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stories of Americans on unemployment
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Unemployment Stories, Vol. 26: 'I Want Hope'(http://gawker.com/5983361/unemployment-stories-vol-26-i-want-hope)
Since the Great Recession struck several years ago, nearly a quarter of Americans have been
laid off (http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/rings-of-unemployment/)
themselves, and another 50% of Americans have seen a friend or family member lose their job.
Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment (http://gawker.com/hello-from-the-
underclass/), straight from the unemployed. This is what's happening out there.
The Congressional staffer
My Dad had a stable job. When I went off to college, he was on his 25th year
working for the same company as a computer technician. My mom wanted to
avoid the empty nest syndrome (I'm an only child), and went back to teaching.
My freshman year, I made the Chancellor's list, worked out every day and got to
know all of my professors. I was going to a small liberal arts school in the
mountains of North Carolina. Things were so perfect, I feared something bad was
going to happen. And it did. I was home for Christmas break and my Dad
announced (two weeks before Christmas) he had been laid off. I was only 18 years
old and my Dad had been working for the same place way longer than I had been
alive!
Consequently, I found three part-time jobs and signed up for 18 hours (full-load)
the next semester. I worked seven days a week and paid for most of my tuition.
My Dad was out of work for a year and would drink a bottle of wine a day and fell
into a deep depression. My Mom hated her teaching job but couldn't quit or we
would all lose our health insurance.
After my Dad got another job and Type 2 diabetes, I cut back to only one part-
time job. I worked as a barista at a new coffee shop. We didn't get much business
and after my paychecks starting bouncing I quit.
I did not have a plan for after college. I cried to my professor. He helped me find a
part-time job and told me to get my Master's. Subsequently, I became a graduate
student the next fall and worked as a News Radio Reporter for ClearChannel
communications. My news director sexually harassed me for a year. I didn't know
what to do since it was my first real job, so I just endured the unwanted advances.
Later, my news director quit. The woman that took his place told me that I had to
be a reporter and an anchor to meet the station's needs. Suddenly, my job
requirements doubled with no raise. Without any training, I tried making
recordings of news on the sound board. My boss said I sounded "too young" or
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"too southern" for the news. A month later, she said I don't have "what it takes
anymore" and today would be my last day. I was horrified. Until that moment, I
had never failed at anything.
That night, I drank an obscene amount of whiskey and screamed the F word off
my balcony like a psychotic woman. I decided not to collect unemployment and
focused on finishing up grad school.
I graduated on time with honors but still did not have a plan. I took a really effed
up job for a year with this promotional marketing company. Turned out, it went
bankrupt. In my spare time, I volunteered for a presidential campaign. After the
primary, I got offered a job as a finance director for a US Congressman running
for reelection. I worked 60+ hours a week for little money and raised close to one
million dollars.
After the election night victory, I got offered a full-time job with benefits as a
Congressional aide. For one year, I answered the phones until opportunity struck.
One of the caseworkers had a nervous breakdown and quit. She was making twice
as much money as me. Immediately, I asked my supervisor for the promotion.
The chief-of-staff finally agreed and I became a constituent services director for
Veteran Affairs. What I did not know was- I would be inheriting over 700 open
cases and have no assistant to help me. Every day, at least five new cases would
come into the office.
I primarily worked with disabled Veterans who were trying to get their benefits
from the VA. The VA had an enormous backlog and I tried to expedite their
claims. Unfortunately, that still took a long time and many Veterans lost their
homes or died before they could get the money they were entitled too. On top of
that, the Veterans would tell me the most gruesome stories which caused them to
get PTSD.
I never could get my caseload under control. The VA was slow because of their
backlog. It was a hopeless. For every step I took forward, I jumped 10 steps back.
I couldn't let it go after 5pm. I worried about the Veterans and their families
around the clock. At night, I would have dreams of blood and body parts. Then, I
became afraid to fall asleep. I found the only way to relieve the stress was to drink
alcohol. In just one year, I went from drinking two or three drinks at night to
drinking the second I woke up. I wanted to commit suicide and for several nights I
would try to drink the fatal amount of alcohol .4 that would put me to sleep
permanently.
Somehow, I kept waking up every morning. I drank throughout the entire day
and drank until I passed out at night. My hair began falling out. I quit eating and
no longer had a period. Bruises were all over my body because I was no longer
producing bone marrow. I couldn't stop drinking or I would get the shakes and
have terrible withdraw symptoms.
One fateful day, I woke up in pure agony. It felt like a thousand knives were
stabbing me in the stomach and in the back. I was rushed to the hospital and was
diagnosed with pancreatitis from alcohol consumption. My enzyme count was so
high that doctors were baffled that my pancreas had not ruptured. They all said I
was lucky to be alive. I spent a week in the hospital and detoxed. I went through
the DTs and thought demons were all over my room and trying to kill me.
The doctor found out my insurance would pay for rehab. I agreed to go while
under the influence of some serious hardcore narcotics. After getting discharged, I
went to a place in Virginia for 21 days over Christmas and New Years. Rehab was
miserable. One addict tried to jump off the roof and kill himself while I was there.
I saw people having seizures and throwing up blood. Everyone seemed to have
HEP C. I got made fun of because I was there for alcohol and not harder drugs. I
did not smoke so I spent most of my time alone, waiting to go home.
I returned to the mountains and went back to work. Nothing changed so I
continued drinking. The doctors told me that if I did not stop, I would be dead
within six months. I did not care. One day, my supervisor came into my office
and said I either had the option of quitting or being terminated. The reason was I
"delegated too much work to the volunteers." After nearly 5 years as a federal
employee, I was given a box to put my belongings in, asked to log out of the
computer immediately, and hand over my key to the office. I felt bitter and
hopeless.
Around this time, I had bought a handgun and would hold it to my head with my
finger on the trigger. I wanted so badly to shoot myself but I thought of my dog
and the blood. I couldn't go through with it so I decided to keep drinking and
hopefully die in six months like the doctor predicted.
That same week I was fired, I lost all control and became totally reckless. Over the
weekend, I had about 14 drinks in one day, and got pulled over for my first DWI. I
spent the night and all next morning in jail. Ironically, the jail was on the same
street as my old office. I couldn't believe that in one week I went from working for
a US Congressman to being locked up.
This time I applied for unemployment. I got it and started paying the costly
COBRA every month. COBRA allowed me to see a doctor and go to therapy. I was
diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder.
Without alcohol for me to drink until I passed out, it was nearly impossible for me
to fall asleep. I became an insomniac. Once, I went over 72 hours without sleeping
and began having hallucinations and hearing things that weren't real. I couldn't
take it anymore so I drank and drank until I finally passed out. Once I woke up, I
had pancreatitis again. I was hospitalized for the second time and seen by a
psychiatrist. He quickly misdiagnosed me with a mental illness (bipolar disorder)
and recommended that I spend a week in the psych ward. I committed myself and
given large doses of lithium and other anti-pyschotic drugs. All of the medicine
made me feel like a zombie and I lost my personality completely.
After the psych ward, I stopped drinking so much and began smoking weed
everyday. I gained about 50 pounds and let myself go. I was still making 420
(ironic number) a week on unemployment and all the jobs that were open at that
time paid less than unemployment. I decided to not work until my benefits ran
out.
I got a two month extension so I spent a total of 14 months without a job. I still
have suicidal thoughts and battle depression often. I have lost most of my friends
and moved out of my condo and back in with my parents. My benefits have all
expired and I will be without health insurance in a week.
The last eighteen months have gone by fast. Anti-depressants and therapy really
helped my depression. All of my life savings have run out and I was draining my
parents for money. They were running low on cash and I panicked. I was worried
I was going to lose my home and have to sell all of my belongings. As fate would
have it, my grandfather died and made me a benefactor in his will. Now, I have
enough money to get me by for awhile.
My problem is I am terrified of finding another job. I have been traumatized by
the past. Unfortunately, I have such a huge lapse in unemployment, no one would
want to hire me. I can't tell any future employer about my stress level at the
Congressman's office or how it drove me to alcoholism. I can't fit into any of my
business clothes after gaining all this weight.
I am thankful to have money right now and not be homeless. I don't know how to
get over my fear of work. I keep thinking I will get fired again or get so stressed
out I will want to binge drink. I don't know how I am going to get past this. I am
glad I did not kill myself. I know that losing one or two jobs does not mean I failed
as a human being and no longer deserves to live. I want to be happy. I want hope.
And I never want to work in politics again!
The military man
I got back from a deployment in the Middle East in late 2008, and moved in with
my parents. I asked if I could stay there for, "a few weeks" until I found work, an
apartment, and maybe got back to school. I immediately started sending out
resumes for jobs that were in my field of interest and experience. I made it a goal
to send out three resumes a week. After the first few weeks, I was sending out two
or three a day, looking for anything that paid. I applied for retail, fast food, and
warehouse work. I got a few interviews, but my biggest challenge was trying to
explain how my military experience and skills would translate to their companies.
Finally, I got a part time job in a coffee shop. I couldn't afford to move out, but I
could start paying some of my bills. I continued to submit resumes wherever I
could. I became frustrated and disheartened by the rejection, and the stress of
living at home. My mother would berate me regularly, telling me that I had to go
to businesses in person. I tried to explain that I had tried that and was always
directed to online applications. I self medicated with alcohol, often drinking myself
to sleep. I was furious when the President and Congress spent trillions of dollars
bailing out the very businesses and individuals whose poor foresight and
mismanagement had put us in this situation to begin with. I deeply resent, to this
day, the misguided liberal polices and politicians that made the situation worse
than it should have been, and who chose to take money from the working poor
like me and give it those who had hurt so many.
After several months, the coffee shop company restructured the district, closed
some stores, and laid several people off. I wasn't included in that round of layoffs,
but about two weeks later I was called into a meeting with the store manager and
district manager, where I was told that they would no longer be able to
accomodate my reserve duty schedule, which required me to drill one weekend a
month. It was April 15. I mailed my tax return that same day. I called the ESGR,
an organization who supports and defends the rights of reservists and guard
members. They contacted the company, who reinstated me, but I was let go a
month later in the next round of layoffs.
I was unemployed for three months. The coffee company contested my
unemployment claim, so I wasn't even recieving benefits. I finally found a full-
time job as a customer service rep that allowed me to move out, and go back to
school and finish my degree. I have since moved on into a position as a case
manager in public housing The memories of that time are still incredibly strong,
and the depression, frustration, and sense of futility of that period make me
grateful for what I have now. I have friends who are still unemployed, and
desperate, and I try to help them however I can, because I can well relate.
Labor Day
My story starts back in 2009. I was in my junior year of a biology program. I had
an overall strong GPA and was applying to REUs (National Science Foundation
funded internships). I received nothing but rejections. I turned to the private
sector and hit another dead end. I didn't realize it yet, but I was going to hit a lot
more dead ends. I finished up the rest of the semester and it was summer
vacation. I had some money I had saved up from working at an on campus job
and I wanted to spend a little bit of time with my long distance girlfriend. I hit
unexpected resistance from my parents, including them threatening to cut off
financial support of college. I didn't believe them and called their bluff. I went to
visit her. As a direct result of this, I found myself 500 miles away from where I
previously called home and with an associates degree instead of the bachelors I
had been working towards.
I knew the economy was bad, but I needed to find work and I saw lab technician
and lab assistant jobs on sites like Monster and CareerBuilder. Thus began my first
period of long term unemployment. I applied for positions every single morning
after getting up, I was genuinely hopeful at first. I thought even with the
economic downturn I should be able to find something. I had some education and
it was in a STEM field, I had been hearing all my life about the value of a technical
education. It amounted to little more than nothing. Months went by, I had the
occasional interview, but no offer. As Thanksgiving approached I swallowed by
pride and applied for food stamps. The application must have been lost in the mail
and I had to apply again. It was 2010 before I was approved, but I was approved.
It's amazing how much even $200 a month can help, even if I was still ashamed I
needed the help. I was from a middle class family, I wasn't supposed to need this
kind of help. That summer I had my break, a short contract job with a food
company. It was a 45-50 minute drive, second shift, and only paid $11/hr, but I
didn't care. It was work. It turned out the company only wanted a technician
because they had been looking for some while for a supervisor and needed
somebody to help out while they searched. I actually kind of liked the job, simple
as it was. They found the supervisor they were looking for, trained her, and I was
let go.
I quickly found a similar job at a different food company. This one was an hour
and a half away, and required us to move, but it paid $14/hr. I still don't know
exactly how we were able to find an apartment and move in in only two weeks,
but we did it. I lasted a mere 6 months. The work was terrible. Upper
management was inept and cared more about sales then they did about the
workers or safety issues with their product. I witnessed production workers pick
up food off the floor and put it back on the processing lines, but I was powerless to
do anything because I needed the job. They also didn't feel I needed the luxury of
sleep, as I never worked the same shift two days in a row. The job was destroying
me, I was depressed and experienced sharp pains in my shoulder after particularly
long shifts. The pain was always gone by the next morning so I didn't think much
of it. My hours became more erratic, I reached my limit soon afterwards and quit.
I turned my energy towards higher education. I had saved up some money, so I
applied to a local university and went back to finish a bachelors. One year later I
graduated with a 4.0 GPA. I thought my life was back on track to where I wanted
to be, I lost a little bit of time, but I was moving forward.
I had a job lined up after graduation. It was for another food company. I can't say
I was happy about the pay, I would have thought a bachelors degree would be
worth more than a 72 cent raise, but I was happy enough to be working again.
The girlfriend and I moved when the lease was due to be renewed, to be closer to
this company. We thought that this job could be long term, they seemed to
actually care about making a quality product and provided a good number of
vacation days.
My last day of work was the Friday after Labor Day, I was covering for a
coworker who was taking a vacation that week. How is that for insulting? To be
fired after working extra hours so soon after a holiday meant to celebrate working
people. I had zero warning, instead I received a phone call on Monday saying I
was no longer employed. I broke down in tears after I hung up the phone. I now
get less than $150 a week from unemployment and am fighting to remain
optimistic, or at least not deeply depressed. It is so frustrating to work so hard for
so little and have it torn away from me. A company will throw any one of their
workers out on the street if they think it will save them a nickel. It is disgusting
and unAmerican, but the way the world has gone.
Dream to nightmare
To set the stage in December of 2008, I was living the American Dream. House,
wife, a daughter and a son on the way. I had a great job I loved as the head of the
advertising department for a 34 location chain grocery store. I did 50% graphic
design and the rest was a grab bag of copy writing, web design, media buying,
social media, administrative and other marketing type work. The department was
in every sense of the word an in-house advertising agency. Just before the
holidays the other full time person in my department found other employment
and I didn't worry too much about it as I assumed the position would be quickly
filled. The first few weeks of the year would be a bit of a challenge though as the
old intern had left and the new one hadn't started. Stressful but nothing I couldn't
handle in the short run.
The new intern started and after several weeks of the position being open my boss
(the owners son-in-law) sat me down and told me why it hadn't been posted. He
was planning on spinning my department off into it's own ad agency and he didn't
want to hire someone who would be a good fit for the grocery store and not for
the ad agency. Seemed risky to me but a good career opportunity. So I agreed to
stick it out for what was promised to be a "few weeks."
So I did the job of two people for what turned out to be six months, the first four I
was coming home to a wife who was going through a tough pregnancy. I had
faith that the hard work would be worth it though in the end. The first week of
June was my 30th birthday on Tuesday. On Thursday we set up the new office.
On Friday I was called into a meeting to finalize the launch of the new agency. In
that meeting I was basically told that in order for the new agency to work it
needed employees that could give 110% and that I had worked very hard the past
six months doing the job of two people and getting the new business ready. So hard
in fact I was visibly burned out (true) and therefor wouldn't be able to give the
required 110%. Pack up my desk and go home. My son was a month and a half.
The next 4 months I looked for a job. My wife, who had been a stay at home
mother, went back to work, third shift at a certain unnamed Canadian coffee
chain. We were still bleeding money, just bleeding slower. I was left home to take
care of the kids, which I loved at first, given the new opportunity to connect with
the kids in ways I hadn't when employed, but eventually the novelty wore off and
I fell into a deep depression. As March rolled around I was in such a bad place I
had to beg my wife for help of some sort. She instead decided to move out and take
the kids, leaving me with the house payment and all the rest of the bills. I spent
most of the next year not leaving the house. I applied for jobs, went on the
occasional interview, sought treatment for the depression, volunteered with the
Red Cross, saw my children and went to the grocery store. There's not much in
rural Ohio. Middle of corn fields is a great place to raise a family. It's hell when
you live alone. I would go days at times without seeing another living soul. Any
trip into town and back was at least two gallons of gas and I simply couldn't afford
it. While I looked for work outside of my field, most were minimum wage jobs,
which would have been fine given the circumstances but my unemployment paid
more than minimum wage and I literally would have had to take a pay cut to
work there, and then had less time to look for a job and interview.
In Feb. 2010 my unemployment ran out, along with all the extensions. I called a
friend and begged her to hire me at the upscale fast food place she worked at. She
did, and I was still bleeding cash. I got a second job telemarketing to lawyers, if
that isn't as bad as it sounds my bosses were former used car sales men. Three
more hated careers have not yet been invented. I now had two jobs and still was
spending more than I made just to keep the lights on. Finally after having hours
cut at both jobs I found a job at a factory that paid a whopping $12 per hour.
Would have been another step in the right direction, however they put me on third
shift, it was the middle of the summer and I my air conditioning hadn't worked in
2 years. The next day my house was 97 degrees inside. I couldn't sleep, I was
delirious and finally fell asleep right about the time my second shift was about to
start.
So out of work again I found work at a cookie factory the next day through a
staffing agency. Hours were erratic, and the pay was less but it was work. I
usually worked 32 hours a week near the ovens in the un-airconditioned part of
the factory. I hated it and may never eat an Oreo again. After about 5 months of
this out of the blue a printer I had worked with at the grocery store called me in
for an interview. The job was way beneath my skill set, but I could put it on my
resume and it had steady hours. It was a bad fit for me and I knew it and they
knew it too but there was a loyalty from our previous business dealings and I was
offered the job on the spot and accepted without hesitation.
The job wasn't hard, but I didn't like it. I had been a legit graphic designer and this
was mostly pre-press work. It wasn't hard, but I could get done in three hours
what it took the previous people in the position an entire day to do. So most of the
time I sat around pretending to look busy. I made it a full 2.5 years without
missing a bill. Then in December of 2011 I suddenly was missing all of them. That
additional stress plus the fact I was didn't like the work and was bored all the time,
they eventually let me go.
By some miracle, I found a job at an ad agency. The bad news it was on the other
side of the state, a 2+ hour drive away from the kids. I didn't see much choice
though as I kinda needed to move out before I the electric was shut off or I was
foreclosed on. So off I went, living for the first month on the couch of an internet
friend I'd never met in real life, in a city I'd never visited before the interview.
I found a cheap apartment and moved in. Finances were turning around, and for
the first time in a long time I was happy. That lasted all of one month as the ad
agency lost its largest client and I was laid off. I moved across the state for a job
that lasted two months, through no fault of my own. Over the next six months I
looked for work, sold the house at a small loss and divorce papers were filed.
Eventually I ran out of money again and am now residing at my parents, in a
third corner of the state, while I await my sister clearing out her attic so I can
move in there.
My unemployment ran out again just today. I'm looking for work, any work right
now. I've been told by one interviewer (at a gas station) that they weren't
interested in me because I had had a desk job, and therefor wasn't likely to stay at
the job I was interviewing for, for very long. Even third shift Waffle House
advertises "Experience Required." As far as the career type job interviews go, most
are for graphic design positions, I feel like most see my portfolio and see that I can
do other things and write me off as over qualified. The other half see I designed
food advertising and write my sample work off as disposable, which most grocery
advertising absolutely is, but that doesn't mean I don't have the talent and skill.
I've done everything I can to stay afloat, eBay and craigslisted possessions, I've
sold blood twice a week for more than a year, I've done freelance work. Still no
end in sight. I still plug away daily though. Still send out applications and still hope
I can find a way to get my life back.
The universe's punching bag
I graduated from college four years ago. I was in a prestigious journalism
program; I knew tons of kids who'd graduated a couple years before I started
college who'd gotten incredible jobs right out of college - as in, being hired directly
by the New York Times, LA Times, or other major papers. I felt like I was set.
Then the economy collapsed, during my last year of college. I spent 6 months
desperately searching for a job while slowly running out of the tiny amount of
money I'd saved working part-time in college, and finally wound up unable to pay
for an apartment anymore. I moved in with my fiance's parents and kept looking.
At long last, I found a job - a receptionist position, paying $10/hour with an HMO,
about half an hour from my home. I'd already sold my car to pay rent, so I had
to bus - an hour-and-a-half commute, two ways, every day. Finally, between the
two of us, my fiance and I managed to scrape together enough money for a down
payment on an apartment in the projects. It was even further from my job than
before, but it was the only place we could afford.
Two months later, my fiance lost his job, and I was now the sole bread-winner.
On $10/hour.
A month after that, I was laid off to balance the budget. "It has nothing to do with
your job performance, you've been great," they said, which is even worse than if I
had done something. If I'd done something, then I could just say "I'll do better
next time" and hopefully not get fired. But if I'm perfect and I still get fired?
I was lucky, I found another shit job again in about two months, right before we
ran out of money again. (My fiance was supporting us doing private tutoring, but
it was pretty unreliable.) This time, I was working for a local synagogue as a
general administrative assistant, and making $12/hour with no benefits, so it was
slightly better.
This was easily the worst job I've ever had... And I couldn't quit. I tried to find
another job, but there were none to be had that would support my household. (My
fiance was now going on two straight years of unemployment.) I tried to consult a
lawyer to see if I could sue for a hostile work environment, but despite the fact
that I was severely depressed and anxious as a result of the job, was developing
stress-related health problems that I couldn't afford to treat because they didn't
provide me with health insurance, and was beginning to have suicidal thoughts, I
was told by lawyer after lawyer I had no grounds to sue them because I wasn't
being discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, or any other "protected
category." I just had to suck it up and keep going.
And then I got laid off. Again. It was also for budgetary reasons, and it was the
second time in two years.
Now I've been unemployed for almost six months. I'm doing some private
tutoring on my own, and I found a part-time data entry job that makes barely
enough for me to just cover my half of the rent (with nothing left over to pay for
food, bills, anything else). I still have a month left of unemployment, so I'm just
desperately saving that money, trying to make it last as long as possible. Thank
God my fiance finally found a job - not enough to pay our living expenses alone,
but it helps. I try to be optimistic about things - I'm looking into freelancing, just
until I find something reliable. But at this point, I feel like the universe's punching
bag. I have literally no confidence that I'll ever be able to do all the things I
dreamed of - own a home, have a family, save for retirement. It doesn't seem like
too much to ask, but so far, the world has said "No."
Previously
The full archive of our "Unemployment Stories" series can be found here.
(http://gawker.com/hello-from-the-underclass/)
[Thanks to everyone who wrote in. You can send your own unemployment story here
(mailto:[email protected]).]
Discuss (/posts/5983361/reply)
71 participants 14 participants
Like 79
PunditGuy and 67 others...
SaitoHawkeye (http://saitoh…
I'm really looking forward to the responses
blaming these people for their troubles. Let
me save some time:
Story 1: They're call her a drunk and say it's
her fault.
Story 2: They' call him a drunk, and say he
should have to choose between service and
work.
Story 3: They'll blame him for his parents
cutting off his tuition and say it's his own
fault.
Story 4: Not sure, this one is pretty much
unimpeachable.
Story 5: "You should have majored in
STEM!" (ignoring story 3)
To anyone making these arguments - I hope
you the LAPD shoot you in the back, you
fucking cunts.
2/11/13 1:18pm (http://gawker.com/im-really-looking-forward-to-the-responses-blaming-thes-477141661)
(/posts/477141661/reply)
Dear Zeus (http://dearzeus.…
Sad, isn't it? Volume 26 and people -still-
come out of the woodwork to talk about how
easy everything is. I'm also starting to think
some of them don't even know what STEM
is an acronym for...
2/11/13 1:22pm (http://gawker.com/sad-isnt-it-volume-26-and-people-still-come-out-of-477141663)
(/posts/477141663/reply)
kcunning (http://kcunning.ki…
These actually seem way easier to relate to
than some of the other ones. Some of the
previous ones, I'd cringe, because it felt like
they were just setting them up for harsh
critiques.
2/11/13 1:31pm (http://gawker.com/these-actually-seem-way-easier-to-relate-to-than-some-o-477141672)
(/posts/477141672/reply)
callmekatina and 10 others...
terrymct (http://terrymct.kinj…
" I had some education and it was in a
STEM field, I had been hearing all my life
about the value of a technical education. It
amounted to little more than nothing. "
I've worked in the biological sciences for
decades. You really need a grad degree to go
anywhere. A bachelors will get you a tech
job. Depending on the field within biological
sciences, a masters will get you a lab
manager position or something at a
consulting firm. The people with the
doctorates tend to run the research
programs. Sure, there are exceptions and
some variability within disciplines, but
overall you need as much education as you
can get. An associates degree won't do a
whole lot for you even in the best of times.
2/11/13 1:34pm (http://gawker.com/i-had-some-education-and-it-was-in-a-stem-field-i-ha-477141673)
(/posts/477141673/reply)
tmthomas (http://tmthomas…
Shhh...the company line is that STEM
degrees are infallible, a magic wand and the
cure to all economic blight. If we let people
know we have the same issues as any other
field, what will we lord over them? Our
pocket protectors and D&D miniatures?
2/11/13 2:52pm (http://gawker.com/shhh-the-company-line-is-that-stem-degrees-are-infall-477141774)
(/posts/477141774/reply)
R W (http://ryangauthier.kinj…
whats your degree? theater tech?
2/11/13 3:13pm (http://gawker.com/whats-your-degree-theater-tech-477141807)
(/posts/477141807/reply)
12 participants
R W (http://ryangauthier.kinj…
"I was going to a small liberal arts school in
the mountains of North Carolina."
WOOPS!
Miltary idiot blames liberals. Shoulda stayed
in if you have no skills.
Ass.
College kid. So take out loans and finish?
American Dream. A media job in rural ohio?
Media buying? WTF is that? Reading shit on
gawker?
Journalism. No one needs more people
writing blogs, sorry.
2/11/13 2:40pm (http://gawker.com/i-was-going-to-a-small-liberal-arts-school-in-the-moun-477141755)
(/posts/477141755/reply)34 participants
MaryToddLincoln1 (http://ma…
This sounds terrible, but after reading that
the "Congressional Staffer" got a job doing
disability claims with the VA and then totally
spun out of control, I lost any pity that I had
for that person. I work with Vets and I can
not tell you the countless hardships that they
are experiencing because the VA cannot get
their act together and finish their disability
claims.
2/11/13 1:23pm (http://gawker.com/this-sounds-terrible-but-after-reading-that-the-congr-477141665)
(/posts/477141665/reply)
SaitoHawkeye (http://saitoh…
(/posts/477141668/reply)
MaltedLaurelBridge and 8 others...
A. Nonie Meus (http://anonie…
I know you are being an ass on purpose, but
I gotta say I think a lot of people in the past
10 years have been duped into vague
"media" jobs where they write crap for no-
name blogs all day. This was going to be
THE FUTURE in 2003. A lot of people
thought they were making a calculated
decision back then. Kind of like people now
who are rushing to "STEM" fields because
that's THE FUTURE.
2/11/13 2:50pm (http://gawker.com/i-know-you-are-being-an-ass-on-purpose-but-i-gotta-say-477141769)
(/posts/477141769/reply)
R W (http://ryangauthier.kinj…
That is just where all the people who would
have gotten a job at the local paper end up.
STEM is the future. It is the present. It was
the past too.
But many people can't do math. Hell, the
type of people doing the social media jobs are
proud of their non-math.
2/11/13 3:10pm (http://gawker.com/that-is-just-where-all-the-people-who-would-have-gotten-477141802)
(/posts/477141802/reply)
knopster and 30 others...
How is it her fault? It sounded like the
institutional failure of the VA gave her a
nervous breakdown because she was
working too hard/caring too much.
2/11/13 1:26pm (http://gawker.com/how-is-it-her-fault-it-sounded-like-the-institutional-477141668)
emdroid (http://emdroid.kinj…
You need to feel extreme pity for each of
these people in each of these volumes, for it
does not matter what we do or say in life or
how we act or what choices we make or how
we cope with problems that face us or how
we overcome challenges, because Bad
Economy.
2/11/13 1:31pm (http://gawker.com/you-need-to-feel-extreme-pity-for-each-of-these-people-477141671)
(/posts/477141671/reply)
10 participants
Redbrick Hellpigeon (http://t…
I got a job recently - it's well paid and with
at least two years worth of contract before I
have to start worrying. So why do I feel so
shite?
Well, there's all the people who applied for
the job or, worse, went to the interview.
That's yet another rejection for a lot of
people, and - until recently - that was me
too. It seems rather pyrrhic. There are
hundreds of other people just like me who
are still in the same situation I was in two
weeks ago and, had things not gone my way,
where I would still be now.
Then there is the toll being unemployed
takes on you. I've surprised myself by feeling
utterly worn out and lethargic. The stress
makes you fat or painfully thin. Minus a
brief two and a half month temporary
contract, I've been jobless for almost a year.
Once you realise you don't have to keep
fighting to keep your spirits up, apply for
three jobs a day and not have to worry about
being homeless, the body and mind finally
give in and the exhaustion - not to mention,
the hopelessness you've had to stave off day
by day, week by week, month by month -
sets in. It's like collapsing at the end of a
marathon. You finally get to fall to pieces.
There is also the sense that it doesn't seem
real, that it might be taken away at any
minute. Every time there is an issue with my
contract or my attempts to relocate, the grim
sense of foreboding comes back. This is
where it goes wrong again. This is where
reality reasserts itself. This has lead to a lot of
annoyed administrators wondering why I
keep ringing up with a panicked tone of
voice. It's just that they've been in a job for
(/posts/477141700/reply)
14 participants
Missy Pants and 10 others...
Shiro_Kabocha (http://shiro_…
The "novelty" of raising his own children
wore off? What a dick.
2/11/13 1:31pm (http://gawker.com/the-novelty-of-raising-his-own-children-wore-off-wha-477141670)
(/posts/477141670/reply)
kcunning (http://kcunning.ki…
Betcha he thinks his wife 'plays' with the kids
all day, too.
2/11/13 1:37pm (http://gawker.com/betcha-he-thinks-his-wife-plays-with-the-kids-all-day-477141676)
(/posts/477141676/reply)
99Crayons (http://99crayon…
I thought that at first too, but I think he
may have just meant, the novelty of being at
home and not at work wore off. At least I
hope he meant it that way....
2/11/13 1:53pm (http://gawker.com/i-thought-that-at-first-too-but-i-think-he-may-have-ju-477141687)
(/posts/477141687/reply)
12 participants
tmthomas (http://tmthomas…
I was feeling for military man until he had
to throw in the "misguided liberal policies"
BS about TARP and such. Yes, because
conservative policies squarely favor the
working poor and veteran's rights.
2/11/13 2:28pm (http://gawker.com/i-was-feeling-for-military-man-until-he-had-to-throw-in-477141736)
(/posts/477141736/reply)
rokokobang (http://rokokob…
(/posts/477141746/reply)
the last few years. I haven't. Fear makes us
overcompensate. Shame makes us wonder if
this isn't a dream.
Finally, there is the awful sense that this
wasn't down to you. The interview went well
because they liked you, not because you tried
hard or spent hours practising beforehand.
Everything you've spent so much time doing
turned out to be useless. It's just a cross
between a beauty paegent and a roulette
wheel. You've spent a fortune going to
dozens of interviews and none of it mattered.
They decided not to give you the gig the
moment they heard your voice or saw you
walk through the door. Skills, ability,
motivation - none of it matters. All that
matters is that an interview panel glances at
you for a second and then decides you're not
one of them. It's so much wasted effort. You
have the horrible feeling that you could have
saved a lot of time and not tried at all. Or
turned up at your successful interview,
wearing nothing but a bin bag and reeking
of sewage. They'd have probably given you
the job anyway.
Interviews are tough now. You're lucky if
you only get three or four judgemental
arseholes interrogating you for half an hour.
(And if that panel includes some utterly
miserable bitch from HR staring at you like
you've just buggered her daughter's guinea
pig, you may as well just stratch your nose,
scream 'PISSFLAPS!' and then walk out.)
I've been interviewed by up to 15 people for
one job; a six hour ordeal where you are
constantly scrutinised by people who don't
like you anyway. And then there are the
twats who make no effort to even hide their
contempt for you - the ones who ask you
why it took you longer to get a PhD than it
did for them, or the ones who insinuate that
you're lying about your qualifications, or the
one who laughs in your face when you give
an answer they don't want to hear.
Some say this is just 'bad cop' questioning
which you're meant to endure, like taking
abuse with a smile is somehow a test of
character rather than the strong shitting on
the weak that it really is. But it's just an
excuse for cowards to talk to others in a
fashion that would lead to a beating on the
street, or a glassing in a pub. It begs the
question as to why the workplace is full of
such arseholes, when in fact the truth is
obvious - they're the ones who do best in a
system that rewards iniquitous scum and
jobsworths.
DanniellaBee and 8 others...
That threw me off too - demonstrates a
major lack of understanding of what
actually happened and why.
2/11/13 2:34pm (http://gawker.com/that-threw-me-off-too-demonstrates-a-major-lack-of-un-477141746)
tripsonthestars (http://tripso…
He needs to blame someone for his problem,
so it's his wife and the government. Future
MRA, most likely.
2/11/13 2:40pm (http://gawker.com/he-needs-to-blame-someone-for-his-problem-so-its-his-w-477141757)
(/posts/477141757/reply)
4 participants
OrvGull and one other...
A. Nonie Meus (http://anonie…
Many of these stories are stark reminders
that crises like unemployment can seriously
exacerbate depression and other preexisting
illnesses.
2/11/13 2:33pm (http://gawker.com/many-of-these-stories-are-stark-reminders-that-crises-l-477141744)
(/posts/477141744/reply)
odbdmx (http://odbdmx.kinj…
Hey Nonie- my therapist and psychiatrist
have been trying to figure that out for over a
year now. One thing is for sure- it
exacerbates everything which are considered
stressors. All I know is that I did really well
in undergrad and grad. Worked as a reporter
successfully even with my boss harassing me
and alway being on deadline. I only got
involved in politics to work on a campaign,
then I got sucked into work full-time. The
only reason why I did it was for the health
insurance. I swear everything was exactly
true and real life is not always so simple or
wrapped up into a tiny package. Thanks for
speaking out for the complexities.
2/11/13 3:53pm (http://gawker.com/hey-nonie-my-therapist-and-psychiatrist-have-been-tryi-477141836)
(/posts/477141836/reply)
raincoaster (http://raincoast…
I think this is one of the most important
functions of this feature. People just do not
understand what it's like inside the head of a
person facing chronic unemployment when
they've been brought up to expect to be in
demand. Truly, there but for the grace of god
go any of us, at any moment. Two years
ago, I was in such a bad situation that my
hair was falling out from a combination of
stress and malnourishment. People who
haven't been through it can't, at least
without these stories, imagine what it's like.
And that safety net? Let's just say it's easy to
fall through the holes, as the note about food
stamps above indicates.
2/11/13 6:39pm (http://gawker.com/i-think-this-is-one-of-the-most-important-functions-of-477141919)
(/posts/477141919/reply)
8 participants
Redbrick Hellpigeon and 6 others...
I can't give any advice or words of
inspiration to those who haven't had the luck
that I've had. (And fuck off to those who
think luck is something you make. They are
the dicks who keep rolling 20s and wonder
why other people can't.) I can only say how
sorry I am, and how I wish your turn will
come far sooner than we both know it will.
Take care, and fuck the politicians and
bankers who keep this recession dragging on
for ever more.
2/11/13 2:12pm (http://gawker.com/i-got-a-job-recently-its-well-paid-and-with-at-least-477141700)
Otaqueen (http://otaqueen.k…
Fellow (or sister) gamer, your analogy about
rolling 20s is spot-on. Because it hasn't
happened to them, some of the "lucky ones"
assume it can't be true for others. And it's so
easy to say it's "someone's own fault,"
especially if one is trying to avoid the
discomfort of having to feel empathy, or
acknowledge the many graces from Lady
Fortune that one has been granted.
Less seriously, what does "glassing" mean? I
watch a lot of British TV but haven't come
across this one. :-)
2/11/13 3:18pm (http://gawker.com/fellow-or-sister-gamer-your-analogy-about-rolling-20-477141815)
(/posts/477141815/reply)
LongLiveBonkers (http://lon…
The miserable bitch from HR, no truer
words have been spoken. I've been on the job
hunt and you pretty much nailed that one. I
once had an interview turn into a three hour
ordeal including taking a microsoft office
skills assement test for an executive assistant
job. It's not that I minded taking the test, but
would have appreciated a heads up. And
then my follow up interview got cancelled
becuase NYC shut down thanks to Sandy
and then I guess I got lost in the shuffle or
they decided they didn't need the position
after all, or whatever, you just never
understand how it was that you were getting
close to something and then nothing
happens. I've been unemployed before but
I've never had such a hard time getting a job
this go around.
2/11/13 3:24pm (http://gawker.com/the-miserable-bitch-from-hr-no-truer-words-have-been-s-477141820)
(/posts/477141820/reply)
VeryShinyLikeAHoliday (http…
"I decided not to collect unemployment." I'm
sincerely asking: why? The money is there.
It's not much (not enough to live in in major
cities) but every bit helps. Why not use it?
2/11/13 1:30pm (http://gawker.com/i-decided-not-to-collect-unemployment-im-sincerely-a-477141669)
(/posts/477141669/reply)
kcunning (http://kcunning.ki…
I have friends who have done the same.
Sometimes, it's because they're getting some
other benefit that they'd stop getting if they
pulled unemployment (such as tuition or
training). Other times, they just want to be
able to say that they've never pulled
unemployment.
2/11/13 1:34pm (http://gawker.com/i-have-friends-who-have-done-the-same-sometimes-its-b-477141674)
(/posts/477141674/reply)
Autocadaver (http://brendan…
Honestly, I found unemployment to be a
real hindrance since I do freelance computer
drafting on the side. Don't get me wrong, the
bennies saved my ass for several months
right after my layoff and while I moved back
to my hometown, but whenever I would do
some freelance work it would take weeks of
filling out forms (sent by snail-mail of
course), having them call me and ask about
whether I was still employed with this
person (no, it was contract work for a few
hundred dollars) then have them call me
back a few weeks later asking the same
questions about the same client. Since I have
several regular clients it would turn into a
real echo chamber. Sometimes payments
would stop if I did freelance work, even if it
wasn't enough to override that week's
payments (if you make more in a week than
you would from a UI payment you don't get
UI for that week which makes sense)
because they would think that I was still
'employed' even though I had repeatedly
explained the situation, and at that point I
would have to reapply. Admittedly, if I had
been officially 'self-employed' that probably
would have made things easier but at the
time I was just desperately grabbing
whatever work I could including washing
windows and cleaning industrial kitchen
equipment. I've since gotten a DBA (Doing
Business As) which has helped with getting a
loan for new software and goes a long way
toward legitimacy since freelancing is where
most of my money comes from now.
(/posts/477141698/reply)
5 participants
odbdmx and 4 others...
They also don't want you to go to school,
which I can kind of understand because it
might make you less available for certain
types of work, but it's like - really? I'm trying
to update my skillset and increase my
chances of getting a job and you'd rather I
just sit on my ass waiting for rejection
letters?
Eventually my benefits from the state where
I had been working ran out and I had the
option to transfer over to benefits from my
home state where I currently reside, and I
just said thanks but no thanks - since then
I've had some false starts but things are
looking up.
2/11/13 2:10pm (http://gawker.com/honestly-i-found-unemployment-to-be-a-real-hindrance-s-477141698)
Hooray4Anything and 1 others...
DoraDoraBoBora (http://dor…
I feel like stories like these are so important
because they give so much context to those
of us who are fortunate enough to be
employed. When you're in our position, it's
easy to say "Well, why don't they just ___"
or "That would never have happened if you'd
___" and it's important to be reminded that
sometimes you can be doing everything you
should and working your ass off and
sometimes life just happens in unpleasant
ways you couldn't have anticipated, and the
stigma of unemployed people somehow
supposedly being lazy or whatever doesn't
make it any easier. (Especially when I know
so many jobs these days only want people
who are ALREADY employed.) My best
wishes go out to you guys and anyone
experiencing their own unemployment story.
You deserve better.
2/11/13 1:20pm (http://gawker.com/i-feel-like-stories-like-these-are-so-important-because-477141662)
(/posts/477141662/reply)
DanniellaBee (http://danniell…
I completely agree with you. The arrogance
of so many people in our position of being
employed and financially stable is appalling
to me. These stories prove time and time
again that no matter how hard you work
your entire life can be pulled out from under
you. This could be any of us in a flash!
Everyone who submits these stories has
nothing but my sympathy, respect and
concern.
2/11/13 2:46pm (http://gawker.com/i-completely-agree-with-you-the-arrogance-of-so-many-p-477141762)
(/posts/477141762/reply)
Otaqueen (http://otaqueen.k…
I agree. It's so easy to snap back that it was
harder for YOU, than YOU sucked it up and
triumphed, that YOU think it's everyone
else's own fault. How about some empathy?
It may not have been YOUr personal
experience, but that doesn't make it untrue
for others.
2/11/13 3:13pm (http://gawker.com/i-agree-its-so-easy-to-snap-back-that-it-was-harder-fo-477141806)
(/posts/477141806/reply)
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