I’m really getting sick of all of the “bailout” talk. First it was the banks and financial institutions, and now it’s the auto industry. I understand that there is some legitimate need for bailing those entities out in some fashion … but $700 billion dollars? If they’re already in so much trouble, how the hell are they going to pay back the loans?

My biggest question is this: What about those people who, like me, lost their jobs due to the shitty economy? Why can’t WE be ‘bailed out’?

I worked for a company that sells automotive accessories online … things like truck bed covers, bed rails, nerf bars, floor mats, etc. It’s no secret that truck sales have been down, due to the high gas prices earlier this year as well as the crappy economy, so sales of the accessories were down. I don’t know if I was the only person laid off or if others were as well. But it doesn’t really matter. I used to think that up here [in North Dakota], the economy wasn’t as bad off as in other parts of the country. Boy was I wrong.

Over the past few weeks, the news has been reporting that companies around the region have been laying off workers. Bobcat is suspending operations for 6 weeks, beginning on Dec. 15th [source]. And now they are asking more individuals to take early retirement [source]. Lund boats in New York Mills, MN laid off 140 people earlier this month [source]. And just today, it was reported that 30 people were laid off at JLG Industries in Oakes [source]. I’m sure there are others around the region, but those are some that have been in the news lately. And you know that this situation is happening all over the country.

Luckily, in my case, I’m the only one affected. I live alone and don’t have any kids. But what about those families where a parent got laid off. They have kids to feed and clothe and mortgages to pay and medical bills to worry about.

Yes, there are unemployment benefits. I don’t know what it’s like in other states, but I can say that in North Dakota, unemployment benefits have gone down hill. And I can say that because this isn’t my first walk around the block. I was unemployed almost 5 years ago. I was unemployed for about 7 months, but that is because I was in a career transition. Back then, there were orientation meetings and appointments with a case worker and classes that could be taken. Now there is absolutely nothing like that. I filed my claim online. I certify my weeks online. You only call the Bismarck office if you have a problem or questions (and we have an office here in Fargo). I know that this is all because of budget cuts that the department has faced. But it really hurts those that the department is supposed to help.

In my case, I’m not even getting unemployment benefits anymore. You have to make 2 job contacts a week, which seems simple enough. But my chosen career path isn’t exactly ‘mainstream’, so there aren’t many open positions around here. A couple of my opportunities involve waiting until the company starts interviewing. And I’m not gonna apply for jobs that I would never take just to get unemployment. So I’m basically screwed. Thank goodness I have savings.

There may be people out there who aren’t even eligible for unemployment benefits, for whatever reason. And even those people who DO get unemployment benefits, it’s not enough to live on while you’re looking for a new job. And in this economy, depending on what sort of work you are looking for, finding a new job is no picnic.

So, why should the banks and financial institutions and auto industry be getting bailed out when we are the ones who are really suffering. Why isn’t the government doing something for those people who have lost their jobs due to the economy. I’m not saying give us $700 billion dollars. But give us something to supplement unemployment benefits. And those people not eligible for unemployment, give us something too. Something to make our lives a little less stressful while we’re looking for a new job. We need to eat. We need to take care of our kids. We need to take care of OURSELVES!!!

I say we start a movement to get the government to bail US out. What do you say?

Well, I doubt it would do any good. But I do wish we could get the government to take a look at the job service agencies around the country and fix the unemployment benefits system. Pump some money into that system so that there can be orientation meetings and appointments with a case worker and classes again. And the number of job contacts would be affected by the individual situations. That would go a long way to helping out lots of people.

To those people who are in the same situation as I am … keep the faith. Times can get tough, but they won’t stay that way forever. I have a tough time remembering that at times, but it really is true. Eventually the economy will recover. I have no idea how long it will take, but it will happen some day. So keep your chin up … things will get better.

I had almost completely lost hope that I would be able to stay here in Fargo. Finding positions to apply for that don’t involve .NET is nearly impossible. I am waiting to hear from a company in Moorhead that I sent my resume to. They aren’t interviewing until December … and I’m not sure what part of December that is. I do have a possible opportunity with a company that a former co-worker now works at, but it’s in a town about 40 min north of Minneapolis. And as I’ve said before … I do NOT want to move.

I got a call this morning from a local employment/consulting agency that I’ve been working with. She told me a while back that a company she works with might be opening a position at some point. After the initial conversation, she found out that the company was going to put off hiring someone until next year. However, she found out yesterday that that same company is opening up a contract position. It’s a contract position because it’s only temporary … covering a maternity leave for someone. She mentioned either 3 or 6 months, but I’m thinking it will probably be closer to 3 since it’s a maternity leave coverage. There IS a possibility that the position could end up being permanent. It just depends on how much work the company has at the end of the contract period and if they have the approval to hire another full time developer. But it would allow me to stay here and continue looking for something permanent here. And who knows, maybe the economy will improve early next year and other companies in the area will have positions.

I know that there’s no guarantee that I’ll even get this position, but at least there’s SOMETHING out there. There’s a possibility for something. And this one is more in line with what I’ve done in the past rather than a new coding language. Looking at the job description, I’m confident that I’d be fine in the position. There are some aspects that I haven’t worked with before (such as section 508 compliance), but I’m also confident that I can pick that stuff up fairly quickly. I just need to be exposed to it. My interview for the position is on Monday afternoon. Hopefully I won’t be nervous during it … I haven’t been in my other interviews.

And if this opportunity doesn’t pan out, there’s still that one in Moorhead. But I can’t wait forever for something to pan out. And I can’t leave my former co-worker hanging. I know that they want to fill their position as soon as possible. I need to email him today and let him know that there is going to be a delay in my applying for it. I hope they understand. And if not, I’ll just have to keep looking elsewhere if nothing works out around here.

But at least there is something … something to keep me from falling off the deep end.

I have come to a realization …

If I want to keep working as a web programmer (and I DO), then I am going to need to move out of the Fargo area.

I don’t like this one bit, but there really isn’t anything I can do. I’ve exhausted almost all of the opportunities out there. There is one left, but they aren’t interviewing until December. And there’s no guarantee I’ll get an interview (I DO think I have a good chance of getting one, but who really knows). There are a couple other places I submitted my resume, but I don’t know if I’ll hear from them. There are opportunities around town, but they are for .NET programmers.

This realization breaks my heart and scares the shit out of me. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to move to a larger city in order to find something. I’m targeting the Minneapolis, MN area (the Cities as it’s called around here) first. That’s only about 5 or 6 hours from here (depending on how fast you drive … LOL). I do have a former co-worker who lives down there. I emailed him this afternoon to see if he knows of any companies that are hiring. Then there is Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com that I can search. I’m also going to email my contact at a local agency to see if they have an office in the Cities (I believe they do, but I don’t know for sure). I need all the help I can get since I don’t know the area.

I may eventually (have to) expand my area, depending on what’s available in the Cities. Where? I have no clue. If you know of any company looking to hire a web programmer with a focus in php and mssql or MySQL, let me know.

I’m going to start this course of action on Monday. Tomorrow I’m taking a day off from the job hunt. I’m going to treat it like a vacation day. Why? ‘Cuz it’s my birthday. I almost feel like I’ve been punishing myself for the past month even though it’s not my fault that I lost my job. It’s this damn economy. But I’m not gonna get into that now … that’s another post that I may or may not write. Tomorrow is a day for me. I owe it to myself to treat myself right tomorrow. I will be calling Job Service tomorrow to put my unemployment claim on hold (since I’m not getting my job contacts) and checking the job listings a couple times a day (but not as often as I have been). But otherwise I’m not doing anything related to my job search. I’m gonna get a paper in the morning, wait for my new laptop battery to be delivered (don’t ask … LOL), go get my sister, go out for a free supper (at Paradiso w/ Lisa, Robin, and Dannilynn), and go to the bar (the Hub with the same as supper minus Dannilynn … she’s a little too young … she’s not quite 2 yet. ). I’m not gonna worry about when I’ll get my next paycheck or where I’ll be living when I get it. It’s gonna be a day for me dammit.

When you’re looking for a job, there are 2 things that are pretty important - your education and your experience. But which of the two carries more weight? I suppose it depends on the employer. In my opinion, experience is more important. It shows that you can actually implement what you’ve learned. But then again, my opinion doesn’t mean bupkiss. It’s the opinion of the employer that is the deciding factor.

Yeah, having both the education and experience in the field you’re looking for work in is the ideal situation. But unfortunately, that’s not the case for me. I do have an education, but it’s in a completely unrelated field. I have a BS in Meteorological Studies but I’m looking for work as a web developer. What does the weather have to do with website? Absolutely nothing. LOL I did take a computer concepts in meteorology class in which we had to put our reports online. That was my first taste of web programming.

All of my knowledge in the world of web programming/development has been self taught. I’ve done websites for myself … I took over maintaining the website for my first employer out of college … I’ve done websites for a couple local bands. I learn best by doing … by actually sitting down and writing code. If I want to do something but don’t know how, I’ll look it up online … either tutorials or examples.

For the past 4 years or so, I’ve been working as a web programmer. I have furthered my knowledge in php and learned mssql. I had never even seen mssql before taking that position a little over 4 years ago. My database experience had been limited to MySQL, and that was just basic INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and SELECT statements. But now I consider myself quite experienced in mssql. I’m not expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but I know what I’m doing. And if I don’t know how to do something, I know where to look to find out how to do it.

While I am very proud of the fact that I’ve taught myself what I have, I’m starting to wonder if not having a degree in a computer related field is hurting me. Most of the positions I’m finding around town are for .NET programmers. I’ve never even seen .NET. Yeah, I’m convinced that I could pick it up, but employers are going to want someone who can sit down and start coding right away rather than someone they’re going to have to train. I DO want to learn new aspects of the web programming world, but I’d rather find a job that uses the areas I already know with the opportunity to learn the new stuff. That way I could be useful right off the bat and ease into the new stuff.

Am I just kidding myself? Is an education more important than experience? Or DOES experience carry more weight? Am I okay with one and not the other as long as the one is experience? What do you think?

I think I realized today how I’ve been feeling since I was laid off a month ago. I feel like my life has been put on hold.

Before this all happened, I felt like I had all my ducks in a row. I was doing good financially, for the first time in my life really. I actually was able to put money into savings rather than live from paycheck to paycheck. I was working on saving up enough money to cover closing costs so I could buy a house. My plan was to start house hunting at the end of the summer next year. I was well on my way to achieving this goal. But those darn ducks just wouldn’t stay in that row.

Now I am in a place of uncertainty. I don’t know when I’ll find another job. It’s kinda slim pickings around the area. I’m not finding anything new being listed. But even if I find something in some other town, I’m not home free. I have to give 60 days notice before I can move out of my apartment. And I’m not gonna give notice now because I’m still holding out hope that at least one of the opportunities I’ve already followed pans out or that something new shows up soon. But I can’t wait forever.

So, here I sit … in a state of suspended animation. On hold. I can’t make plans because I don’t know where I’ll be and when. This sucks!

I need some help from you, faithful readers (I know there’s at least one of you out there … LOL). I need some inspiration. You see, over the past month, I’ve determined that I’m more happy during the day if I’m coding. When I was putting up my resume website and working on the redesign of this site, I was definitely in a better mood. On days where I’m not coding, it’s not good. I’m usually found on the couch staring at the tv. Not a pretty sight.

So, while I’m waiting to find my next job, I need something to occupy my time during the day … a new project. I’ve had a couple ideas, but nothing has lit a fire under my ass yet. One idea I had was for a weather script that I could turn into a WordPress plugin. I had a weather script for quite some time, but I took it offline when I cleaned up my other domain. Another idea I had was to put together a racing website. I’ve had a few in the past, each devoted to a single driver. This time around, I was going to make a generic racing site that had info on all drivers in the series. I also thought about adding a page where visiters could create an account and select up to 3 drivers to view info for each time they came to the site, if they were logged in.

What I need from you, faithful readers … or what I’m hoping you’ll provide … are some ideas for things for me to work on. Perhaps an idea for a WordPress plugin that hasn’t yet been done (or that could be improved upon), or some other functionality for any website. Or should I dive into either the weather script or racing website? Help me find a reason to get up in the mornings until I find my next job.

A while back, I found out about YouData on Kirtsy. The concept of YouData is just awesome. They display ads that are relevant to YOU. And you get paid to look at them. How awesome is that?

The ads aren’t determined by the content of my posts (that’s a good thing, isn’t it … LOL). They are determined by YOUR interests. All you have to do is create a MeFile, and the ads are based on that. And you only have to look at the ads that you want to.

Now, you’re not gonna make a fortune by viewing the ads. But in these times, every little bit helps. You do need to have a PayPal account in order to get your money, but those are free to set up. YouData transfers the money you’ve earned into your account every Friday.

I’ve added a widget to my blog over in the sidebar (over there –> ). You can either do your ad viewing there (once you have a MeFile) or you can do it directly on the YouData website. You can also download an ‘Ad Player’ to your desktop and view the ads that way.

I urge you to check out YouData. It really is a neat idea.

I’ve been meaning to put up a post on my job search for the past week or so. I’m finally getting around to doing it.

So far, I’ve applied for 7 actual positions and sent my resume to 2 other companies that don’t currently have openings but are always accepting them. I have gone on 2 interviews, and I have another interview scheduled for tomorrow.

Of the 2 interviews I’ve already been on, I’m hopeful on one. I actually didn’t feel nervous during the interview. I am supposed to hear back by mid-week to see if I move on to the second round of interviews. As for the other interview, I don’t think the position is right for me, regardless of how the company feels about me. Sometimes you just get a gut feeling about things.

I have contacts at 2 recruiting agencies in town. That is how I found out about the position I’m hopeful on. The other agency is waiting to hear back about a company opening up a position. She said she’d let me know when she heard. And yesterday I was contacted by another local agency that had found my resume on Career Builder. Unfortunately the position they currently have needs ASP.NET experience, which I don’t have. But she sent me her contact info and said she would be in touch if anything relating to php/mssql/MySQL came up.

I’m hoping something that I’ve already found and applied for pans out … and soon. I’m not having much luck finding new positions to apply for. The one I applied for this morning was the first new one I’ve seen in the last week. I’m not sure how long I can wait before I expand my search area (to Grand Forks).

I need to have 2 job contacts a week in order to get unemployment benefits. And an interview with a company for a position I have applied to doesn’t count as a second job contact anymore (it did the last time I was in this position). I understand that they need to have these sort of requirements to keep people from abusing unemployment benefits. But I’m looking for quality positions that I actually want to work at rather than a large quantity of positions. I understand that the more positions I apply for, the better my odds of finding something. But there are only so many positions around here. And each position has a timeline. They don’t hire someone right after an interview. They have a period where they’re accepting resumes, then interviewing, then a possible second round of interviews. That takes time. And having to keep making 2 contacts a week is getting harder and harder to do. I almost have to put my unemployment claim on hold in order to wait for the process to complete to keep the stress level down. And I don’t want to start looking out of town before the in town opportunities are sorted out.

I’m trying to keep my chin up. They say “that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”. This experience should be making me stronger then … hopefully before it kills me. LOL