Lost my job on new year's day, 2020. Have not worked since. I am not considered skilled enough for the kind of work I imagine most readers here do, meaning no degree or certifications and I've never worked in tech, mostly worked food service and manufacturing, plus odd jobs. So my context might seem irrelevant to some who frequent this site.

When I say I have not worked since, I am only referring to taxable income. Helping my mom put down mulch for her flower garden didn't require a W-2 or I-9 but I still was paid. That's mostly how I have been getting by, odd jobs for family members and friends, with a bit of reselling junk I find on the street as art.

I also live in a very low cost of living area and am very fortunate that my landlord has never increased my rent. My rent is considered shockingly low, even for this poverty dense area. I am by nature very frugal, to extremes at times, like with clothing (all from a thrift store, frequently repaired myself with needle and thread) and furniture from the side of the road.

I always wanted to work in tech. College did not work out for me (I've tried 5 times at 3 different schools) thanks in part to ADHD/bipolar/autism/whatever they call it now, with the closest I've come being a job at a call center. At this point I'm too old for food service and was never good at it anyways, too old and not strong enough for local manufacturing jobs and there are not many opportunities around me for anything else.

I keep a spreadsheet of applications I've turned in and the results of followups. There are just shy of 400 entries currently, most never get a callback or any progress from followups. I've landed 6 interviews in that time, none worked out. It's been close to a year since I added a new entry, I've pretty much given up. I'll call it retirement for a laugh but I'm only 43.

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squigz 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Is there any field of tech in particular that interests you? Programming? Game design? Systems stuff?

	▲	lattrommi 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Quite a lot of it. I was a huge gamer for years but quit playing them as a new years resolution (along with watching TV and movies) the same day I lost my job, so I could improve myself and learn more. I've learned how to install Linux. I haven't used Windows since September 2021. I got my amateur radio technicians license 2 years ago. I've programmed "Hello world!" in 14 different programming languages, because that takes about the same amount of time as I can maintain my focus. I've only written a few programs outside the Hello World ones, most of which do not work. I've built every computer I've owned that I've used regularly (3 total) and feel llike I have a better understanding of them than the majority of people I know (non tech types mostly) and occasionally make money or end up with hand-me-down parts, by helping friends pick out compatible parts and assisting with assembly of their builds. After I stopped using Windows, I lost alt-keycodes for special characters, so I made a custom keymap/keysym setup that includes characters not normally on keyboards but still are frequently needed. ≈ ± ≠ ∞ √ ∅ Ω © ® ™ I've penciled out and/or made somewhat tech-related things, like costumes and props that use simple robotics (moving hand for Halloween) and LEDS ('magic' wands made of wood that light up from the inside with certain movements). One project currently in progress (i have 100's in progress) is a little box that has sensors for weather, an RTL-SDR to pick up aircraft and a raspberry pi in a 'hopefully' weatherproof case, with the goal of data collecting from locations near me. I make a ridiculous amount of directed graphs and diagrams. I have a memory map like a wikipedia of my own life and knowledge. So yes, I am interested in a little bit of everything, possibly to a fault.