The time has come to find some work.

Post Reply New Topic

Of course having been on SSI for over a year for disability seem to sort of present a barrier...I mean there are people with more job experience without a disability to hire. However I know you can work on SSI whilst still receiving some help depending on how much you make. But either way I figure I have no real way to compete with the work force to find a job on my own. So I've decided I'll give that vocational rehabilitation program a try, I mean if I could work enough not to need SSI that would be good, but if not I am sure they can help me find some work to supplement the SSI. According to the website they even help with job training and such which would be good.

But yeah a bit more income would help things, also a couple room-mates may be moving out within six months which will likely raise the rent as we'd need another couple or two people willing to share a room and split rent to move in to keep it the same, but seems more likely to find one room-mate than two at once. Also though my mental health and such has been better so I am probably more capable than when I got on the SSI.

I suppose I just need to try and keep a positive attitude and hope for the best.

ok maybe this should be deleted....doesn't seem anyone has a response or input, guess I am the only person on disability trying to get started with some amount of work I figured maybe at least 1 or 2 people could relate to this kind of experience especially since 177 people looked at it. Then again maybe the site just hasn't been very active or at least this section.

I hate when I kill my own threads with the opening post before they even result in any kind of discussion....

Voc Rehab is a good place to start, main thing is to try to get a counselor that you like and feel is sympathetic towards your issues if possible. They can help with job training or job placement, they can pay for you to go to school even which is what they have me up to currently. Some people have had negative experiences but I've met a lot of people who have gone above and beyond what they're paid to do that have helped me, genuine good people. It is a bit of an arduous process(especially if you're not actually ready to work) but if you're willing to jump thru the hoops(maybe unpaid 'trial work') then you'll get where you want to be at, I just look at it as if what else would I doing anyways? If you have any idea of what you'd actually would want to do as a career then it would help a lot.

No advice to offer, just wishing you well and hope you find something to pursue that is a good fit and might even be fun or interesting work to have. Best wishes.

Hey, I just think it was one of those posts where people kept looking for the question and couldn't find it.

It's really cool that you are feeling up to doing something, actually. Does this mean you're having a bit more energy and happy feelings?

For what it's worth, I'm getting a bit more active, too. Got a health problem fixed, so now I have a bit more energy and focus, started a programming course.

It sounds like a good idea to use the help available to you.

Good luck!

Yeah basically my anxiety, depression and PTSD are much less severe now, and aspergers alone probably shouldn't prevent me working. It might effect the kind of jobs I could do....like I probably wouldn't be a very good customer service type person. But yeah part of me just wants to go try and find a job myself through normal means, but to be realistic I think I do need some help and support to get started so seems like a good program.

It might be easier to find a sympathetic employer than to find a sympathetic counselor. But it is worth a try ... I guess voc rehab can be quite annoying at times, but it offers also a softer start, and some of the other participants might be interesting in one way or in another, too.

What you need is good luck: So I wish you plenty of good luck !

I was on SSI before I started working too but I was on it for physical disabilities in addition to my Aspergers. My voc counselor was no help thou & kept telling me to assert myself while I was doing all the looking. I was in Louisiana thou & that & other services/programs never had a good budget. I was applying at places for quite a while before I got my 1st job. A family friend found an organization that helped disableds find employment & my voc councilor agreed to refer me there & pay them for the help. They helped me get my 1st job. I didn't like the job too much but I stuck with it & after 8/9 months started putting in apps for other jobs & got hired in a month or so. It's been years sense I worked thou & I'm on Social Security Disability now instead of SSI. When I moved to Vermont to be with my girlfriend I wanted us to move to the city partly so I could find a job. It's been 4 years & I haven't done any looking yet. I think I'm at the point where I'm ready to start looking fopr a part time job where I can keep my disability, Medicare, & my Medicaid cuz I could really use some extra money & it would give me something to do. I'm not going to start till sometime after the Christmas holidays because me & my girlfriend will be visiting my family & be gone like 3 weeks during the holidays & I want to try a certain med for one of my disabilities 1st; I have a doc appointment Wednesday.

I wish you lots of luck with your search cuz I know how difficult getting the 1st job can be. I would suggest applying for most any job you think you might be able to do even if you don't think you will like it much. 1ce you have like say 6 months experience you could apply at jobs you think you would like better while your still working there. Having no job experience is kind of a catch 22.

I'm currently volunteering and have done unpaid work in the past but haven't seem to find any paid work because 1: local area seems to only attract higher-class people which I don't fit into, 2: I can't get through interviews (either communication issues or memory issues), 3: when employers see my CV, they will only see unpaid work experience which they might think i'm only available if they want me to work for free. 2 coming up to 3 years unemployment, in my country (UK) the government have cut the so called "Voc Rehab" and reintroduced a work and health programme which is aimed at all benefit claimants which is said to be useless and is just there to keep an eye on you and sanction you whenever they please.

I work retail so part of my problem would be communication, I haven't told my employer about my mental health condition and they seem alright with what I am doing so far.

So looking towards the future, I think I would be kicked out of the house because I don't have a job yet, doomed to be working unpaid jobs (essentially working for my benefits), lower self-esteem due to watching younger siblings succeeding where I fail but also having paid jobs is worse. Gaming and music seem to be the only things keeping me going.

After more than a decade on voc rehab, I finally got a "paid internship" for a few hours a week.

I was severely jerked around during those years.

If you do go voc rehab, any disability reviews will be put on hold. Also you can keep about half of what you earn but most if that will be subtracted from your check. Still, you wind up with more than you would have had otherwise.

My experience has been that some perceived voc rehab helping professionals are reckless with the truth. I also had to tell them repeatedly, "no, I cannot and will not do billing work" and "if I thought I could do a certain previous job, I would have gone back to that line of work instead of applying for disability!"

Also, I don't advise allowing them to send you for *testing*. What they pay for in terms of testing or anything medical, you are not entitled to have a copy of those records. Instead, you will have to apply to get them under the freedom of information act and that is a pain.

But working part-time at a low stress job is awesome. Even though it took more than a decade for me, having a little job is awesome!

I suggest getting one of two types of jobs:

If you think you could handle Food Service (you can get a job that is in PREPARATION), I would get a job at McDonald's (or, whatever fast-food joint is closest), PART-TIME, to ease into the work field (if they try to put you on Cashier, ask them if you could be nuking hamburgers, for instance, instead; that you're too nervous, right now [say "right now", so they'll think you're open to doing it, in the future], to deal with customers). Also, it never hurts to LEARN to be a Cashier----cuz the more skills you have, the more chances of getting ANOTHER job----I just don't think an Aspie would want that to be their PRIMARY job.

If you think you can handle being a PART-TIME stockperson, I would apply at Wal-Mart (or Target, or whatever's closest). This is a GREAT time of year to get one of these jobs, cuz they're hiring seasonal help, for the holidays. Sometimes, they train stockpersons to work on the cash register----again, NOT a bad idea----but, it wouldn't be your primary job.

Then, WHILE YOU HAVE THE JOB, go to usajobs.gov and apply for either Food Service Worker (one type is food preparation; the other type, is where you go to a patient's room in a VA hospital, for instance, and take their food order; BOTH are available in part-time), if you have a job at McDonald's; OR, Store Worker (one type, is Cashier; the other type, is Stocker; BOTH are available in part-time), if you have a job at Wal-Mart, or something similar.

Notes: Sometimes, Food Service Worker requires a physical (no big deal; they just check your BP, and maybe, do blood work; and, ask you if you have any infectious diseases). If you get the Store Worker one----say, in the Commissary, if you're near a military base----they usually say they DON'T test for drugs (STREET drugs).

Make sure that, after the first page where you put in the City / State that you want, and it goes to the NEXT page, you click "Federal Workers" (all-the-way over on the left; may have to scroll a teeny bit). I know you're not a federal worker, this option just returns more announcements----and, MOST are for ANYONE who is a citizen, to apply. Lastly, make sure to take-note of the VERY different résumé, that is required for the Feds (this can found, after you register [which, you have to do, to apply for jobs], under the Résumés tab----toward the bottom, it'll say "Sample Résumé", or something like that). I know you will have only had ONE job, probably, at-the-time you apply, but the FORMATTING is very different, and to what you must strictly adhere, if you have any hope of getting employed with the Feds.

Also, if you have any problems understanding the abbreviations, I might be able to help ya.

Applying for / getting a job with the Feds, pretty much, GUARANTEES you a career / retirement----barring severe anxiety / depression / something else; even THEN, you can take PAID time off----a car, decent apartment / house, GOOD healthcare, etc. Time off, and other benefits, take longer to come-by, if you are part-time with the Feds, but STILL. Also, it would be VERY easy to transition to FULL-time----if, after-awhile, you want to try that----in EITHER of these two jobs, OR another / different one, in another department / agency.