Urgent what job can I do that will get me off all benefits?

[Scaredofthestate]

I really cannot go on UC when it's rolled out in full in my area. I have difficulties with PTSD and anxiety, and it's not realistic for me to be able to deal with DWP and stay mentally healthy. I feel well if I feel in control of managing my stress, too much stress and everything spirals rapidly and I sink. I get housing benefit and PIP at the minute I need to get away from all benefits. The universal credit system has no rhyme or reason and is deeply anxiety inducing.

What jobs can I possibly get that would make me 100% independent quickly? Like not minimum wage needing top ups?

My background is doing things like communications and writing but I've never worked full time successfully so I know this is a barrier too.

[Verbena37]

And didn’t see about the mH issue.....but depending on what that issue is. There are many teachers on anti depressants for depression for example.

[Battleax]

I have difficulties with PTSD and anxiety, and it's not realistic for me to be able to deal with DWP and stay mentally healthy. I feel well if I feel in control of managing my stress, too much stress and everything spirals rapidly and I sink.

Honestly, I think she'd be best off leaving education well alone.

[Verbena37]

Oops. Didn’t see PSTD either

[ILostItInTheEarlyNineties]

I don't think anyone is trying to gaslight or patronise you? You've had some helpful suggestions and reassurances from posters already receiving UC.

I do think that seeing a work coach once a week and dealing with fluctuations in your benefits, whilst working part time would be a hell of a lot less stressful and pressured than a full time job.

It would be far easier to transition from your current benefits to UC. You can still earn money to bridge the gap in your finances.

If you did halt your claim completely and later wanted to return to UC as a new claimant, you would be facing a lengthy process and huge delay.

You are still vulnerable and it's clear you need to protect your mental health by keeping your stress levels low.

I'm sorry you're suffering with the callous benefit changes being rolled out.
I hope your job search is successful but do remain realistic at what you can take on so early in your recovery.

[KathArtic]

The trouble with NHS admin jobs, school jobs, TA'ing is there are already lots of over qualified people chasing them - you really need to be in the best place mentally and qualified to even get an interview.

At least if you start some training courses, or any training through your current work and some 'light' volunteering now you are getting yourself in the best place should the worst happen.

[appella]

If you're thinking tuition, explore learning and the like employ managers - full time and about 22-27k

[Justanotherlurker]

Think you have had some good advice so far, but I just will just point out something that gets peddled quite a lot in threads like these, even though computer programming is a highly paid job in certain languages, do not be fooled into thinking that you can spend a couple of months on code academy etc and suddenly get interviews, also be very very wary if any software company is taking people on without any programming experience, these are usually a glorified data entry job which is fine, but it's not programming.

I'm not sticking the boot in, but I am starting to see this career mentioned a lot as though it's just a walk in the park, there is a vast difference to messing about with website templates and Wordpress etc to the real money of back end development, one is flooded the other isn't and is in high demand, if you want to get into programming then it can be rewarding, the fun chill offices still require you to 20/30 sprint points a week, just go into it with your eyes open.

[Etymology23]

Justa hey, I think I suggested this. I might have been a bit spoilt with my uni experience because I was at Cambridge, but there we had employer after employer really very strongly encouraging us to apply even with no coding experience at all - especially women, because the industry has historically struggled to recruit women. I'm sure there are some that are glorified data entry jobs, but where my friends took them they were taken on at 30k a year with zero programming knowledge and have since been taught the relevant languages for their roles. So obviously one would have to check, as with any job, that the role fitted your expectations , but I don't think they're a total pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

[Justanotherlurker]

Etymology23 it wasn't a dig at you personally, more that your post tipped the scales (iysim), it does come up a heck of a lot in these types of threads and it's presented as though it's some easy entry to a high income job, it's not, it's cut throat high pressure and requires a lot more than a degree in a humanities degree to get a foot in the door.

I have been a coder for a couple of decades with multinational companies and have risen the ranks, to suggest that a non coder (excluding advanced maths/statistics) is offered a 30k a year job with training is laughable unless your in city center London, we have enough cs grads with cutting edge knowledge that are willing to be burnt out for just experience, If your talking about PM or spending years working on the 1st line support it could be feasible but 30k is very high.

I'm not pulling up the ladder behind me, just trying to correct a narrative that is becoming prominent on here, people need to realise that it's well paid because of the work involved, not because of shortages and a percieved easy win by spending a couple of months using some code academy etc

[Scaredofthestate]

By gaslighting I was referring to several posts saying I didn't need to worry, I might be fine and not be impacted, and did I know PIP was not included in UC changes.

That all assumes I've been crashing around in blind panic making assumptions. Getting het up and worried for no good reason.

In actual fact, I know categorically that I will be financially impacted in a very real way by the stripping of disability tax credits from my income. My PIP award is also not a certainty in terms of its renewal. Let's not kid ourselves that only healthy, completely healed people have their PIP stopped.

I'm worried for good reason. It's all quite panic inducing and upsetting, but I'm good at managing my panic (rest, naps, time alone, meditation, eating well, trite as it all sounds) and I'm ok. The reality is still a very difficult problem to solve, however.

I'm not particularly early on in recovery either. I'm several successful years in. I lead a good life and contribute to society in a small way via part time work, but in other areas of life too. But that isn't good enough anymore - it feels like my ability to contribute to society is seen as rubbish and it enough. So for my sanity I need to find another way of surviving where nobody is underlining my shortcomings and shitness week on week.

[Scaredofthestate]

Coding fascinates me! I don't know anything at all about it though I can do basic website maintenance on the likes of Wordpress but that's it.

[lyrebird1]

Sorry you are feeling anxious about this. Have you heard of Transitional Protection/Transitional Payments? As I understand it, this means that anyone who migrates onto Universal Credit cannot be worse off, so you can get a top up payment to make it up to your previous benefits, unless you have a change of circumstances. I don't think it will last forever, but it would give you a bit of extra time to decide on what work would be most manageable for you.

[Etymology23]

I must have very lucky friends! My cs grad friends are on a serious chunk more than that working for lovely companies that don't encourage long hours and definitely don't seem to be at risk of burnout.

My friends training from scratch were mathematically literate but are software engineers not project managers not in central London, primarily back end.

I guess it's going to hugely depend on the company though, I know google and fb etc can be higher stress.

[Etymology23]

But yes, plural of anecdote is not data, so I'm v prepared to believe that I've just got a very skewed anecdote set!

[Scaredofthestate]

Is cs computer science?

[Scaredofthestate]

Lyre bird thank you I've heard of transitional protection, it is very dependent on having no changes of circumstances though. I rent privately, if I am given notice say in January I'd probably have to move to a different cheaper area if my PIP is still up in the air which would count as a change.

[Etymology23]

Yes, sorry scared bit of a detail there!

I really hope you can find something that suits your health and your budget, but I think also that hopefully universal credit will be slowly fixed as it's rolled out. It's horrifying but hopefully the transitional payments suggested about above might give you more time.

The trouble with well paid jobs is they tend to require skills in short supply, long hours or be high stress. The former is hard to find, and the latter two tend not to be good for your health.

[Justanotherlurker]

If coding fascinates you the good, all I am saying is that maintenance of Wordpress sites to proper coding is miles apart.

You can pick up a job in Wordpress admin, but that area is massively flooded, if you are interested in coding then yes look at learning new languages and focus on what area you want to go down, front end or back end dev.

But, learn the underlying language, not the GUI, also be aware that you are entering a very competitive market, many people do Wordpress etc as a hobby, to earn a substantial income you need to know your shit not just install plug ins or css skins.

If you do want to become a programmer then (ignoring what I said before) gain knowledge from the free learning sites, build something yourself that you can showcase at an interview, you will ideally need more than the projects you would build on the courses, and do not expect to be taken on at the money regularly touted as there are many CS grads willing to burn themselves into the ground for real world experience.

I'm not trying to put you off this career, just pointing out that even though it's sort after, it's highly competitive and do go into this lightly.

[SquashedInTight]

Ask around friends/family to see if anyone's teen needs help with English GCSE or A level. See if you like tutoring. If you are good, you will be recommended and business will fall into your lap. £25 per hour (more for A level). If you work 10 hours on a Sat and a Sun plus 4x 3 hours during the week, you'd be on about £28,000 before tax. Assume 35 weeks in a 'tutoring' year. There's always a couple of weeks that go missing along the way! You need to be near a large town to get enough work though, or be happy to Skype tutor.

[Birdsgottafly]

"By gaslighting I was referring to several posts saying I didn't need to worry, I might be fine and not be impacted, and did I know PIP was not included in UC changes. "

I was one of the posters that said that.

As someone on PIP and soon to be ESA, if my money were stopped, i'd have to starve, that's why I claim disability benefits, i can't work.

If you are capable of full time work, then of course you should look for another job, or more work, regardless of what is happening benefit wise.

That wasn't how you put it in your OP, though.

[Scaredofthestate]

Birds I don't fucking know if I'm "capable" of reasonably holding down a full time job without destabilising my health but I am more scared of UC so I'm going to have to attempt something. I did not mislead you with my opening post. I am clinging to pernicious hope I will be able to be successful in the work place full time because I need to be optimistic to balance out the fear that I'll crash and be shit and sacked for not coping.

Sorry you can't seem to understand my situation, but you can't invalidate my health issues just because you don't understand them. Nice try though.

[Justanotherlurker]

Sorry etymology23 I maybe came across to harsh, was more a rant, nothing personal.

[Scaredofthestate]

Mental health issues are treacherous. I feel well and hope against hope I can achieve goals, but the reality is also I know if my anxiety grows too much it spins out of control.

[Battleax]

Great birds let's all attack each other. Make a Tory bastard happy with some disabled mud wrestling 🙄

[Battleax]

Another thought just struck me OP.

Would night or twilight work suit you any better? Large legal firms often have evening work typing up and drafting. Similarly factories sometimes need admin and HR assistants for the night shift.