Unemployed Veterans Need Real Support

From as early as 2008 when the markets crashed, employment has been a painful topic of discussion for many Americans. This is exponentially more difficult for veterans, especially, though not singularly, those returning from service for any reason, with the additional struggle of being thrown into the workforce with everyone else.

As an aerospace professional who has been laid off in three separate instances during the economic downturn, I have come to realize that the problem is not what has been done for the unemployed, but what has not been provided.

The last layoff was the worst, when I lost a great contract job working for Space & Missile Command at LA AFB, El Segundo, CA after three and a half years of what I consider satisfactory performance. The struggle to secure professional career-level employment from my layoff until now (for the past fifty two months) has been eye-opening and sobering. It has given this author a permanent empathy and compassion for the new class of semi-forgotten citizens – the unemployed.

As a senior manager and engineer with over 20 years experience in the aerospace support field, and as student of graduate-level education in computer science and management information systems, I have always had the confidence that, if I were ever laid off, I would get right back up in the saddle because of my great education, experience, and laudable skill sets for business and technology.

Imagine my surprise in getting exactly two interviews in three years of job hunting. This was all despite having been through the preferred candidate program at Jefferson County workforce center, and having attained the much-heralded Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from Project Management Institute.

In desperation, I took a job at minimum wage for phone support. This amounted to an 84% pay cut from my previous position.

Over time, the depression set in as my wife took a job in Aurora, a 50 minute commute one-way from our home in Conifer, CO. I was no longer the primary breadwinner, and my wife was burdened in her senior years with work in order to keep our home. We have taken on tenants to survive.

I am in my second round of unemployment benefits and those benefits just ran out. We are facing bankruptcy and other debt management. I have been laid off from my minimum wage job, which couldn’t even sufficiently pay the bills anyway – it was just a temporary stop-gap.

I work at a strong spiritual program and spend my time helping others. This helps me retain my sanity, which is very much at risk because of my situation, my limited options, the blow to my self-esteem, and everything else that I have detailed.

I now belong to a great class of people with the following characteristics:
- Older, seniors of America
- Highly educated
- Highly experienced
- Highly skilled and capable of contributing hugely to the workforce and its products and services despite, and possibly because of, my age
- Unemployed or under-employed
- Depressed, afraid, angry, and at risk, even though we have exhausted all the avenues of support available to us

The VA has not been helpful in providing me with opportunities for new careers or in gaining new interviews.

I believe that there is one possible solution.

It is difficult to say whether the resources available to all unemployed persons are sufficient to get them the opportunities they need. In my case, I believe I need an advocate or sponsor to assist me in contacting the hiring managers of these positions for which I am definitely qualified. At the interview stage, I will either survive or fall on my own merit.

Many agencies at different levels in our country claim they are for veterans. If this is truly so, why have they not undertaken the initiative to help counsel advocate for our unemployed veterans?

This would be the mark of true support.

Furthermore, unemployed professionals need to bond together for common cause. I have yet to a find a group on LinkedIn or on Meet-up that truly reflects these dire needs in the community, though I'll keep looking.

Either way, the struggle has made me stronger and still more resolute in my determination to achieve employment and to assist others in striving to achieve their goals in this area.