Should I Even Bother?

[AmberOpalite]

I’ve been job hunting for a very long time so I can have something to do, other than be in my apartment and go on coffee runs. I’d love to work in clothing retail (clothes and makeup are my special interest) and every clothing retail job I applied to either is an evening shift or I would have to have “reliable transportation” but my only public transportation doesn’t run in the evenings. I also don’t feel comfortable walking home alone at night.

Often times people ask me, “where do you work?” when they first meet me. Which is kind of an awkward question.

Also, I get survivor’s benefits for SSI and have a special needs trust fund coming up in the future as well as a STABLE account. I shouldn’t have to explain myself or those things when people ask me, “do you work?” and when I say “no” get asked “then what do you do all day?” when in all honesty I’m okay with the fact that life isn’t always exciting yet I still like to be productive. I have a lot of hobbies.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe I’m better off being a NEET instead of stressing over jobs and people asking me annoying questions.

 

[lunarious]

In Martial Arts there's a saying, i saw: "When you have nothing to do, go train".

Likewise, I'm busy learning things, and would love to learn through Education but I'm old. Now i live in a House from Government and learn Gitar, and learn to Meditate, and i enjoy Praying as Muslim.

As Muslim Allah says to me: "When you are available, work, and desire to your Lord". My Prayer times are decided according to the Sun. So i must apply Astronomical timing, "written in a book".

I don't know if ideally Humans would pursue the 7 Liberal Arts. Thanks for giving me a push to go meditate and study Martial Arts, and maybe Gitar - in my room/house.

 

[AprilR]

I hate it when people assume everyone has a job or have to have one. But it seems like you yourself want to have a job too. Do you want to work in retail only, or are you okay with another kind of job?

(Btw makeup and to a lesser extent clothes are also my special interest. I can watch makeup videos forever!)

 

[Judge]

Another social concern often kept at bay when one chooses to isolate themselves from such prejudice.

Considering those occasionally long gaps in my work record, they usually were accompanied by those times when I admittedly withdrew from most social contact altogether. Just so I didn't have to deal with all those uncomfortable questions people seemed obligated to ask at the worst times.

 

[Mary Terry]

I’ve been job hunting for a very long time so I can have something to do, other than be in my apartment and go on coffee runs. I’d love to work in clothing retail (clothes and makeup are my special interest) and every clothing retail job I applied to either is an evening shift or I would have to have “reliable transportation” but my only public transportation doesn’t run in the evenings. I also don’t feel comfortable walking home alone at night.

Often times people ask me, “where do you work?” when they first meet me. Which is kind of an awkward question.

Also, I get survivor’s benefits for SSI and have a special needs trust fund coming up in the future as well as a STABLE account. I shouldn’t have to explain myself or those things when people ask me, “do you work?” and when I say “no” get asked “then what do you do all day?” when in all honesty I’m okay with the fact that life isn’t always exciting yet I still like to be productive. I have a lot of hobbies.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe I’m better off being a NEET instead of stressing over jobs and people asking me annoying questions.

Have you thought about volunteering at a charity that resells donated clothing? If you don't need to earn an income, being a volunteer can fill the hours with a useful activity, and you might find some really good secondhand clothes.

 

[Outdated]

Often times people ask me, “where do you work?” when they first meet me. Which is kind of an awkward question.

I also used to get that a lot, not so much now I'm older. One of my common responses was "Not everyone has to work for a living.". If they ask further I tell them I managed to retire at age 45.

So what do you do with your time? Whatever I feel like on the day.

 

[Mary Terry]

I also used to get that a lot, not so much now I'm older. One of my common responses was "Not everyone has to work for a living.". If they ask further I tell them I managed to retire at age 45.

So what do you do with your time? Whatever I feel like on the day.

When people ask what I do with my time now that I'm retired, I laugh and say "as little as possible".

 

[Judge]

Seeing the Japanese word "karoshi" keeps perspective in terms of those who judge others by their work. That keeping one's employment status on a pedestal may be overrated. Besides, some of us simply have different paths to walk in life.

"In Japan, "karoshi" refers to death caused by overwork, often resulting from long hours and high stress, leading to health issues like heart attacks or strokes, and even suicides. This phenomenon has been a significant concern in Japanese society, prompting calls for reforms to improve work conditions."

I always enjoyed this opening scene from a short-lived tv series. About a man that gave up all that to go down another path, but on two wheels. -"Then Came Bronson"

 

[Outdated]

In Japan, "karoshi" refers to death caused by overwork...

From a classic Cold Chisel song:

I've been working hard,
12 hours a day.
And the money I've saved
won't buy my youth again.

 

[Misery]

Here's the question that always comes to mind for me when this subject comes up:

Do you NEED to work a job? I dont mean in terms of social nonsense. I mean in terms of practicality. If you genuinely need the money, the job makes sense. If you dont, well... what's the point of it? What do you get out of it that you couldnt get in some other way?

The thing about something like a retail job is that it often wont be quite what you're hoping it is. A retail job focusing on clothing sales? Decent chance what it'll ACTUALLY be is dealing a lot with abusive customers who decide that every screwup they make is somehow your fault. Retail as a whole is like that in many cases. Many people who work retail quickly become VERY jaded and often have a big list of horror stories that they can tell from their experiences there.

Heck, I've done the very job you're talking about, and something notable about that experience was that knowledge of clothes and makeup was NOT required to be hired for the job, which should tell you a few things about what that position actually was like.

I've done retail for selling video games as well (my own special interest) and so much of that was just answering the same questions over and over and over and over, and restocking shelves. It was mostly just parents cluelessly buying random whatever for some kid's birthday and such. My extensive knowledge of the subject was irrelevant. Particularly for instances when some jerk was yelling at me because some game THEY chose turned out to not be totally perfect or something.

And of course there's always the chance of problematic managers, which just adds to the fun.


If you dont genuinely need the money for that, well... why not find a different way to engage with your special interest? There are other things you can do that dont have the label of "job", and yet are still productive. How about trying out clothing design for instance? That's something you can do on your own time, in your own way. Yes, not having things to do on a given day can be frustrating, but the only one who can solve that is you. There are options. But you have to discover them, try them. Seriously, there are so many better, healthier things to do. Even just within a single special interest.

I know society says that you must sell your soul to some blasted corporation or whatever in order to be worth something, but society also says that the best way to be productive is to smash yourself into the ground over and over. Health? Who cares about that. Work your life away, work your wellbeing away. That labels you as "acceptable" for reasons I will never understand.

And honestly, if someone gets irked about it, that sounds like their problem, not yours.


I managed to entirely escape the job market over a decade ago, and holy heck am I glad I did.

 

[Shamar]

I’ve been job hunting for a very long time so I can have something to do, other than be in my apartment and go on coffee runs. I’d love to work in clothing retail (clothes and makeup are my special interest) and every clothing retail job I applied to either is an evening shift or I would have to have “reliable transportation” but my only public transportation doesn’t run in the evenings. I also don’t feel comfortable walking home alone at night.

Often times people ask me, “where do you work?” when they first meet me. Which is kind of an awkward question.

Also, I get survivor’s benefits for SSI and have a special needs trust fund coming up in the future as well as a STABLE account. I shouldn’t have to explain myself or those things when people ask me, “do you work?” and when I say “no” get asked “then what do you do all day?” when in all honesty I’m okay with the fact that life isn’t always exciting yet I still like to be productive. I have a lot of hobbies.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe I’m better off being a NEET instead of stressing over jobs and people asking me annoying questions.

Become a "Student." Once, way too many years ago, I was a young, hotshot geologist with a brand new degree and knew everything. On my first day on my first job, one of the senior geologists handed me a rock and said "What do you make of this?" I looked at it and didn't have a clue. I realized my college and training was nothing more than a background foundation, and my real education was just beginning. I consider that education still ongoing, and I still keep a piece of that rock to remind me.

I have volunteered as a docent at a local dinosaur museum. I continued to lean new aspects of geology, passed on some of what I learned to others, and tried to inspire elementary students into science.

 

[RemyZee]

Here's the question that always comes to mind for me when this subject comes up:

Do you NEED to work a job? I dont mean in terms of social nonsense. I mean in terms of practicality. If you genuinely need the money, the job makes sense. If you dont, well... what's the point of it? What do you get out of it that you couldnt get in some other way?

The thing about something like a retail job is that it often wont be quite what you're hoping it is. A retail job focusing on clothing sales? Decent chance what it'll ACTUALLY be is dealing a lot with abusive customers who decide that every screwup they make is somehow your fault. Retail as a whole is like that in many cases. Many people who work retail quickly become VERY jaded and often have a big list of horror stories that they can tell from their experiences there.

Heck, I've done the very job you're talking about, and something notable about that experience was that knowledge of clothes and makeup was NOT required to be hired for the job, which should tell you a few things about what that position actually was like.

I've done retail for selling video games as well (my own special interest) and so much of that was just answering the same questions over and over and over and over, and restocking shelves. It was mostly just parents cluelessly buying random whatever for some kid's birthday and such. My extensive knowledge of the subject was irrelevant. Particularly for instances when some jerk was yelling at me because some game THEY chose turned out to not be totally perfect or something.

And of course there's always the chance of problematic managers, which just adds to the fun.


If you dont genuinely need the money for that, well... why not find a different way to engage with your special interest? There are other things you can do that dont have the label of "job", and yet are still productive. How about trying out clothing design for instance? That's something you can do on your own time, in your own way. Yes, not having things to do on a given day can be frustrating, but the only one who can solve that is you. There are options. But you have to discover them, try them. Seriously, there are so many better, healthier things to do. Even just within a single special interest.

I know society says that you must sell your soul to some blasted corporation or whatever in order to be worth something, but society also says that the best way to be productive is to smash yourself into the ground over and over. Health? Who cares about that. Work your life away, work your wellbeing away. That labels you as "acceptable" for reasons I will never understand.

And honestly, if someone gets irked about it, that sounds like their problem, not yours.


I managed to entirely escape the job market over a decade ago, and holy heck am I glad I did.

I've had several jobs that didn't work out because of communication, because someone was jealous, or because I couldn't handle the executive issues that were involved. I've found the only way to sustain in terms of employment is to engage whatever my passions and compulsions are, and to really go after those things. Other people will recognize your passion and follow you around.

 

[Jonn]

So what do you do with your time? Whatever I feel like on the day.

Same.
Well, my K9 kids permitting.

 

[Jonn]

I've had several jobs that didn't work out because of communication, because someone was jealous, or because I couldn't handle the executive issues that were involved. I've found the only way to sustain in terms of employment is to engage whatever my passions and compulsions are, and to really go after those things. Other people will recognize your passion and follow you around.

Work for me was a horrible grind for most of the time, but I was able to retire at 50.

Many young people seem to adopt the philosophy:
"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."
I was never like that.
I saved the best for last.

 

[Xinyta]

Here's the question that always comes to mind for me when this subject comes up:

Do you NEED to work a job? I dont mean in terms of social nonsense. I mean in terms of practicality. If you genuinely need the money, the job makes sense. If you dont, well... what's the point of it? What do you get out of it that you couldnt get in some other way?

The thing about something like a retail job is that it often wont be quite what you're hoping it is. A retail job focusing on clothing sales? Decent chance what it'll ACTUALLY be is dealing a lot with abusive customers who decide that every screwup they make is somehow your fault. Retail as a whole is like that in many cases. Many people who work retail quickly become VERY jaded and often have a big list of horror stories that they can tell from their experiences there.

Heck, I've done the very job you're talking about, and something notable about that experience was that knowledge of clothes and makeup was NOT required to be hired for the job, which should tell you a few things about what that position actually was like.

I've done retail for selling video games as well (my own special interest) and so much of that was just answering the same questions over and over and over and over, and restocking shelves. It was mostly just parents cluelessly buying random whatever for some kid's birthday and such. My extensive knowledge of the subject was irrelevant. Particularly for instances when some jerk was yelling at me because some game THEY chose turned out to not be totally perfect or something.

And of course there's always the chance of problematic managers, which just adds to the fun.


If you dont genuinely need the money for that, well... why not find a different way to engage with your special interest? There are other things you can do that dont have the label of "job", and yet are still productive. How about trying out clothing design for instance? That's something you can do on your own time, in your own way. Yes, not having things to do on a given day can be frustrating, but the only one who can solve that is you. There are options. But you have to discover them, try them. Seriously, there are so many better, healthier things to do. Even just within a single special interest.

I know society says that you must sell your soul to some blasted corporation or whatever in order to be worth something, but society also says that the best way to be productive is to smash yourself into the ground over and over. Health? Who cares about that. Work your life away, work your wellbeing away. That labels you as "acceptable" for reasons I will never understand.

And honestly, if someone gets irked about it, that sounds like their problem, not yours.


I managed to entirely escape the job market over a decade ago, and holy heck am I glad I did.

This makes me think of what is mentioned in the bible. About the fact that the wisdom of the world is faulty. Boy isn't that the truth. It's not really even 'wisdom' either. It's gerrymandering, grifting, stealing, and outright intentional misdirection of many, many, people.

Either play the game, or be a socail outcast. That's what it boils down to.

 

[Shamar]

This makes me think of what is mentioned in the bible. About the fact that the wisdom of the world is faulty. Boy isn't that the truth. It's not really even 'wisdom' either. It's gerrymandering, grifting, stealing, and outright intentional misdirection of many, many, people.

Either play the game, or be a socail outcast. That's what it boils down to.

I could never play the game. I tried, but it wasn't in me, or it wasn't me. I am happier this way. Painfully lonely perhaps, but happier.