Just wanted to say, I'm so glad I saved...

[freelancerNfulltimer]

I found out today that I've been laid off. It's horrible but I feel better knowing I have no car debt, minimal credit card debt and I've saved 6 months of income. Otherwise I would truly be freaking out right now.

This is why you save. So you can be prepared for whatever shitty thing life brings you.

[freelancerNfulltimer]

...so does that make it easier to convince your DH you don't need the cable package?

In all seriousness though, sorry for the layoff but congrats on being better prepared for it than 90% of the population :)

Probably, yes, on the cable front. The nice thing in a bad situation is (as my screenname indicates) I also freelance on the side, so I have some work do while I look for another fulltime position. Unfortunately, the agency I work for is poorly managed and this probably going to be the first of several lay offs.

Anybody know of any web design/programming jobs full-time or freelance that they want to send my way? I live in Jacksonville, FL.

[renbutler]

Are you willing to relocate to the Midwest? The company where I work is experiencing explosive growth and is always looking for software engineers.


BTW, I was laid off from my previous company in 2009. Our income dropped by two thirds, but we still had enough to get by. We even bought a used SUV on cash that year after our first child was born. Yep, saving money during the good years was a lifesaver.

[olivia]

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that.  Good luck finding something new quickly, and thank you for the reminder of why it's good to save a ton!

[freelancerNfulltimer]

Are you willing to relocate to the Midwest? The company where I work is experiencing explosive growth and is always looking for software engineers.


BTW, I was laid off from my previous company in 2009. Our income dropped by two thirds, but we still had enough to get by. We even bought a used SUV on cash that year after our first child was born. Yep, saving money during the good years was a lifesaver.

Thank you for the info, unfortunately I am not able to relocate right now. Also I'm not qualified to be a software engineer, as I'm a web designer/developer.

I'm already looking for things to drop from my budget while I look for a new position. I'm just thankful I didn't buy a new car, or make any unnecessary purchases recently.

[SwordGuy]

Are you willing to relocate to the Midwest? The company where I work is experiencing explosive growth and is always looking for software engineers.


BTW, I was laid off from my previous company in 2009. Our income dropped by two thirds, but we still had enough to get by. We even bought a used SUV on cash that year after our first child was born. Yep, saving money during the good years was a lifesaver.

Thank you for the info, unfortunately I am not able to relocate right now. Also I'm not qualified to be a software engineer, as I'm a web designer/developer.

I'm already looking for things to drop from my budget while I look for a new position. I'm just thankful I didn't buy a new car, or make any unnecessary purchases recently.

Don't assume your definition of software engineer has any bearing on what the hiring company wants.   Don't assume your skills aren't good enough.  The other candidates could be much worse!

Don't discount your own value, ever.  That's for the hiring company to do.  Your job is to give them the opportunity to hire you.

Same goes with asking someone out for a date...

[freelancerNfulltimer]

Are you willing to relocate to the Midwest? The company where I work is experiencing explosive growth and is always looking for software engineers.


BTW, I was laid off from my previous company in 2009. Our income dropped by two thirds, but we still had enough to get by. We even bought a used SUV on cash that year after our first child was born. Yep, saving money during the good years was a lifesaver.

Thank you for the info, unfortunately I am not able to relocate right now. Also I'm not qualified to be a software engineer, as I'm a web designer/developer.

I'm already looking for things to drop from my budget while I look for a new position. I'm just thankful I didn't buy a new car, or make any unnecessary purchases recently.

Don't assume your definition of software engineer has any bearing on what the hiring company wants.   Don't assume your skills aren't good enough.  The other candidates could be much worse!

Don't discount your own value, ever.  That's for the hiring company to do.  Your job is to give them the opportunity to hire you.

Same goes with asking someone out for a date...

:) Thank you, that's good advice! I will keep that in mind in my job hunt.

[kkbmustang]

Boo, so sorry to hear! But, you'll find new opportunities. They always eventually show up if you look for them hard enough.

[daverobev]

Heh, I'm (half) looking for work myself - being a Brit in Canada, I'm struggling a little with the language.

What would you all call someone with 10-ish years in the exhibition/trade show industry, doing data manipulation, cleaning and so on originally, and lately more SQL Server, web programming stuff (as well as data manipulation). Some 'proper' programming, but nothing serious on the newer platforms.. IE, I'm good with TSQL, fine with Classic ASP and Javascript (I can make it work, maybe not in proper OOP ways but it will work...), less on prettiness but I can do CSS.

Software Engineer sounds a bit grand. I have a Chemistry degree, no formal training (other than the odd course!) in computer stuff.

/offtopic

[shadowmoss]

Any IT folks willing to locate in Phoenix, AZ, drop me a PM.  We are hiring and for jobs that include entry leve, so if you can say you know anything about computers, let me know.

[Zamboni]

:-( Sorry to hear your bad news.  Keep your chin up!

[ghaynes]

Sorry about the layoff. Not sure if you are good with javascript mvc frameworks but YNAB is hiring and its a work from home job. This might be something to look into.

http://www.youneedabudget.com/blog/2013/we-need-a-full-time-javascript-front-end-developer/

[Rebecca Stapler]

I'm sorry about the layoff. Luckily, you're in a field that has a LOT of demand! My spouse is a web designer and gets multiple emails a week about job openings.

[easyrider]

That sucks but at least you are prepared.

You should try to take advantage of the situation, as difficult as it is.  Every door that closes another opens right?  So you don't have a job but now you're perfect setup as a contractor.  I mean even if you want a job you should pursue contract jobs while you wait.  It usually only takes an hour or two a day to do job searching, unless you are in a big city in which case you have no worries.  Join linked-in, talk to people you know, check for job postings, recruiters, anything you can think of to find contracts.  All else fails you could bid on some elance jobs, the pay isn't great but as a mustachian you'll do okay.   If the job search takes too long at least you'll have some stuff on your resume.

[Zamboni]

^This is great advice.  It eliminates any future gap on your resume.  Plus having your latest job say "2013-present" on the dates makes you look more attractive during your job search.  As a web designer, you are in a perfect position to make up a cool name for your company (to put on your resume) and make a company website that they can look up to be impressed with your skills.  Since you are frugal, please consider that cheap hosting fees are well worth it. 

I don't understand this, but employers seem to have a bias against hiring unemployed people.  Definitely take the unemployment checks but avoid looking unemployed on your resume, even if you feel like you really are.

[freelancerNfulltimer]

^This is great advice.  It eliminates any future gap on your resume.  Plus having your latest job say "2013-present" on the dates makes you look more attractive during your job search.  As a web designer, you are in a perfect position to make up a cool name for your company (to put on your resume) and make a company website that they can look up to be impressed with your skills.  Since you are frugal, please consider that cheap hosting fees are well worth it. 

I don't understand this, but employers seem to have a bias against hiring unemployed people.  Definitely take the unemployment checks but avoid looking unemployed on your resume, even if you feel like you really are.

Thank you, you're very right. I was self-employed for four years before I took this job. (They scouted me, I did not apply) so I already have experience finding freelance and contract work full time and I still have a small stable of freelance clients I'm currently working with. I shouldn't have any resume gaps.

I'm also looking into teaching as adjunct professor for some additional income.

[Katnina]

Congrats on being prepared! Sorry about the layoff, that sucks, but sounds like you are going to be fine with freelance clients & having been self-employed in the past. Good luck!