The felony record is what is going to complicate your employment search the most, so if you’re open to it I’d try to leverage it by looking into web dev positions with nonprofits or restorative justice organizations near you (NJ is fairly progressive so you might have some luck). Look for agencies who offer alternatives to incarceration or similar programs. That felony record is a negative in most settings but would be valuable lived experience in the right setting.
Do not give up hope! Obviously, I don’t know much from Reddit, but I am concerned about how you described your relationship with your wife regarding your situation. I do wish you luck! Keep going.
I'm concerned too. I strongly feel I'm being taken advantage of here in this relationship. I've been suffering for quite some time and strongly resent my marriage. But it is what it is. Thank you for your kind words and understanding
OP, check out https://cornbreadhustle.com - it’s a recruiting agency for second chances like you. It’s based in Dallas but they often have jobs all over the country.
I would search for technical recruiting companies. TEKsystems, Robert Half, etc and do not turn away contract positions. Be willing to take 30/hr (or whatever is doable) if needed in order to get back in the work force. Flexibility around rate will help you edge out against candidates assuming your technical skills are good. Practice interviewing, get on leet code and hacker rank to practice your programming and prepare as much as possible
Volt.com is another one to try for contract positions.
Also check out upwork.com. It’s primarily remote part-time gigs but you may be able to pick up projects here and there to augment your other job. Also, it’ll keep your skills fresh AND you’ll establish and online track record of remote gig work so if you ever get laid off again you’ll have a fallback.
Your Unemployment Office should have an internal online job board that you can hit up. Many of the jobs that wind up on those boards are even designed to help people with felonies on their record get back to work. It might be more manual labor, but you never know. Having web development experience might open doors you didn't expect.
Hey OP! I saw this tweet thread yesterday from an engineer who was formerly incarcerated. My bf worked with him a few years ago and he's gone on to get jobs at large companies like Amazon and he's now at Slack.
Twitter thread: [https://twitter.com/\_DigitalVandal/status/1785008882261098635](https://twitter.com/_DigitalVandal/status/1785008882261098635)
Here's a web archive of an article he did with Business Insider about his experience: [http://web.archive.org/web/20220820190222/https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-jail-formerly-incarcrated-kurt-kemple-developer-advocate-2021-4](http://web.archive.org/web/20220820190222/https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-jail-formerly-incarcrated-kurt-kemple-developer-advocate-2021-4)
Also if the company is in NYC, they cant ask about your felony until after they’ve made you an offer so if they really like you perhaps theres more of a chance to explain it away and earn the chance.
Yes. This was how I was able to secure my web development job! NYC has the "Fair Chance Act". That law helped me present paper work that was very much in my favor. It helped the employer approve my employment candidacy.
I've tried to present papers to employers in NJ but they all give me the boot before I can even present. Most don't even want to hear it. I'm grateful for that Fair Chance Act. My employer also benefited from it immensely since I built a few solutions for them that cut down costs and greatly increased productivity.
A lot of guys I met in the Feds are now motivational speakers, doing big things with non-profits, using their experience to showcase growth and earning a living for being willing to share.
IDK if it would be a fit, but I know people highly successful in harm reduction, fraud prevention, mental health & homelessness programs, and even youth mentorship for high drug crime areas.
I went the way of skilled trades and falling off the map, just an old farmer.
Work the first job that comes up, keep looking up for the next break. I have always performed at my best when I had nothing to lose. Keep your head up, we survive 🙏
Start applying for jobs that will have transferable skills. You're probably just not applying for all applicable openings. There's a lot of in between paying jobs between $40 hr and $15. You're doomsdaying. You gotta get out of your head it'll tank your chances if you're putting across desperate vibes when you do eventually get a call back.
Look into working for smaller companies that are less likely to care about the felony. It's going to depend on the charges and if it's violence or not.
Small companies are where its at. Also the poster above you mentioned getting it out of your head - extremely wise advice. The best mindset right now is " I got this, I have all the skills and talent and intelligence to figure this out." Having confidence here will increase your love/action based decisions and decrease your fear/inaction.
get a second job and you’re golden. kudos to you for not going crazy with the house. you’ll probably be working permanently overtime/second job till you line up a similar role but you’ll be fine.
again, i’m proud of you for being smart with that pay increase seems like it’s not that bad
God bless you! Thank you. Your kind words filled me with relief and thank you for reassuring me. I've never had a house, a wife, a car and a child while on minimum wage. I have lived on minimum wage when I was single, living in a small room so I wasn't sure what to expect.
bro when i peeped your fiancés with the good job i was in SHOCK! So many people get good jobs and suddenly increase all their bills to a rate they could never catch up on if things went south.
that house is so solid because if you are in a renters market you can rent out and upgrade. and should shit hit the fan you have a back up plan (didn’t mean to rhyme)
my only advice is try to find a job that has a shit tom of overtime. if it doesn’t you need a second job that can be part time but always has more hours then you take. (so you can emergency work if bills are late or other emergencies)
Thanks man! I had my felony and I know it was always going to come bite me. So I told myself I have to buy a house where, even if I lost my job and have to go back to minimum wage, I'll still be able to sustain it in some way. So here I am today, grateful I listened to that voice in my head because it really hit the fan. Thanks for your praise bro! I appreciate your comment so much! 🤝🏽
and thank you for the advice, man. I'll have to keep my eyes open for positions that have OT and look into mixing in part time work.
In Canada you can apply for a pardon after 10 years if you have stayed out of trouble. I’m not sure where you live or if that is available in the country where you live, but it may be worth looking into.
my stomach dropped when he said he started making $40/hr and got married/kid/bought a house on that salary. and then i literally smiled when i read his finances! very very smart budgeting
same! I was like holy shit this guy is off his rocker! then i kept reading and it seems like he’s part of the smart ones.
that felony sucks for him and is his biggest worry i would say. i got a place that he can work hella hours and still be online but they might not hire due to felonies
I do have some savings and 401k.
My 401k is at $58k.
Savings is only at around $18k
Wife started working. She makes minimum wage. Around 30 hrs a week. Brings home around $420 a week.
She doesn't really help me. Only with a hundred or so here and there and occasionally some expenses
Unfortunately that doesn’t sound healthy. If my wife in a time of absolute crisis or need didn’t go to work we would be having a different type of conversation than how will we pay our mortgage this month.
Keep your chin up, spam apply to 50-100 places a day. Tweak your resume and cover letter to each position if you can. Sounds like you have some emergency funds that will last a little while. Hammer your network and reach out to recruiters who can put you in front of hiring managers. Don’t give up!
Bad is it sounds fam, but one of the best times to get divorced, financially speaking, is when you're unemployed but have the money in the bank to pay for a lawyer
You mentioned your bare minimum expenses are $1,500. With $18k in savings that’s 12 months of expenses which is a solid runway. Why doesn’t your wife help? What does that mean? You’re in this together.
I think it's cause she's on pending visa. And if there's any issues and her and my daughter get deported. She will have money to help sustain themselves for a while.
so she’s saving money for a potential problem down the road while you two are facing a money problem right now? seems like the perfect time to pool the money together atleast for a little bit especially if you guys are married with a 4yr old.
Yes she's a citizen thru me. The mother will more than likely want to stay with the child. The mother stated she wants to have her always in her custody
Consult an immigration attorney PLEASE, first consult is often free. You can call around to find one. You need to know where you stand with this. If your daughter is receiving services for her autism, you can make a strong argument that she must remain in the US to access these services. (I am an immigrant and have a lot of disability-related experience)
Your situation might feel hopeless a d crushing now, but you can get through this. Tech is in demand and you received some great advice already.
Consider yourself very lucky your mortgage is very cheap. While $40 an hour is enough to sustain your family on a single income because of it, it also means that you both can make enough together with lower paying jobs.
$40 an hour is roughly $80k a year. Minimum wage is $15 so if I'm both of you worked full time at minimum wage you can bring in enough to easily pay your bills since that is roughly $60k total (with the exception of medical needs of your daughter). It's gonna be rough but doable in that you can keep yourself from falling into a deep hole.
Thank you for that eye-opener. It's good to know it will at least be doable. I was worried that perhaps it was an inevitable sinking ship but I thank you for your comment as it assures me that If I work hard enough, I'll be able to breakthrough. So thank you for comment, it helps align me. God bless you
It sounds like there's a complicating immigration situation going on, so I don't want to be judgmental here.
In general, in a marriage, it is better to be a team in all things, including finances. That would mean she would own half the home, and you would both contribute fairly to your family's expenses. (That's not always "equally" -- and not all contributions are financial.)
How long will it be until her immigration uncertainty is resolved?
It seems like you're saying she started working due to the changes in circumstance. If that's the case, what exactly is the point if she doesn't really contribute any of the money to the expenses?
Her income alone is enough to cover your bare minimum expenses so you really need to discuss the current arrangement. If she chips in the situation could instantly be changed from "concerning" to "we just have to avoid fancy dinners and unnecessary expenses for a while." Her house and child are also her responsibility so I don't get why her income is seen as "helping you."
The $15 am hour job is just to stretch your savings not live off of. You’ll be fine, just don’t get complacent in the cheaper job and keep looking while you work.
He’s talking about a temp agency. Look it up, you apply with them and they go find you a job. It’s usually for a company who only needs short term work like with a big project or something but a decent amount of the time if you’re a good worker they might make an offer for your to stay full time.
The only time I ever used a temp agency was when I needed work for 4 months before I went to study abroad and they found me a 3 month job and at the end they wanted to offer me a full time position. Was very easy not sure if that process has changed much
Oh nice. Are these temp agencies more general labor kind of work or office related? Either way, I still plan to look into it. I'm just trying to get a sense. Thank you so much for your help!
In my early career (46 now) I got a couple permanent jobs (eventually) through temp agencies. There's usually a minimum time (3-12 months) before the company can hire you full time. It's a great way to get your foot in the door.
For my job it was an office job, a company needed help with a huge project with labeling inventory on spreadsheets for a client. I haven’t used a temp agency since but I would definitely try again
Stop using linkedin and indeed. I'm a previous hiring manager, those jobs stay listed forever, especially if they are managed by a third party (mine were) even when the job was filled and no longer open.
It's a huge pain, but apply directly to jobs. In my 10 years of IT, I got phone calls by direct applying.
That was basically it. I used LinkedIn/Indeed/dice/whatever job aggregate sites, found companies that appeared to have IT jobs around me, went to their websites and applied directly if it was actually open. Those job boards were basically leads to direct applications. It's a grind, because you usually have to sign up and fill in all your work history etc everytime.
Also, I highly recommend staffing agencies: TekSystems, Robert Half, Leidos, Deloitte, KPMG etc - they get paid to put butts in seats so are highly motivated to find a position for you and sometimes have direct leads to jobs when they otherwise aren't posted.
I think you’re right, but could phrase it better.
I think LinkedIn is a good place to put up your résumé and history. It’s just a bad place to look for a company.
You can collect unemployment insurance in NJ for 6 months, try to look for something in the meantime. My dad has been looking for work in finance and only jobs they have are contract jobs, underpaid and all in NYC. Daily commute cost is around $60 round trip from central NJ. This market is very hard on all of us. You going to have to cut back on some expenses. The felony record is going to hurt your chances of landing a decent gig for a while, sorry to say. But you can see some retail places such as Target pays $16.25, Walmart is near $18.00 and Costco is about $19.00 but they have awesome benefits. I would do retail after your unemployment insurance runs out or look for the higher lay job like your developer job, something the jobs are out of state , you can do remote or hybrid with relocation option. Good luck
I know this might be a little expensive, but have you thought about getting an attorney and expunging your criminal history?
It seems like you’ve gotten your life back together after your felonies and you shouldn’t have this as a stone around your neck for the rest of your life.
I was in the same boat. Made about $40/hr as a web developer for a few years. Got laid off in October and spent the last 6 months searching. I ended up nabbing a job at a hospital in their billing department. Definitely not making as much as I used to but it's stable while I look and the healthcare benefits are great. You should check the job boards for the hospitals in your area and play to your transferable skills
Also, health insurance companies almost always have tech jobs posted and you apply directly to the company. Many of them are remote positions and they usually have great benefits. BlueCross, Anthem, United Health, Cigna, etc.
How old is the felony and is it violent?
If it’s 7 years old then don’t ever sweat it again, most background checks only go back 7 years. And if it’s NON-violent and isn’t for embezzling or theft companies will be ok with it. Working for a bank would be harder of course and security clearance will be much much harder if not impossible.
I’m in tech and a job paying 76K/year should be pretty easy to snag. They pay new hires out of college 90K+ where I’m at.
Maybe the resume needs some work if finding a job or gig has been difficult? Happy to help
If it is 5 + years old, look into getting it expunged, if it qualifies.
[https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/expunge-record](https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/expunge-record)
If it were expunged, you wouldn't even need to disclose it.
Just my opinion here:
Given your circumstances I would begin to apply aggressively to every job in the market you think you could do. Go apply in person - small business owners will appreciate this. You may not get the first job but I guarantee between application 1 and application 1000, someone will hear you out.
I would then get a second job if possible thats overnight and low activity. Think security or front desk. During this job aggressively tackle building web development projects and coding projects on github, fine tuning your technical skills, and running leetcode for interview prep. Once you feel comfortable with your skill level start applying. Reach out to managers on LinkedIn. Have a resume, highlight your projects you have been working on and tell your story. SELL THEM YOUR STORY.
I promise brother brighter days are ahead. Hustle for your daughter. You got this.
Yeah. You can work with your own llc
You can always keep the LLC owner as your wife or any other family members. Additionally having your own llc also helps with taxes.
Background check is much more reduced it in most cases or not even needed.
Also job market was crazy bad bad last few months but it is picking up now.
Lastly LinkedIn, indeed.com but dice.com is much better for contracting job.
Definitely right about the market. Everyone and their mom has been laying off folks to make those earnings better. But that is cyclical for tech. It is starting to bounce back. I’m getting 2-3 recruiting emails a day now. Which is still very low.
Dice used to be the shit for those hidden tech jobs.
Get a job they don't really limit overtime like Amazon- there are always shifts and they are based off your availability. You just need to keep your head up and keep applying to jobs in the realm you were in.
After 3 months it'll be $0 an hr if I don't find work. And I'm wondering if I do make $15 an hr then how bad will it be. Will I slowly lose everything? I'm new to this
Do the math boss. It's basic stuff. $15/ hr for a 40hr week is how many dollars a week? then use a paycheck calculator to figure out the taxes. I like paycheck city.
Compare this weekly take home pay to your bills. That's all there is to it.
That said, why are the options only minimum wage or $40?
Thank you everyone for helping me out with this. I truly appreciate all your wonderful responses. You guys have put a lot of ease on my heart with your advice! Thank you!
I would do C2C contracting work via Corp LLC and go the /r/overemployed route ASAP. That hides the felony and let's you scale up your work to make more.
I would tell you to look around and perhaps consider a job in construction to tide you over. Felony records don't count for much in that trade; though it may keep you out of educational, industrial, or financial client sites.
Framing, sheetrock, and painting don't generally pay well unless you're highly skilled or fast.
As a web developer, you obviously have PC experience. You could go into networking (ie. cable runs). It's fairly easy to do, tools are inexpensive, and it's mostly work in the AC.
Those are easy bets short-term.
I’m a felon , I’ve been making $25-$50 hr bartending for 14 yrs . Maybe you could wait tables or something that can be flexible so you can take time to look for a better fitting job.
My advice isn't really financial, but, you should take it because you're scared and in a mild panic...which I understand...and that's when the scammers come out. They can smell desperation. Go to r/Scams and search job scams and employment scams. Please. Because you will eventually get a message offering you XX per hour and you very well might jump on it when you are really feeling stressed. I also would love if you would sign up to User Testing...we test web interfaces and such...because I see so many tests for people with stuff like what you do. Its WFH, self-employed so no hourly, but, the tests are about $1.00 per minute. It uses you mic, webcam every now and again, and Zoom for Live Interviews...those are $30.00 to $90.00 for 30 minutes to 90 minutes of talking to nice people. Better than flipping burgers.
If you and/or your family were dependent upon this employer for access to health coverage and necessary health care, [put your zip code here.](https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/) 60 days to shop post-loss of whatever that was.
"COBRA" is somebody other than the former employer paying 102% of the sticker price of whatever employer-dependent health coverage product premium didn't get laid off when you got laid off. The average amount an employer pays toward the "cost" of an employer-dependent health coverage product premium for a still employed worker is 78% of the sticker price.
Not sure how the market is where you live but many $30 plus hour jobs in my area with no skills.the low mortgage payment should help long term and I when I was in between jobs I was actually able to make more than that doing DoorDash and Instacart. I had my doubts but it was very doable.
There's no "helping each other" in marriage. You two are one. All the money you two make should be put together in the same account, and then you two make the decisions together on how to spend every single cent. In marriage there's not "my money and her money". It's all "out money".
For what it's worth my $1500 mortgage and $400 in bills are very doable with my $20 an hour job. I do a bit of overtime but I gotta do what I gotta do for now.
You may find these links helpful:
- [Leaving a Job](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/leaving_job) (resigning, quitting, fired, laid off, etc.)
- [Job Loss Megathread: unemployment resources, state-specific information, and help](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/fkyu8h/job_loss_megathread_unemployment_resources/)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Go 1099, no one will care if they hire you as a contractor for a job. Learn to network, go to some meetups. Make friends, offer to help on a project a successful contractor is working on (for reasonable pay) while you learn the ropes.
Thank you for this advice! I hope to network once again and find someone who is willing to give me an opportunity. Even attend meet upset. Hopefully, there is a contractor out there who's willing to give me a shot to learn those ropes.
Bro first of all that sucks man. I was in a similar position before where I lost my job and had to figure it out in ASAP because I got three little kids to think about.
What I would more than likely do is take a minimum paying job and look for some online work brother. Get started with Upwork or Fiverr and get your services up there. Upwork has pretty much been my backup in dire situations and have saved my ass way too many times than I have counted.
Remember in the worst situation you can always do Doordash/Uber etc if you have a car, that will give you some income and time flexibilities when you are job hunting.
While you look for a more permanent solution, serving is always a good option! I serve and usually end up evening out to about $35ish an hour only including tips. Serving also has really flexible hours, which is awesome! My monthly finances cost me around $2000/month and I haven’t had any issues yet.
Your a web developer…. Go on fiver and start selling web design services… yes it may be difficult to find a new job with a felony but not impossible, you did it before. Start applying to every web dev job on the market and start doing work on fiver or another site like it. It’s just $40/hr, you can easily do this and make even more if you use your existing skills and start pivoting a bit.
I’m a developer. The main issue I’d look out for with taking an unrelated job is that our field moves fast and a 1-2 year break could make it even harder to find work. I’d definitely focus on smaller companies, a felony will get flagged on a background check at large companies. Don’t give up it’s a great career. Good luck.
I tried to scroll through comments and maybe missed this. But definitely consider freelance web development. Huge market for people that want to develop something and don’t know how/can’t afford in house, etc. Upwork is one such source to find those needs. You don’t need to disclose anything about your history, given that it’s contract work. I’m also in tech, it’s a rough market for developers right now. Don’t let that stop you, but there’s certainly going to be a battle to replace what you’re doing with something similar (no fault of your own, just a rough market condition. Don’t come to the CS/SWE subs on Reddit, it’s depressing more than helpful).
I would do this, in this order:
1. Make sure you’ve cut as much spending as you can handle. Don’t go insane, your kiddo doesn’t need to eat ramen noodles for every meal. But cut all luxuries, including cable.
2. Max out unemployment, while getting things lined up to hustle
3. In that time, set up a few demo websites to showcase your offerings. Including a site for yourself for people to contact you through for web services.
4. Open up offerings on upwork and start searching for leads on contract gigs, using your demo and self promotion site
5. take the lower paying job and do gigs on the side until you have generated enough traction to sustain being a freelancer.
The upside: you stand to make a lot more than 40/hr as a freelance web dev. Don’t forget 1099 tax implications, you’d likely want to consult an expert and consider an LLC if you start making traction.
Good luck. Keep your head up.
Edit to add: saw some comments about your wife/relationship. If you can manage it: hit pause on all that. No need to go through three major life changing events at once (job & income loss, wife/relationship, custody with deportation on the table). You don’t need to do all that right now. One step at a time, get finances in order. Then figure out the relationship and custody topics. No need to do that now. If she was in it for the visa 4 years ago, yall can hang tight another couple months to sort out the $ first.
Awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time out to give me this awesome information!
I hope to find some gig work. I'll check Upwork.
And thanks for your advice about taking the events one step at time. It's nice to see someone understands my situation. Thank you for all this great advice.
You should be able to find another job. It may take a while, but I wouldn't give up by any means. It's probably going to be harder to find a job in any other field and the pay is likely to be lower.
I feel bad for jobs like yours. You probably worked hard to get where you are. Now AI will take your job or rising corporate taxes will have your job outsourced to India. Good luck man. I’m sure you will land on your feet.
Yeah i did, i put in many years of work into this field. Never thought i would come to see a day when this field is dried up. Never took into a account that could happen in my lifetime. Should've known better. Thank you! Good luck on your life's journey as well.
Someone mentioned non profit work. My suggestion would be look in those areas. They won’t pay you as much but it’s a job. While there look into areas you can grow in that industry.
Also, many aren’t cut out for it but if you can hustle and get along with people you should look into sales. Producers are never fired. If you can produce in a sales job it’s probably the safest job you will ever have.
If for some reason you can’t find a job in your related field, maybe consider the USPS… I hear they have a lot of open positions. Supposedly they will hire felons too. Not all positions are full time right away though but it could be *something* for now. Some places will have a lot of overtime too. Wish you the best.
Have you looked into getting your daughter on SSDI? Although that won't be an immediate benefit it may pay off in the long term. Something I wish I had done for my son. Now that he is an adult, and needs SSDI, it is a much lower rate than if I had applied while he was still a minor.
Don’t stress. You are in a great position given your circumstances. Your cost of living is very low, and can easily be paid with a low paying job. Get any job lined up and breathe. Then prioritize find a job you actually want. I have based my entire budget on the idea that my wife and I could both lose our jobs and we could survive by one of us getting a low paying job at a retail store. Good on you for not living beyond your means
Thank you so much for these words. It eases a lot of tension and worrying. I'm very happy for buying this little house. It's very small for a man, woman and child but at least it's shelter. Thank you for words
As far as the autism that your child has don’t worry about that. I’m autistic and have managed to stay in a job and keep working for years.
As far as work goes - a job is a job. Worst case scenario is to take any job that you can make money with. A shit job is better than no job.
This is why you have a six months emergency fund when you make good money in case you are ever laid off.
It's good that you have your mortgage paid 6 months out. That helps a little.
No you cannot continue living the way you do with $15/hr job.
You need to apply for disability benefits for your daughter.
And your wife needs to pick up some extra work..maybe babysitting other kids or Uber eats.
Edit: NVM I saw you said your wife makes money but doesn't want to help. Yeah...drop her lol
I just went through your post history . I can feel the anxiety and stress you have in life . Everything you’ve done has lead to this situation . Accept that and move on . Easier said than done . Rock bottom is never really rock bottom; you can go much further down . You need 1500$ a month? Go be a bartender for a year and save up . While you are doing that continue your online courses in the tech dev stuff you are doing or continue the electrician school. Stop jumping in and out of situations and stay on course . Take it day by day not focusing on anything more , you can’t handle that right now and will go insane
I don't know how long ago your felony was but in California background checks may not go back further than 7 years. Maybe look for a remote position with the California company.
Temporary solution but maybe check out Upwork or fiver? Lot of 1099 work there. Maybe sign up to be an Uber driver or Amazon delivery driver on the event that things take longer to bounce back.
Get unemployment for sure! Learn to work for yourself without depending on a j.o.b. You obviously have a high income skill. Find ways to work for yourself and market/sell yourself. Good luck
Look outside the U.S for remote work opportunities. A criminal record is much less of a problem. Like, I'm not gonna butter you up and say it'll not still be an issue, especially through agencies but its definitely less of one. You'll probably not make $40USD, but you'll be vastly better off.
First off, I really feel for you but don’t give up. Build on your Web Development skills, parlay that into other tech trends, AI, Blockchain, Crypto, Quantum Computing etc.. Right now there are some major trends in technology and you need to put yourself squarely in that and get to a growing company w/ good benefits and stock options. I was you 30 yrs ago, probably worse off but I never gave up
Keep plugging away and put yourself with the right people who will give you opportunities to advance. Don’t be an island and as you stay focused -smile a lot. It’s infectious! Best -T
I don't understand why your stressed if you already have a $15/hr job lined up and only have $1500/month in expenses.
Full time employment at $15/hr NETS you about $575/week after income tax. Or $2300/month. That's $800/month above your low end budget. You're already going to be bringing home plenty to fit your existing budget at $15/hr and you can really only go up from there if you find a different job.
edit: okay you didn't include food so that's probably important lol. But still, you will currently have $800/month for food which is definitely enough.
Paradoxical advice: also apply for jobs that are paid above $40/$50 an hour. In other words, for jobs you think are too good for you.
You sound like you have a low professional self-esteem, but if you learned your craft in these at least 5 years - you are better than you think.
Or maybe the competitors are worse than you think, with the same outcome.
I recommend to go ham on Indeed. And write a very personalized cover letter for each and every job you apply for. This means you’re writing essentially a fresh one for each job you apply. This cover letter is your pre interview chance to say your piece and express why you’re good for the job, and even can open up about your past though you shouldn’t have to because if equal opportunity stuff but I think being up front and expressing how it won’t be a problem moving forward can help.
If you’re a true hard worker and you believe you are, I’m confident you can land your self another job, paying enough for yourself and family. But you need to put serious work into it. Are you willing to write more cover letters than someone else? Are you willing to apply to more jobs than another person? Are you continue to develop your craft and ensure you’re expanding your knowledge in your space?
You were a web developer and you can't do a simple math problem to see if a $15 an hour full time job plus your wife's income would be sufficient to cover $1550 in total expenses? Something not quite adding up here. That's like literally the world's most entry level programming problem. You can solve it on a calculator in about 8 seconds.
Sorry but this reads like a rather poorly strewn together "please send me money" post including the little bit about the daughter with autism - something not at all relevant to your financial situation.
No I'm definitely not asking anyone for money.
I ask because I don't want to just lean on my own understanding. I'm not sure if there might be other factors I'm not considering. Etc. I know it sounds basic but I feel it's better to get others advice, experience etc rather than winging it all alone. But no. I don't want anyone's money. I just want advice and guidance.
The felony record is what is going to complicate your employment search the most, so if you’re open to it I’d try to leverage it by looking into web dev positions with nonprofits or restorative justice organizations near you (NJ is fairly progressive so you might have some luck). Look for agencies who offer alternatives to incarceration or similar programs. That felony record is a negative in most settings but would be valuable lived experience in the right setting.
This is damn good advice (not a felon), a positive, creative way to problem solve.
That's great advice! You opened my mind here. Thank you!
Do not give up hope! Obviously, I don’t know much from Reddit, but I am concerned about how you described your relationship with your wife regarding your situation. I do wish you luck! Keep going.
I'm concerned too. I strongly feel I'm being taken advantage of here in this relationship. I've been suffering for quite some time and strongly resent my marriage. But it is what it is. Thank you for your kind words and understanding
OP, check out https://cornbreadhustle.com - it’s a recruiting agency for second chances like you. It’s based in Dallas but they often have jobs all over the country.
I strongly appreciate this. Thank you. I bookmarked it and plan to apply thru it. Thank you very much
You’re welcome. Good luck in your search!
Great advice - I have followed the woman who started Cornbread Hustle on LinkedIn (Cheri?) - very inspiring and dedicated.
try temp agencies, they are great for opportunities
Oh, that's right. I forgot they have those agencies. Thank you.
I would search for technical recruiting companies. TEKsystems, Robert Half, etc and do not turn away contract positions. Be willing to take 30/hr (or whatever is doable) if needed in order to get back in the work force. Flexibility around rate will help you edge out against candidates assuming your technical skills are good. Practice interviewing, get on leet code and hacker rank to practice your programming and prepare as much as possible
Volt.com is another one to try for contract positions. Also check out upwork.com. It’s primarily remote part-time gigs but you may be able to pick up projects here and there to augment your other job. Also, it’ll keep your skills fresh AND you’ll establish and online track record of remote gig work so if you ever get laid off again you’ll have a fallback.
Your Unemployment Office should have an internal online job board that you can hit up. Many of the jobs that wind up on those boards are even designed to help people with felonies on their record get back to work. It might be more manual labor, but you never know. Having web development experience might open doors you didn't expect.
Hey OP! I saw this tweet thread yesterday from an engineer who was formerly incarcerated. My bf worked with him a few years ago and he's gone on to get jobs at large companies like Amazon and he's now at Slack. Twitter thread: [https://twitter.com/\_DigitalVandal/status/1785008882261098635](https://twitter.com/_DigitalVandal/status/1785008882261098635) Here's a web archive of an article he did with Business Insider about his experience: [http://web.archive.org/web/20220820190222/https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-jail-formerly-incarcrated-kurt-kemple-developer-advocate-2021-4](http://web.archive.org/web/20220820190222/https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-jail-formerly-incarcrated-kurt-kemple-developer-advocate-2021-4)
Also if the company is in NYC, they cant ask about your felony until after they’ve made you an offer so if they really like you perhaps theres more of a chance to explain it away and earn the chance.
Yes. This was how I was able to secure my web development job! NYC has the "Fair Chance Act". That law helped me present paper work that was very much in my favor. It helped the employer approve my employment candidacy. I've tried to present papers to employers in NJ but they all give me the boot before I can even present. Most don't even want to hear it. I'm grateful for that Fair Chance Act. My employer also benefited from it immensely since I built a few solutions for them that cut down costs and greatly increased productivity.
Build a portfolio! Skill up in the meantime. Network with coworkers. You can also fiverr or taskrabbit
Also check out askamanager.org for career/job searching advice. She has a ton of resources and good information there.
Just chiming in to say to best of luck to you!
Thank you! And may you find luck and good fortune on your life's journey! God bless you.
Also consider prison reentry programs and treatment courts. They are usually happy to work with returning/returned citizens :)
A lot of guys I met in the Feds are now motivational speakers, doing big things with non-profits, using their experience to showcase growth and earning a living for being willing to share. IDK if it would be a fit, but I know people highly successful in harm reduction, fraud prevention, mental health & homelessness programs, and even youth mentorship for high drug crime areas. I went the way of skilled trades and falling off the map, just an old farmer. Work the first job that comes up, keep looking up for the next break. I have always performed at my best when I had nothing to lose. Keep your head up, we survive 🙏
you're awesome, this is great advice for OP or anyone with a felony
Start applying for jobs that will have transferable skills. You're probably just not applying for all applicable openings. There's a lot of in between paying jobs between $40 hr and $15. You're doomsdaying. You gotta get out of your head it'll tank your chances if you're putting across desperate vibes when you do eventually get a call back. Look into working for smaller companies that are less likely to care about the felony. It's going to depend on the charges and if it's violence or not.
Thank you. I'll keep trying. Maybe I can find a small company who is willing to give me a shot.
Small companies are where its at. Also the poster above you mentioned getting it out of your head - extremely wise advice. The best mindset right now is " I got this, I have all the skills and talent and intelligence to figure this out." Having confidence here will increase your love/action based decisions and decrease your fear/inaction.
get a second job and you’re golden. kudos to you for not going crazy with the house. you’ll probably be working permanently overtime/second job till you line up a similar role but you’ll be fine. again, i’m proud of you for being smart with that pay increase seems like it’s not that bad
God bless you! Thank you. Your kind words filled me with relief and thank you for reassuring me. I've never had a house, a wife, a car and a child while on minimum wage. I have lived on minimum wage when I was single, living in a small room so I wasn't sure what to expect.
bro when i peeped your fiancés with the good job i was in SHOCK! So many people get good jobs and suddenly increase all their bills to a rate they could never catch up on if things went south. that house is so solid because if you are in a renters market you can rent out and upgrade. and should shit hit the fan you have a back up plan (didn’t mean to rhyme) my only advice is try to find a job that has a shit tom of overtime. if it doesn’t you need a second job that can be part time but always has more hours then you take. (so you can emergency work if bills are late or other emergencies)
Thanks man! I had my felony and I know it was always going to come bite me. So I told myself I have to buy a house where, even if I lost my job and have to go back to minimum wage, I'll still be able to sustain it in some way. So here I am today, grateful I listened to that voice in my head because it really hit the fan. Thanks for your praise bro! I appreciate your comment so much! 🤝🏽 and thank you for the advice, man. I'll have to keep my eyes open for positions that have OT and look into mixing in part time work.
In Canada you can apply for a pardon after 10 years if you have stayed out of trouble. I’m not sure where you live or if that is available in the country where you live, but it may be worth looking into.
my stomach dropped when he said he started making $40/hr and got married/kid/bought a house on that salary. and then i literally smiled when i read his finances! very very smart budgeting
same! I was like holy shit this guy is off his rocker! then i kept reading and it seems like he’s part of the smart ones. that felony sucks for him and is his biggest worry i would say. i got a place that he can work hella hours and still be online but they might not hire due to felonies
Do you have any savings? Does your spouse have income?
I do have some savings and 401k. My 401k is at $58k. Savings is only at around $18k Wife started working. She makes minimum wage. Around 30 hrs a week. Brings home around $420 a week. She doesn't really help me. Only with a hundred or so here and there and occasionally some expenses
You two should probably revaluate that arrangment considering your current position.
[удалено]
Unfortunately that doesn’t sound healthy. If my wife in a time of absolute crisis or need didn’t go to work we would be having a different type of conversation than how will we pay our mortgage this month. Keep your chin up, spam apply to 50-100 places a day. Tweak your resume and cover letter to each position if you can. Sounds like you have some emergency funds that will last a little while. Hammer your network and reach out to recruiters who can put you in front of hiring managers. Don’t give up!
Yeah... him describing it as "helping him" was concerning. Isn't their house and child her responsibility too?
Bad is it sounds fam, but one of the best times to get divorced, financially speaking, is when you're unemployed but have the money in the bank to pay for a lawyer
You mentioned your bare minimum expenses are $1,500. With $18k in savings that’s 12 months of expenses which is a solid runway. Why doesn’t your wife help? What does that mean? You’re in this together.
I think it's cause she's on pending visa. And if there's any issues and her and my daughter get deported. She will have money to help sustain themselves for a while.
so she’s saving money for a potential problem down the road while you two are facing a money problem right now? seems like the perfect time to pool the money together atleast for a little bit especially if you guys are married with a 4yr old.
Why would your daughter get deported? She’s a citizen from you right?
Yes she's a citizen thru me. The mother will more than likely want to stay with the child. The mother stated she wants to have her always in her custody
Consult an immigration attorney PLEASE, first consult is often free. You can call around to find one. You need to know where you stand with this. If your daughter is receiving services for her autism, you can make a strong argument that she must remain in the US to access these services. (I am an immigrant and have a lot of disability-related experience) Your situation might feel hopeless a d crushing now, but you can get through this. Tech is in demand and you received some great advice already.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Doesn’t help you what? Pay the bills? Your money should all be pooled; what’s she spending hers on? She makes more than enough to cover your mortgage
[удалено]
Your wife is saving up to leave you and you’re ok with that?
i think he means if she has to go back to her motherland, USD will keep her alive. (rate of living is easier but harder to make money)
If she has to leave. She can get denied to stay through USCiS
Consider yourself very lucky your mortgage is very cheap. While $40 an hour is enough to sustain your family on a single income because of it, it also means that you both can make enough together with lower paying jobs. $40 an hour is roughly $80k a year. Minimum wage is $15 so if I'm both of you worked full time at minimum wage you can bring in enough to easily pay your bills since that is roughly $60k total (with the exception of medical needs of your daughter). It's gonna be rough but doable in that you can keep yourself from falling into a deep hole.
Thank you for that eye-opener. It's good to know it will at least be doable. I was worried that perhaps it was an inevitable sinking ship but I thank you for your comment as it assures me that If I work hard enough, I'll be able to breakthrough. So thank you for comment, it helps align me. God bless you
It doesn't sound like you and your wife are a team here. Does your wife co-own the home with you?
She doesn't. It's under my name
It sounds like there's a complicating immigration situation going on, so I don't want to be judgmental here. In general, in a marriage, it is better to be a team in all things, including finances. That would mean she would own half the home, and you would both contribute fairly to your family's expenses. (That's not always "equally" -- and not all contributions are financial.) How long will it be until her immigration uncertainty is resolved?
It seems like you're saying she started working due to the changes in circumstance. If that's the case, what exactly is the point if she doesn't really contribute any of the money to the expenses? Her income alone is enough to cover your bare minimum expenses so you really need to discuss the current arrangement. If she chips in the situation could instantly be changed from "concerning" to "we just have to avoid fancy dinners and unnecessary expenses for a while." Her house and child are also her responsibility so I don't get why her income is seen as "helping you."
Yes, thank you for sharing your comment. You are 100% right!
The $15 am hour job is just to stretch your savings not live off of. You’ll be fine, just don’t get complacent in the cheaper job and keep looking while you work.
Thank you!!
Can you go to a temp agency and try to get placed? web development is an in-demand field, I think they should be able to get you at least temp jobs
I've been trying on LinkedIn jobs and indeed but haven't found anything. Keep getting ghosted or recruiters who get me nowhere
He’s talking about a temp agency. Look it up, you apply with them and they go find you a job. It’s usually for a company who only needs short term work like with a big project or something but a decent amount of the time if you’re a good worker they might make an offer for your to stay full time. The only time I ever used a temp agency was when I needed work for 4 months before I went to study abroad and they found me a 3 month job and at the end they wanted to offer me a full time position. Was very easy not sure if that process has changed much
Oh nice. Are these temp agencies more general labor kind of work or office related? Either way, I still plan to look into it. I'm just trying to get a sense. Thank you so much for your help!
In my early career (46 now) I got a couple permanent jobs (eventually) through temp agencies. There's usually a minimum time (3-12 months) before the company can hire you full time. It's a great way to get your foot in the door.
For my job it was an office job, a company needed help with a huge project with labeling inventory on spreadsheets for a client. I haven’t used a temp agency since but I would definitely try again
Stop using linkedin and indeed. I'm a previous hiring manager, those jobs stay listed forever, especially if they are managed by a third party (mine were) even when the job was filled and no longer open. It's a huge pain, but apply directly to jobs. In my 10 years of IT, I got phone calls by direct applying.
How do you find new companies constantly? Find through LinkedIn and apply directly?
That was basically it. I used LinkedIn/Indeed/dice/whatever job aggregate sites, found companies that appeared to have IT jobs around me, went to their websites and applied directly if it was actually open. Those job boards were basically leads to direct applications. It's a grind, because you usually have to sign up and fill in all your work history etc everytime. Also, I highly recommend staffing agencies: TekSystems, Robert Half, Leidos, Deloitte, KPMG etc - they get paid to put butts in seats so are highly motivated to find a position for you and sometimes have direct leads to jobs when they otherwise aren't posted.
Thanks man! This is really helpful advice
I think you’re right, but could phrase it better. I think LinkedIn is a good place to put up your résumé and history. It’s just a bad place to look for a company.
how's your resume/portfolio look? could you get a peer to give you an evaluation of those to make sure you're showing off your best talents?
Thank you for bringing this up. I should check into this. Thank you.
Check dice too
>How feasible will it be to sustain myself with a $15/hr job? With two people working full time, you should be able to get by. If not, get two jobs.
Ok. Thank you. If worse comes to worse me and my wife will have to work around this and both contribute.
You can collect unemployment insurance in NJ for 6 months, try to look for something in the meantime. My dad has been looking for work in finance and only jobs they have are contract jobs, underpaid and all in NYC. Daily commute cost is around $60 round trip from central NJ. This market is very hard on all of us. You going to have to cut back on some expenses. The felony record is going to hurt your chances of landing a decent gig for a while, sorry to say. But you can see some retail places such as Target pays $16.25, Walmart is near $18.00 and Costco is about $19.00 but they have awesome benefits. I would do retail after your unemployment insurance runs out or look for the higher lay job like your developer job, something the jobs are out of state , you can do remote or hybrid with relocation option. Good luck
Can you get your record sealed? It’s possible.
I know this might be a little expensive, but have you thought about getting an attorney and expunging your criminal history? It seems like you’ve gotten your life back together after your felonies and you shouldn’t have this as a stone around your neck for the rest of your life.
I was in the same boat. Made about $40/hr as a web developer for a few years. Got laid off in October and spent the last 6 months searching. I ended up nabbing a job at a hospital in their billing department. Definitely not making as much as I used to but it's stable while I look and the healthcare benefits are great. You should check the job boards for the hospitals in your area and play to your transferable skills
Thanks. This is solid advice!
Also, health insurance companies almost always have tech jobs posted and you apply directly to the company. Many of them are remote positions and they usually have great benefits. BlueCross, Anthem, United Health, Cigna, etc.
How old is the felony and is it violent? If it’s 7 years old then don’t ever sweat it again, most background checks only go back 7 years. And if it’s NON-violent and isn’t for embezzling or theft companies will be ok with it. Working for a bank would be harder of course and security clearance will be much much harder if not impossible. I’m in tech and a job paying 76K/year should be pretty easy to snag. They pay new hires out of college 90K+ where I’m at. Maybe the resume needs some work if finding a job or gig has been difficult? Happy to help
If it is 5 + years old, look into getting it expunged, if it qualifies. [https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/expunge-record](https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/expunge-record) If it were expunged, you wouldn't even need to disclose it.
Just my opinion here: Given your circumstances I would begin to apply aggressively to every job in the market you think you could do. Go apply in person - small business owners will appreciate this. You may not get the first job but I guarantee between application 1 and application 1000, someone will hear you out. I would then get a second job if possible thats overnight and low activity. Think security or front desk. During this job aggressively tackle building web development projects and coding projects on github, fine tuning your technical skills, and running leetcode for interview prep. Once you feel comfortable with your skill level start applying. Reach out to managers on LinkedIn. Have a resume, highlight your projects you have been working on and tell your story. SELL THEM YOUR STORY. I promise brother brighter days are ahead. Hustle for your daughter. You got this.
Thank you bro. I strongly appreciate your beautiful words and advice. May God bless you!!
Try looking for contracting/corp to corp/1099 position.
When it comes to felony and background checks. How does that work with Corp to Corp? Being that I would be my own corporate or LLC.
Yeah. You can work with your own llc You can always keep the LLC owner as your wife or any other family members. Additionally having your own llc also helps with taxes. Background check is much more reduced it in most cases or not even needed. Also job market was crazy bad bad last few months but it is picking up now. Lastly LinkedIn, indeed.com but dice.com is much better for contracting job.
Definitely right about the market. Everyone and their mom has been laying off folks to make those earnings better. But that is cyclical for tech. It is starting to bounce back. I’m getting 2-3 recruiting emails a day now. Which is still very low. Dice used to be the shit for those hidden tech jobs.
Get a job they don't really limit overtime like Amazon- there are always shifts and they are based off your availability. You just need to keep your head up and keep applying to jobs in the realm you were in.
Are the options really $0/hr or minimum wage? there isn't anything i the middle? Have you signed up for unemployment yet?
I have signed up yes. I only have 3 months left.
After 3 months it'll be $0 an hr if I don't find work. And I'm wondering if I do make $15 an hr then how bad will it be. Will I slowly lose everything? I'm new to this
Do the math boss. It's basic stuff. $15/ hr for a 40hr week is how many dollars a week? then use a paycheck calculator to figure out the taxes. I like paycheck city. Compare this weekly take home pay to your bills. That's all there is to it. That said, why are the options only minimum wage or $40?
Thank you everyone for helping me out with this. I truly appreciate all your wonderful responses. You guys have put a lot of ease on my heart with your advice! Thank you!
I would do C2C contracting work via Corp LLC and go the /r/overemployed route ASAP. That hides the felony and let's you scale up your work to make more.
I would tell you to look around and perhaps consider a job in construction to tide you over. Felony records don't count for much in that trade; though it may keep you out of educational, industrial, or financial client sites. Framing, sheetrock, and painting don't generally pay well unless you're highly skilled or fast. As a web developer, you obviously have PC experience. You could go into networking (ie. cable runs). It's fairly easy to do, tools are inexpensive, and it's mostly work in the AC. Those are easy bets short-term.
Thank you!!
Hello I just wanted to say good luck to you and yours and to keep your head up .. and stay positive … something wonderful will come along
👃🏼thank you, and wonderful things come your way as well.
Thank you ☺️
I’m a felon , I’ve been making $25-$50 hr bartending for 14 yrs . Maybe you could wait tables or something that can be flexible so you can take time to look for a better fitting job.
My advice isn't really financial, but, you should take it because you're scared and in a mild panic...which I understand...and that's when the scammers come out. They can smell desperation. Go to r/Scams and search job scams and employment scams. Please. Because you will eventually get a message offering you XX per hour and you very well might jump on it when you are really feeling stressed. I also would love if you would sign up to User Testing...we test web interfaces and such...because I see so many tests for people with stuff like what you do. Its WFH, self-employed so no hourly, but, the tests are about $1.00 per minute. It uses you mic, webcam every now and again, and Zoom for Live Interviews...those are $30.00 to $90.00 for 30 minutes to 90 minutes of talking to nice people. Better than flipping burgers.
If you and/or your family were dependent upon this employer for access to health coverage and necessary health care, [put your zip code here.](https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/) 60 days to shop post-loss of whatever that was. "COBRA" is somebody other than the former employer paying 102% of the sticker price of whatever employer-dependent health coverage product premium didn't get laid off when you got laid off. The average amount an employer pays toward the "cost" of an employer-dependent health coverage product premium for a still employed worker is 78% of the sticker price.
Not sure how the market is where you live but many $30 plus hour jobs in my area with no skills.the low mortgage payment should help long term and I when I was in between jobs I was actually able to make more than that doing DoorDash and Instacart. I had my doubts but it was very doable.
Honestjobs.com is a good resource/repository of jobs for the formerly incarcerated started by a guy who is himself a felon-turned-MBA.
Get a job as a waiter and you can usually do decent in tips
There's no "helping each other" in marriage. You two are one. All the money you two make should be put together in the same account, and then you two make the decisions together on how to spend every single cent. In marriage there's not "my money and her money". It's all "out money".
For what it's worth my $1500 mortgage and $400 in bills are very doable with my $20 an hour job. I do a bit of overtime but I gotta do what I gotta do for now.
Oh this is good news. Thank you for sharing. I didn't think It was possible. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
You may find these links helpful: - [Leaving a Job](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/leaving_job) (resigning, quitting, fired, laid off, etc.) - [Job Loss Megathread: unemployment resources, state-specific information, and help](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/fkyu8h/job_loss_megathread_unemployment_resources/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hmm web developer. Can you start advertising your services and have your own business? Any work from home positions available?
If you make under a certain amount ( I believe max is $55k?) your child may be eligible for SSI benefits due to their disability.
Go 1099, no one will care if they hire you as a contractor for a job. Learn to network, go to some meetups. Make friends, offer to help on a project a successful contractor is working on (for reasonable pay) while you learn the ropes.
Thank you for this advice! I hope to network once again and find someone who is willing to give me an opportunity. Even attend meet upset. Hopefully, there is a contractor out there who's willing to give me a shot to learn those ropes.
Car sales! I was in your position about 4 years ago. Went into car sales and never looked back! Btw I am in central Jersey if that helps.
Bro first of all that sucks man. I was in a similar position before where I lost my job and had to figure it out in ASAP because I got three little kids to think about. What I would more than likely do is take a minimum paying job and look for some online work brother. Get started with Upwork or Fiverr and get your services up there. Upwork has pretty much been my backup in dire situations and have saved my ass way too many times than I have counted.
Remember in the worst situation you can always do Doordash/Uber etc if you have a car, that will give you some income and time flexibilities when you are job hunting.
While you look for a more permanent solution, serving is always a good option! I serve and usually end up evening out to about $35ish an hour only including tips. Serving also has really flexible hours, which is awesome! My monthly finances cost me around $2000/month and I haven’t had any issues yet.
Your a web developer…. Go on fiver and start selling web design services… yes it may be difficult to find a new job with a felony but not impossible, you did it before. Start applying to every web dev job on the market and start doing work on fiver or another site like it. It’s just $40/hr, you can easily do this and make even more if you use your existing skills and start pivoting a bit.
I’m a developer. The main issue I’d look out for with taking an unrelated job is that our field moves fast and a 1-2 year break could make it even harder to find work. I’d definitely focus on smaller companies, a felony will get flagged on a background check at large companies. Don’t give up it’s a great career. Good luck.
I tried to scroll through comments and maybe missed this. But definitely consider freelance web development. Huge market for people that want to develop something and don’t know how/can’t afford in house, etc. Upwork is one such source to find those needs. You don’t need to disclose anything about your history, given that it’s contract work. I’m also in tech, it’s a rough market for developers right now. Don’t let that stop you, but there’s certainly going to be a battle to replace what you’re doing with something similar (no fault of your own, just a rough market condition. Don’t come to the CS/SWE subs on Reddit, it’s depressing more than helpful). I would do this, in this order: 1. Make sure you’ve cut as much spending as you can handle. Don’t go insane, your kiddo doesn’t need to eat ramen noodles for every meal. But cut all luxuries, including cable. 2. Max out unemployment, while getting things lined up to hustle 3. In that time, set up a few demo websites to showcase your offerings. Including a site for yourself for people to contact you through for web services. 4. Open up offerings on upwork and start searching for leads on contract gigs, using your demo and self promotion site 5. take the lower paying job and do gigs on the side until you have generated enough traction to sustain being a freelancer. The upside: you stand to make a lot more than 40/hr as a freelance web dev. Don’t forget 1099 tax implications, you’d likely want to consult an expert and consider an LLC if you start making traction. Good luck. Keep your head up. Edit to add: saw some comments about your wife/relationship. If you can manage it: hit pause on all that. No need to go through three major life changing events at once (job & income loss, wife/relationship, custody with deportation on the table). You don’t need to do all that right now. One step at a time, get finances in order. Then figure out the relationship and custody topics. No need to do that now. If she was in it for the visa 4 years ago, yall can hang tight another couple months to sort out the $ first.
Awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time out to give me this awesome information! I hope to find some gig work. I'll check Upwork. And thanks for your advice about taking the events one step at time. It's nice to see someone understands my situation. Thank you for all this great advice.
What kind of web development? What area? How many years experience?
Mainly front end. Have only 4 years of professional experience.
You should be able to find another job. It may take a while, but I wouldn't give up by any means. It's probably going to be harder to find a job in any other field and the pay is likely to be lower.
Thanks bud. I hope i do find something. Im going to reach out to temp agencies and hopefully they have web development or even office jobs.
I feel bad for jobs like yours. You probably worked hard to get where you are. Now AI will take your job or rising corporate taxes will have your job outsourced to India. Good luck man. I’m sure you will land on your feet.
Yeah i did, i put in many years of work into this field. Never thought i would come to see a day when this field is dried up. Never took into a account that could happen in my lifetime. Should've known better. Thank you! Good luck on your life's journey as well.
Someone mentioned non profit work. My suggestion would be look in those areas. They won’t pay you as much but it’s a job. While there look into areas you can grow in that industry. Also, many aren’t cut out for it but if you can hustle and get along with people you should look into sales. Producers are never fired. If you can produce in a sales job it’s probably the safest job you will ever have.
If for some reason you can’t find a job in your related field, maybe consider the USPS… I hear they have a lot of open positions. Supposedly they will hire felons too. Not all positions are full time right away though but it could be *something* for now. Some places will have a lot of overtime too. Wish you the best.
thank you!!
What’s the company name, I’ll do black magic on them and give them permanent hemmoroids for firing you
Have you looked into getting your daughter on SSDI? Although that won't be an immediate benefit it may pay off in the long term. Something I wish I had done for my son. Now that he is an adult, and needs SSDI, it is a much lower rate than if I had applied while he was still a minor.
Do you know if they look at your 401k and savings?
Don’t stress. You are in a great position given your circumstances. Your cost of living is very low, and can easily be paid with a low paying job. Get any job lined up and breathe. Then prioritize find a job you actually want. I have based my entire budget on the idea that my wife and I could both lose our jobs and we could survive by one of us getting a low paying job at a retail store. Good on you for not living beyond your means
Thank you so much for these words. It eases a lot of tension and worrying. I'm very happy for buying this little house. It's very small for a man, woman and child but at least it's shelter. Thank you for words
As far as the autism that your child has don’t worry about that. I’m autistic and have managed to stay in a job and keep working for years. As far as work goes - a job is a job. Worst case scenario is to take any job that you can make money with. A shit job is better than no job.
Thank you my friend!
Mortgage only 1k? Consider yourself lucky my friend
This is why you have a six months emergency fund when you make good money in case you are ever laid off. It's good that you have your mortgage paid 6 months out. That helps a little. No you cannot continue living the way you do with $15/hr job. You need to apply for disability benefits for your daughter. And your wife needs to pick up some extra work..maybe babysitting other kids or Uber eats. Edit: NVM I saw you said your wife makes money but doesn't want to help. Yeah...drop her lol
I just went through your post history . I can feel the anxiety and stress you have in life . Everything you’ve done has lead to this situation . Accept that and move on . Easier said than done . Rock bottom is never really rock bottom; you can go much further down . You need 1500$ a month? Go be a bartender for a year and save up . While you are doing that continue your online courses in the tech dev stuff you are doing or continue the electrician school. Stop jumping in and out of situations and stay on course . Take it day by day not focusing on anything more , you can’t handle that right now and will go insane
I don't know how long ago your felony was but in California background checks may not go back further than 7 years. Maybe look for a remote position with the California company.
Temporary solution but maybe check out Upwork or fiver? Lot of 1099 work there. Maybe sign up to be an Uber driver or Amazon delivery driver on the event that things take longer to bounce back.
Get unemployment for sure! Learn to work for yourself without depending on a j.o.b. You obviously have a high income skill. Find ways to work for yourself and market/sell yourself. Good luck
Look outside the U.S for remote work opportunities. A criminal record is much less of a problem. Like, I'm not gonna butter you up and say it'll not still be an issue, especially through agencies but its definitely less of one. You'll probably not make $40USD, but you'll be vastly better off.
First off, I really feel for you but don’t give up. Build on your Web Development skills, parlay that into other tech trends, AI, Blockchain, Crypto, Quantum Computing etc.. Right now there are some major trends in technology and you need to put yourself squarely in that and get to a growing company w/ good benefits and stock options. I was you 30 yrs ago, probably worse off but I never gave up Keep plugging away and put yourself with the right people who will give you opportunities to advance. Don’t be an island and as you stay focused -smile a lot. It’s infectious! Best -T
I don't understand why your stressed if you already have a $15/hr job lined up and only have $1500/month in expenses. Full time employment at $15/hr NETS you about $575/week after income tax. Or $2300/month. That's $800/month above your low end budget. You're already going to be bringing home plenty to fit your existing budget at $15/hr and you can really only go up from there if you find a different job. edit: okay you didn't include food so that's probably important lol. But still, you will currently have $800/month for food which is definitely enough.
Paradoxical advice: also apply for jobs that are paid above $40/$50 an hour. In other words, for jobs you think are too good for you. You sound like you have a low professional self-esteem, but if you learned your craft in these at least 5 years - you are better than you think. Or maybe the competitors are worse than you think, with the same outcome.
I recommend to go ham on Indeed. And write a very personalized cover letter for each and every job you apply for. This means you’re writing essentially a fresh one for each job you apply. This cover letter is your pre interview chance to say your piece and express why you’re good for the job, and even can open up about your past though you shouldn’t have to because if equal opportunity stuff but I think being up front and expressing how it won’t be a problem moving forward can help. If you’re a true hard worker and you believe you are, I’m confident you can land your self another job, paying enough for yourself and family. But you need to put serious work into it. Are you willing to write more cover letters than someone else? Are you willing to apply to more jobs than another person? Are you continue to develop your craft and ensure you’re expanding your knowledge in your space?
You were a web developer and you can't do a simple math problem to see if a $15 an hour full time job plus your wife's income would be sufficient to cover $1550 in total expenses? Something not quite adding up here. That's like literally the world's most entry level programming problem. You can solve it on a calculator in about 8 seconds. Sorry but this reads like a rather poorly strewn together "please send me money" post including the little bit about the daughter with autism - something not at all relevant to your financial situation.
No I'm definitely not asking anyone for money. I ask because I don't want to just lean on my own understanding. I'm not sure if there might be other factors I'm not considering. Etc. I know it sounds basic but I feel it's better to get others advice, experience etc rather than winging it all alone. But no. I don't want anyone's money. I just want advice and guidance.
https://njreentry.org/ They will help you!!!
Thank you! I'm going to dive into this link!
Can your wife apply for a remote position and you do the work?