Shift-looking for job opportunity

**disneysteve** · 07-04-2024, 05:18 PM

It looks like your expenses, if that list is complete, are about $4,200/month. You need to cut them to the bare livable minimum until you are employed again and have rebuilt the emergency fund that you're going to burn through while unemployed. Stop the $200 extra to the mortgage and trim back everything else you can. Gas will probably be less since you aren't going to work every day. If there are memberships or subscriptions that you can put on hold, do that.

You're a doctor, right? If you get a new job tomorrow, it may be 2-3 months before you can actually start working due to credentialing time. Around here 3 months is pretty standard. Assuming you aren't actually getting hired somewhere tomorrow, let's say you'll be out of work for 4-5 months. That means around $20,000 to live on not counting health insurance. COBRA is fine but expensive. Compare that to ACA rates and covereage (healthsherpa.com or healthcare.gov).

Should you be worried? We can't answer that for you. Obviously the quicker you're back to earning an income the better off you'll be both short term and long term. If you spend down $25,000 or more of your cash reserves, you'll need to build that back up once the paychecks resume. Good luck finding something quickly.

**docstudent** · 07-04-2024, 05:41 PM

Yes, I will definitely seek out a lower healthcare option, but I have a 60-day window, so I am not going to worry about too much. I am not a medical doctor, but I have a doctorate degree. I had a very promising interview this week and I will be hearing back within the next 3 to 4 days. My aim is to secure work sooner than later, but this cycle has been trickier than in past years. I just didn’t want to stress about it too much. I spent time building up my emergency fund and now I might have to finally use it. I am hopeful, but I don’t want to add more stress than necessary. A family member offered me free housing out of state, but I am ok with renting my friend’s guest house and seeing how things play out over the next few months. I am just grateful that my condo is rented and I don’t have to worry about that overhead.

**disneysteve** · 07-04-2024, 05:55 PM

Ah. Not being a medical doctor the credentialing comment doesn’t apply. I’m sure the turnaround between being hired and starting is much shorter. That’s a good thing. Hopefully that interview results in a good offer. If not keep applying and hopefully something comes along quickly.

**bjl584** · 07-05-2024, 02:50 AM

I second the advice of cutting back expenses to the minimum until you find work.
Sounds like you have something in the works, so good luck.

**disneysteve** · 07-05-2024, 03:58 AM

Originally posted by bjl584 View Post

I second the advice of cutting back expenses to the minimum until you find work.

And keep the spending low until you’ve rebuilt the funds you used up while unemployed.

**ua_guy** · 07-05-2024, 06:20 AM

Summer is the absolute best time to be out of work.

If you're married and your spouse has insurance, this would be a qualifying event to jump on their plan.

Don't forget to take a deep breath and take some time for yourself. Recharging and resetting before starting a big new job is important.

When I was laid off last year, one of the stipulations of unemployment was to conduct 3 job search activities per week, whether it be completing applications, interviews, resume tune-up workshops. That's an aggressive pace for trying to find a specialized and high-paying position, it's not like 3 of those positions post per week to just apply for. But it really opened my mind. I found myself reaching outside of industry, and throwing applications at things I'd probably never get, higher than my level, just to see if it stuck. And I'd hit lower-level positions too, to see if an employer was willing to stretch or level-up. I had some amazing conversations and made some great connections. Point is...you may use this time to reinvent or re-strategize what you're after. Your savings and planning make this possible, versus having to take the next and only thing that may come along.

**docstudent** · 07-05-2024, 10:21 AM

I resigned and I am not eligible for unemployment. Also, I am single and not able to utilize insurance connected to a spouse. I will continue to apply to jobs, but I am opposed to taking off 6 months or so. I know how stress can be triggers for other illnesses, so I want to stress-free during my professional transition.

**james.hendrickson** · 07-05-2024, 10:47 AM

Docstudent - my 2 cents is that wanting a stress free life is nearly impossible. The thing to do is just find ways to minimize the stress.

**docstudent** · 07-05-2024, 04:09 PM

I didn’t say a stress free life, but I will not tolerate toxic work spaces, toxic family members, etc. I have used your thought process for 98% of my career and it was best to resign and regroup. I get it, but as I get older….I’m clear on what I will accept or never accept in the workspace. Luckily, I only have 5 more years to navigate the end of my professional life.

**james.hendrickson** · 07-05-2024, 04:11 PM

Cool cool no worries.

**ua_guy** · 07-05-2024, 04:51 PM

Originally posted by docstudent View Post

I resigned and I am not eligible for unemployment. Also, I am single and not able to utilize insurance connected to a spouse. I will continue to apply to jobs, but I am opposed to taking off 6 months or so. I know how stress can be triggers for other illnesses, so I want to stress-free during my professional transition.

No, no, I didn't think unemployment applied. Point was, don't forget to look up and around in the job market while your search is taking place. You never know what you might find unless you're after a very specific position.

And what I meant by taking time was...not knowing what or when your next job will come along is very stressful. You can search all day and stay up into the wee hours filling out applications and putting together CV. Remember to give yourself the mental breaks you need along the way

**docstudent** · 07-05-2024, 05:27 PM

I fully understand what you mean about being overwhelmed by the process. I have several friends that have been looking for work over 5 months and they decided to stop applying for the time being. One friend is volunteering with a company that specializes in AI. I know that’s not an option for many people, but luckily, he has the resources to do so. I am very hopeful that I don’t have to take that route.

If this last opportunity doesn’t pan out, I am going to hold off on applying until October. I am ok with utilizing a portion of my emergency fund to get clarity on how I want to proceed. I just want to make sure that I am not overlooking any glaring issue that could harm me financially in the long run. The market is unpredictable, but the right fit is essential as I wrap up my career.

**kork13** · 07-05-2024, 09:59 PM

While I'm not going to suggest taking it easy, I also wouldn't panic. You have what looks like 1-1.5 years of expenses sitting in savings, with rental income that covers nearly half of that. You're also within a handful of years from retiring, so this could be a valuable opportunity to give it a bit of a test run, especially knowing that you're planning to retire relatively young.

May I ask what drove the resignation without something else lined up? Sounds like trying to get away from a bad situation. Does this impact your ability to retire as planned? I seem to recall you had a pension program, or something of the like with your job that you were partly planning toward.

Overall, I'd just say do what you can to find a new job, and reducing expenses where feasible is smart... But at the same time, take some time to enjoy the freedom, year the waters, and think about how you want to spend the remainder of your professional career.

**docstudent** · 07-06-2024, 01:16 AM

This is the first time in working career that I resigned without having a job lined up. I look at my savings and realized that I could navigate life without a steady paycheck for about two years or so. Though, I have myself a realistic timeline to find employment. I can’t elaborate about the why, but I can say that the space had high levels of toxicity. Luckily, I have 24.456 of service credit and I can work slightly less than half to year to earn enough credit to hit the 25 year marker. If I don’t find a job, it will push retirement make a year or so. That is a driving force to work about .600 of the work year.

Shift-looking for job opportunity