I'm so ******, midlife crisis?

[Noo]

So as I'm entering my thirties & unemployed...I don't have any real world employable skills and things are looking bleak. I'm at a point where I don't know what to do anymore.

I'm going to get my associate degree in accounting in May but I can't work in the field because I've developed severe carpal tunnel syndrome over the years. If I sit for any extended period of time, my neck & shoulder hurt and my fingers tingle like heck. It's extremely painful.

I can't afford to go back to school because I don't have the time or money...

Even if, I don't even know what to go to school for anymore.

 

[Sluggo]

I'm almost 50 and I have survived with the carpal tunnel symptoms for the past 20 years.

Grow up and deal with it.

 

[Pocatello]

Going back to school is hard. It's not for everybody, but nursing is still hot. I know people who are doing well went to 2 years of school to become RN. Or other health care related field.

 

[Mai72]

Didn't you hear the news? 30 is like the new 20!

Seriously though. 30 isn't old. Imagine being 50, unemployed, fat, divorced, and your savings and retirement funds are all depleted. People have it much worse then you do.

You can do what my cousin did. He's 55 years old and lives with his mom. He's never had a job. I've never met the guy. Whenever I go to my aunt's house, he runs up to his room. Well maybe...you shouldn't be him.

 

[UncleWai]

Obama will take care of you

 

[brainhulk]

I thought a midlife crisis is when you are 50 and buy a corvette to make you feel like you are in your thirties again.

 

[Noo]

I'm almost 50 and I have survived with the carpal tunnel symptoms for the past 20 years.

Grow up and deal with it.

Working in front of a computer all day caused carpal tunnel and it has progressively getting worse in the last several months. The tip of my fingers hurt so bad and sometimes I can't feel anything with it. I should seek for employment in a field that I'm 100% likely to sit in front of a computer 8+ hours a day.

 

[HTFOff]

In 88' my mother got a job with Ny Telephone company a few years after the government forced at&t to break up. She got a job as a customer service rep, a crappy position but paid well and came with good benefits. She had no experience in the field but was trained by the company, formerly Ny Tel, then Bell Atlantic and now known presently as Verizon. She worked for 20+ years as her pay steadily increased she was able to retire at 61 with a good pension. This with no experience in the field and nothing but a hs diploma.

^
THATS NEVER HAPPENING AGAIN, OR FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

:|

 

[clamum]

It could be a lot worse than your situation man.

By the way, why are you getting a degree in Accounting if you can't work in the field anyway?

 

[Kaido]

First, read this & feel better about yourself: (and do some more reading on the photographer if you need some additional perspective)

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/vulture-stalking-a-child/

Second, you have two choices: you can be a lump & collect welfare, or you can work until you die. If you choose to work until you die, you can select something you actually kinda like to do, or else you can just bypass that and simply tolerate work every day. I'd imagine you'd probably want to lean toward doing something you enjoy.

There is no single magic field for everyone because people are multi-dimensional - just because you feel you don't have any marketable skills, have some injuries that prevent you from working in the field you have studied for, and are stacked for time & money doesn't mean your life is a wreck - everyone feels that way periodically. That probably just means it's time for something new.

Remember, you're hooked up to the Internet, posting on a technical forum, not being stalked by a bird of prey and starving to death in a desert. Your situation isn't that horrible; you're just feeling under-confident in your present situation, which is only temporary. If you want to continue in your field, there are plenty of options - ergonomic chairs, memory-foam mattress pads, ergonomic keyboards & mice, treadmill desks, touchscreen input devices, all kinds of stuff to make your situation manageable, if that's even the field you still want to be in (and accounting is a VERY marketable skills, btw).

This is just a short phase, it will pass soon. No worries man.

 

[AViking]

Odds are you have skills but don't realize it. Write down the skills you have and then the hobbies you have and see if you can connect the dots.

 

[Noo]

In 88' my mother got a job with Ny Telephone company a few years after the government forced at&t to break up. She got a job as a customer service rep, a crappy position but paid well and came with good benefits. She had no experience in the field but was trained by the company, formerly Ny Tel, then Bell Atlantic and now known presently as Verizon. She worked for 20+ years as her pay steadily increased she was able to retire at 61 with a good pension. This with no experience in the field and nothing but a hs diploma.

^
THATS NEVER HAPPENING AGAIN, OR FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

:|

CSR is dead. It's all outsourced to someone getting paid maybe $10 a day?

 

[Kaido]

CSR is dead. It's all outsourced to someone getting paid maybe $10 a day?

Well, let's start from the end: what kind of life do you hope to lead? What's your target income? What's your idea of living - a house with 2.5 kids in the 'burbs? A farm? Luxury apartment for life? I think it helps a lot if you know what target you're going after, because that will clarify that path you need to follow today.

 

[Noo]

It could be a lot worse than your situation man.

By the way, why are you getting a degree in Accounting if you can't work in the field anyway?

Because I only have 9 credits (3 classes) left and since I am unemployed right now, I figured I may as well finish it. Have an associate degree is better than no degree and with 78 credits. I'm going to have 87 credits total once I finish these 3 courses. This is due to me changing my major (criminal justice > accounting)

 

[Mai72]

Here is a self help book that I am currently reading.
You might want to check it out. I like it because the author tells it like it is. He is honest, brutal, and gets to the point.

 

[HTFOff]

CSR is dead. It's all outsourced to someone getting paid maybe $10 a day?

It's sad to say, but a middle class wage with benefits, pension etc. from nothing but a CSR position and hard work would most certainly be the exception and not the rule in 2014.

I should point out that she was a member of a private union. There was even a small strike last year I believe when Verizon wanted workers to put more of their own pay in to pensions.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Have you been diagnosed with carpal tunnel by a qualified doctor or are you just assuming that is the cause of your symptoms? There are lots of orthopedic problems that could cause tingling in the fingers and may be treatable.

 

[Noo]

First, read this & feel better about yourself: (and do some more reading on the photographer if you need some additional perspective)

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/vulture-stalking-a-child/

Second, you have two choices: you can be a lump & collect welfare, or you can work until you die. If you choose to work until you die, you can select something you actually kinda like to do, or else you can just bypass that and simply tolerate work every day. I'd imagine you'd probably want to lean toward doing something you enjoy.

There is no single magic field for everyone because people are multi-dimensional - just because you feel you don't have any marketable skills, have some injuries that prevent you from working in the field you have studied for, and are stacked for time & money doesn't mean your life is a wreck - everyone feels that way periodically. That probably just means it's time for something new.

Remember, you're hooked up to the Internet, posting on a technical forum, not being stalked by a bird of prey and starving to death in a desert. Your situation isn't that horrible; you're just feeling under-confident in your present situation, which is only temporary. If you want to continue in your field, there are plenty of options - ergonomic chairs, memory-foam mattress pads, ergonomic keyboards & mice, treadmill desks, touchscreen input devices, all kinds of stuff to make your situation manageable, if that's even the field you still want to be in (and accounting is a VERY marketable skills, btw).

This is just a short phase, it will pass soon. No worries man.

Thank you for the encouraging words. It's just really discouraging and hopeless for me right now.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Get an age waiver and enlist in the Air Force; failing that join some other branch (Navy?).

 

[Paladin3]

Grow up and deal with it. You complain you can't work on a computer because of carpal tunnel yet here you sit posting on ATOT for fun and sympathy. You are close to an accounting degree, but complain you can't find a job.

Nobody really cares. There is no easy way. Get mean, get tough, go to a doctor and get treated, then get busy working hard to make your life what you want. Stop lying to yourself that you can't do it, or that you've tried everything you can.

In the end, you will be proud of all your hard work, who you are and surprise yourself with the level of success you are capable of achieving.

I feel like I am talking to a young me.

 

[IGBT]

Didn't you hear the news? 30 is like the new 20!

Seriously though. 30 isn't old. Imagine being 50, unemployed, fat, divorced, and your savings and retirement funds are all depleted. People have it much worse then you do.

You can do what my cousin did. He's 55 years old and lives with his mom. He's never had a job. I've never met the guy. Whenever I go to my aunt's house, he runs up to his room. Well maybe...you shouldn't be him.

..and if your 20 you get to be 10?? that explains all the middle agers hanging around skateboard parks that were meant for the 10 y.o.ers.

 

[Noo]

Well, let's start from the end: what kind of life do you hope to lead? What's your target income? What's your idea of living - a house with 2.5 kids in the 'burbs? A farm? Luxury apartment for life? I think it helps a lot if you know what target you're going after, because that will clarify that path you need to follow today.

I don't really need much. Have enough money saved up to buy a condo/townhouse outright so I will be fine even if I make $15+ an hour. At that rate, I'll net around $1800 monthly after FUTA/FICA/SUTA/misc taxes. Housing would only be around 25-30% of my income.

I just want to find a company with growth potential. But then again, I don't have any networking connection and I can't work in a field that I've studied for.

 

[yhelothar]

Thank you for the encouraging words. It's just really discouraging and hopeless for me right now.

He just told you a bunch of workarounds for your carpal tunnel syndrome. All you have to say is that it's really hopeless for you right now?

That indicates to me that you're not looking for help.

 

[Attic]

It's not easy and it sounds like you are in a tough place. If you like sucking i'd say your set. Nothing wrong with that at all.

If you want to find more fulfillment or enjoyment at something then even though I don't know you, you got my love and support. Making a change isn't easy, especially when you're down.

You gotta believe in yourself, sounds cheesy, but without that, you're screwed. So don't waste anytime till you got that pegged.

 

[AViking]

Thank you for the encouraging words. It's just really discouraging and hopeless for me right now.

Hopeless?

You have an entire world of possibilities. I'm going to assume you're not tied down with a mortgage and a kid. You can move. You can get a new education. You can start a new career.

I tell my friends who are in your situation that the WORST position you could find yourself in is having to teach English in Saudi Arabia. Get certified online, go to Saudi Arabia for a year, bring back $40,000 or more tax free, and go to school.

Seriously there is ZERO need for hopelessness. There's always hope.