THE Post Peak Employment Thread (merged)

[nella]

in nowhere. I plan on taking spinning classes. Not the bike type ether
My locally owned knitting/yarn shop also has looms and teach weaving classes.
They also have 2 spinning wheels in the store that are treadle powered. And they hold classes for those as well. So I plan to sign up. If I like it, and I probably will since I love to knit, they say they can get a good used spinning wheel for 100-150 bucks.
There are still guilds that exist for spinners and weavers in my area. I need to learn more.
This would be a secondary skill. Because I bet people will start to learn knitting hot and heavy when things get tough. But spinning's a little more skilled and wheels might be tougher to come by.

[strider3700]

I currently work for a small company, roughly 12 people. It's in an industry (forestry) that is eventually going to fail due to the lack of cheap oil. We're currently getting for lay-offs due to a strike elsewhere in the industry that will trickle down and cut our revenue off.

Since this may be an extended strike I've been looking around for other work since there is no guarantee that I'll be brought back if let go in the first place.

My wife works for the federal government. You don't get more stable then that and it should be one of the last jobs to vanish however she has effectively zero ability to negotiate raises if we end up in a hyper inflation scenario.

I'm thinking larger companies tend to be more stable in general but when they do downsize it's done a few hundred or thousand at a time. The company itself should last a good long time though because if well managed they can drag out going broke a very long time. They probably aren't at all nimble and able to adapt.

Small companies don't have the resources to drag death out for decades but hopefully are nimble enough to avoid it if they're lucky.

I've already decided to take on some new responsibilities and can't look into self-employment so that option is out.

I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are as to company size in the future when it comes to stability and peak oil.
<edit> now with the goodness of 100% Poll </edit>

[SILENTTODD]

strider3700, having just completed my 27th year with what is now called the “New” at&t I understand completely where you are coming from. When I first joined the “old” AT&T in my state (California) in 1980, it was called Pacific Telephone (& and Telegraph if you got technical).

In 1983 a totally political decision (one of the most stupid in American history) was made to break up the old AT&T. Over the next 10 years countless tens of thousands lost their good jobs providing what was the best, cheapest, communication service in the world bar none. All because a few out of control nit wits in the U.S. justice department (notice my small lettering) wanted a notch on their belt (one of many reasons I have no use for the parasite class we call attorneys).

Fortunately for me I just happened to be in the right place at the right times to avoid layoffs and consolidations as they occurred. Yes, I once took a down grade to stay with the ‘company”. But now am in a top craft position that cannot be replaced anytime before I choose to retire.

In today’s world there is no way to choose steady employment with one company, and in the future that is an obsolete concept. For anyone young out there, around 30 or below, get a skill that was in vogue about 1900. Bicycle Repair (what the Wright Brothers were doing in 1900), Cobbler (shoe maker-repair), Farmer, Blacksmith…. a number of others.

You will need to know a skill that does not rely on the current state of energy. Even I at my age, 52, am learning all I can about bicycle repair

[megawatt]

I don’t know if it has much to do with size as type of employment you are getting into. Right now the energy sector is booming I believe I have posted this here before, we cant find enough qualified people to go into wind generation. I will get to my point after I try to hit on yours. It sounds like you already have a vocation or job in mind and if so I would think larger is better. Larger corporations may have to cut back in the hard times, but as it does I believe smaller ones will go out completely under similar circumstances, different factors such a potential future growth, and by out possibilities, are all things that would need to be taken into account as well.

Ok what I see in my sector is that energy will be needed and used until the last page in this book is turned. I work in power generation in an oil field (am on the clock now) this production field is in the process of boosting output 10 fold, it has not boomed like this since the 70s, so I feel really secure here until a SHTF scenario, or natural disaster.

[skyemoor]

I don’t know if it has much to do with size as type of employment you are getting into.

Ditto, plus I would add "When". A medium to large company with factories in different regions producing workbikes, as one example, might not do well right now, but may go gangbusters in 5 years. On the other hand, some small businesses now (e.g., body shop, driveway paving, etc.) might not hold up well post-PO.

[PraiseDoom]

I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are as to company size in the future when it comes to stability and peak oil.
<edit> now with the goodness of 100% Poll </edit>

Small. That way when you need some buddies in the foxhole with you, you'll have them. Big companies are so impersonable, how can you in the few days we have left before the rolling blackouts begin even hope to determine who you should, or should not, allow to load your guns while fighting off the zombies?

[smallpoxgirl]

I'm all about self employment. Not having a boss rocks. The hours suck, but it's not so bad when you're working for yourself.

[bshirt]

I'm all about self employment. Not having a boss rocks. The hours suck, but it's not so bad when you're working for yourself.

Oh yeah!! Not having some terminally brain-dead bean-counter boss is truly a gift.

[snowshoegal]

Self employed since the day I left school. Quit my part time job for an environmental org and went on my own, sometimes not having a roof over my head.

It was worth it. Some free thinkers have to take this route to be happy.

[JBinKC]

I used to work for a large company and had my fill of the greed at the top level. It gets old when your take home pay has remained the same during my entire 13 year tenure with the company when the CEO takes home 30 million USD. I think I had my fill of slavery and the rat race.

Right now I living at my Lake of the Ozarks abode which is fully paid for. I have a garden, wood stove and free firewood, fishing and hunting and managing my Roth IRA, IRA and other assets full time at age 44. And trust me I was able to do it because I took investment risks.

[deMolay]

If you pay attention to history, in the last Great Depression, and the Super Inflation of Germany after the ww1 up until before the ww2. Bycycle shops did well, 2nd hand stores, people that could fix things that were a necessity. For example can you repair a tire, can you weld, can you work in wood, can you work in metal. Can you batch up bio diesel or alcohol for fuel. For trade things worth more than money or gold. Gun's, ammunition, tools, salt, pepper, tobacco etc. FOOD.

[midnight-gamer]

Rather than taking a huge loan for college, I saved many long years, got married, bought a cheap home, paid off my car etc. Finally, I am ready to start college. I have a few credits into computer applications. But, given the things I know now, a more informed choice seems in order. Is there sage advice for me from the members here?
I was looking at this for starters.
http://www.unh.edu/natural-resources/ugindex.html

Our primary objective is to provide young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to become future leaders in the stewardship of the world's natural resources. Our faculty, representing a wide range of disciplines and interests, are committed to an interdisciplinary approach to natural resource education.

[Quinne]

Newbie post alert--hi everyone. Just wanted to add in the discussion about teachers: the summer off that they still observe nowdays I believe was a holdover from when we were a much more agricultural society. They would let children have summer off to help the family with the loads of work necessary during the summer months. Probably an observance which would still be necessary PO.

But I wholeheartedly agree with the expectance of seeing results from any profession, teaching included.

Has anyone mentioned glassblowing yet in this lengthy thread? I would imagine being able to create new glass vessels would be a much appreciated skill.

[patience]

History is the best reference we have for the future, although there will be differences. My ancestors included a furniture maker who fixed anything made of wood, including hand water pumps, and a threshing machine, and made coffins. His sister was a seamstress. My grandfather built timber frame barns, and my Dad worked in a rock quarry, did carpenter work, and farmed. One uncle was a school teacher, who boarded with the kids' parents as part of his pay.

Pick any period before oil became prevalent. The work was much more physical then. A dairy farmer milked cows the hard way, by hand, not by machine, and was limited by how many he could get milked in an hour or two, twice a day. Life was brutally hard, and dangerous back then. Loggers were routinely killed by falling trees, and maimed my axes. In an age of broadly ignorant people, those with knowledge were suspected of being in league with the devil. Blacksmiths pulled bad teeth, because they had tongs to do it with, and were strong enough to hold the patient down.

Consider all the implications before choosing an occupation.

[oilysnoily]

Yet another new one here... Does anyone have advice about the role of artists during PO, specifically visual artists? They obviously have existed in different forms throughout history. Many will probably become involved in crafts and propaganda (religious, government, etc), but do you see any other roles? I currently just got my BFA in painting. It has provided me with many different critical thinking and practical building skills that you can not usually find in regular colleges. I am not intimidated about trying to make things that I have not been taught to make. Does anyone have any good information about artists during the great depression (other than the government subsidy programs) or other hard times in other countries? Thanks!

[Ludi]

I currently just got my BFA in painting. It has provided me with many different critical thinking and practical building skills that you can not usually find in regular colleges. I am not intimidated about trying to make things that I have not been taught to make.

I'm a professional artist with a BFA in sculpture. I currently make my living doing commercial, not fine art. I have many different skills and feel comfortable doing things like carpentry, plumbing, etc. I paint on and off as a hobby. Making a living as a fine or commercial artist is difficult in the best of times, so it's hard for me to offer too many optimistic projections for a future career as an artist. I expect my paying work to go away at some point if/when the economy gets bad enough. If it gets only as bad as during the Depression, some artists may still be able to make a living. My advice is to learn as many practical skills as you can, aside from your craft. If you don't mind me asking, what is your plan for your career in the near future?

At least one other person on the board is a professional artist - Pops. He may have some advice for you.

[oilysnoily]

I'm a professional artist with a BFA in sculpture. I currently make my living doing commercial, not fine art. I have many different skills and feel comfortable doing things like carpentry, plumbing, etc. I paint on and off as a hobby. Making a living as a fine or commercial artist is difficult in the best of times, so it's hard for me to offer too many optimistic projections for a future career as an artist. I expect my paying work to go away at some point if/when the economy gets bad enough. If it gets only as bad as during the Depression, some artists may still be able to make a living. My advice is to learn as many practical skills as you can, aside from your craft. If you don't mind me asking, what is your plan for your career in the near future?

At least one other person on the board is a professional artist - Pops. He may have some advice for you.

Right now I'm in a summer residency program at SVA. I'll be getting a job doing something around New Haven for the next couple of years. What? I have no idea. Yale seems to have a few interesting positions. I mostly want to pay the bills and figure out if/ when/ where an MFA is for me. I have to wait till my husband finishes grad school (for pathology) before I can move somewhere else. Right now my future is pretty open. I want to be able to have a large garden and some small animals (chickens, guinea pigs). I want to either retrofit a home when we buy so that it is energy neutral or build a cob or straw-bale structure. I realize both of these things take a lot of time, and they might be more beneficial than me having a regular job (the hubby would be working and making decent money). I'm not very sure commercial art would ever interest me too much. I was looking possibly at landscape architecture, in order to enable people to maximize food and medicinal potential from their yards and roofs.

[Ludi]

I was looking possibly at landscape architecture, in order to enable people to maximize food and medicinal potential from their yards and roofs.

Ok, so then it seems it's not your intention to make a living as an artist? That certainly opens up your possibilities!

Unless you intend a teaching career in art I'm not sure a MFA would be of much value.

[oilysnoily]

Ok, so then it seems it's not your intention to make a living as an artist? That certainly opens up your possibilities!

Unless you intend a teaching career in art I'm not sure a MFA would be of much value.

Not really interesting in teaching. It's hard enough now just getting a TA job, never mind a tenure track position. It seems interesting but I don't feel attracted to it. I don't really expect to or care if I ever make make my entire living off of fine arts. Regardless, I want to be involved in making and showing art. The MFA would not for practical monetary reasons, but I don't know if it ever has been for anyone. My former professors pushed me to apply to Yale, Hunter etc as soon as I'm ready so I at least have some support there. It would help so much to know how much time I have before things get really bad, and how many people will be in a really bad spot.

[Jenab6]

I want to be a herb, tea, and apple peddler. I'll learn all I can about the local wild plants and what they're good for. Maybe I can sell stomachache remedies (mint) and cures for older women's hormone fluctuations (yarrow), and sundry potions for curing a cold or a bad case of enemies, etc.