Doesn’t sound fun. Not sure where all the disruption enthusiasts thought we were all going to end up but here we are
Manual labour or unemployment are the only options where I live. I was lucky enough to pick something early (carpentry) that I liked enough to be able to keep doing it for multiple decades. Which is great but my body is giving me warnings that it isgoing to stop cooperating soon
That's the whole reason I got into computer stuff when I was younger, I did construction and saw the wreckage the silverbacks had and decided to try another way. It was good while it lasted, now I guess we just buck up and put on the mileage however we can. 🫡
Facts. Roofing is exactly the reason I thought computers looked like a good idea. Though these days roofers do have some pretty cool tools and whatnot. Still couldn't get me back up there at this age tho, no dice.
Do you have any “career expo” type things in your neck of the woods? You seem like the type who’d get an interview on the spot if you could just get a minute with a hiring manager.
I’m really sorry you’re going through this-but you’re absolutely not alone. Don’t let despair get you. Focus on the tiny things you can control and do those things with excellence. You’re down but you’re not out!
I am sure there are, haven't given those a shot. I always feel like if I can actually speak to the person hiring AND they have a slot open and can conversate my way into a place. The trick is getting past the HR hoops I think. It's almost like if you are interested in someone you shouldn't just come out and say it. Play coy and look at your feet a lot may be the way to go. :D Yeah its a bummer, but humans are only happy when they have something challenging them from what I know so maybe that is the mindset moving forward.
I was excited to see a new post, but sad to see your difficult circumstances, despite willingness to do any kind of job. You remind me quite a lot of another substacker I follow.
Reading over the comments, it occurs to me to ask, since the roadblock seems to be the HR departments, have you applied with any outfits too small to have an HR department? Forgive me if that's a stupid question, but I've always lived in such small places that there were no gigantic (to me) organizations like that, so I have no experience with them.
Your Substack doesn't have a link for Buy Me a Coffee or paid subscriptions. Despite being on a fixed income, I was hoping to be able to contribute a little grocery money, at least.
Oh you sweet, sweet micro-organism. The Gradest of Bears, I appreciate the support! Maybe someday if I end up getting something ridiculous like a thousand subscribers I will consider some kind of tip jar, sp'ange receptacle. But as it stands I am just a dude like many others yelling into the void. Lucky for me I got folks like you in the void who at least let me know that we all float down here.
I too have noticed a few other substackers in a similar position. Substack is a bug light for the underemployed similar to how youtube, twitch, and twitter were at some point. If you got time, you can get on here and fantasize about a Charlie and the Chocolate factory moment where you get handed the keys to your own chocolate based Umpaloompa-sweatshop / plantation.
Anywho, I too am/was in a dinky town. I think it was about 3k people, on the outskirts of another town of like 70k I think. The problem is since most smaller businesses can not afford a HR dept, they outsource it to a service. So you might only have like 10 employees, but it much easier to just connect to a temp agency rather than actually post jobs on Craigslist, Indeed or LinkedIn. Ironically the grunt work out here is booming, but its mostly for young people or imported labor. Were I still in Chicago I might have had a better go of it since there are only union guys, and dudes who pretend to be in unions out there. Handyman could be anyone :D.
TBF I am really not certain in anyway that I can lay blame at the feet of HR depts or the applicant screening process. I just have so little data to go on. While the environment may have changed over the past couple decades. There have always been a portion of the population that just aren't desirable for companies after a point. Had I climbed the ladder more instead of being selfish and wanting to be boots on the ground, there would be leadership positions for me presumably. Had I made the effort when times were good to go get certified in some of the more lucrative trades I was interested in (welding, driving, carpentry, auto) I am sure there would be places for me to be. I just didn't, and that is entirely on me.
But if there is anything I have learned from writing on here, it is that hardship and stupidity make good fodder for writing stuff, and I already had the stupid part down, now a little hardship aught to give me some more material to yell and gesticulate wildly about.
Anywho, super pumped you are still out there watching from the cheap seats and tiny puddles. :D
A constant refrain of one of my exes was "It's hell to get old." I guess being as old as dirt (BTW dirt is 71 years old) and a preference for living in the boonies makes it hard to understand the world as it is today. All I can say is, even though only possessing a high school diploma, I never had trouble finding work, even now. Having modest aspirations, mainly just being able to pay the bills on time, helped, and still somehow managed a humble abode down here in the moss.
If your future writing is anything like what you've given us in the past, which I found immensely enjoyable, I'll do my best to spread the word.
I never entertained the idea of owning a home or kids or whatnot, the way my family was I kind of thought I wouldn't make it out of my 30s let alone to this ripe "old" age of 48. I never really applied for jobs in the past. The construction stuff was basically either knowing someone or walking on site. When it came to white collar work I did freelance and contract stuff so basically once I got in, it was word of mouth that led to more clients. That being said this is the first time I have ever had issue getting work. I did unemployment for the first time in my life, which was pretty funny in its amount and duration. But like I said, I got myself here, hopefully I can get myself out.
I have a whole 2nd post about drywall supply written in draft, but I didn't get time to put some graphics in there and eventually it seemed like it wasn't worth the effort. I have thoughts on politics, and that first post is still the thing people most interacted with, but IMHO the last thing substack needs is more mid-wit political commentary. So I guess this post being an exception, moving forward I will try to post things that are more enjoyable to a theoretical audience that is not unlike myself. Idk, we shall see. I really do appreciate the encouragement, so like, yer the best. :D
I sort of just fell into computer consulting in the 80s, because somehow I grokked computers, and friends who didn't would ask for help. It turned into a 40+ year career, and work I enjoyed most over my lifetime. All word-of-mouth. No certification.
I was the kid in the family who figured out how to program the VCR, and like you spend the rest of my life helping people with their technology issues :D
Doesn’t sound fun. Not sure where all the disruption enthusiasts thought we were all going to end up but here we are
Manual labour or unemployment are the only options where I live. I was lucky enough to pick something early (carpentry) that I liked enough to be able to keep doing it for multiple decades. Which is great but my body is giving me warnings that it isgoing to stop cooperating soon
That's the whole reason I got into computer stuff when I was younger, I did construction and saw the wreckage the silverbacks had and decided to try another way. It was good while it lasted, now I guess we just buck up and put on the mileage however we can. 🫡
I met a 50-year-old roofer this weekend, I didn’t think that was even possible. I thought he was in his 60s based on how wrecked he looked
Facts. Roofing is exactly the reason I thought computers looked like a good idea. Though these days roofers do have some pretty cool tools and whatnot. Still couldn't get me back up there at this age tho, no dice.
Do you have any “career expo” type things in your neck of the woods? You seem like the type who’d get an interview on the spot if you could just get a minute with a hiring manager.
I’m really sorry you’re going through this-but you’re absolutely not alone. Don’t let despair get you. Focus on the tiny things you can control and do those things with excellence. You’re down but you’re not out!
I am sure there are, haven't given those a shot. I always feel like if I can actually speak to the person hiring AND they have a slot open and can conversate my way into a place. The trick is getting past the HR hoops I think. It's almost like if you are interested in someone you shouldn't just come out and say it. Play coy and look at your feet a lot may be the way to go. :D Yeah its a bummer, but humans are only happy when they have something challenging them from what I know so maybe that is the mindset moving forward.
I was excited to see a new post, but sad to see your difficult circumstances, despite willingness to do any kind of job. You remind me quite a lot of another substacker I follow.
Reading over the comments, it occurs to me to ask, since the roadblock seems to be the HR departments, have you applied with any outfits too small to have an HR department? Forgive me if that's a stupid question, but I've always lived in such small places that there were no gigantic (to me) organizations like that, so I have no experience with them.
Your Substack doesn't have a link for Buy Me a Coffee or paid subscriptions. Despite being on a fixed income, I was hoping to be able to contribute a little grocery money, at least.
Oh you sweet, sweet micro-organism. The Gradest of Bears, I appreciate the support! Maybe someday if I end up getting something ridiculous like a thousand subscribers I will consider some kind of tip jar, sp'ange receptacle. But as it stands I am just a dude like many others yelling into the void. Lucky for me I got folks like you in the void who at least let me know that we all float down here.
I too have noticed a few other substackers in a similar position. Substack is a bug light for the underemployed similar to how youtube, twitch, and twitter were at some point. If you got time, you can get on here and fantasize about a Charlie and the Chocolate factory moment where you get handed the keys to your own chocolate based Umpaloompa-sweatshop / plantation.
Anywho, I too am/was in a dinky town. I think it was about 3k people, on the outskirts of another town of like 70k I think. The problem is since most smaller businesses can not afford a HR dept, they outsource it to a service. So you might only have like 10 employees, but it much easier to just connect to a temp agency rather than actually post jobs on Craigslist, Indeed or LinkedIn. Ironically the grunt work out here is booming, but its mostly for young people or imported labor. Were I still in Chicago I might have had a better go of it since there are only union guys, and dudes who pretend to be in unions out there. Handyman could be anyone :D.
TBF I am really not certain in anyway that I can lay blame at the feet of HR depts or the applicant screening process. I just have so little data to go on. While the environment may have changed over the past couple decades. There have always been a portion of the population that just aren't desirable for companies after a point. Had I climbed the ladder more instead of being selfish and wanting to be boots on the ground, there would be leadership positions for me presumably. Had I made the effort when times were good to go get certified in some of the more lucrative trades I was interested in (welding, driving, carpentry, auto) I am sure there would be places for me to be. I just didn't, and that is entirely on me.
But if there is anything I have learned from writing on here, it is that hardship and stupidity make good fodder for writing stuff, and I already had the stupid part down, now a little hardship aught to give me some more material to yell and gesticulate wildly about.
Anywho, super pumped you are still out there watching from the cheap seats and tiny puddles. :D
A constant refrain of one of my exes was "It's hell to get old." I guess being as old as dirt (BTW dirt is 71 years old) and a preference for living in the boonies makes it hard to understand the world as it is today. All I can say is, even though only possessing a high school diploma, I never had trouble finding work, even now. Having modest aspirations, mainly just being able to pay the bills on time, helped, and still somehow managed a humble abode down here in the moss.
If your future writing is anything like what you've given us in the past, which I found immensely enjoyable, I'll do my best to spread the word.
I never entertained the idea of owning a home or kids or whatnot, the way my family was I kind of thought I wouldn't make it out of my 30s let alone to this ripe "old" age of 48. I never really applied for jobs in the past. The construction stuff was basically either knowing someone or walking on site. When it came to white collar work I did freelance and contract stuff so basically once I got in, it was word of mouth that led to more clients. That being said this is the first time I have ever had issue getting work. I did unemployment for the first time in my life, which was pretty funny in its amount and duration. But like I said, I got myself here, hopefully I can get myself out.
I have a whole 2nd post about drywall supply written in draft, but I didn't get time to put some graphics in there and eventually it seemed like it wasn't worth the effort. I have thoughts on politics, and that first post is still the thing people most interacted with, but IMHO the last thing substack needs is more mid-wit political commentary. So I guess this post being an exception, moving forward I will try to post things that are more enjoyable to a theoretical audience that is not unlike myself. Idk, we shall see. I really do appreciate the encouragement, so like, yer the best. :D
I sort of just fell into computer consulting in the 80s, because somehow I grokked computers, and friends who didn't would ask for help. It turned into a 40+ year career, and work I enjoyed most over my lifetime. All word-of-mouth. No certification.
I was the kid in the family who figured out how to program the VCR, and like you spend the rest of my life helping people with their technology issues :D