Since so many of us are getting the ax....I just had to do this....

Miles, we know your status!...

I still have work, at least until the end of this week. Who knows about next week or the week after. Supposedly it is going to pickup a little.

In other words, I have this job till I find another - which I hope is quick!

in order to get the complete picture you should add an icon for people who are in a job or have their own business over 6 month

Still working TFN, but the major computer company I work for has, or intends, to outsource 10's of thoudsands of American jobs to India, Costa Rica and Red China, because outsourcing is good for America.

I hope to have enough free time to drive my 914 once or twice a month when I have to work 3-4 jobs to make ends meet like everyone else I know who went before me.......

Our new CEO (I've had 4 so far....) says that future 'outsourcing' isn't really outsourcing, since the people they hire in India or Central America will have company badges, and therefor are considered 'fellow employees' (until our severance is final, then we arn't 'fellow employees' anymore, just un-employed Americans).

Not to be a smart ass, but maybe it has something to do with all the time we spend on our addiction (this site) when we should be working hard! Good luck to all you guys looking hard and willing to work hard!

Haven't drawn a paycheck in 1 1/2 years, but have 2 businesses that I own, and they are both starting to pay off!

MarkG, I assume you work at DEC/HP?

I'm getting carbs, so that means i'm working.

Looking forward to being unemployed in about 10 months.
Cheers, Elliot

just celebrated my 5th anniversary with the same company I've been at since I graduated college... I'm still nervous that they'll figure out I don't know what I'm doing half the time

QUOTE (MarkG @ Jun 27 2005, 03:44 PM)

Still working TFN, but the major computer company I work for has, or intends, to outsource 10's of thoudsands of American jobs to India, Costa Rica and Red China, because outsourcing is good for America. I hope to have enough free time to drive my 914 once or twice a month when I have to work 3-4 jobs to make ends meet like everyone else I know who went before me....... Our new CEO (I've had 4 so far....) says that future 'outsourcing' isn't really outsourcing, since the people they hire in India or Central America will have company badges, and therefor are considered 'fellow employees' (until our severance is final, then we arn't 'fellow employees' anymore, just un-employed Americans).

The company I work for has lots of people in India already, yet they're still hiring 20+ people EVERY WEEK. The only reason they've been hiring people in India is because they'd like to hire 100+ people here EVERY WEEK, but can't find that many people here who deserve to have a job (with us or anyone else). We reject 70-80% of people interviewed because they're major f-ups, or at least they come across that way in an interview.

This is in software, btw, in Silicon Valley, which had a very serious downturn in 2000/2001. The job situation now is very similar to what it was in 1998, near the top of the boom.

This trend isn't likely to get any better, as the number of people entering the workforce from school is declining every year, since everyone "knows" they're just outsourcing all of the jobs to India, so why would anyone want to start out in a career like that? Meanwhile, employers that WANT to hire bright young people in the US to fill jobs in the US can't find them, because they're aren't any. 100% of the people here that I feel are worth hiring are employed. This is very different from how it was only three years ago, but it's true again. Every person hired here chooses us from one of several job offers, so for every person we take, other shops aren't getting someone. So, there's clearly a shortage of qualified people here.

If you find you simply can't hire people locally, you HAVE to start looking elsewhere. Outsourcing may not be "good" for America, but its rapidly becoming a requirement for America for certain job sectors. If you can't get a job in the IT or other similar computer sector, then you need to move to where the jobs are (SF/NY/LA). If you can't get a job in one of those places, you need to work on your interviewing skills, because the jobs are there begging.

I'm sure there are places that are laying people off, but those companies are probably on the decline, anyway, and either you'd need to get a job now, or in a couple of years. India doesn't have a thing to do with it. I'm also sure there are some organizations "moving" jobs to India. Fair game. There are plenty that aren't. Smallish companies often aren't, as off-shore management is hard and people intensive. Stop trying to get hired by IBM, and look for the 20 person startup. Stop blaming India or the companies employing people there.

Ya didn't have retired, so guess I'm just outta the big house.

You missed a category!!!!

My ass was on the line last week.... lost sleep a few nights..

I still have my job..

the coup de etat within my companies politcos failed

Im working they're gone

QUOTE (crash914 @ Jun 27 2005, 04:19 PM)

Since so many of us are getting the ax....

there's no option for me to click on!

been working at my own company for 5 years now ...
Andy

I haven't gotten a paycheck signed by someone else since 1979. I'm a better boss anyway.

I’m going to school. I tried to get a part time job but I don’t speak Spanish. I got a job at Burger King. But I couldn’t talk to my coworkers. It drove me nuts I had to quit. I’ve had a full time job as an electrician for 3 years that I had to quit to go to school full time. I thought about going back to work and dropped tow applications, had tow job offers. I think its all about what you know, And what your wiling to do for work.

Thinking about starting up a vinyl sticker / T-shirt shop. I have access to a cuter.

I am a loser by choice!

Choose Lif!


M

QUOTE (Elliot Cannon @ Jun 27 2005, 05:11 PM)

Looking forward to being unemployed in about 10 months. Cheers, Elliot

Elliot, I would gladly be your apprentice. Been Mr. Mom for 2 1/2 yers now. Wife's contract job ends October.

Anyone know of positions for Purchasing, Materials Management, IT development for Materials or Program Management I have a resume to give ya. 10 years of experience at two (former) Fortune 100 companies. (thought I'd prostitute myself given the chance).

I have been self employed for about 5 years too but now I have something to work for my retirement. Union labor now boys, lifetime job with benies. So I guess I have to hit Null vote?

QUOTE (SirAndy @ Jun 27 2005, 06:20 PM)

QUOTE (crash914 @ Jun 27 2005, 04:19 PM) Since so many of us are getting the ax.... there's no option for me to click on! been working at my own company for 5 years now ... Andy

Been an independent contractor in the Cardiac Cath Lab for over 6 years...and before that did the same work as an employee at the same hospital for 15 years.
For some reason....people still have heart disease...go figure

Lisa

I have counted the pennies in my savings several times over the past year expecting to get the axe. Still working though. At one point I was disappointed that I wasn't let go. I still need to polish up the old resume just in case.

-Jeff

Im a student. Does that make me unemployed? I know I'm poor, but I work my ass off...

Wish you luck... times have changed, that's for sure !

Our boys& girls in uniform can use some help...

So can our border patrol agents...

Let's start a mercinary force-for-hire ...

"Team 914" ....

- M

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Jun 27 2005, 04:24 PM)

...India doesn't have a thing to do with it. I'm also sure there are some organizations "moving" jobs to India. Fair game. There are plenty that aren't. Smallish companies often aren't, as off-shore management is hard and people intensive. Stop trying to get hired by IBM, and look for the 20 person startup. Stop blaming India or the companies employing people there.

My older brother works for Qwest in Denver (systems admin) [a.k.a. Mountain Bell, SW Direct, etc.] for the last 28 years, and is wondering day to day if he'll have a job just for this reason..........so this is from my brother.

I don't much about being outa work.Some of our guys here at the fab shop have been working 6 days aweek for the last 6 or 8 months.

I guess were lucky,it's better than the alternative.


Ron

Ok ok, i missed a couple of catagories....sue me...

If your self employed, your employed.

I was trying to get a feel for how many lost jobs over the short term...

If you left on your own to start something new should that count?

We are a big bunch of jail birds.....I guess that is why we are so cheap!

QUOTE (Special_K @ Jun 28 2005, 12:09 AM)

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Jun 27 2005, 04:24 PM) ...India doesn't have a thing to do with it.  I'm also sure there are some organizations "moving" jobs to India.  Fair game.  There are plenty that aren't.  Smallish companies often aren't, as off-shore management is hard and people intensive.  Stop trying to get hired by IBM, and look for the 20 person startup.  Stop blaming India or the companies employing people there. My older brother works for Qwest in Denver (systems admin) [a.k.a. Mountain Bell, SW Direct, etc.] for the last 28 years, and is wondering day to day if he'll have a job just for this reason..........so this is from my brother.

Honestly, if they let him go for that reason, it would be the best thing that happened to him. There's nothing worse than working for an employer that hangs something like that over your head day after day.

My point was that the outsourcing "problem" is mostly hype. There are many people worried about it for no good reason. There are many companies thinking about it for no good reason. People who sit in their jobs doing little but worrying about whether or not they'll have it next month have their priorities all screwed up. My job is certainly vulnerable, and could be moved to India or China, but I'm just not worried about it. First, I'm very likely to find something similar at another company close by (because I live where the jobs are), OR I'll just finally bite the bullet and quit software (which I've been thinking of for years now). There are plenty of fulfilling jobs that cannot be outsourced, because they require your physical presence.

Tell your brother to start learning a trade. They'll be hiring plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc., for decades to come. Plenty of money in that line if you apply yourself at all. Restore high end cars. Get into health care (your wife doesn't have any job problems, and won't likely for a good long time). Open a retail business. Open an IT consulting shop (lots of companies, esp. smaller ones, want someone local they can talk to, not someone half a world away). If he starts this now, BEFORE Qwest cans him, the better off he'll be when they can him (if they can him).

They outsourced everything they could here, and that wasn't enough, so they started bringing in illegals to do the contracting.


M

QUOTE (kwales @ Jun 28 2005, 11:00 AM)

James, Nowhere is safe. All jobs are going offshore as fast as they can. That way the business can cut costs, increase profits, increase returns to shareholders, and most important, the instigators get a good bonus. I worked in Medical devices and after moving the factories to Mexico, they are cranking up China and India as fast as they can. They wanted us to teach the Chinese how to run the CAD (just the simple products, we want to keep design here) , then it was let them run the Finite Modeling (just the easy jobs, we want to keep the hard stuff here...). Then it was you know, those poor Chinese factory workers just don't get that the parts they make are assembled together. Can we ship a whole product to them and teach them how that works....... Yep, Keep your blinders on. When those high paying jobs go overseas no one will be able to afford a meal out, a 914 part, or a plumber. Ken

If all of the high paying jobs are really being offshored, why has my company added 1000 new jobs in Silicon Valley per year for the last three years? They intend to add 1000/year here for at least the next three years, too. Why is it every other company in this sector has billboards up on the freeway advertising jobs here? I keep hearing about all this offshoring, and keep reading about it in the news, yet I keep getting phone calls from recruiters asking me if I'd apply for a job they have right here. I keep talking to friends who had to hold off employers to get a couple of weeks off between jobs, and turned down two offers to take the one they did take.

I'm sure there are places that are offshoring work. I just don't work for them. I don't seem to have any trouble finding employers who'd rather keep their labor force local. I'd advise anyone who does work for a company to find a job with one of the MANY employers who don't offshore. Or find a non-offshoreable job, or start your own business...

Plenty of places are "safe". Plumbing, for example, isn't going to be offshored. Oddly enough, one of the fastest growing places for new auto assembly plants is...The United States. Lots of places in the Midwest and South are getting the supposedly ultimately offshorable job of working in a manufacturing plant, with thousands of jobs created each time.

So, if you were just layed off because your company moved your job to India or China, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get another job. They're out there, and whining about how unfair the labor market is isn't going to feed you, or buy you 914 parts, or fix your plumbing. I didn't mope about in 2001 when I got laid off in the dot-bomb bust, whining about what idiots all venture capitalists are, or how badly mismanaged my then employer had been. I was out of work for a few months, but I eventually found a job I loathed, then another better job, then another better one still, until now I'm working for a growing company and only making 20% less than I was at the height of the boom. Shit happens, live with it.

I do IT, first computer job in 1982. It'll be my 10 year anniversary here in August. Company has been through a major aquisition and been bought 3 times since I got here. We've got a noticable off-shore presence in our current development staff. All of my good people are still here. I'm trying to hire someone right now, I only called 3 people out of 50 resumes. With technical positions, most people don't fit, many people don't meet my standards. The company has 550,000 employees worldwide, not including consultants (see off-shore developers). There's work, but it's exactly that, work. I think that alot of the free rides have dried up over time. Times change, those who don't change, get left behind. It's been happening for a long time...

Eric
Director of TV Systems
IT Entertainment Operations
NBC-Universal, a division of GE

Eric! PM Me! I have an idea for a reality show, about these topless women, who restore old Porsches!

It could be produced in Brazil...


M

Oh Ive been employed by the same company for 23 years..

last week was the first close call

Yikes I need to upate my resume LOL...

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Jun 28 2005, 01:41 PM)

why has my company added 1000 new jobs in Silicon Valley per year for the last three years?

Then you can make a reference. How many members of the club have you added to your highly sought after network? If you have the pulse of the valley, help some of us less fortunate people get in the door.

I have friends at Ebay and Google, they are hiring, but they are looking for the "right" people who went to the "right" schools or more education than the job calls for. Its not as easy as you make it sound. Everybody is hiring Engineers (always have and always will), but if you went to school for Business, good luck.

QUOTE (Brent @ Jun 28 2005, 11:33 PM)

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Jun 28 2005, 01:41 PM) why has my company added 1000 new jobs in Silicon Valley per year for the last three years? Then you can make a reference. How many members of the club have you added to your highly sought after network? If you have the pulse of the valley, help some of us less fortunate people get in the door. I have friends at Ebay and Google, they are hiring, but they are looking for the "right" people who went to the "right" schools or more education than the job calls for. Its not as easy as you make it sound. Everybody is hiring Engineers (always have and always will), but if you went to school for Business, good luck.

First, you should check your PMs (ah, I see you did). Second, there are LOTS and LOTS of B-schoolers at big SV companies, though you generally are expected to use the old boy network to get those jobs. B-school is, after all, little more than a four-year personal networking session.

You know, there is something odd about a thread "How many of us are out of work" and another "How come our cars don't increase in value"? I mean, gee, if the only people buying them are out of work I can sort of see why ....

Only out of work now by choice. Relocating and looking for a new job.

Miles,

I'd love to hear your idea (though I think that you've already covered most of the important stuff) but I'm not allowed to read/hear/smell any creative ideas. It sets up some sort of liability if a similar concept gets produced. The regular industry channels are the only path into pipeline now, thanks to our modern litigious culture.

Thanks anyway.
Eric