How many months of expenses do you believe you should have saved in the event of a layoff. I hear 3-6 months...is that enough???
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Absolutely yes, 2 years in savings or in a stable investment is a very realistic goal to shoot for if want to stay in this industry. Oil and gas pay is so good largely because of the highly unstable nature of our industry. Most professionals in other industries are paid far less than we are. You should be able to get by on less too.
Ask yourself what percentage of your salary do you save beyond your 401k? 10, 20, or even 30% should've been achievable for almost anyone before our recent salary "adjustment"? Could you have saved your bonus rather than blowing it on a new car or expensive vacation?
So yes, you can do it. By banking your bonus and saving 15+% of your income each year, you should be able to save close to 2 years of after tax income within 5 years. Add in a few batches of stock vesting and you'll get there even sooner.
Aim toward making this goal as early in your career as possible. You may need it for this downturn because there are no jobs out there. And odd are the first jobs advertised will have 500 applicants. The industry may be leaner, but it will return.
I was laid off 3 times
1st BP 1992, 10 months to find a job
2nd UT Austin1999, 10 months to find a job
3rd time Chevron 2015, never found another full time job
Had I known my career would depend on Saudi interference in the oil market, I would have chosen another path
2 years of salary in a savings account? Who are you people kidding? Did you inherit your house and have no kids? You should save 6-8 months of critical expenses. If you haven't found a job in 2-3 you should start looking for other income like part time job or small contract gigs to extended your savings. 8-12m you should be expanding your search to any full time job.
If you have to ask, and provide for more than yourself, you are a derelict.
If you are in the oil and gas industry you would be extremely naive if you don't have at least a year's salary sitting in bank earning almost nothing :-( . The older and more experienced you are, the more you need to have saved. A savings of 2 years should be a goal, especially anyone over 50.
A new job in 3 to 6 months would be a miracle.
Just and fyi the federal stimulus is adding an extra 600.00 a week into the Texas Unemployment claims. So the max benefit is up to 521.00 a week now, and with this stimulus from the federal government it is up to 1,121.00 and that is the honest truth. I have a friend that just got the first payment and they did a retro payment as well. This can last up to four months under this stimulus, and I wonder how many people will just stay home and collect the money instead of search for work.
I'm retired now after more than 40 years in O&G; never was laid off but of course saw many people get cut through the years. Some ended up getting out of the business all together, some toughed it out and got back in eventually only to get back in and get cut again.
I have no advice but I will say that living beyond your means is not a good idea in this business whether you make $25K, $250K or $2,500K.
Rule of thumb is 1 month for ever $10k you make. Example: $150,000 salary expect to be looking for a job for 15 months.
Sorry, off by a few dollars. For most working at Oxy you would qualify for the max of 521.00 a week, and they could go up with the Fed Stimulus package, and extended by the backing of the federal govt. Below is right off the TEC Web Site.
Weekly Benefit Amount
Your weekly benefit amount (WBA) is the amount you receive for weeks you are eligible for benefits. Your WBA will be between $69 and $521 (minimum and maximum weekly benefit amounts in Texas) depending on your past wages.
"You can expect a month of job searching for every $10,000 you make"
Wow, who's butt did you pull that bit of juicy info from?
"Current max benefit is 494.00 a week for Texas Unemployment"
Wrong! You people are so dumb.
I would say 2 years with reduced spend. Reduced spend being less eating out, cutting non-essentials, cutting out expensive vacations etc.
Current max benefit is 494.00 a week for Texas Unemployment, and they may add more with the stimulus package to the end of July. Usually for six months, but can be extended to 9 or more based on federal aid. In these times an extension is most likely. In oil and gas I would have at least two years saved if going back into the industry, if not maybe 9-12 months.
As someone who has been through O&G layoffs a couple of times in my career, I can’t stress enough that if you get laid off, file for unemployment immediately. The first time you go through this, you may feel a sense of shame for having to do that, but you and your employer have paid the government for this through taxes over your career and therefore you should take every penny you can get of it, which in this environment for a professional can be $1000+ a month for probably a year or more (depending on government extensions of the program). That can make a big dent in your rent or mortgage or COBRA payments. You do have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits, though.
Best of luck to all of you. I was laid off from Oxy in 2015 — yes, one of many they laid off while simultaneously lying to the press and investors that they were so well run that they didn’t need to layoff anyone like other oil companies were having to do. Took me 8 months to find something new, but consider it an immense blessing if you can get out of Oxy in any way possible. I left there with $40K in out-of-pocket health costs due to a year of manipulative, abusive treatment by several of the EC members you talk so frequently about on this site. The rest of the industry does not operate like they do in their inexperienced, conceited, small minded, narcissistic, bully culture. I have never worked in a more toxic environment than Oxy, and I worked for Enron. There is life after Oxy and you will survive and thrive. But first, get the HELL out of that hell hole!
Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers during this challenging time.
I think 9-12 months of total living expenses to be safe for any industry, and 2 years for Oil & Gas. That savings may take many different forms, but you'll want that in case you need it, to not be completely stressed out every day, losing sleep, fighting with your family, etc. Also, be prepared to immediately cut unnecessary expenses and costs, try not to extend or overspend too much. Good luck.
One full year of expense savings at a minimum. It is always more difficult to find employment if you are unemployed. This downturn is very unique and not one person has a good educated guess as to when the oil industry will begin to pick up and have an accelerated hiring pace. A year goes by fast and take any work available to fill the gap. I genuinely feel very bad for everyone who has and will be laid off.
I would recommend 6 months to everyone. In O&G I would recommend at least 12 months.
You can expect a month of job searching for every $10,000 you make, and that's under normal conditions on average. With the current state of things, it could be twice that long. Save for that and you should make it out of this just fine.
I would say in a situation like this you need at least 9 - 12 months while shedding load simultaneously! This is not good for anyone in oil in gas. Analyst say it will take at the very minimum, 2 years to even begin to see recovery.