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Since the late 2000's auto manufacturers bailout, I have believed that the reason why Ford didn't partake in because they were bailed out and forced to restructure in 2001.

I remember this economic upheaval because I was caught up in it.

I have associates degrees in electronics, electromechanical control and robotics, and industrial electricity and process control. I've never really used them. I ended up being put behind a desk doing Computer Aided Drawing and didn't object.

From 1997 to 2001 I worked for a small engineering consultant who specialized in climate control for factory floors. In late 1999 the owner announced that from that point on we would only have one customer; Ford Motor Company and it's subsidiaries.

In Spring of 2001 Ford went bankrupt. One of the halo effects of this was a downturn and hiring freeze in my industry as a whole. I never got an engineering job again.

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Just curious, what have you been up to since then? Did you stay in the auto industry, or move on completely?

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Twenty years as an underpaid non-union service worker (often less than $1 above minimum wage.) Now on disability.

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The halo effect of Ford's collapse following the tech bubble bursting meant that jobs in the tech sector dryed up. I was on unemployment for a long time, which is still often a barrier to re-employment. Employers love hiring people who are willing to leave a job that they already have but not people who have no talent for getting a job (I don't shine in interviews.) Those employers also still lose their minds when those same employees jump ship on them with zero notice.

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"I was talking with a doofy cop on his third or fourth version..." please tell me I'm not the only one that instantly thought Barney Fife?!

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