I was in the same boat not long ago, not an engineer but with a grad degree in Psychology. Age is a factor in today's tight employment market, I now work as a legal/medical interpreter and flip odd watches on Ebay.As mention above turn a hobby and a natural talent in your favor. Good luck and do not panic .

Edited August 4, 201212 yr by 72 OJ

I made a post not to long ago Toyota and NISSAN are looking for 100s of engineer's in Michigan.

It has been 10 years since working a 7 to 330 job for me. But Thursday i started with a real construction co.

We are plastering old walls in large building in troy. Two days of hard work lucky i have the weekend to re cooperate.

I am used to working for myself contracting drywall jobs with lots of time off in between jobs.

My company went out of business in September of '11. I started work at my new company last week. Yes, I was out of work for 11 months, but I loved every minute of the time. I was financially comfortable for the period (my wife carried most of the load) and our life style wasn't impacted too much (luckily there weren't any medical issues during that time). I started each day going through my careerbuilder/monster/ladders alerts and going through the websites of companies that I identified that I wanted to work. My patience payed off as I got a position with one of the companies I identified making the exact salary I was making with my past employer.

I like too look at the experience not as being out of work for 11 months, but as 325 Saturdays.

Enjoy and good luck.

Wow guys! Thanks for all the advice and support.

I really can't relocate, as my wife has a small business here. Moving would mean her starting-over... __ Getting another engineering job in the SF area is going to be a challenge, but there are other options. I've been a project manager several times in my career, (though I'm not certified), I can look for opportunities in that arena. __ I also worked several years as a quality engineer. __ This coming week I plan to update my CV and linked-in page. __ I am a pretty self-motivated guy, so I may even consider changing careers. Need to look at the market and make some decisions.

As was pointed-out, there are "interim" job strategies... __ I know one engineer who became a "cash basis" handyman. __ Sailboat repair is another possible interim opportunity. __ I grew-up working in my father's boat shop and have the skills.

Though it's been many years, I've been through this before. __ One just has to maintain a positive attitude and be dilligent in the job search. __ Eventually, I'll find a good job.

I really appreciate all your comments. __ And I do plan to take advantage of having some free time!

I am really impressed with all the supportive comments and empathy articulated in this thread!

Best wishes Chris

How's the job search going? Did you check out the book I suggested?

Maybe a Datsun is engineering project enough.

I've had one phone interview and have my first on-site interview this week. It's very competitive out there. Lots of engineers vying to land the same jobs. I'm fully prepared to be unemployed till Spring, but hope to have a new job before New Years. We'll see how it goes...

Besides tinkering on the Z and doing work on the homestaed, I'm using the time to improve my CAD skills. I have some skill using Pro Engineer, but less than one year experience using SolidWorks. SolidWorks is now the dominant CAD tool, so I purchased a copy of SoildWorksW 2012 and am spending a couples hours each day getting more familiar with it. For now, I stilll prefer the look & feel of Pro/E, but SW is a very capable package. I figure if I don't find a job, I might be able to do free-lance CAD work on a part-time basis.

So far, it's all good!

As a business owner, I can tell you that many of us are trying hard to do without hiring big ticket employees such as yourself till after the election. The last 4 years have been very tough on us and if we get 4 more of the same (even worse) with this guy, there won’t be any new jobs to be had for seasoned guys like you. I’m not trying to get political, just stating the facts as I witnessed them, sky rocketing overhead is killing us.

Julio,

How far would this address be from your home?

Fresenius Medical Care North America

2637 Shadelands Drive

Walnut Creek, CA 94598

We have a manufacturing plant at this address and they manufacture dialysis machines. I know they must have engineers on site.

Check out this link. Let me know if any of the postiions are of interest to you. I know the folks that work in that plant and would be happy to forward your resume to one of them.

http://fmsjobs.fmcna.com/walnut-creek-jobs/job-list-1

My wife just lost her accounting job after 21 years with the same company. This economy is really bad and I hope voters wake up in November and remove Obama.

Got a job at a small medical device place and start next week! Goood salary and benefits. Not the most pleasant commute, but I'll get used to it.. It's a an exciting, brave new world!

Congratulations!!

If it's a good paycheck... kudos.

If it's in your field of expertise?.... double kudos.

If it provides a secure parking lot??? and you can drive your Z????..... Nirvana!!!

Good for you!

E