That's unfortunate. Definitely hopefully not your last opportunity like that or anything.

Hopefully doesn't get you too down, and you take some time to think about some uplifting things too.

Best of luck. :)

Thanks Woz, but it's whether there is another chance, that is at issue. I mean, a lot of people are in this situation, what with the 'casualisation' of the work force and changing employment practices. I've been contracting sporadically for three years, and that might be the way it is going to remain.

I also do sub-contracting, and just rely on my guy to always come up with work. When I first started I didn't know anyone that had work everyday, but pretty much so far for the last three years my current employer comes through.

Some slow start to this year though, with the weird snow all the way up to May, and then had the job for Monday guy drop out, so I was home yesterday and today. Got at least two lined up starting tomorrow though.

Personally, I absolutely love my job, and am very very happy to have it. Considering my total lack of skills, and where I come from, I'm doing damn good.

I see a couple of reasons why it will be hard, or you may fail that you mention. I hope that you can also think of a couple as to why you can succeed, and what about it will be easy.

the more it sucks, the more you need Lord Buddha to help you with detachment and indifference. Hopefully he will deliver.

it really sucks — Wayfarer

When my last job came to an end, I simply could not at the moment stand another round of job applications, interviews, and the whole angst of not hearing back, and finally receiving the "somebody else was a better fit" kiss off letter. Unemployment went on for about a year, and then I decided, "You know, life really is better without the daily sensation of being sucked down into the manure pile that so many workplaces produce." So, I decided that the last job really was the last job. It was an expensive decision; I had intended to work till I was 65, and I needed the intervening years income.

On balance, being poorer and not seeking out another shit pile was a health-promoting decision. I began to feel better and my ability to think clearly, function well, and so forth improved steadily.

At 70, I feel like I have talents that are going to waste. Perhaps I could find some place to give them away, but that can also be difficult to find. I have an assortment of skill sets, but excellent social skills isn't one of them.

All that aside, good luck to you in your search and endeavors.

the more it sucks, the more you need Lord Buddha to help you with detachment and indifference. Hopefully he will deliver. — Bitter Crank

Thanks BC - although the Buddha only points the way, it's us who have to walk it.

Part of me wants to walk away from the workforce, but I could potentially get the kind of job I just missed out on, which means working from home for a good income. That is what was so agonising about what just happened - it was tantalisingly close to happily ever after.

Personally, I absolutely love my job, and am very very happy to have it. Considering my total lack of skills, and where I come from, I'm doing damn good. — Wosret

That's great Woz - glad to hear that. If you can string it together, that kind of work brings a great sense of freedom with it.

Bad luck. And the very best wishes. Like BC, at some point in my early 60s I gave up the struggle - even though it was financially disadvantageous - to keep my head straight. I couldn't take the Noes any more. But poverty doesn't keep your head straight either. Balancing act.

thanks mcd. I'm already feeling bad for bleeting. I'll have to balance while bleeting;-)

it's more than likely the last chance of that kind to come along. — Wayfarer

Better luck next time when other kinds of chances come along.

Whenever a major project gets cancelled or the economic cycle stagnates we sometimes invent our own projects in hope to attract investors. In case we fail, or don't get paid, we can at least recycle some of the results and knowledge in future projects.

Have a mango. You'll feel better. Trust me.

Would you like me to send you over a monkey to offer it up to you?

Would you like me to send you over a monkey to offer it up to you? — Sapientia

Because everything is better when served up by a monkey?

The contracts dried up for me back in 2001 (when the dot com bubble burst). I had to move from a large comfortable apartment in a great part of town to a crappy little one in a less agreeable part of town, and I ended up working as a barman in an old man's pub and a fishmonger at Tesco. If the same sort of thing happens to you, just remind yourself that learning how to properly pour a Guinness and fillet a salmon are skills worth having.

the more it sucks, the more you need Lord Buddha to help you with detachment and indifference. Hopefully he will deliver. — Bitter Crank

>:O

I just got a graduate degree and am looking for work now. I have absolutely no idea what I will or should do. At least you've had genuine employment and seem to understand the process. I've yet to have a job that pays more than about $7,000 a year, at which I work full time.

I have found some contentment doing volunteer janitor work at church. There are several good things about it. It's a pleasure as long as it's voluntary. There's no glory in it, so nobody is trying to add it to their personal empire.

The amount of dirt swept up is definite and without ambiguity. The grass and plants are always grateful to get watered. Cleaning 15 toilet bowls, 15 sinks, and 4 urinals is actually better than dealing with any number of passive aggressive or borderline personality co-workers and rigid, anal retentive supervisors.

Cleaning up after a funeral lunch for 150 with a team of people is joyous labor compared to terminally boring meetings. The dirty china comes out of the dishwasher unequivocally hot and clean. It's much better than getting slimed by some devious bastard in academia.

What did you get your degree in, and which degree? What kind of position are you looking for?

An MA in one of the humanities. I couldn't get into a PhD program this cycle, so I have to now get a job, especially since the six month window to start paying back my student loans and get health insurance expires in the fall.

I've narrowed it down to: get a CDL license and drive a truck, get a TEFL certificate and teach English abroad, find a salaried college adjunct/instructor position (as there's no way I'm doing that part-time or per credit hour), teach the humanities at a private secondary school (because I don't have any coursework or certification to be a public school teacher and am not about to enter that nightmare), join the National Guard or some government branch that provides remission for student loans, find some local job, such as in manufacturing (I refuse to work in retail), or join a monastery that can work with my student loans.

(I refuse to work in retail) — Thorongil

Excellent decision.

that nightmare — Thorongil

I have very little good to say about teacher education and teacher certification. I did go that route and it was mostly a waste of time. But then my decision to become a high school teacher was doomed before it was made -- I just wasn't cut out to be a high school teacher and didn't realize it until years later. (I like teaching, but not in the typical high school setting.)

People do go abroad to teach English. A guy I used to know has been in Burma teaching English for years.

Lots of people have gone the National Guard route, though it isn't quite a reliable as it used to be -- without a draft, it's the National Guard that gets sent.

It's a shame that having pursued an MA in which humanities field? that truck driving has to be a live option. Though, I had a masters degree and it was clerical work that came through in emergencies. It helps to have versatile skills. During the '70s recession there were physics majors doing janitor work at St. Thomas where I worked at the time.

Monastery that would work with your student loans? Seriously? What kind of monastery are you thinking of -- Benedictine - college combo like St. John's Abbey and College?

Good luck in this critical transition. It sucks, and Lord Buddha maybe can help you with detachment and indifference to the student loan vultures circling overhead.

It's a shame that having pursued an MA in which humanities field? that truck driving has to be a live option. — Bitter Crank

I'd prefer not to say. It doesn't really matter, though, as all humanities degrees are of a piece: practically useless.

Monastery that would work with your student loans? Seriously? What kind of monastery are you thinking of -- Benedictine - college combo like St. John's Abbey and College? — Bitter Crank

I meant that somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Whenever I get especially irritated about what the hell I should do, I often half-seriously entertain notions of simply becoming a monk and retiring from this ridiculous world that seems to have no interest in or need of my abilities.

I would agree that most humanities degrees are practically useless in terms of employment. When it comes to facing an interviewer and they look at your résumé with narrowed eyes, wrinkled nose, pursed lips... whether you majored in Art, Gender, Race, and Queer Theory, medieval French, or English Literature--most employers (99.9%) are going to feel your studies are more of an impediment in their organization than a contribution--an imposition upon them.

I majored in English Literature, took some sociology and poly sci along with it, and a decade later added classics courses. No one ever hired me for the content of my degrees. That I had a bachelor and master degree is what mattered. Personally, the English major was entirely worth it, as were the social science and classics courses. The master degree was what I later learned is called a "credential"; these are mainly to help people advance in pay grades in public employment. It wasn't a bad experience, it just wasn't as content laden as it should have been. Back then tuition in Minnesota was really cheap, so it was a good deal.

Had I to do it over again, I would still major in English. I would still take classics courses, and I would take more history -- but taught like in the 60s, before the post-modernism fungus rotted its way through academia.

In the last several years I've been filling in holes in my education--trying to get through authors I thought were going to be dull and boring and are not -- like Henry James and Anthony Trollope (he's sort of dull), contemporary poetry (as long as it makes sense and is accessible -- like Billy Collins). I've been reading a lot of 20th century history -- something I was woefully uninformed about. Yes, I had heard about WWI and WWII, but there was an awful lot I didn't know, or had forgotten about it.

So... don't regret your studies in the humanities. Plan on being an old man who has been reading all his life, not one of those professionals who boasts, "I haven't read a book since college!" There's a 90 year old guy at church who still reads a lot.

Whenever I get especially irritated about what the hell I should do, I often half-seriously entertain notions of simply becoming a monk and retiring from this ridiculous world that seems to have no interest in or need of my abilities. — Thorongil

Unfortunately, the ridiculous world exists within cloistered walls. Teaching monks, especially, are pretty much in the world. Now if you became a cloistered monk you might get away from more of the world. But then you'd have to be really committed to everything that goes along with being a monk.

Maybe you could join the Catholic Workers? They are in the world and resist the world. Kind of lefty, so maybe not a good fit for you.

But I do need to say, at this point, it really sucks. ;-( — Wayfarer

Sorry for the setback. There will be brighter days. I generally rely upon the principle of sour grapes when such things happen. The new job probably would've sucked too.

The new job would certainly have sucked--if not in the first 15 minutes, then fairly soon.

There is a very obvious reason why people are paid to work.

Work as a meaningful and fruitful experience for the individual worker just doesn't make sense within the industrialized, capitalist culture we inhabit. The worker is a tool applies to a task and if the tool doesn't work well, you get one that does work, possibly a cheaper and more disposable version. "Working well" means accepting exploitation as life itself, and not bitching and carping about the wretched suctiveness of it all, and god forbid, resisting the employer.

If it makes anyone feel better, I'm trying to go on disability, a process that could take up to a year.

Either that or go back to college and accrue more debt for a degree that won't land me any awesome job positions. I'm in the process of seeking a job with IHSS, which isn't that bad, as a stopgap measure to get on disability.

Nowadays, I tend to sleep upwards of 12+ hours a day and enjoy my life as it unfolds in my dreams.

I have considered just piling up more debt and see what happens then; but, a BA in Econ won't get me anywhere fast. And, getting up to a Masters isn't that great either. I'd be in my 30's by the time I finish my masters and still living with my mom. Not a bad life, just really mundane.

I try not to complain.

If mundane means a lighter workload, less stress, and general contentment, then it might turn out to be the better option. Low aspirations can be a blessing in disguise. Sometimes I think about what I could have gone for in terms of a career: lawyer, doctor, scientist... and I feel a little regretful. But then I think about all of the hard work, time, money, effort, stress, and all the rest, that that would have required... and that tends to do the trick. (Although, you already know what I think, because we've had this conversation before).

Each to their own. I'd much rather work in retail than be a truck driver, which I think I'd soon find unbearable.

If mundane means a lighter workload, less stress, and general contentment, then it might turn out to be the better option. Low aspirations can be a blessing in disguise. Sometimes I think about what I could have gone for in terms of a career: lawyer, doctor, scientist... and I feel a little regretful. But then I think about all of the hard work, time, money, effort, stress, and all the rest, that that would have required... and that tends to do the trick. (Although, you already know what I think, because we've had this conversation before).

Each to their own. I'd much rather work in retail than be a truck driver, which I think I'd soon find unbearable. — Sapientia

Well, there is an ounce of regret always present when I think about my current situation. Hard not to feel some regret if you are at least motivated in some regards to becoming something. I mean, if you didn't feel regret, then I think you fall into the category of 'moocher' or 'can work but doesn't want to' type. Yeah, I do feel butthurt; but, so is life.

The new job probably would've sucked too. — Hanover

Definitely not. It would have grossed nearly 6 figures, for working from home, on cutting-edge technology. It is the kind of job you get, to avoid jobs that suck, like the one I am now stuck doing. Had that come off, it could have given me a clear path to retirement in 5-6 years (in fact it's quite possible I lost out because of my age, although they will never say that.)

Whenever I get especially irritated about what the hell I should do, I often half-seriously entertain notions of simply becoming a monk and retiring from this ridiculous world that seems to have no interest in or need of my abilities. — Thorongil

I can relate, although I think it could be a hard life to adapt to. I know one young guy from Dharma forums, who took ordination in a Buddhist order, and after a few years left - he was never really clear about why but seemed to be really disillusioned by what he had encountered in that time. And he's a really good scholar - translates classical Chinese, and reads numerous other languages, and only in his early 20's.

Anyway, for what it's worth, don't underestimate your strengths - obviously above average intelligence, highly articulate, ability to write. Such abilities have wide applicability. There are all kinds of new occupations emerging - more than two billion people are connected to the Internet. One of my relatives did an MA, didn't succeed to getting on track for a tenure, but has found quite a good career in library sciences and research. There are millions of possibilities.

There are millions of possibilities. — Wayfarer

That's actually part of the problem. Yes, I can read, think, and write. Obviously these are highly valuable attributes to possess, but not in the short term. I also know all about the statistics that show that people with an educational background in the humanities who do not pursue teaching go on to be successful and make more money throughout their lifetimes than other people. But this doesn't help me now, and I exist only in the present, not the future. I would actually like it if someone would simply sit me down and say, "do this."

Infinite freedom of choice is not genuine freedom, as it leaves one bewildered and rooted to the spot. Paradoxically, one is freest when one is operating within a defined structure.