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Yes, I have now officially become a statistic. You hear about unemployment in the news but it never really applies until it hits home and slaps you right in the face.
I'm not going to disclose details here... but twenty very talented and well-paid people were laid off on Thursday, rumor has it that there are ten more coming next week. At a company with 150 employees, that's quite a bit.
I did receive a decent severance package which will tide us over for the next two months or so. First thing I did was go to the Virginia Employment Commission and register for unemployment insurance benefits. I get my first check in three weeks. I did qualify for the maximum (point for Virginia) which was $326 a week but that's still not very much--that's $8.15 an hour take-home, equivalent to someone making $10 an hour gross. But it is better than nothing. By my math, if I don't make the same amount I was making ($43,000) by January 1 we'll start to see a slide in our quality of living.
Though I would love to blame the layoff itself on Bush, I really can't. The layoffs were because of overoptimistic sales forecasts that resulted in a $20 million revenue shortfall. Spending was also out of control. It was mindless management--not a bad overall economy--that caused this first round of layoffs.
It is, however, Bush's fault that the unemployment rate in general is this high. I don't doubt that I'll find a new job in the next few weeks but there are a LOT of skilled people out there that are looking for work. I'm competing with people much more talented than I am to get the same pay I was making. Though the layoffs weren't the poor economy's fault, the fact that I will very likely take a pay cut just to get a job again is.
My second major bone to pick is my health insurance. I can keep my current plan for up to 18 months under COBRA laws... but the company is no longer subsidizing it. Now my monthly premium will be going from $15 to $288. I'm f'ing better off going with a private insurance company. So not only have I lost my job but I've lost my insurance and have incurred an additional $150-$200 a month expense.
But according to Bush, nothing's wrong with the American health care system. "The American health care system is the envy of the world." Yeah. Your world. :rolleyes:
If he were here in my apartment (that costs $1,725 a month) I'd ***** slap him.
So I guess I'll just see what happens. There are a lot of positions open on careerbuilder.com and all the other major sites but there is a surplus of supply with workers and a shortage of demand in terms of jobs. I'm being pitted against people with 10+ years more experience than me who are desperate for work so they'll sink to my pay level. So what must I do to compete and actually get a job? Sink to the pay level of a college intern, I suppose.
I don't have my MBA or CPA yet, I can't be picky.
Screw the Bush Administration. I'm sure his corporate CEO buddies are laughing because they can get slaves like me to accept less pay and therefore richen their own fat stock options. But one day I'll be there with them and I'll smack them all down.
Done ranting now. Back to www.careerbuilder.com.
I'm not going to disclose details here... but twenty very talented and well-paid people were laid off on Thursday, rumor has it that there are ten more coming next week. At a company with 150 employees, that's quite a bit.
I did receive a decent severance package which will tide us over for the next two months or so. First thing I did was go to the Virginia Employment Commission and register for unemployment insurance benefits. I get my first check in three weeks. I did qualify for the maximum (point for Virginia) which was $326 a week but that's still not very much--that's $8.15 an hour take-home, equivalent to someone making $10 an hour gross. But it is better than nothing. By my math, if I don't make the same amount I was making ($43,000) by January 1 we'll start to see a slide in our quality of living.
Though I would love to blame the layoff itself on Bush, I really can't. The layoffs were because of overoptimistic sales forecasts that resulted in a $20 million revenue shortfall. Spending was also out of control. It was mindless management--not a bad overall economy--that caused this first round of layoffs.
It is, however, Bush's fault that the unemployment rate in general is this high. I don't doubt that I'll find a new job in the next few weeks but there are a LOT of skilled people out there that are looking for work. I'm competing with people much more talented than I am to get the same pay I was making. Though the layoffs weren't the poor economy's fault, the fact that I will very likely take a pay cut just to get a job again is.
My second major bone to pick is my health insurance. I can keep my current plan for up to 18 months under COBRA laws... but the company is no longer subsidizing it. Now my monthly premium will be going from $15 to $288. I'm f'ing better off going with a private insurance company. So not only have I lost my job but I've lost my insurance and have incurred an additional $150-$200 a month expense.
But according to Bush, nothing's wrong with the American health care system. "The American health care system is the envy of the world." Yeah. Your world. :rolleyes:
If he were here in my apartment (that costs $1,725 a month) I'd ***** slap him.
So I guess I'll just see what happens. There are a lot of positions open on careerbuilder.com and all the other major sites but there is a surplus of supply with workers and a shortage of demand in terms of jobs. I'm being pitted against people with 10+ years more experience than me who are desperate for work so they'll sink to my pay level. So what must I do to compete and actually get a job? Sink to the pay level of a college intern, I suppose.
I don't have my MBA or CPA yet, I can't be picky.
Screw the Bush Administration. I'm sure his corporate CEO buddies are laughing because they can get slaves like me to accept less pay and therefore richen their own fat stock options. But one day I'll be there with them and I'll smack them all down.
Done ranting now. Back to www.careerbuilder.com.
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