I'm hitting 6 months of unemployment and funds are running dry. My journey into becoming a Stock Marxist is going... ok I guess? I'm learning a lot and know so much more than I did in December, but the money isn't there to prove it.
So I'm looking for something to do that will not make me go insane. I had a temp job that ended in November, and before that I was working in a Software Dev role that caused my autistic self a lot of grief. My mind was in a dark place. It still is kind of there TBH.
I don't want to get back into software. The tech changes too much, the frameworks methodolies and endless meetings are frustrating, AND because everyone was told to "learn to code" I have close to 0% shot my resume gets picked out of a pile of 1000s of other applicants. I've been branching out into more data analysis/database type work and there's an AI tool I'm paying for to automate applying. I know it's not what I'm supposed to do, but I also know spending all day filling out job apps is not where I want to be either.
What other options are out there? Things I'm considering:
Rover (pet sitting)
Data Annotation (AI training)
Flipping things I can find for free or at thrift stores?
Fiverr? Help people with their WordPress sites or something...
IDK, any other ideas?
Not WFH, but: If you think you can handle driving a 13 ton truck safely and if the option would work for you, you could go for a CDL like me and work long distance for a month and a week off (and repeat). I'm working on getting my CLP, and once I finish school, I plan on working at the same place as my spouse. Together, we may make ~$160K a year, which would help us pay off student loans and other debt, and after a few years of paying off debt and saving for school, I plan to stop working and go back to college for electrical engineering if possible.
IIRC getting a trucking job doesn't really involve an interview. You're typically automatically accepted (at least with certain businesses that accept new truckers) and go into training, similar to how Amazon hires for their warehouse jobs. Some places would also train you for a CDL, and the training is better than some colleges, but you have to pay for it out of your check and it is more expensive. Plus trucking jobs are unlikely to be automated for a while because the liability of crashes are placed on the driver currently, but automating the trucks would put the liability on the business, which would hurt their bottom line. My spouse's workplace also lost a lot of money investing into automated trucks.
IT and software developer jobs are not looking good, so getting a CDL is personally my best option that would allow me to escape IT hell and eventually get into the field I have wanted to go into since I was a child. I know all STEM fields are also struggling, but I figured with an electrical engineering degree, it may help me start an electronics repair business at home if I can't get a job, and because of the tariffs, electronics repair businesses will be higher in demand.
If anyone takes this advice, I recommend doing the practice tests on cristcdl.com and keep doing them until you can get 90% right each time. Doing so will likely mean you will pass the CDL tests the first time.