Classes are going well, and are almost to an end. It's surprising how fast it's going. So far I have 2 out of the 3 total certifications I need (EVOC and CPR), but the most important is the EMT-B, which I'll be testing for the week of my Birthday. The only present I want is to pass....

Consulting, to pass the time

While I wait for classes to begin, I've taken on a few consulting jobs. These are training gigs, teaching on Internet Technologies to activists and advocates. I'm actually hoping to do more, but for now it's just one day in Pittsburgh and one day in Erie. The jobs don't pay much, but expenses are paid and I get to spend some time in each town.

The first training was yesterday and it went great. I'd forgotten how much I like to teach, and maybe I'll be able to teach more in the future, perhaps as a new level in my upcoming EMT/Paramedic career. I could still do more technical training too, as a side job... though I'm not sure I really want to yet, but it's what I know at the moment.

Here it is:

Ok, so here it is. This is my plan. I'm going to take the EMT course at HACC from 6/16 - 8/6 this summer and start a career in health care from there. The plan is to become a full paramedic, so I'd need to start as an EMT first. I'm sure I'll do some other work on the side from time to time, just to make a little extra money considering this career path doesn't pay much, but it's in high demand and the risk of layoff is incredibly low to non-existent.

More on this as it develops...

Cost cutting...

I've begun to minimize costs and downsize certain hobbies. First to go is the fish tank; a 180g saltwater reef, which was inhabited by 19 fish and tons of coral varieties. The behemoth of a tank isn't yet sold, but most of the fish and rock in the tank are. I'll be moving to a mere 29g tank with only 5 fish. This will greatly decrease the spending on this hobby, considering the money that goes into the electric bill, fish food, salt, water, etc.

Next, I'll likely have to scale back the kung fu classes. This is rather upsetting because I had taken a hiatus for financial reasons already (last year's gas prices, and lack of dependable child support payments from the ex, ran my savings out). I just started going back, and after one week of practice, I got laid off. This hobby is the one that I really want to try and salvage, so I'll likely figure out a way to continue... but for now, I'll only be going to one class per week instead of the two classes I had planned.

Another cost cutting idea was to sell or refinance my Jeep (or at least talk the bank into letting me defer a payment or two, which they typically allow), but I apparently owe way more than it's worth, so selling it is off the table. The bank has something called a "hardship refinancing" option, which I was just turned down for. I've also been told that to defer a payment, I'd need to have a job. I'm not sure how this all makes sense to the average person, consdering that being laid off because of the rough economy sure seems like a hardship to me. Go figure.

The last thing on the list so far is the house. It's going to go on the market in the next couple weeks after I've touched the place up a bit (and hopefully gotten the fish tank out of the living room). I'm not really attached to the house so much, considering we've only been here a couple years, but I have a feeling I won't get what I want for it. I don't care about getting back any money I've spent, I just want to break even on my mortgage and cover Realtor fees, but that even seems far-fetched with the way things are going.

I'm guessing things will pretty much change completely, not only because of my change in careers and home, but a change in lifestyle overall. Times are tough, and the career change will also mean less money. As long as I don't have to sell the motorcycle, everything will be ok...

Out of work... again.

For nearly nine years I have been working in the IT industry, gaining lots of desirable skills and knowledge. I got into the field hearing about how much demand there was for skilled IT workers, and how the different aspects of the career were going to grow for years to come, however I found my own experience to be quite the opposite. In the most recent 5 years, I have been laid off 3 times, and before that, nearly laid off twice. The only job I had that I felt somewhat secure in was working under terrible management using questionable business practices in order to succeed. This isn't how it was meant to be... is it?

After each layoff, numerous people have suggested other career fields that they felt were more secure than the anything involving my technical skills. I've been constantly asking myself, "Could a career change really be the answer?", and the only answer I could come up with is, "Yes, absolutely". So, I am about to chronicle the end of my IT career path and the transition into a new field.

The change won't be easy and I'll have to give up a lot along the way, but I'm not the only one who has to deal with this right now. Things are tough for everyone, and unemployment has reached historic levels. Many people are considering career changes because of the uncertainty in their own fields. Personally, I'm still considering the field to go into, but I'll give a hint to start; it's Health Care related. It doesn't pay a lot to start, but I think I'll be happy there. I can begin a certification class in June, which is some time away, so there would be plenty of downtime until then. So, for now, I'll just write about what happens during my wait, starting with the final decision within the next week or so. Stay tuned.