Just a poor geek

[thedude]

I have $20 to my name. I live at home with my folks. Im 23 years old. My home town isnt providing job oppurtunites for me. All I do is play XBL all day every day trying to find a job. I am in a family where nobody else understands computers as much as I do. Could use a pick me up.

[Anti419]

www.crossloop.com

[thedude]

Interesting, is that place like a community of computer helpers people can go to?

[VaKo]

Been there, ended up living in a house full of polish people, with holes in the wall, no heating in winter, unemployed and I'd run out of food on Wednesday. Now I earn above the national average, have a big new apartment, damn good job and more computers than I know what to do with. My advice?

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME

One of the biggest issues I have now is lack of free time, back when I was unemployed I had so much free time, and thanks to some dumpster diving I managed to build some passable computers to use as VM servers. With this, I spent as much time as I could learning stuff, reading and experimenting. I managed to get some skills together and got myself a basic helldesk job, and that was the stepping stone I needed. So put down the X-Box, and use your free time to build a skill set you can sell. Trust me, it will pay off.

[thedude]

How did you end up living in a house full of Polish people? Shoot.

[VaKo]

It was cheap, and I was broke.

[thedude]

Wow, things are getting so bad for me now that I am selling blood twice a week only making $50 /week. I live in a college town and I swear you got to know someone to even be able to set foot on campus.

[VaKo]

Things never got that bad for me, but if I can offer a single piece of advice just don't start selling drugs, that always ends badly.

Main thing you have right now is time, which is an asset, believe me. You also appear to have an internet connection of sorts, some form of computer assets, your healthy enough to sell you blood and you have a passion for technology. This means you are doing better than a lot of other humans, so this is a plus. First thing to do is see what kinds of welfare you can get, even if it is bugger all. As I said before, you need to use your time wisely. No one will hire you for your high score, so get learning. The things you learn now will help you in a few years so study your ass off. Sell your X-Box and invest in something with hardware vt. Don't waste your time on learning pen-testing or ubuntu, no one is hiring people for these jobs. Learn Microsoft active directory, its not exciting or anything you can brag about on IRC, but this is what companies use and this is where the jobs are today. Learn ESXi and Hyper-V, this is where the jobs will be tomorrow. Learn how to support XP and W7, this is what people use. Learn about DNS, DHCP and basic networking. Learn about print servers. Microsoft do trial versions of all there software, use them.

Main thing to remember is, while the next few years may not be fun, the next decade will be OK if you put the effort in now. Yes, its going to suck, but if you don't you will still be selling your blood when you are 30.

[thedude]

That seriously really helped me there Vako. Im defitnly going to be looking into doing software trail to get exposed. This is the sorta thing that gets me up and going. Im just floating out there with no idea where I am going. In real life, I need to sourand my self with people like this.

[Moulder]

I am somewhat in the same boat.

I am going to college and am an IT major but I have tons of free time. Recently I started committing one to two hours every day researching new IT info or dedicating that time to a programming language. Anything I can get my hands on that will further my knowledge of the tech field I research.

I would say look for a friend that wants to do the same thing. You eventually start to push each other and 'one up' each other on things you can inform the other person of. Its a good time and you learn things pretty quickly.

[wh1t3 and n3rdy]

When I was 19 I lived in a car in Perth on the other side of the country, had no job, no friends and received no benefits from the government. I ended up selling drugs and collecting drug debt for some well known figures and it was a pretty hairy lifestyle. I ended up clawing back across the country and did a crappy low level computer course at TAFE which taught me pretty much nothing.

I ended up doing shit kicker jobs and eventually got an apprenticeship as a carpenter which I managed to smash out in under 3 years. All this time I was teaching myself about computers. After a wide variety of work I got a crappy level 1 help desk job were I managed to put my knowledge to some use and it got noticed by the right people. After some fill work for others being away and some secondment s to higher position i am now in the first week of my full time permanent job with Level 1,2 and 3 duties included.

Bottom line is to keep slugging away and don't give up. Getting into the drug and criminal world isn't a good idea because it can only end in tears. Spends a few years looking over your shoulder, I can assure you it's no way to live.

Put the xbox down and volunteer if you have to. Help a charity with their computer network or something just to gain experience. they don't have one? Offer to set one up. there is always something you can be doing, don't let yourself slide till you end up[ living like a deadshit till you OD or some fuck put's your lights out.

[psydT0ne]

^^

AMEN.

[lopez1364]

since you aren't making any money anyways, use your time wisely and go get an internship in IT. Start applying yourself and then you can move on to bigger and better things from there.

[d4rkfe4r]

Couldnt afford to go to college so I started looking for a job.. I even to Mexico because its cheaper to live and I actually found a descent job. Im 19 btw.

[h3%5kr3w]

Wow dude. I sympathize your pain man. It's pretty tough out there today, but it can only get better. All I can really say is keep trying. Even though it sounds silly, do you have a girlfriend? The math would be better standing (generally) if you both move in together and both try to work (once you do find a job).

Worse come to worse, don't sell/take drugs, but if your at your absolute bottom... Here's what I would do:

Find a burger joint, set a target (worker, preferrably someone who is with someone else with a job), get them fired.

Put in application: Get job! :)

Yes it is a really shitty thing to do to someone, but when it's dog eat dog, well.. that is just what it is. It's the human condition.

Here is a checklist of things that I would do to ensure your base of the future:

1. Find something that makes you happy and lower your standards to make it work. Yes it sounds stupid, but if you have 15c in your pocket, and you buy a peice of gum you like, BE HAPPY! If you think this way, then sooner or later it will work. Find a quiet place that is nice to look at, and day dream a little bit. Taking yourself out of the situation mentally can help by leaps and bounds on the endrun.

2. Assess what you have. DO NOT SELL ANYTHING YOU HAVE! /**EDIT except that Xbox, u can sell that**/ If you do, yes you may have a little money, but it's not going to be reproduceable. Also, see if anything you have in a creative way can be used to your advantage (insert some MacGuyver something here). And think to yourself to be thankful for what you have and what you CAN get in the future, regardless of what you have now.

3. Social Network. Talk to your friends, make new ones, go out of your way to find people to be friends with. You never know who may know someone who can get you a job somewhere.

4. Assess your location. If you live in a little nothing town, and it get's to the point where nothing is happening, and you KNOW for a fact nothing is going to happen, then leave. Hop on a bus going somewhere where you know you may be able to find something. Especially if it is just the next town or two over because this way you can have ties with where you are now.

5. Don't let your position clunk you in the head if you do happen to get an interview. Always Always make sure you cheer yourself up before an interview, or even putting in an application.

6. Turn to a Romen Noodle Diet. <-self explanitory

7. Quit Playing XBL!!! (that's money out of your pocket)

8. Do something really stupid (well in a silly factor, not stupid like crime and such). It will cheer you up and gear yourself up for doing something.

9. Dig through trash.. Just as VaKo pointed out, you can never tell what valuables people think are trash.

Hope that helped at least a little bit.

BTW Just so you know, be careful about giving blood. I know your in a hard rock and wall situation, but your future depends on your health.

One more thing, snoop for noobs with computers and hang around. It's only a matter of time before you find people that don't know what they are doing and screw something up (and thus u fix and make moneys!)

[thedude]

Dang you guys are really helping me here. I figured most people here would just poke fun at me. I am following one advice here, diging through trash. I found some stuff I could sell on Craigslist to get a few bucks for roman noodle. I dont have a girlfriend yet but the whole about moving in together would defitnly help. I did end up callign a buddy from highschool and we are talking about being roommates next year. The IT Internship idea, how would somone out of school even be able to do it? Just go up and ask if they have internship??

[VaKo]

Be direct and honest, give them your CV and tell them you want to work in this trade, and you'll do it even if they are paying you in free lunches.

As for moving in with a potential girlfriend, this is a mixed bag. ;)

[d4rkfe4r]

TBH at first i kind of laughed, then i got sad cause it reminds me about my situation.. plus why make fun of a fellow hak5-er? Thats just lame :P

[wh1t3 and n3rdy]

Who made fun of you?

[d4rkfe4r]

No one made fun of him but he was expecting someone to poke some fun at him.

[h3%5kr3w]

Santa made fun of me :(

But on a more serious note.. The GF gig is really a mixed bag for sure. I should have added, a GF that you can TRUST that is the type of person to work and help w/the bills, but not try to do something stupid such as: Get pregnant on purpose, spend cash on retarded stuff, AND::::con you into getting her pregnant. (seems like a trend these days, but it goes both ways I guess)

[Moulder]

As for moving in with a potential girlfriend, this is a mixed bag. ;)

This heh :)

[thedude]

Im not worried on the GF stuff. I do got a interview coming Dec 1st for a computer gig repairing computers on campus. Step forward for sure.

I was just waiting for somone to poke fun at me. Everyone so far that replied has been very helpful. Thanks again.

[ssmithisme]

I was just waiting for somone to poke fun at me. Everyone so far that replied has been very helpful. Thanks again.

Poke ;)

But on a more productive note. I am 16 and I am going to college next year..uhh..I think...

I have absolutely no plans for my future.

I should take some advice from this thread as well.

[Kyle 2.0]

Ever considered joining the military? The Navy and Air Force have tons of tech jobs that need doing. They'll train you and you can get a college education for pretty much free. Employers like that kind of thing. Just a thought.

Just get a job. You can find things out there with liveable incomes and decent benefits if you're willing to go anywhere (this is key, you have to go to where the jobs are). You don't have to love what you're doing, but right now a job is a job. It puts food on the table. I thought I always wanted to work in the IT field, but alas, here I am in the US Border Patrol. Go figure, right? Never in my wildest imagination did I see myself doing what I am doing now, but it is a good job and I am able to continue my education on my free time. Get on your feet and get self-sufficient. I think you'll be surprised how happy you are just having a little stability even if you aren't crazy about your current job. Then go to school part-time or whatever and work towards what you want.