“I can imagine a 50 year old white man, getting laid off from his professional job. He can only find work as a clerk or something at near minimum wage. “
Happened to me in 2008. Was laid off from my job, then my daughter got sick. I had enough money to retire, but was only 48. The one year my daughter spent in treatment wiped out my life savings My wife’s business took a bad hit in 2009 also. All we had to live on was my unemployment and 30% disability from AF. I couldn’t get a job as a burger flipper, that’s how bad the market was. I even applied to was dishes, but no takers.
We were a month away from losing the house, the cars and winding up on public assistance. Every job I applied for wanted a college degree, which I didn’t have. I took our last $1000 and enrolled in a Project Management workshop to test for the PMP exam. I walked into the exam knowing if I failed it, we were in bigger trouble. I passed. Three days later I had a job.
This year I finished my BS in Ops Management. I swore I would never again not get a job because I didn’t have a degree.
God bless and congrats, EQAB.
You took responsibility for your own life and situation and made great strides.
Good for you! Great story. I’m impressed that you retooled yourself and took away the right lessons from that awful experience. The key to long term success is keeping those new skills sharp with constant additional education.