Coming back after being fired

[HoLeChit]

like the title hints at, I was fired recently. End of last week to be exact. To make a long story short, I spoke with my foreman in confidence about a job offer I had recieved. A month later, I was fired, for a couple of BS reason, in my opinion at least. Small company, he went and told management after we spoke. I've been dealing with an overall "f you" attitude from management after I spoke with him about the opportunity. The HR manager takes things very personally, at least from what I have seen.

Cutting to the chase, this sucks. I don't have a prospective start date at any of the places I have looked in to, and being a diesel mechanic, most of my opportunities I have found are in the oil field. I don't mind going back into the oil business, assuming I get adequate time off to live my life outside of work. What do/have you guys done when put in the situation? I've been out of work 4 days and am absolutely losing my mind, and have been pretty depressed about the whole ordeal. How do you keep your minds busy?

I have no college education, and aside from turning wrenches, I really don't have any other trades or profession to fall back on. I want to go white collar eventually. Maybe this point in my life is a time to change directions career wise. But I have no clue where to go. Anyone have any advice?

 

[GlockPride]

Perfect time to register for school as it starts in a couple of weeks...

I wasn't 'fired', but laid off and it still sucks. Basically, I got up and helped the wife get the baby ready and sent them off, then I worked out. I either sent out some resumes or worked part time at a buddy's gun shop after that. About 3-4 pm I'd drink a couple beers and start dinner until the wife came home. Took care of the cleaning in the apartment and did the shopping etc. Did not enjoy it, but there are worse things.

I'm sure there's a HUGE need for diesel mechanics. I bet you could have another diesel job tomorrow if you really wanted one. Might not be the best $ Or place, but something coming in for groceries beats nada.

Good luck, brother!

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Are you a truck mechanic or yellow iron mechanic. If yellow iron, you could go to work for GW Van Keppel, Kirby-Smith, Warren Cat, Yellow House or that Case dealer at I-44 and Rockwell.
If your a truck guy, the waste industry needs shop mechanics; WCA of OK, Waste Management, Republic, etc.

 

[farmer17]

Been fired a few times, it was never fun. I've owned my own business for many years and I am MUCH happier and make several times the money I ever made working for somebody else.

 

[dennishoddy]

I was fired a couple of times because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. (Imagine that) They got to hear what they needed to vs what they wanted to hear.
Never, ever consider yourself to be a one occupation person. People that weld(just an example) get laid off or fired and wallow in their grief because they can't find a welding job.
It may not happen right now, but when you get in your next job, start taking vo-tech classes in the evening. Two nights a week for the most part, and you get that piece of paper at the end that says you know enough to get through the course. Since most of the instructors at the night classes are actual workers in that field, you may get a reference into a field that you never thought would work out for you. As a side benefit, you learn some new skills that you can use around the house to do maintenance that would have been hired out if you had not taken those classes. Its amazing what that piece of paper with your name on it can do for you when looking for future jobs. It shows the employer that your eager to learn, and may lead to a higher paying job within the same company your working for at the time.

 

[BrandonM]

Hopefully it's a lesson learned in not telling a superior at work you are trying to leave. Other than that, keep your head up. I was laid off once and it took 6 weeks to find employment and it was in another city. Life happens. We've all been there before or will be there eventually. A year from now you won't think twice about this period of time.

 

[HoLeChit]

Perfect time to register for school as it starts in a couple of weeks...

I wasn't 'fired', but laid off and it still sucks. Basically, I got up and helped the wife get the baby ready and sent them off, then I worked out. I either sent out some resumes or worked part time at a buddy's gun shop after that. About 3-4 pm I'd drink a couple beers and start dinner until the wife came home. Took care of the cleaning in the apartment and did the shopping etc. Did not enjoy it, but there are worse things.

I'm sure there's a HUGE need for diesel mechanics. I bet you could have another diesel job tomorrow if you really wanted one. Might not be the best $ Or place, but something coming in for groceries beats nada.

Good luck, brother!

Yeah, I'm trying to stay busy, but I live alone, and the Ol apartment is already spotless... you can only clean top to bottim the same 600 sq ft so many times before developing some OCD, haha. I have considered school in the past, and I do have the GI bill, however, I don't know if that will bring in enough money to make ends meet. I've been so worried about getting another job that I didn't even consider it. If I could figure out a job and school at the same time, the GI bill might make things doable... esp if I can get word back on my dang VA disability claim.

Are you a truck mechanic or yellow iron mechanic. If yellow iron, you could go to work for GW Van Keppel, Kirby-Smith, Warren Cat, Yellow House or that Case dealer at I-44 and Rockwell.
If your a truck guy, the waste industry needs shop mechanics; WCA of OK, Waste Management, Republic, etc.

I am yellow iron sir, yellowhouse is northern ok/kansas, Van Keppel is on my list of places to visit tomorrow, Kirby Smith's regional recruiter called me through the Marine For Life program Friday, and spent the majority of the 45 minute phone call indirectly calling me an idiot for considering going to oil, and closing by saying he will give me no more than 16 an hour and move me to Odessa Texas. No Thanks. I need to get in touch with CAT and Case for sure, haven't thought of them yet.

Been fired a few times, it was never fun. I've owned my own business for many years and I am MUCH happier and make several times the money I ever made working for somebody else.

How did you move into owning your own business? It is something I have considered, I eventually want to get out of being a mechanic, but have no idea where to start. White collar or owning a business, I don't care.

I was fired a couple of times because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. (Imagine that) They got to hear what they needed to vs what they wanted to hear.
Never, ever consider yourself to be a one occupation person. People that weld(just an example) get laid off or fired and wallow in their grief because they can't find a welding job.
It may not happen right now, but when you get in your next job, start taking vo-tech classes in the evening. Two nights a week for the most part, and you get that piece of paper at the end that says you know enough to get through the course. Since most of the instructors at the night classes are actual workers in that field, you may get a reference into a field that you never thought would work out for you. As a side benefit, you learn some new skills that you can use around the house to do maintenance that would have been hired out if you had not taken those classes. Its amazing what that piece of paper with your name on it can do for you when looking for future jobs. It shows the employer that your eager to learn, and may lead to a higher paying job within the same company your working for at the time.

Noted, I like how you think. I will def get on that when I get to that point.

Also Dennis, side note: if I am not mistaken you have mentioned in the past that you worked for OGE maybe??

Hopefully it's a lesson learned in not telling a superior at work you are trying to leave. Other than that, keep your head up. I was laid off once and it took 6 weeks to find employment and it was in another city. Life happens. We've all been there before or will be there eventually. A year from now you won't think twice about this period of time.

Thank you, its just a matter of getting to that point.

 

[CHenry]

like the title hints at, I was fired recently. End of last week to be exact. To make a long story short, I spoke with my foreman in confidence about a job offer I had recieved. A month later, I was fired, for a couple of BS reason, in my opinion at least. Small company, he went and told management after we spoke. I've been dealing with an overall "f you" attitude from management after I spoke with him about the opportunity. The HR manager takes things very personally, at least from what I have seen.

Cutting to the chase, this sucks. I don't have a prospective start date at any of the places I have looked in to, and being a diesel mechanic, most of my opportunities I have found are in the oil field. I don't mind going back into the oil business, assuming I get adequate time off to live my life outside of work. What do/have you guys done when put in the situation? I've been out of work 4 days and am absolutely losing my mind, and have been pretty depressed about the whole ordeal. How do you keep your minds busy?

I have no college education, and aside from turning wrenches, I really don't have any other trades or profession to fall back on. I want to go white collar eventually. Maybe this point in my life is a time to change directions career wise. But I have no clue where to go. Anyone have any advice?

If you wanted to relocate to TX I have a buddy who is always looking for help. He owns some mobile service trucks and does "travel mechanic work - mostely diesel I think. Pay is good and hes a stand up guy.

 

[kennedy]

Sorry to hear about your situation. I recently went through the same thing. I was fired in October and I didn't get another good paying job until January. I was lucky and had a friend whose dad owns his own painting company and he put me to work for a few months (something is better than nothing).

Our backgrounds are very similar. No college, just high school. I learned how to do things by rolling up my sleeves and digging in. I assume this is how you learned as well? I was a mechanic for several years and then made a change to another field of assembly. From there, I went on and learned to be a machinist with the same company, on to lead man and then onto supervisor and then made a transition into a training role for the company. Out of the blue, they decided they didn't need me anymore. It was a big hit to me and my family. Financial loss, loss of friends, feeling of security gone, future plans, betrayal and so on. I dedicated a lot of time to that company and even had my wife start working there and my son in the summer. He was planning on going full time with them and utilizing their college tuition program. As you can see, turmoil. I thought "how could this happen to me". I was severely depressed and thought of myself as a failure. This all was very far from who I am. I started a post on here and a lot of people talked with me and prayed for me. This is a great community with a lot of caring individuals. Don't be afraid to talk to people about this, there's nothing wrong with you. Your brain is just a little mixed up right now. Think back to how you learned your current skill set. You sound like a guy like me who if they put their mind to it, they can learn and accomplish anything.

Once I started my new job, which had nothing to do with my recently deceased job, i ha to learn an entire new skill set. Over the years you have learned a lot of skills that will crossover into many different skill sets. The one that isn't taught is endurance. Sooner or later in life you get hit, he weak stay down...the strong might be dazed by the punch, but they will get back up and start swinging back. Was it frightening, absolutely. This is where family and friends come in huge. Talk to them, stay connected with them and you'll get your mind right and be able to attack this. A good counselor that helped me a lot told me "fake it until you make it". At the time I didn't know what he meant. After a few months, i realized exactly what he was telling me. He was saying, get back in there, put on a smile, give it everything you have because quitting is not an option and sooner or later...everything will work out fine.

This week I started working on getting off my meds. The doctors say you are supposed to ween yourself off of them slowly. Nope, cold turkey for me. I've gone 5 days now without them and I'm doing great. Hang in there and if you need to talk, hit me up anytime.

 

[Gabriel42]

Marines? Active or reserve? Years of service?