NJD (New Job Day) for my Son

[ZMAN]

When US Steel took over the local steel plant they basically shut it down. My son was an inspector at a local plant that did work for the original company Stelco. They were forced to close. He lost a 50,000 dollar a year job.
They screwed him out of 12,000 in severance by declaring bankruptcy.
He went back to college and got his licences in HVAC, Gas, Oil and also a certtificate in waste water operations. He was top of his class with 86%.
It has been at tough 2 years and he just about exhausted all his funds. He is married and has a small son and a home.
Today he starts work at one of the larger HVAC firms in the area. He was hoping for a waste water operator job with the local region, and is still in the running. But for now he needs the money.
Because of his Licences he will start at the upper end of the pay scale so he will have a decent wage and has a lot of opportunity at this facility.
We all breathed a sigh of relief. Two years is a long time to be out of work.
I am so proud that he hung in and got through it.

[Eric***]

Seriously, congrats on that resolution. It seems weird to be so affected by the unemployment of others, but even when my mother-in-law didn't have a job, it kind of weighed on me. I can only imagine what it would be like if it was my son and he had a family.

[R_of_G]

Congratulations to your son ZMAN!
I recently found work after a very lengthy unemployment.
It can be an extremely difficult thing to go through both financially and emotionally.
He's a strong man to come out the other side of it.

[Tig***]

Good news, Zman! You can take a breath of relief now. It sounds like your son did it right by going to school. His past experience was boosted with the new training and cert's. Skills are the key to getting back to work these days.

I'm not sure what it is like in Canada, but the average time to get back into a full time job in the US is now 9 months. That is the worst it has been since the 30's.

My brother has been out of work for almost 3 years. Being in his lower 50's made it hard to compete against the fresh-out's. He just landed a temp position last week.

I've been enjoying working these last 17 months after some rocky times before. I've worked 68 weekend/nights in a row now, but will not complain, because I'm so very greatful to have a good job again.

[R_of_G]

I've been enjoying working these last 17 months after some rocky times before. I've worked 68 weekend/nights in a row now, but will not complain, because I'm so very greatful to have a good job again.

Since I've had this new job, I've noticed that a lot of things that agitated me about previous jobs didn't seem to matter any more. I'm so glad to be employed that I've learned to just let stuff go.

[piebaldpython***]

Congrats on your son landing a job. It's a terrible weight on your mind to have a family member (esp. the main breadwinner) out of work. A lot of my daughter's friends have graduated from college and are still looking for work in their fields. Jobs are tough to come by these days.

[ZMAN]

Thanks guys. I felt like I was kind of a wierdo because I think I was more worried than he was. He had his first day on the job today and said he had a great day. It was really warm here and he had a lot of Air conditioning problems to fix. He likes the fact that everyone is so glad to see him.
I have been retired for almost 7 years now and I had steady employment for 35 years. I never really had to worry about not having a job, or being retrained in another field. We have been keeping him afloat for the last year and we are glad that we have a very comfortable retirement fund that we can draw from.
It is nice to hear that a lot of peole are getting back to work. It is a good sign.

[hubberjub***]

I'm glad to hear that Zman. I worked as an employment specialist for a couple of years and I saw how much of a toll not having a job can take on a person's self confidence.

[ZMAN]

I'm glad to hear that Zman. I worked as an employment specialist for a couple of years and I saw how much of a toll not having a job can take on a person's self confidence.

It wasn't bad while he was going to school. He started to send out hundreds of resumes in December. He had 2 replies, one for a call center for a compnay that sells Furnaces, one for another sales job. It was really getting him down since he graduated in mid May. It is amazing how a person's whole persona changes when they get back to work.

[bcdon***]

As the Okies say, Labor omnia vincit (Work conquers all things)

Speaking of Okies..