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I nearly died last year as a result of the health problems I was facing, and my immediate reaction was relief at the thought that I wouldn't have to face anothe

I nearly died last year as a result of the health problems I was facing, and my immediate reaction was relief at the thought that I wouldn't have to face another day in the dead-end Linux sysadmin job I was doing at the time. My aim, long-term, was always to lead a simple and frugal life rather than to try and amass as much wealth as possible. A small home, a place to grow food, a modest income from various bits-and-bobs of work. But to do that, you need some money to start you out and that's where I'm failing. I'm out of the running for any professional jobs because of the break in employment and the competition for entry-level jobs is such that any slight gap in your employment history means you just get a "we'll call you back". Having had health issues and a gap in employment history seems to mean I am no longer a useful or valid member of society. I wish I had died last year, so I wouldn't be wasting everyone's time and space.

madaxe_again 11y ago
I hear you with the health bit - if I weren't self employed I doubt any employer would have had the patience to sit through several years of erratic attendance, and it's been hard enough picking myself back up even with work to go back to, so I empathise with your position - I've been broke and hopeless before, too - serendipity usually strikes when you expect it least. Useful doesn't equate to validity - and the fact that you're able to think in such empathic terms suggests that you are more useful than you might think. Also, plenty of employers won't look at a gap and rule you out - big, autocratic miserable places will, but smaller shops usually care more about humans as people, and you might have more luck. You based in the uk? What sort of sysadmin/security experience have you got?
- throwaway76931 11y ago
  I've worked mostly for charities and non-profit organisations in the past - I spent about three-four years working at a charity that provided hosting and audio streaming services to other organisations to generate income. It's a pretty standard Linux sysadmin skillset - we were a LAMP CentOS shop primarily, we virtualised with OpenVZ and subsequently VMWare, nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, just general solid administration skills.
  - madaxe_again 11y ago
    Those sound like totally transferable skills - and if you've experience on the security side of things, it's worth knowing that the industry is desperate for anyone who is willing to have "information security" as a core part of their role. Chin up though, as glib as it sounds - being dead never solved anything for anybody, and sometimes it takes finding yourself in a really shitty, despairing place to see the way forwards. You'll make it, no matter how grim it looks today.

madaxe_again 11y ago

I hear you with the health bit - if I weren't self employed I doubt any employer would have had the patience to sit through several years of erratic attendance, and it's been hard enough picking myself back up even with work to go back to, so I empathise with your position - I've been broke and hopeless before, too - serendipity usually strikes when you expect it least. Useful doesn't equate to validity - and the fact that you're able to think in such empathic terms suggests that you are more useful than you might think. Also, plenty of employers won't look at a gap and rule you out - big, autocratic miserable places will, but smaller shops usually care more about humans as people, and you might have more luck. You based in the uk? What sort of sysadmin/security experience have you got?

throwaway76931 11y ago
I've worked mostly for charities and non-profit organisations in the past - I spent about three-four years working at a charity that provided hosting and audio streaming services to other organisations to generate income. It's a pretty standard Linux sysadmin skillset - we were a LAMP CentOS shop primarily, we virtualised with OpenVZ and subsequently VMWare, nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, just general solid administration skills.
- madaxe_again 11y ago
  Those sound like totally transferable skills - and if you've experience on the security side of things, it's worth knowing that the industry is desperate for anyone who is willing to have "information security" as a core part of their role. Chin up though, as glib as it sounds - being dead never solved anything for anybody, and sometimes it takes finding yourself in a really shitty, despairing place to see the way forwards. You'll make it, no matter how grim it looks today.