Well, it finally happened... (job related) (happier news)

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:36 pm

I had been waiting for this day for a long, long time, but I finally lost my job of almost 20 years on the 14th.

Their official reasons don't really make a lot of sense, so I suspect it's that they needed to cut expenses and I was just the low man on the totem pole this time around, but I also can't deny I'd been feeling depressed, and extra burnt out the last few months and my productivity had been suffering.

I was pretty depressed, especially the first week afterward, but I think I'm starting to come to grips with it and getting ready to move on to something hopefully better. The truth is I burnt out on that job way back around 2006 or so and, some ups and downs aside, had pretty much just been collecting the good pay for as long as they kept paying me, and little more. Realizing I might actually be able to find a job that is interesting and fulfilling is a bit of a new concept to me at this point. I'm also reminding myself of how much worse it could be given everything going on in the country now. I at least have a few months severance to give me a little more time, and considerable savings, so we're not in any immediate danger like some are right now.

The last few years we also shifted away from the old and busted languages we were using to much more cutting edge stuff like AWS, React, and GraphQL which gave me some invaluable experience. With a little brushing up I'm pretty confident I'll be able to find work thanks to that.

Anyway, still some parts of it I'm getting over, and I'm still processing the 20 years worth of emotions I had wrapped up in that job, but I'm at least starting to feel a few shreds of optimism seep in and hope for something better.

Hope everyone else is having as safe and happy a holiday as possible right now.

Much love OO <3

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:37 pm

Wrong forum

.

If a mod wants to throw this to EBG I'd appreciate it.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:44 pm

Good luck, Sepiche. I'm glad you are seeing some positive in this, and even more so that you can wing it while you search.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:45 pm

Glad you're starting to feel optimism. I hope everything works out and you find a job that actually engages you again.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 6:41 pm

I’m sorry to hear this. I went through a similar situation 10 years. My main advice is to spend some time thinking about what you really want to do, and then focus on making that happen.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:14 pm

Congratudolences?

I have a long history of sticking with lost causes long after I should have known better. Inertia is strong in me. I hope this turns out to be the kick you needed to improve your situation.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:30 pm

Seems in my grandparents day a person worked a job their entire life then retired with them. Now days jobs come and go all the time and theres not a company retirement.

The last one I can think of is my step mom who worked for American Uniform her entire life nearly. I remember her 50 year diamond brooch thing. Think she melted it down and used the stuff to make a new setting for the gems into a ring. She worked there another 10 or 15 years then retired.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 8:05 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:14 pm Congratudolences?

That's about right.

I mean... I'm still wobbling between optimism, a newfound sense of freedom, and abject terror, but I'm getting there.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 8:38 pm

Sepiche wrote: ↑Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:37 pm Wrong forum .

If a mod wants to throw this to EBG I'd appreciate it.

Done.

Sorry about the job loss but I can relate to just collecting a paycheck. I left my last job (of about 19 years) because I was not challenged and I've done more in the last 4 years than I did in the previous 10.

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:15 pm

I wish you the best in your future endeavors. I miss seeing you in Video Games, me and you like similar stuff it seems.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 3:54 pm

Sepiche wrote: ↑Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:36 pm
The last few years we also shifted away from the old and busted languages we were using to much more cutting edge stuff like AWS, React, and GraphQL which gave me some invaluable experience. With a little brushing up I'm pretty confident I'll be able to find work thanks to that.

given the amount of remote dev work available now (and even more when widespread hiring starts in January), you will have no issue. at least half a hundred jobs available with that skill set in the Seattle area now.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:11 pm

Thanks for all the kind words guys. Every little bit helps my confidence right now. I'm generally putting on a good showing, but my moods swing wildly still.

I've been hearing similar things from a lot of my contacts, hitbyambulance... that the development economy is pretty hot right now and there's work to be found, so I think that's helping feed my optimism.

I've been working nearly nonstop developing for 25 years now, so taking a few weeks to breathe, but Garmin has its HQ up the road from me, so I'd be crazy to not at least give them a shot and I've got some leads coming in.

Turns out having a wife in the 501st is pretty handy for networking.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:34 pm

Nice! Always take advantage of networking, even with Stormtroopers.

Dev work is really hot here as well, so I think you are set up pretty well to succeed. Let me know if I can help in any way!

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:09 pm

Lorini wrote: ↑Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:15 pm I wish you the best in your future endeavors. I miss seeing you in Video Games, me and you like similar stuff it seems.

Thanks Lorini, I feel the same. I know there have been times where I was looking for something new and knew that whatever game you had been sinking your hours into lately would be a good one for me.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:19 pm

Sepiche wrote: ↑Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:11 pm
I've been working nearly nonstop developing for 25 years now, so taking a few weeks to breathe

yeah, take as much time off as you need - in your situation, i wouldn't worry about future job prospects at all.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:25 pm

I think everyone has forgotten that the roaring 20's (1920's) happened directly after the end of the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. I think the same thing will happen here. There is a lot of pent up demand and I think people will travel and spend money once we do fun things again.

Baroquen · Post by **Baroquen** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:09 pm

Good luck Sepiche! Uncertainty can definitely be nerve-wracking but it sounds like better things could be on the horizon. I hope things turn out well for you!

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Tue Dec 29, 2020 12:33 am

Moat_Man wrote: ↑Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:25 pm I think everyone has forgotten that the roaring 20's (1920's) happened directly after the end of the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. I think the same thing will happen here. There is a lot of pent up demand and I think people will travel and spend money once we do fun things again.

Agreed. There's a ton of opportunities to come!!!

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Tue Dec 29, 2020 12:51 am

Good luck, Sepiche. Losing a job is never good news exactly, but it sounds like you're more than ready for something new. Here's to a great 2021 for you (and all of us).

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Tue Dec 29, 2020 1:10 am

Job loss sucks (always better to leave for a new job than be let go and have to find a new job), but it sounds like you have nothing to worry about and are likely going to benefit from this forced change, so grats I guess?

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:30 pm

Turns out one of the harder things about being without a job after working for 25 years straight is the generalized anxiety during the day where I feel like I'm breaking the rules because I'm not working and haven't let anyone know I'm taking time off... just feels weird, but getting used to it.

Just been practicing my coding to make sure my knowledge stays sharp and familiarizing myself with languages and packages that seem be in demand now. Helps relieve my anxiety during the day, and it's been really good to just be able to code at my pace and be able to spend time getting more familiar with the code behind parts of our app that our lead dev always hogged.

Also got myself listed on Linked in finally, connected with some old development friends, and started looking through jobs there. Already had a small swarm of recruiters contact me, but also a few actual businesses that came across my resume for particular jobs. Makes me feel much better as it looks like I'll at least have a fairly good amount of choice over what job I finally go with.

Just also wanted to thank all you fellow OOers again. I don't always post a lot here, and I'm not a talkative person IRL even in the best of times, but being able to post things here has always been a great outlet for me, and I just appreciate everyone who still frequents this little corner of the internet.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:11 pm

Sepiche wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:30 pm Turns out one of the harder things about being without a job after working for 25 years straight is the generalized anxiety during the day where I feel like I'm breaking the rules because I'm not working

This was my one and only experience with being unemployed. I'm waiting for the day I don't have to work and don't feel anxiety for it. That day is nearing my reach, I hope.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:32 pm

I never had problems being without a job. I had problems being without income.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:53 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:11 pm
Sepiche wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:30 pm Turns out one of the harder things about being without a job after working for 25 years straight is the generalized anxiety during the day where I feel like I'm breaking the rules because I'm not working
This was my one and only experience with being unemployed. I'm waiting for the day I don't have to work and don't feel anxiety for it. That day is nearing my reach, I hope.

My wife is trying hard to spin things so I can be in that situation, but it's just not possible, even packing it all in here and heading to the Philippines. While it doesn't take a lot to live well there, we need a steady income stream that would maintain that level (full social security would do it, taking half would be pressing things). The main problem there is generating income is very difficult -- my wife is building a chicken farm there, but there's little chance that will generate a sustainable income. I once told my wife we could live there if I could approximate my salary there, which would be 4.8 million PHP per year. She laughed and said a bank president makes about 30,000. You can hire skilled programmers there for about $200 per month.

So my wife has been interviewing the last few days because her current job curtailed OT after everyone is back to work after being out with Covid.
It seems she can't say no to any of them (or at least hold out for a better offer), and it seems she's intending to work one job full time and another part time, but still wants to preserve occasional days off. Neither of these places pay as well as her current job, and she would do better taking any OT offers as they come up. But Covid killed off a lot of their residents, so she thinks that even maintaining a 40 hour week could become difficult.

Meanwhile, the place I accidentally applied to in Lafayette, IN has called me 3 times. I'd love for someplace locally to be so persistent.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:45 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:53 pm Meanwhile, the place I accidentally applied to in Lafayette, IN has called me 3 times. I'd love for someplace locally to be so persistent.

If they're that interested, maybe they'll discuss a partial work-from-home arrangement.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:07 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:45 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:53 pm Meanwhile, the place I accidentally applied to in Lafayette, IN has called me 3 times. I'd love for someplace locally to be so persistent.
If they're that interested, maybe they'll discuss a partial work-from-home arrangement.

It doen't seem likely, the job description seemed more hands-on infrastructure management.

Fardaza · Post by **Fardaza** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:41 pm

Here's my hope that 2021 finds you the position you really want!

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:46 pm

Well, it's been a year and a half since I posted this and it's been a really hard year and a half.

I've been battling depression, and all year long each time I felt I was finally starting to get my head on straight and motivated to work again it seems like another thing came at me. The worst hits were my dad nearly dying of a heart attack last year, losing my very close uncle a few weeks later to Covid, and since the beginning of this year I've been having to take care of my mom whose Parkinson's diagnosis has been updated to lewy body dementia which has lesser physical symptoms than Parkinson's, but has metal effects similar to Alzheimer's.

Last week I rushed over to my parents when my dad called and said my mom was having a bad episode to find them both covered in blood after my mom bit my dads arm trying to get out of the house because she was seeing people and thought she was in danger. Nothing really prepares you for that.

I've been focused on them all year and money is finally running out, so I've had to start looking for work finally, not only for myself, but to help us try to afford to cover the costs of a good memory care facility for my mom as it's just getting impossible for us to give her the care she needs.

Finally some good news... I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I've only formally had my resume out and been applying for jobs for a week, but I've had a lot of interest, and tomorrow I have my first in person interview in over 20 years after a phone interview today that seemed to go really well. I'm just hoping my mom has a few good days and I can keep myself stable long enough to seem like a good candidate.

I didn't intend for this post to sound so down... just getting back out there and getting so much good feedback has really improved my mood, but I guess I just needed to get some of this out and ask for a few good vibes my way tomorrow as I'm pretty anxious about this interview despite how well the phone interview went.

I haven't had the will to post near as much as I used to recently, but still, thanks for being there all the same OO. <3

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:13 pm

This has been a hard last couple years for a lot of us, unspokenly ... Let me just say you are not alone - and also not alone in keeping the effort going. Stay strong and always remember the loves in your life.

- kinda sounds silly, but I feel like I hear ya.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:21 pm

Good luck, it’s terribly hard to be a caregiver. And to deal with aging parents who need help.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:51 pm

Sepiche wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:46 pm Well, it's been a year and a half since I posted this and it's been a really hard year and a half.

I've been battling depression, and all year long each time I felt I was finally starting to get my head on straight and motivated to work again it seems like another thing came at me. The worst hits were my dad nearly dying of a heart attack last year, losing my very close uncle a few weeks later to Covid, and since the beginning of this year I've been having to take care of my mom whose Parkinson's diagnosis has been updated to lewy body dementia which has lesser physical symptoms than Parkinson's, but has metal effects similar to Alzheimer's.

Last week I rushed over to my parents when my dad called and said my mom was having a bad episode to find them both covered in blood after my mom bit my dads arm trying to get out of the house because she was seeing people and thought she was in danger. Nothing really prepares you for that.

I've been focused on them all year and money is finally running out, so I've had to start looking for work finally, not only for myself, but to help us try to afford to cover the costs of a good memory care facility for my mom as it's just getting impossible for us to give her the care she needs.

Finally some good news... I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I've only formally had my resume out and been applying for jobs for a week, but I've had a lot of interest, and tomorrow I have my first in person interview in over 20 years after a phone interview today that seemed to go really well. I'm just hoping my mom has a few good days and I can keep myself stable long enough to seem like a good candidate.

I didn't intend for this post to sound so down... just getting back out there and getting so much good feedback has really improved my mood, but I guess I just needed to get some of this out and ask for a few good vibes my way tomorrow as I'm pretty anxious about this interview despite how well the phone interview went.

I haven't had the will to post near as much as I used to recently, but still, thanks for being there all the same OO. <3

Hey, I was guardian for my cousin who had Alzheimer's so if you need someone to talk to, I know what you are going through so feel free to contact me. I can also give you advice on searching for memory care and how I worked that out for my cousin who had a very limited income.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:58 pm

Here's hoping you can catch a break. Sorry I don't have any helpful advice.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 10:29 pm

Sepiche - not a guardian for either parent, but we've been dealing with health issues with my mom for 2+ years now. Namely, she's has been in near constant Afib and her quality of life has diminished significantly because of the anti-stroke meds they have her on and the outpatient surgeries every ~4-6 weeks. Between the Afib and the pandemic it's been...not great. Of course things can always be worse, but to the degree I can empathize, I do. She had cancer treatments in 2018 and that was also difficult. It's been a very strange set of shoes to be wearing - trying to be a parent but then also potentially taking care of parent - all while also trying to survive.

Good to see you back posting and I wish you luck on your job interview.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 11:33 pm

Best luck to you Sep. The grandmother that raised me started to develop Alz when I was about 14. I stayed 2 more years before moving in with my dad and step mom. Then as an adult my motherNlaw had it or dementia and we dealt with that. Its a horrible thing and very hard on those who love the person. So I know what you are facing. Im glad you are getting her a care place.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Wed Jun 08, 2022 12:08 am

You're a strong person to go through all this, Sepiche. Best of luck on the interview.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Wed Jun 08, 2022 1:40 am

I feel for you - caretaking for parents is incredibly hard. If you ever need to vent, we're happy to listen. I'll be thinking good thoughts for your interview!

Little Raven · Post by **Little Raven** » Wed Jun 08, 2022 2:27 am

Good news is that it's a white hot market out there for anyone with decent skills, so I'm sure you'll find something soon once you're in a good place to go looking. Bad news is that won't make things on the parent front any easier, although money helps with everything.

Best of luck to you, man. I dread the day my parents get frail.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:43 am

Hang in there Sepiche, getting some good news on the job front will hopefully make the bad news manageable.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Wed Jun 08, 2022 10:53 am

Thank you guys for the kind words. I appreciate it. We're all getting older, so it's no surprise so many of you have been through similar situations and my heart goes out to all of you as well who have dealt with caring for your parents in any way.

Thankfully while my dad isn't rich, they aren't poor either and we've been able to start getting more support to help mom, but my dad is also tired from all his medical problems and a bit reluctant to change things, so sometimes it feels like a sisyphean task getting him to agree to changes to help mom, but I've been making progress.

Just feels like such an overwhelming amount of work to do sometimes all the while looking for a job and trying to keep things stable for myself at home.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Jun 08, 2022 2:17 pm

Hang in there - you're facing some tough stuff, but you're facing the right direction!

Just a word of advice from someone who has faced some of the same general sorts of challenges (albeit with different factors.) Consider talking to a professional about it. If you're broke, there are going to be options - a lot of places have sliding scales for their fees. It can make a huge difference, and sometimes they'll have insights into what's holding you back that you'd never have thought of on your own, and can really lead to big leaps forward.