I had been working in my field for a few years, nothing exciting, paid enough to get by and very low stress.
One day HR came through and laid us all off.. at the time I had a mortgage and two kids.
From then I decided I wasn’t going to allow my life to be so susceptible to their whims, I managed to pick up a roll in the same industry to keep the bills paid while I studied gaps in the market.
I’m not collage educated, while I have the aptitude I didn’t have anything I wanted to take on the debt for so I didn’t.
I noticed a skills shortage in a government services area and I also noted this gap can be taught easily enough so I took a small pay cut to be brought into a firm who would teach me the ropes.
I stayed there a year and through hard budgeting got my mortgage paid off (my wife and I busted our asses over a decade to do that).
This past week my firm announced they are changing “strategic direction” and long story short- they are going to fuk us staff members.
I’m really looking forward to being able to tell them that I’m out and since I have been pushing everyone at work to keep a “fuck you” fund it looks like 80% of ppl are going to do the same.
I appreciate that not everyone is in the same position and I do have some privilege but for me this became such a huge priority for me that I think if you have the same chance I’d recommend it to your consideration