You’re laid off work next week. There’s no open jobs in your field. What other skill sets do you have in your background? Work that you could apply for and earn a living wage? It might be harder and more unpleasant but it can pay the bills.
just as an example
I counted 4
It’s comforting to know that I can find alternative work if required.
I worked construction to pay for college. I’ve kept my framing skills and finish carpentry reasonably up to date. I could do some of that work if if I had to today. Not roofing or pouring concrete. That’s physically too demanding at my age. But certainly framing, and basic finish work like trim, hanging doors, installing windows etc. I’ve even installed crown molding in several homes. I’d get a contractor’s license if I decided to pursue this work full time.
Electronics was my second field. I’m out of date to actually service tv’s and high end stereos anymore. I could work in related fields, setting up satellite dishes, installing alarms and security cameras. Would need some training. Not really a field I’d want to pursue but if I badly needed the work, it’s an option.
Computer Programming and Computer Support. my current field that I entered after leaving electronic service. I’d really hate going back to full time programming. Ten years was enough and I worry about carpal tunnel. Occasional numbness caused me to switch to Computer Support and part time programming a decade ago. But, I could program full time again if I had to and right now experienced COBOL programmers are badly needed to support legacy systems. Experienced COBOL guys are a dying breed.
Finally general office work. Crap I already do part time in my job. Data Entry, filing, spreadsheets. General paperwork etc. God help me if I had to do that full time for half the pay. But to avoid starving I’d take the job. It’s better than shoveling horse manure.
A good friend of mine always treats his tools and equipment with TLC and respect. He’s always said his tools and skill sets keep him fed. He’s never been willing to get saddled with any one career. Living day by day. He’ll take off a few weeks to hunt or fish. Get a new GF, shack up and get laid. Then, take a job somewhere and work a few months. Quit. Move to Florida for the winter and take a job there. Move back to Arkansas in the Spring. Fish for a month. Take a job. He can do practically any job with his hands. Mechanic, construction, handyman. Even landscaping.
I kind of envy him at times. He lives simply and makes money only when needed. No credit cards, no mortgage. Just a beat up old Ford truck. I need the security of a job that includes benefits. I don’t have enough confidence to live that care free.
I’d guess people with professional careers will only have one. That’s all they need because jobs can usually be found either locally or by moving elsewhere.
It’s a little more hard scramble life for the middle and lower middle classes. Nearly every member of my family worked with their hands. Gaining skills in the Trades whenever they could. Holding different jobs over the years. Learning to never count on any one job lasting forever.
Bah, I can’t vote since you forgot 0. I deliver newspapers at the moment and I don’t really count that as an “employable skill set”. Mental health issues ruined my attempts at education so I don’t really have any others either.
Superior office skills, so I could work in any office/clerical/administrative setting, especially one requiring a legal background.
Retail. As a dedicated shopper, I believe I could be quite successful on the other side of the cash register. I don’t know that I’d like it, but I could do it.
Shoveling horse manure. I’m really good at this and actually enjoy it. I call it “manure therapy.”
Even though I’m retired, I know that I could still get hired by the USG in some sort of administrative role. My orientation class for the Foreign Service had some real geezers there, as the government is not allowed to discriminate because of age. Five years ago, I was hired for the census effort and they wanted me to stay on; I turned it down.
It kinda depends on how you define ‘field’ I have a wide range of skills applicable to the well water industry. I can drill wells, install pumping equipment, diagnose and treat water quality issues, operate various heavy equipment, do plumbing work, do electrical work, engineer water delivery systems, irrigation, sprinklers, excavation, landscaping.
I’m capable of most any trade work you’d need on a house. Ive worked retail and was pretty successful in retail management.
I’m certainly not the best at trades outside my own but I’d have no issues working for someone more experienced.
I carry a number of licences/certifications but lack any college degrees so I doubt I could make my way in most white collar careers. So long as I’m physicly able I’d have no issues finding blue collar work.
I see your point especially in an entire field. I’m a technical minded person who can work with his hands. There are hundreds of jobs I could do with minimal training.
For the hypothetical, I was really thinking of options. No jobs open in my primarily skill set. option b, option c; do I have an option c? that kind of thinking.
When you say “in your field”, do you mean in a broad sense, as in “IT/Computing”, or do you mean “as a business analyst”?
In the first case, I’d have to fall back on my MBA, and probably end up doing something related to that- probably something more or less entry level somewhere. I could also probably work at a brewery, being a longtime homebrewer and very well read on the subject, although I know I’d be essentially a cleaning person for a long time. I imagine I could get a job at a grocery store/liquor store as a beer salesperson, or as a gun salesperson (especially since I’ve actually done that) as well, although I’m not sure if either of those are living wage jobs.
I suspect that in a pinch, I could probably get a teaching job doing math or computer type stuff in a high school as well.
In the second case, I could almost certainly talk my way into project management jobs if I wanted to, having effectively done that in one way or another for about 4 of the 7 years at my current company. I could also probably get a job relatively easily as a forensic data mining consultant, having done that successfully in the past, and having even more SQL/database experience than before. I could probably get a position as a SQL programmer or DBA as well.
In a pinch, I could be a PC support guy, or some other lower-level support position.
Generally, when things go south I fall back on writing. There’s always someone out there who needs things written quickly with a technical field. A few years ago I took about 6-8 months off - I got divorced - and signed up to write for several sites. Made good money cranking out daily columns.
Ooo, I forgot one.
Teaching. I spent five years as an Adjunct Professor. The pay wasn’t great but it would keep the wheels turning while I found something else.
Coincidently, I have a background in all that stuff as well.
That’s not really true, unless you could broad expertise such as “being a doctor” or “lawyering” to be a single skill set.
Much like bump, I have a broad set of skills in management, technology and finance. I’ve done a ton of work in data, SQL, data forensics and some programming. Project management, strategy, all sorts of corporate bullshit.
Professional jobs are less about particular “skills”. They are more about having the right background and education and demonstrated experience doing certain types of work (regardless of how tenuous your involvement was).
There are things I can do well, but I’m not sure if I could land a job doing them since I don’t have much experience. Technical writing and teaching both fall into those categories. It’d be a pretty sorry resume to point back to experience that is now ten or twenty years old.
My main skill is accounting, but I’m not entirely sure whether that should be considered a single skill set or not. I have a small practice that offers everything from bookkeeping to payroll to sales tax to income tax preparation. In some larger firms, each of these could be a specialized job and not everyone knows how to do all of them. Of course, they’re all accounting.
Crap I already do part time in my job. Data Entry, filing, spreadsheets. General paperwork etc. God help me if I had to do that full time for half the pay. But to avoid starving I’d take the job. It’s better than shoveling horse manure. 
