u/blackpony04

I have 9 years in direct GI safety roles, but I have 33 years of professional experience, the vast majority in field management and support. My first direct role in safety as a Corporate Safety Coordinator/Company Trainer ended after 8 years in January 2025 when my company was bought by private equity and they outsourced the Safety department.

I was fortunate in that I landed a Specialist position within 3 weeks, but I was let go unexpectedly in December with the "we're going in a different direction with the position" brush off. That coincided with the end of the season, and just short of me receiving an expected 20% bonus payout in the next month. I also have to note that I was the 8th person in that role in 10 years, which supports my assertion that it is the company's MO to purge personnel at the end of the season (of course I can't prove it). So needless to say, it looks terrible on my resume to have lost two jobs in a single year, but I busted my ass the entire year and felt I had made a lot of progress in improving working conditions for both companies.

Any way, I have been on the hunt since January and unlike 2025 the opportunities have really dried up in 2026. I had 6 full interviews and 3 job offers in 3 weeks in 2025, but so far in 2026 I have had only had 3 phone interviews in total (#4 is scheduled tomorrow and I'm awaiting word from #3). And yes, I have had my resume looked at by professionals and rewritten about a dozen times, but at any given time there are at most only 10-15 open roles in the Buffalo area (there were 40 in February 2025). I do not have a college degree outside an Associates (safety education really wasn't a widespread thing in the late 80s), but I have my OSHA 501 and a number of other appropriate certs for General Industry plus many years of field experience across various industries.

The wages in my area range from $50k to $100k for sub-Manager roles. I made $100k last year, but thanks to my wife's higher paying job I can live on much lower wages at this stage of my life. Amazon just opened a new center just 10 minutes from me and I could likely land a role there, but I know all the horror stories and frankly I feel if I need to settle for a $60k job I would much rather go mow lawns at a park than deal with the stress that comes with working in safety.

So I guess what I'm asking, should I just give up and pivot to something else? I discovered I had a major passion for safety, especially with training, and wish I could have gotten into it 30+ years ago. But I am feeling defeated and the last role really gave me Imposter Syndrome even though I thought I was doing well. I have 3 months of Unemployment left so landing something by August is imperative, so settling is definitely on the table!

I have probably 40 t-shirts that I cannot possibly wear in their entirety, but I'll be darned if I can convince myself to get rid of any of them. None of them have holes nor pit stains (yay modern deodorants) and while some of the black ones have faded a bit they're still in good shape and perfect for wearing under a hoodie. After enduring a childhood of recycling the same clothes over and over again until they were virtual rags as my parents were Great Depression survivors, it's in my DNA and I find myself in a quandary as my collection continues to grow.

I see so many people wearing what appear to be brand new shirts all the time, almost as if they're worn a few times and tossed. I simply can't grasp that concept, especially considering how expensive they are now. Plus, I really like the designs on today's shirts (hence why the collection grows every couple of months) and my older Under Armour moisture wicking ones still look perfect and make the best work undershirts.

I would consider donating some, but tees seem really personal compared to regular shirts and pants since they directly touch your body, so I don't know if that's weird or not. Plus, who wants a Texas brewery T-shirt in New York? I do, because I was there and associate my trip with that shirt.

So I ask, how long are we Xers keeping these things? I am not at all a hoarder, but I am also most definitely a hoarder.