How I did it: Well, my low-paying, low-satisfaction, high-demanding job finally came to an end as my now former employer became insolvent.

This was a two-sided coin.

I was not especially happy given my predicament; I had to rely on welfare benefits to support myself, and while free money is always a good thing, it's barely sufficient to live on. I have no idea how certain people have the patience to game the system and sponge off the state.

It just doesn't seem to be worth it.

Although, I was slightly happy that I now had the chance to get out there and find a better job where I wasn't expected to do every sort of menial task imaginable (and some that frankly aren't). A job where I'd be better paid, more respected and not expected to spend the entirety of my life there for no gain other than the mandatory minimum wage.

I was in quite a rut, and I wouldn't have opted to drop that job just so that I could find another, because I didnt fancy living on measly state handouts until I managed to find work again.

However, it was a necessary unpleasantry, and whether I liked it or not it was the only way out. Luckily I was forced into it because I never would have put myself in that position on purpose.

I applied to every retail and bar job I could find (less the ones I strictly wouldn't work in - places that were far too similar to my previous employment) and given a week or two I finally got a call back from a bar which happened to be hiring when everywhere else was seemingly over-staffed.

Yes, it's still bar work, but it pays decently and I have the opportunity to have a life outside of work, compared to working 14 hour shifts.

I enjoy it for the most part, but it is essentially a stop-gap; buying me some time to think about what I want to do in the future. Doesn't mean to say I can't stay there a while. My last job did last three years after all, and it hardly felt like it at all.

Apr 04, 2009, 07:16AM PDT | 1 comment | 2 cheers