When the Job You Get Offered is Worse that the One You Don’t Have

My dear, dear husband has an interview tomorrow.

Hold the balloons and cake.

Work Force-the state’s unemployment agency-called Tucker today and asked him to come in tomorrow to interview for a Veteran’s Benefit Coordinator position. On the surface this seems like a great fit for Tucker. He’s a veteran, he has a degree, he knows about how to get unemployment and he could carry-on a conversation with a brick wall if he had to.

The issue is that the job pays $10/hour. TEN DOLLARS. Better than nothing, sure. However, he will make LESS working 40 hours than he makes right now with unemployment.

We’re making it on what he brings in and what I bring in but just barely. We have a bit left each month but if we had to buy a new tire for the truck or if one of the kids decided to go through a couple of extra boxes of diapers…you get the idea.

Both of us came to the conclusion that we SHOULD be excited. We should be jumping up and down that someone finally wants to interview him and maybe even hire him [!!!]. But, how the hell are we supposed to get excited about making less money?

The real bitch of it is that Tucker can’t turn the job down. He has to take it. If he turns it down, he will no longer be eligible for unemployment. He’s pushed up against a wall [and not one that he wants to talk to] has no where to go and is being forced into a job that he doesn’t want.

Tucker doesn’t do very well with being forced into things.

So here we sit-weighing the pros and cons of this potential job and hoping that something better comes along very, very soon.