About three years ago exactly, I was laid off from my job of five years, during the worst of the recession here in Utah. Despite what seems to be a recovering economy, coupled with the massive expenditure of money in this state in the past three years on infrastructure and construction, especially in the Provo area, growth is still sluggish in many areas. There are two foreclosed houses in my neighborhood, and another three for sale--destroying any chance of selling our own in the near future. And what's worse, for the second time in three years, I have been laid off from my job in what is normally a predictable, cyclical industry.
This is probably the worst possible time for me to lose my job, not that there is a 'good' time for that to happen. I'm on the very cusp of finally graduating with my BS in English, down to a few weeks of final papers, assignments, readings, etc. I have day classes, which my employer had thankfully worked around, allowing me to come and go as necessary to attend class. Any possible new employer would likely take a look at my class schedule and balk at hiring someone we needs to leave constantly. Unemployment compensation will barely cover the bills, now that I have a mortgage and the impending end of my student loan deferment. My options are few; I either wait it out for a few weeks while I finish school, hoping that I start getting my unemployment, or find some kind of temporary employment situation that can work around my schedule, and might pay my bills. Another anxiety-intensifying aspect is the probability of jumping into the world that I have educating myself for, far sooner than I expected. I had planned on transitioning into a new line of work during the slow summer months, a more gradual and effective method for me. Being laid off again may force my hand, and I'll have to drop all my cards on the table now, without even an official degree on my wall and nothing to fall back on. The idea is a little frightening, to be honest. But, I'm an American; I'm expected to pick myself up and move on, and find gratifying, lifestyle-supporting work in one of the trickiest job markets in history. God Bless America.
P.S. The bright side, of course, is that I'll have much more time to blog--so there's that.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
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1 comment:
Wow, I can see the predicament you are in. Life always seems to do that, you are finally done feeling great, everything seems to be looking up. Then it just rains a ton of shit on you. You should look into writing articles for ehow.com and those other online article sites. I am not nearly as amazing a writer as you are, and I got one of my articles published. I think I only got probably 2 or 3 bucks, but if you write a lot it could be helpful.
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