Comment on How do I finally get a long term career and become financially independent?
EndOfLine@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Not sure if it’s helpful, but pivotal steps in my career path involved unintentional networking.
Started working at a call center reading scripts and calling it “tech support” from that job I made friends with a coworker with a similar interest in computers. A few years later he was working in-house IT for a major company and referred me.
A few years in that field and I made friends with another coworker who got me interested in scripting / coding. A few years later after meeting that friend, he was working as a software developer and referred me to my first coding job.
Once my foot was in the door I would learn and grow in each position until I felt like I stopped growing my skillset and I would find a new job where I could build new skills.
It helps that I have a genuine interest and enjoyment in learning and improving my skills. Computers and technology just happened to be the skillet that people started to pay me for. I could have just as easily ended up a machinist, contractor, chef or any other profession sparked by a personal interest of mine.
cyborganism@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
This. It doesn’t matter how competent you are. It’s all about connections.
AQuestionAsker@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Could I start making connections here?
twen@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Making connections is everywhere, here as well as at a grocery store ( for example), because you start talking to someone and you never knows what will happen. Do what you like to do or react to any post or irl talks. You will may be not get work, but making you known works in the long run. Especially if you do good job, people remembers you.
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Technically yes, but the community on Lemmy is very small and pretty widely globally distributed, which are suboptimal characteristics when you’re presumably not going to have an easy time just dropping everything and moving to somewhere random in the world at a moment’s notice because you met a person there and they think they might have something for you, even if that’s something you might like to do it doesn’t mean it’s practical. That said, it is possible, but you’re going to have to put in a lot more effort that way.
You’ll have a lot better luck (and honestly, it IS about luck, so repeating the same patterns over and over again until you get a different result IS a viable strategy) finding some local connections within your community. Sure, virtual/remote work is a thing in some fields, but even for that there are still obstacles based on national borders and languages that are going to further limit your choices even beyond the very significant limitation of only being able to apply for virtual/remote positions in those specific fields that are suited to it.
The biggest thing you can do though is to have or start to learn some kind of skill or competence at something, and be able to demonstrate that in front of others. If you have nothing else to work on, develop those social skills; those will get you further than any piece of paper will without them. If family and friends aren’t helping, find communities or organizations or even neighbors that need something, anything, and offer to help, volunteer. Never pass up an opportunity to work with someone if you can find it, the things you’ll learn from them while doing that work are more valuable than any paycheck if it’s something new to you. And once you’ve at least made some progress in either learning or demonstrating some level of skill or competence, start dropping the hint and mention that you’re looking for a job. May go nowhere, may not get any reaction at all, but every time you get any reaction, that’s a potential door opening. You likely will not get an immediate job on the spot, it may be that you’re just planting seeds that need some time to grow, but just keep on planting until something happens. Do everything you can think of to be memorable, connectable, approachable and accessible, try to make sure people remember you or at least your skill when they come across a role that needs filling, and make sure they will know how to get in touch with you if they do.
As with any kind of success, it’s 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, you just gotta pound pavement, force yourself to get out there even when you feel like you’re failing, talk to people, learn everything you can, seize opportunities to learn or do any kind of work you think you can. And the more you show you’re willing to work, people will find things for you to do, skills for you to learn, and ultimately places for you to work and the money will start flowing. Just start doing work, and chat to people either during the work, or about the work, or something. You can’t escape the social aspect, even if you’re an introvert or a wallflower, that’s how we make connections and the connections are part of it. The details, the skills, the specifics all don’t matter as much as you think, and the rest will figure itself out naturally as long as you keep showing up, making noise, and not hiding or being invisible.
alternategait@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I mean , a minimum competence is the bar. I’m not recommending someone who is going to make me look bad if they get hired. But if you’re ok and my friend, I’ll recommend you and it’s more likely you’ll be hired over someone really good, but who doesn’t know anyone.
cyborganism@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Oh for sure.