Reality Check

It's been nearly four months since I got let go and I honestly did not expect I'd still be out of work. I honestly thought I'd have had a job by now. If nothing else, I thought I'd be working for the PTO since my friend A was all but certain they desperately needed people like me to work for them. But that opportunity, like so many others I thought I at least had a chance with, have not come to pass.

Which is why it's all the tougher to watch my wife get call back after call back. Within the last week, everyone wants a piece of my wife. Two phone interviews and a couple of email chains and my wife's mind is spinning with confusion and giddiness.

And here I sit, feeling like a turd because I can't get a job.

I honestly don't know what I should be doing that I'm not, if anything. I know the job market is... to be nice, it's slow.. to be not nice, it's practically nonexistent for someone with my experiences. I have six years of hydraulic and hydrologic modeling experience. While I didn't expect them to be beating my door down the way they are K's, I expected that this experience would be USEFUL SOMEWHERE.

I've applied to companies that were in direct competition with my old company, FEMA contractors. I'm not sure I want to work FEMA for the rest of my life, but at least I have the experience and I THOUGHT that people would be interested in me, but.. not so much. Not a phone call back. From any of them.

I've looked for other environmental engineering jobs, but either I just don't have the experience they want or I'm applying for a graduate level job (which, I'm guessing I'm not getting calls back from cause.. I'm not a new graduate.)

My resume is (now) on LinkedIn, Dice, Monster and USAJOBS.gov. I have not one but two headhunters out there looking for me.

Is it me? Is there something more I can be doing, should be doing? Is it time to screw staying in the Northeast and start applying for all jobs anywhere, even halfway across the world? I know I look for jobs and there aren't alot in this area, especially with the government still so close to shut down and certainly not alot for people with my particular experience. Is it the economy?

I think what I need, right now, is a reality check. Am I not working hard enough or do I just need to wait out the economy slouch and near-government shutdown until such a time as there's interest for someone with my skillset?

I don't know anymore. I honestly don't.