what have you been “working” on while you aren’t working?

I’m taking on another volunteer/pro bono project, an animal rescue/sanctuary I contacted via Craig’s List. It’s one of my favorite types of charities, so I’m excited and happy to help any way I can. I’m also hoping I will boost my resume a bit. So, even though I’m not working for a salary, at least I can make a contribution of a sort, and give someone else a little bit off help.

Speaking of Craig’s list, more and more jobs seem to be appearing there lately. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. While it is an encouraging sign to see jobs listed anywhere, I have to wonder how “real” they are. I’ve seen several jobs listed for my field and the salary is less than a quarter of what a beginner would likely get in a “normal” market. While my first thought was (again back to my Momma) “take what you can get”, I then think that maybe that is not exactly the right way to look at it. First off, I would be undercutting those that did not get laid off, thus making it more difficult for others who have the experience that I have to maintain their salaries if they were to lose their jobs. Second, again, my contribution to the economy will be a lot less than it will be if I hold out for a salary closer to what I was making.

My intuition tells me that there are some people out there that are looking to take advantage of people in a bad situation, and that that may actually make things worse in the long run instead of better. An example of this would be the engineering firm that I just left- they lost a few potential jobs to other firms that lowballed just to get work. Well, what do we think will happen to the companies that picked up projects by lowballing the price? Can you say “Big Dig”? Also, the companies that are lowballing are not going to escape the economy that way. If they are making enough to “just” make it, eventually, that is going to catch up with them, and thus another slide down the hill begins.

I was recently personally attacked for the content of this blog. Besides the fact that the person attacking does not know me personally or know anything about me besides my employment status, they evidentally think that I am a big corporate fat cat (for the record, I drive a small used car and live in a far less than elaborate ranch home). I think I should restate that there is absolutley nothing wrong with making less. In fact, it is greed that got us to this place! I personally don’t “have” to make as much as I was, although by today’s standards, I don’t think I would quite even cut it as being labeled “middle class”. Certainly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with working for less, and there is nothing wrong with working at a fast food joint, Walmart, or anywhere that helps one bring home a check and not suck off society. We NEED people who are ready, willing, and able to work in these jobs, and I see lots of hard-working folks out there doing just that. My problem with someone who was once making a decent salary taking those jobs is that we then dislodge the citizens already in those jobs. If we take the lesser paying jobs away from them, then they have no jobs. So, you take someone who was making say, $50,000 a year, and “downsize” them to $15,000. The person who was out there seeking the $15,000 job gets no job, so now the economy has lost an able body, and $50,000 that the government could collect taxes on, and that could be spent to stimulate and create more jobs. I don’t think that will help us with our economic recovery. We need to have jobs for all kinds of workers, so that they can make a contribution to society, and get even more folks working…

…and until then, be careful in that tunnel.

Introduction

I love blogging. Blogging gives us a chance to rant. Ranting’s good, it’s healthy, it’s freeing! So, here is my rant…er, blog…about becoming one of the thousands of Americans who got the old pink slip.

A little bit about me- I am, well was, a marketer. I have tons of cool experience! Web design, graphic design, writing. Sounds fun, right? Well, I have just been laid off from my cozy comfy job, due to the economy. I know there are lots of other folks like me out there who are in the same boat. It has to get better, right?

My Momma always told me “there are jobs out there for those who want to work”. I think for the first time in my life, this might not really be the truth. Even the ever-present “help wanted- door greeters” sign is suspiciously missing from my local Walmart. And while Mickey D’s might be hiring part-time burger slingers, I really don’t want to go from my 50K a year job to $8 an hour if I can help it. I’m not lazy, and I’m willing to do just that if I have to, but let’s hope for the economy’s sake that I won’t have to, (I sure won’t be contributing to the economy much under those conditions). And before you all yell at me, I love Mickey’s as much as the next girl, I just would prefer to use the skills that I spent tens of thousands of dollars and many classroom hours learning, while I DID work lower-paying jobs to get myself through.

So, feel free to rant, rave, complain about what has happened to you and your employment status, especially if it was due to the economy. Perhaps eventually, we will be able to help one another secure new employment. Hey, I’m willing to give it a shot!