Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Abilene/Buffalo Gap, Texas ... Moving to Cheyenne/Elk City, Oklahoma
35 posts, read 105,987 times
Reputation: 59
Advertisements
Quote:
Originally Posted by UWSNYC
The problem is I am not that skilled, and it is a super duper competitive market. I don't know where to start except to say I sort of began as a teacher, and I doubt I was that qualified, specifically as a mathematics teacher in the day high schools of NYC--yes, I passed their exam ... but that does not mean much ... at least back then it was not too involved. I could go into all the stories, but you don't want to hear them. Then I took some courses in programming at NYU, received a diploma in that area, landed a job at a hospital implementing software, got booted in a year after they ran out of grant monies, ended up in a horrid place in the garment district that went under ... name unmentioned, but everyone has heard of them. And ultimately ended up where I am ... basically manipulating electronic files or the like 15 years 5 months 8 days and counting for the programming department to process--no more pension, no more salary increase for the foreseeable future. Finding work will be super hard anywhere. So, if I get shoved out the door by my present company, a priority will be finding a nice area to live where things are a lot cheaper than NYC. And from what I sense, Abilene has a lot to offer.
Yes sir, I do want to hear your stories ... your stories are YOU.
And, passing the exam ... ANY exam ... means a whole lot.
And, yes sir, you are "that skilled" ... you'd have to be ... or you'd be one of the first kicked out of the door.
The problem is ... well ... I shall not say what the problem is lest I breathe more life into the lie.
The obstacles you have faced, and overcome, has prepared you for the obstacles you will continue to face, and will continue to overcome.
You have a lot to offer any company, and any community, anywhere ... even an old, rundown place like Abilene.
In fact, Abilene could very well benefit from your "sense."
Yes sir, I do want to hear your stories ... your stories are YOU.
And, passing the exam ... ANY exam ... means a whole lot.
And, yes sir, you are "that skilled" ... you'd have to be ... or you'd be one of the first kicked out of the door.
The problem is ... well ... I shall not say what the problem is lest I breathe more life into the lie.
The obstacles you have faced, and overcome, has prepared you for the obstacles you will continue to face, and will continue to overcome.
You have a lot to offer any company, and any community, anywhere ... even an old, rundown place like Abilene.
In fact, Abilene could very well benefit from your "sense."
Thanks for the morale booster. That's thoughtful of you.
It would be great to find myself productive. But I don't think I would dare venture back to the classroom.
Ramblings ...
I started to peruse the NYC blogs to see what people want to know, uh, about the big 'ol apple.
Well, this is going to date me quite a bit. I'm almost 52.
And there was a time this town wasn't really that safe anywhere.
It was Giuliani who made a huge, huge difference. And lots of people are going to whack me metaphorically for rambling along here, I mean people who are not particularly fond of Giuliani and the irrelevancy of babbling about the quality of life in NYC's somewhat recent past. But it's true.
I remember my sister and I, as children, used to spend our time, upon completion of homework, watching people get mugged every single evening in front of our building, upon which we would scream to our dad to call the police. Then there was the time I was beaten up by a gang on the fancy east side of Manhattan ... they didn't even want money ... just the thrill of smacking someone around ... six against one and no one gave a damn. And then there were muggings and intimidations routinely in Riverside Park ... that's on the west side of Manhattan near the Hudson River ... and there were countless muggings in Central Park ... the most prominent park in Manhattan ... then there was the time I got robbed and threatened with death in my lobby ... etc.
Well, what does this all have to do with teaching? Nothing. Except to say, when I started in the schools it was quite a show ... in fact, I used to pretend I was attending a movie to survive psychologically.
Initially I was assigned to a high school in the South Bronx called, uh, I better leave the name out. Apparently, it has improved a lot. But back then it was the home of really rough gangs. And I did a no-show.
Anyway, the system kicked in and I ended up at, well, let us say another school with what the system here refers to as a long-term assignment. What a misfortune! The kids were all over the place, and I just couldn't control the situation. But my so-to-say foreign policy was simple. I wasn't concerned with pleasing the system. I was there to teach ... no more and no less. And what I was left with was a core group who wanted to learn, who wanted to accomplish something--that was really a moving experience ... however short-lived.
Well, the system kicked in once more and a teacher from Queens with greater seniority got bumped from his position to take over what had, in essence, become my class. Now, the guy from Queens called in sick regularly, because he was scared of the students in my class. So, they called me in to substitute for what was once my, uh, class.
Then to top things off, the system sent in security forces to check out the school, because there was much violence at the time. Well, I was working a second job back then at Tower Records from four in the afternoon until one in the morning. In my back left pocket I had a box cutter specifically used for opening boxes of CDs and tapes that I was totally unaware of at the time. Out of the blue, the security forces had me against the wall and found the cutter. Bingo, the principal had me fired even though she knew of the other job. The union wanted to help out, because I was a teacher and the search was meant for students exclusively. But I was fed up with all the technicalities and never disputed anything. What I did find out is the principal called the faculty and so forth to an emergency meeting to announce that there had been a dangerous teacher roaming the hallways. And I was informed everyone burst out in laughter, because I am in no way a threatening presence or person. The only threat came from a certain number of delinquent students.
Then there was the time I taught summer school in the East Parkchester section of the Bronx. It was 104 degrees in the classroom with 54 students, all with their battery powered electric fans ... and bingo … the next thing I know is I am not teaching, but I am on the floor. Some student that I assigned to another other class, because I had too many students to manage, had punched me in the face ... where he came from I don't; uh, I guess the other class … I didn’t see it coming … in a way this is all quite funny, except for the human tragedy.
Well, after that there were all sorts of problems. And finally, the principal came into the classroom, to ask me why I couldn't get everything in order. I had my limits, and I blurted out that what you see is what is available, what more can be produced?!? The next thing I knew was the principal got himself locked into some fight with several students. Security was called and the system reassigned me to another school in the Bronx. And that assignment was to library duty. BUT the library was locked to students the whole summer. And, I, on the taxpayer’s dime had nothing to do. Go figure.
Then there was the time I was assigned to a school for parolees in Manhattan. That was something else. We had no security, and I prided myself in being one of the few teachers not every punched out!!! I could go on and on.
So what does this all prepare me for? I don't know.
But, for now, my job in the Bronx, while it lasts, forms some sort of stability and income.
Believe me … my NYC stories are not typical. I know others who were roughed up and then some in the 1960s/1970s. But I got more than my fair share of it all.
Location: Abilene/Buffalo Gap, Texas ... Moving to Cheyenne/Elk City, Oklahoma
35 posts, read 105,987 times
Reputation: 59
Please don't apologize. I found your so-called "ramblings" very compelling.
Look what I found in the Abilene's newspaper just now that instantly reminded me of you:
Along with oil and gas work, manufacturing jobs were hit hard by layoffs, said Ross.
The November report for the Abilene metro area shows a 12.1 percent decrease in manufacturing jobs during the previous 12 months, Marks searched, but found few job opportunities in his career field.
After meeting with a Workforce Solutions counselor, he decided to return to college for the first time since the early 1980s.
“I want to go into something that has a viable future to it, and that’s anything to do with the computer industry,” Marks said. His schooling at Texas State Technical College will be paid for with grant money, he said.
In January, he’ll start taking computer graphics courses online, with the goal of starting his own business.
“I just want something steady,” said Marks.
Stories about career changes were not uncommon in 2009, said Ross.
Please don't apologize. I found your so-called "ramblings" very compelling.
Look what I found in the Abilene's newspaper just now that instantly reminded me of you:
Along with oil and gas work, manufacturing jobs were hit hard by layoffs, said Ross.
The November report for the Abilene metro area shows a 12.1 percent decrease in manufacturing jobs during the previous 12 months, Marks searched, but found few job opportunities in his career field.
After meeting with a Workforce Solutions counselor, he decided to return to college for the first time since the early 1980s.
“I want to go into something that has a viable future to it, and that’s anything to do with the computer industry,” Marks said. His schooling at Texas State Technical College will be paid for with grant money, he said.
In January, he’ll start taking computer graphics courses online, with the goal of starting his own business.
“I just want something steady,” said Marks.
Stories about career changes were not uncommon in 2009, said Ross.
Just to give you some comparisons with Abilene, I do not know of anyone let go by my company who has found work. Many have been unemployed almost a year or somewhat more.
Aside from my company, I know someone who sold mid-priced diamonds and his company went out of business. He now lives with his mom, who is quite elderly. He is into his second year of unemployment.
Perhaps, the worst story is that of a programmer who has been unemployed over five long years. This fellow has been married twice, divorced twice, two sons and now, he, also, lives with his elderly and failing mom. He had been a mainframe programmer. The difficulty seems to be the market is for certain programming skills and experience he just does not have; skills geared toward so-called relational database programming and so forth. Recently, he completed a degree in nursing and is now a licensed RN. But no one wants to hire him for lack of experience. At this point he is going to try to find work with a nursing home, something he has not explored so far.
Oh, I know of three or four young people in their twenties without employment. Their parents are quite concerned. The concern is when the market improves companies will opt for the youngest of the young, leaving their sons and daughters without.
I am glad to hear about what people are doing in Abilene despite the ongoing uncertainty in the job market. You just have to keep on moving forward.
Any advice about the 3 high schools in Abilene? Comparisons?
Generally speaking, Abilene has very good public schools. In fact, AISD was ranked as one of the best school districts in the state recently. From what I understand, Abilene High School and Cooper High School are fairly comparable in quality. Abilene High is slightly larger in student population than Cooper. As a result, Abilene High is a 5A school and Cooper is a 4A school in athletics. Wylie High School is the highest ranked high school in Abilene academically and is the smallest of the three in student population. They are 3A in athletics. Even though Wylie is in the city limits of far south Abilene, it has it's own independent school district. Wylie is located in an area where most of the city's new residential development growth has occurred so the school taxes in that district will be a little higher than AISD school taxes. If you want more specific information just google the Abilene Independent School District or Wylie Independent School District websites for more info.
You can compare all the school performance rankings, including middle and elementary schools at this site: (just zoom in on the city to see the info):
I attended Abilene High School... a very long time ago. If the district maintains the academic standards it had in the mid 20th century then you can rest assured they are excellent schools. At that time our reported grades were numeric. Anything below an average of 75 was a failing grade.
My reason to post here though is to add to TTDave above. He mentions the Wylie school district in Abilene, not to be confused with Wylie, Texas or its school district in the suburbs of Dallas. Just a heads up.
Just to give you some comparisons with Abilene, I do not know of anyone let go by my company who has found work. Many have been unemployed almost a year or somewhat more.
Aside from my company, I know someone who sold mid-priced diamonds and his company went out of business. He now lives with his mom, who is quite elderly. He is into his second year of unemployment.
Perhaps, the worst story is that of a programmer who has been unemployed over five long years. This fellow has been married twice, divorced twice, two sons and now, he, also, lives with his elderly and failing mom. He had been a mainframe programmer. The difficulty seems to be the market is for certain programming skills and experience he just does not have; skills geared toward so-called relational database programming and so forth. Recently, he completed a degree in nursing and is now a licensed RN. But no one wants to hire him for lack of experience. At this point he is going to try to find work with a nursing home, something he has not explored so far.
Oh, I know of three or four young people in their twenties without employment. Their parents are quite concerned. The concern is when the market improves companies will opt for the youngest of the young, leaving their sons and daughters without.
I am glad to hear about what people are doing in Abilene despite the ongoing uncertainty in the job market. You just have to keep on moving forward.
Lucky stars for now to a degree ... my company decided not to fire me and ended up giving me a raise. But the situation is sad overall. That is to say a significant number did not receive raises and will be out the door come spring ... at least that is the general consensus. So times remain too difficult for too many now.
Still hanging in there at my company going on 16 years in a couple of months. Just thought I'd say hello, just so. Unemployment around here continues to be quite bad and those bumped from my company have not found more than part-time work. I have to admit I have never been out to the Southwest, but I imagine moving in that general direction if my company collapses. Wrong blog, perhaps, but now I find myself thinking of Arizona, perhaps Phoenix ... who knows ... . Well, dreaming along here ... . What amazes me is how the 'value' of a studio here is worth more than many very nice houses out there ... almost anywhere out there. NYC is just too overpriced.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
