Friday, January 12, 2007
Working for a Living
I have worked since I was thirteen years old. I have never been without a job and on unemployment until I worked for LexisNexis and was put out on the street at 50 years of age.
I began my work life as a dish washer. I worked for a restaurant called Harvest Hill near Columbus, Ohio when I was only thirteen years old.
My next job was with a restaurant called Frostie in Sabina, Ohio, as a diswasher, when I was sixteen.
I worked for Colonial Food Stores, otherwise known as Albers, while I was a member of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) while in high school. I followed in my brother's shadow and was the president of the DECA class at a newly opened Joint Vocational School (JVS) that went into the recently closed Wilmington Air Force Base located in Wilmington, Ohio. The name of the JVS was Laurel Oaks.
From there, I followed in my family footsteps and went into the military. Everyone in my family was enlisted in the military. My father, three of my brothers, and one of my sisters were Navy and one brother was Army. I enlisted in the Air Force to be different. I worked as an Avionic Radio and Radar Communications/Navigations Systems Specialist.
I traveled the world, Germany, Spain, England, Panama, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Spain, Suriname, Ascension Island, to name a few locations.
When I left the Air Force I went into Civil Service as an Electronic Equipment Specialist and then became an Electronic Techician, Computer Specialist, Information Systems Analyst. I left while working as a Computer Specialist to work for LexisNexis when the Defense Electronics Supply Center (DESC) was moved from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio.
I worked as a technical rep at LexisNexis, assisting customers via telephone, helping them resolve problems related to LexisNexis proprietary software. I listened to attorneys who cried when their print jobs for a case in a couple of hours was not printing. I had the power to resend the prints and hear their tears turn into joy when I resent their prints and they received them.
I moved into other positions at LexisNexis before it was determined that my services were no longer needed and "close professional acquaintenances" determined that other individuals were "better qualified" to perform jobs available within their areas. My last position at LexisNexis was as a Web Developer in the eServices area, coding web pages for the internet facing pages that customers and prospective customers view.
When I was "let go" from LexisNexis I went through their "hired outsourcing" agency to prepare my resume and business cards to try to find another job in my area of work. After preparing my business cards and resume, and searching for a job for several months with no luck, I landed a job driving a truck after going through paid training for a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) with Schneider.
I now work for Schneider National as a truck driver, making half the salary that I made while working for LexisNexis.
There is going to be another layoff at LexisNexis in 2007 and my wife and I are fearing that she will lose her job as well.
It would be so nice to hold money over Reed Elsevier's head, like a carrot, as they have done to their loyal employees for so many years. I hear there may be a hostile take over attempt of LexisNexis. That would only be poetic justice if it were to happen.
I began my work life as a dish washer. I worked for a restaurant called Harvest Hill near Columbus, Ohio when I was only thirteen years old.
My next job was with a restaurant called Frostie in Sabina, Ohio, as a diswasher, when I was sixteen.
I worked for Colonial Food Stores, otherwise known as Albers, while I was a member of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) while in high school. I followed in my brother's shadow and was the president of the DECA class at a newly opened Joint Vocational School (JVS) that went into the recently closed Wilmington Air Force Base located in Wilmington, Ohio. The name of the JVS was Laurel Oaks.
From there, I followed in my family footsteps and went into the military. Everyone in my family was enlisted in the military. My father, three of my brothers, and one of my sisters were Navy and one brother was Army. I enlisted in the Air Force to be different. I worked as an Avionic Radio and Radar Communications/Navigations Systems Specialist.
I traveled the world, Germany, Spain, England, Panama, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Spain, Suriname, Ascension Island, to name a few locations.
When I left the Air Force I went into Civil Service as an Electronic Equipment Specialist and then became an Electronic Techician, Computer Specialist, Information Systems Analyst. I left while working as a Computer Specialist to work for LexisNexis when the Defense Electronics Supply Center (DESC) was moved from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio.
I worked as a technical rep at LexisNexis, assisting customers via telephone, helping them resolve problems related to LexisNexis proprietary software. I listened to attorneys who cried when their print jobs for a case in a couple of hours was not printing. I had the power to resend the prints and hear their tears turn into joy when I resent their prints and they received them.
I moved into other positions at LexisNexis before it was determined that my services were no longer needed and "close professional acquaintenances" determined that other individuals were "better qualified" to perform jobs available within their areas. My last position at LexisNexis was as a Web Developer in the eServices area, coding web pages for the internet facing pages that customers and prospective customers view.
When I was "let go" from LexisNexis I went through their "hired outsourcing" agency to prepare my resume and business cards to try to find another job in my area of work. After preparing my business cards and resume, and searching for a job for several months with no luck, I landed a job driving a truck after going through paid training for a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) with Schneider.
I now work for Schneider National as a truck driver, making half the salary that I made while working for LexisNexis.
There is going to be another layoff at LexisNexis in 2007 and my wife and I are fearing that she will lose her job as well.
It would be so nice to hold money over Reed Elsevier's head, like a carrot, as they have done to their loyal employees for so many years. I hear there may be a hostile take over attempt of LexisNexis. That would only be poetic justice if it were to happen.
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