So 3 months ago, I quit a decent tech support job at Advance Auto Parts Corporate to take a job paying twice as much doing network admin work for another company. (10.00/hr at Advance, 37k/year at Matria)

I put in my notice, gave them 2.5 weeks, and then left, calling this new company, Matria Healthcare to let them know my obligations were done and could I please speak to the man who had offered me a job. They then proceeded to tell me that he had been "let go" the week before and they had no clue what i was talking about when I asked when I was going to start. They implied they were now outsourcing all of their IT work with the exception of their CIO.

Long story short, I got screwed because Advance filled my position before I even left so I had no job at all, which incidentally didnt make my girlfriend too happy heh.

Anyways, I remained unemployed for a couple months until I decided to take a job at a local pizza shop cooking and delivering just so I'd have a job, pretty pathetic considering my qualifications and experience (I have 12 years pc repair and 8 years networking exp) and more certs than you can shake a stick at, well 9 anyways

So now I'm doing the pizza thing, going to school full time, and I'm doing contract work for Sapphire Technologies, Techsolve (and through them Dell Computer for small business networking solutions), Teksystems, Apex Systems and now Getronics. Thats 5 or 6 companies I am doing work for on a fairly infrequent basis, on projects ranging from 2 hours work to 4 days, not to mention the numerous clients i have done the work for. I'd give my left nut for a crappy desktop support job for 25k-30k.

Bottom line, outsourcing sucks monkeybutt, and granted I'm getting some work thats being outsourced, but I have to think if this trend had never begun I'd have a permanant position somewhere. I have faxed over 150 resumes, emailed another 200 or so and hand delivered at least 75 in the last few months. I cant even get a job for 8.00 an hour at a local pc repair shop because i am "overqualified" or they arent hiring. Usually the latter.

My old job at Advance begins hiring again in March so mayhap they will take me back then, but I'm going crazy doing food service work. If anyone knows of any good job opportunities in the southwestern/southcentral VA area (I live in Roanoke, VA but dont mind a minor relocation or commute), let me know heh. I dont have my MCSE yet or RHCE but I am RHCT, MCSA, A+, Net+, Server+, Inet+, Linux+, and perpetually working on more certs. Thanks, and sorry if this is out of place here, but if things don't change for me soon i wont have the money to pay for my internet and I will have to go away for awhile.

sorry to hear that abyssling, i wish i could help out but i am up here in michigan and the job market up here is bad too.
i hope you find a better job soon bro i would hate to see you lose your internet connection, as well as any other things in your life.

good luck bro.

Actually, I'm hoping that outsourcing will feed my family. It looks like I may be doing contract work for the military.

I hope you can get more work than I have been able to bro. I need something stable that I can count on every week. I hold my breath every time the phone rings as it is now. Perhaps you have better qualifications or live in better tech area that I do. I sure hope so. Although if you are doing contract work for the military it sounds like we are already talking about a different situation, i can never ever get the clearances I would need, thanks to my involvement in "subversive organizations" in high school. I was a tree hugging member of Earth First when I lived in Montana.

i have been told i can never get a secret or top secret clearance because of that, even though it was before i was 18, and I have since served my country in the Armed Forces.

Remember that kids, every decision you make can have a major impact on your lives, even years later.

Real good advice, Abyss. If I could do it over again knowing what I know now....

Abyss... that blows.

I feel for ya man. It's gettin' tough to find work. I'm thinkin' about going back to college, or possibly doing roofing or something this summer. In between, I'm trying to get published as a novelist. The job openings for computer gurus isn't overly great right now.

I shoulda listened to Digital-World when he told me "Dude, become a Message Therapist or somethin'... get out now!" That was six months ago... I'm really thinkin' I shoulda listened!

LOL....well seeing as how my job is with a Outsourcing company .

I know what your talking about though abyss, even in our company they have outsourced several posittion, and ive had to survive a few downsizings and restructerings, Blah! Alwasy feel like i got the axe over my head .

I guess know one thought in the 90's we would ever have trouble finding a job. Thats all I heard when I was in school I was told if you get your certs. your set. Well I was laid off again and just got called back only on a part time basis(20 hours a week). So I am moving again going back to working for comcast. So goes the way of an IT guy.

When I went to school for electronics they would tell us its a throwaway society, if something breaks they throw it away. You know what. they're right. So now I mod Cell phones and Computers. Well more cell phones now Computers won't pick up until tax refund time. Its a tough job market no matter where you are or what you do.

The Army is just now realizing the benefits of online education and collaberation. Those are my specialties, I am going to sell myself like a cheap bitch drunk on Tequila wearing vibrating thong underwear that hasn't had sex in 5 years with a snoot full of Spanish Fly.

ROFL no sooner do i get done bitching about outsourcing, then i get calls for 3 contract jobs, and then get 3 more calls for interviews for permanant positions here in my area, and one of em i am the only applicant they will be interviewing assuming they like my answers...w00t!!!

Congrats on the calls and good luck...

w00t! I start Monday as an assistant network administrator for a 60 attorney law firm here in Roanoke, free health insurance, parking allowance, 10,000/year training allowance and a very competitive salary, non exempt so I get paid for overtime, and they had to pay Randstad, the temp agency I worked for $10,000 to hire me so i imagine i'll have decent job security for awhile

Wish me luck guys, i'm just hoping I dont make a fool out of myself LOL =)

Congrats Abyss, things always have a way of working out.

Way to go Abyss! I was in your shoes about 4 months ago and I can totaly relate to the doldroms of trying to find a tech joub...

Man I just got really lucky

They didnt advertise the job, but had an opening come up quite abruptly, asked randstad to send them any IT resumes they had, they sent them 9 resumes and i was the only person with any IT certs, unless you count the 2 guys with A+ and microsoft Word certs. So i was the only person they interviewed. heh, if they had advertised they could have gotten a much better choice than me LOL, like the 350+ MCSE/CNE/RHCEs unemployed in my area

I'm not complaining though heh, God it feels good to have that stress removed. Now maybe the other parts of my life will start to come together, you staff know what i'm talking about. Thanks for the positive words guys, it means a lot.