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Work?
Just wondering, does anyone here (or any of your spoonie friends) work? What kind of jobs are out there for the chronically ill? What are the options?
I have been trying to do various little things online because I'm usually unable to be away from home for too long at a time. And I gotta be honest, I've barely made about 20 dollars total. Used to do MTurk way back when I lived in the states, but they don't hire US Citizens outside the country. Even then, overall what you could make was about 4 dollars an hour on a good day.
So do any of you have any ideas? Starting to feel pretty sad about my position, and all that. I want to contribute in some way, besides all the housework and cooking and all that. I think my in-laws are disappointed in me, and I just want to do more to help.
I have a BA... but that doesn't seem to be worth anything these days.




I volunteer but obviously that's not going to get me paid. I live off disability payments and save money on online purchases using grabpoints until I can scrape together 10k points for a $5 gift card on amazon.
If you use Bing (or are willing to), you can sign up there for Amazon cards too (or other rewards, like Microsoft GC's). I get about $5 a month, and all I do is search using Bing and not Google. https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/html/pbPage.Rewards
Ha, yeah this is the type of thing I would do, this and a few other things. 5 dollars a month sounds like the situation I'm currently in... but at this point every penny could potentially help I guess.
I know it's not a lot. :( But it adds up. And it's a simple change.
Thankfully, working from home/remotely is becoming more and more common these days! Here are a few suggestions for places to look:
I'm not working at the moment but connected with a provincial group up here for assistance in finding work I can do with my condition.
Best of luck to you with that! I hope you find something you are able to do and enjoy.
Merci @AspenLovesYou
de rien :)
If you do any kind of crafting or artwork, you could try Etsy. My partner's been selling there for years as his primary income. You really have to do a lot of self-promotion for it to work, tho.
I used to work but it got too much for me.
Internationally there's upwork which I did some work through and it was ok if low paid, there's a few other places like that. I also got a technical writing job through an australian nonprofit aimed at disabled people, if you google "disability work (your country)" you might find something. I sell tshirts through redbubble and games through itch.io, neither make much money but would probably do better if I had the energy to promote them. There's freelance creative and technical writing jobs around, I think Winter Wolves and ChoiceOf Games hire freelance game writers internationally if that's a thing you can do.
But if you can't work you can't. I don't even manage cooking and cleaning. Don't let your inlaws get you down. I know from when I worked a few hours a week that mine will never be satisfied unless I bring in a fulltime wage and that's simply impossible for me. Looking after yourself is a fulltime responsibility when you're sick!
I have an office job in state employment. Takes most of my energy most days, and they don't pay us enough, but I manage. And I value my independent lifestyle, so I Will Keep Managing.
If you don't mind me asking, where do you live right now? I recently moved to Taiwan and yeah, Mturk doesn't work, or swagbucks, or even the Bing rewards. I don't work atm, I'm going back to school for a degree in interpretation and hoping to be able to score freelance jobs off that in the future. The spoon situation skeers me though... I know some people who say that the virtual assistant stuff works for them, so maybe that's something you could do? Taskrabbit also has some online task type things that maybe you'd qualify for?
I'm in Canada... seems like only US things pay decently! I'll look into your ideas thanks!
Are you restricted by being in Canada for USian virtual assistant tasks? That seems ...silly for something like VAing...
Well what type of work there is really depends on the limitations of your specific conditions. Some spoonies can handle things like office work and some can't. It's hard to really tell without more specifics.
I can do almost anything as long as it's on my own hours / time. Leaving the house is difficult but do-able, for example, errands, picking things up. It always has to be on my own schedule. My illness has random and very sudden flare-ups, meaning at this time getting a job outside the house will not happen, nor will a scheduled job.
I think I'd have to basically do a be my own boss kind of thing. But sadly, when I look up information on that, 99 percent of it is bullshit, trying to get people to buy "make money now!" crap, you know?
Oh believe me I know as I have that same limitation. The random flare ups thing makes it extremely hard. I've expressed that same feeling multiple times. With mine I can't be out in the sunlight or do anything physically strenuous so there goes any labor or outdoor work. I'm also triggered by air conditioning and florescent lights so that eliminates quite a good amount of office jobs. Plus you add in the random pain and I'm pretty much like well if it's not at home and on my own schedule it isn't happening.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat as both of you. Random pain/sleep disturbance mean keeping a schedule is impossible. I have trouble with the lights too as well as scents and sound sensitivity, and a recent new fun reaction I started having was to paper and cardboard boxes (hands swell, hives, trouble breathing). I'm pretty sure working in an office is right out.
I've been poking around at upwork.com, which used to be Odesk. I did do some work with them a few years ago, and I'm thinking of trying to get the occasional odd job with them again. You don't have to be in the US to work for them.
The other thing I've been wanting/hoping/trying to do is start learning programming which theoretically could be done from home on your own schedule. Code Academy has some good free classes on that.
Oh, also, I meant to add that the Google Opinion Rewards app pays a bit for surveys, and you can use that in the Google Play Store if that's useful to you.
Oh geez the cardboard thing sounds harsh. I mean I'm allergic to all kinds of chemicals and stuff but nothing that mundane. Like do you have to have someone else open any packages you might get? I can't even imagine, staying away from chemicals is not that bad but not being able to open boxes sounds harsh.
It's so frustrating D: I also didn't discover how bad it was until I was in the middle of moving using cardboard boxes (Frogboxes are a life saver).
It depends on the box, some are a lot worse than others. I usually can tolerate it for a few minutes, so I can handle it if I'm quick, but I have to get it out of my space fairly quickly and make sure I wash my hands and stuff right away. Still, breathing will be rough for a bit after that.
Pizza boxes are usually okay for a while (I think they off-gas less or something).
The really rough thing is happening into a store while they're doing a lot of stocking and there are boxes all over. Also reading. I pretty much have to read on e-readers or tablets.
Aw I'd be really upset about the reading part. I have shelves upon shelves of books. I'm that person that got overly excited when my local library changed their limit from 40 books every 2 weeks to 60. I would grab everything interesting and get to the counter and have to put like 2 or 3 back and feel like my dog died or something. Pretty sure I'd have to go through an entire grieving process if I couldn't read physical books.
I used to be the same way, and I definitely did grieve. It still bothers me. I love the smell and feel of cracking open a book. The whole sensory experience is a thing of it's own, and it's part of reading for me.
I am currently working as an office administrator, which was just fine for me until we moved and now I commute 3 hrs everyday. I'm currently looking to find something local or wfh, but its not all that easy. :/
As @Slytherinfaunus said, it also depends on your condition. Mine is not so bad that I can't leave for work every day and go to an office. My spoons are more...mental.
Ah yeah I don't think I could do the job you do, mine would have to be at home, but office type of work sounds like a dream. Kind of love that stuff for some reason.
I waffle back and forth - sometimes I enjoy the structure and pseudo privacy (like a cubicle step up that you find at larger companies) of office jobs, other times I'm resentful that I have to sit at a desk for 8 hours doing meaningless work (I know, not spoon related).
Best of luck finding something from home - a lot of bookkeeping positions are moving towards wfh. That's what I'm hoping for at least.