Reply #16: Exactly [View All]

I was faced with the same dilemma as the OP. Six months ago, I had a great 40 hour a week job, but was scrambling to find something else, since my company announced that it had merged with competitors, and our office was being shut down. My job would have ended on December 31, 2008. I would have gotten four weeks severance, and be UC eligible, but I decided to leave earlier when a part time job became available with a utility company.

I sincerely hope for all of our sakes that the economy is going to recover soon, but if it doesn't, the folks hoping for an extension of unemployment benefits are likely to be worse off than someone working steadily at 20-30 hours a week like I am. And there is the possibility of being able to go full time, I'm much more likely to get one of those positions by being on the inside, than trying to get in from the outside after just collecting UC for months and months.