I have a problem with the jobs I get.

[Elegant]

I'm 25 years old. At 23, months after converting to the Lord, I began looking for a permanent job. The problem is that it seems difficult for me to adapt to them. The first job I found was at a pizzeria. I don't like cooking, but because there's a job shortage in my country, I took the job. The problem is that I started off with the first task more or less well, but as the minutes passed, it seemed like my mind was trying to isolate itself from what it was doing, thinking about pleasurable things or things I would like to be doing at that moment. With the next task I was assigned, I began to suffer a little more. I'm somewhat obsessive (I was much more so before meeting the Lord), and therefore, I push myself to do things well. The problem is that I suffered from not being certain that the things I was doing were correct, since it was the first time I'd done them. Although I asked my coworkers or my boss if I was doing it right, I needed them to constantly teach me and correct me so I could learn to do it perfectly and have the certainty of knowing I was doing it right. That is, they needed to give me special treatment, be patient with me, and help me (perhaps more than they would help any other person). The problem is that the next few jobs exhausted me psychologically and physically, and I decided not to go anymore.

My other job was at a soda shop, where I had to thoroughly clean the drums for bringing in drinking water. Once again, I faced the mental and physical strain of leaving the drums clean and ensuring they were as clean as the owner wanted. It was hot there, so I had to bend down to clean the drums, and they were also heavy to lift. I don't have much strength, which caused pain in my back and forearms. I kept working as long as I could, with only a few drums left to supposedly finish my first day... and I ended up quitting. Not to justify myself, but my body was destroyed; I couldn't take it anymore.

My last job, you could say, could have been the perfect job. However, problems also arose, but let's just say it was the job I enjoyed the most. I can tell you that this time I wasn't the one who quit; I was fired. Initially, according to the owner of this job, who is a neighbor and I have some trust in, the position was permanent. He had told me I was going to replace a girl who wasn't going to be there anymore... (I understood that she wasn't going to be there anymore). This job was in a salesroom, customer service, something I really like. During my shift, I had to work alongside my boss's mother-in-law (I think this was the main problem). She's a very grumpy, mocking, humiliating woman. The first problem was when I had to give the change. I'm not used to handling money, and that worked against me at first. It's like my mind is half focused on what it has to do and half distracted or scattered. That, plus my lack of money management skills, made this woman make me feel inferior, like I'm useless. She made me feel useless for handing over some change incorrectly or for pausing to think for a moment how much money I had to give. The second problem (with this woman) was the delivery of packages. The sales floor has a reception and dispatch area for packages; the packages are located in a storage area and are strategically arranged with codes for easy retrieval. However, not all the packages were arranged correctly; some were scattered on other shelves, which made finding them a bit time-consuming. The problem is that sometimes it took me a while to find some packages, and the floor would fill up with people in a matter of minutes. I had no choice but to call the lady and tell her to help me find the package. When she finally found it, it was as if she felt superior and made fun of me for having found it before me... And here I have to give you a small testimony. Amidst so much stress and contempt from this lady and my dissatisfaction for not doing correctly things that, in the opinion of this lady and the owner, I should already know how to do perfectly, there came a time when I began to cry out to God, since I had vengeful thoughts and insults in my mind toward this woman... I came to hate her. Then, I don't remember exactly how I went to God, but I do know that in my mind I cried out for justice, and soon, in the midst of my affliction, I began to feel an abundant peace, and the vengeful thoughts transformed into benign ones, wishing this person a blessing... So I endured it until one day the owner told me that, within a week, the previous girl would return. How? I said... It turns out that now, my position wasn't permanent, I was simply replacing the girl who wasn't attending. Maybe I was the one who didn't understand well, but it sounds strange to me. They were never completely happy with me.
Anyway, they discarded me.

The thing is, I feel very helpless in the workplace. I'm a PC repairer, which I'm very good at, but I don't know how to make myself known, and besides, there's a lot of competition in that field.

But beyond that, I feel useless. If I don't know how to make a good living, I don't know what else can be expected of me (that's what comes to mind). I have a hard time adapting to activities I've never done, and they discard me quickly. I get very stressed at work doing tasks that aren't strenuous. Maybe it's the same pressure I put on myself.
As for education, I only have a high school diploma and a PC repair diploma. I feel like I should study something, and I tried twice a while back, but my mind just can't handle the demands of college... I've always struggled with studying, but since the school I attended wasn't very demanding, it came easily. I feel useless. Since I failed (let's say) in salesroom management, which was something I thought I'd never fail at, it made me feel even worse. Not having a profession or a trade makes me feel helpless. I keep sending out resumes, but like I said, jobs are quite scarce in my country, especially for someone like me who has no experience. Sometimes I think about my future... what will become of me when my parents die and can no longer support me? What will I do for the rest of my life? If I ever have a family, how can I guarantee them financial support?

What do you think? Thanks.

 

[linux.poet]

Welcome to my life. Most min-wage/manual labor jobs are designed for quick-learners and quick thinkers who can solve problems quickly, and are also physically strong, as you have no doubt discovered. My attempt to work at McDonald's (a fast food restaurant) did not end well. I couldn't operate the cash register fast enough to deal with the lines of customers because I was stupefied by the complicated touch screen menu, and the complex orders people were giving me. When I go to a restaurant, I just order a sandwich and a drink that is on the menu, why is everyone trying to edit their burger to add onions and take off the cheese? Oh, wait, I don't have time to think about that. Next customer! And the stress builds up because I want to think about it and ponder the deep philosophy of it all, but my environment won't allow me to do that. I have no time to think.

A couple years back, I found a series of videos that neatly explained this phenomenon - people have different learning speeds. The people with slower learning speeds take forever to learn stuff and get going, and then we retain and remember the information extremely well. That's likely what happened with the PC repairs. You built up a complex body of knowledge that you won't easily forget. When people allow you to build the knowledge you need to succeed, give you the grace and time to learn, you show yourself to be an expert that will outclass many others who managed to succeed at pizza making and barrel scrubbing. (Other people learn quickly, but they forget quickly when they are not using their knowledge. Some people learn at medium speed, and retain about average. Those people become bosses.)

To put this problem in perspective, you need to give yourself some grace, even if other people don't. You are valuable and you do develop extremely valuable skills and expertise, even if other people do not appreciate them. The problem is, if other people do not appreciate your skills as a pizza maker, how will they appreciate your skills as a PC repairman? But you were given the time to learn the skill of PC repair and you remember the skills you learned in that diploma that the other students in the diploma program probably forgot. You have an advantage that they do not possess. You're also a Christian. You do good work and you do not rip off your customers, and you give them good solutions, as unto the Lord. That's attractive to potential customers.

I will say, as a slow learner, going to college helped me out a great deal. Yes, I struggled there, but that was because of a mental illness. In college, you can pick the number of classes you take per semester and thus, somewhat, work at your own learning speed. That's a little bit less brutal than rapid fire customer service. Deep thinking is an asset in college and school, not a hinderance. The more expertise you have, the more you can sell it and the better off you will be. It has helped me to learn writing and web design and have professional degrees in both.

But not areas of expertise have a degree attached to them. Sewing is a complex body of knowledge and seam stressing is a real skill that can be learned slowly, it's a "poor person's complex expertise skill". Maybe PC repair is that for you, maybe it is not, but if it isn't, you need to find one that fits you and your situation down in Argentina and go do that until you can find your way into a college classroom.

Also, if you have access to psychiatric healthcare, you may benefit from having a having a psychological evaluation done just in case. While the situation you've described is likely normal and the use of the term "obsessive" may simply reflect one's tendency to think more about things in a culture that is always rushing faster and faster, I still think it's a good idea. Trauma and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can also slow your brain down even further, because your brain has to fight the illness to do anything. Having a doctor evaluate you could save you years of suffering. That's my two cents, feel free to reject what doesn't fit your situation, and may the Lord provide for you and bless your steps.

 

[JesusFollowerForever]

I'm 25 years old. At 23, months after converting to the Lord, I began looking for a permanent job. The problem is that it seems difficult for me to adapt to them. The first job I found was at a pizzeria. I don't like cooking, but because there's a job shortage in my country, I took the job. The problem is that I started off with the first task more or less well, but as the minutes passed, it seemed like my mind was trying to isolate itself from what it was doing, thinking about pleasurable things or things I would like to be doing at that moment. With the next task I was assigned, I began to suffer a little more. I'm somewhat obsessive (I was much more so before meeting the Lord), and therefore, I push myself to do things well. The problem is that I suffered from not being certain that the things I was doing were correct, since it was the first time I'd done them. Although I asked my coworkers or my boss if I was doing it right, I needed them to constantly teach me and correct me so I could learn to do it perfectly and have the certainty of knowing I was doing it right. That is, they needed to give me special treatment, be patient with me, and help me (perhaps more than they would help any other person). The problem is that the next few jobs exhausted me psychologically and physically, and I decided not to go anymore.

My other job was at a soda shop, where I had to thoroughly clean the drums for bringing in drinking water. Once again, I faced the mental and physical strain of leaving the drums clean and ensuring they were as clean as the owner wanted. It was hot there, so I had to bend down to clean the drums, and they were also heavy to lift. I don't have much strength, which caused pain in my back and forearms. I kept working as long as I could, with only a few drums left to supposedly finish my first day... and I ended up quitting. Not to justify myself, but my body was destroyed; I couldn't take it anymore.

My last job, you could say, could have been the perfect job. However, problems also arose, but let's just say it was the job I enjoyed the most. I can tell you that this time I wasn't the one who quit; I was fired. Initially, according to the owner of this job, who is a neighbor and I have some trust in, the position was permanent. He had told me I was going to replace a girl who wasn't going to be there anymore... (I understood that she wasn't going to be there anymore). This job was in a salesroom, customer service, something I really like. During my shift, I had to work alongside my boss's mother-in-law (I think this was the main problem). She's a very grumpy, mocking, humiliating woman. The first problem was when I had to give the change. I'm not used to handling money, and that worked against me at first. It's like my mind is half focused on what it has to do and half distracted or scattered. That, plus my lack of money management skills, made this woman make me feel inferior, like I'm useless. She made me feel useless for handing over some change incorrectly or for pausing to think for a moment how much money I had to give. The second problem (with this woman) was the delivery of packages. The sales floor has a reception and dispatch area for packages; the packages are located in a storage area and are strategically arranged with codes for easy retrieval. However, not all the packages were arranged correctly; some were scattered on other shelves, which made finding them a bit time-consuming. The problem is that sometimes it took me a while to find some packages, and the floor would fill up with people in a matter of minutes. I had no choice but to call the lady and tell her to help me find the package. When she finally found it, it was as if she felt superior and made fun of me for having found it before me... And here I have to give you a small testimony. Amidst so much stress and contempt from this lady and my dissatisfaction for not doing correctly things that, in the opinion of this lady and the owner, I should already know how to do perfectly, there came a time when I began to cry out to God, since I had vengeful thoughts and insults in my mind toward this woman... I came to hate her. Then, I don't remember exactly how I went to God, but I do know that in my mind I cried out for justice, and soon, in the midst of my affliction, I began to feel an abundant peace, and the vengeful thoughts transformed into benign ones, wishing this person a blessing... So I endured it until one day the owner told me that, within a week, the previous girl would return. How? I said... It turns out that now, my position wasn't permanent, I was simply replacing the girl who wasn't attending. Maybe I was the one who didn't understand well, but it sounds strange to me. They were never completely happy with me.
Anyway, they discarded me.

The thing is, I feel very helpless in the workplace. I'm a PC repairer, which I'm very good at, but I don't know how to make myself known, and besides, there's a lot of competition in that field.

But beyond that, I feel useless. If I don't know how to make a good living, I don't know what else can be expected of me (that's what comes to mind). I have a hard time adapting to activities I've never done, and they discard me quickly. I get very stressed at work doing tasks that aren't strenuous. Maybe it's the same pressure I put on myself.
As for education, I only have a high school diploma and a PC repair diploma. I feel like I should study something, and I tried twice a while back, but my mind just can't handle the demands of college... I've always struggled with studying, but since the school I attended wasn't very demanding, it came easily. I feel useless. Since I failed (let's say) in salesroom management, which was something I thought I'd never fail at, it made me feel even worse. Not having a profession or a trade makes me feel helpless. I keep sending out resumes, but like I said, jobs are quite scarce in my country, especially for someone like me who has no experience. Sometimes I think about my future... what will become of me when my parents die and can no longer support me? What will I do for the rest of my life? If I ever have a family, how can I guarantee them financial support?

What do you think? Thanks.

Do not call yourself useless it is not the case, if you are good at PC repairs then this is for you, find a place in a PC repair shop that pays well then eventually open your own, why not.

Look at construction workers here in Canada, no special training necessary, a simple plasterer makes 50$ an hour. with NO experience... many trades do not requires specialized training they will train you. if you are good at what you do, PC repair, then continue in that field, I do not know how much it pays but it might be worth it. can you program a computer? what languages do you use? that too could be interesting. I know someone who makes 300K a year to maintain old simple accounting systems in COBOL, an ancient and very easy to learn programming language, still in use today and for a while but not many know COBOL... if you program already you could be fluent in a week...

As for education many universities or colleges do offer on line courses, you can do on your own time any time except perhaps the exams, college in Canada cost a lot less than USA, you could maybe check this out?

Best wishes and do not be discouraged, but make a plan and persist if it is right for you and you will be successful, and Know the Lord is always with you.

 

[timf]

You might try a temp agency to experiment with different types of work. You might try visiting PC repair shops and see if they even need any part time help.

 

[JustaPewFiller]

Many of the jobs you describe (and similar ones) break down to a series of tasks. ie - clean a barrel -> repeat, make a pizza -> repeat, do whatever the boss says -> repeat.

This is going to sound simple, but it is harder than it sounds. Focus on the task in front of you. When that is done, move to the next task. Everything else is just a distraction (the mother-in-law huffing around, the thoughts about things you would rather be doing, worries that maybe you aren't doing things correctly). Focus on the task in front of you, do it and then do then next task until your shift is done. At the end of the day, that series of tasks is what they are paying you to do.

Sounds boring? Yes, it can be. However it is surprisingly hard to do. You are basically trying to calm and focus yourself and not give into distractions regardless of they come from others (the grumpy mother-in-law) or your own thoughts.

In my youth a martial arts teacher helped me overcome distractions. He would have us work on techniques and then try and distract us to help improve our focus.

But it is something you can practice at home. Try to do some type of chore you do not enjoy doing. While you are doing it, focus only on that chore. Time yourself. As you succeed in getting less distracted the amount of time it takes you to do it will likely go down and you'll get better at it. This bit of mental training will help you in many jobs.

I do not know where you are - but check with local places that repair PC's and see if they are hiring. Be sure and be prepared to tell them about some repairs you have done. Also check with local IT consulting companies. They have equipment that may need repairs. Keep an eye out on employment sites like Indeed, Glassdoor etc.

It can be daunting. But focus on the task and hand, doing it and then moving to the next task.

You know what the best way to eat an elephant is? One bite at a time.

Task 1. Think of your skills and work you have done and put a little resume together that is geared for PC repair.
Task 2. Find local business (starting with PC repair jobs) and call or visit to see if they need any help.
etc..