Another story...

Just in case you haven't heard this story yet...

D-husband accepted a job with Cessna in Wichita, KS, back in September 2008, and set his starting date for January 12th. We finished our last semester at ASU while finding an apartment, getting all packed and ready to move, etc.

Then...on December 17th, Cessna called and retracted their job offer. I didn't know they could do that after we had officially accepted the job, but apparently they can! I guess it's just kind of like getting fired, before you even start! They told us they were retracting offers for all 8 of their new hires, obviously as a result of the recent economic downturn.

So we had a little freak-out moment, to say the least! D-husband called Navair, in North Carolina- they had also offered him a job over the summer, which he had turned down. They told him they might still have an opening for him, and would know for sure after New Years.

The next day, we get a call from Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita. As it turns out, Cessna gave all the names and resumes of the 8 retracted offers to other companies in the area (so they're not complete jerks, after all). Spirit said they might have an opening, and we would hear from them after New Years. We had already booked one-way tickets to Louisiana to see D-husband's parents for Christmas before moving up to Kansas, so we spent several weeks in Lake Charles waiting...and waiting...and waiting! Not to mention brainstorming crazy ideas of what we could do if nothing came through. Finally, during the first week of January, we got calls from Navair and Spirit...and BOTH offered D-husband a job! Talk about the emotional rollercoaster of a lifetime. We obviously decided to take the job in Wichita, and immediately began a crazy last-minute online apartment search. D-husband's job title is: Structural Design Engineer Level 1 (ooooh), and he started on January 30th.

Whew!!! What a story to tell our kid(s) someday.

I don't know if you've seen in the news- since last December Cessna and many other companies have laid off thousands of employees. It's a rough time for the whole industry, but Spirit seems to have a unique niche that has allowed them to keep bringing in business. We're thankful things have worked out for us so far, and we hope they continue this way.