mustangfan12's journey

I'm facing another job ending next month. It's been a tough journey since I was laid off in 2024, having switched jobs three times since then. Initially, I was lucky to be converted to a full-time role with a decent severance package, but I had to move back in with my family, which was really challenging. I spent four months unemployed before taking a minimum wage IT support job out of desperation. A month later, I found a better-paying position, but it had no benefits, and I quickly burned out from the commute. After realizing how expensive healthcare would be once my COBRA subsidies expired, I was rehired by my former employer for a couple of months, which extended to a year, but now that’s coming to an end. In my current role, I’ve mostly had nothing to do, which has made me feel unproductive and has affected my confidence in job interviews. While I’ve had some interviews go well, others haven’t. I’ve noticed that despite my experience in computer lab support and data center work, IT help desk managers often see me as unqualified because I lack extensive employee IT support experience. The IT field is so broad, and it’s tough to keep up with everything I get quizzed on. Managers can be nitpicky about not knowing specific software. For instance, during a Mac upgrade project, the company used Soti MobiControl instead of Jamf, which means that experience is essentially worthless for jobs that require Jamf. It feels frustrating because I can’t control the type of experience I gain. Plus, since I'm a contractor, I won't receive any severance this time. I'm worried that things won't work out for me again.