[crazytaxidriver]

There is plenty of work outside of the coal fields. You have to go looking, though.

Let me remind you that while there may be some work out of coal fields, it's not as easy as calling someone up and saying hey i need a job.

I spent 12 years honing my craft. I can run almost any piece of heavy machinery that goes on a surface mine. That's 12 years I could have stayed in school. 12 years i could have sold drugs. 12 years i could have wasted by moving from place to place looking for another job to hold down..

Fact is.. I liked the money.. I'm not a doctor. I probably would never get accepted in med school if I tried. furthermore now I can't because i have other priorities I have to worry about.

I'm not a computer whiz.. I can't figure out algorithems (sp??) and i'm just bad enough at calculus and trig, that I'm not sure I could get a degree in that either..

Not that I havent tried. I spent two years in college while also working on a strip job.. Because I had no federal aid. Because I happened to be cursed with honesty and I couldn't lie on my application. So even though my parents had 4 kids, a mortgage, and two car payments, according to govmt. we made too much money for me to get aid.. And i'm not even going to start on loans

Now.. once again. I'm glad that you have searched the nation and found jobs that allow you to feed your family.. That's awesome, and I truly hope nothing happens to take that away from you. I really hope there isn't a group of people who come out of the wood work and have no idea what you are doing, but are able to convince people that it's the work of the devil so to speak..

Not everyone is cut out for every job out there... The people I worked with for the past 12 years can barely turn a computer on. Because it's not something that has ever really interested them.. I would say that only a select few know what hedge funds, cds, iras, or any of that stuff is.. most have a 401k but that's just cause the company usually helps out.. so it's safe to say that not one of them will ever operate on your brain, lungs, mcl, acl, or even your balls.. however, when people need work on their house, yard, plumbing, air conditioner, or something of that sort who do they call? Either illegal immigrants, or people who don't care to get their hands dirty. But now that one of the industries that people have to get their hands dirts is slowly being weeded out, what are these people to do??

Looking for a job is fine. Finding a job that allows you to keep feeding your family, is hard. Cause a lot of these guys can't just uproot and move their family to another state or whatever. It's not that easy..