At 10am I have an interview at a local agency providing employment, education and residential services for area people with developmental disabilities. Unlike similar outfits up north, this place still retains its ARC status. I would guess that they at least have come so far as to minimize the meaning of the acronym, Association for Retard Citizens. We'll see how progressive they are.
The job title is Employment Services Specialist, which I assume is fancy-speak for what we just called Job Coach back in the day.
I don't know if I'd be the only one in that role for the place or one of a team. Of all the hats I've worn in the biz, I've never donned this one. To be honest, I always passed any openings for this up in the past since I figured I might get bored in it. But it was what was being offered last week on Indeed and, as you know, I'm starting to look for a real job. The "at-home" thing hasn't really been too "enriching" to say the least.
So "back in the day" if I got as far as getting an interview, I pretty much knew I was in. Frankly that was even the case as recently as 2020 with the Hulu gig and 2021 with the E&E2 nightmare. We'll soon see how that trend may or may not be still in effect.
The pay is kinda crappy which makes me think I'd be one of several. That's good, I hope, though, since I think this agency has hundreds of clients and I'd be working too hard servicing all the employable, or employable-wanna-be folks. Give me a manageable caseload please.
Now of course, I say "crappy," but for my expenses, I'd comparatively be making bank, especially in light of the income potential from Arise, Liveops, Turking, Prolific, Pinecone et al. I figure at least $1,500 take home a month. That's net me some coins to put into savings.
Speaking of savings, the primary driver behind the need for full time employment is exactly that, the dwindling stack. From a lock box bursting at the seams to now just a mere six grand, without viable, sustainable income, I'd be looking at the streets by late summer otherwise.
Now, you ask, what about those banks grabbing my cheddar? And with a job I need to drive to everyday, I can't hand over Hulk to no bankruptcy court trustee can I? And, can't they garnish wages from a W-2 job like this? Good questions all, but I guess if I actually have money coming in, I have leverage to be able to make some deal, can't I?
BTW, if you're keeping track, if I do take the job and don't leave it in a couple weeks (or a day) this will end an approximate four year and nine month stint of unemployment (not counting those blips mentioned above and/or anything done "at-home").