Hey Keisha! Former Army National Guard here - went through a similar transition a couple years back. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is to make sure you understand the difference between your "battle assembly" weekends (regular drill) and any additional duty days you might pick up. Sometimes units offer extra training opportunities or make-up drills that pay differently and might affect your benefits timeline. Also, when you do start working with civilians who don't understand military schedules, be prepared to explain why you're unavailable one weekend per month. I had a few interviews where employers seemed confused about reserve commitments. Having your drill schedule upfront can actually work in your favor - shows you're organized and committed. The EDD reporting is definitely the trickiest part, but you're smart to get it right from the start. Keep all your military documents organized in one place - LES statements, orders, training certificates, everything. EDD audits can happen months later and having that paper trail ready makes all the difference. Hang in there - the transition gets easier once you find your rhythm with both civilian work and reserve duties. Thank you for your service!

Welcome to civilian life and thank you for your service! I'm currently Active Guard Reserve (AGR) but was on unemployment briefly between contracts a few years ago. One thing I learned that might help you - if you're doing your Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) or Traditional Reservist (TPU) drilling, make sure you understand exactly what type of duty status you're in when you drill. Most weekend drills are "Inactive Duty Training" (IDT) which is different from "Active Duty for Training" (ADT). The pay timing and reporting can be slightly different. IDT pay usually comes 2-3 weeks after your drill weekend, while ADT (like your Annual Training) often has different payment schedules. Also, don't forget that your reserve pay stubs will show federal taxes withheld, but California doesn't tax military pay for residents, so you won't see state tax withholding. This doesn't affect your EDD reporting, but it's good to know for tax season. Keep your Reserve Component Common Access Card (CAC) active too - you'll need it for accessing military pay systems to print your Leave and Earnings Statements (LES) if EDD ever requests documentation. The myPay system is your friend for tracking exactly when payments hit your account. Best of luck with the job search - the skills you learned on active duty are valuable, even if civilian employers don't always immediately recognize the translation!

This entire thread has been so helpful! I'm scheduled for RESEA in about 10 days and was honestly losing sleep over that minimum wage question. Reading everyone's real experiences makes it clear that around 15% below previous wage is the sweet spot. I was making $26/hr doing data entry and analysis, so I'm planning to put $22-23/hr as my minimum. It's encouraging to see that the interviewers actually seem to care more about helping you succeed than catching you in some kind of trap. The tip about bringing your resume and being ready to explain your wage reasoning is gold. I'm also really intrigued by all the job search resources people mentioned - CalJOBS, industry networking groups, specialized staffing agencies. I had no idea they provided access to resources beyond the typical job boards. One quick question for those who've been through it - about how long did your actual interview take? I'm trying to plan my day around the appointment. Thanks again everyone for sharing your experiences so openly!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm going through the same situation right now - got my RESEA notice last week and that minimum wage question had me completely stumped. I was making $35/hr as a software tester before getting laid off, and I've been agonizing over what number to put down. After reading everyone's experiences, it sounds like around $29-30/hr (about 15% reduction) would be reasonable for my situation. It's such a relief to hear that the interviewers are actually trying to help rather than looking for reasons to disqualify benefits. The advice about researching current market rates and being prepared to explain your reasoning is spot-on. I'm going to spend some time on Glassdoor and Indeed looking at current salary ranges for QA positions in my area before filling out the form. Thanks especially to those who came back with updates after their appointments - knowing that it went well and was actually helpful makes me way less anxious about the whole process!

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now - missed interview on Monday and payments still pending. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been so helpful, especially knowing about the technical issues with EDD's phone system. It makes sense why so many people are having the same problem lately. @Sophia Carson your update about getting paid without the interview is exactly what I needed to hear! I'm going to follow the advice here and wait a few more days before trying to call. The stress of pending payments is real but at least now I know it's not just me. Thanks everyone for sharing - this community really helps when dealing with EDD chaos!

This thread has been incredibly helpful for me too! I'm in a very similar situation - had my interview scheduled for Wednesday and never received a call. Like many others here, I've been obsessively checking my UI Online account hoping to see that status change to paid. Reading about the technical issues with EDD's phone system really puts things in perspective - it's clearly a widespread problem affecting many claimants right now. @Sophia Carson your success story gives me so much hope! It's reassuring to know that they're reviewing cases manually when the phone interviews don't happen. I'm going to follow the advice here and wait a few more days before attempting to navigate their phone system. The stress of pending payments is overwhelming, but this community makes it so much more bearable knowing we're all going through this together. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helps!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! I just got my first EDD payment last week and have been too scared to even activate my card after reading all the fraud horror stories online. My coworker lost $600 from her card getting skimmed at a grocery store ATM and it took EDD almost 3 months to investigate and return her money. I had no idea you could do cash advances at any bank! I thought you were stuck with just BofA ATMs or risking sketchy machines at random stores. This changes everything - there's a Chase branch literally 2 blocks from my house, so I can just walk over there instead of driving across town to find a "safe" ATM. Quick question - do you need to call ahead to let them know you're coming for a cash advance, or can you just walk in? And is there any difference in the process between weekdays vs weekends? Also definitely going to set up that Money Network app transfer everyone's talking about. Sounds like the safest long-term solution is getting money off that card as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for sharing this - you probably just saved me from weeks of anxiety every time I need to access my benefits!

This is such a lifesaver! I've been on unemployment for 8 months and have been dealing with constant anxiety about using my EDD card. I actually had my card number stolen twice - once from an ATM skimmer and another time from using it at a gas station. Both times it was a nightmare trying to get through to EDD's fraud department and getting my money back. I wish I had known about the cash advance option months ago! I've been limiting myself to only BofA ATMs and even then I was always paranoid. The fact that you can just walk into ANY bank and get a cash advance is incredible. Definitely trying this next week. One question - has anyone had issues with banks being hesitant to do this or not understanding what you're asking for? I'm worried the teller might not know how to process a cash advance from a prepaid card. Should I mention it's a Money Network/Visa card specifically? Also want to say thanks to everyone sharing the Money Network app transfer info. Just downloaded it and going to set up the bank transfer tonight. Getting that money off the EDD card ASAP seems like the way to go. This whole thread has been so helpful!

I just wanted to add something that might help ease your worries - I went through a similar card transition with CalFresh benefits last year and it was actually smoother than I expected. The key is definitely preparing ahead of time like others have mentioned. One tip: when you get your new Money Network card, activate it immediately even if you're still using your BofA card. That way if there are any activation issues, you have time to resolve them before your BofA card stops working. I made the mistake of waiting until the last minute with my CalFresh transition and had a few stressful days. Also, Money Network's customer service is supposedly much better than BofA's - my caseworker mentioned they actually have people you can talk to instead of endless phone trees. Fingers crossed that's true!

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who's been through multiple benefit card transitions - the Money Network switch should be pretty straightforward if you prepare properly. I actually called Money Network directly (not EDD) to ask questions and their customer service was surprisingly helpful and quick to answer. A few additional tips based on what I learned: - You can set up text alerts for when payments are deposited, which is really handy for budgeting - The Money Network ATM locator app actually works well (unlike BofA's which was always outdated) - If you have any recurring payments set up with your current card number, start updating those to your bank account instead so you don't have to worry about updating them again when you get the new card The transition period is always nerve-wracking when you're living paycheck to paycheck, but based on everything I'm hearing, Money Network seems like a significant upgrade. Just make sure to drain that BofA card before the cutoff date!