Wichita Aircraft Company is Up for Sale

Two years ago, more than 30, 000 Wichitans lost their jobs in the aircraft industry. Countless others were also lost because of the crashing economy. Many people lost their homes, went bankrupt or went into deep financial difficulties (like my husband and me), and hundreds left Wichita hoping to find better opportunities elsewhere.

Now that the economy is recovering again (slowly), there are several places that are hiring again, but because there are so many people looking and competing for jobs, the employers can raise their standards and have their pick from the dozens (at least) of applicants. This is true of not only the aircraft positions that have opened up, but it has also filtered into other industries, such as my own: print journalism. For the majority of the positions that are now available, one must posess some kind of degree (I have a BA) and at least five years of experience. Now, for a lot of people, that isn't a problem, but for me, it is. I graduated from high school in 1999. Though I have the education, it's not enough for most employers, and they'll choose someone else who has more experience. So how do I get the experience if no one will hire me?

Now, people are concerned that more people will lose their jobs in the aircraft industry. According to KAKE (an ABC affiliate), Boeing Wichita is up for sale. A memo was sent over company e-mail that raised more questions than it answered, and since not everyone has company e-mail addresses, not everyone has seen it yet.

Now that I'm looking for work again, I'm wondering how much more saturated the market is going to get with others looking for work. And to top that off, in December, there will be more college graduates for me to compete against, some with more experience than I have.

Some people (like us) can't afford to move, even if we wanted to. There may be great jobs elsewhere, but if they don't cover relocation expenses, it wouldn't work.

By the way, no word yet on my job possibility. I'm still waiting for a call to set up an interview time. I was told it would be sometime this week. I'm optimistic, but like I said, there's going to be a lot of competition for this job since so many people are looking. Please pray that they pick me out of the bunch to work for them.