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So I might might might have a possible job. Member services rep at a local credit union, call center work. $16 an hour to start, 25-29 hours a week, no sales. It pays better, oddly, than the job I had doing blogging for a market research firm right out of college. I was initially more or less "Let me run this by parents just to make sure it doesn't screw me cause I'm on benefits", so the recruiter gave me his phone and email, parents said "Take it!", so I emailed the guy and said "Sure, I shall do this!" (not in those words). Now to hope he sees the email before filling the position.
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Nov 13, 2014 18:50
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Those kind of call center works are pretty good and that pay is not bad at all! I would definitely do that for now while continuing to pursue the career path you want.
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Nov 13, 2014 22:22
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I do SSA stuff for a living and am not giving you any sort of official advice, because I am CERTAINLY not a lawyer, but rather someone who snoops through medical records all day in order to determine medical eligibility for benefits. I asked back a few pages ago if you were considered blind for SSI/SSDI before because of the SGA issues that another person brought up. SGA is currently considered earning $1080 before taxes for the general disabled population and $1800 (I think) for the stat blind population. If you ever find your vision deteriorating further, document the poo poo out of it. The blind lobby has someone finagled this loophole and you'd be foolish not to take advantage of it if you ever become eligible. The poster who said that if you work SGA for 3+ months will get you thrown off both benefits is true for the most part. Just because one is needs based doesn't mean that the work requirements don't apply. If you are able to hold full time employment, you are not eligible to be on SSI/SSDI, regardless of assets. This all being said, you should absolutely try working. You will likely make more than your SSI/SSDI benefits currently give you, and if you are unable to sustain the employment due to your disability...you can get back on benefits! Even if you do work for a few years and then become unable to, you can reapply at that time. It's not as if you give them up once and that's it. $16/hr is a good wage - give it a shot! I think you'll surprise yourself.
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Nov 14, 2014 00:11
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I followed up the email with a call (that went to voicemail, naturally) after the last post. Same basic message. No response yet *today*, but here's hoping?
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Nov 14, 2014 01:26
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Spacewolf posted:No response yet *today*, but here's hoping? Now. Now its time to just give up.
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Nov 14, 2014 01:27
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Thank God I never really listened to you.
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Nov 14, 2014 04:05
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marchantia posted:
The only thing with this is that he'd lose his adult child benefits, BUT, under age 32 you also only need half of your working years for credits, so you may be eligible after a year or so working at this job to get SSD on your own earnings record. This is one of those edge cases where there really is no good answer - you can always reapply for benefits, but unless you need medical treatment that is covered only by medicare and not by medicaid, you will always be eligible for SSI so long as you meet the needs test if you reapply. Considering that you're really not getting much at all on SSD adult child, it definitely doesn't hurt to take the job, and hope that you gain enough on your own earnings record that if you do need to reapply you can claim on yourself. Medicare would be the only reason I'd say stay on the adult child benefits, and that again, is an edge case sort of thing. $16/hour+benefits is definitely more than what you're currently receiving, and i'm willing to bet working will do wonders to help your mental health, so definitely take it, just be aware of the ways it can gently caress with you down the line.
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Nov 14, 2014 05:49
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Oh, it'd be absolutely amazing for my mental health if it lasts. Which is why I said "hell yes" via email. We'll be arguing it with social security - basically, they want me to have the safety net of being able to go back on Disabled Adult Child benefits, as otherwise (when you add in Medicare coverage and such) I'd screw myself getting a job. We'll also have my psychologist saying basically "Seriously, do this. If he has a job, his brand of mentally ill does much better. But to get the job, he needs the safety net." (I should note that the job has basically no benefits, just the paycheck. And woe unto anyone trying to get mental health coverage off of Obamacare, since (do we have anybody reading this thread who knows Federal health insurance benefits?) I think the FEHBP Blue Cross I get via my dad I'm only eligible for because I'm on disability.) Now hoping the guy who called me yesterday gets back to me. (If he does and says "OK, got your email and voicemail, good to go" or something similar, then I gotta check what of my various insurance coverage I lose if I work.)
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Nov 14, 2014 14:25
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AA is for Quitters posted:The only thing with this is that he'd lose his adult child benefits, BUT, under age 32 you also only need half of your working years for credits, so you may be eligible after a year or so working at this job to get SSD on your own earnings record. That is very true, I skimmed over that he was getting benefits on another SSN in my mind. But even if you end up working fairly sporadically or part time, under the SGA level even, I've seen people earn enough work quarters to become eligible for T2 benefits on their own. And OP, don't worry about slow response times...that is the absolute worst part about waiting to hear about a job or waiting for it to start. You should feel really good about taking some initiative and seeing it start to pay off a little, just don't let yourself get discouraged over little frustrations or set-backs. Easier said than done, I know!
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Nov 16, 2014 14:55
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Marchantia: Problem is, this offer didn't come from any initiative on my part. He found my resume on the local community college's career services job board online. And, for the record, he didn't call back yesterday. I called him, left *another* voice mail message. If he doesn't respond to that by tomorrow, I'm going to presume he's moved on and quit worrying. Thanksgiving is going to be somewhat busy for me, and parents are taking me down to their condo in FL for a month from mid-December (they were going to skip taking me down if I had a job, but as right now I likely won't, why not, even if I'm mostly down there to babysit the dog when they go out (which works for me, don't get me wrong)), so the job search is going into a fallow period for me.
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Nov 18, 2014 15:58
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AA, figured you deserved an update on the Social Security front: They called us back today...It's both not as bad as you and I thought, and not as good as parents thought. Quick summary: Because the diagnosis that gets me benefits is technically depression (yeah, not the physical stuff, made me go huh too), I'd have to reapply if I were to work for a long period of time. However, it's not hard to prove a relapse, apparently. So I don't lose benefits permanently, just need to reapply.
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Nov 21, 2014 21:18
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Spacewolf posted:AA, figured you deserved an update on the Social Security front: That's good to know! I'm going to reiterate the find a disability atty to work for idea though. There's tons in NJ, and they'd all love to have you, since you know the system. The one I used to work for started you at 13/hr on the phones with full benefits, but that one was in Cherry Hill. It's an easy enough area of practice that you can learn it all to be useful quickly, and something that is slow going enough that if you need time off for personal reasons, you're not likely to directly impact any clients you're working with, unlike criminal where with the right to a speedy trial if you need a month off and you're responsible for prepping the case file for the attorney, that one guy winds up hosed because that month is the entire time between arrest and trial - disability law you're looking at 4-5 months at minimum for stuff to process, and even in the crunch time before a hearing, so long as the client has been getting consistent medical treatment, there's really no "crunch" its mostly just earmarking the best records to focus on as evidence vs the mediocre records. Criminal may be way more interesting as a paralegal, but disaiblity is steady, easy, and very accommodating.
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Nov 22, 2014 04:23
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Hey Spacewolf, way to go so far, keep us all posted.  (Apologies for not having anything really useful to add at this point!)
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Nov 23, 2014 14:29
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Tawd posted:Hey Spacewolf, way to go so far, keep us all posted. Absolutely. Dude applied for one job and is currently sitting on his hands waiting for a call-back. He definitely has a "way to go."
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Nov 23, 2014 17:26
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You seem to be able to use a computer well enough to post on the forums, and you seem to be smart enough to do college level work. Have you thought about something like software development? Might take a long time, and I'm not sure you would have the head for it, but maybe worth thinking about. Also you talk about depression a lot, and it seems like a lot of your problems are related to that and a general inability to just get going. Are you getting that treated? It might help us give you advice if you could tell us what else you are dealing with besides being blind in one eye, cerebral palsy (how does this affect you exactly), and depression. I know you are nervous to put anything online, but it is hard to give advice based on such a vague idea of what is going on with you.
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Nov 23, 2014 18:15
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OK...Here's what I PMed to Hot Dog Day a few days ago (I think it was that long ago anyway): --- OK, a rundown. I will not call it quick, it isn't. I was born 94 days premature and had a brain bleed at 12 days old to begin the adventure, with retinopathy of prematurity from 2.5 months old. The end results: Physical: Cerebral palsy (a light case, I can walk but don't ask me to go too far) as result of being premature. Still have a very heavy gait, for example, partly a result of the fact that I haven't been in physical therapy since age 8. It's something easier to explain in real life, because you can see what's meant. Some brain damage that we can't particularly associate to anything as a result of the brain bleed, neuroplasticity being a thing. Fine and gross motor difficulties - Can't tie shoes; don't even ask about a necktie, because that ain't happening for the same reason. Can't ride a bike due to lack of balance. My handwriting is also poo poo as a result. It's legible now, at age 30, but only in print and only with a lot of effort. My typing speed, bizarrely, is 50 wpm, but I only use my index fingers most of the time, with occasional use of my right thumb (which is rather odd-looking due to my right hand's fingers falling off while I was in the NICU, then 3 of 5 growing back not-quite-right). Some reflex issues, hard to define em, though What my psychologist aunt calls a "non-verbal learning disorder" - I can see your face, but the facial expressions don't click in my head, nor do other body language. I'm deaf in my right ear as a result of the brain bleed, too. Left ear compensates exceptionally well and you'd normally never notice, but it means I can't localize sound when I go outside, for example - we've tried hearing aids, but they never worked out well for me, either because they're small and easy to lose or because they amplify everything, which means I just get lost by the background noise. And the big one: I am blind in my right eye as a result of retinopathy of prematurity. The left eye sees no better than 20/80 corrected and is extremely nearsighted - I can read the fine print of a contract (handy, huh) but not see the broad side of a barn...Or, for that matter, read street signs. The field of vision is also extremely limited, but I don't remember what my remaining field is at, numerically. Statutorily, because my left eye is at 20/80, I'm in the worst of all possible worlds so far as vision goes - I'm functionally blind for most purposes (can't drive, for example), but I don't qualify as blind for the purposes of the social security act. New Jersey considers me blind, though, and I'm registered with the NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a client, though my case has been closed for a few years (because they only help when I'm actively job searching, and they haven't gotten back to me this time about reopening things, despite my calling repeatedly over the past few months). Psychological: As you might imagine, my physical state (and the reality that it can never actually be fixed, even with technological advancement - the brain has simply adapted to not having certain functions available) has produced clinically significant depression; it was suicidal (ideations, not an attempt) when I was a teenager, which resulted in 10 days inpatient when I was 15, and 30 days partial hospitalization a few months later when I had a second incident. Between me and my psychologist, the Major Depressive Disorder has descended? to dysthymia, but the end result is still 4 separate prescriptions (1 for attention deficit disorder, 2 for depression (one at night, one in the morning), and 1 for depression-induced insomnia) from my friendly local psych nurse. Social Security did a medical review about a year ago (ish), and I distinctly recall what the guy at the local field office (who was doing the review) said: "I entirely accept that you don't have one solitary diagnosis that pushes you into the eligible range. However, your sheer totality of diagnoses and conditions...Yeah, you're disabled, and I can tell that from looking at you." The problem is that SSI wants one diagnosis, so depression was it. --- Doghouse: Software dev would fit my personality fine, but my math skills suck and always have, which I'm told is a barrier to actually learning that. (My latest math was remedial algebra at the local community college, where I got a C+.) I'm getting the depression treated, but like I said above - it is fundamentally rooted in the physical stuff. Unless you fix the physical, the psychological ain't going to do better than "I manage it". And unless people know of ways to rewire the brain that aren't public knowledge yet, there's no way to fix (for example) the vision, especially after 30 years without it.
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Nov 23, 2014 19:05
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Two options: 1) be one of those happy cripples who stumbles around smiling and shiny-eyed, or 2) turn your defects into pure rage and fight against the world. I think you should probably work on the second. Most of success is just perseverance, and rage is as good a motivator as any.
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Nov 24, 2014 20:41
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Spacewolf posted:Doghouse: Software dev would fit my personality fine, but my math skills suck and always have, which I'm told is a barrier to actually learning that. (My latest math was remedial algebra at the local community college, where I got a C+.) As I understand it plenty of people code without formal qualifications in comp. sci. or mathematics. There are tonnes of free resources out there for learning various programming languages online at your own pace - if you're on nobody else's schedule, it can't hurt to plunk around and try to throw something together (he said).
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Nov 25, 2014 18:57
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With one "good" ear and eye, those impairments aren't going to get you benefits. Until you are 50, gait difficulties won't do it either. It's very tricky to get physical disability under 50, at least at the federal level. Fingering and handling limitations are your best bet. It's not fair, but that's what it is. Honestly though, your best bet would be doubling down with a good therapist to try and address your depression and motivation issues. Keep plugging away. I can't tell you the number of applications I've submitted and gotten shot down or no response. Just keep swimming...
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Dec 10, 2014 03:31
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Funnily enough, depression is why I get SSI/SSDI currently, marchantia. It's just that unlike the usual case where depression can be cleared up eventually, mine can't - because of where it's rooted in the physical disabilities. But yeah, I hear you. When stuff opens up in an hour (ish) I hope to get a call in to the last place I applied to, following up. They haven't replied at all, and that annoys me. It was a local cerebral palsy organization, and it was kiiiind of a shot in the dark, but.
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Dec 10, 2014 14:20
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Spacewolf posted:Software dev would fit my personality fine, but my math skills suck and always have, which I'm told is a barrier to actually learning that. (My latest math was remedial algebra at the local community college, where I got a C+.) I've always sucked at arithmetic, which meant I have never done well in maths, but am still as good as many at programming - one way to look at it is that the computer is good at numbers so you don't have to be. I can say that the kind of problems you deal with programming will be very different from the problems you've likely met in maths, so it is probably worth giving it a try! E: clarity, spelling etc.
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Dec 12, 2014 12:23
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Engaging in blatant thread necromancy to report good news of a sort: I had an interview today, my first (except for a Skype interview with OfficeTeam that, so far, hasn't led to any work) in this whole job search insanity, and it seemed to go well! (Though I've no true idea how I did and not wanting to count chickens before hatching, etc.) Was for a receptionist job at a vet's office (dealing with dogs and cats - fortunately, actual animal wrangling is *mostly* someone else's job, I think) - and while it's 16 hours a week max at somewhere between $10-15 an hour, that's a ton better than 0 hours a week at $0/hour. Now the anxious wait to hear back begins. They said they were right in the middle of interviewing people, and would still be interviewing for a few days, so who knows when (or if) I'll hear back. (In case you were wondering, the cerebral palsy place? Hired someone related to someone who works there, I heard.  )
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Feb 22, 2015 03:45
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You should be applying to more than one place at a time.because you will absolutely not get that job.
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Feb 22, 2015 13:33
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I am. The difficulty is *finding places posting ads* in the local area.
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Feb 22, 2015 18:06
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Don't give up, necromancer. Some of us are still watching.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:24
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In the event, Irish Joe was right. Didn't get the job.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:14
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Spacewolf posted:In the event, Irish Joe was right. Didn't get the job. Keep on trying, my partner has been unemployed 2 years (part of it to injury) and it's demoralising to get rejected so I hope you can keep your chin up.
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Feb 28, 2015 10:06
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Devious_05 posted:Sorry to hear that. I'm not sure what prompted him to say you definitely wouldn't get it, but I think that's a bit harsh. Just being a realist. The odds are against you any time you apply for a job in general, but even moreso when you have a bad resume and/or a disability. Add on top of that the fact that a receptionist is the face of a company/office. If I'm looking for someone to sit in the lobby and be pleasant and approachable, am I going to go with one of the ten able-bodied young women who applied, or the anxious disabled guy? The answer, I think, is obvious. And that's precisely why the OP shouldn't put all his hopes and dreams on a single position, but should be applying for everything that comes along: the odds are stacked against him no matter what, and he'll never get out of his rut if he strings his failures out one at a time.
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Mar 6, 2015 13:15
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Irish Joe posted:Just being a realist. The odds are against you any time you apply for a job in general, but even moreso when you have a bad resume and/or a disability. Add on top of that the fact that a receptionist is the face of a company/office. If I'm looking for someone to sit in the lobby and be pleasant and approachable, am I going to go with one of the ten able-bodied young women who applied, or the anxious disabled guy? The answer, I think, is obvious. And that's precisely why the OP shouldn't put all his hopes and dreams on a single position, but should be applying for everything that comes along: the odds are stacked against him no matter what, and he'll never get out of his rut if he strings his failures out one at a time. Logical brain of mine actually agrees with this, even if emotional brain hates to hear it because jobs seem to only come along in ones and twos, and half the time I don't get a response to my resume anyway. (It'd be nice to actually get responses back even if they're no. At least then I can not wonder if they're suddenly going to come back to me a month+ later...) Note that I'm not strictly looking for receptionist work. Dream job at the moment is paralegal stuff, but I've explained itt how hard that is to get. So I'm looking for anything, and receptionist was just the one time I got an interview - or even a response to my resume at all. I fully agree I had maybe a 5% shot of actually landing that job in particular, if that much. At the moment, it's a situation where I'm somewhere past frustrated and into just wondering if I'll ever get anything period. Tbqh, I try to not think about it most days, because the results have been so disappointing.
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Mar 6, 2015 17:53
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Not sure if this would help OP, but you could try catchafire.org. You can look for volunteer opportunities that could help with your resume, and a lot of the work can be done remotely. The projects on there seem to need people with varying skill sets, so you could look for something while also job hunting.
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Mar 9, 2015 18:20
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So an update: In desperation, about two months ago, I called up the state commission for the blind and re-registered as a client. Easy, but I'd been avoiding it and trying to work off non-disabled methods of getting a job, mostly (exception: Federal jobs, because I had hope the Schedule A letter would get me sweet sweet government job...didn't happen...). Yeah, that was the best decision I've made job-wise in a while. They set me up with a contractor job coach, and said job coach basically helped me redo my resume completely...and helped me get interviews at several places. Eventually, though, I decided to try old place I used to work: Yup. The survey company I worked at out of HS. They pay $9.38 an hour, I can realistically work a max of 25 hours a week before I start losing benefits, but it's a job. They hired me today, I start training 6/23. Whee. So when some guy calls you up to ask you to do a survey, don't slam the phone down on him or swear at him immediately, it might be me.
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Jun 10, 2015 23:23
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Congrats! Everyone needs help once in awhile so glad you got it. I hope people aren't too rude to you on the phone though. Phone work isn't fun.
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Jun 13, 2015 03:43
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Spacewolf posted:So an update: Glad you found a new job, Spacewolf.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:09
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