My name is Marcus Lira and I am the creator of this site. My intent in creating this site was to help people who have been laid off from work or can't find work in today's economy. My hope is that it helps you in some way with guidance and direction.
I am a former Recruiter with 20 years experience. I have also been laid off, like the thousands of people across the country, across all sectors of employment. Before COVID in 2020, if one was laid off, the experience to find new work didn't seem to be that difficult. As we know, layoffs happened once COVID hit, then companies over hired once COVID was over. Layoffs have been happening ever since coupled with the fact of AI's progress in automation, thus automating jobs and humans losing their jobs.
The problem is this: Today, there appears to be little pathways out of being unemployed. For those of us who have been laid off, college graduates and high school graduates, the amount of unemployed is high and the available jobs are few.
So I have researched the employment market and employment trends along with the projections of job automation + job losses and came up with all the employment sectors that I could think of and gathered the data to present here in order to help you get a job.
My timeline:
Last day with my former company: June 30th, 2025
Filed for unemployment: Immediately. Receiving benefits until February 2026.
Qualified for: Food stamps (EBT Card) and Medicare/Medicaid
Decision: Enrolled at Sacramento City College (lowest cost option)
Student aid qualified: $8,500 per semester
- Promise Grant (covers all tuition and fees)
- Pell Grant (based on units and income)
- Cal Grant
- Federal student loans
I am also fortunate - I have a wonderful supportive partner Ricardo, whose income has sustained us during this rough period.
As a Recruiter, I used to make $100K a year.
You can do the math - I don't bring home nearly as much and never will again.
When I was laid off, I surely thought there must be some kind of Human Resource job I can do. But I'm in my 50's and age discrimination is real. I'd be competing with candidates half my age, with more technical experience and social media presences that would sway the job offer to them. I researched all the possible jobs I could do. And I researched AI as well. If AI was the thing of the future, where was my seat?
Was I too old to learn Python? No, but AI can code better than I ever could learn to do at top speed.
What about an AI certification? Amazon Cloud? Microsoft Cloud? Yes, I could pay and get those certifications but the problem is - they don't lead to a real job. Sincerely, if they did, I would have pursued that. Because why not?
So what's left over?
- Admin and HR Coordinator roles? So few and far between and a dying breed of a job.
- Front desk roles at hospitals or clinics? No, I am not young and pretty and under 25 who is also Bilingual.
- Stepping down further the ladder... what about Whole Foods Market?
Yes. I got a job at Whole Foods Market.
For $17/hour, part time with no benefits. 10% discount though.
I share this because the struggle is real.
No one wants to be unemployed by force.
No one wants to stay home all day while others collect a paycheck.
No one ever wants to be on food stamps or Medi-Cal.
If it wasn't for Ricardo, I'd be talking about Section 8 too.
My hope is to be able to do the job research and present any and all possible job options for any American in today's job market in this space of AI disruption.
I know it hurts. I know it's frustrating. I know you're counting every dollar. Everyday.
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