Let me tell you what the other side of the REAL coin is

[Horse with no Name]

Just read an op. Some guy that someone knew turned down a contract job to keep his UI.

What a scumbag!
What a creep!
What an ingrate!


Okay...with that out of our system...let's look at the reality. The first question I have...in that job, what happens if the person takes the CONTRACT job and makes less money and then is laid off--his UI will reflect THOSE benefits and he will lose money. My other question--when I have worked contract jobs--I wasn't eligible for UI. If this guy takes it and loses the job--he will most likely lose ALL of his benefits and the chances of finding a decent job these days and staying employed long enough to earn UI is a shaky proposition.

Yes, it makes a difference. IF the UI ended--then the contract job DOES seem the best option. But if the UI was extended--why not wait for something else that might possibly be better for him?

I was fired from my job for being sick.
I am a highly specialized professional. It's taken me YEARS to attain the level of skill and attain the certifications that I hold.
I made a very good salary with benefits.

The money that I get on unemployment is decent and I can pay my bills from it. It is right around $1800 month (I have very few bills).

There are NO similar jobs in the area that I live. To get the SAME job in my specialty I will have to drive ~350 miles round trip. When you factor in gas, hotels (as needed), new uniforms, time spent away from home--my take home pay drops around $1300 month (I can't pay my bills on that).

My other choice is to take a lesser skilled job with more physical demands and less pay.

I have a previously injured back--I can't do a lot of lifting anymore. I'm not about to sacrifice my back for a crap job because I learned after the first injury that Texas Workmen's Comp is one of the most crooked entities in the state and I am not about to fight THAT battle again.

I do search for jobs that I am qualified for. But I am NOT going to take a crap job for the sake of preventing someone else from sitting in judgment of me for not taking a job "they" think is appropriate for me.

[kelly1mm]

1. Makes sense now but will you take a "crap job" when UI runs out? nt

[Horse with no Name]

3. I believe that would be "my" business

But I personally won't take a job then that I wouldn't take now--for the reasons that I stated.

[kelly1mm]

5. It is your business and I edited my comment as it seemed snarky,

which was not my intention.

If you will not be taking a "crap job" when UI runs out how will you pay your bills, which run somewhere between 1300 and 1800 per month?

[Horse with no Name]

8. LOL--no offense taken

But...I have amassed 190 hours of college credit over the years.
I actually lack about 5 classes for a degree in History and a minor in English.
I am finishing those classes up and will most likely teach.

[kelly1mm]

10. Sounds like a plan! Good luck with your studies! nt

[EFerrari]

2. Anybody that advises you to take a job where you will lose money is an idiot.

And I'd say, TX Workers' Comp is one of the crooked entities in the nation. Do you remember that big expose that was done about them, maybe in the earlier Bush years? I saw it on television. Horror stories of people in pain and disabled and even dying while the state was looking out for the insurance underwriters. It was about the worst thing I've ever seen.

[Horse with no Name]

6. I agree

I ended up taking 3 years off (at my expense--I wasn't paid anything by anyone) until my back was completely healed.
Drugs and surgery weren't options for me for personal reasons. The ONLY thing that healed it was time--and some physical therapy (also paid for by me--not by anyone else).
I can do everything I used to do--the only thing that aggravates it is driving long distances and vacuuming.
Nursing has more job injuries than construction.
Especially with the understaffing in the hospitals these days.
I'm not giving my back to ANYONE again.
:hug:

[Bigmack]

4. Your story is typical of why....

the Repub solutions don't work.

They don't seem to realize that statements like "he should just get another job?" are akin to saying "why doesn't he just become an NBA point guard?"

Everybody is different, and there are damn few jobs these days that fill all workers needs and abilities. When we had a diverse work force in a diverse economy... well, even then, job mobility was difficult.

In Repub-World, all workers... all people, actually... are interchangeable.

Oh.... except themselves. They're Special Cases. You're just lazy and expendable.

[XanaDUer]

7. And it was a contractor job

did it offer benefits? Maybe the guy has a mental illness? Maybe a million other things. Thank you, HWNN, for posting this. I am on UI right now, and I want a job similar to the one I had, the one I spent two years getting a master's for.

[Horse with no Name]

9. Good luck to you.

Once you take something lower, you can never climb back where you were.
That's unfair, especially when you have put so much time and effort in your skills. :hug:

[XanaDUer]

11. Thank you

I can relocate. And, I have to pay for my hotels and gas and car rental, and that is another thing to factor into job searching.

:hug: