God looks after drunks, fools and the USA

[themanintheseersuckersuit]

Shot :
Today, our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months. President Obama

Chaser: David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog 2m
Texans should be grateful that President Obama decided to focus all his job creation superpowers on Texas.

[Bob Juch]

Shot :
Today, our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months. President Obama

Chaser: David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog 2m
Texans should be grateful that President Obama decided to focus all his job creation superpowers on Texas.

I'm sure Rick Perry will be taking full credit.

[elwoodblues]

I keep hearing about all the new jobs, but does anyone know how many are "good" jobs (i.e. pay wages you can actually live on) and how many pay minimum wage or close to it? It seems as though even in Texas many of the jobs I was applying for before I gave up and settled for my current job as a security guard were the latter. I don't think this is Obama's fault, but it seems that lots of middle class jobs were lost during the recession and were replaced with lower paying jobs.

Of course I'm over 50, which means I can't get a good job in Texas, California or anywhere else, but that is another issue.

[Bob Juch]

I keep hearing about all the new jobs, but does anyone know how many are "good" jobs (i.e. pay wages you can actually live on) and how many pay minimum wage or close to it? It seems as though even in Texas many of the jobs I was applying for before I gave up and settled for my current job as a security guard were the latter. I don't think this is Obama's fault, but it seems that lots of middle class jobs were lost during the recession and were replaced with lower paying jobs.

Of course I'm over 50, which means I can't get a good job in Texas, California or anywhere else, but that is another issue.

I'm 64 and just started working at the best paying "permanent" job I've ever had. Some people value you for your knowledge and experience.

[Beebs52]

I keep hearing about all the new jobs, but does anyone know how many are "good" jobs (i.e. pay wages you can actually live on) and how many pay minimum wage or close to it? It seems as though even in Texas many of the jobs I was applying for before I gave up and settled for my current job as a security guard were the latter. I don't think this is Obama's fault, but it seems that lots of middle class jobs were lost during the recession and were replaced with lower paying jobs.

Of course I'm over 50, which means I can't get a good job in Texas, California or anywhere else, but that is another issue.

I'm 64 and just started working at the best paying "permanent" job I've ever had. Some people value you for your knowledge and experience.

Or they're desperate and delusional.

[Beebs52]

I keep hearing about all the new jobs, but does anyone know how many are "good" jobs (i.e. pay wages you can actually live on) and how many pay minimum wage or close to it? It seems as though even in Texas many of the jobs I was applying for before I gave up and settled for my current job as a security guard were the latter. I don't think this is Obama's fault, but it seems that lots of middle class jobs were lost during the recession and were replaced with lower paying jobs.

Of course I'm over 50, which means I can't get a good job in Texas, California or anywhere else, but that is another issue.

I'm 64 and just started working at the best paying "permanent" job I've ever had. Some people value you for your knowledge and experience.

Or they're desperate and delusional.

I would like to add that your statement was condescending. How do you know someone didn't apply to that same employer? And that many other employers may do the same thing as you say yours does? It has a tinge of "Gee, maybe your experience isn't as valuable as mine." I might have couched it with, gosh, I'm fortunate to have gotten such a PLUM job in my geezerdom. You constantly blast corporations, yet you feed off them as most of s do. Hypocrisy much?

[BackInTex]

I will admit that being over 50 can be a disadvantage. However, if a person has kept their 'portfolio' fresh, they should have little problem finding employment, at least in Texas. By 'portfolio' I mean what they have to offer an employer. Few employers will hire someone who doesn't have the skills and knowledge to do what they need doing, regardless of your age. If your skills were making buggy whips, then you need to learn to do something else. Don't sit around and expect employers to train you in something they need. Be that person for them when they look. I try to stay current in my two areas of expertise, accounting and IT. I read books and periodicals. I get more 'junk' mail than you can imagine providing 'white papers' on the latest trends in technology. I read about 2% of them.

I've tried to teach my kids that when they get out of school, the learning is just beginning, and it continues for your entire life. Because what is important changes and those coming out of school each year are educated in what currently important. So they should always make sure they are educated in what is currently important, too.

I've never programmed in C, but I taught it to myself 4 years after I graduated from grad school. It was a skill/toolset I thought I wanted to have. At the time it was in demand. But I didn't need it for my existing job, and I never used it professionally. But I also later taught myself Visual Basic. I never used it professionally, either. But the understanding of object oriented programming is useful in other facets of IT. I'm a CPA and keep my license current by taking at least 40 hours of CPE a year. Not because I think I'll ever need to be licensed, but having that certification current may set me apart from someone who never achieved that certification, or is no longer current. You never know. And doing all that while employed makes you a better employee and more valuable to your current employer.

Yes, I've been passed over by a young whipper-snapper. But it was a relationship thing. What he had that I didn't have was 10 years of working for his boss, at a prior company and now ours. That was not something I could change. And I cannot change the fact that it’s not fair, but fair is not part of life. Fair is only part of organized sports. So I will be looking for someone that wants what I have (as I continue to stock up on things they may want).

My wife is 48 years old. She was a stay at home mom for 10 years after quitting her IT consulting gig. Three years ago we decided it was time for her to go back to work as our kids started entering college. But she did not want to go back to the corporate world had had not kept up with the IT trends. So she took a secretarial position at the school for darn close to the minimum wage. And she started an online teacher certification program. It took her a little over a year of 2-3 hours a night studying after getting home from work to get her certification. Then she applied for teaching positions, but did not get one the first year, so she kept her secretarial position. Then last year, the state released more funds and our school district hired about 400 teachers. My wife was one. Holding that secretarial position (a foot in the door so to speak) may have helped. So at 47 years old, she started a brand new career as a 4th grade math and science teacher. She could be making over twice as much if she had gone back to school for a couple of semesters to refresh her IT skills, but she wanted summers, Christmas, and Spring Breaks off with the kids. The beginning salary for a teacher in our district is around $48K a year. I think they get bumped to 50K this year. Not too bad considering the time off she gets, but that first year I think she may have worked more hours than me, and I work at least 50/hrs a week.

[Beebs52]

I stayed at home for 13 years, for which I'm grateful, and then took the week long Microsoft update in 1998, got a job at 46, driving to the Galleria every day for a year, thru panic attacks. But, did it. Got a better job in The Woodlands, then an even better one, from which I'm retiring. With really good insurance, etc. I sort of reinvented myselt then, as did my hub when corps tanked. We've saved our ass off for 30 plus years and assuming the govt and mutual funds don't crater we can live for 20 or so years and then croak.

[Bob Juch]

People should plan on living past 100 and having income to live well. If they don't medical costs might eat up some of that. If they die earlier and have money left over, their kids should be grateful.

[Beebs52]

People should plan on living past 100 and having income to live well. If they don't medical costs might eat up some of that. If they die earlier and have money left over, their kids should be grateful.

Oh, I don't want to live past 100; that would be horrid. And I was jesting when I say we could live 20 years and then croak. We do plan on leaving some for our chilrens and will live fine til that point. I think if medical costs start becoming intrusive for us it will probably mean cancer has returned or something, so the quicker the demise, the better.

[Bob Juch]

Group Representing Half A Billion Christians Says It Will No Longer Support Fossil Fuels

A large umbrella group of churches representing more than half a billion Christians worldwide announced Thursday that it would pull all of its investments in fossil fuels, saying it had determined the investments were no longer ethical.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/0 ... s-divests/

[BackInTex]

Group Representing Half A Billion Christians Says It Will No Longer Support Fossil Fuels

A large umbrella group of churches representing more than half a billion Christians worldwide announced Thursday that it would pull all of its investments in fossil fuels, saying it had determined the investments were no longer ethical.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/0 ... s-divests/

I wonder how they will get to and from the various countries to visit? Sailing ships are really hard to come by.

Or is this another hypocrisy of those whacky organized Christians?

[Bob Juch]

Group Representing Half A Billion Christians Says It Will No Longer Support Fossil Fuels

A large umbrella group of churches representing more than half a billion Christians worldwide announced Thursday that it would pull all of its investments in fossil fuels, saying it had determined the investments were no longer ethical.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/0 ... s-divests/

I wonder how they will get to and from the various countries to visit? Sailing ships are really hard to come by.

Or is this another hypocrisy of those whacky organized Christians?

You must have gotten an F- in reading comprehension.

[BackInTex]

Group Representing Half A Billion Christians Says It Will No Longer Support Fossil Fuels

A large umbrella group of churches representing more than half a billion Christians worldwide announced Thursday that it would pull all of its investments in fossil fuels, saying it had determined the investments were no longer ethical.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/0 ... s-divests/

I wonder how they will get to and from the various countries to visit? Sailing ships are really hard to come by.

Or is this another hypocrisy of those whacky organized Christians?

You must have gotten an F- in reading comprehension.

How so? Because the investment boycott is just on investing? I know that.

So the righteousness of boycotting direct investment (which is a flawed concept I'll get to in the next paragrapgh) does not equate to hypocrisy when actually contributing to the demand for fossil fuels and the profitability of such companies encouraging them to develop more fossil fuel sources and rewarding those that did invest? That was what I was referring to. I know it was not addressed in the article and it takes a bit of logic to cross that bridge. I can see why you couldn't cross it.

If you want reduce the amount of fossil fuel production you boycott the purchase and use. Not the investing in the already issued stock. That would be foolish as you are hoping your purchasing boycott drives the company to bankruptcy. The only money the companies get from the stock is from the original issue or maybe a sale of treasury shares which for an Exxon is not typical. Purchasing and investing after that only puts money into the pockets of the prior investor. I don't even know when the last time Exxon actually received funding from a stock issuance. Whether someone buys a share of their stock or not doesn't affect a single drop of oil. Its when they purchase oil, gas, jet fuel, plastic, polyester, etc. That's what should be boycotted, if they have moral objection to fossil fuel.


But we know you got an F- in economics.

[elwoodblues]

I keep hearing about all the new jobs, but does anyone know how many are "good" jobs (i.e. pay wages you can actually live on) and how many pay minimum wage or close to it? It seems as though even in Texas many of the jobs I was applying for before I gave up and settled for my current job as a security guard were the latter. I don't think this is Obama's fault, but it seems that lots of middle class jobs were lost during the recession and were replaced with lower paying jobs.

Of course I'm over 50, which means I can't get a good job in Texas, California or anywhere else, but that is another issue.

No one addressed my question in the first paragraph, but I think this cartoon says it best:

http://www.cagle.com/2014/07/wall-stree ... -recovery/

[BackInTex]

Of course I'm over 50, which means I can't get a good job in Texas, California or anywhere else, but that is another issue.

What is a good job?

I'm over 50 and I'm not too concerned about finding a good job, based on salary. My problem is I have a great job now, maybe even fantastic, based on salary (and previously based on future potential). I want a job I love, one where I feel valued, not just based on pay, but in the way I'm treated.

So if it not the age, what is it? Its you. Its your package. Yes, its older than some, but still has some useful contents, right? But you seem to devalue yourself. You need a cheerleader. You need to figure out what you can do, then what you want to do, then begin that path. It may not start at your ideal job, but not at a dead end, either.

If you're not working 60-70 hours a week, then you have some extra time. Use it. Learn stuff. Work out. Make yourself look, feel and act younger.

Look at what happened to Peacock2121 and what she's accomplished. She is older than me. She didn't whine or complain. She did.

And don't get offended because you think I'm targeting you. I'm typing this to myself, too. Mainly to myself, but maybe you could use the pep-talk, so I included my thoughts in this thread.

Don't plan on being better and having something better next month, or even by the end of the year. Be slow and steady so you don't get discouraged (still talking to me).

Your comment about what you do at night as a security guard "mostly sit and think about how I ended up at this point in my life as a security guard" resonated with me. I think that, too, about where I'm at. "How did I end up here working for a guy that was in diapers when I got out of college, has half the education I have, and now, I've nowhere to move up and I was hoping I wasn't done moving up." But that attitude, or self-pity, isn't helping me. I know. But it is comfortable.

I'm not minimizing the difference in our relative economic status. But mentally we are in similar places. I may need to reinvent myself (at 56). I was hoping (many years ago) to be retired by now.

My reinvention starts today, but I need to be the one to start it, and do it. I need to be uncomfortable. My attitude can change my path where I work, or my path to someplace else. Are you with me?!

[elwoodblues]

BiT,

Thank you for your well thought out post. Perhaps I have just been looking for the wrong jobs. For many years I was a computer programmer, but my company changed computer systems, and the more I think about it the more convinced I am that they had no intention of keeping me after the change. In my last year there they gave me a lower rating than usual on my review and started treating me worse than they ever had before. (This has become a common practice when a company wants to get rid of someone. They probably teach it in business school now.)

But that is a field in which youth is definitely preferred. Silicon Valley, for example, is notorious for that. After I left that job I took a course and got a paralegal certificate because law was always of interest to me. But no luck there either. I had a temp job with a law firm, which I got because a staffing agency had to send over every warm body it could. But after that I had interviews for other jobs in the field and felt I was being rejected on sight. I was willing to work for the same money as the other applicants, but I guess they were more comfortable underpaying younger people. Also, they seem to prefer women in those jobs. Many attorneys probably see paralegal work as secretarial work, and we were all taught long ago that secretaries are supposed to be women.

But I have actually started to like what I do now. My schedule recently changed, and I am getting more hours. And it's always possible I could move up and be a site supervisor somewhere. Maybe this is my reinvention. I'll keep you posted.

[Bob Juch]

What did happen to Peacock2121?

[Bob Juch]

BiT,

Thank you for your well thought out post. Perhaps I have just been looking for the wrong jobs. For many years I was a computer programmer, but my company changed computer systems, and the more I think about it the more convinced I am that they had no intention of keeping me after the change. In my last year there they gave me a lower rating than usual on my review and started treating me worse than they ever had before. (This has become a common practice when a company wants to get rid of someone. They probably teach it in business school now.)

But that is a field in which youth is definitely preferred. Silicon Valley, for example, is notorious for that. After I left that job I took a course and got a paralegal certificate because law was always of interest to me. But no luck there either. I had a temp job with a law firm, which I got because a staffing agency had to send over every warm body it could. But after that I had interviews for other jobs in the field and felt I was being rejected on sight. I was willing to work for the same money as the other applicants, but I guess they were more comfortable underpaying younger people. Also, they seem to prefer women in those jobs. Many attorneys probably see paralegal work as secretarial work, and we were all taught long ago that secretaries are supposed to be women.

But I have actually started to like what I do now. My schedule recently changed, and I am getting more hours. And it's always possible I could move up and be a site supervisor somewhere. Maybe this is my reinvention. I'll keep you posted.

Youth is preferred in the mainframe area too. Fortunately for me you can't find many "millennial mainframers" so us old farts are still in great demand.

[MarleysGh0st]

What did happen to Peacock2121?

She's posting daily updates on Evil Facebook. For those on her Friends list, anyway.

[TheConfessor]

What did happen to Peacock2121?

She's posting daily updates on Evil Facebook. For those on her Friends list, anyway.

And those daily updates generally say what? (Since her story was cited as an inspiration.)

[MarleysGh0st]

What did happen to Peacock2121?

She's posting daily updates on Evil Facebook. For those on her Friends list, anyway.

And those daily updates generally say what? (Since her story was cited as an inspiration.)

She has a new job, for one. She also has a daily post of something she's thankful for.

There's other stuff that has happened I don't have all the details on, from before I was assimilated onto Evil Facebook.

[mrkelley23]

I will ask her to either update us here, or to give us permission to update you here.

[BackInTex]

I didn't realize she didn't post her story here, but on the Facebook.

I'll let MrK get the OK if she is OK with it.

Elwood, glad to here things are looking up. I almost posted more, about how you could take the current position and become the boss. You are obvioulsy intelligent and should be able to think circles around those of the stereotypical security folks.

[elwoodblues]

I didn't realize she didn't post her story here, but on the Facebook.

I'll let MrK get the OK if she is OK with it.

Elwood, glad to here things are looking up. I almost posted more, about how you could take the current position and become the boss. You are obvioulsy intelligent and should be able to think circles around those of the stereotypical security folks.

Thank you.