Don’t apologize.  You have plenty on your mind.  I regret this birthday will be less cheerful than others, but I’m rooting for your on the sidelines, for whatever that’s worth.

I’m rooting for ya, too, Les!

Here, here. I’m pulling for you as well.

Best of luck mate - dont stress;everything will be cool in time! - I’ve recently gone through a similar situation as my boss retired and sold the bakery.Funnily (?) enough the new owners were only too happy to take on us bakers and now i’m paid correctly and more- and even correct over time and long service leave! ( the old boss was a tight-arsed-prick!) - so cheer up mate - confidence and the belief your actually quite good at what you do will always win you through.
You might also consider being Self-employed? -
I mean - in this day and age,your skills are highly sought after…Ive calledin a dude for PC repairs several times in the last 2 years - theres gotta be tonnes of dorks like me who dont know thier mouse from thier mouse pad!
I wont say i’m ROOTING for you - ( That means something entirely different here in Oz) - but best of luck,for the simple reason that i want you to remain happy - in the black - and above all maintaining this site - (which is still the best damn read this side of the Black Stump!!)
Cheers mate!

and hurry up and re-log onto WoW - You know you want too…

sorry to hear you’re having a tough time - don’t lose hope though, back when I was hiring I just didn’t care about a degree or even any exam passes, as long as the interviewee showed flair and interest and the ability to learn (hey, we all keep learning afresh every day in IT)

Currently working for MS, and most of the best guys here don’t have degrees…you’re just dealing with jumped-up upstarts by the sounds of it :(  Keep the faith man!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I’m doing my best to keep my spirits up, but sometimes late at night it sneaks up on you and beats you senseless. I’m still plugging along, though, and if I can just keep hanging on long enough I’m sure something will turn up.

Hang in there Les!  I know it’s tough, but hang in there.

I agree with Frumpa, consider self-employment.  I have friends with college degrees and years of experience in their field who can’t find work right now (one went for over a year without a steady job).  On the other hand, my boss’ son makes mucho dinero as a computer whizkid, and he has no formal education (except a night class here and there), not even certs.  In fact, he considered leaving his job to work for another company, was willing to take a pretty big cut in pay to work there, but they said, “No certs, sorry.“  So he stayed at the other one and continues to make “cha-ching”.

Anyway, a lot of self-employment is just networking and marketing—but umm (looks around the SEB website) somehow I don’t think you’re exactly a bashful guy who doesn’t know how to sell himself.    It’s not the easiest route, but it can be done.

—Joe

College degree might or might not have anything to do with it - I was recently unemployed for nine months and I have a university degree. It was a total mystery to me why in nine months I didn’t get a single interview (and the first one I got, I got the job too) - and now that I have a job, people who I applied with in March (!) have started calling me. The whole process is like voodoo to me, I have no idea why some places that I seemed perfect for never got back to me, and some who weren’t did.

Only thing I can suggest is that you might want to re-work your resume a bit - that might be one factor. If it hasn’t produced any interviews, maybe it’s not clear enough what your strengths are and you need to emphazise different things - have someone totally new, maybe someone who doesn’t even know you, have a look at it and give you first impressions.

You’re in my thoughts and good luck.

Still hoping you the best of luck to come, Les and it can’t come quickly enough. You know you are loved by us.

Hang in there, Les.  I agree with the others about looking into self-employment.  If you write up a good business proposal, you might even be able to get a decent business loan or government grant to get some start-up capital.  Good lcuk, bro!

Good hunting, Les.  Hopefully some computer tech literate people will come across your res. 

On what Kolibri said:  It’s good to make sure you have the right buzzwords and ancronyms in the res. 

Try not to kill them if they ask if your PC tech experience included working on any IBM-compatible PCs.

Well, MrsDoF and I are not sure what “rooting” means in OZ,  but nonetheless we’re hoping for a positive outcome on your job situation! 

You are correct about the college degree.  My degree has nothing to do with my job, but the job description calls for someone with a degree.    Go figure.  Worked out well for me even though some of my friends are more qualified in ways that count, but didn’t have a degree. 

Best of luck to you - and keep us posted!

Forgive me for jumping the gun and speaking for the community here. Just keep it together; we’d all probably admit the site isn’t the same without your input, but we put together new stuff whenever it’s hot on our minds. We’ll keep your seat warm until you get back.

In the meantime, best of wishes.

Well DOF,to enlighten you in the ways of our crude traditional slang down here;to root is to shag,bonk,hump,fuck,drill etc,etc.Quintessential aussie slang!...and to use more - Pardon my french (for the f word!)

Happy birthday, Les!

Happy birthday =)

Depending on what kind of income you need and what things are like in your area, and what the requirements are, you might consider trying to enter an trades skill apprenticeship.

They typically need people, pay semi decently to start, give good raises every 6 months or so, and give real skills that can be used anywhere and are always in demand.

Being another tech type with no college degree I understand what you are going through (been there myself). I found recruiters to be a terrible way to find a job as they tend to not even try and get jobs for people without a college degree…even if you are extremely qualified. I finally got a job by searching for local companies, checking their web sites for tech positions, and going to apply in person.

Anywise, good luck!