Now Stuck without a Job

[StuckinaRut]

I was let go from my job yesterday. The upside is that they offered 3 months severance. The downside is I don't know how long it will take to find another job. My wife has a decent job, but mine was the main salary.

I don't know if I should take the severance and only pay the mortgage & utilities & her cc bills (she can't have bad credit with her job, she is in the financial industry). Or do I keep everything current and hope that within 3 months I find a job making comparable salary. We were barely keeping afloat as it was. The sad part is that we had just come up with a plan to pay everything down & eventually off. I guess life had other plans.

I appreciate the opportunity to vent. Now its back to sending out resumes.

[kvangild]

If I were in your shoes I would plan for the "worst" and hope for the "best". I would only pay the mortgage & utilities and to cut back, I would only pay the minimum payment on your cc's.

[marilynrob]

no advice, just wanted to wish you good luck and send good vibes during these difficult times.

[MSbklawyer]

Where are you? What kind of job or field were you in? How old are you? How much money were you making?

[BCA2009]

Only advice I can ofer is don't use up savings and cash on hand to pay debts, other than essentials like mortgage and cars. Been there done that. I exausted all savings and then had to file BK. It just prolonged the inevitable.

Your situation may be different, but unless you know you will get another job soon, you may just be throwing away any money paid to unsecureds.

Take advantage of this excellent forum. Do alot of reading and ask questions. Most people hare have been where you are want to help you avoid the mistakes we made.

[StuckinaRut]

I live in Georgia and I am an attorney with no marketable legal skills. Have spent the last 7 years doing document discovery. I made approx. 69,000 per year. I hope my job prospects are good, but I don't know. I've been out of the job market for a while. I am 34 years old.

[DebtHater]

I'm with kvangild with this one. Take the severance and bank it and only pay what you have to in monthly expenses. Cut back your lifestyle to a bare minimum. This means no eating out, no movies, no buying anything unless it's absolutely necessary. Do you have car loans? If so you may what to consider selling the cars and buying used cars.

In the mean time keep job hunting. Even if you have to take three part time jobs it's more income than no job.

Good luck.

[MSbklawyer]

I live in Georgia and I am an attorney with no marketable legal skills. Have spent the last 7 years doing document discovery. I made approx. 69,000 per year. I hope my job prospects are good, but I don't know. I've been out of the job market for a while. I am 34 years old.

I don't know what the job market is like in GA for attorneys. How does one do only document discovery for 7 whole years? It must have been a HUGE firm to have an attorney dedicated to that and nothing but that. If you're near a large metro area like Atlanta, you should be able to find something. You may have to take a pay cut for a while but you shouldn't be completely out of work.

[StuckinaRut]

MSbklawyer,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I am near Atlanta and I pray that you are right. I have actually been looking for another job for awhile, but was afraid to take a pay cut. Now I don't have to worry about that.

Btw, it is a large firm & actually has approx. 100 attorneys dedicated to document discovery.

[Mensa1]

Out of work Atty........ Hmmmm, lots of foreclosures and Bk today.
Might be the best place/field to start anyway.

One would think that with the internet today and your skills that you would be able to contract for a number of different and smaller firms that occassionally need some research.... when they need you I would think that you could be billing yourself at min of 100-125 hr. it wouldn't take many hrs to equal what you were making before, less the cost to commute, lunches, clothing, etc. If you could bill 10 hrs a week you are ahead of the game, it seems.

I wish I had a license to practice law..... (the grass is always greener)

** I would have a flyer or letter made either deliver or mail it to each law office in your area offering your skill set on a contract basis. I would think your phone would ring off the hook.

[junker]

wow, i thought all lawyers were instant millionaires the first year after passing the bar exam....based on my dealings with them and what they charged me....

[StuckinaRut]

Junker,

How I wish that were true! :-)

[pileated]

If I were you, in addition to doing everything else you can think of, I would check out the CJA panel in your area. If you can get on it, you will be appointed federal criminal trial cases. Also get admitted to the federal appeals court so you can take appointed federal appellate cases.

You can and should take all the CLE courses pertaining to this -- check with the local federal public defender's office.

You can practice this type of law from a home office. Just get on the lists, take CLE classes, and sign up for Lexis.

Taking bankruptcy cases is a good idea. It isn't that hard to get up to speed, especially for chapters 7 and 13. The trouble will be figuring out how to get cases. Obviously, you won't have the funds for advertising. Now is the time to network like crazy.

You must get the ball rolling on this stuff immediately because it will take time to set up. You are not forced to take cases, so if you find a job in the meanwhile, you haven't lost anything but time. If you don't find a job, these options may pan out for you.

Don't forget to apply for unemployment!

Good luck,
pileated