Lost My Job - Feeling E36 M3ty and Worthless

After pouring a lot of time money and energy into becoming a brewer, I was fired yesterday. The verdict is something I've been coming to realize over the past year or so: I'm just not that good in a production environment. I'm very smart, but I'm not a detail oriented person. I'm frequently scatterbrained. I'm sort of an absent-minded professor type, only I'm not a professor.

So now, I'm trying to figure out what is next for me. I had good schooling and know a lot about beer. I'm not ruling out other areas in the beer or beverage industry.

All in all, I'm thinking something that is more communication and interpersonal based, just not administrative (again, detail oriented). So, I dunno. Customer service, insurance, banking, inside sales. Something. I'd be good at technical writing, but have no idea how to break into that field.

Double fun, because I moved to Ohio recently and am going to be 1-2 weeks short of the minimum time to be eligible for unemployment insurance unless they count my employment time in CA. Thankfully I have cash saved up, can easily sell off a few toys (I was thinking of selling the race car anyway, and once I do that don't need the van anymore), and the fiancee has a good job.

It just really sucks to have devoted so much to pursuing a dream and realize you're just not cut out for it.

Crud man, I am so sorry. I know a few good brewers down here if you ever want to move and dive into that profession in another fashion. Other than that, let us know what we can do.

That sucks man, I'm sorry to hear that.

I hope you find something more suited to you.

Ouch. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Don't spend too much time introspecting or kicking yourself... you seem to be pretty good at convincing people to give you a shot so do that again right now. You might not have been cut out for that particular environment but it's a little early to give up entirely. Get up and go find a paycheck in the field you invested in and THEN get introspective and make life altering decisions from there. If you can sell yourself... maybe you can sell beer?

As someone recently diagnosed with Adult-ADHD, your symptoms sound right in line. Have you been tested? If there's any way you can, it may be worth it long-term. It certainly can help with being scatterbrained/forgetful and give you more focus.

That said, I agree with the above: take your education & experience and find a job in beer sales/marketing. It sounds like you'll do well in that environment.

If you can sell yourself... maybe you can sell beer?

I had a similar thought: brewery or distributor sales rep?

Hopefully it all works out. I'm gladthere are the brewer-types. As uch as I enjoy beer, I have little desire to brew my own.

As one door closes, another will open. Use any network you may have established while employed there. If you are good with people, maybe sales or regional rep for a beer & wine manufacturer.

Sorry to hear that.

Maybe you would be better in a smaller brewery with small experimental batches?

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: If you can sell yourself... maybe you can sell beer?

That... is kind of what I'm thinking. I plan to look into retail and distribution stuff. Maybe if I could get a sales job with something like an equipment manufacturer. It would be cool to work for Siemens. Worst case scenario, I go get a job at a home-brew shop or high end grocery/liquor mart for a while.

Unfortunately, moving is not an option right now. We just moved, and this move is really good for the fiance's career.

Could the company not move you into a Sales position? Possibly a sales position at another brewery or territory sales?

Sux man, I know the feeling. But like everyone says, just use it as a learning experience and try to work on your "short comings". I use the term loosely because they're what are perceived by your previous employer. Now you know what you're good at, and not so good at. Fix what you can and move on.

I have some connections in the brewing/distributing field here in southern Indiana. I know you said you're not ready for another move, but you're not that far away. If you'd like to come down and check out the scene here one weekend, hit me up!

Beer Baron wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: If you can sell yourself... maybe you can sell beer?

That... is kind of what I'm thinking. I plan to look into retail and distribution stuff. Maybe if I could get a sales job with something like an equipment manufacturer. It would be cool to work for Siemens. Worst case scenario, I go get a job at a home-brew shop or high end grocery/liquor mart for a while. Unfortunately, moving is not an option right now. We *just* moved, and this move is really good for the fiance's career.

There are reps around here that work for the importer/resellers that sell to distributors. I have a neighbor that does this kind of thing - company car, drives to beer distributors all day taking orders and handing out promotional stuff (tap handles, cases of glasses, etc).

He put three kids thru college so it's atleast a livable wage... qualifications appear to be "Nice guy, knows a lot about beer, can schmooze, remember people's kids names and discuss current events including all sporting scores ad nauseum then hand you free swag".

Sorry to hear. There are a lot of mico-brews around that could probably use someone like you. I guess it comes down to finding who needs you.

Beer Baron wrote: Maybe if I could get a sales job with something like an equipment manufacturer. It would be cool to work for Siemens. Worst case scenario, I go get a job at a home-brew shop or high end grocery/liquor mart for a while.

Equipment rental or sales can be a very good job to have. Siemens, Granger, Graybar, Volvo Rents, etc. Poke your head in and let them know you're interested. The sales guys I come across appear to be happy with what they do.

petegossett wrote: As someone recently diagnosed with Adult-ADHD, your symptoms sound right in line. Have you been tested? If there's any way you can, it may be worth it long-term. It certainly can help with being scatterbrained/forgetful and give you more focus.

Adult-ADHD = ADHD. I had it when I was a kid and I still have it now. The meth they gave me back then only berkeleyed me up. COPING MECHANISMS are how you deal with the issues. You learn to hyperfocus, not pop pills that make you.

I'm not built for certain jobs and don't expect to others to be able to do the same work I do.

16vCorey wrote: I have some connections in the brewing/distributing field here in southern Indiana. I know you said you're not ready for another move, but you're not that far away. If you'd like to come down and check out the scene here one weekend, hit me up!

That might not be a bad idea. I'm going to see what networking I can do here first. I'm going to go around and talk to some of the contacts I've made to see what is open.

My former boss is genuinely a nice guy. He said if there is anything he knows of that he can direct me to, he will, but isn't aware of anything at the moment. He doesn't think the beer industry is a bad place for me, just that the production side is not the place for me. No, there are no sales jobs with them. The company distributes so narrowly, that they only need the one guy they already have.

Sorry to hear about the job. Would a Columbus GRM get together for beer and venting help?

N Sperlo wrote:

petegossett wrote: As someone recently diagnosed with Adult-ADHD, your symptoms sound right in line. Have you been tested? If there's any way you can, it may be worth it long-term. It certainly can help with being scatterbrained/forgetful and give you more focus.

Adult-ADHD = ADHD. I had it when I was a kid and I still have it now. The meth they gave me back then only berkeleyed me up. COPING MECHANISMS are how you deal with the issues. You learn to hyperfocus, not pop pills that make you. I'm not built for certain jobs and don't expect to others to be able to do the same work I do.

I have not been tested, really. I went and had a consultation with a psychiatrist about a year ago, back when I was having issues focusing at my previous brewing job. He asked me a few questions and basically said, "I don't see anything that worries me," but no tests.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Sorry to hear about the job. Would a Columbus GRM get together for beer and venting help?

Possibly. I don't know that venting is really what I need. The only person I'm kind of pissed at is myself for banking so much on this being the path for me and ending up being wrong.

What would help is if anyone in the region knows somebody who'd be interested in buying my 944Spec race car off me. My focus is going to be elsewhere for a while, and I could use a few extra dollars.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Oh, most definitely, the coping techniques are a given - I'd be screwed without all the lists and reminders on my phone.

I now realize I obviously had ADHD as a kid, but it only really started impacting my life in adulthood. Obviously the meds work differently/better/worse for different people. I only started on Adderal 3-weeks ago, and I certainly won't say it's been a wonder-drug, but there definitely are times I feel it helping me.

And that's the point - some people respond better to the drugs than others, some only respond to specific drugs, etc. If you have the insurance/means to go thoroug the testing and drug trials, it could be beneficial - but he won't know unless he goes through it.

(EDIT): Just read Pete's response and I completely agree as I stated below...

In reply to Beer Baron:

ADHD wouldn't worry me. I don't trust the drugs. They only made me shaky, paranoid, and peckish at most when eating. Rarely did I eat and hovered at about 100 lbs.

I do have a relative that raves about how Aderal allows him to sit and do work. People like myself and others in my family are able to get started on a project and hyperfocus. We will lose track of time, become engrossed, and viciously attack the task at hand. Even a mind with ADHD can be trained.

If the drugs work for Pete, then they do.

Baron, you may have signs of AADHD/ADHD/ADD, but everyone does.

Were you truly enjoy what you were doing? They say, "Do what you love and the money will follow." How true is that in this case?

Beer Baron wrote: I'd be good at technical writing, but have no idea how to break into that field.

You have an English degree, correct? That along with your hands-on car experience will get you an interview. Write a few sample procedures, like how to change the brake pads on a Spec 944. I'd be glad to provide any assistance in that dept that I can.

However, if you aren't detail oriented, you won't make it as a Technical Writer either. I've been doing it for 7 years.

I'm in a slightly different position from most Tech Writers (most tech writers do Online Help, web stuff......software). I write for products that go on heavy equipment, so there is a large liability factor to what I do as well.

Beer Baron wrote:

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Sorry to hear about the job. Would a Columbus GRM get together for beer and venting help?

Possibly. I don't know that venting is really what I need. The only person I'm kind of pissed at is myself for banking so much on this being the path for me and ending up being wrong.

I really believe that you are still on the path, there's just an unexpected fork in the road. The good news is that you know yourself a little better, and you have no doubt made contacts that will help you move in a direction that suits you better. It's hard coming to terms with a job/position not working out, but I'm a firm believer that we learn the most from our mistakes. That's why I make a lot of them.

Siemens was across the aisle from me at a recent trade show. (A different division I am sure, big company) They were not looking for anyone that I noticed, but Amazon was (they recently entered the material handling industry after acquiring Kiva Robotics) and so was Sick, the sensor people.

http://www.usa.siemens.com/en/jobs_careers.htm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/jobs

http://www.sick.com/us/en-us/home/jobs/Pages/sick_jobs_and_careers.aspx

Beer Baron..

There's a guy around my neck of the woods who specialises in installing custom kegerator and beer distribution systems into guys "man caves".

He also handled distribution for a bunch of the local micro-breweries.

Last time I spoke to him, he was doing fairly well for himself.

He seemed to stay away from the "joe six-pack, football on the weekend" kinda guys and concentrated more on the areas of town with a large disposable income.

"Beer Baron" is already a kickass name for your business!

Shawn

z31maniac wrote:

Beer Baron wrote: I'd be good at technical writing, but have no idea how to break into that field.

You have an English degree, correct? That along with your hands-on car experience will get you an interview. Write a few sample procedures, like how to change the brake pads on a Spec 944. I'd be glad to provide any assistance in that dept that I can. However, if you aren't detail oriented, you won't make it as a Technical Writer either. I've been doing it for 7 years. I'm in a slightly different position from most Tech Writers (most tech writers do Online Help, web stuff......software). I write for products that go on heavy equipment, so there is a large liability factor to what I do as well.

I don't know how to explain it about being "detail oriented" or not. I understand and can break down and explain fine details. I can order my thoughts and explain procedures step-by-step. What I'm not good at doing is noticing that I missed cleaning that spot in the hard-to-see part of the kettle, or remembering that I left that CO2 valve open. I'm not good at keeping dates and times organized. I can identify all the little details, I just can't keep track of them all.

Now, you know the job better than me. There is usually a lot more involved in a profession than the obvious thing (when I was a teacher, I was good at planning lessons, engaging students, and teaching classes... but I wasn't good at the administration or patience of being a gradeschool teacher).

As an aside, what about looking int being a rep for the brewing component industry? Use your skill set to sell the wares the common man or microbrewery would need to make a good chug. Even set up yourself as a distributor and start small making it bigger when you can. Focus on quality information and premium products but keep an eye towards the DIY guy, making them feel better.

A quality web site and a good Google/Facebook/Twitter/Colbert Bump would get you heading the right way ;)

EDIT FOR NOTE: ALMOST exactly what TransMaro was typing at the same time.