Reply to post: Re: There are also several web sites that specialize in IT gigs

Things you should know about the hard work of home working

Beornfrith

Re: There are also several web sites that specialize in IT gigs

Thanks for the feedback, all.

Matched betting is not something I had heard of. I have done a bit of reading about it and it seems to be a "Do it once" sort of thing, as it relies on new-customer offers from betting firms. I am not sure how that could be converted in to a monthly source of income and if I did it as a once-off I would be earning money against the terms of my disability benefit. It was an interesting read, though.

Odesk/Elance are now known as Upwork. I had already found them and done some research but the problem there is that the freelance nature of the work combined with my lack of demonstrable skills would make me a very un-enticing candidate when other people would be able to offer a far more detailed and useful background. I could undercut but then the natural tendency would surely be for prospective employers to be wary. It is an interesting concept, though, and one I remain receptive towards.

ElDog: I hadn't heard of Coursera or KhanAcademy and I will look in to them. One of the biggest problems I have encountered in my years of ill health is an inability to learn in a formally-structured way.

If you ask me to build or upgrade a computer, I can do that no bother. If you present me with a dead computer I will probably be able to fix it - or at the very least diagnose the problem. If you ask me to explain the fundamentals of photography or do photography work for you I could. I produced a small book for friends and family that explained, in simple terms, the workings of a digital camera and gave step-by-step instructions for a couple of exercises to demonstrate the effect of altering focal lengths and apertures. If you asked me to explain Anglo Saxon history or the Old English language, I could. I read a brief eulogy in Old English at my grandmother's funeral and have written an introductory pamphlet about the language and its names that will be used by the historical society I am a member of at various events later this year.

All of these things are self-taught but they have had to be. My memory is 'damaged' and does not work in a conventional way. I constantly have to work around it and it is difficult to do so. People have sometimes asked me whether I have considered undertaking formal studies while I have been ill and the answer is yes. In fact, the answer is not only yes but "I have tried before" and my memory beats me back overwhelmingly. It is very difficult to explain: I am intelligent, capable and a quick learner but the learning needs to be visual or hands-on/interactive or my brain simply does not recall it in a reliable way.

I do have an interest in gaming and have laid out several ideas for games. I have tried to learn how to build 'stuff' within a couple of engines and have had some limited success but I have not been able to sit down and work with someone, which brings me straight back to memory problems.

Sorry, I don't know how this turned in to such a long ramble. I'll end here.

Thank you again.

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