After 341/before discharge. Question about jobs

[jazzladyw]

Hey everyone. I'm in the middle of waiting for my discharge,and I have a question about employment.

My husband lost his job,and now I'm the only one left with an income. I'm only working 18-24 hrs/wk, at $7.87 an hr. Obviously, that's not enough money to pay the essentials (rent,utilities,phone). I'm only bringing in half of what we need, at best. I want to look for another job, in a different field. I'm currently in retail, and I was thinking about maybe housekeeping or food service in a hospital. It would be full time, a little over $11 an hr. That's much better than what I'm currently making.

I've also been thinking of going back to school for a degree, maybe administrative assistant.

My question is, with a bankruptcy hanging over my head like a black cloud, how hard will it be for me to find a job? For the short term, will a hospital, or anyone else for that matter, hire me with a bk on my record? Also, should I even bother with becoming thousands and thousands of dollars in debt (via financial aid and loans) without being able to get a job after graduation because of the bk? I would hate to have had all my debt discharged through bk, just to become indebted again for no reason (i.e. no one would hire me after graduation-useless degree). I really really need a new job.

[btbeme]

Regarding a job - there are some companies that will ask about the BK filing. Most of them are concerned with "why" it happened. Most of these concerned positions would be those with a high trust element, such as accounting, security clearances, cash-handling for a company, etc.

As far as going back into debt, I can only give my opinion. And it is just my opinion (thanks for asking). The current job market for even the most qualified of applicants is tough sledding. My wife handles HR for a massive international company. They like to hire folks with work experience, though a degree is sometimes a prequalifier for a position. Experience has always, and will always, be in highest demand.

How to get experience? Sometimes that means starting low and working your way up within the same company. Sometimes that company will actually pay for some or all of a good employee's education. Happens all the time.

As for student loans, well, they are about the only thing (besides tax liens) that are almost impossible to scrape off in a BK. Not that you would want to BK again, but the whole notion is to get a fresh, debt-free "do-over."

WHen to get a job? Any time after your 341 is a good time, unless you have an irregular filing which has caught the interest of the US Trustee...but you would know that by now.