What next? by ericb

Should I write a journal entry about this or not? Aw, what the heck, I’ll write one.

The issue is that my life changed unexpectedly monday morning. The LARGE insurance company I have worked for over the past 12+ years decided to outsource their electrical maintenance. So I now find myself unemployed. I know this has been common in our economy over the last few years. But, like most other people, I never expected it to happen to me. There were no warning signs, my performance reviews have been slightly “exceeds expectations”, I have initiated new projects without being told, etc. But I’m out anyway.

I’m not crying. This may be a blessing in disguise. The day I was laid off was my wife’s first day on her new job. So we’re not completely without income and her new health benefit plan is better than what we had through my previous employer. (She’s a Federal Employee now.) This will also give me a chance to work on some large projects around home that I haven’t had enough time to complete.

So, I’m asking myself “What next?”. What direction should my career take? Should I continue on as an electrician? Is there another field that I may have enough knowledge in that would be more interesting and fulfilling? Is my photography good enough for me to venture in that direction? If so, how do I proceed?