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The gravy train has come to a screeching hault

Carbon13

Carbon13

Well-Known Member
Hey you lil boy toyz,

I haven't really talked about myself much on here. I try and keep my posts fun and light and most of all keep my ego out of it because I know how vitriolic the internet can be. However, I think I am going to divulge a bit about myself because you folks on here are pretty cool and I could use some advice.

I work for a major oil and gas company and I am 99% sure I am about to be laid off. I've spent my last few evenings thinking about what I am going to do with my time off but I am unsure of how to proceed. Funny how life can throw a curve ball that hits you in the nuts. I definitely want to travel, but I have a girlfriend here in Houston that I care a great deal about who is in grad school. So we can't just pick up and leave for an extended trip. Also, I am concerned about chipping away at my financial security blanket too aggressively. That said, I do think I may be a little selfish and take a trip somewhere to clear my head and do something cool. This will be the first time in my life (and possibly only) where the venn diagram of youthful-vitality overlaps relative financial-freedom and indefinite free-time.

After the seven stages of grief (I think I've finally made it past denial! $30 oil prices will do that for you) I'm going to have to come back to real life. So I've come here to ask, have any of you been laid off? How'd it go for you? Any advice for this washed-up Jazz-loving fool? Serious replies only please! Genuinely interested and willing to listen to any advice given.

Thanks Jazzbros! :D
 
That sucks. One of my good life-long friends went to UT and majored in Petroleum Engineering. Out of college he got a job starting at 100K a year salary but he got laid off after his 6th month because of the current situation. He got paid a full year's salary but he said it's pretty much impossible to find anyone hiring right now.
 
Carbon13 said:
After the seven stages of grief (I think I've finally made it past denial! $30 oil prices will do that for you) I'm going to have to come back to real life. So I've come here to ask, have any of you been laid off? How'd it go for you? Any advice for this washed-up Jazz-loving fool? Serious replies only please! Genuinely interested and willing to listen to any advice given.

Thanks Jazzbros! :D
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Sounds like you're at the age where getting laid off may not be the worst thing in the world. You sound young enough and experienced enough where you shouldn't have much trouble finding another job - maybe even a better one.

I didn't exactly get laid off; but my company was absorbed by a competitor and they closed down my office last January. I was out of work for 2 months before I found another job - about 20K more per year, more vacation time. Plus I got ten months severance pay from my old job. There are a few set backs (longer distance to work) but all things considered I can't complain too much.

This might sound corny but you have to view it as an opportunity. If you go into the process with a ****ty/bitter attitude it will have an impact on your decision making. Travelling for a week or two sounds like a good idea too if you can swing it.
 
Has oil hit its bottom yet? I feel like it hasn't, not by a long shot.

Anyways, is that a field you want to stay in? What's your degree? What are your skills? You could take some time off and then come summer be a custom cutter in Texas, that pays pretty decent.
 
My husband is in IT, but he's been laid of twice. It sucks. In both cases he did get severance, but we chose to use that to finish paying off stuff. The first time we had just financed 10 grand in siding and windows for our house, and he lost his job the next week. So, we used a chunk of savings and severance to pay that off. The second time we decided to pay off his car. I think both times we were wise and actually did ourselves a favor. We didn't have a lot in the bank, but we saved ourselves from making extra payments. Unemployment pay plus a little income from my freelance writing business was barely enough to get us by. He was working again within 3-4 months both times, and because of our decision with the severance, we had stuff paid off that we wouldn't have had paid off otherwise.

Taking a trip to blow off steam sounds like fun. It just depends on how much money you've got saved and what your obligations are. We have 3 kids and a mortgage, so we would have been foolish to do something like that. In our case, the hubs went right to work looking for a new job the same day. It was the only thing that made him feel better. They say looking for work BECOMES your full-time job at that point. That's how we handled it, but your case may be different. If a new job is going to be tough to get, that'll make a huge difference in what you should do. You could always take a quick road trip for a couple of days so you aren't spending a lot, if you really feel the need. Low oil prices are great for the rest of us, but sorry it's been tough on you and your industry.
 
Take a vaca for a week or two and then come back refreshed. If you want to stay in the same general industry/job, maybe take advanced classes/courses that will possibly make you more attractive to potential employers. I'm not saying to get your full on Masters or PhD or anything but if there's things you can do to make you more attractive, do them.
 
Take an epic trip to somewhere you've always wanted to see. Oil is boom and bust, might as well enjoy the bust like a boom.
 
Dad got laid off cuz of the oil economy as well! Best of luck
 
Great thread title. I'm not sure there's much of a career opportunity in freelance creative thread titling, but you never know. I think you have potential.

Good luck with your future endeavors.
 
moevillini said:
Great thread title. I'm not sure there's much of a career opportunity in freelance creative thread titling, but you never know. I think you have potential.

Good luck with your future endeavors.
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$30 oil is here for a while. We're in a major recession phase. It's like this every sixty to eighty years and it lasts about two decades, for sheer generational/population reasons. Housing values will go to a third of todays prices as well. wages will continue to drop. The social security bubble will bust, and all the old folks will be sharing apartments instead of luxuriating in expansive pads like Dr. Jones' in some Sun Valley.

Settle your accounts, go rental long term, and start a business fixing shoes or mending clothes.

only sorta serious here, folks. nobody get their panties in a bunch, please.

The reason our big corporates want open borders is to keep people coming to their Big Box Stores for a few more years.
 
Every sixty ot eighty years? How much history do we even have to go off of? 125 years?
 
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