Hey Look, Darrel just popped into LJ again!
It's been a long, LONG time since I've posted on LJ, (spending most of my time on FB instead), so I just thought I'd hop on here and give you all a recap of my life-changes this past couple of years.
In July 2012, I lost my job at Fish & Richardson... a job I loved. They outsourced the entire litigation support department, firm-wide. I have been in Lit Support since 1994, and it's really the only experience I have that is marketable, since my IT and computer hardware background is outdated now, and I never completed my Bachelor's Degree.
Unfortunately, the job market in San Diego for litigation support professionals became swamped around the same time, as one support vendor merged with a national firm, and they, too, laid off about a dozen people, all competing with a similar skillset (although most with much less experience) who were accustomed to lower income in this position.
I did find 7 months of Lit Support work in 2013 in a work-from-home job through a support vendor based in Rochester, NY... for about 30% less than I was making before. After 7 months, though, they decided that work-from-home was not productive enough and they let me go. I also had a couple of consulting jobs, which paid very well but were only for a couple weeks of work. One trial that I supported in June was 43 hours of work over a 2 weeks, and paid about $4K. That kept the debt-collectors at bay for about 1 month...
I have gone to plenty of interviews with companies in Dallas, Los Angeles, and even one near Chicago... plus job leads from New York, DC, and Boston... but none of them panned out. San Diego just wasn't hiring, and the ones in other areas just don't seem willing to relocate me or let me work from home.
Before the unemployment benefits ran out, I started doing part time, minimum wage stuff (cash under the table) for my brother who runs a fruit stand at several local Farmers' Markets. That helped me keep the lights on, gas in my vehicles, and the internet working so I could continue my job-hunt. A forebearance program on my mortgage has also kept my home from going into foreclosure, but I'm not sure how long I can keep that at bay. My credit cards are all in collections now.
So... do I give up on LitSupport as a career? The last 20 years of my life have been dedicated to this specific vertical market, but unless I move out of San Diego on my own accord, the prospects just don't look good.
Last month, a friend of mine mentioned her new job at American Solar Direct, and that they were still hiring Sales Consultants, no experience required... so I passed her my resume, and 3 days later I was in the on-boarding class with 14 others.
So now I sell Solar Power to homeowners. I've been on the job as a "Consultant in Training" (CIT) for 3 weeks now, and I am really getting the hang of it, but it's only Minimum Wage at this point. At least it's full time work, though, and after Day 30, I can start earning commissions on the leads I generate. After I get my State of Calfornia Home Improvement Consultant license (around day 45-60, after passing the State exam), I will also be able to earn commissions on sales that I close myself.
(All of you homeowners in California: Call me if you don't already have Solar!)
This job is a COMPLETE paradigm shift for me. I've never been an outside sales rep before, but my technical background gives me an edge because unlike many of my coworkers, I actually understand the product I'm selling. I'm also working alongside much younger people, and my age alone gives me an air of experience that I can use to my advantage.
Thsi company, American Solar Direct, does not advertise. All of their new customers are referrals from existing customers, or are leads generated from the CITs (that's me for another 10 days) knocking on doors. ASD saves the money that would be spent on advertising, and uses it to pay their employees generously. They also compensate existing customers for their referrals at a pretty generous rate. The commission structure can easily add up to 6-figures annually if I continue to generate leads and diligently follow-up on my own customers' referrals... so hopefully by this time next year, I will be well on the way to landing on my feet, financially.
There is a LOT of dropout among my fellow CIT's; not everyone can handle going door-to-door. Of the 14 people in my CIT class, we are already down to 6 remaining. Another 8 started last week, and 2 of them are already gone.
If I can stick this job out, I will gain seniority by attrition alone.
On the hobby side of things: I'm still very active in my GoldWing motorcycle chapter, and perform on the Gold Angels Motorcycle Drill Team (see goldangels.com). However, my motorcycle is under the weather... clutch is slipping... and I can't yet afford to have it repaired. I'm going to miss a few performances until that is taken care of, and I'm really jonesing for some wind-therapy. The cage (my Jeep Liberty) is a gas-guzzling hog, and just doesn't handle mountain twisties quite the same way.
I also got back into the woodshop briefly, right before I started this new job, and made a few Can Cozies that are up for sale on ebay ( http://tinyurl.com/darrelx-ebay ) and are perfect for SCA events. There are a few other items up for sale as well, as I need every penny I can find right now.
That's about it for me. I'm probably going to disappear again to Facebook now, but for those of you not over there, this is what I have been up to.
P.S.
One thing about knocking doors in Southern California... I am getting quite a dark tan on my face, and I think I'm losing weight. Not a bad thing.
In July 2012, I lost my job at Fish & Richardson... a job I loved. They outsourced the entire litigation support department, firm-wide. I have been in Lit Support since 1994, and it's really the only experience I have that is marketable, since my IT and computer hardware background is outdated now, and I never completed my Bachelor's Degree.
Unfortunately, the job market in San Diego for litigation support professionals became swamped around the same time, as one support vendor merged with a national firm, and they, too, laid off about a dozen people, all competing with a similar skillset (although most with much less experience) who were accustomed to lower income in this position.
I did find 7 months of Lit Support work in 2013 in a work-from-home job through a support vendor based in Rochester, NY... for about 30% less than I was making before. After 7 months, though, they decided that work-from-home was not productive enough and they let me go. I also had a couple of consulting jobs, which paid very well but were only for a couple weeks of work. One trial that I supported in June was 43 hours of work over a 2 weeks, and paid about $4K. That kept the debt-collectors at bay for about 1 month...
I have gone to plenty of interviews with companies in Dallas, Los Angeles, and even one near Chicago... plus job leads from New York, DC, and Boston... but none of them panned out. San Diego just wasn't hiring, and the ones in other areas just don't seem willing to relocate me or let me work from home.
Before the unemployment benefits ran out, I started doing part time, minimum wage stuff (cash under the table) for my brother who runs a fruit stand at several local Farmers' Markets. That helped me keep the lights on, gas in my vehicles, and the internet working so I could continue my job-hunt. A forebearance program on my mortgage has also kept my home from going into foreclosure, but I'm not sure how long I can keep that at bay. My credit cards are all in collections now.
So... do I give up on LitSupport as a career? The last 20 years of my life have been dedicated to this specific vertical market, but unless I move out of San Diego on my own accord, the prospects just don't look good.
Last month, a friend of mine mentioned her new job at American Solar Direct, and that they were still hiring Sales Consultants, no experience required... so I passed her my resume, and 3 days later I was in the on-boarding class with 14 others.
So now I sell Solar Power to homeowners. I've been on the job as a "Consultant in Training" (CIT) for 3 weeks now, and I am really getting the hang of it, but it's only Minimum Wage at this point. At least it's full time work, though, and after Day 30, I can start earning commissions on the leads I generate. After I get my State of Calfornia Home Improvement Consultant license (around day 45-60, after passing the State exam), I will also be able to earn commissions on sales that I close myself.
(All of you homeowners in California: Call me if you don't already have Solar!)
This job is a COMPLETE paradigm shift for me. I've never been an outside sales rep before, but my technical background gives me an edge because unlike many of my coworkers, I actually understand the product I'm selling. I'm also working alongside much younger people, and my age alone gives me an air of experience that I can use to my advantage.
Thsi company, American Solar Direct, does not advertise. All of their new customers are referrals from existing customers, or are leads generated from the CITs (that's me for another 10 days) knocking on doors. ASD saves the money that would be spent on advertising, and uses it to pay their employees generously. They also compensate existing customers for their referrals at a pretty generous rate. The commission structure can easily add up to 6-figures annually if I continue to generate leads and diligently follow-up on my own customers' referrals... so hopefully by this time next year, I will be well on the way to landing on my feet, financially.
There is a LOT of dropout among my fellow CIT's; not everyone can handle going door-to-door. Of the 14 people in my CIT class, we are already down to 6 remaining. Another 8 started last week, and 2 of them are already gone.
If I can stick this job out, I will gain seniority by attrition alone.
On the hobby side of things: I'm still very active in my GoldWing motorcycle chapter, and perform on the Gold Angels Motorcycle Drill Team (see goldangels.com). However, my motorcycle is under the weather... clutch is slipping... and I can't yet afford to have it repaired. I'm going to miss a few performances until that is taken care of, and I'm really jonesing for some wind-therapy. The cage (my Jeep Liberty) is a gas-guzzling hog, and just doesn't handle mountain twisties quite the same way.
I also got back into the woodshop briefly, right before I started this new job, and made a few Can Cozies that are up for sale on ebay ( http://tinyurl.com/darrelx-ebay ) and are perfect for SCA events. There are a few other items up for sale as well, as I need every penny I can find right now.
That's about it for me. I'm probably going to disappear again to Facebook now, but for those of you not over there, this is what I have been up to.
P.S.
One thing about knocking doors in Southern California... I am getting quite a dark tan on my face, and I think I'm losing weight. Not a bad thing.