administrative jobs at the local community college. All of their children moved elsewhere to find work - mostly to DC. It's tough right now and I wish you well.

[PA Democrat]

45. Just for you, radfringe....

Good luck with your interview.

[radfringe]

48. made me smile -- thanks

can I photoshop it tomorrow and replace the head with bush's?

or would that get me in trouble to agent mike?

and btw - agent mike - please send a message to the 3-toed gun monkey for me, tell him his tinkle-down economy just tinkled down on another american

oh yeah, and tell him to go cheney himself

[windbreeze]

50. All my good luck beads will be ashakin' for you...n/t

[ms liberty]

55. Welcome to the Club - You have my sympathies, and good luck vibes for Weds...

I was laid off 2 days after the '04 election. It was my 3rd layoff since the SCOTUS decision in Dec. 2000 - and I was a secretary! I was lucky, that 3rd time I was able to go back to school, and I'm in my last full semester of school now, going for a 2 yr. paralegal degree. mr liberty was also laid off once between 2000 and 2004 - from a very good job with great benefits that he'd been at for 9 years. He's now been with another company for 4 years, and it's got good benefits, although the pay isn't quite as good yet; but they can't outsource package delivery so he's got decent job security at least!

We're making less than half what we were making when The Decider was appointed by the Treasonous Five. Damn them all to the hell they so richly deserve.

[AikidoSoul]

57. I hope the new job pans out for you --will say a prayer

Here's another thought -- maybe you've already considered it:

Since you have CAD 2000 experience and are learning how to use the newer version -- is it possible that you can contract your services out as an independent worker if this doesn't pan out?

Wilkes-Barre is still a pretty hot area for business right now isn't it? I just looked it up and you have just over a 5% unemployment rate.

But if I was you I'd work toward being independent because this economy is spinning downward quickly -- I'd be afraid to depend on one employer. Working for yourself has one advantage -- once you have a clientele, you have a flexible foundation for making money. If you lose one client, you still have others and can develop more clients over time.

Your current niche might be expanded to include other applications for the use of CAD -- and as you know, there are many, many other ways to apply it.

Look around you in your area and figure out who / what might be interested in your services.

Figure out a way to market yourself cheaply. Go out and knock on doors. Print out a one sheet resume with your accomplishments and skills listed in active form at the top.

Door to door cold calls are painful, but it gets more jobs than any other tactic.

That's what we did -- but we had the advantage of a tiny financial cushion at the time. The stress made us alert and outgoing!

This will work if your spouse or partner works and can help out financially. You might be able to depend on that income for while and over the next year become increasingly busy as an independent contractor. No matter how many "solid" customers you have, you should continue to expand your base of customers over the next couple of years.

The only ad we took out was a small yellow pages ad -- which cost us about $40.00 a month initially. Be sure to get it in as early as possible.

Stay small -- don't invest in a lot of junk --just in yourself and your skill-set. If you're surprised by a huge amount of work -- be sure to turn some of it down because you need to grow slowly. Otherwise you will take on too much and get a bad rep for not performing.

Being independent might not pay as well as your other job -- but it creates a certain degree of security and spreads the risk of losing income.

We like having many customers and getting to the point where we can pick and choose who we wish to serve. We did a few things we felt we had to do like join the local Chamber of Commerce and go to a few events from time to time. We differ with the Chamber's stand on certain issues and they don't seem to hold it against us... I think we have some respect for being outspoken.

Here's your local chamber link -- there are links to post jobs and find jobs there too.

http://www.wilkes-barre.org/

Gosh... I really wish you well. We've been where you are and it feels scary. Please check back with me and let me know how you're doing.

:dilemma:

[cally]

58. I'm hopeing you get the job on Wednesday

and I'm so sorry about your lay off. :hug:

[AikidoSoul]

61. K & R -- maybe other DUers know of jobs requiring CAD skills in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area n/t

[IChing]

62. Sorry to hear that

I'm sure something will come your way
don't dispair.

[barbtries]

64. best of luck

thinking positive thoughts.

[AikidoSoul]

65. Post #57 was presumptious. What a lot of freaking nerve! n/t

[radfringe]

69. huh?

didn't think it was presumptious, you made some good suggestions

My partner and I have been tossing around ideas for a few years about getting into something where we were self-employed... who knows, this dark cloud could reveal a silver lining

[radfringe]

71. I'm off to go drink my dinner

not to worry I'm a real cheap date, and my partner is the designate-remote controller for the tv..

thank you all for your support and kind words, makes things seem a bit brighter

enjoy a friday night toon treat:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x487403

[karlrschneider]

72. I read most of your thread...have you considered exploring the possibility of

doing your work from home? Heck, it could be for a company anywhere...CAD drawings can be sent instantly by
computer...

Just a thought. Good vibes and good luck in any case! :D

[mhatrw]

74. At least you are still a statistic.

If you don't find a new job before your unemployment runs out, you won't even be a statistic anymore.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

76. Sorry to hear that Radfringe

I've been self-employed since 1993, and while it's scary, it's still better than putting up with normal employers. (A further example of being self-employed in the Internet era is that no one cares how old you are, especially if your customers don't meet you until after you've done a lot of work for them.) :-)

But the lack of health benefits is a real downer. :-(

[salin]

78. Sending warm wishes - as soon as I get passed

the GRRRRRRRRRR on your behalf. :-(

Hope that silver lining you mention upthread ends up being even better than sterling! :hug:

[boobooday]

80. Lighting candles, shaking beads . . .

The rubber chicken caught wind of your post and is cowering under the table. I might let him live until after your interview next Weds.

:toast:

[DawgHouse]

81. The very best of luck to you!

I will burn some "money" incense and think of you!

:)

[radfringe]

82. thank you all

I can't begin to express how much your kind words of support have helped.

big hug to all of you

[AikidoSoul]

84. I just wanted to let you know that after thinking about this

I realized that I know several people who work from home who make a LOT of money doing similar work -- i.e. drawings for architects using software. We also know surveyors who do work for people all over the country -- but I don't know how that works -- I think they get the math and then they do the survey drawings from where they are here in Florida.

They make LOTS of money and can well afford to buy their own health insurance.

God... I hope you take this plunge and make this into something positive.

YOU CAN DO IT!!

If we can... you can.

We operate a computer services company from our home so we keep our costs down. Then we send the techs to the locations where the work needs to be done, but all the setting up of appointments, the ordering of parts, the billings, bookkeeping, answering phone... etc., etc., are done from a home office.

We have built up a very nice group of customers and most of them were recommended by other customers.

It took a few years to break into this very insular, very tight-knit community that doesn't trust outsiders. It is very rural -- not like where you are as Wilkes-Barre looks far more industrial than here. I think you can do it and you will love it once the initial scary part is past.

Please, please, please let me know how this works out -- whatever you decide to do.

Not sure how this "buddy list" thing works but I put you on mine. I think that means I can find your posts easily... but I don't really know yet. Am still fairly new to DU.

EDITED to run spellcheck to correct to words... and to say... wow! this is post number 500 for me!

[Le Taz Hot]

85. My husband and I went through that

last year so I can definitely empathize.

Sending positive vibes your way.

LTH

[nolies32fouettes]

86. I'll burn a candle for you, but my luck sucks...

and i'm in the same boat! They told me it was full time temporary, then tHey hired me saying "its less hours than we originally promised you, but its permanent!"and then, right before i hit the three month point, they laid me off. So i can't file for unemployment. TO make matters worse, i discovered that the amount they promised me when i was hired didn't match the amounts on my checks(which were minimum wage where i'm living) Two weeks after i asked them to fix it, they let me go.

And this is the "great" economy right?

GOod luck with your interviews! I've had two, one TOLD me i had the position but then didnt call me back to finalize paperwork, and avoided my calls, and the other i haven't had a callback on.

[Deja Q]

87. Best wishes and success to you.

:hug:

[Nikia]

91. Good luck

It is a good sign that you already have an interview. Continue to apply at other places though. It is good to have multiple possible options.

[Ms. Toad]

92. Couple of thoughts

Based on reading the rest of the thread.

There is one alternative to Pray-Go insurance that you might want to consider - short term health insurance. By picking a high deductible you can keep premiums very low (relative to a standard plan), but still protect yourself against catastrophic health problems. (~600 will get you 6 months of coverage with a $2500 deductible. I used a $5000 deductible when I used this insurance during a 2 year gap in coverage.) Almost no health questions (are you dead, currently hospitalized, or do you have AIDS is about the extent of it), BUT pre-existing conditions aren't covered (which is why they ask few questions.

With respect to work, if you're thinking about going alone, you might consider free lancing for patent attorneys. Lots of drawings of screws and stuff needed - and if you can work off photos you probably don't need to be local. If you get a reputation for turning work around quickly and for being able to visualize parts and views not shown as well in the hand sketches/photographs (or for being able to reconcile unintentionally somewhat different views) you should be able to to generate quite a bit of work.

Good luck.