Ok, a non pro car question...

Ok guys and girls, I need some help...

I have been laid off for about 4 months now and I just found out that I may not be recalled to the mill. I have a couple of options that I need to check in to. One of those options is to go back to school for up to 2 years on the state's money. I can collect UC and go back for re-education for the alloted two years on an approved course of study. There are so many course studies that I will not even try to mention them all here. Some of the more prevelant are either in the medical (nurse, medical assistant, radiologigy) field or the secretarial field (secretary, medical bill, business admin. etc). There are also a few in the mechanical field (machinist etc).

So, I guess that my question with all of this would be...
Does anyone have any suggestions as to the profession that would be best?

I fully understand that every person has their own interpretation as to what is the best for them, but I am wondering if there is any one (or two, or three) professions that are going places.

The one place that I have been thinking of in PIMS (Pittsburgh Institite Of Mortuary Science). I don't know how I would handle being a mortician, but I think that I would like to try. Unfortunately, this is a one time shot. If I don't like what I choose 2 years from now, I am up the creek.

Hmmm... lots of decisions in a little time span...

I'm glad that the state has agreed to pay, I'm just not sure if I want to give up 11 years as a Steelworker for something that I am not really sure I am going to like doing.

We are covered for call back by the United Steelworkers Association (USWA) and right now, I am #177 on the roster out of about 325 employees. They are working about 125 to 150 and I might get called back. Hmmm... not sure what to do and just looking for suggestions.

Thanks!
Chuck

Nursing

Around these parts nurses can ALWAYS find a job and they make decent money. Machinists won't be much in demand unless this country gets its manufacturing base back which won't happen in our lifetime.

Brady D Smith said:

Around these parts nurses can ALWAYS find a job and they make decent money. Machinists won't be much in demand unless this country gets its manufacturing base back which won't happen in our lifetime.

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Also Emt's & Paramedics. Also Law Enforcement. Any Public Safety Job


Russ

so it's go to school on money you don't have to pay back or collect unemployment hoping to get called back. some choices. but skilled professionals are the people that can get the Jobs. sometimes you have to pull up roots to do so. nursing is not for everyone. there is a lot that goes with that job that is unpleasant. never having been in the funeral business I can't say on that. one has to weigh time you have in the profession you have been in against time you have to spend in a new one. then factor in your losses. starting over is just that starting over. seniority, benefits if any against a few years with out any in which you will spend anything you have collected up to now to keep afloat. then get to start on the bottom of a new profession. then factor the odds of you getting back into you old profession. what i would offer is the same advice that anyone starting out would do. if you thinking of nursing go to work as a aid. you can be hired on from the street ad getting the state license after working a bit is fairly easy. I currently am SD state license nursing aid. the other is go down to the local funeral home and ask for a job or volunteer to work for free just to get the feel of it. either would get you experience and let you decide. both would give you something to do other then brood over your trouble and then maybe before you make your choices you'll be called back and really have to decide. but don't jump because someone says you have to now.

Ed......... he can continue to collect his unemployment benefits and go to school for retraining at the same time. The program only allows for retraining once, so whatever he decides on, then he is headed down that path without any turning back. To me, your advise to do an apprenticeship in what ever field that he is thinking of is sound advise. Most times, you will know in the first 2 weeks if the job is for you or not.
Someone that I know is sending their daughter to school this fall to become an auto mechanic. I haven't said a word about it, but to me, this is not a good choice given the fact that so many auto dealerships are closing, and there is a push to sell new cars. New cars usually don't require much service for the first few years, and presently there is a glut in the market of displaced auto mechanics with all the dealership closings. In fact, the state is offering retraining to auto mechanics that have lost their jobs. It is nice to follow your heart in picking your occupation, but many times, it isn't very practical. It is best to pick a field that is growing, and isn't already over supplied with an unemployed labor force. Also, pick an occupation that isn't easily made obsolete by sending that job to some third world country, like the computer industry has done with tech support.

Chuck, before you make any big decisions it would be good for you to talk to a career counselor to discuss your interests and your abilities. By completing an interest inventory or interview, you might get some good ideas for potential careers that you would enjoy - some may be careers that you haven't even thought of before. I could help you get started with this in Flint if you want. Let me know.

Sarah

Chuck,

Growing up, did you ever say to yourself, "I want to be a...." whatever? That's what you need to think about. What would you love to do if you had nothing to stop you?

If you always wanted to be a steelworker, then wait it out. I can't say if you'll get called back or no, and you probably know more than I do how many people have been laid off from a mill and never been called back to it. I remember when I lived in WPA meeting a lot of unemployed former steelworkers, waiting for the call back while the bulldozers pushed the mill over.

You have a unique opportunity to essentially start over and do whatever you want. Was there one thing you ever thought of doing? Now you have that chance (and have the state pay you and pay for the schooling, too). You have nothing to stop you if you want to change.

That and what Sarah said...

I gotta tell ya, the world always needs paramedics, I've never heard of a paramedic being laid off. Also, male calendar model comes to mind...

new job

My son went to auto mechanics school. All the dealerships agreed he wen to one of the best. But they also had a requirement that you have at least 2 years experience before they would consider hiring you into their dealership. It did not matter the brand of car they were selling. Something to think about. Its a 'catch 22' thing. You can't get the job without the training and with the training you can't get the job because you are fresh out of school with no previous experience.
Now to the machinists idea. Like Brady said, if our manufacturing base does not come back there will be no large scale need for new machinists. Kevin went to work in a small shop. Remember he didn't have the auto experience, so another opportunity opened up and he took it. After 9 years the shop closed. Too much competition from over seas. The machine shops are asking if he can program and/or run a CNC machine. Some of them want only programmers, some want operators, some want a person that can do both. Most are not hiring with the economy in the dumps.
The head hunters have said for years that the US will become a service industry oriented society. From Wendy's to doctors. Services of one kind or another will be the bill to fill.
I do know there is a lot to nursing that you don't seem to find out until you start asking the questions and so you should ask them early. There are many things in a nurses list of chores that many of us couldn't handle.
A friend is a nurse and she tells me how the local hospitals throw dollars at nurses for overtime because there is not enough nurses.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Mike

Thanks for all the advice!

I'm not going to jump to any decisions right away. I realize that this is a big decision that I need to spend some time checking into.

Nursing? I have been told by many that there are never enough nurses, but I don't know if that is something that I could do. I would put paramedic and EMT in the same category for me. The medical field is definately a place with quite a few jobs available.

What do I like to do? I like to work with my hands. I like to build and make things and see how things work. I have a basic engineering background. I have several years of college at Penn State for engineering... high math courses, drafting, chemestry. One of the courses that I first thought of was auto tech, but as Paul mentioned, that field is flooded right now with all of the laid off dealership mechanics. So much so that the state of Pennsylvania just recently took it off the list of approved courses.

Hmmm... definately lots to think about. I just figured that since we have such a random group of people here in various professions, I would throw it out and see if anything stuck out to anyone. Just looking for constructive conversation and ideas as to where I might want to start looking.

I am starting to like your last suggestion Steve. Think that I could make it in that profession?

Go with what you have always wanted to do. You'll be happier in the long run. I spent many years in school in a field totally foreign to what I do now. I was forced to make the same decision 30 years ago that you are facing now. I chose to follow my muse and despite numerous financial setbacks before I achieved a limited measure of success I still enjoy going to work every day and cannot envision "retirement". You may have to change your lifestyle and standard of living but go with what you enjoy, you will never regret it. We always regret the things we didn't attempt more than those at which we may have failed.

Wise worrds from Sarah

Sarah Snook said:

Chuck, before you make any big decisions it would be good for you to talk to a career counselor to discuss your interests and your abilities. By completing an interest inventory or interview, you might get some good ideas for potential careers that you would enjoy - some may be careers that you haven't even thought of before. I could help you get started with this in Flint if you want. Let me know.

Sarah

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Wise words from Sarah. A career counselor can administer a battery of tests that will show what you are best suited for. Keep in mind the long term effects of your job choice. As you know from working in the steel industry; hard physical labor, and exposure to toxic fumes will come back to haunt you later in life. Work that was once easy, will become hard. Obtaining a college degree will widen your choices, as many employers do not give a wit what you have a degree in, just that you have one. A job in government service does have the added bonus of retirement benefits based on years of service; which is something not always true in the private sector. After working many years in EMS, including owning an ambulance service, I switched careers. The end result; I'm now a vice president with a global financial network. While it seems like only yesterday that I was starting IV's on patients; what I do now effects the short and long term financial condition of financial institutions and hundreds of thousands of their account holders. Last week I was invited to address a delegation of finance ministers from the Peoples Republic of China; something that would never have been possible in my former career. The point being; you have the opportunity to retrain, change careers, and be successful. I wish you the best of luck.

Robert Shepard

Charles E Snyder said:

Thanks for all the advice!

I'm not going to jump to any decisions right away. I realize that this is a big decision that I need to spend some time checking into.

Nursing? I have been told by many that there are never enough nurses, but I don't know if that is something that I could do. I would put paramedic and EMT in the same category for me. The medical field is definately a place with quite a few jobs available.

What do I like to do? I like to work with my hands. I like to build and make things and see how things work. I have a basic engineering background. I have several years of college at Penn State for engineering... high math courses, drafting, chemestry. One of the courses that I first thought of was auto tech, but as Paul mentioned, that field is flooded right now with all of the laid off dealership mechanics. So much so that the state of Pennsylvania just recently took it off the list of approved courses.

Hmmm... definately lots to think about. I just figured that since we have such a random group of people here in various professions, I would throw it out and see if anything stuck out to anyone. Just looking for constructive conversation and ideas as to where I might want to start looking.

I am starting to like your last suggestion Steve. Think that I could make it in that profession?

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Charles take a Look at Carbon Motors They are Going to Build Police Cars. These cars will be Built for Law Enforcement only. Maybe Engineering or Production Type Jobs There. Good Luck In Your search

Russ

Charles E Snyder said:

Thanks for all the advice!...I am starting to like your last suggestion Steve. Think that I could make it in that profession?

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I really don't know, you tell me.....

Funeral Director/Embalmer. This is a job you would need to be around first before attending school. It is not a job intended for everyone. My wife tells me (if that is what you can call it) all the time that had she known what she was getting into she would have chosen another field. She graduated from mortuary school before ever working in a funeral home. I on the other hand, Love the business.

If it were me, I would try to find something in the nursing field. My sister Therese went back to college a number of years ago in Tn., graduating from Tennessee Wesleyan University, and had a handful of job offers right from the start.

The Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science is a good school; however, with the economy the way it is, all of a sudden the mortuary colleges are getting more students then ever before, which, I would think would make it not so easy to get a job in that area. I'm not sure about Pennsylvania, but here in Indiana we have 4 mortuary colleges, and finding a position is difficult.

Matthew Coon said:

If it were me, I would try to find something in the nursing field. My sister Therese went back to college a number of years ago in Tn., graduating from Tennessee Wesleyan University, and had a handful of job offers right from the start.

The Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science is a good school; however, with the economy the way it is, all of a sudden the mortuary colleges are getting more students then ever before, which, I would think would make it not so easy to get a job in that area. I'm not sure about Pennsylvania, but here in Indiana we have 4 mortuary colleges, and finding a position is difficult.

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I thought most were horizontal