Income or Skills for Disabled Student?
September 17, 2014 1:34 PM Subscribe
In March, I had a stroke the week before Winter Quarter finals and it resulted in right hemi weakness. I have made lots of good progress in recovery and continue going to physical therapy, but after a summer of my savings being eaten by medical bills, I am trying to figure out ways to make some money. My circumstances make that difficult. Details within.
Right now, I've been relying on the financial generosity of friends and my parents, plus extremely cautious use of a credit card. I am grateful for the former and nervous about the latter. I don't want to continue relying on either source to pay for anything. I've eliminated or reduced expenses, but there's nothing left to trim or cut. Besides, I've noticed that I have holed up almost completely in order to avoid spending money (either using my credit or someone else's cash), and that is not good for my mental health. I have at least another 6+ months of recovery left, it's probably going to change whatever plans I had for a career, and I can tell that my depression/stress about this is affecting therapy. (Yes, my doctors know I am depressed. Along with taking medications, I regularly talk to my neuropsych about it.) I've applied for disability benefits, but I am not confident in getting any. Problem is, I don't know what I can do for work.
At the time this happened, I was on track to graduate with a BS in Anthropology, mostly focused on archaeology. [Not taking finals for Winter Quarter wrecked my GPA, unfortunately.] I've already done field school, although I wanted to do another. I was working in an archaeological information center, mapping and filing surveys done by any government agency or business entity that hired CRMs/archaeologists. I loved my job and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed maps, archival work, and data entry. Days before this happened, I was thinking about gaining experience with GIS software and museum work, improving my math skills, and exploring my interest in (ethno)ecology/environmental anthropology, history, and geography more. Prior to that job, my employment experience involved retail (which I loathed), tutoring (English), and being a classroom aide (language computer lab and bio anthro lab). My hobbies are reading, writing fiction, and editing my friends' fiction (haven't done this in a while). I've been thinking of picking up jewelry-making as practice for manual dexterity, but it's an investment of time and funds that I cannot really afford.
Although I've recently ditched the cane, my endurance and balance while walking still need to be worked on. I cannot drive. Although I am in Southern California (nominally in LA County, but just barely), I live in an area with no easy access to jobs (hilly suburbs plus multilingualism strongly preferred). My manual dexterity is diminished, so typing is slow (but improving: it's currently around 25-30 WPM and I'm forcing myself to review webcomics as practice), handwriting is messy, and my drawings look like shaky scribbles. It was necessary that I live with my parents for care and the internet connection here is sluggish.
I have therapy 2-3 times a week and I am returning to college in the Fall, 2 days a week. (My school is extremely reluctant to permit more than one quarter off for medical leave and it's the school insurance that is currently footing my rehab bill. Plus, I am anxious to find out what cognitive deficits I must now learn to compensate for due to the nature of my stroke. And I need the finaid refund.) I do not have a work study grant, which is what is mostly desired for any campus jobs. Since I'll be commuting to college by train now, I don't think getting work out there is a good idea anyway (there's only a 3-hour window between my last class and the last train).
I'm not expecting to make a lot of money, especially given my schedule and how little the most easily accessible work-from-home jobs pay. Transportation to therapy is $3 each way, so it'd be nice to earn enough cover that, go out to eat taro yogurt with friends every now and then, and save some quarters. (More than that would be nice, of course.) I asked for suggestions at therapy, but they seemed stumped given my circumstances. They suggested unpaid volunteering or vaguely directed me to build skills that could help me earn money half a year to a year from now (they did not seem to know of any skills), which are nice thoughts, but doesn't really address the immediate problem.
I am at a loss here. After poking around online and in AskMeFi, it looks like having no degree, slow-to-mediocre internet speeds plus slow typing, etc. rule out a lot of options. What can I do for a dribble of income? What can I start learning, preferably cheaply/free, so that I have more options 6-12 months down the road that would still involve my interests?
Any help or encouragement is greatly appreciated. I can also be privately reached at mappingstrokes@gmail.com .
Right now, I've been relying on the financial generosity of friends and my parents, plus extremely cautious use of a credit card. I am grateful for the former and nervous about the latter. I don't want to continue relying on either source to pay for anything. I've eliminated or reduced expenses, but there's nothing left to trim or cut. Besides, I've noticed that I have holed up almost completely in order to avoid spending money (either using my credit or someone else's cash), and that is not good for my mental health. I have at least another 6+ months of recovery left, it's probably going to change whatever plans I had for a career, and I can tell that my depression/stress about this is affecting therapy. (Yes, my doctors know I am depressed. Along with taking medications, I regularly talk to my neuropsych about it.) I've applied for disability benefits, but I am not confident in getting any. Problem is, I don't know what I can do for work.
At the time this happened, I was on track to graduate with a BS in Anthropology, mostly focused on archaeology. [Not taking finals for Winter Quarter wrecked my GPA, unfortunately.] I've already done field school, although I wanted to do another. I was working in an archaeological information center, mapping and filing surveys done by any government agency or business entity that hired CRMs/archaeologists. I loved my job and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed maps, archival work, and data entry. Days before this happened, I was thinking about gaining experience with GIS software and museum work, improving my math skills, and exploring my interest in (ethno)ecology/environmental anthropology, history, and geography more. Prior to that job, my employment experience involved retail (which I loathed), tutoring (English), and being a classroom aide (language computer lab and bio anthro lab). My hobbies are reading, writing fiction, and editing my friends' fiction (haven't done this in a while). I've been thinking of picking up jewelry-making as practice for manual dexterity, but it's an investment of time and funds that I cannot really afford.
Although I've recently ditched the cane, my endurance and balance while walking still need to be worked on. I cannot drive. Although I am in Southern California (nominally in LA County, but just barely), I live in an area with no easy access to jobs (hilly suburbs plus multilingualism strongly preferred). My manual dexterity is diminished, so typing is slow (but improving: it's currently around 25-30 WPM and I'm forcing myself to review webcomics as practice), handwriting is messy, and my drawings look like shaky scribbles. It was necessary that I live with my parents for care and the internet connection here is sluggish.
I have therapy 2-3 times a week and I am returning to college in the Fall, 2 days a week. (My school is extremely reluctant to permit more than one quarter off for medical leave and it's the school insurance that is currently footing my rehab bill. Plus, I am anxious to find out what cognitive deficits I must now learn to compensate for due to the nature of my stroke. And I need the finaid refund.) I do not have a work study grant, which is what is mostly desired for any campus jobs. Since I'll be commuting to college by train now, I don't think getting work out there is a good idea anyway (there's only a 3-hour window between my last class and the last train).
I'm not expecting to make a lot of money, especially given my schedule and how little the most easily accessible work-from-home jobs pay. Transportation to therapy is $3 each way, so it'd be nice to earn enough cover that, go out to eat taro yogurt with friends every now and then, and save some quarters. (More than that would be nice, of course.) I asked for suggestions at therapy, but they seemed stumped given my circumstances. They suggested unpaid volunteering or vaguely directed me to build skills that could help me earn money half a year to a year from now (they did not seem to know of any skills), which are nice thoughts, but doesn't really address the immediate problem.
I am at a loss here. After poking around online and in AskMeFi, it looks like having no degree, slow-to-mediocre internet speeds plus slow typing, etc. rule out a lot of options. What can I do for a dribble of income? What can I start learning, preferably cheaply/free, so that I have more options 6-12 months down the road that would still involve my interests?
Any help or encouragement is greatly appreciated. I can also be privately reached at mappingstrokes@gmail.com .
[Not taking finals for Winter Quarter wrecked my GPA, unfortunately.]
No, that shouldn't happen. Sounds like you are on medical leave now - it is completely unacceptable bullshit for them not to have wiped your entire grades for that quarter and put you on medical leave retroactively. There should be some kind of student advocacy service at your school that can help you get this done, because it will probably be kind of hard work to do on your own, but it will almost definitely be worth following up on. Don't let them fuck you over like that.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:46 PM on September 17, 2014 [30 favorites]
No, that shouldn't happen. Sounds like you are on medical leave now - it is completely unacceptable bullshit for them not to have wiped your entire grades for that quarter and put you on medical leave retroactively. There should be some kind of student advocacy service at your school that can help you get this done, because it will probably be kind of hard work to do on your own, but it will almost definitely be worth following up on. Don't let them fuck you over like that.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:46 PM on September 17, 2014 [30 favorites]
Online, you can do freelance work via sites like Textbroker, Elance, and Mechanical Turk. You can also take surveys online. There are some sites that pay a bit for that. Those types of things are probably your best bet for a dribble of money short term with some writing/white collar skills.
You could also look at starting a blog and/or find a way to make money via product sales via online venues like Zazzle and Café Press. Some people seem to do okay with them but those are more entrepreneurial in nature and are not likely to have much immediate pay off (but, hey, maybe you are way more talented than I am at things that would make that work for you).
Another thing you could consider is collecting recyclables. I am also in Southern California and disabled. On days when I can't get my act together enough to write for pay or work on developing more long-term projects that I hope will eventually pan out, I collect cans and bottles. Walking has been good physical therapy for me, though I have had to develop some practices to help protect myself from the fact that cans and bottles that other people drank out of are germy and generally not clean.
In California, a lot of grocery stores accept recycling. So you could find one in walking distance from your campus and collect as much or as little as you feel like doing that day before going home in the evening. Anything below 24 ounces is a nickel and anything 24 ounces or more is a dime. At one time, I was averaging more than $2/day without really putting much effort into it and in spite of being unwilling to dig through garbage cans (because I have a compromised immune system and that is seriously unclean). So I turn in my own bottles plus bottles and cans found along the curb, stuck in bushes, etc. Over the course of a month, even a dollar a day adds up to $30 for the month. Even if it isn't enough, it's better than nothing.
posted by Michele in California at 2:07 PM on September 17, 2014
You could also look at starting a blog and/or find a way to make money via product sales via online venues like Zazzle and Café Press. Some people seem to do okay with them but those are more entrepreneurial in nature and are not likely to have much immediate pay off (but, hey, maybe you are way more talented than I am at things that would make that work for you).
Another thing you could consider is collecting recyclables. I am also in Southern California and disabled. On days when I can't get my act together enough to write for pay or work on developing more long-term projects that I hope will eventually pan out, I collect cans and bottles. Walking has been good physical therapy for me, though I have had to develop some practices to help protect myself from the fact that cans and bottles that other people drank out of are germy and generally not clean.
In California, a lot of grocery stores accept recycling. So you could find one in walking distance from your campus and collect as much or as little as you feel like doing that day before going home in the evening. Anything below 24 ounces is a nickel and anything 24 ounces or more is a dime. At one time, I was averaging more than $2/day without really putting much effort into it and in spite of being unwilling to dig through garbage cans (because I have a compromised immune system and that is seriously unclean). So I turn in my own bottles plus bottles and cans found along the curb, stuck in bushes, etc. Over the course of a month, even a dollar a day adds up to $30 for the month. Even if it isn't enough, it's better than nothing.
posted by Michele in California at 2:07 PM on September 17, 2014
[Not taking finals for Winter Quarter wrecked my GPA, unfortunately.]
No, that shouldn't happen. Sounds like you are on medical leave now - it is completely unacceptable bullshit for them not to have wiped your entire grades for that quarter and put you on medical leave retroactively. There should be some kind of student advocacy service at your school that can help you get this done, because it will probably be kind of hard work to do on your own, but it will almost definitely be worth following up on.
So, I'm repeating the agents of KAOS's comment, for emphasis. Your situation is what medical withdrawals are *made* for. You should be able to talk to the director of student life or someone like that and explain the situation, and they should mark Ws on your transcript for all your courses. (Also, the fact that they're not willing to work with you vis a vis letting you take the time off you need for recovery is distressing. Are you/your advocate (a parent, maybe, who've you've signed a FERPA release for, so they can deal with people on your behalf?) in touch with student life/student services/office of disability services? Even the small liberal arts college I used to work with had staff whose job was to deal with student issues like this.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:43 PM on September 17, 2014 [4 favorites]
No, that shouldn't happen. Sounds like you are on medical leave now - it is completely unacceptable bullshit for them not to have wiped your entire grades for that quarter and put you on medical leave retroactively. There should be some kind of student advocacy service at your school that can help you get this done, because it will probably be kind of hard work to do on your own, but it will almost definitely be worth following up on.
So, I'm repeating the agents of KAOS's comment, for emphasis. Your situation is what medical withdrawals are *made* for. You should be able to talk to the director of student life or someone like that and explain the situation, and they should mark Ws on your transcript for all your courses. (Also, the fact that they're not willing to work with you vis a vis letting you take the time off you need for recovery is distressing. Are you/your advocate (a parent, maybe, who've you've signed a FERPA release for, so they can deal with people on your behalf?) in touch with student life/student services/office of disability services? Even the small liberal arts college I used to work with had staff whose job was to deal with student issues like this.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:43 PM on September 17, 2014 [4 favorites]
In terms of your making money question, it might be tricky with your school schedule / mobility (?) issues, but my kids' elementary school hires regularly for recess monitors, and possibly for people to help with reading groups, etc. so if there's a school near you, they might have options.
posted by leahwrenn at 4:08 PM on September 17, 2014
posted by leahwrenn at 4:08 PM on September 17, 2014
Are you capable of babysitting older children? That might be a good option for nights and weekends if you absolutely must work.
Rehab is really hard, and going back to school will be really hard. I would rethink your stance on the generosity of friends and family, because surely somebody can come up with $20/week to get you to therapy. Your friends can buy yogurt. Most likely, they want to help you and having them give gifts of $5-$10 in dribs and drabs for socializing won't be too much of a hardship.
Your life is really hard and I hope you are able to find the time you need to heal. Swallow your pride and ask for help. Good luck.
posted by crazycanuck at 6:12 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Rehab is really hard, and going back to school will be really hard. I would rethink your stance on the generosity of friends and family, because surely somebody can come up with $20/week to get you to therapy. Your friends can buy yogurt. Most likely, they want to help you and having them give gifts of $5-$10 in dribs and drabs for socializing won't be too much of a hardship.
Your life is really hard and I hope you are able to find the time you need to heal. Swallow your pride and ask for help. Good luck.
posted by crazycanuck at 6:12 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
I've been thinking of picking up jewelry-making as practice for manual dexterity, but it's an investment of time and funds that I cannot really afford.
I have a lot of beadworking supplies -- too many!
I invite you to memail me about what sort of jewelry making you were considering, and if I have something you can use I'll mail it to you. It's not anything fancy, and might not be what you are looking for if you want to sell jewelry, but should work to practice dexterity.
I had a stroke the week before Winter Quarter finals
Even if you weren't in any shape to get a withdrawal in before the "deadline", it's still possible to do now, no matter what the catalog says. You need someone who can go in and advocate for this on your behalf. Pick someone who is good at negotiating with bureaucracies who can gently insist on going up the ladder instead of accepting the first "no".
it's the school insurance that is currently footing my rehab bill
Start looking into how other insurance works now, just in case. Purchasing insurance has gone through many changes in the last year and some schools that used to do so are no longer even offering it.
posted by yohko at 8:36 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have a lot of beadworking supplies -- too many!
I invite you to memail me about what sort of jewelry making you were considering, and if I have something you can use I'll mail it to you. It's not anything fancy, and might not be what you are looking for if you want to sell jewelry, but should work to practice dexterity.
I had a stroke the week before Winter Quarter finals
Even if you weren't in any shape to get a withdrawal in before the "deadline", it's still possible to do now, no matter what the catalog says. You need someone who can go in and advocate for this on your behalf. Pick someone who is good at negotiating with bureaucracies who can gently insist on going up the ladder instead of accepting the first "no".
it's the school insurance that is currently footing my rehab bill
Start looking into how other insurance works now, just in case. Purchasing insurance has gone through many changes in the last year and some schools that used to do so are no longer even offering it.
posted by yohko at 8:36 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
1. If you haven't already, apply for every type of welfare, SNAP, or other types of assistance available to you. This is exactly the type of situation these programs were made for. Links here. If you can get $20/week towards your groceries or whatever, that is $20 freed up that you can spend on other things.
2. Finding available jobs that fit your current ability level, the keywords are "vocational rehabilitation", "rehabilitation counseling", and "occupational therapy", occupational rehabilitation, and similar. You might not want to go through a whole 'program' right now--but maybe you will eventually. But if you can find the right person, perhaps a rehabilitation counselor or the like working in your area, even a 30 or 60 minute appointment might help. What you would be asking them for is help zeroing in on available jobs that are suitable for you to do right now given your constraints. There are people out there who spend their time collecting employers, contacts, etc so they can help people who live in area X, have transportation type Y but not Z, are able to do A & B but not C & D, etc etc etc find jobs. If you can get an appointment with such a person it might help a lot. Cal Dept of Rehabilitation here.
3. Tutoring students at your college is a good possibility. As a grad students I knew lots of people who put themselves through grad school primarily by tutoring undergrads. In your situation, most likely scenario would be tutoring students who are taking the low-level classes in your major, or perhaps the low-level science & math classes required by your major. If you can explain things clearly and are able to help people work through their homework problems, that is about all that is needed. Like $20 for an hour of tutoring would be a SUPER cheap deal for some poor freshman and if you had 2-3 hours of this weekly it might help you a lot.
You can often advertise your availability as a tutor on bulletin boards in the buildings where these classes are taught or just by letting professors of those classes know you're available. Be sure to check what others are charging for tutoring; I'll wager $20/hr I mentioned above is way on the low end.
posted by flug at 10:44 PM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
2. Finding available jobs that fit your current ability level, the keywords are "vocational rehabilitation", "rehabilitation counseling", and "occupational therapy", occupational rehabilitation, and similar. You might not want to go through a whole 'program' right now--but maybe you will eventually. But if you can find the right person, perhaps a rehabilitation counselor or the like working in your area, even a 30 or 60 minute appointment might help. What you would be asking them for is help zeroing in on available jobs that are suitable for you to do right now given your constraints. There are people out there who spend their time collecting employers, contacts, etc so they can help people who live in area X, have transportation type Y but not Z, are able to do A & B but not C & D, etc etc etc find jobs. If you can get an appointment with such a person it might help a lot. Cal Dept of Rehabilitation here.
3. Tutoring students at your college is a good possibility. As a grad students I knew lots of people who put themselves through grad school primarily by tutoring undergrads. In your situation, most likely scenario would be tutoring students who are taking the low-level classes in your major, or perhaps the low-level science & math classes required by your major. If you can explain things clearly and are able to help people work through their homework problems, that is about all that is needed. Like $20 for an hour of tutoring would be a SUPER cheap deal for some poor freshman and if you had 2-3 hours of this weekly it might help you a lot.
You can often advertise your availability as a tutor on bulletin boards in the buildings where these classes are taught or just by letting professors of those classes know you're available. Be sure to check what others are charging for tutoring; I'll wager $20/hr I mentioned above is way on the low end.
posted by flug at 10:44 PM on September 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
Right now, I've been relying on the financial generosity of friends and my parents, plus extremely cautious use of a credit card. I am grateful for the former and nervous about the latter. I don't want to continue relying on either source to pay for anything.
Your parents are employed, yes? Your relationship with them is good? Your friends are college students?
I understand your desires, but do not be afraid to lean on them. You would do the same if the situations were reversed. Please don't go into debt over $2 bus tickets.
How is your speech? Does your university have a calling center? My university had a center, you could drop in, work a few hours hitting up alumni for donations, and walk out with a check.
As for skill development, maybe start a blog about maps? Learn to develop that blog through Code Academy. The HTML and CSS courses are great skills for any job. Then learn about the google maps API, and start blogging. Maybe you map places where historical events took place, or make your own maps and use a google maps interface on them.
posted by fontophilic at 6:29 AM on September 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Your parents are employed, yes? Your relationship with them is good? Your friends are college students?
I understand your desires, but do not be afraid to lean on them. You would do the same if the situations were reversed. Please don't go into debt over $2 bus tickets.
How is your speech? Does your university have a calling center? My university had a center, you could drop in, work a few hours hitting up alumni for donations, and walk out with a check.
As for skill development, maybe start a blog about maps? Learn to develop that blog through Code Academy. The HTML and CSS courses are great skills for any job. Then learn about the google maps API, and start blogging. Maybe you map places where historical events took place, or make your own maps and use a google maps interface on them.
posted by fontophilic at 6:29 AM on September 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Have you considered looking into remote sensing/analysis as a career? This is being utilized more and more in archaeology, as well as other fields. (I know Penn State even does online training, though some of it is heavily slanted toward military applications.)
posted by gudrun at 9:49 AM on September 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 9:49 AM on September 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I have written on Textbroker and writer's domain. The pay is not great (5-10/hour), but it's something and there's a low barrier to entry and you can do however much or little you feel like.
posted by geegollygosh at 1:44 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]