wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I was the Director of Radio Production for a once leading ad agency in NYC until 2005 then I was let go. A few months earlier I was ordained an Interfaith Minister. I still love produce and work as a casting director. It's not easy out here. I still have not landed anywhere and each month is a challenge for me. Today I remain hopeful that something will land in my lap very soon.

I was a computer technician in the publishing industry for ten years. It was a good job. The money was good; it put me through college, but I was never really satisfied with it. I spent a few years realizing that I didn't want to do this job anymore, but didn't know what else to do.

Then the idea of teaching came to me. I come from a family of teachers but never considered doing it myself. But a month after the idea came to me, I was enrolled at Pace. When I student taught middle school, I, surprisingly, really enjoyed it.

If you had said to me ten years ago that I'd be teaching middle school English, I would have laughed. Now, I don't want anything else. It's a small job, but it's very satisfying. What I do is meaningful. I also get to do and talk about extraordinary things: Greek mythology, Shakespeare, science fiction. It's fun.

That degree in English DID come in handy after all.

I have had my own learning and development consultancy since the end of 2006. My industry focus has been Investment Banking. Since the debacle of our financial systems my revenue as dried up completely and I am now in the position of looking for a full-time job. What's frustration is that I have been denied NYS Unemployment Benefits because I am a sole-proprietor. The fund that I have paid into for years is now not available to me when I desperately need it. The NYS Department of Labor's policy denying benefits to business owners because somehow we would not be honest in our earnings reporting is discriminatory and unfair. As a representative of the middle-class I have once again fallen through the cracks of social support.

I have run my own consultancy business since leaving corporate America in December 2007. My industry focus was Investment Banking. Since the collapse of the financial system my revenue has run dry and I ma now in the position of looking for a full-time job. What's so frustrating is that after paying for years into Unemployment Benefits the State of New York will not allow me to collect the benefits that I now desperately need. Because I am a sole-proprietor the State somehow believes that I am not honest with the reporting of my earnings. My money is going to bail out Wall Street and yet when I need the unemployment benefits that I've paid into I am told, 'sorry, we can't help you.'

I lost my job as an airline pilot with Eastern Air Lines when our 1989 strike helped bring down the company. I was so angry with both management and ALPA that I founded a new air line called KIWI International in 1992 and was Chairman and CEO until I left in 1995. The idea was to re-employ Eastern pilots by pooling our anger and retirement funds for the initial capital. We grew to 15 planes and 1200 employees in 2 years and was named best airline in America by Conde Naste in 1993. After leaving I got mad all over again and started and ran another airline called Sky Trek. I think the lesson is that anger is a powerfully motivating emotion for career resurrection.

I am a CPA and I was working in the finance department of a large hospital in NYC. The year was 1993. I was also an adjunct lecturer in Accounting at CUNY. I enjoyed teaching but to me it was strictly part time. I'd been asked several times by the school if I wanted to work full time and I had always turned the offer down because I thought of myself as an accountant, not a teacher.
I got laid off by the hospital and I was totally devastated! This was the first time I was ever out of work.
Soon after my dismissal when my spirits were at their lowest I got a call from the chairman of my department at CUNY. He said that he knew that I wasn't interested in full time employment but did I know any one who was. Of course I jumped at the job immediately and I'm now a tenured Lecturer and still at the school. I look back now on that layoff as a blessing in disguise.

Similar to Hugh above, I have been a staff and freelance graphic designer for over 20 years in a shrinking publishing industry. For a few years after being downsized, I de-stressed taking courses in ceramics, which was an old interest of mine, but then financial realities took over as well as caregiving duties for my in-laws and parents. As a result of taking care of my mom who has Alzheimer's Disease, I discovered a new career path as horticultural therapist! Although I'm not yet earning money, I am close to finishing my certification at the NY Botanical Gardens. There are lots of obstacles: I may need more education, money, the current downturn in the economy, my age (over 50), the changing healthcare landscape, my own self-doubts, etc, etc. But at the core, I remain hopeful and excited about doing something which is so clearly beneficial to others. At my age, that is a big motivator which trumps all other concerns. I would encourage others to always look at obstacles as opportunities.

Higher Education often does better in weak economies since people who have been put out of work suddenly have a lot of unexpected time on their hands. Many consider going to college for the first time, completing a college degree never finished, or starting over with a new course of study and new degree. For this group of people, Monroe College in New Rochelle, NY is hosting "College for a Day" on Saturday, November 15th, from 1:00 - 4:00 PM. A series of free lectures will be given by Monroe College professors on a wide-range of topics, including accounting, culinary arts, criminal justice, healthcare, business, and information technology. Classes will be followed by a reception featuring existing adult students who juggle jobs, families and college. It's all free and there's no obligation. To register, call Judith Redlener, 914-740-6876.

My career change preceded the current market decline, but my new business has flourished in the current market.

I had been working for a trading firm on Wall Street when 9/11 eviscerated the business. I lost my job and with some help from FEMA and the Red Cross, I had the time and funds to start my own web design firm. (www.nexxite.com)

In the following seven years, my company has thrived, in part because I build websites for consultants and small businesses. Many of my clients lost their own corporate jobs and started small enterprises in the recent downturn. All these start-up endeavors need my services, which I consciously price low.

Paul

I was a staff writer at the Village Voice, but a few weeks ago I was laid off due to budget cuts. Other journalists I know are ready to give up for good on the profession and have advised me to go into another field, but I'm not ready to surrender. After working for 10 years to get to the Voice -- I started out as a 19-year-old stringer in Texas -- it seems premature to throw in the towel. So, I'm working on become a multi-media wizard: studying ProTools, building my own website, and potentially working on some video segments.

From age 26 in the 1970s I was a salaried professor in colleges and then medical schools. In 1996 the changing financial picture of medicine made me expendable and so I went out on my own as a psychologist. No one in my family had ever been self-employed and it was nerve-wracking. BUT it worked out, and you learn that there are up times and down times - you have to ride it out.

I was a freelance graphic designer and production artist and a lot of this type of work has moved out of Manhattan to shops overseas. I was once offered work managing one of these shops in Mexico. The pay has been stagnant for the last 15 years and I have since been looking into real estate and other temp work.

Not all of us will be able to go back to
a "piano concerts career" if we loose our jobs.
I can imagine falling into misery with my self-esteem under my soles instead.

I was a US Army officer and while they didn't kick me out, the deployment scheduel and ass clownish leadership I had to put up with basically did force me to change professions. I saw it comming, saved my money and went to law school. Now I work in NY city for a larger company and best of all: good work environment. . . .and a bit more pay.

I experienced an involuntary career change at age 64 when my 40-person firm was taken over by a much bigger one, leaving no room for my Jill-of-all-trades administrative skills. I had been an administrator of professional firms (lawyers, CPAs). After a few minutes of black despair I decided (1) NOT to shop my resume around for the same old job - I mean, 40 years experience, age 64? Get real! (2) to return to the career I qualified for on graduation which I had been planning as a "retirement job". Losing my old career wasn't the best thing that ever happened but I feel so lucky now because I love my work and my new life. Turning 65 and qualifying for Medicare was helpful - I had to pay for my own medical insurance for the first year. I work out of my home as a translator and interpreter, mostly for law firms and courts in New York and New Jersey. I work via the Internet at home and go out to law offices and courts. Only thing I miss ... the free coffee and the coffee machine banter. What I love: FREEDOM!!!