I have never held onto a job for more than 11 months. At what point am I screwed?

[Anonymous]

I am 29 years old turning 30 this year. Never in my lifetime have I been able to hold onto a job for more than 11 months. I have had more than 20-something jobs my entire lifetime. I have lost count.

I am a software engineer without a degree. My hard skills are off the charts. I am very skilled and knowledgeable. Sadly, my soft skills are very poor. My behavior, mental illness, and poor social skills get me fired from almost every job I have ever had.

At what point am I screwed?

[Oliverlogan263]

Dude that's rough, I can understand why that would be stressful. A few things to think about:

- You're still pretty young at 29, so don't give up on yourself yet. Plenty of time to turn things around.

- Do you have any understanding friends or mentors you can talk to honestly about your challenges? Might help getting an outside perspective on what you could work on.

- Could you look into remote-only jobs where interaction is minimal? Might take some pressure off the social aspect.

- Is there any way you could get an official diagnosis/treatment plan for your mental illness? Having documentation sometimes helps employers be more accommodating.

- Maybe look at contract/project-based work where you only commit for 3-6 months at a time. Less pressure of a long-term commitment.

- Don't be afraid to take a lower-level job just for the stability if you have to. Experience counts for a lot too.

At 29 you're definitely not screwed yet man. Keep your head up - with the right environment and support, I'm sure you can find a situation that works for you long-term. Don't give up the fight.

[Anonymous]

Try to file for Social Security disability tell them you can never hold a job

[Asker]

I was reliant on SSDI for years. The problem is, it only pays a fraction of what I make now. I wouldn't be able to afford rent and especially not a family one day.

[Opinion Owner]

Then keep jobhunting

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

The fact that you have no soft skills is probably a big chunk of why you keep losing jobs, either by quitting or termination or what have you. I once knew a guy who found a great job, went through a whole month of training but when it ended they chose not to hire him because he had such terrible soft skills, he was devastated but at least he got paid for his time in training. You need to develop those, learn to get comfortable talking and empathizing with people, it’s all part of the human experience anyway. If you don’t then you might be job-hopping your entire career.

[HaleyWalker]

I know with some stuff I am getting disability I'm still going to work but yeah I don't know if it's the same in the United States though because I'm mostly getting it based off my learning disability because I am slow as hell. Lol it's the easiest way to get it

[jahaims]

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