I am feeling very stuck in my (lack of) career, and am looking for advice on where to focus and how to find work that works for me.
Some background: I hold a PhD in a language-related discipline. I worked as a postdoc until shortly after my maternity leave ended, about a year ago. Funding was not renewed and my contract ended. Since then, I have been trying to find work that will both pay the bills (probably at least £2500pm gross, more obviously better) and will suit me.
I am autistic and find office environments and typical 9-5 style work extremely difficult. I think a part-time, remote and/or freelance work would work best for me. I need autonomy in my work (both in terms of scheduling and in terms of projects/tasks). Ideally I would be working 3 or 4 days a week (or 5 short days) because I want time with my little one.
I think in an ideal world, an academic job would work very well, but I am tied to my current location (giving me access to about 6-8 universities) and academic jobs are few and far between. I am applying to ones that come up but so far have not even had an interview. I think I have a very good CV, but my research focus is not entirely in vogue in my location.
So I am looking for alternatives. I am an excellent editor and really enjoy this kind of work, but am finding it impossible to get jobs. I have applied to staff positions (no luck) and put the word out among my contacts, but no opportunities have been forthcoming. I am not good at networking and hate self-promotion, so I worry that I am destined to fail as a freelancer, even though I think in all other respects this career path would work really well for me.
I also enjoy “making” (knitting, sewing, embroidery, cooking, gardening) and have considered setting up a small business around this. However, in general this path doesn’t seem very lucrative and the same barriers around self-promotion hold for this path as well.
So I am seeking advice. How can I improve my chances as a freelancer? Should I take the plunge into a small business? Are there other options I haven’t considered? Any help (or even just words of encouragement - a year is a long time to be jobless!) is very much appreciated.