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[isaacsweeney]

Tough spot to be in. If you get there and still haven't found anything, check into unemployment benefits in your area while you're looking for more permanent work/income.

[ejb_123]

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have my name on several emergency lists; should I just wait it out? Should I try and find an outside job and wait until the fall to try again? Can someone talk me down a little bit here, because quite frankly, I'm starting to get scared.

I would suggest continuing to apply and finding some kind of temporary work, even part-time work, to provide you with a little income during the winter months. Think back to the different kinds of jobs you worked during your undergraduate days (a cook, a server, a cashier, a dishwasher, etc.) and try to secure one of those jobs, at least for a few months during the winter so you have some kind of an income. (And keep applying for higher ed positions while working the temporary minimum-wage job.) -- And yes, I am going to have to follow this advice myself if I am still out of work in December and have not secured anything for the spring semester.

[hesitant]

It depends whether you have depleted your departmental funding or you are also "banned" from all other TA/Reships available at the university at large. (Sometimes  universities do that: they actually forbid departments from hiring grad students, their own included, past a certain year;  all of this  in an attempt to motivate students to graduate within a reasonable time frame. Ask me how I know).

 If it is not the latter, i.e. you are eligible to be hired by other departments, and you are in somewhat of an interdisciplinary field, try every single department that could be remotely interested. You never know what their staffing needs are, when it comes to TA/Reships. I was actually able to find teaching in two other departments and an RA- ship in yet another one, all of which allowed me to extend my funding for another two years. (these assistantships carried tuition remission and health insurances, which was perfect). I would just contact the chair with my CV and a brief cover letter, the way I would for adjunct positions.

Good luck!