<p>Do you draw unemployment benefits when you are furloughed? </p>
<p>
Oh the suffering. :)</p>
<p>When I worked as a structural engineer, I was laid off 3 times in 7 years. Twice I had to find a new job. The third time I was 5 months pregnant. Then I left the profession altogether and waddled back to school.</p>
<p>I never had enough in my 401K for it to be transferable so I ended up having to take it out.</p>
<p>Yes it is a big deal, but you have to deal with it.</p>
<p>Your take home pay is going to be cut because of furlough, other people’s take home pay is going to be cut because of phasing out of personal exemptions and deductions, and probably AMT. But there is no compassion toward those people. Why is that?</p>
<p>It’s not necessary for this thread to go political. There is plenty of blame to spread around.</p>
<p>If I was affected by this furlough, I would be worried that this is just the tip of the iceberg. When you start losing work, and projects are shutting down, that can be just the beginning. People might be looking fondly upon the days that they had a four day work week, if they permanently lose their jobs. And private sector people will really lose their jobs in areas where people are cutting back.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone is trying to be insensitive to pay cuts, as most of us know exactly what that feels like. My company cut a large number of people’s pay by about 25% for two years, ignoring seniority. But nobody got laid off, and though many were not thrilled to make that involuntary sacrifice, all were glad that nobody lost their jobs. </p>
<p>What many people have already gone through, with job losses, pay cuts, family not able to get jobs, kids under/unemployed, I don’t think the level of support that many would like is going to be out there.</p>
<p>Yea, did broach the subject of the potential 20% paycut furlough with S, who is a recent hire with the federal government. He says he should be able to weather things OK, but it will make morale around his workplace pretty awful. He thinks it may cut down the travel budget so he doesn’t have to be away from his apartment 3 weeks out of the month, which he and we both think would be nice. He has been living on much less than he makes, so he should still be able to pay all his bills, thankfully! A lot of other employees may be stretched so thin that they may not be able to pay theirs, especially if there are two in the family who have to make similar 20% or more cuts.</p>
<p>Any way you look at it, it will be tough, especially as there will also be cuts to the social services meant to help those most vulnerable at their worst times of need.</p>
<p>It’s hard. When you are living paycheck to paycheck before the cut and now the paychecks are smaller, the cost of living is higher, then you get to pay more of your health insurance. In the past four years my income has decreased every single year. It’s horrible. When you drive past a gas station and see the price increase again and it makes you feel like crying you know you’re in a bad place. </p>
<p>And really it’s a myth that we’re overpaid. A lot of us could make more in the private sector. But you buy a house, you establish a life, you work in a job for more than 10 years, how easy is it to pack up and move? Or to even get a private sector job after working in the public sector for 10+ years? I can’t sell my house. Luckily I’m not updside down but the market isn’t moving and I wouldn’t get anything out of it. How can I move? I’m in a county where the government is the largest employer. Where can I get another job without moving? It’s hard out there and isn’t getting any easier.</p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE
Discussions of what YOU would do or what have done if furloughed/laid off is permitted on College Confidential. Discussions of how to cut the budget, Congress, the President, the reasons for sequester, or any other similar topic is NOT PERMITTED and will close down the thread.</p>
<p>Chedva
Moderator</p>
<p>I’m really sorry about what you’re going through, PhotoOp. I hope this doesn’t last long for you.</p>
<p>
I might understand more than you think I do.</p>
<p>My point is simply that there are potential issues with any job including non-public sector jobs. People simply need to decide what’s best for them. If people are being hit with furloughs on a regular basis they need to decide if the overall package is still worth it for what they want. Many public sector employees are making a conscious decision to stay in that sector because of the perceived overall salary/benefit/location package or maybe even a perception that they’re unemployable in the private sector (which hopefully isn’t really the case and if true implies bigger issues).</p>
<p>Private companies have similar issues with no such thing as a ‘cost of living increase’, wage freezes, holiday shutdowns with forced time off (furlough) during that time, and multiple layoffs. They also use contract employees that are hired and released as needed but anyone doing contract work generally knows the nature of being a contractor before deciding to be one and sometimes they need to make a decision of whether to become a full time employee rather than a contractor if contracting doesn’t work out for them. </p>
<p>It’s not necessarily all rosy on the private side and it’s not necessarily all rosy on the public side either.</p>
<p>As to what to do, I guess make the best of it. If you truly don’t think your job is providing adequate compensation anymore then maybe use the time to look for another job. There ‘are’ jobs out there, it’s not true that there are NO jobs. You could use the time to do maintenance of the house or car that you’d otherwise need to pay someone to do and therefore save money. You could use the time to learn something new that would perhaps position you better for a different job if you want. You could go on a vacation or just relax. It just boils down to what you want to do.</p>
<p>I agree that when the furlough days are scattered as one poster indicated it makes them difficult to use for something else effectively.</p>
<p>But if you’re getting hit with frequent furloughs over the course of years and you don’t like it and don’t like the overall package, it’s time to think about looking elsewhere for a job or getting into a different field.</p>
<p>To me, a furlough means, basically, an indefinite pay cut. For those already having a hard time making ends meet, it can be really hard, especially if we’re talking about a significant amount of money… Having less time to do the same amount of work sounds stressful, too. </p>
<p>Where I live, the economy’s really picking up. Maybe you could use the extra time to look for a better job? But overall, I’ve no words of wisdom - just sympathy! Hope things work out well, and good luck with school.</p>
<p>OP here…by reading everyone’s posts, it’s obvious the furlough/sequester is wide spread. And yes it sucks for most people. I’m lucky and happy to still be employed but going to a 4 day work week and a 20% pay cut will have us stretched. I’m still not sure how bad it will be but again, I’m happy to get any money.</p>
<p>Katliamom- thanks for the good luck wishes. I haven’t taken a college course in over 20 years, so I think I’m more stressed over school. The online school is Colorado State University Global Campus, so I’m hoping for good things. I’m hoping I can practice what I preach to my kids!</p>
<p>If I do get some spare time out of this, I think I might also try to do some massive spring cleaning.</p>
<p>It would be much nicer if the furloughs occurred over the summer. 
Too bad these things always seem to happen in the dead of winter.</p>
<p>My H is a federal employee and is also facing furlough. At this point, we are trying not to get too nervous about it and will see what the next month or two brings. Fortunately, though the temptation to buy a bigger house in a more upscale neighborhood was very strong at times over the years, we resisted and remain in our ‘starter’ home that we bought almost 20 years ago. This has certainly kept our housing expenses low, a saving grace! I was also laid off from my long-time job 2 years ago and though I found a new job in just a couple of months, I did take a significant pay cut. Times have been tough all around, no doubt at it.</p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE
As a number of posters cannot resist discussion of the “macro” issues, which inevitably brings up politics, this thread is now closed.</p>
<p>Chedva
Moderator</p>