To ask for ideas on what job I can do?

[JustBeingJobless]

I know this isn’t really an AIBU but it seems to be the busiest page and the one I read the most.

Bit of background - I had a brain haemorrhage 10 years ago, have degenerative disc disease, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. I’m falling to bloody pieces and very bitter about it!

I haven’t worked for a while as, after my brain injury, I just kept losing jobs due to my inability to manage them. I interview very well (not so much since I started using a walking stick as that tends to make interviewers eyes glaze over!), but, in reality, I struggle to train for anything new and tire extremely easily.

I struggle with short term memory, neuro fatigue (I can be full of energy one day, then crash completely for a week), can’t sit upright for too long due to my back, ditto standing, struggle to learn new systems (I do eventually, but it takes me a lot longer than most people), can’t always drive as my left side fails when I’m over tired, and I know I wouldn’t be a reliable employee in the slightest! Just being honest!

I am, however, eloquent, intelligent and desperately want to work. I need more money coming in. DS is starting university in September (will still be living at home though), so child benefit, tax credits etc will stop. I receive PIP, plus rent from my dad’s house which I have tenants in, so don’t qualify for any means tested benefits and I’m going to struggle come September, so I need to either evict my tenants and sell the house - which will keep the wolves from the door whilst I live off the proceeds - or find a job.

My employment background is mainly sales, retail and banking. Couldn’t cope with a full time job in any of those fields nowadays, much as I hate to admit it. I need part time, flexible, WFH preferably and an understanding employer, or I need to set up on my own doing something that will earn me a bit.

I don’t need to earn a lot. I have no mortgage and we live fairly modestly. I do need to run my car though, as it’s my lifeline with not being able to walk far. Would prefer to set up on my own doing something due to my self confessed unreliability!

I've applied for hundreds of jobs over the last couple of years and haven’t even got to interview stage. Not sure if that’s because I’ve been out of work a while, or because I’m ticking the box to say I have a disability.

Please throw any ideas at me! Thanks in advance!

Working part time as a receptionist in a doctors surgery?

A book keeping course is a great idea. Well paid and do in your own time.

Could you do some kind of call centre work from home? I have a relative who has severe mobility issues as well as a couple of other conditions which would make full time, office work too much to manage. She works part time for an agency that does something for the NHS.

Outbound calling can be a horrible job but inbound, working for a charity or a public service organisation might be less stressful. Lots of charities have call centres for supporters who want to make donations or ask questions.

If (for example) you found a charity which advocates around one of the conditions you have, they might be especially delighted to have you on their team.

Have a look on charityjobs.co.uk. They often have remote, part time jobs such as admin assistant or fundraiser.
Some require occasional travel or in office days but it sounds like you would be okay with that.
Best of luck.

I’ve always wanted to write. I do enter some competitions as I enjoy writing short stories etc. Not as much as I used to pre brain injury however, as my concentration just isn’t as good!

Take a look at the charity jobs website. You can filter job searches by remote and part time and there's quite a lot of jobs on there right now that are admin-based and are homeworking p/t. Hope you find something soon.

I reckon you would be a brilliant virtual assistant, you could do this fully remotely and your communication skills and experience would be highly valued as not all administrators have that skill set to offer. Good luck 🤞🏼

Cat sitting is one thing I couldn’t do as I’m hideously allergic 🤣 But I agree that self employment would be ideal. I do a tax return anyway, so not too much more work to add a bit extra on.

I do think it would be good for your DS to find some sort of job if at all possible. I know it isn’t easy as one of my DCs is ASD but has managed to work with supportive employers. What is he going to be studying?

Also, I agree that you should never agree to work for less than NMW. Don’t sell yourself short, as you write clearly, can spell and are very articulate.

Read with interest. Just wanted to wish you luck@JustBeingJobless. The Virtual Assistant sounds good to me.

When my husband died in 2008 (date relevant because so many more paper documents in those days), I hired someone to come to the house to go through his filing cabinets and sort out what needed dealing with, keeping or destroying. Best money I ever spent! Could you somehow swing that into something online? (I'd now love to ask someone to do that for everything I have on my computer and on clouds.)

I agree with those suggesting your DS would benefit from experiencing work. Could he begin by volunteering at a local library? They are kindly settings for diffident people, and often very short-staffed.

Sending very best wishes for whatever you do. I admire your bravery and positive attitude.

Many thanks everyone. I have plenty of food for thought and will definitely look into a lot of these ideas. I just feel like my whole identity has become my health conditions and want to get back to some semblance of normality and feel like I’m contributing something to society!

I also just wanted to wish you luck and all the best, @JustBeingJobless. Will be thinking of you and hoping you find something you like and that suits you soon.

I am in a similar situation.

I have found the work from home hub helpful.

www.facebook.com/theworkfromhomehub

They post jobs what are wholly remote and often part (sometimes very part!) time

www.rev.com/freelancers

Transcription and sub-titling from home. You need to be able to type fast and accurately, but you can work at any hour of the day or night! Hard to make a decent living from in my experience but I really enjoyed it.

Given your people and organisational skills, would something like account management / customer relationship management work for you?

If you can find the right role with the right firm, this might be an option - depending on your background and experience, tech or pharma sales might be a good option.

I do an admin job for Children’s Services which is incredibly flexible. You can do your hours to suit you - we all start early or late to suit ourselves, swap our day off etc

I've done some of this, but it's worth bearing in mind that AI is fast making a lot of transcription redundant.

What about working with the elderly. I would have loved someone reliable to keep my parent company. Not taxing. The people we've had tend to sit on their phones and ignore parent , I'm sure you would be fantastic and you could even set up on your own.

@PomPomtheGreat agreed. When I was doing it, they brought in automated transcriptions which you then edited, but the quality of these was poor and took almost as long to edit as to do from scratch. This may well have improved over the last few years.

Sadly, it has. I have lost some transcription work for a film company as a result.