Fifty Plus (50+) - OT: Signs that your job may be in jeopardy

When your boss's boss okays hunting for alternate means of support while you are at your desk at work. :eek:

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.

In my case it was when my boss's boss's boss's secretary made a one-on-one appointment on his behalf to speak with me. And my boss had no idea what it was about.

In my case, it was when our health insurance was terminated for lack of payment and took a month to get re-instated.

Then expenses began taking longer to be paid.

Then paychecks started to be late.

And then...

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.

That's true but in today's economy a few school districts have cut some of their bus service and made the parents responsible for getting the kids to school, made the students walk or quit busing them across town and let them attend neighborhood schools.

That's true but in today's economy a few school districts have cut some of their bus service and made the parents responsible for getting the kids to school, made the students walk or quit busing them across town and let them attend neighborhood schools.

There's truth in your rain-on-my-parade post of course, but there's more to it than that.

There are legal distance requirements regarding when bus service has to be provided. In our suburban district a lot of kids live within a mile or 2 from school but I've also bussed students who live more than 15 miles from the nearest school.

One of the most hazardous places to walk or ride a bike is the area immediately surrounding the school buildings. There are serious traffic accidents almost every day at dismissal time in the areas within 1 mile of our three high schools.

In out district most of the cross district bussing is to consolidate special education programs like for the hearing impaired and English as a second language. We don't have enough students to justify having those programs in every school. In some other cases we do bus kids a significant distance because it's necessary to match the student population with building capacities.

The bottom line is they'd have to eliminate about 40% of the bussing in our district before it would impact me. Every one of those jobs has to be filled by a local, certified driver. There aren't very many jobs that provide that kind of job security.

There's truth in your rain-on-my-parade post of course, but there's more to it than that.

.

I didn't mean to rain on your parade:) I agree your job is probably one of the safest and can't be outsourced.

Ohio law says students in K-8 must be bused if they live more than 2 miles from their school. It's not a requirement for grades 9-12 and districts have cut this service during tough times.

One local school district has no bus service. K-8 kids attend neighborhood schools within the two mile limit but they have only one high school. High school students walk or ride the RTA system.

When the time clock doesn't accept your card.:eek:

When your supervisor tells you, in the middle of the day, to call the temp agency that sent you there.

When funding forced them to cut my weekly hours to <20.........

EDIT: Er... make that reduced funding.

When your VP says "have you ever thought about working over in __________ division" and that division is being sold..........

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.

Not yet. But wait till the same technology that enables a "pilot" in a trailer outside Las Vegas to remotely fly a Predator drone over Afghanistan trickles down. Your kid's bus will be "driven" by Vijay in Bangalore!

:D

(OK, that's farfetched...)

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.
You obviously have not heard of distant education or distant learning.
Alabama is well on the way to full implementation of distant education. Eventually this will eliminate brick and mortar schools. Students will learn at home via a high speed internet connection and only show up to take required tests at a few locations around the state. Granted; this will not happen state wide for several years but non the less it's on the way.
Yes; I know your thinking "This guy's full of BS"! Just click this link and have a look yourself.
http://accessdl.state.al.us/showaccess.php?lnk=aboutaccess
The plan is to start with Advanced Placement, elective, and other courses not available in all schools. As the program is implemented ever more students are enrolled removing them from the brick and mortar class room. As union teachers retire or move to other en devours there not replaced. Reducing numbers of students attending brick and mortar buildings causes these schools to consolidate into fewer schools closing all small neighborhood schools in the process. Unionized teachers dwindle in number and power so eventually there will be only a few education centers remaining where students only show up for testing once or twice a month.

You obviously have not heard of distant education or distant learning.
Alabama is well on the way to full implementation of distant education. Eventually this will eliminate brick and mortar schools. Students will learn at home via a high speed internet connection and only show up to take required tests at a few locations around the state. Granted; this will not happen state wide for several years but non the less it's on the way.
Yes; I know your thinking "This guy's full of BS"! Just click this link and have a look yourself.
http://accessdl.state.al.us/showaccess.php?lnk=aboutaccess
The plan is to start with Advanced Placement, elective, and other courses not available in all schools. As the program is implemented ever more students are enrolled removing them from the brick and mortar class room. As union teachers retire or move to other en devours there not replaced. Reducing numbers of students attending brick and mortar buildings causes these schools to consolidate into fewer schools closing all small neighborhood schools in the process. Unionized teachers dwindle in number and power so eventually there will be only a few education centers remaining where students only show up for testing once or twice a month.

So how's it working? I just pulled up a report from somebody that ranked Alabama 45th in education results. At 65 I'm not going to worry just yet.

Not yet. But wait till the same technology that enables a "pilot" in a trailer outside Las Vegas to remotely fly a Predator drone over Afghanistan trickles down. Your kid's bus will be "driven" by Vijay in Bangalore!

Vijay may be able to operate the bus but that's the easy part. Who's going to keep the kids from killing one another?

You obviously have not heard of distant education or distant learning.
Alabama is well on the way to full implementation of distant education. Eventually this will eliminate brick and mortar schools. Students will learn at home via a high speed internet connection and only show up to take required tests at a few locations around the state. Granted; this will not happen state wide for several years but non the less it's on the way.

Our district this year implemented online "credit retrieval" classes for students who weren't going to graduate (lack of credits) and would probably drop out otherwise. I talked with two students who made up one and a half year's worth of classes in four months. One passed her classes with 60.0% (bare minimum). Not surprising that every kid who's failing now wants to do these online classes. They don't even have to go to school (tests are also done online). These students will get their diplomas next month and will soon be applying to a workplace near you!

Not surprising that every kid who's failing now wants to do these online classes. They don't even have to go to school (tests are also done online).

Where you see as a problem, I see opportunity!

I'm thinking that when I lose my school bussing job I'll start a new career as a "ringer" taking those online tests. Do you suppose they might let me schedule doing that between morning and afternoon routes?

Where you see as a problem, I see opportunity!

I'm thinking that when I lose my school bussing job I'll start a new career as a "ringer" taking those online tests. Do you suppose they might let me schedule doing that between morning and afternoon routes?

Yes, indeed. It's all about the student's success! Two things that are anathema to the American adolescent: boredom and inconvenience. How can we help each and every one?

When your boss's boss okays hunting for alternate means of support while you are at your desk at work. :eek:

When the company is late on payroll... twice. :notamused:

When your company gets sold, and the new buyer says they want to keep all of the talent, yadda, yadda. Then, within the first week, one of your peers is gone, within one year, you are the only one left. Then get moved to another division, and they finish flushing any remaining people from the original firm.

Avoid debt, save for a rainy day, and be prepared. Then it really is no big deal.

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.

Man....whatever you're making......it ain't enough.
Thanks for keeping the kids safe, all the while putting up with the little snot nosed smart alecs...:)

When the company is late on payroll... twice. :notamused:

And then after that they just don't bother with payroll three times, cut off the cell phone and then the land lines go dead. I'm just waiting for the cable, internet to go and the landlord to lock us out.

Things are so goofed up, that I'm not really sure who is employing me. I'm looking around the office to see what things I may need to confiscate if I don't get paid. :innocent:

The only reason not to quit is that you are more hireable when you are employed. :roflmao2: I've got all my tasks done now, so I'm spending a lot of time getting the resumes and portfolios working and looking for ways to practice interviewing.

A resume (http://www.pointhappy.com/resume/GFisher_creativedir.htm)

A demo (http://www.pointhappy.com/resume/OutOfHomeDemo2.html)


But, keeping a bicycle theme here, if I leave, my commute may shrink to zero. Should I make a fake commute for myself so I get some exercise?

So why are you still there if you aren't being paid and services are being cut off? One week is bad enough, two weeks and I'd be out of there, three weeks and I'd be just stupid even bothering to grace the front doorstep.

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.

True, but it can be contracted to the lowest bidder.

True, but it can be contracted to the lowest bidder.

It's still a relatively secure job. The school district that I drive for has roughly 185 drivers. We're Teamsters. If a new contractor doesn't want to ratify our contract, they'd have to find 185 certified drivers in a relatively short period of time. That's a pretty tall order. It takes roughly a month to get a new driver certified and a lot of newby's don't last very long. We've always got the "Now Hireing" sign out. I've only been driving for 5 1/2 years. During that short amount of time I've already seen the name on the side of the bus change twice. That's about the only thing that's changed.

A more likely scenerio would be reducing the number of bus routes that the district runs to the minimum that's mandated by the state. I'm pretty sure that's going to be in the works but not for the upcoming school year. They'd have to cut out roughly 40% of the routes to impact me. I doubt they can do that in our district.

So why are you still there if you aren't being paid and services are being cut off? One week is bad enough, two weeks and I'd be out of there, three weeks and I'd be just stupid even bothering to grace the front doorstep.

Well, as usual in life, things can be more complicated than they appear. I only get paid bi-monthly, so it's 6 weeks behind. I checked with the Department of Labor and an employer may be a month late with the check before I have any recourse. Because of recent restructuring within the company, I also have some doubts as to who is currently employing me and whether they are in Arkansas, California or Indonesia.

One important reason I continue to work is that the most likely company to hire me when our company goes down, would be our best customer. The latest thing to do was two installations for them, so that might be job security down the line. It also becomes a matter of keeping face till everything falls apart. Phone service going however is a major thing. Like they've closed the front door.

I have been using company time to benefit from the high-speed internet and to get my resumes and portfolios together, so it hasn't been all lost. I have been doing interviews and sending out resumes. Job hunting isn't a quick thing when 50+, especially in a youth oriented industry such as computer graphics.

When trying to get a job, it's better to be working, so it's good to keep up an appearance. And as long as they won't let me go, I can't get unemployment, so even though I'm not making money, the income is the same whether I use the company facilities or not.

And in the past, there has been hope that the owners would get their act together and raise some money, But at this point it's kind of hard to hold out any hope. So my corporate efforts at work will be extremely minimal. While my use of company facilities and access to files such as scripts I have written and animations I have done will be maximized.

And till the cable goes, they have better TV at work than I do at home. :D

It's funny, as a Creative Director, it takes as long to make a campaign for my own work as it might for a clients products. I guess you can't rush these things. I've given the boss good service till the date where he said that he would know if the company would get going again. That date is past. So you are right, it's time to make a strong departure.

One of the nice things about driving a school bus is it's a job that can't be out sourced offshore.


And, you can always get a part-time job as a demolition derby driver. ;)

http://www.turbowhistler.net/demolition-derby/demolition-derby19.jpg

When the company is late on payroll... twice. :notamused:

hmmmm... I thought that was because the company is just getting started. The beginning IS the end? :(

hmmmm... I thought that was because the company is just getting started. The beginning IS the end? :(

It's been a long weird story, about 8 years, spanning the globe from Indonesia to Iceland. In a nutshell, I got hired by one start-up, laid off 3 months later and hired by the company that was sharing space with them. A year and a half later, the second company got merged in with the first, sort of. and an Indonesian spin off of the second company was created. I was laid off by the second company and then hired by the first company to be working for the second company. A year after that, the second company got separated from the first company and merged with the spinoff, I think.

One thing I've learned from the experience; don't go for work for a person who was both a lawyer and a politician and has been deemed unfit to be either. :twitchy: It will leave you wondering just what truth is. :lol:

And, you can always get a part-time job as a demolition derby driver.

You mean all by myself with nobody else riding in the bus and screaming at me? Waaaay too easy!

Vijay may be able to operate the bus but that's the easy part. Who's going to keep the kids from killing one another?

It's called "survival of the fittest" - it makes for a stronger student population.

When a 2nd "spin-off" came about within 3 yrs (AT&T/Lucent/Expanets) I just quit (aka: retired) - had no pension but have never looked back. You need to be financially prepared, though.

Yippee! I just got paid!


That says nothing about the future, but it sure feels good. :D

When I arrived at work one Tuesday morning, the VAX servers had all been repossessed. Fortunately, I'd already given notice that I was leaving Friday. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the company was laid off that morning and they couldn't afford to buy me lunch.

When I arrived at work one Tuesday morning, the VAX servers had all been repossessed. Fortunately, I'd already given notice that I was leaving Friday. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the company was laid off that morning and they couldn't afford to buy me lunch.

Ouch! I guess you had something that warned you to get out of Dodge.

After getting "reorg-ed" out of your existing role in one department, you land a contract job in a new department. Then a couple weeks later, your new department gets "reorg-ed." Then two weeks ago, 7% of the company gets laid off. :( Then last week they announce that they are closing the office where you work - the only office within 85 miles of where the handful of employees who work there live. :twitchy:

After getting "reorg-ed" out of your existing role in one department, you land a contract job in a new department. Then a couple weeks later, your new department gets "reorg-ed." Then two weeks ago, 7% of the company gets laid off. :( Then last week they announce that they are closing the office where you work - the only office within 85 miles of where the handful of employees who work there live. :twitchy:

Oh, no! It sounded like you had gotten a good new spot. So that's in jeopardy now? Ouch. From frying pan, to fire.

I feel your pain Artkansas. I'm in the graphics biz (sort of), self employed for 17 years now. As dicey as having your own business can be at times, it typically beats having to rely on one company for your livelihood. I haven't had a regular salary since 1983 when I became a commissioned salesman, and after that I started my own business. So that's 25 years of Produce or Starve.

Oh, no! It sounded like you had gotten a good new spot. So that's in jeopardy now? Ouch. From frying pan, to fire.

Hi Artkansas. Taking it day-by-day. Still plenty of work to be done, and my skillset is not typical. We'll see. Might try to go back to my government job, but want to want a few more months to see how this all plays out. The good news is that I agree with the direction the company is headed. The changes hurt, but are necessary. Especially closing the local office, which was a concession to the few people remaining with the company after a 100-person business unit in this area was sold a couple years ago. Started with a few dozen, but down to only eight of us. Absolutely silly to keep it open.

The fiscal year ends on July 31, so I'm hoping all changes are behind us at that point and we can settle in and move forward. But like I said, it remains to be seen if the company will be a good fit for me. One of the reasons I fantasize about moving someplace less expensive than California...

Hi Artkansas. Taking it day-by-day. Still plenty of work to be done, and my skillset is not typical. We'll see. Might try to go back to my government job, but want to want a few more months to see how this all plays out. The good news is that I agree with the direction the company is headed. The changes hurt, but are necessary. Especially closing the local office, which was a concession to the few people remaining with the company after a 100-person business unit in this area was sold a couple years ago. Started with a few dozen, but down to only eight of us. Absolutely silly to keep it open.

The fiscal year ends on July 31, so I'm hoping all changes are behind us at that point and we can settle in and move forward. But like I said, it remains to be seen if the company will be a good fit for me. One of the reasons I fantasize about moving someplace less expensive than California...

Aiee! I understand about the changes. Good luck to you. Keep us posted.

I hear you about California. I've lived all over SoCal. It seems a little less crazy here.

Let's see, the first hint was when they announced a 10% cutback over 3 years.
The second hint was they laid off 6% of the workforce at our site and 25% of the sales force.
The third hint was, they changed their mind, the cutbacks would be 25% in less than two years. AND the higher your salary, the closer you are to the front door. As one of the older guys with the company, I'm not feeling real secure.

I worked half a day for 40 years. I was never late to work, missed a day and I was a happy worker.

PS:
Half a day is 12 hours, I owned the company. Had the same employees 28 years.

Life's great

[QUOTE=patentcad;. So that's 25 years of Produce or Starve.[/QUOTE]

A lot of people don't understand that!

Yippee! I just got paid!


That says nothing about the future, but it sure feels good. :D


That's great!!!

I have to admit that it is a nice feeling to be in the midst of negotiating a raise and more time off whle wondering how in hell we are going to get the work that is now on the books done with the people I have at my disposal. Clean water work is another one that is about as recession and outsourcing proof as any profession that I can think of. It has and continues to serve me well.

I wish all of you who are sweating out the survival of your employment the best.

I have to admit that it is a nice feeling to be in the midst of negotiating a raise and more time off whle wondering how in hell we are going to get the work that is now on the books done with the people I have at my disposal. Clean water work is another one that is about as recession and outsourcing proof as any profession that I can think of.

Of course inquiring minds want to know, are they hiring? ;)

A lot of people don't understand that!

All of GM middle management for example.

My father was a family doctor (as opposed to those "specialists" who drove their Porsches to their country clubs) and was fond of saying that "doctoring" was recession proof because nobody was ever able to stop getting sick. He used to accept baked goods as alternative payment until he gained 75 lbs. He never stopped that policy but his patients stopped bringing in food.

My father was a family doctor (as opposed to those "specialists" who drove their Porsches to their country clubs) and was fond of saying that "doctoring" was recession proof because nobody was ever able to stop getting sick. He used to accept baked goods as alternative payment until he gained 75 lbs. He never stopped that policy but his patients stopped bringing in food.

David,
I love to hear stories like that. I bet he had a wonderful life!

My father was a family doctor (as opposed to those "specialists" who drove their Porsches to their country clubs) and was fond of saying that "doctoring" was recession proof because nobody was ever able to stop getting sick. He used to accept baked goods as alternative payment until he gained 75 lbs. He never stopped that policy but his patients stopped bringing in food.

there's a really good john mcphee book on the subject of general practioners. "heirs of general practice".

it's great.

When your boss's boss okays hunting for alternate means of support while you are at your desk at work. :eek:

Or when you see your former supervisor on a CNN video discussing her job search. ;)