[Mark F]

This whole situation SUCKS! My heart goes out to you all of you that got laid off from this pointless CRAP.

Even with my being a self-employed professional engineer, I have been struggling to keep work comming my way. GM here in Arlington TX is still on shut-down, Bell Helicopter isn't doing much, and my biggest customer (Lockheed Martin) hasn't posted any sub-contract engineering bids since Sept. 08. I am very fortunate that my wife is a professional in the Metrology Industry, and she is very busy inspite the economy.

I think that those IDIOTS which voted Obama into office, really believe that Obama will "take care of them". These fools are in for a RUDE AWAKINING!

I sincerely hope ALL of you that got laid-off, furloughed, or fired, get back in the work-force soon and prosper!

[Kent E]

This may sound crazy but practice your interviewing skills. When interviewing the biggest mistake is focusing on your past duties or functions, rather focus on what your company benefitted from you doing those duties. Make sure these benefits are quantifiable.

For instance:

"At Kinkos I punched holes in the paper with a hole punch."

Or, "As as the hole puncher, I was able to increase the number of hole punches by 15 percent and that increased the companies profits by $5 per month.

If you were interviewing these two people that you don't know from Adam, which sounds better for the company you're hiring?

*Just a tip that you probably already knew, hope that can be helpful. Hang in there!

[matt g]

Originally Posted by dragunovsks

I'm glad my wife has a job because $238 a week on unemployment just doesn't cut it when you make $500 to $600 a week the rest of the year.

Try living off of $450/wk when you usually clear $2500/wk.

[dnthmn2004]

I'm in construction right now, not technically laid off, but theres no work to be done. Had my last day or work Friday. Fortunately, the wife has a great paying job and tons of hours. I've been dishing out resumes like crazy with no such luck. At least I have time to do some projects around the house that I've been putting off for too long

[dragunovsks]

Originally Posted by matt g

Try living off of $450/wk when you usually clear $2500/wk.

And when will your company be hiring again? LOL

The problem with the area I live in is that there aren't very many jobs that are worth a darn. Most of the jobs are in Louisville and that's just a little too far to drive. I was trying to get into local law enforcement but since I currently make more than the county deputies at the quarry I think I'll try to get on at the state level.

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by dragunovsks

And when will your company be hiring again? LOL

What Matt didn't mention is that time working is away from home, sleeping in hotels and living "on the road" - It sounds great, until you do it for 6 months or so at a stretch. Trust me, it's gets old in a hurry....

JD

[matt g]

Originally Posted by dnthmn2004

I'm in construction right now, not technically laid off, but theres no work to be done. Had my last day or work Friday. Fortunately, the wife has a great paying job and tons of hours. I've been dishing out resumes like crazy with no such luck. At least I have time to do some projects around the house that I've been putting off for too long

That's the boat I'm in. I missed the layoffs, but with the economy in the crapper, there just aren't any investors for the mines. Without the investors backing mines, they aren't doing any exploration, they're just working their reserves. Because of this, drilling has taken a huge hit world wide.

Originally Posted by dragunovsks

And when will your company be hiring again?

A good chunk of what I bring home is bonus and I get that because I bust my ass. There are many in the industry that don't see that kind of cash.

The hours suck, the work conditions suck and it's hard, dangerous work. You really have to want to be there to make the money.

Drilling seems to run on a 6 to 8 year cycle. I got in during the boom for this cycle. It may pick back up if the economy does, but it may not. It's hard to say.

If you're really interested, here are some YouTube vids on diamond drilling:

YouTube - Diamond Drilling

YouTube - Diamond Drilling

YouTube - Diamond Drill Yukon

YouTube - Diamond Drill Yukon

YouTube - Diamond drilling

YouTube - Diamond drilling

YouTube - Longhole Drilling in Montana

YouTube - Longhole Drilling in Montana

This is my rig, I was transferred to it from an underground rig in Alaska. I got to this rig on the hole after the one in this video:

YouTube - Connors 40HH drilling in Nevada

YouTube - Connors 40HH drilling in Nevada

Here are some pictures from Alaska:

[matt g]

Originally Posted by Dillinger

What Matt didn't mention is that time working is away from home, sleeping in hotels and living "on the road" - It sounds great, until you do it for 6 months or so at a stretch. Trust me, it's gets old in a hurry....

JD

We usually run 45-60 days on 15 days off. It does suck though, I missed most of the first year of my son's life. That's the reason that it's no big deal for me to be home (out of work) for so long.

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by matt g

We usually run 45-60 days on 15 days off. It does suck though, I missed most of the first year of my son's life. That's the reason that it's no big deal for me to be home (out of work) for so long.

Agreed. We have talked about it before - but we used to hire guys from whatever City we were working in, then they would come with us to the next City. About 50% of them missed home life, missed sleeping in their own beds, hanging out with their own friends, missed momma and the baby, then would wash out inside the first month.

We called in the 30/50 rule - by 30 days out, you will have lost 50 % of the new guys...

But, in the interest of the thread:

Anyone young enough to consider it - the world of Power ( construction, repair, rebuild ) is a great choice and has positions that routinely make in excess of $80K a year if you know your business and can work safely in a crew.

We have an apprentice at our shop, he is in the second year of the program I believe, that made over $100K last year, and the kid is 25!

But he is on one of the hardest working crews we have and they are out, in the dark, in the rain, in the snow, in the wind, probably 4 nights a week, every week, 52 weeks a year. It's not glamorous, it's not easy, but if you are willing to work outdoors in bad conditions, you can make bank.

For anyone interested: The Lineman Apprenticeship program is 4 years, but you are on a crew all four years before being promoted to Lineman. Every two weeks you have to attend a full weekend class, for training and tests, then two weeks once a year you go away to the actual supporting "school" for two full weeks of training and testing. I don't know how many hours it is to achieve "Lineman" status - but once you do, you can go to work in any state in the country for Union wages.

We didn't have a registered lineman, who was with the company all year, that DIDN'T make over $100K last year.... but several of them left to make the REALLY big money down in Texas after the Hurricanes hit.

We had one whole crew that went to N.O. after Katrina and worked for 4 months, all day, everyday, and made more in those four months then they would have made working here all year long.

So, if you thinking about starting a career, or maybe changing one, The Power Company might be a real good choice if you don't mind being outside in bad weather.

JD

[matt g]

On the other hand JD, I'm 33 and I've run circle around 18 and 20 year old kids. You have to want to be there and you have to want to do the work.