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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Nov 16, 2015 21:35:01 GMT -5
That sucks. Hope you can land something you like soon.
Mike
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 16, 2015 21:38:37 GMT -5
Hope everything ends up for the better. It always sucks to get laid off, but it really is true it opens new opportunities, and you sound well equipped to maximize them. (you too Aqua)
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Post by Resolve on Nov 16, 2015 22:27:48 GMT -5
So sorry to hear of your troubles, Jim and Peter. I truly hope you both find new opportunities in the very near future. Hugs!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2015 22:40:37 GMT -5
Jim, I have been job eliminated, or whatever euphemism you'd like to apply, twice in the course of my odd career. Somehow I always managed to land on my feet, even if my last landing was in the most bizarre company I have ever worked. You are a sharp, intelligent, wry, resourceful person and once the shock wears off and you pull yourself up out of the post-layoff doldrums, you will prevail. When one door closes, and all that—there's something out there waiting. You just have to find it or it has to find you. I wish you the best of luck in your search, and I hope the old grump is giving you a decent severance package.
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Post by jdd2 on Nov 16, 2015 22:53:25 GMT -5
...and told him I can't sell unless I feel the customer will be better off for listening to me, ... I'd say that attitude is reflected in the quality of your posts here, and it probably carries over to other spheres. Thanks for being who you are.
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Tamarack
Administrator
Ancient Citizen
Posts: 9,390
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Post by Tamarack on Nov 16, 2015 23:27:37 GMT -5
My sympathies -- I completely understand both the deep worry this entails -- and the sense of relief.
May you both bounce back swiftly.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Nov 16, 2015 23:50:04 GMT -5
That sucks Jim. Got laid off myself a week ago. Not the first time, probably not the last. Best of luck to you. Hope it works out. oh, MAN! This just stinks. So sorry Jim and Peter. I know the feeling well. When I got it in 2001 I felt all the things you guys are feeling now. I quickly learned that a) I was too old to land a position anything like what I was qualified to do, and b) I hadn't the energy to pick it up and start again. I consulted for a while and finally quit that. I probably could have gotten in as an SAP consultant. That would have paid very well but it would have meant living in hotels all over the country and dealing with the pressure and politics of every company I dealt with. I'd already had my fill of that crap.
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Post by aquaduct on Nov 17, 2015 7:36:42 GMT -5
That sucks Jim. Got laid off myself a week ago. Not the first time, probably not the last. Best of luck to you. Hope it works out. oh, MAN! This just stinks. So sorry Jim and Peter. I know the feeling well. When I got it in 2001 I felt all the things you guys are feeling now. I quickly learned that a) I was too old to land a position anything like what I was qualified to do, and b) I hadn't the energy to pick it up and start again. I consulted for a while and finally quit that. I probably could have gotten in as an SAP consultant. That would have paid very well but it would have meant living in hotels all over the country and dealing with the pressure and politics of every company I dealt with. I'd already had my fill of that crap. Thanks, Mark. This is my 6th time since we moved here in '98. 3 plant closings, 2 contract ends, and one nasty political run in with the Obama administration. Really just a function of living here when my industry is elsewhere. I'm pretty much where you were in 2001 except the wife's career is ascendant while mine wanes. She's a grade away from being able to support us without my help and that may happen here pretty quick. In the meantime Pennsylvania offers some fairly lucrative unemployment benefits. I think there's still enough Obama crap out there to hopefully allow me another 2 or 3 years of cleaning that up for big money while not having to relocate. Have an interview this afternoon with a manufacturer in California that's pretty much made for me. Maybe we can can strike a bargain that'll let me commute (tele or otherwise) for a few more years. Then I can go sell cabinets at Home Depot. Hope Jim can work through it and land on his feet.
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Post by Marshall on Nov 17, 2015 8:26:39 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that Jimbo and Peotre. There's no good time for this kind of thing. At our advancing age it's a little tougher to start over. Not the same opportunities as for the kids. But you've both got marketable skills. And experience counts for something.
"He told me I worry too much about what the customer wants and needs."
Sounds like an idiot. (Or worse, a narcissist. The world revolves around him!)
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Post by Fingerplucked on Nov 17, 2015 9:06:46 GMT -5
Thanks, you guys. Your comments really help, and the timing couldn't be better. Thank you.
Peter, best of luck to both of us. We're on an adventure.
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Post by AlanC on Nov 17, 2015 10:03:41 GMT -5
Wow, Jimbo and Peter. I really hope things get better. This kind of stuff strikes us deep to our mancore. Meaning it is hard not to let it affect and change who you are. I think you guys might know me better than people I went to church with for decades. They don't know me at all. I bought this business in 1998 and both of us bear little resemblance to that person and corporate entity. Other than never being able to retire, things aren't too bad for Lisa and I. We sold the office that I bought for 260K in '07 for 130K putting the 50K of the underwater portion on our home. Hindsight second guessing will tear you a new asshole. I have to really watch it or I will beat myself up pretty good. Recent developments for me workwise: We have gone in with baby daughter and rented an apartment in Orlando. We will pay more than her but, whatever, its our baby. I am leasing a "virtual office" there also that will give us a local number, physical address, and office space as-needed by the hour. I thought that I could never be a Florida Professional Surveyor and Mapper but I just found out by accident that they have a clause for old guys. If you were licensed by 1999, you are eligible to take their state specific exam. I was first licensed in 1991 so I'm eligible. I want to get my local addresses in place first before I send in my application. On another note, my partner there is having health problems and I have carried him thru the following: Multiple back problems, bouts of malaria, a heart attack, and now vision problems where he can barely see at times. I need to find a way to split us up amicably. I cannot be his long term disability provider. The upside of working in Florida is that my relationship with my son is way better than its ever been. He has matured and been a real source of stability for me. We are on the same page for the first time in our lives and it has been fun. He is a really funny guy and I enjoy working with him. He has sooooo much to learn though. He is just now beginning to realize how much he doesn't know. It takes years of surveying to get to the point where you can start to know what you don't know. Anyway, guys. I wish you both the best. I really do. Hope you catch a break somewhere.
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Post by mnhermit on Nov 17, 2015 10:06:26 GMT -5
Sorry to hear this about you both,,,wish I had a company so I could hire you both. Good luck on your search!
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Post by t-bob on Nov 17, 2015 10:10:03 GMT -5
Total bummer. Two jobs .... I was terminated.... One manager had a friend .... Another manager likes young person.
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Post by Marshall on Nov 17, 2015 10:10:33 GMT -5
. . . , I thought that I could never be a Florida Professional Surveyor and Mapper but I just found out by accident that they have a clause for old guys. If you were licensed by 1999, you are eligible to take their state specific exam. I was first licensed in 1991 so I'm eligible. . . , WOO HOO !Cool ! Go get 'em, Dude !
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Post by AlanC on Nov 17, 2015 10:38:57 GMT -5
. . . , I thought that I could never be a Florida Professional Surveyor and Mapper but I just found out by accident that they have a clause for old guys. If you were licensed by 1999, you are eligible to take their state specific exam. I was first licensed in 1991 so I'm eligible. . . , WOO HOO !Cool ! Go get 'em, Dude ! Yeah that is mos def a BFD.
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Post by Hobson on Nov 17, 2015 11:50:55 GMT -5
Jim, the way the guy handled this makes me think that it was a miserable place to work. Still, it was a job and I wish you well on finding a new one quickly.
And the same good wishes for Peter and anyone else who is involuntarily unemployed or underemployed.
In late 2001 my husband got laid off. He was lucky to get a good severance package. During the more than 3 years before I took early retirement, he worked some as a consultant, but was never again a direct hire. Now that I've been retired for almost 10 years, the whole experience is just a bad memory. He came out of it with a different perspective on life and work, although going from 60 hour work weeks to zero hours was not an easy adjustment.
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Nov 17, 2015 12:58:43 GMT -5
Jim, (and Peter, also) like too many here I have been there too and can commiserate, for what little that is worth. Best wishes to both of you in finding something new. In my case, I finally found a job that paid less but the reduced stress and bullshit was worth every lost dollar.
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 17, 2015 14:42:46 GMT -5
That sucks Jim. Got laid off myself a week ago. Not the first time, probably not the last. Best of luck to you. Hope it works out. oh, MAN! This just stinks. So sorry Jim and Peter. I know the feeling well. When I got it in 2001 I felt all the things you guys are feeling now. I quickly learned that a) I was too old to land a position anything like what I was qualified to do, and b) I hadn't the energy to pick it up and start again. I consulted for a while and finally quit that. I probably could have gotten in as an SAP consultant. That would have paid very well but it would have meant living in hotels all over the country and dealing with the pressure and politics of every company I dealt with. I'd already had my fill of that crap. And so you travel the country from hotel to hotel, music event to music event.
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Post by theevan on Nov 17, 2015 15:36:37 GMT -5
This closed door may be a huge blessing.
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Post by RickW on Nov 18, 2015 11:56:41 GMT -5
I have a had the weirdest time at work. We are a company that bills. If they can't bill your time to a client, you're gone. And the past year, there has been not much of the work that I do. I have had a couple of goes at learning the mobile stuff, iOS mainly, and Windows phone, but it hasn't gone well. We recently did start a new project, that is going to go on for some time, that worked for me - but they hired a new guy, gave it to him to run, and he reworked everything i have done here, and did on this project. So, I was again sitting around doing not much. I managed to screw some things up, which is not normal for me. Also, the job is just stressful - trying to fix things, and figure out things in the IT universe today is getting more and more crazy and complex, and I can't say I get much joy out of it anymore.
So I was really stressed. Pretty sure I was heading out, and it was only a matter of when. Seemed obvious that they had hired my replacement. I couldn't sleep, was angry and upset. I have been looking for jobs outside of IT, less money, but it's tough to get hired at my age, as we all know, especially when looking outside of my skillset.
Came in to work on Monday, ready to resign. Then I got pulled aside by two of our tech directors, who told me that I was needed, my skillset was rare in the company and outside, and I had a bunch of other stuff to do coming up. Then the CEO pulled me aside, and and basically told me the same thing. I had managed to get myself into a fairly angry/stressed state, over nothing. Granted, there could have been a bit more communication, but that's not how this company rolls.
During all this, my wife looked at money. It would not have been good for me to go now, the girls would have ended up taking on debt for school. But it's not like I have to stay for years, either. Time to start pulling back a bit, pay down our few bills, and think about being able to go in a year or two.
Life goes on.
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