Sorry man. I’ve been consulting for a lot of years and I’ve lost plenty of jobs that I did exceedingly well, but after I did the heavy lifting the company took my work and outsourced it overseas to people willing to work for salaries less than the cost of living in the U.S. It has become my “normal process” and I have to hunt for projects all the time now.
And yeah, it really sux to be fired from success. It’s the new thing - doing a job well is not job security. The harsh reality is this: there are no ethics in business. If a dollar can be saved, it will be saved, no matter the human cost. Once i got that in my head, I tolerated it much better.
Don’t file for bankruptcy. It’ll ruin your life worse than backowing lots of money until you find a new job. If you have a degree of that prestige, you’re capable of pushing yourself through this hard time.
I am not familar w/ the job market down under, but if I were you, I would take any job that you can do at this point.
Doesn’t matter what it is. Anything that brings money in is worthwhile. It is much easier to find work in your field while you are working.
I would also call your creditors and explain the situation. A little bit of communication will improve the odds of them being willing to work w/ you.
I lost my job in my field about 13 years ago and it was a nightmare, so I understand what you are going through.
I wish you luck.
Edit: I forgot to mention, don’t let despair and pride get in your way. You have some sort of degree that qualifies you for specific work, but don’t let it stop you from working a counter at a shop or waiting tables at a diner.
Mistake I made was I had so many years doing What I did I was too proud to start at the beginning.
I feel you. Our company is going through the same thing. I didn’t get let go but a few in my department did. It is never a fun time.
As for bankruptcy you want to file Chapter 7 I believe. I recommend hiring a lawyer (they aren’t that expensive in cases like this). But you will need to submit all your monthly payments you make on bills, rent/house payments, car payments, etc. and they will compare it to your income. If you can prove there is no way you can make payments anymore then you can file and your debt will clear. If you are making house or car payments, you can choose to keep doing that at least and you won’t lose those.
You will need to re-establish credit again but it isn’t too hard to do and after a couple of years, your credit will be up at a decent level.
Getting some kind of job will help. I can tell you from my times unemployed that the worst thing was having sixteen hours a day to fill, and nothing worthwhile with which to fill them. A job is something to do, which is important for your sanity.
No bankruptcy is a great option in the right circumstances.
If you cannot reasonably pay your loans this gives you a clean slate. Sure, it destroys your credit for 7 years, but maybe a “time out” for easy borrowing is a good thing given the situation you are in. And you can still get credit, you just pay a lot more for it.
The downsides of BK are you cannot discharge student loans and you must pass the “means test” to get a Chapter 7. (The one you want.) And now some employers check your credit when applying for a job, as well as some insurance agencies before writing insurance. Be mindful of this and avoid signing “releases” to employers allowing them to do this.
But as I said, in some situations BK is a great option.
I wouldn’t even be playing wow if I was at the point of filing for bankruptcy… nor would I ask for help on a wow forum whos opinions will be mostly troll. I would go talk to the bank and find out your best options and stay away from playing WoW until I had my life figured out. I’m sure you will be fine if you just goto the bank and see what they can do for you. if bankruptcy is the best option then I would do that but I would try not to file for it if you don’t HAVE to.
I’m a university professor (English). I see students every day coming to college that shouldn’t be there. Not everyone needs to get a BA/MA/PhD type degree. Many of my students would do better at a vocational job, or being an entrepreneur. I did graduate with a bunch of student loans, but I had to have the degrees for my line of work, so it was worth it to me.
University degrees (bachelor’s) are the new high school diploma. Once everyone has one, they lose their value and meaning. That’s why there’s so much blowback on the whole thing right now - not to mention the student loan issue. I basically have a mortgage but no house, so trust me I know how that feels. I knew what I was getting into though so it’s nothing tragic on my end.
I think we need to have more vocational and job training programs in schools like they did in the 60’s and 70’s. Welding, woodworking, cosmetology, etc. Not everyone needs to teach Shakespeare all day. Also, and this may be unpopular, I think we need to make it more difficult to get into universities. Community colleges can remain open enrollment, which is good (I went to a community college with a GED so I’ve been there). But as far as BA and graduate school, it needs to be much more difficult to gain entry. Even master’s programs nowadays take basically anyone that applies. I even applied to Harvard, just on a whim, and got in several years ago. I didn’t go, just applied as a joke. I knew when that happened there was something majorly wrong!
Oof, sorry to hear about that OP, but as the majority has already said, it’s best to put WoW away for now and start looking for a new job.
Trade skills like Plumbing, Carpentry, Electrician, and the like have ridiculous pay and are in extreme demand. You get paid just apprenticing as one till you get good at the skill.
It’s basically what I am doing.
But there’s also the military. If you want to keep food on the table and whilst getting benefits that tend to come with it, depending on your country.
Only thing I’d really suggest is to just flat out drop non-essential life commitments and apply to every job you can that’s quasi related to your field of study and job’s that arn’t depending on how desperate you are.
Ask the employer who laid you off if they have any other industry contacts that may be able to help. (assuming you’re on good terms).
Don’t limit your job search based on location.
Carefully consider the consequences of
declaring bankruptcy.
I was told a few weeks ago my position was to be phased out. I’m being laid off in the summer since the company that bought the place I work for has its own I.T. department and SAP instance. I’m making it a positive thing though. I’m part of the migration team to get our company data from our SAP system to another.
What I’m trying to say is that losing one’s job is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a new door of opportunity opening up. You might want to check for other career opportunities your existing skill sets can help get you started in.
Don’t worry in the next 10-20 years most jobs will be automated. Unless you have a job that is hands on and requires you to be on site there is a good chance it will be automated.
Correct. To many kids in College getting pointless degrees flooding the market. If its your passion then sure. Either way most people are better off getting some kind of trade skill.
