Thought of being jobless?

cactusweasel said:
Does the thought of being jobless scare you? It terrifies me to death.

I have a decent job, and I haven't no income would scare me to death, existing on benefits is no way to live.

I'm just curious about everbody elses views and opinions.
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Best thing that ever happened to me! ;)
 
By choice - no. I'm going through taking voluntary redundancy - I have a house, car credit card etc so it will be tough but I'm looking at it as an opportunity to change my career path! I've been so fed up in my job and been looking for ways out and here it is. :)

If it's me being sacked I was an idiot and deserve it, if it was the business folding it's unfortunate. I'm not proud enough or not able to adapt to different jobs as I need the money to pay the bills. I just make sure I keep looking for a job I would like. :) It angers me so much not doing anything!
 
It worries me because I have two children and a wife. But I'm confident I would find a job again before the world collaped. It may not be my ideal job but I'd find something.
 
Hades said:
It worries me because I have two children and a wife. But I'm confident I would find a job again before the world collaped. It may not be my ideal job but I'd find something.
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Will have to be quick before the world explodes or something stupid like that gets spread around like Nutella.

mmm Nutella. :p
 
I have this thought looming over me a fair bit. Been working a temp contract (bloomin' fantastic job though) which was due to end at the end of this month. Obviously not looking forward to that. Got a 4 months contract extension today. Result.

Thankfully I don't have a mortgage, my car, phone etc are all fully mine and I have savings. Don't like being out of work though!!
 
Being jobless doesn't terrify me, the impact of what it would result in does.

Although it rather limits us, my wife and I have always tried to plan our finances so that we could scrape by, albeit uncomfortably, without losing what we have. That limits the fear of being jobless to missing out on your future plans rather than losing what you have today.
 
I don't think it would be the lack of money that would bother me, it would be the boredom. I was jobless for about 3 months once and it absolutely bored me to tears. Everyone else is at work during the week so you end up having very little to do, and even if you can keep yourself busy searching for new jobs, doing hobbies etc, it's hardly a very sociable time.

I think I'd want to be working even if I won the lottery, I think it's much more healthy to have a daily routine.
 
cactusweasel said:
I have rent, bills and credit agreements - that is my worry.
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Save a bit so you've got enough to sustain yourself for a few months, get yourself a skill set that is transferable, get actively involved on linked in, talk to recruiters perhaps even attend interviews even if you're not looking to leave your current place - might find something regardless or if not it at least gives you an idea of how employable you are at the moment -get that fixed and it should cause you to worry less.

NickK said:
There's lots of jobs -- until you get to 40+ years of age, it appears... then immediately you're "too experienced", "too senior", or "we have found people that are more suited to the role".

Still.. carrying on regardless..
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'too experienced' is nonsense for roles that require some reasonable level of technical skill

if you really want stability then joining a profession still seems to offer it - 40 yr old accountants, GPs and solicitors don't tend to have an issue

failing that having up to date IT skills is reasonable

or even old some old skill set - my previous firm still employed some VB developers, couple of 'new' employees for that team were over 40 years old before they started recruiting in India - still no UK people were made redundant and one of the older guys now supervises a bunch of the Indians.

I'm sure there are still people out there employing COBOL developers - I'd wager the vast majority of them (at least in the UK) are over 40.

General programming skills are a good thing to have and there is no such thing as being 'too experienced' in that domain.
 
arknor said:
until self driving trucks appear, maybe even within the next 10 years
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Possibly, but then... Our company, which is one of the better ones is STILL using Windows XP.

I really can't see them changing the entire IT department AND all the vehicles just to go driverless !!

What I can see happening is Night Trunking being allowed to "Road-Train" trailers.
 
Not at all. I'm sensible with money and fortunate enough to have built up a healthy cash reserve, enough to keep me from work for as long as it needs to really.

The real scary thought is employing people and being responsible for their lives and incomes. I've been doing so for well over a year and it doesn't get any easier.
 
Housey said:
If you can remove the fear of losing your job, you put your life on a much better footing in my experience. That doesn't mean be in a position where you don't need to work, but be confident that you will always find something else to do if what you do today goes wrong. Of course that isn't always possible and may take some time and hardship, but if you can get to that point it empowers you and removes a big chunk of stress, especially when employers can see you don't feel beholden to them.
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+1
 
It became less of a stress for me since my wife earns more. But when I was living on my own it was always in the back of my mind. So of course people worry about it, why would anyone want to loose their house?
 
I worry a bit, partly because I'll be home owner soon and partly because the industry I'm in (oil & gas) is going through a lull atm so there are quite a few people being made redundant/unemployed but not many jobs about! However I'm quite lucky that I get a minimum of 3 months pay if I get made redundant which definitely helps.
 
nicktay2605 said:
I don't think it would be the lack of money that would bother me, it would be the boredom. I was jobless for about 3 months once and it absolutely bored me to tears. Everyone else is at work during the week so you end up having very little to do, and even if you can keep yourself busy searching for new jobs, doing hobbies etc, it's hardly a very sociable time.

I think I'd want to be working even if I won the lottery, I think it's much more healthy to have a daily routine.
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Well if you win the lotto give me the money and i'd jack my job in pronto. Be the first thing I'd do.
 
I was made redundant at the end of last year and it was fairly scary wondering how the wife and I would cope. Thankfully, she is in a really well paid job and we managed to survive fairly easily on her wage by cutting back sensibly where required. I was only unemployed for 3 months, and I'm now earning more money than I was before, and I'm about to be promoted already (my boss is leaving and they're looking to me to replace him). Sometimes being in that position where you're forced to look for something else can be the best thing that could happen to you. I probably wouldn't have left my previous job willingly as I was too comfortable there, but my career is in a much stronger position now that I was forced to move on.
 
The more time advances the more i think that being given a push wouldnt hurt me at all. I quite like the idea of not working for an employer but it is not a move i can see myself taking optionally while i have good employment for an employer i am happy with.

But no, it doesnt scare me, if anything it would be exciting to be "free". :)
 
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