Hello everyone! I swear, this isn't a “feel bad for me” type story. I lost my previous job due to them moving out of state. I had an offer to move with the company and retain my position, but for the pay being offered and assistance with moving costs, it wasn't worth it to me. I would have had to uproot my life and leave my friends and family far behind for a job that paid just enough for me to keep rent paid and gas in my car. Not worth it.
I figured, no big deal on finding a new job. My resume was updated and revamped prior to this as I knew when my end date was well in advance. I figured with my track record I'd have a new job in no time. So far I've had a couple interviews and not much else though. I seem to be no closer to finding work and my money is very quickly running out. Despite this, I have felt a peace that I haven't known before and came to realize a lot about myself.
- Spending my time home with my pets and talking more to friends and family has greatly improved my mental health. I worked through the pandemic shutdown due to being “essential” and haven't been unemployed for an extended period in years. I have this odd peace I've found with my time being my own.
- I'm not sure I'll ever be happy working for someone else anymore. Right now, everything I do as a direct benefit directed to me. I'm tired of making some CEO richer and richer while I barely pay my bills and have nothing left for savings. I want to work for myself, or have a job where my effort equals direct benefit. Why should I work the job of 3 people and get paid for one when my boss still gets all the extra money in their pocket for doing nothing?
- Switching industries is hard. I've worked as a manual laborer in various positions since I started working at 17. Now at 26, my body has suffered from various injuries from work. I'm trying to take this as an opportunity to get into more of an office type position, but am realizing that employers aren't interested. Some places have even told me that they're not interested, but will eventually have positions in things such as warehouse work that they'd hire me for if I'm still looking down the line. I can't seem to escape manual labor despite my best efforts.
- I'm pretty sure I've missed the chance to WFH. I've looked into remote jobs since I'm enjoying my time at home, but I'm finding that they either pay very little, have extremely high qualifications, or want you to live close enough to travel to their physical location.
I truly feel that this has been an eye-opening experience for me. I've never been very enthusiastic about working my ass off for a few years of retirement one day followed by death, but now I have a whole different thirst for life than I did before. I've seen what it could be life if I didn't have to slave away most of the week in order to keep my landlord happy and the lights on. I don't know what will happen next, and I'm still trying to find work, but I do know that I'll see it all in a different light from now on.