6 months layed off-Now What?

[ganzman72]

2 years bindery,15 years on press,5 years Production Supervisor,No, dont have any college degree.
I just cant get a job,I seen an ad today for a four color operator on career builder,They want to pay 13.00$-14.00$ an hr.Those Mother**%%!!kers.That wont even cover my sons daycare cost.
I am scared to death I am going to lose my house.I have no other skills but printing.
I guess It could be worse because mom did say me and the family could move into her basement.
I am writing this to warn you all.If you got a job now,how long before your time comes?
So friends,start preparing for the future because PRINT IS DEAD!!!!

[cjwworld]

I sympathize with what you are going thru, I can't even fathom not getting an paycheck. It is hard enough. But print isn't dead, its just making adjustment for a crumming world we live in. I wish I had a solution for everyone, its rough out there. Hang in there and try to get the word out and you may have to get a low paying job until something comes up

[VladCanada]

Things are getting worse... 8 months without job.
University degree, B.S., former Field Serviceman, a lot of skills and 20+ years in Prepress.
I Try to find something in other fields like Medicine, Home appliances, etc...
My wife is in hospital for chemotherapy. All savings gone.
No luck in Canada

[rbailleu]

Originally Posted by ganzman72

2 years bindery,15 years on press,5 years Production Supervisor,No, dont have any college degree.
I just cant get a job,I seen an ad today for a four color operator on career builder,They want to pay 13.00$-14.00$ an hr.Those Mother**%%!!kers.That wont even cover my sons daycare cost.
I am scared to death I am going to lose my house.I have no other skills but printing.
I guess It could be worse because mom did say me and the family could move into her basement.
I am writing this to warn you all.If you got a job now,how long before your time comes?
So friends,start preparing for the future because PRINT IS DEAD!!!!

the problem is $14.00/ hr in a larger metro area sucks because of the cost of living. take that $14/hr and live in a rural area and you'll think its a little better. I make $19/hr when I get paid. I live decently in a small town.

[GazKL440]

thats pretty hard man... but i dont think print is dead... has been argued in other threads... i might need an assistant soon mine is runnin about 70% and sliding atm, i think they pay around $18/hr for offsiders but we are in Australia...

[oxburger]

Have you tried Find Jobs. Build a Better Career. Find Your Calling. | Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com Jobs - The Largest Job Search, Employment & Careers Site or Printing Jobs at iHirePrinting or any other online job post board? Might be something there. My wife is a career coach and she'll tell you that 7 to 9 jobs out of 10 are found through people you know and networking and not through classifieds......

[prepressguru]

I feel the same way about printing, it is dying. The internet is having a impact on our industry (free classifieds anyone) and so is digital print, quality sucks but when everyone is trying to save a buck it starts to look great. There is a purge happening at the moment and we'll see who survives. I see the end coming. I do not think print will ever die just reduced greatly. I need to get out of print asap, but like you this is all I know and have been doing it for some time. I luckily for now have a job, just need to figure out my exit plan.

Good luck to you

[SlaveToTheMan]

Originally Posted by oxburger

Have you tried Find Jobs. Build a Better Career. Find Your Calling. | Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com Jobs - The Largest Job Search, Employment & Careers Site or Printing Jobs at iHirePrinting or any other online job post board? Might be something there. My wife is a career coach and she'll tell you that 7 to 9 jobs out of 10 are found through people you know and networking and not through classifieds......

But the industry IS shrinking. Anybody throwing around platitudes & blowing smoke up yer keister about this being "just a bump in the road" is delusional. Maybe the higher-ups aren't feeling it, but the ground troops are getting boned, hard. And once you've put a whole career in and then are cast aside like the guys in this thread, there's no amount of "Hey, it will get better eventually!" shine that will make it hurt any less.

Sorry to sound so disheartened & bitter, but that's what it looks like from here.

[dj]

I got a package from Creo in 2004. Been a contractor for about 5 years now. Been laid off more times than you can count.

Still got the house though'.

You know what helps. You gotta make a spreadsheet of cash flow. Cash going in, cash going out. Cash is king. Cash, cash, cash.

Then you cut the stuff that is draining your cash. RRSPs? Drop 'em. RESP? Forget it. Donations to your church/synagogue/temple. Swallow your pride, chop it off.

Eating out? You need to lose weight anyways.

Daycare for your kids? That's a killer. Tell you what, you be the daycare. I am for my three kids this summer.

Swallow SWALLOW your pride and tell the wifey to go out and earn some coin. Let me tell you something, a woman in her 30s/40s can get a job WAY easier than a man in his 30s/40s. Guys our age are mostly seen as damaged goods.

Then, work on something in technical sales. Don't tell me you aren't good at sales. You can get good.

[oxburger]

Originally Posted by SlaveToTheMan

But the industry IS shrinking. Anybody throwing around platitudes & blowing smoke up yer keister about this being "just a bump in the road" is delusional. Maybe the higher-ups aren't feeling it, but the ground troops are getting boned, hard. And once you've put a whole career in and then are cast aside like the guys in this thread, there's no amount of "Hey, it will get better eventually!" shine that will make it hurt any less.

Sorry to sound so disheartened & bitter, but that's what it looks like from here.

I don't remember "blowing smoke" and telling him "it will get better" in my post. I was merely stating that if he's going to expend energy looking, networking is a far better avenue than newspaper classifieds when looking for a job. It's tough for anyone to find a job, but it is easier when you have contacts that can tell you of openings before they're placed in papers when, by the time it's in the paper, you have potentially hundreds of people applying for the same job.