Wanted: Career ideas
 

Weave, just figure out what you have to offer, who needs it, then go inform them that they need you to do it.

I have recently and inadvertently re-entered the consulting & freelance copy writing arena. I do most of it in my glass house wearing jammies. ;)

Sell your skills, the ones you want to use, you can do it!

Ditto that...what do you love? do you love medicine/health issues? Do you like decorating? Do you like working with animals? Kids?
Get out a piece of paper, and brainstorm...write down what you love...and then figure out from there the possibilities.
Good luck, and get inside yourself and listen to that true voice...:hug:

Weave, I checked out Soc. Chat a few times today and honestly did not see your post. Sorry. :(

Of course we care! I'll bet you have a lot to offer. Just need to find the right niche.

What are you good at that could be a service that others are willing to pay for? Do you sew? Type? Clean? Cook? Surely there's some way you can bring in some $$$$ with your talents.

Good luck and keep us posted, k? :hug:

Since I didn't read the 1st post I'm not sure what U R talking about.

I like old ppl so took an STNA (or CNA) class ---State Tested Nursing Assistant. So after I take my test this Thursday I hope to be certified & then get a job in a nursing home or similar. My DD is in nursing & she took it too. The class was 2 weeks.

you might think about what fields need people, like healthcare.

also, try to network. you never know what just talking to people may turn up.

i hope you find something you like soon.

Hi Weave,

I agree with what the others have said, what sort of things do you like doing? When looking at carer options, I would go for something that you like doing AND can make money out of doing also!!

I'm still in High School but am taking my Options where you pick what subjects you want to do in the final 2 years of school. I am going to College from September to start a Course in Health and Social Care. I have a great interest in health now, especially that I am ill myself and want to try and help others if I can.

I'd think of what you like doing and what hobbies you have and then think of something you could get a job doing and make some money. Don't rush into doing anything - it's a big decision and has to be carefully concidered!!

I hope you find a carer that is suitable for you soon and were all here for you!

UI did not read your first post do will just say:

1. Nappy - she has mad skills, but without drive and big kahunas that's often not enough.

2. Loving a lesser paying job beats a higher paying job you don't like love. Money is just paper and ink. Plus you do it much better. At least LIKE it.

3. Think about this. Use all your resources. Listen.

Maybe I was just a Special Ed. teacher of Emotionally Disturbed kids, but we had great years. I was where I belonged.

This is a good post. I often wonder if I get to a better point what I could do. Right now it is not an option but was hoping to start to volunteer. Maybe if you try something like that it can open some ideas career wise. For me I know I like to be around people.
Lor good for you. My friend did that too and she has her CNA and really enjoys her job. I think she may of went back for medical assisting too.
I guess some things to look at is will you enjoy the job,your limits like for me it can't be a lot of standing or walking,income,training etc.

Mad skills is basically, great skills or many skills. It's a huge positive.

Weave, I just got a magazine from my insurance/bank company and it had a timely article about looking for work for older people...particularly those looking for a second career that is not as demanding.

I know you are not over 50 yet, but http://workforce50.com and http://encore.org might have some info that could help you in your search.

Good luck in finding your niche!

Bobbi is right about mad skills (maybe I've talked to too many teens!!)Big kahunas is from college days, guys can have big kahunas (ballsy, you know)When a mom asked me to speak to another mom about her unsupervised, awful 3 year old I said no way.She said but she thought I had brass t**s (Female version of Big Kahunas). Geez, now I'm blushing (not really, I have brass ***s sometimes).

I recently have been going through a similar delemia. I need to reinvent myself for some work. I had to review my training and education. Also those are things I enjoy. Make a list of likes, like to do, your talents, work experience, education, what you were good at socially.

For example:

I was in law enforcement a few decades until disabled in a car accident. Fybro, herniations, OA, nerve damage in the neck, arms and traps.

I recently started doing investigative work for an insurance adjuster,,,no W/C.
Property claims, hazardous materials, Comm, veh accidents; etc.But I had no claims in 4 weeks and only a few hours for investigative records to request.

So I decided to get my private investigator license. With that I can still do claim investifations, no W/C, and also I can market my education and talents as a visitation caseworker to monitor visitations. I did that almost three years as an officer of the court.

NOW, I need a name to attract that type of cases. I don;t want to be a 54 year old disabled Magnam PI,
I want something on the order of custody,
safechildren
Visitation soulutions....
But if I use my name XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX investigations and market the services of family visitations.....
Safe solutions....

But, it is about brain storming to think of something, figure out what you need for licensing, fed Id no.s, registering if it is work from home, is that allowable, do you have room,will you need varience,
Certifications
Training,
How about nail work, massage therepist, answering service, code billing,
Just some thoughts.

(((Weave))) I haven't been on too much and must have missed that thread. I also thought you were going to do the medical transcription so I didn't realize you were still struggling with this.

Anyhow, here are some suggestions:

1. I don't know what your states programs are like but if you have a vocational rehabilitation program contact them. They help you hone in on a career based on a few tests they give. They also help with costs for training as well as helping you find other funding. It is a great resource and may be helpful to you. In some states, you need to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for the program. Check that out as well.

EDIT: They also help you come up with careers that will fit within your limitations. That is equally important in making career choices. Example" While I'd love to get back in to nursing, I have tremors and just can't imagine trying to give anyone a shot, or start an IV, etc. This just doesn't fit within my physical limitations.

2. Again, I don't know if this is available to you but our local community college has a career center that offers tests to help you with career choices based on aptitudes, likes and dislikes, and personality. In my state, the vocational rehab program offers the same testing plus others and is free. However, if you don't have that program your local community college would be another great place to start.

3. Check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics website http://www.bls.gov/OCO/ . They have tons of information on several different career choices as well as the projected outlook for that career, average pay, education/training needed, etc. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great tool.

4. I agree with others. Do a personal inventory of your likes, dislikes, personality, and most importantly your talents. Everyone has something to offer. Finding that can sometimes be challenging but when you do, you will go for it and be much happier.

5. Don't be so hard on yourself. Again, you have so much to offer. It is ok to not want to work with people. The world needs people like that. Those behind the scenes people can really make a difference. As an example, think of all the people who do data entry. Without them entering data we would not have access to the information we may need. Heck, you can do data entry from home.;)

I hope this helps you in your new career search. Let us know what you come up with.

Weave,
I learnt the most when eavesdropping. For years, a car full of kids who talked but thought I wasn't listening gave me such info,. Now kids drive selves or go with friends, both have passwords keeping me off MySpace or Facebook - I know much less about their lives now.

Not everyone like to work with people and that is ok. Everyone is different like for me I would like a job around others. As for the school and terminolgy there are tutors who could help you and to me if you try it is not a failure because at least you took a chance. I am not a school person and with my current condition my mind concentration is shot but still hope to take a class oneday. Could you start slow like with one class to see how you do? Before my health conditions I took nail tech course. It was 3 months full days five days a week. Then you take a state board to get license. I never did nails and now could never do a pedicure but vocational schools for similar or this can really give a rewarding career.

You did post that your typing speed is getting better. That's awesome! I think you will do just fine in what ever you decide to do.


BTW - I speak TEEN. :D It was a new language that I had to learn and am still trying to learn it. It is a forever changing language and is sometimes difficult to keep up with. But having teens around who laugh or look at me in horror when I say an odd term or a term that means something different now a day, helps me learn a lot quicker. LOL

There's a vocational school near me where you can learn all sorts of stuff. The adult ed classes, some sound really interesting. That's a good idea for you to look into. You might find something you never dreamed you'd want to do.

I started writing a while back, and it floored me, but I actually sold a couple things right away! Now, life went crazy on me and I have not been working at it or submitting as I'd like. But hopefully we'll get moved and settled quick and I can get back at it.

I'd like to have a *regular* job, but the fatigue and stuff, well, I just can't count on being able to be anywhere on a regular basis.

Being able to work at home at my own pace is going to have to be good enough. And nothing too physical.

Thing is, back before my health took a dive, I never would have dreamt of trying writing.


And Kicker, don't ever ever say *just* about working with those kids. That was HUGE.

:cool:

Talk about cajones....

I can relate to not being able to commit often to a day as I don't know how my pain level will be. Very frustrating. I do agree though that since my health has become bad and I am limited in the stuff I used to like to do it has pushed me to try new things I may have not before.
Justweave I understand about the money as I did not think about that aspect. I just did not want you to be too hard on yourself.
Good luck all

Hey, Weave, I just remembered about book reviews for small newspapers! I did them for a few years and the only hard part is reading some of those books. In the 80s and early 90s, the average pay for a book review was around $300. If you could do a few per month, you could sell them to multiple papers and turn some pretty good bucks.

With so many digital media outlets, the sky is the limit.


Hmm. Why am I not doing it?!?!:eek:

DD texted me the other day. There were four letters and I had not a clue what it meant!!, I was asking time of her return for dinner so had to ask DS to translate.

It IS hard. There may be a lot of things we like to do and are good at, but how to make money at them? The things that make money, how to know if we can do them with the sx getting in the way?

I like th book review idea. I also know folks who make a few bucks, no investments needed, sending household tips to women's mags. Some sell pix to wildlife mags, travel mags and things like that. You don't have to be a pro, just lucky to get a good shot. Not steady income, but every dollar helps.

And you can get a lot of nice shots on one trip, when you're up to it that will last you a long time.

Good idea, having the dd teach you about FB and texting. I should have my kids teach me the texting thing too. That's the only way they'll keep in touch with me.

:rolleyes:

Some crafts might make more than you think. People are getting away from all the store bought over priced stuff and turning to more organic things. They have value. And you can do at home, saving tons. Sell online, no store over head.

I know a young woman who makes more money selling home made scented soaps and lotions than she ever did at her *real* job.

I am not a texter. It takes so much time for me to type 1 text and too much thinking. LOL However, there are ways that you can text without using the phone. You can go the person's carrier and send a text that way or (DDs showed me this) you can go to a certain website and text from there. For me using that site is so much easier as I can just type from my computer and DDs can send a message back.


BGB - thank you for the info about the crafting. Your post encouraged me more than you know. I have paintings that I have done stored away at my house that I really need to just sell. I lack the confidence in my work and haven't done anything with them. Coming up, I will have a major drop in income, again, and really need to do something. Your post has me thinking again. Thank you.:hug:

Weave

re your crafts, have you checked out www.etsy.com?

it gets a ton of customers and is mainly sellers of crafts, needlework, artisan jewelry etc stuff....they do have a vintage section too, but the main focus is handmade

it is ranked real high by Alexa and is one of the few places showing increased sales in this economy...mainly because more people are turning away from malls, boutiques and designer stores and going for unique, organic styles, home decor etc

Quite true, Brain, my sister (who seems to think she's Amish) makes fantastic soaps, takes wool from the sheeps' backs all the way to fabulous, colorful weavings, makes wool socks & slippers, sells her spun wool yarns, and all sorts of the sort. She used to work for Pfizer, now she works for herself (she got Pfired when they closed down here).

It's hard to say why the trend is on, but it definitely is and folks are clamoring for that "back to basics" quality.

I get my soaps for free.:D:D:D