Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#101

Post by Camrecorder » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

twawaaay wrote: post #67

lumost wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This advice is not particularly effective. Getting hired into a backend firm is tough as all of them want the same things, if you don’t have those things - then getting a company to “yes” is hard. People watch tv and play video games because they do not have a high mental demand. If you are on pain medication, or going without - your “free” mental cycles may be non existent

When I was burned out I got hired into a large bank (think Citi, Credit Suisse, maybe not necessarily Goldman Sachs which has high standards). They have huge amount of backend. Super slow development filled with people who do not have large ambitions and only express them so that they are not labeled as waste. My principal developer was a woman from India who could not write a loop. She worked there for 6 years. Dead…

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#102

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:56 PM UTC

hotpotamus wrote: post #99

cjbgkagh wrote: post #94

I went through a very similar thing with ME/CFS and hEDS (which has a chronic pain component). Before I even knew what was I knew that I was on the decline. I was doing ok at work but my ability to maintain a working pace kept diminishing. I went from full time to part time to less than part time to the occasional contracting. I ended up having to do a bit of a Hail Mary to try to save myself. I took a bunch of stimu…

> I guess my advice would be, do whatever is needed to make money, no matter how unpleasant, so that you can survive long enough to figure out what is wrong and get treatment. The greatest TV show ever made (IMHO of course) was actually based on this premise, only the main character was a chemist, not a developer.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#103

Post by poochkoishi728 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:57 PM UTC

lumost wrote: post #48

LunarCamper wrote: post #6

I was in a similar situation, minus the physical disability (I was mentally in a really bad place though). The only advise I have is to not think of any job as below you. I don't know your exact situation or your disabilities, but if you can deliver pizzas to at least keep your head above the water, do that. Having gone through YC you're obviously also a bright and intelligent person, how many different companies hav…

It’s also worth considering whether providing a lower going rate and longer duration of work would be effective. For some projects it may be possible to effectively work half time. I’ve met folks in unusual industries that need ongoing tech work/knowledge but have no desire to have this knowledge and effort in house. Medical device manufacturing was one such field. (work was government compliance, and server patching…

Would you have any suggestions for finding work in fields like this? As a developer (mobile with some web and backend), I would love to have ongoing part-time work to provide enough income and free time to pursue other projects.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#104

Post by poochkoishi728 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:57 PM UTC

flatline wrote: post #20

Can you write code? Plenty of places will hire part time, let you work from home, etc. Don’t look for big companies, look for small and mid sized private businesses. As an aside, I think this is an important reason to develop and maintain a social/professional network that you can lean on in times like this. I’m sure I have friends that would give me a chance at work under these circumstances. Maybe you have some of…

Would you have any suggestions for finding work in small-mid private businesses like this? As a developer (mobile with some web and backend), I would love to have ongoing part-time work to provide enough income and free time to pursue other projects.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#105

Post by twawaaay » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:58 PM UTC

Camrecorder wrote: post #101

twawaaay wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was burned out I got hired into a large bank (think Citi, Credit Suisse, maybe not necessarily Goldman Sachs which has high standards). They have huge amount of backend. Super slow development filled with people who do not have large ambitions and only express them so that they are not labeled as waste. My principal developer was a woman from India who could not write a loop. She worked there for 6 years. Dead…

Quoted post unavailable.

Being burned out is a real condition. And so is depression, chronic pains, tinnitus, and so on.

Just because something is hard to ascertain doesn't mean it is not real.

But there are various levels to being burned out or depressed. And then there are people who aren't really burned or depressed, they are just looking to rationalise their laziness. Which is the person that wrote the post? We don't know.

What I know is that if you have mental capacity to play video games you can also most likely do a lot of other things.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#106

Post by fxtentacle » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:59 PM UTC

weakfish wrote: post #58

fxtentacle wrote: post #44

chronic pain: Check your sitting posture and blood flow, especially upper neck. It's a modern-day epidemic among screen workers: https://getradiantlife.com/poor-posture-a-modern-day-epidemi...

Have you been chronically depressed before? Paragraph two comes across extremely snobby and out of touch in regards to depressed people.

that wasn't my intention. edited the post.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#107

Post by bragr » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 5:59 PM UTC

londons_explore wrote: post #90

bragr wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry but if he's selling personal possessions to fund a car payment he's already behind on, he doesn't have the money to move to another country, even a cheap one.

But if you move country, you will no longer need that expensive USA house and car, so you can sell them and get a far cheaper house and car in the country you move to.

If he had a lot of equity, he would not be behind on payments, he probably would have refinanced, and you are neglecting the upfront costs of an international move. You might eventually save money, but that's not super helpful to this person's situation.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#108

Post by poochkoishi728 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

ytNumbers wrote: post #72

I've never had a medical condition that took me out of the workforce. It's sad that you've been dealt a bad hand in life. It's got to be hugely frustrating. You seem to have (correctly in my opinion) concluded that given your current limitations, there is no point in you applying for jobs. Most people who have been out of work for a year never return to the workforce. The majority of them might enjoy a "retired" sort…

Any suggestions for finding such detail-oriented work? As a developer (mobile with some web and backend), I would love to find ongoing part-time work to provide enough income and free time to pursue other projects.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#109

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 6:04 PM UTC

whitepoplar wrote: post #18

I'm not sure what the cause of your chronic pain is, but I would highly recommend reading John Sarno's "The Mindbody Prescription." I've dealt with chronic pain for years and it's the only thing that's had any effect. Please, please , don't write it off until you've read the book. Note that Sarno's work focuses on back pain, but it applies to all types of chronic pain (including migraines, which he discusses in the b…

Everybody should read Sarno's book. It's a short read and even if it doesn't help your back pain it will probably alleviate something else. My partner and I both had pain that disappeared from reading Sarno. Back and wrist pain are gone.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#110

Post by empressplay » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 6:06 PM UTC

whitepoplar wrote: post #18

I'm not sure what the cause of your chronic pain is, but I would highly recommend reading John Sarno's "The Mindbody Prescription." I've dealt with chronic pain for years and it's the only thing that's had any effect. Please, please , don't write it off until you've read the book. Note that Sarno's work focuses on back pain, but it applies to all types of chronic pain (including migraines, which he discusses in the b…

This is not without merit and to some degree I suffer from TMS but I also have EDS (hypermobility syndrome) which is a very real physical condition, and the two work in tandem to make life somewhat uncomfortable, to say the least.

So while I agree the mind does play a part in chronic pain, it is not necessarily the only part.