Nonskilled labor/bad back/socially isolated/U.S

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The subject thread pretty much sums it up. I have a ruptured disc that severely limits the kinds of activities, and thus work, I am able to handle. When it first slipped, I was bed-ridden (or more accurately, floor ridden, since the bed caused enormous amounts of pain from not being firm enough for proper support) for nearly a year. It is still fragile, and will continue to be, FOREVER (dramatic sound effect). I've tried the college route twice, but tend to get overwhelmed by social pressures, difficulties with writing essays, and assignment deadlines (I also tend to get lost on tangential projects that greatly increase the rate of learning, yet neglecting to do my assignments is what my grades tend to reflect). So college looks as if it is out of the picture. This leaves me as an unskilled laborer who cannot stand on his feet all day (horrible for my back), cannot do physically demanding activities, and who does not handle in-person social interactions well at all. I've been looking into data entry jobs, but there's nothing around my area. What other jobs could I realistically do? And for relevance's sake, I live in the U.S

Firstly, I am glad that you still have sense of humor about your physical disability. My own sense of humor in the face of the more painful moments of my physical disabilities isn't always as robust. Good for you.

As for low-impact employment, I would suggest trying one of those call centers that seem to be the only workplaces that are currently hiring. The silver lining about such a job is that you can work as much or as little as you choose. A friend of mine is a shift manager for Convergys and has workers who work from home, and others who work on site for four hours a day, or a full eight hours. Up to them and their managers. I wonder if your social interaction with callers would be as bad for you as in-person interactions. Data entry would be good, too. Human-resources work is also solitary (except for the occasional employee asking questions).

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice AspieUtah. Verbal communication is another struggle of mine. There's a bit of a delay between hearing words and making sense of what is being said as a whole. The idea of a call center makes me a bit nervous, but I will look into it. I've never tried it before, so who knows, perhaps removing all the other sensory stimuli would help with processing audio communication better.

I've found that there are only two things I can do in the face of this absurdism we call life: to cry or laugh at it. I try to stick to laughing, though there are definitely times when laughing does not work (and no, I'm not just referring to when the happy pills run out (On a more serious note, I try to avoid those pills as much as possible).). Anyways, thanks for the encouragement, and I wish you a humorous day for when s**t hits the fan.

if you are not signed up on some kind of health care you need to do so. hopefully you are not in one of those backward states that refuses Medicaid for its low-income citizens. back problems like what you have can easily morph into far worse things if not nipped in the bud. please get some definitive medical treatment. be kind to your back.

gosh I wish you the best of luck. what a world.

You could make jewelery. You could carve wood. You could knit afghans. You could sew quilts. You could do data entry. You could walk dogs. You could house-sit. Depending how far you got into the college experience, what you learned, what your grades were, and all that kind of stuff, you could write code or copy edit, or tutor others in math.

In the mean time, you should probably see if there are any focus groups or anything in your area. It isn't steady work by any means, but it's an easy way to make $100 in an hour.

What are your skills and hobbies? Do you have any leadership experience?

@mattschwartz01, didn't think of that. Sitting still for long periods of time can be rather painful, but not sure if it would be damaging. That does sound like an appealing job.

@BetwixBetween, I don't have any leadership experience. I'm pretty descent at guitar. Lessons are possible. I used to be very athletic, so most of my skills/hobbies/experience have to do with activities I can no longer do. Interesting suggestions, I'll have to look into the details a bit more to see how one makes a living from these skills. A regular gig would definitely be more appealing (because of school bills and all), but if it works, it works. I'm not sure how effective that would be in my current area, but again, those are details I'll look into.

Thanks for all the ideas! They're much appreciated!