Lost Cause?

J.David_2

Hi all,

I have found myself in a bit of a complicated situation, looking for some ideas and/or out fo the box thinking to solve it...

In a nutshell:

• I'm now 33(.5) years of age.
• I have Aspergers Syndrome.
• I lost my twenties and early thirties having endless health issues and surgeries, being massively let down by National and Private health combined.
• The final result of the years of suffering was having to have an ileostomy.

My issue now is that, after battling to get myself into a better position in my life, now that I'm finally here, the world has changed ...Or maybe I'm just feeling like I'm left too far behind, a 10 year health battle is a lot to recover from when thinking about work and living again.

I have no qualifications, no proof of work for 10 years, no proof of finance, no money and a medical condition ...I know what you're thinking, surely I'm having job offers thrown at me from all sides :rotfl:

Being completely honest, I've found myself in a frustrated, angry, feeling sorry for myself, worried rut. Which is odd because, for so long I've been thinking "If I can just get through this and get myself better, I'll be able together myself on my feet and be unstoppable" ...But now I'm here, I'm stuck.

As I mentioned, the world has changed. Before my problem started I used to be in Real Estate, however, this is a trade that's becoming more automated. I would probably be quite rusty with todays standards and I have zero interest there.

I think I need a qualification, however, as mentioned I have no proof of finance and no money. What also worries me about this is, I wouldn't like to spend time and (if I happened to magic some from somewhere) money on a qualification for a subject that covers an area that will become automated over the next couple of years, making work hard to find.

I genuinely have no idea what to do or where to turn.

I'm ambitious, quick to learn and I want a life, I want to feel like a worthy member of society, but, I just feel like a lost cause right now.

I haven't been completely wasting my time whilst ill, I've had a few projects on the go to keep my mind busy at least.

As mentioned, I do have Aspergers Syndrome, where throughout my teens and early twenties was able to overcome a lot of stigmas surrounding the condition, however, being forced to spend so much time, almost always, at home, I've noticed that I've become more recluse.

My interests (which I need proper training in) are:

• Computing
• Web Design
• Photography
• Marketing
• Geography
• Psychology

I have a feeling photography, web design and marketing are dying trades with the newer (and future) phones and apps that can do so much for you without having to hire people?

I'm really stuck with everything. I feel quite overwhelmed with worry.

I seem to remember back when I was 20, there were loads of incentives to get people qualified in all kinds of things on offer. Now there seems to be loans and lots of dodgy training companies that I don't think I trust too much.

Perhaps I should broaden my horizons to something I haven't yet thought of, but what?!

If you've read this far then thank you. If you have any advice then I'm willing to listen.

Comms69

J.David wrote: »

Hi all,

I have found myself in a bit of a complicated situation, looking for some ideas and/or out fo the box thinking to solve it...

In a nutshell:

• I'm now 33(.5) years of age.
• I have Aspergers Syndrome.
• I lost my twenties and early thirties having endless health issues and surgeries, being massively let down by National and Private health combined (Unfortunately one of my surgeons has been all over BBC news ...But I won't go too deep into this now)
• The final result of the years of suffering was having to have an ileostomy.

My issue now is that, after battling to get myself into a better position in my life, now that I'm finally here, the world has changed ...Or maybe I'm just feeling like I'm left too far behind, a 10 year health battle is a lot to recover from when thinking about work and living again.

I have no qualifications, no proof of work for 10 years, no proof of finance, no money and a medical condition ...I know what you're thinking, surely I'm having job offers thrown at me from all sides :rotfl:

Being completely honest, I've found myself in a frustrated, angry, feeling sorry for myself, worried rut. Which is odd because, for so long I've been thinking "If I can just get through this and get myself better, I'll be able together myself on my feet and be unstoppable" ...But now I'm here, I'm stuck.

As I mentioned, the world has changed. Before my problem started I used to be in Real Estate, however, this is a trade that's becoming more automated. I would probably be quite rusty with todays standards and I have zero interest there.

I think I need a qualification, however, as mentioned I have no proof of finance and no money. What also worries me about this is, I wouldn't like to spend time and (if I happened to magic some from somewhere) money on a qualification for a subject that covers an area that will become automated over the next couple of years, making work hard to find.

I genuinely have no idea what to do or where to turn.

I'm ambitious, quick to learn and I want a life, I want to feel like a worthy member of society, but, I just feel like a lost cause right now.

I haven't been completely wasting my time whilst ill, I've had a few projects on the go to keep my mind busy at least.

As mentioned, I do have Aspergers Syndrome, where throughout my teens and early twenties was able to overcome a lot of stigmas surrounding the condition, however, being forced to spend so much time, almost always, at home, I've noticed that I've become more recluse.

My interests (which I need proper training in) are:

• Computing
• Web Design
• Photography
• Marketing
• Geography
• Psychology

I have a feeling photography, web design and marketing are dying trades with the newer (and future) phones and apps that can do so much for you without having to hire people?

I'm really stuck with everything. I feel quite overwhelmed with worry.

I seem to remember back when I was 20, there were loads of incentives to get people qualified in all kinds of things on offer. Now there seems to be loans and lots of dodgy training companies that I don't think I trust too much.

Perhaps I should broaden my horizons to something I haven't yet thought of, but what?!

If you've read this far then thank you. If you have any advice then I'm willing to listen.

We regularly hire professional photographers, rates are around £300 a day.


We often get website built - spending £3-4k


Marketing positions regularly attract salaries in the £30k range


This is all in the grim 'up north'

trailingspouse

You've won the war - now you need to win the peace. This is sometimes harder - while you were ill, you could keep yourself positive by saying 'Everything will be OK once I'm better'. Now that you're through all of that, you need to make the 'Everything will be OK' part happen.


One thought, for someone in your position, is to look at working in a supermarket, one of the big 4 - you would be starting at the bottom (because you have no qualifications and no experience), but you would have the opportunity to progress and to receive training. From my own experience, and even though they knew that I wasn't interested in making a career of it, and even though I only worked for them for a month, I went from stacking shelves to being till-trained, to working on the deli counter (with all the training in food hygiene that went with that). The assistant manager had started as a shelf-stacker.



All the very best, with whatever you decide to do.

NBLondon

J.David wrote: »

I have a feeling photography, web design and marketing are dying trades with the newer (and future) phones and apps that can do so much for you.

There are plenty of apps and tech that allow an unskilled person to do things with photography, web design, graphic design - and the results are OK-ish. To do a decent job requires some skill and experience and Comms69 is right - that has to be paid for. You don't necessarily need a qualification, you need talent/flair and to get your portfolio in front of as many customers as possible.

Marketing (Branding) is one of those fields that lots of people are interested in - but a lot only want to do the exciting creative stuff or the going to product launches stuff (just watch The Apprentice for examples) and the grunt work of researching buying habits, assembling contact lists and refining copy gets forgotten. Digital and Social Media Marketing is going to be around for a good while - so if you've got the flair and can sell yourself, that could be a niche. Again, qualifications aren't as important as standing out from the masses of wannabees. I reckon tailored Marketing approaches are often forgotten; and Digital Marketing can do that faster.

Best of luck!

tacpot12

Many jobs are going to become more automated in future. Potential responses to this trend might be to train to become someone who can do the automation, or to train to do something that will be very difficult to automate; the creative process seems to be the most difficult to automate fully because it requires the ability to generate new ideas.

However, I do think that there will a backlash against this trend, and that the more affluent members of society will be prepared to pay a premium for a service that is provided by a human. They just need to see some value in the personal service being provided.

I would not be so quick to discount real estate. While digital marketing is probably the most effective form of marketing for real estate, selling and buying is still a very personal process; I feel that someone that can quickly form good relationships will be able to earn money as a salesperson. Forming good relationships doesn't really come down to much more than being polite, respectful and interested in the other person and their needs.

It is also the case that automation is very difficult where tasks can be very varied - computers don't adapt very well, humans do, so look for jobs that have a high degree of variety, or uncertainty. Employers will pay good money for people who can create order out of chaos.

Qualifications are necessary for some jobs, and for some employers but not all. Many very clever people do high-level jobs without having any qualifications. My opinion is that you need to find something you are good at and try to get work using that skill. By researching employers you may be able to find one that will take you on as an apprentice or junior member of staff. There might be competition for the job, but your story is unique and personal, so don't be afraid to tell your story (in brief). You will probably find an employer who will want to help you.

Best wishes for the future

littleredhen

Could you start by looking for volunteering opportunities in your area, have you thought about a college course to get a qualification, some job vacancies say no experience required but it depends if you have the confidence to apply. Do you have any friends or family to support you.
Aspergers is much more commonly recognised these days it might be worth preparing a small statement to explain what it means to you so that others can start to understand and support you.

Marcon

Have a look at https://www.futurelearn.com

Lots of free online courses which might give you food for thought?

Hope 2019 is the year when life takes a turn for the better for you.

Big_Orange_Jacket

Hi, J.David.


If you're into computing and have good spatial awareness, one thing you might not have thought about is CAD (Computer Aided Design) and BIM (Building Information Modelling - like CAD but the next level on).


There are a number of fields where this is used. Personally, I'm in the Civil/Structural Engineering and Construction industry. So this is taking the designs by the engineers and producing the detailed drawings (or computer models these days) to send to the client. Things like specifying the shape of steel reinforcement in a concrete beam, or the detail of a connection between a beam and a column.


A lot of consultancies have need for technicians in this field. The better ones train their own (I'm not sure if from scratch or if any post-school education is required). Modern technology appears (to me at least) to be increasing the need for these technicians, as construction companies increasingly build from the models rather than paper drawings.


You would need an eye for detail, and would be at your computer for almost all of the day (barring breaks, obviously!). You mention Asperger's Syndrome. I don't know how well you would cope in an office environment, so this is something to consider. Some offices are noisier than others. Where I work, some of the technicians get involved in the site investigations, so that gets them out of the office. (Some don't.)


I have also known people do this while working from home. This tends to be the (very) experienced end, though. In the shorter term, you would probably be working in an office, and under someone's wing.


Even if you don't do the construction CAD work, it might give you some ideas for related work in other fields.


All the best.


Big Orange Jacket.

Rosemary7391

You could look into university. If you're interesting in computing, in the sense of computer programming, you should be able to get student finance for a degree. You might have to do an access course to start with. Once you've done that you'll be able to access graduate schemes and that should help with your lack of work experience.


Other routes exist of course. You can try self teaching some programming skills, build a portfolio, contribute to open source projects etc and try to get a job based off that experience. You'll likely want to combine that with some sort of basic job (retail, etc) to keep you afloat and give you a workplace reference.



Good luck

SensibleSarah

Digital marketing is my field and is far from dying out.
If you want to get into the technical or data side of things, you can take all of Google & Hubspot's free online courses to get yourself some basics. This incorporates all online marketing channels, and at least doing some free courses will show you whether it's something you could develop a proper interest in and want to pursue career-wise.

J.David_2

Hi all,

I genuinely appreciate all of your ideas and feedback, I feel I've become a little negative in my way of thinking and this is just what I needed, some positivity and clear thinking.

Thank you.