I graduated from school at Northwest Renewable Energy Institute in August 2010. I came out of school hopeful that I would be starting a new career in wind energy. All the sustainability of the future of energy was an energizing and exciting possibility I had created for myself and my family.
T gave birth to our beautiful daughter that month so I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get a job but I started looking, and after a month or so I really picked up the search. I put in several resumes a day, and worked with several contacts to craft an effective resume. I put a lot of love into the process of making cover letters.
After finding no work I took a job back in the auto industry that only lasted until this February. I have been on unemployment since then and have aggressively posted resumes to job sites and employers. I have placed around 100 resumes since then without a single personal contact/callback/interview.
I am currently exploring employment with a roller-skate wheel company here in Lacey, WA that looks hopeful. I can’t help but struggle with the fact that I’m now paying student loans that I can’t afford on unemployment that is not enough.
My intention is to stay hopeful and positive about the prospects out in the energy sector. I know that I won’t find the career I’m looking for by being negative, and yet it seems only realistic to recognize that I may have been taken by a trade school that just isn’t paying off. They have certainly placed some people in fine careers, but I have been actively seeking work for 5 months with no results. The frustration is mounting.
At this point the time at home doing work search from my computer is lending me the freedom to spend a lot of quality family time and play a significant role with child rearing. I love being an active father.
I have been working full time since I was 17, and I thrive on the direction it gives me. I can feel that missing in my life, and moreover I benefit from being a contributor to family finances. It is definitely time to start giving to my family in that way soon. I feel the urgency.
I know that my family appreciates me, and my partner is so very patient. She has been the rock during this time for me. She believes in me.
I am a big fan of the movie “The Secret”. It talks about a technique of bringing what we want to ourselves by being present to what we want, staying positive, and believing. I know that the universe provides us with our needs, and not necessarily our wants. There must be a reason that I am putting my intentions in the right place and not seeing the results I am expecting.
Could it be that me leaving to work on wind turbines isn’t in the cards for my family? Maybe the perfect job is right here in Olympia waiting for me to find it. Possibly in a field I haven’t thought of yet?
Until then I’ll be here keeping the faith and playing with kids. I hope that my role is being played the way it’s meant to be. And when my time comes I hope that I can see the forest for the trees and have the insight to know what it is in front of my face that I need to do.
