Out of Work?

Question

Hi all, my dad has been out of work for about 18 months now after being laid off as a quality consultant for 25 years at Lucent Technologies, in Hunt Valley, MD. He is currently 48 years old. Since this was the majority of our household income, my mom has had to go to work full-time during his fruitless job search. Does anyone know of any companies near Baltimore, MD that are hiring for quality-related engineers, especially in the telecommunications sector?

Either way, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...I will be going to college soon and my sister will be four years after me. My parents had savings, but not enough to cover all of that.

Can anyone help?

Answer 1

Hope it all works out for you! Best wishes.

Answer 2

You're in my prayers. I have always found (with 20/20 hindsight, of course) that no matter how bad things seem initially, they really do happen for the best. In other words, the Universe doesn't close one door without opening another better door. Sure, times may be tough for a while and the family dynamics might have changed dramatically, but please understand that change is good and only good will come from this. Take it one day at a time, one crisis at a time, one bill at a time and don't worry because the saying goes: "Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday." Or something like that . . . I am trying to tell you that worrying does absolutely no good--it just makes you sick. Pray for guidance!

Answer 3

have him take a look at www.telecomcareers.net. I used to use this site when I worked in telecom construction. Probably not going to be an easy task, though he might be able to transition to anyone doing quality work. Has he been involved in ISO work, as he might consider being a consultant for that type of work. I got out of the industry in 2001 when Lucent's stock tanked. Hope something comes through.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, I don't know of any jobs in MD. However, since your father's story seems to parallel my own I felt compelled to share my story in hopes that it will help provide a bit of perspective on what experienced technology workers face in the job market these days.

As for me, after 10 years of devoted service as a software engineer for a very well known technology company I was laid off in the name of corporate restructuring. The bottom line is that my job was outsourced during the great rush to India. As the manager of my department put it "I can get a PHD level software engineer from India for $20K per year. I can't ignore that!" Of course, the industry in general has learned the harsh lessons that one can't outsource innovation nor is it easy to manage a team that is located on a different continent.

Unfortunately, the quandry of the experienced technology worker doesn't end with outsourcing. The harsh reality is that the technology industry moves ahead so fast that within a couple of years in the workforce we are left with two full time jobs. The job we were hired to do, and the job of keeping up with industry trends and changes. This, of course, happens just at the time one is settling into domestic life and we tend to take on the responsibility of buying a home and starting a family(daunting tasks under the best of circumstances). Due to our industry experience and our increased responsibility the more experienced engineers require a salary somewhat higher than a new graduate or someone living in an area where $20k is considered a fortune. The result is that new graduates can do 75% or more of the actual job that an experienced engineer can plus the are willing to do it at a fraction of the cost, don't mind long hours (as they don't yet have families), and will travel or relocate to BF anywhere at the drop of a hat. And, for the small fraction of the job that requires experience, there's always those cheap Indian PHDs who actually know what they are doing.

I don't claim to have the solution to this situation. However, I do believe that corporate America needs to value our experienced technology workers a bit more, not only because they deserve a bit of respect for their years of service, but because they are a major segment of the American economy, and who will buy all of those geeky toys that the technology industry produces if they are “put out to pasture” before reaching retirement age.

As for my own job search I learned that nothing beats the “good old boy” network. I know, most technology workers would rather be hit in the head with a hammer rather than “schmooze”, but it's true. Of the hundreds of resumes I sent out I did not get a *single* response. My current job comes as a result of my wife talking with one of the other mom's at my son's school. Her husband just happened to be in upper management of a technology company and that resulted in me getting an interview in one of the departments in the company I currently work for. In addition to putting out the resumes, tell your dad that he should consider attending networking social events in your area where he can meet folks in the industry. Also, don't be afraid to talk with your friends and hook your father up with any family/friends that might be helpful.

And above all: Don't loose faith!

Good luck!

Answer 5

Sorry to hear of your family troubles. If he's pounding the pavement, chances are he's found whatever openings there may have been.

He might want to try to be a contractor, or hook up with someone like Management Recruiters, who will try to place him in a job. EDS, Kelly Services and other technical firms may also be able to find him some short term work while he tries to find full time employment - I used to work at Kelly Services in the summers between school semesters, they always had jobs, and their technical division sometimes has good positions.

Answer 6

tell your dad to sign up with some recruiting agencies. networking also helps. if he hasn't already, perhaps he should be taking to his coworkers for job leads

Answer 7

http://seeker.dice.com/jobsearch/servlet/JobSearch?op=1013&FREE_TEXT=telecommunications%20it&ppc=ask