Take a crappy job or go on disability?

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Decisions, decisions.

Vocational rehab found me a job that barely pays more than minimum wage, though it is full-time at least. The job is a bit of a commute (30-35 minutes each way) so when I take gas and car maintenance into account, I'd make about the same as if I just went on disability.

The ONLY reason I think I should take the job is that it's easier to find a job once you have a job. I've been out of work since January 2010 and the longer I'm out, the worse it looks to employers.

So thoughts?

(BTW, the job I'm talking about isn't the teaching ESL in Korea job I posted about earlier...I'm still considering that, but June is the earliest I could go).

Are you already approved for disability? It can take years to get on disability, including the help of an attorney. Plus, the systems may be changing for how people are qualified for disability and the amount of money allowed will also be changing. You may not get as much as you think you'll be getting.

I am in favor of people being on disability who cannot work. I think it's up to the individual to make the decision for themselves if they cannot work. I also think people should be pretty severe when making the decision for themselves, separating the "want" from the "need". I have no problem with my taxes going to public assistance and disability programs. I'm willing to pay MORE into them. I don't live in a bubble of prejudice that whines about "welfare queens" and croaks that "taxes are slavery". I grow more and more resentful of my so-called friends and family when I see them answer that stupid poll app on Facebook with "yes" when it asks if they think people should take drug tests to qualify for public assistance. But I think that anyone who can work, should work and that they should receive assistance in finding that work if they have trouble finding it on their own. I think it's important for individuals to have as much self-sufficiency as possible. I believe it's an inalienable right very well covered under the line "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

And I know something about this, because my husband qualifies for disability based on a physical condition. His brother (an attorney) and his father have decided that he should not return to work and should pursue filing for disability. They've put up a great big stink about it. Now, while my husband is recovering from neck surgery in a neck brace, he cannot work so he's filed the paperwork and gotten rejected twice. If you have noticed that my opinion wasn't included in this plan for my husband, you would be the first person besides myself to notice this. I tolerated as much as I could take before I told him what I thought, that it was absolutely ridiculous and offensive. "You can work." I said. "This surgery just eliminated half the symptoms you were claiming!" and I pointed out that I come from a family of firefighters, police officers and lumberjacks. My dad was a professional and quite wealthy but even he worked hard every single day to earn every dime of that money. My husband was a firefighter for fifteen years. Disability is fine if you can't work, but if you can, you work, even if it's a sh*t job.... because life is about more than how much money you can get. It's about how you get that money and how you feel about yourself as a person at the end of the day. My husband has quit pursuing disability and is now 110% on the jobhunt.

I say you take the crap job and work your ass off until you get a better one, then work your ass off at that one.

I always think you should work if you can work.

I think it's unethical to take disability if a job is feasible for you.

Besides, work is good for the soul.

A valid point here.



This job won't allow me to move out of my parents' house....it won't even keep me from spending my savings (though yes, I'll spend less than if I were unemployed).....because a)it's low-paying and b) so much of my pay will be going to gas and car maintenance.



I don't think it's that simple. A disability, such as Aspergers, may not keep someone from doing a job, but it may keep them from getting a job in the first place. In case you haven't noticed, unemployment has been pretty damn high for a few years now. I've never once claimed that I can't work (I've had jobs before), but I think Aspergers and depression have kept me from getting it in this very competitive job market.



I'm not going to feel any better emotionally or mentally because I'm working a crap job as opposed to no job. All I think about it is how I wasted six years getting bachelors and masters degrees for a job I could've done out of high school.

Yeah, I've kinda noticed.

Why are you telling people you have AS? Don't tell employers that. AS should not be a factor at all in why you're getting hired or passed over. If you'd rather sit on your butt and earn nothing while your degrees collect dust, that's up to you. I'd rather work the drive-thru at Micky D's, then continue to jobhunt and interview for something that does use my experience and education. It shows employers that you're not lazy.

Self-sufficiency isn't always about affording your own place immediately. This crap job pays for the fuel with a little extra. That's good enough for a crap job.

Unless you're suggesting that it's better for people to just give you money without you earning it? See... I believe that people who cannot work do earn their money on disability. They aren't charity cases. It is their right to have it. You've already said that you can work, you just don't want to work. That doesn't jive well with me.

Straw man argument....I don't tell employers I have AS. I don't know what gave you that idea.

AS can impact your ability to find employment even if you aren't telling employers you have it. What..it's just a coincidence Aspies have higher unemployment/underemployment rates? Aspies, even when they have degrees, lack the social skills needed to land a good job, at least in this economy.



That's the only reason I likely will take the job....I know it's easier to find a job when you have a job. However, I get no emotional or mental satisfaction. I'm depressed whether I'm unemployed or underemployed.



Not saying this is the case with me, but do you think people who can work but can't FIND work should get disability? If not, what should they get? Anything?

Take the job and look for something better while you are working.

Sounds like you are fairly young; and if so you probably don't have the time worked to qualify for SSDI. You would probably be looking at SSI. Your assets and savings would be taken into consideration. If I'm not mistaken I think the total value can't exceed $2000. But this may vary from state to state.

The actual amount you can get may vary from state to state; but my wife's brother is on SSI and it is about $650 dollars a month. I think the maximum is about $700 amonth.

A job paying $8 an hour amounts to about $1380 a month before taxes are deducted. The taxes you pay will not be much; approximately $60 a month for federal income tax and $85 for FICA and Medicare tax. That leaves about $1235 a month which is close to double of what you will get with SSI.

You will have extra gas and vehicle maintenance to pay for, but it is not likely it will be more than $200 a month. That still leaves about $5000 more at the end of the year than you would have with SSI checks. And in addition, at the end of the year you are likely to get money back from tax credits that are given as an incentive to work.

I understand your sentiment with your education and a low paying job. After gaining three degrees, my first job was at $3.69 an hour. It was one of the lowest status jobs available, but I stuck with it and eventually moved up in pay enough to buy a house and own several new cars.

Sometimes a low status job can be better than than a high status job, in terms of stress. I was depressed also; but for me, the routine of the job helped with my depression, and I appreciated the time away from work more than I did before I found the job.

It's kind of like going to college, once a person decides to stop college and find a job, it is not likely a person will have the time or energy ever to go back. Once you go on disability, it will likely be even harder to find the spirit to work, than it is now.; hopefully some of these factors will play into your decision on this.

And finally per the first response the process to get disability is extremely hard, especially if you are educated and proven you can work in the past. Although AS is a legal disability under the ADA, it is often not considered disabling enough to warrant SSI or SSDI. Depression is another matter, and I have no idea how severe it is for you; hard to say how a pursuit of disability might turn out for you.

You said, "A disability, such as Aspergers, may not keep someone from doing a job, but it may keep them from getting a job in the first place."

I replied, "Why are you telling people you have AS? Don't tell employers that. AS should not be a factor at all in why you're getting hired or passed over."

This is not a straw man. This is a misunderstanding based on the information that you provided. You stated that AS doesn't interfere with doing a job but that it interferes with getting a job. I misunderstood this to mean that you walk into interviews announcing that you have Aspergers Syndrome and then they promptly begin thinking of legal reasons to throw your resume in the trash can. If AS does not stop you from performing a job, there's very little it can do to stop you from getting a job.

A straw man is a fallacy to misrepresent your position in an attempt to disprove it. There was no such nonsense. It was simply me trying to make sense of what you've said and provide you the advice that you asked for.

Unlike unemployment, underemployment is still employment. Tough times demand sacrifice and compromise. We test ourselves to see what we are capable of doing. It's our responsibility to push ourselves to succeed. I hardly think underemployment should be criticized. It is an opportunity in what you've already cited as a being a very horrible time for employment.

Ive been offered disability about half a dozen times in the past 4 years alone, but i prefer to try and work.
I could be getting quite a lot more money from benefits than i do now, especially handy since im retrofitting a shed here to make my own flat.
When im not working im doing volunteer work, its also good for your resume...
Currently i work for my dads computer business on a casual basis while ive been looking for more work...live in a small village and only have small towns within reasonable distance, so its not easy..
Also been doing volunteer work twice a week because it helps others and makes me feel good about myself, doing somethign for others is the only way i get a good feeling at all.
Just yesterday interviewed for and got a part time job in my field (IT) a couple of days a week, and possibly remotely from home
I plan to if i can, do all three things

to answer your original post, yes taking a crappy job is always better than blank space on a resume, it doesnt have to be forever. As much as you might think theyre using you, you can use them to your benefit as well.

+1

Disability is for those who honestly can not work or nobody will hire.

Living off the state makes you dependent on the state...it robs you of any sense of self-sufficiency.

If I had to choose between someone who was a reliable worker, even if low paid, and someone living off the state, why would I chose to hire someone living off the state over someone who is demonstrating reliability as a worker?

Also telling a girl you're in a terrible job is much better than "I'm on disability" that sounds like you can't get it up.

^ LOL

Not true. If you are affected seriously enough, then you don't HAVE to announce it in your interview for your Asperger's condition to be perfectly obvious, even if the interviewer doesn't know what to call it. When my boss found out I had it, he said something along the lines of, "Now that I know, it figures." I still wonder how he didn't notice something was odd about me in my interview, and I have the condition mildy.

As for sustaining the employment, you might be able to do your job very well indeed, but if everyone else in the office finds you to be a loner because of your AS and the bosses prefer people who are sociable as well as talented, well...you won't keep the job.

-Not taking a job because you might not keep it, is a far far different issue than disability. If any will not work neither should he eat. As long as you can lift and carry and there is a job you should take it.
-Sadly I couldn't even find seasonal fast food temp work in my part of the US. Thats with a BA and food service experience.