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Or my previously paid tax money as i have been unemployed for over six months now. But i bit the bullet and went to the unemployment office today since i have had no luck at all. I have a bachelors degree and i am taking some IT certs and i am just a general normal guy looking for a job, and i want to work.
I don't know what i expected of this visit and talking 1 on 1 with a consultant, i didn't expect much i guess but i expected atleast something, even if a little form of help. Some insight perhaps. The woman was friendly enough and seemed like she did really wish to help me. But...
Can you somehow assist me with finding a job? - No
Do you have any contacts with companies or programs or anything? - No
How about an internship, can you help me with that? - No
Any program to help me get out in the world and work? - No
How about financial aid? I am completely tapped out of my savings at this point - No you don't qualify for anything(my fiance works, so we get by but just barely when all bills are paid)
She hands me a list of recruitment agencies and tells me that if i manage to find an internship they will OK it(what do they need to OK it for, they aren't giving me anything) and can perhaps, perhaps arrange a salary of 30€ a day. A shitty Wall Mart like job in Norway pays like 120€ a day. Yay.
So is there anything my old tax money can actually do for me - a normal individual who isn't a drug/ex-drug addict. Who has worked, paid his 40%+ taxes - no. There is nothing. We work here in Scandinavia, paying the worlds highest taxes to our wellfare society as it is called, and we do this because we think that 'when something happens to me - i will be taken care of, that is why we have these taxes and hence i gladly pay them'. But no. It appears it is all just bullshit.
Now i am not asking for handouts, i don´t expect anyone to just give me a job or for it to magically appear. But what i do wonder is, if they cannot give me any form of assistance - what is their function?Why are they there? Why are they the "unemployment agency" if they cannot do a single damn thing to somehow assist me in finding work?
I cried a little when i got home. I haven't cried for well over 5 years but having that very last resort avenue yielding squat just made me break down. I'm 26, unemployed, feel like shit, feel useless - and i don't know what to do. I am somewhat panicking and slipping into despair.
 
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United States24775 Posts
On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
How about financial aid? I am completely tapped out of my savings at this point - No you don't qualify for anything(my fiance works, so we get by but just barely when all bills are paid)
This is different than where I live. Whether or not you can receive unemployment payments depends only on your personal income... not your partner's/spouses/etc. Sounds like you should have somehow 'split' when you first lost your job and acted more independent, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to try to game the system. Still, as long as you are actually improving yourself (certs etc) and trying to find a job, you aren't doing anything wrong even if you collect payments.
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Things will turn around! Try to keep positive and enjoy any simple thing.
Wish there was something that could be done to help.
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On August 22 2013 22:45 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
How about financial aid? I am completely tapped out of my savings at this point - No you don't qualify for anything(my fiance works, so we get by but just barely when all bills are paid) This is different than where I live. Whether or not you can receive unemployment payments depends only on your personal income... not your partner's/spouses/etc. Sounds like you should have somehow 'split' when you first lost your job and acted more independent, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to try to game the system. Still, as long as you are actually improving yourself (certs etc) and trying to find a job, you aren't doing anything wrong even if you collect payments.
I don't think it's that strict in finland either and sweden can't be too different, try visiting your "Social Insurance Institution/Folkpensionsanstalten" instead of unemployment office and they might be more helpful. Anyway I'm quite sure you should be entitled to recieving some compensation for being unemployed.
If all else fails consider lowering your standards and seeking for a job you're overqualified for, trust me it beats being unemployed. You can always look for a better job while there.
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do you have any prior job experience? if not ... consider interning "for free"
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You should have asked her what they actually do. At least I would like to know.
I seriously doubt that you wouldn't get any assistance when you really need it. You have worked before and you are willing to work, and I'm pretty confident that Sweden's constitution doesn't allow the state to let you starve to death anyways.
In my opinion, a certain rate of unemployment is unavoidable in our current society (without creating nonsense jobs or excessive wasting of natural resources). You shouldn't feel useless. As long as you are willing to work and support unemployed people once you have a job again, you should not feel bad about yourself.
It's ok to rely on others.
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On August 22 2013 22:45 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
How about financial aid? I am completely tapped out of my savings at this point - No you don't qualify for anything(my fiance works, so we get by but just barely when all bills are paid) This is different than where I live. Whether or not you can receive unemployment payments depends only on your personal income... not your partner's/spouses/etc. Sounds like you should have somehow 'split' when you first lost your job and acted more independent, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to try to game the system. Still, as long as you are actually improving yourself (certs etc) and trying to find a job, you aren't doing anything wrong even if you collect payments.
Here in Norway they count us as one entity since we live together and we have a child. Atleast that is what she told me, and to get financial aid we have to have under a certain amount of money left after paying rent. We are just above that limit pretty much.
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United States24775 Posts
On August 22 2013 23:13 unkkz wrote:Show nested quote +On August 22 2013 22:45 micronesia wrote:On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
How about financial aid? I am completely tapped out of my savings at this point - No you don't qualify for anything(my fiance works, so we get by but just barely when all bills are paid) This is different than where I live. Whether or not you can receive unemployment payments depends only on your personal income... not your partner's/spouses/etc. Sounds like you should have somehow 'split' when you first lost your job and acted more independent, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to try to game the system. Still, as long as you are actually improving yourself (certs etc) and trying to find a job, you aren't doing anything wrong even if you collect payments. Here in Norway they count us as one entity since we live together and we have a child. Atleast that is what she told me, and to get financial aid we have to have under a certain amount of money left after paying rent. We are just above that limit pretty much.
How does the amount of income you have right now compare with how much you could get from unemployment if neither of you had other income? If it's around the same then that's a horrible disincentive for her to work haha.
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On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
Now i am not asking for handouts, i don´t expect anyone to just give me a job or for it to magically appear. But what i do wonder is, if they cannot give me any form of assistance - what is their function?Why are they there? Why are they the "unemployment agency" if they cannot do a single damn thing to somehow assist me in finding work?
Its just the bureaucracy. They create the illusion that they are important to society and actually needed, but the truth is, they are just mooching off the taxpayer's teat.
I'm sorry for your troubles. Find anything that can pay, even if it sucks. Work your way up. I had to wait tables for over a year while finishing my Master's degree.
It still took me a few months to find something after I graduated, but I finally did! Keep your head up. You have the education that you need to be successful, just don't give up and annoy the crap out of employers until one of them says yes.
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On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
Or my previously paid tax money as i have been unemployed for over six months now. But i bit the bullet and went to the unemployment office today since i have had no luck at all. I have a bachelors degree and i am taking some IT certs and i am just a general normal guy looking for a job, and i want to work.
...
I don't know how it's in Sweden, but in Germany the unemployment agency pays for all kinds of certificates, courses, or any further education for that matter, when you are unemployed. I can imagine that Sweden does something similar considering that here we always hear how much more "social" Scandinavian countries are.
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Have you tried applying to Ikea? Isn't Ikea like HUGE provider of employment in Sweden?
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Keep your head up bro, don't take shitty jobs, keep searching, Things will get going. Don't give up, it's a tough world, but good things are at the end of the tunnel.
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Well, if your government can sufficiently support you, then look at it as an opportunity to train yourself on their dime. Since you mentioned IT, do some personal projects to build up your portfolio. Try and do something that you're remotely passionate about. Perhaps put together a web site from the ground up. Maybe do something on a cloud service like AWS or App Engine.
Personally, when I hire software developers, I love to meet people that have done personal projects on the side that I can pull from Github. In an interview, I think it would be great if you could say: "Yeah, I've been out of work, but while I've been looking for jobs, I've been working on these project(s) of my own. Let me tell you what I learned and why I had fun doing them."
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You should get addicted to drugs so they will give you assistance. A stimulant habit would probably help with those its certs too.
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On August 22 2013 23:14 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On August 22 2013 23:13 unkkz wrote:On August 22 2013 22:45 micronesia wrote:On August 22 2013 22:38 unkkz wrote:
How about financial aid? I am completely tapped out of my savings at this point - No you don't qualify for anything(my fiance works, so we get by but just barely when all bills are paid) This is different than where I live. Whether or not you can receive unemployment payments depends only on your personal income... not your partner's/spouses/etc. Sounds like you should have somehow 'split' when you first lost your job and acted more independent, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to try to game the system. Still, as long as you are actually improving yourself (certs etc) and trying to find a job, you aren't doing anything wrong even if you collect payments. Here in Norway they count us as one entity since we live together and we have a child. Atleast that is what she told me, and to get financial aid we have to have under a certain amount of money left after paying rent. We are just above that limit pretty much. How does the amount of income you have right now compare with how much you could get from unemployment if neither of you had other income? If it's around the same then that's a horrible disincentive for her to work haha.
Except that she would lose her job and then they still wouldn't have more money even if unkkz found a job.
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a normal individual who isn't a drug/ex-drug addict...
This is very prevalent in germany aswell. We had the jews during nazi times, now we have the unemployed, that we portrait like scum in talkshows and newspapers, but guess what, most of the other unemployed are just normal individuals like you.
But society needs a scapegoat, and we need precarous social security, so people are willing to work at shitty pays, so people can make more profit. Capitalism rules, rules you and me, and all of us.
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Would you be open to leaving for another country which has more job opportunities/less oppressive taxes?
Props for not wanting to take advantage of the system. If only the unemployed here in the US had the same mindset as you, then there would many fewer unemployed. Instead, I see so many job openings but no one wanting to fill them because a lot of people here would rather keep collecting welfare than get a job. Sorry to read about another victim of the nanny state, hope things turn out better for you.
[edit]Something to read on the topic, though it might make you feel worse about the situation: How the Welfare State Corrupted Sweden
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United States24775 Posts
On August 23 2013 01:58 SpeaKEaSY wrote:
Instead, I see so many job openings but no one wanting to fill them because a lot of people here would rather keep collecting welfare than get a job.
I definitely know that people will try to abuse the unemployment system in the USA, such as people who just pretend they are looking for work and figure they get a year of free income (albeit not very much) in the meantime.
I don't know how you have come to observe cases of what I quoted above... could you elaborate on that? What types of jobs are you seeing go unfilled? From where I sit, jobs are almost always competitive to fill for the past 6 or so years.
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i doubt a shitty walmart job pays 13/hour
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On August 23 2013 02:10 micronesia wrote:Show nested quote +On August 23 2013 01:58 SpeaKEaSY wrote:
Instead, I see so many job openings but no one wanting to fill them because a lot of people here would rather keep collecting welfare than get a job. I definitely know that people will try to abuse the unemployment system in the USA, such as people who just pretend they are looking for work and figure they get a year of free income (albeit not very much) in the meantime. I don't know how you have come to observe cases of what I quoted above... could you elaborate on that? What types of jobs are you seeing go unfilled? From where I sit, jobs are almost always competitive to fill for the past 6 or so years.
The mall. Although, they're mostly low paying, seasonal/temporary jobs. So understandably, many people choose to stay unemployed and collect a check rather than get out of bed for a low paying job that they might not have 3 months down the road. Still, it is a job and I have a ton of respect for people like the OP who would rather take jobs like these than take advantage of the system.
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EPT
