(overtime)...maybe looking for a job

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
They say you shouldn't live on overtime. Take it when you can get it. If you include overtime in your budget then you are making a mistake, as it can always go away. Well, I have been living bare minimum and my overtime is regularly part of my budget. I work 20hrs o/t every week, so o/t accounts for 42% of my pay. Now my overtime is going away, as overtime has been cut for the whole plant. I can't make it with no overtime. I've got a baby on the way so that's going to make things even worse. What should I do? Ask for a raise? unless they are going to raise my hourly wage by 75%, I won't be able to bring home the same paycheck with no overtime. So I think I'm looking for a new job. Anyone here work for a company who's hiring?

willing to relocate? maybe, if the pay is right.
 

nerdegutta

Joined Dec 15, 2009
2,684
That su**s!

I'm a lucky guy. I can loose 30% of my income, and still get by fine...

A couple of questions:

The raise issue is a delicate matter. How long have you been employed? Why should they give you a riase? Will you do you work faster/better with a raise? If not, can they afford to loose you?Have gained more knowledge?

How about taking a second job?

How about starting you own business after regular hours?

With a new baby on the way, congrats, it is your duty too keep them fed, housed and secured.

My imidiate thoughts...


Good luck.
 

JingleJoe

Joined Jul 23, 2011
186
Sell stuff on ebay, I once made an auction for 8 terrible gameboy games, I said they were terrible, I told people it was a mistake to buy these games ... they sold for £8.
You can sell anything on ebay if you have good feedback.
 

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
here in Alberta, oil is king, again. I can't imagine it any different down south. With top drive experience, you are in a position to command top wages as a troubleshooting tech. You just gotta decide if your willing to 'ride the bull' of oilpatch.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
If you are willing to relocate you have a chance, but you need to be realistic about it. I use OT in my job to try to get ahead, there is always something down the road that will eat it, such as cars, disasters around the house, etc.

You mentioned you worked in the oil industry. I've heard there is good money there, but I would hate to stake my career on it.

A major rule of thumb, it is always easier to get a job when you have a job, and the longer you are unemployed the less people want to hire you. So don't burn any bridges.
 

nerdegutta

Joined Dec 15, 2009
2,684
A major rule of thumb, it is always easier to get a job when you have a job, and the longer you are unemployed the less people want to hire you. So don't burn any bridges.
I second that.

From time to time, people come to where I work asking for job. First question is:"What do you do now?" Second question:"How long have you done that?" Third question:"Why do you want to change?"

Is it possible to relocate you inside the company, with more pay?
 

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
If you are willing to relocate you have a chance, but you need to be realistic about it. I use OT in my job to try to get ahead, there is always something down the road that will eat it, such as cars, disasters around the house, etc.

You mentioned you worked in the oil industry. I've heard there is good money there, but I would hate to stake my career on it.

A major rule of thumb, it is always easier to get a job when you have a job, and the longer you are unemployed the less people want to hire you. So don't burn any bridges.
I'll third that and usually use the statement that 'it's better to go somewhere, than leave somewhere'.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,708
I may be an exception. I have stayed with the same job I ever had. Never moved. I could have had a glamorous high paying job with Nortel. Instead, I settled for much less. My overhead is low. My lifestyle is simple. I don't like to travel. Hate shopping. I think I've had my last plane flight. I ride a bike to work daily. Know what? I'm stress free, happy and I think I'm a better person for it.
 

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
They say you shouldn't live on overtime. Take it when you can get it. If you include overtime in your budget then you are making a mistake, as it can always go away. Well, I have been living bare minimum and my overtime is regularly part of my budget. I work 20hrs o/t every week, so o/t accounts for 42% of my pay. Now my overtime is going away, as overtime has been cut for the whole plant. I can't make it with no overtime. I've got a baby on the way so that's going to make things even worse. What should I do? Ask for a raise? unless they are going to raise my hourly wage by 75%, I won't be able to bring home the same paycheck with no overtime. So I think I'm looking for a new job. Anyone here work for a company who's hiring?

willing to relocate? maybe, if the pay is right.
http://tescocorp.com/bins/job_listing.asp?cid=6-122

I turned down a field service postion for western Canada/ northern US last year as I just purchased a propety for renovations. But that should be tied up next month so I'm back to thinking 3/4 ton with all the gear.
 
Last edited:

praondevou

Joined Jul 9, 2011
2,942
I always worked as an electronics technician and was able to feed my family when they were unemployed. I could cut 35% of my salary without any changes to my lifestyle.
Are you sure there are no costs you could cut?
There are cheaper supermarkets, cellphone plans can be changed/cancelled, mortgages renegotiated, if the rent is to high you can move. IMO it's always possible to save some money SOMEWHERE.
If you look for another job get professional help to elaborate your resume or read up the rules on the net. I have some recent experiences and know how much it matters.

If you ask for a salary increase don't try to justify it with personal difficulties. :) If your last raise was a few years ago you can always ask them...

You relocate to Canada, unemployment rate is low especially for what you are doing.
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
sorry for the late reply to my own thread; I have been busy (good sign)
How about starting you own business after regular hours?
Nerdegutta, I have been thinking the same thing. I have always wanted to own my own business. This lull in regular work could be my opportunity to get started. I just need a plan, and fast.

Considering to move to Maldives ?
If you asked me that back in 2008 I would have said yes and meant it.

here in Alberta, oil is king, again. I can't imagine it any different down south. With top drive experience, you are in a position to command top wages as a troubleshooting tech. You just gotta decide if your willing to 'ride the bull' of oilpatch.
yeah problem with top drives is they're all out there in the dang oil patch. Some are offshore, but from the family point of view that's even worse. I never had any free time when I was TD tech so I doubt I would if I went back to it.

You mentioned you worked in the oil industry. I've heard there is good money there, but I would hate to stake my career on it.
Yeah thats the other thing about going back to the oil patch; it's volatile. Not quite as volatile for the field service guys, but still volatile. The roughnecks on the rigs could loose their job any day; quite a few roughnecks would have to lose their jobs before the field service techs started losing theirs.

A major rule of thumb, it is always easier to get a job when you have a job, and the longer you are unemployed the less people want to hire you. So don't burn any bridges.
I 3rd (or 4th?) that. It was super hard getting the job I've got, because I was unemployed when I was trying to get it. never again.
Is it possible to relocate you inside the company, with more pay?
Another really good idea Nerdegutta. I will look into it. I work for a really good company with really good benefits. It would really be a shame to give it up. If I could get out of this plant and go work with the new products or in the field I could probably make more. I'm going to look into it, but I have a bad feeling that I'm locked into where I am because they desperately need me.

You seem to be in good phyical shape,Texas Is on fire maybe you
could a part time fire fighter.Let me know your opinion.
Not sure if that's something you can just go out and do on the weekends. First off, I'd assume they would make you go through some training before sending you out into wild fire. If it's anything like the fire fighting training in the Navy, it would take a minimum of a couple of weeks, by which time the fire would probably be out. Even if I was a member of the volunteer fire department and up to date on training, I think I would be a volunteer and not be paid for it. I think the only way to make money fighting fire is to be a regular fire fighter. I'm not sure about that though; if you know something else, enlighten me.

http://tescocorp.com/bins/job_listing.asp?cid=6-122

I turned down a field service postion for western Canada/ northern US last year as I just purchased a propety for renovations. But that should be tied up next month so I'm back to thinking 3/4 ton with all the gear.
Thanks for the link; I didn't see any top drive tech positions but the Test Facility Technician looks like a potential.

There are cheaper supermarkets, cellphone plans can be changed/cancelled, mortgages renegotiated, if the rent is to high you can move. IMO it's always possible to save some money SOMEWHERE.
If you look for another job get professional help to elaborate your resume or read up the rules on the net. I have some recent experiences and know how much it matters.

If you ask for a salary increase don't try to justify it with personal difficulties. :) If your last raise was a few years ago you can always ask them...

You relocate to Canada, unemployment rate is low especially for what you are doing.
Thanks for the advice. First off, I wouldn't mind moving to Canada. My wife on the other hand I'm not sure about. I stayed in Alberta for a few months with my last job and I fell in love with it. Beautiful place. The cost of living was slightly higher and the price of land/homes/property was substantially higher than where I am though.
I could cut my costs but not by 45%. I have signed a lease, so I'm pretty well stuck with the rent payment. I also have other payments that I can't cut.


Well, I have talked around with some of the guys in the plant who have been around for a while and that all said that my company does this almost every year, like clock work. We get a new manager every couple of years and they look at the numbers and think that because production falls off this time of year, that they can start cutting overtime. General consensus is that they always quickly find out the hard way that it just doesn't work way and the overtime comes back after a few weeks. So I think I will just try to tough it out and find some extracurricular money making activity in the mean time.
 
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