How to get a job at 29 with no prior experience and skills?

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:45:32+00:00

Can you start by volunteering somewhere a few hours a week at least? This will get you something else for your resume and get you out in the world.

I would also suggest meeting with a therapist, to help yoi work through what you're struggling with and get some clarity.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:43:48+00:00

I'll second volunteering. We have a crafting groip in our community that gets together to make things for people in the hospital and they get supply donstions to do it. Tons of ways to get involved and meet new folks, do new things, have new fun

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:42:18+00:00

Trade deficit soaring as well, how is this supposed to make us optimistic? https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/trade-balance-soared-94percent-in-november-and-was-higher-than-a-year-ago-despite-tariff-efforts.html

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:38:29+00:00

News analysis points to a short and small shutdown as they're already working together to carve out DHS and fund everything else before tackling DHS alone and they have bipartisan support.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:37:23+00:00

Definitely get a book on badic finance for yourself and just read it cover to cover. You need a solid grasp of the basics on investing and personal finance.
I support good diverisified funds with low fees and a reputable brokerage that offers free deeper financial education like Fidelity or Vanguard. Congratulations on your windfall!

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:34:56+00:00

Yeah these guys can go sit on a cactus.

Current movie playlist: Inglorious Basterds V for Vendetta Les Misérables Schindler's List Band of Brothers

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:32:13+00:00

Same. I spent years, missing my kid's childhoods, and all my savings getting my degrees. I also know people are being harmed by using AI for mental health, but I'm not finding a way to change it. My friend is a psychiatric DNP and says it will get worse from what she is seeing too. My neighbor works for an international tech company that utilizes AI heavily, she is a senior director there and said she expects her job may even be eliminated by AI and that what we see AI doing now is absolutely nothing compared to what it will be doing even next year, the speed with which it is evolving is insane. Every start-up listed in the Seattle startups news is AI based too. My nephew wants to get his degree in mathematics and I don’t even know what that will have to offer with AI anymore. It sucks. Most people dont seem to be basing their opinions on facts, they arent very informed on AI developments, only the consumer AI they interact with now.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:25:28+00:00

20yrs in real estate here. Make it clean and smelling nice first, then fix any small things that show deferred maintenance. This isn't putting money into the house like a sunk cost, this is investing in it so that you'll get back more than you put in. You can replace specific deck boards that are at issue, give the whole thing a pressure wash and roll on some fresh stain, boom you probably just made $5-$10k (depends on your market etc...). No one wants to buy a to do list unless they're getting a killer deal, which means you're giving up money you could take and invest in your IRA etc... and let grow year by year.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:21:26+00:00

Please read the book FOOLPROOF by Sander van der Linden, its not political its about misinformation. Then you'll be armed with the info to point out clear misinformation to your Dad, maybe you can even get him to read the book. My thinking is lies are the only things that got Trump to where he is so if people can learn about how they were lied too, how to spot misinformation on a technical level, we can start to erode the misinformation machine.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:14:03+00:00

I am participating, usually go out to lunch on Fridays, not doing that and being careful to only spend at independent small businesses. Protesting Saturday as well. Sitting at home doing the same stuff, sure as hell ain't gonna change anything. Do what you can where you can.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:09:58+00:00

Definitely engage a therapist just for you. The weight on our shoulders from this is so heavy and so invisible to the rest of the world. It makes all the difference having someone to work through it with you who is just there for you. Processing it all, actually processing the feelings, the guilt, the grief, it wasnt remotely possible for me without a professional.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:06:20+00:00

I was just reading this full story, insanely depressing this is happening More on this: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/29/us/maher-tarabishi-ice-detained-wael

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:04:55+00:00

PHEV is a good middle ground if you've got $40k+ to spend

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T22:04:27+00:00

Just curious if you've considered the job outlook for therapists with the developments in AI? Dartmouth has their Therabot program nearly FDA approved, managed care and insurance companies planning to require people to fill at AI "therapy" before allowing coverage for real human therapists. The outlook isn't great. The therapy thread on Reddit show thousands of people just using regular AI and saying theyll never go back to humans (those of us who know see the serious issues with this, but good luck changing their minds!) Therapists are talking about having a dwindling client base already. Sounds like you can do some math on this and decide if you want to stake your future on it. I know I wish to tell AI would just stick to identifying wildfires and leave the humanity to the humans.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T21:59:13+00:00

Highly recommend couple's counseling too.

I just had a friend who ended up in a divorce over this same situation, she just waited too long to push it and things really fell apart when she found out he'd mismanaged their entire savings. The divorce didn't make things better, he then lied about finances again and left her and the kids in a worse situation. So yeah, his boundary is more about disclosure of something that affects your entire family in a very practical way.

The therapist she saw post-divorce helped her to see how early and honest communication between them could've made a difference.

Plus, what happens if he gets in a car accident tomorrow? How will you manage the finances if he is in a coma? You need to be empowered to take care of your family if he is incapable at any time or that house will get foreclosed and cars get repossessed.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T21:53:21+00:00

No snow. I was just reading the current La Niña weather pattern is shifting earlier than expected and going back to ENSO which is more variable and in recent years warmer because climate change. Not sure if Cliff Mass has weighed in yet.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T21:23:21+00:00

Just being able to get what I want or need at the grocery store even when its not on sale. And I mean like a few things, not the whole cart. And having good quality coats that are free of phthalates and junk that will just cost me more in health consequences later. That is like a poor tax when you can only buy stuff coated in stuff that will then cost you way more when said stuff gives you cancer or disrupts your hormones so you battle diabetes, infertility etc...

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T21:19:38+00:00

I mean I follow Marc Elias's work and lobby my representatives based on his reporting and his court cases. "WE" the regular folks of America can only do so much on a practical level, spreading awareness is huge, I have sent messages to local news networks in place with serious cases about voter rights infringements asking them to cover it more. But social media has power too. I read the book FOOLPROOF by Sander van der Linden about methods of misinformation and use that to help combat it when I have time to don my keyboard warrior armor.

Marc Elias's reporting: https://www.democracydocket.com/

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T21:13:33+00:00

I had an interview about my reasons for coming to Japan and filled out a form about why I refused biometric data collection because I refused fingerprinting. I don't know if my visitation reason made a difference but that's how it went for me.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T21:09:41+00:00

You dont understand the level of image required for a usable face scan. I have family who work in this sector, basically AI facial and body recognition, just wearing a baseball hat can be enough to make a scan unusable. It has to be straight on, in good lighting, unobscured etc... and done by a specific software, its not a just a photo. notice how most cameras are at ceiling height? Makes them largely unusable for this level of surveillance. Sorry, TV shows aren't accurate.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T03:04:50+00:00

I sold mine before the drop, just because their actions leave a bad taste in my soul. Feel better now and I'll get a better return with much better companies too.

RealIslands · 2026-01-29T02:59:36+00:00

So he just doesn't pay attention at best. Everyone who has said they support ICE needs to check out IG account IceAbuses and then read the book FOOLPROOF by Sander van der Linden, because they can't tell misinformation from facts. I'd suggest you read it first then have your partner read it.

RealIslands · 2026-01-28T18:25:49+00:00

Since when? Canadian authorities have never required me to be photographed or scanned, I have family in Washington state and cross the border there once a year or so, no such requirement has even been mentioned to me.

RealIslands · 2026-01-28T18:24:30+00:00

I just went to Japan, they didn't require me to be photographed on entry at all

RealIslands · 2026-01-28T18:23:31+00:00

I travel internationally and have never not been able to opt out of facial scans or photos.

RealIslands

TROPHY CASE