I was in almost the exact same situation at 23. Broke, unemployed, car repossessed, eviction notice for my apartment and living in a town with no real jobs to be had. I was tech savvy and a beginner programmer, but no real job experience or degree. I'm doing great now at 29. You can definitely turn things around. Seems like most of the important advice has already been dispensed here. Only thing I will add: I was extremely lucky to have friends in NYC who let me crash while I looked for work. Do you have any friends that live in a cities where there are jobs and good public transport? Would they let you crash for a while? Maybe offer to do their dishes and cook them meals while you're there. If you have such an opportunity, definitely seize it.
22 and no life
61–70 of 193 posts
Re: 22 and no life
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, but one can save up $5000 in a summer working full time in food service. I did it as a prep cook when I was 19.
$5000 in three months working in food service? Doing that in a year or even six months is plausible, depending on how lucky his circumstances are, but three months strikes me as a bit of a stretch. At $10/hr * 40 hr/week * 12 week = $4800, ignoring rent, food, incidentals, and taxes.
I worked 10am to midnight 6 days a week.
Re: 22 and no life
#63You are 22. You have 8 years, or 70 thousand and 80 hours until you turn 30. If half of that time is spent sleeping, you still have over 35 thousand hours to dedicate yourself to becoming a master at something. If Malcolm Gladwell's law of 10,000 hours is valid, that gives you three and a half chances to start something, completely waste your time, and start anew. And that's just until you turn 30. It's not that you have no life... it's just that it hasn't even started yet. Now go read this thing about Ang Lee http://jeffjlin.com/2013/02/23/ang-lee-and-the-uncertainty-o...
Re: 22 and no life
#64As others have said, you need to get out of that town.
I live in San Francisco and love it, but the cost of living here isn't exactly low and unless you have a job lined up or are already freelancing, it's going to be tough.
Instead consider other towns. Others have already mentioned Seattle, but I'd also consider Austin, specially because you mentioned both tech AND audio engineering. Austin is the live music capital of the world for a reason, and it has a great tech scene to boot (not to mention a really low cost of living... I say all of this being born and raised in Austin).
If you'd like some contacts in Austin (or more advice) I know of a few tech startups hiring, freelancers who could help you find good first gigs, and have a ton of friends and even family in the music industry in the city. Shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do: cullen@sponsorfied.com
Re: 22 and no life
#65do you have a resume/github/anything to look at?
Re: 22 and no life
#66Do whatever you can to move. That's the only thing that will improve your condition, I think. Just get out, go somewhere, anywhere--Portland, Seattle, anywhere with a hot tech scene. You'll be able to find something to do in a city, just get out of Yakima.
Go to any city you have a friend willing to take you in. Jump start from there.
Lastly, it will get better. Life can be hard sometimes, but you can always start over. I promise it will get better for you.
Re: 22 and no life
#67Work anywhere you can until you can save up about $5000. Then go to Australia on the working holiday visa. You can make $16/hr picking tomatoes or as a barista or $25 an hour shuffling stuff around at a building site. Save $20K while enjoying life, then move to California and do a 2 year degree at a community college for $36 per credit. Get good grades then transfer to a UC to complete a bachelor's at in state tuitio…
> You can make $16/hr picking tomatoes or as a barista or $25 an hour shuffling stuff around at a building site. These figures sound good compared to US min. wages, but given the (substantially) increased cost of living I'm not sure this is good advice.
I think it is good advice. The guy is in a rut. Going to Australia will do two things. One, open his eyes to a new part of the world. It's something not many people do and it will be fascinating and exciting. The second thing it will do is get him a high paying job that requires no skill. I think the idea is to try and live on an American cost of living, but in Australia. I don't know if that's possible, but I'd bet it's possible.
Re: 22 and no life
#68Right, the economy sucks, there's no work, you're at the bottom of a hole, and all the sides are steep, and you're worn out, in trouble, and it's all coming at you at once. :-/ I have that sometimes. Maybe it's all coming down already, but... it's probably not all going to come down at exactly the same time; there's some playroom to juggle with. Take things one at a time, first things first. (And it goes without saying: Make sure you're healthy and sleeping and eating as best you can) . And sometimes something is going to fall over. And sometimes you have to let it, no matter how it hurts, because it's more important that as many of the other dominoes stay upright as possible. If they do, you can probably salvage something or at least use them move on. At some point you'll get a toehold, then a foothold, and you can start climbing out, slowly - 2 steps up, one step down.
tl;dr. Don't overstress. Take problems one at a time. and grimace when some of them asplode anyway.
ps. you're only 22. I know folks in their 40's who still struggle! (but somehow they manage to be happy every day. ) . I think you'll figure it out. Either the road to traditional western success... or maybe you'll find your own path. :-)
pps: {{hug}}
Re: 22 and no life
#69I know a job you can get. Get yourself to Sacramento, California and look up the Fund for Public Interest Research. If you can be personable and articulate they'll hire you. You can make decent money (enough to live on) and learn some sales skills while you're at it.
Re: 22 and no life
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
So now you understand his mindset of feeling like he is trapped in the town he currently lives in.
Yes, but one can save up $5000 in a summer working full time in food service. I did it as a prep cook when I was 19.
No you can't. 40 * 8/hour = 320 @ 4 weeks (3) = $3,840.
How in the world could anyone save $5,000 in a summer when they're not even pulling in that amount?
EDIT: Even working 80 per week only brings in $7,680. Factor in bills and you're still not hitting 5k, guy.