I went through three layoffs in a four year period. These layoffs were back to back. The blessing in disguise was being able to to take the database and software skills I had learned from my first job and put those skills to use at another job. That job was with a dot com company that closed down a year later.
I learned to develop websites while working at that company. I used my database and web development skills to get a good paying job at a large national company. A year later that large company went bankrupt. The blessing was the skills I obtained open doors that would not have been there before. I became a database and web development contractor.
I earned a living by offering my skills as a service for a variety of companies. This gave me more control over my schedule and my projects. I no longer had to take assignments that were not appealing. I was able to manage my own time and set my own priorities. I actually became more productive because I worked out of my home and there were no office politics to distract.
Those jobs and layoffs gave me the skills I needed to survive on my own.
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Lawrence Roth is Web Developer who owns and maintains 
