Posted on 06/21/2009 7:49:55 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Debb Carlson may be the new face of the American worker. After a layoff, the former special-education teacher's aide is stitching together a living from four part-time jobs.
They don't pay all the bills, but they help her survive. "I have been doing this since late September and I have still not found a full-time job. It's terrifying. I am in the fourth month of arrears on my home," said Carlson, 59. So she works in a day care center, then as a fitness instructor and a personal trainer, plus she's a personal-care attendant for a health care facility.
She's hoping to get more hours, maybe cleaning toilets or prepping food for the elderly. Carlson's far from alone, say employment counselors and state officials. While the nation's unemployment rate is 9.4 percent, the Labor Department reports that the actual number of people out of work is 16.4 percent if you factor in laid-off workers who are forced into part-time jobs or who've given up looking altogether. Minnesota alone has lost 96,000 jobs in the past year, resulting in an 8.2 percent unemployment rate for May. So it's survival time for Carlson and thousands of other laid-off workers who now find themselves leaping at part-time or low-wage "survival'' jobs outside their profession to make ends meet as the recession drags on.
Former printers, teachers, real estate agents and IT workers around the state say they now pay the bills by working as substitute teachers, fitness instructors, bartenders, grocery clerks, coffee baristas, hoagie and burger makers and anything else that brings in a steady check. It's not their chosen profession, but the jobs offer an economic lifeline that few are willing to shun. The U.S. Labor Department found 9.1 million of these "involuntary part-time" workers in May.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Years ago when I turned 50 I took stock of my life. I realized that even if it is illegal, age discrimination exist. The older I got, the more likley I would be let go. That was not so much of a problem as the fact that I knew the older I got, the less likely I would be able to find another job in my field. (It was/is dominated by young people). I realized that my then current job would most likely be my last.
I than wondered to my self what are the odds I will be able to hang on unti I was 62. Although at the time I was a highly valuable employee technology was changing at a rapid pace. I was no longer sure I would be able to keep up, so the odds were against me making it to my 62nd birthday.
I had to accept the idea that I would be unemployed (and unemployable) for a few years before I begin drawing any Social Security.
What could I do to make the transistion less painful?
I had two things going for me. One my wife was in a secure job and would be able to work until she decides to retire. Second, we have alway lived modestly but still had a few debts.
So we had a three prong attack.
1. Get out of all debt
2. Save as much as possible
3. Do major home repairs while I was working (and paying cash) so they would not show up after I stopped working.
Two years ago, just a few days after I turned 59 I got the news my job was going away. My last day of workd was more a day of celebration than sorrow.
If you are already 59 and unemployed my advise won’t do you much good. However for you young people out there, begin planning for your last day of work today. It is going to arrive sooner than you expect.
I will probably be doing this when my current job ends.
Tough finding a job when you are approaching 60, your expenses also tend to be a bit higher than a 20 year old. I am 52 and thinking more along the lines of self employment, these are going to be a tough 10 years ahead no matter what.
3. Do major home repairs while I was working (and paying cash) so they would not show up after I stopped working.
Just before pulling the plug, we replaced any appliance that was 10 years or older. No need to get hit with a new fridge when retired. Did the same with a "new[er]" used car.
If you have, or can develop, machinist or craft skills, there are opportunities to start a business along these lines as well. These kinds of businesses are also well suited to low-overhead operation.
Here is a link to a very popular thread on the Popular Machinist forum on starting one's own craft or low-tech manufactured product business.
There are many available niches where a product or a service can solve a problem, even in a down economy. String enough of these opportunities together, and you can cover more of your monthly overhead--sure beats working at the Home Depot.
The author of the article is Dee DePass.
You can only go so far on part-time jobs — it’s time to *cut back* drastically in life-style, which may include dumping a lot of stuff that people took for granted before....
Fortunatly for me, my career choice is firefighting and the departments in my state of AR haven’t ceased doing the hiring tests. In the meantime, I’m currently working as a server/barista in a privately-owned cafe. I don’t get any benefits (I’m one of the few logical enough to understand I’m not entitled to them), but I make enough to pay the bills and live rather well, plus we’ll be opening a second cafe in a few weeks, which hopefully means we’re doing good.
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