Long story, involving lots of back and forth. Probably safest to say I was fired when I started talking about quitting. I say probably, because they are the type of people who'd argue I quit to avoid paying unemployment. Its not going to be smoothed over. Part of the issue is they are happy to churn through people. It was a really, really terrible work environment but it turns out I like money, so I put up with a lot of negativity. The timing sucks, but I imagine its never a good time to be unemployed.
Go ahead and file for the unemployment anyway. The ambiguity probably helps you. Sorry about your troubles though.
Wow! I didn't realize I made this post. Well let me tell ya, i am still at this same company and role, got promoted, and now my job is not too stressful at all because i am very good at it. Bottom line is you grow the most when you are challenged, I am glad that i didn't quit at the time although that doesn't mean in those specific moments, times weren't tough.
Bummer, I'm really sorry to hear that. Action is therapeutic. File for unemployment ASAP. Start looking for jobs ASAP. Can I ask what you do? In my industry I'd rather hire a seasoned veteran than a noob. Experience is king, you should lean into that.
Ive kind of walked myself into a dead-end. A long time ago i did IT stuff, but I've spent the last 15 years repairing ATMs which is super basic and hyper-niche, so I'm probably going to be starting over at square one. But we probably don't need to disect all my bad life choices here. Edit - dont want to bump this back to the top, but thanks everybody who responded. It really helped when I was in that initial panic state. I'm probably still totally screwed and going to end up living on the streets, but I feel much better about the whole thing in the moment. Kindness is not forgotten.
I would hire a seasoned tech for a trade like that over a younger tech every day and twice on Sunday.
Dude, I feel for ya and I know what it can be like to be in a job where your just in it for the paycheck and benefits. In my younger years I was ready to live and die by my so called "morals" and quit on a dime, but now I am about 8 years from retirement, and I would be terrified to go look for a new job so now it's like I just embrace the suck and hope I can hang on for 8 more years. My job doesn't totally blow, I like my team and it gives me purpose, but its a totally different vibe then when I was in my 20`s and 30`s and I was going to conquer my industry...............now I am just holding on and hope I make it to the end Good luck my man
I heard you, brother. I am a jack. Im at the point where I am close to hanging it all up but not quite there yet. A couple months ago we were close to shutting the doors. I was fretting at the idea of starting over. There is some good news and bad news. Its definitely not the time to be unemployed. The good news is the work ethic is pretty low these days. Lean into your length of employment and your ability to work independent. 15 years puts you right at the bottom of the last crash. Im still traumatized. Im 14 years into mine current job and have been extremely grateful for the opportunity that presented itself back in 2011. Fortunately I spent these years ensuring I will never be homeless again.
You should look into getting your AMP and being an airline mechanic. You can get your certificate in 8 months and theres a massive shortage of techs right now. Alot of older folks do it and airlines love older individuals. My brother just graduated and had a job offer from United making 55 an hour the day out of school. Great benefits and its entirely unionized so your job is very safe long term. You should qualify for financial aid which means you can live off the aid if needed.
Funny, this is exactly where I am. I've been at the same company since 2002 with a ton of different roles in a bunch of different departments. I've avoided several rounds of layoffs by jumping on a life boat in another department right before they're announced. This year, they offered me an early retirement package and it was very tempting (a lot of my friends took it) but my kids are only in 8th grade so I need to get them out of high school before I can think about retirement. I've been maxing out my 401k for the last 15 years getting ready. My company just paid for me to get a cert this week, so I think I'm safe for now. I'm just trying to hang on as long as they'll have me, since the job is pretty easy and it's fulltime WFH. But if I get canned, I can't imagine getting on somewhere else. What I do is way too niche. It's going to be living on retirement and as many side hustles as I can make happen.
Just now reading through this thread -- sorry to read of the turbulence. The feeling of obsolescence can be powerful in this economy, if we: (a) are over 40, and (b) don't own our own company. I hope the transition ends up looking like a good thing in eventual hindsight but that might take a while.
