For those of you who heard my story before, here’s a refresher: I was unexpectedly let go at the end of June. Company A where I worked for the last five years outsourced my department to Company B. Company B kept me on as a contractor. I’m still working in Company A’s office and little has changed day to day. They gave me a contract for one month, extended me another month and extended me again today.
I’m still making the same amount as before but I’m still effectively taking a pay cut. That is because I lost out on a 3% raise I would have gotten from Company A, and I’m paying for my health insurance. I got a short term plan because COBRA would have cost over $900 a month. I did keep my dental plan through COBRA which is $26 a month. As a 1099 contractor, I’m now having to pay taxes on my own. What I’ve been doing is using a paycheck calculator to determine the taxes I need to pay and setting it aside to pay the IRS. The quarterly deadline is approaching but I live in an area impacted by Hurricane Idalia and the IRS extended the deadline.
I’ve been looking for another job but it’s very hard. I’ve applied to dozens of jobs, all of which I’m qualified for but I keep getting ghosted and rejected. I just got another rejection today. I used to get tons of interviews but I’m getting very few responses this time around. I even applied to my alma mater at the same place I worked when I was going to school there and they ghosted me. If they won’t hire (or rehire) me, who will? I often see posts from college grads saying they can’t find a job. Many “entry level” jobs require 2-3 years of experience. I have over 10 years and can’t find anything either.
As a contractor, I get no benefits, but I found out that Company B has no medical insurance, no retirement and little to no PTO. My mom says I should leave Company B because she thinks they’re taking advantage of me. If I do I believe it will be even more difficult for me to find another job having a gap on my resume. I’m starting to feel like it will eventually be time to move on but now is not the time.
I still feel betrayed by Company A. They cut me just before my 5th anniversary when I would have started getting 15 days of vacation. I had worked in the office ever since day 1 of the pandemic and I feel like the last five years was all for nothing.
I feel like my career is at a crossroads. I feel like it could take months before I find another job. Moving is not an option because rent is so expensive and I have a mortgage under 3%. Changing careers is not practicable either because of the catch 22 on needing experience for jobs and can’t get hired without said experience. I feel like I’ll only get hired if every single person that a company interviews turns them down or Company A will realize outsourcing my department was a mistake and take back in-house and rehire me.
I haven’t experienced any more stress except for the usual “Sunday scaries” but I feel checked out with one foot out the door.
TL/DR: Should I stay working as a contractor until I find another job?