How can I get off of Social Security Disability?

[MthrNatures_Son]

I am in my mid 30's. I've been on disability for 10 years. I am soooooooo bored. I have lost off the social oportunities and mental stimulation that you receive from working. Working is healthy. I have big problems with a mental disability though. I don't even know if my Dr. would advise I even try to work. I feel angry.

I have a 4 year college education in Business Management with a focus on Telecommunication (networks). I graduated 14 years ago. A kid out of highschool today is more qualified to get a job than I am!

I need some ideas on what I can do to make enough money. Right now I make $12/hr 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year...doing nothing. I need a job that can be flexible with hours and can pay me more than I make now. I'm barely surviving as it is.

I'm hoping that I can get a job, make friends, earn enough money, get off social secuirty, and pay taxes.

Where is a guy with an old degree and a 10 year gap in employment who can only work part time going to be able to do this?
Yes, that is for SSDI. After college I was on a fast track. The first year I earned $35,000/yr but eventually I was making $80,000. Not as many people are as fortunate as me to have a good run to pull from when you get disabled.

[JMITW]

Is the $12/hour refer to the amount you get in SSDI? that comes out to 2080/month...which means you made a lot of money the few years you did work...I'm not shocked--but i know someone currently making about 100k/year (up from about 70K a few years ago, and he would only get about 2000/month. I would feel rich with that amount.


on SSDI you can work and earn up to 1040/month without losing benefits. you can even make more than that for up to 9 months without it affecting the benefits.

find anything--even volunteer. maybe you can use your skills for a non profit a half day/week to start. that will get your foot back into the workworld before you try a paid position.

also, contact the state vocational rehab depart, they may send you back to school to update your education and help you find a job.

[wittyshape678]

Well if you are barely surviving, but still surviving, I suggest you get a job with Americorps. You can still get your benefits, get 11,200 a year in pay, and get a year of recent experience. There are lots of Americorps jobs around as it is the way most nonprofits pay their entry-mid-level jobs these days.

[Lynn]

Why a job? Why not work for yourself and start a business? Use your old skills ad your still working brain (you have to be smart to accomplish what you accomplished), and figure out how to do some work at home. I don't know which "networking" you're referring to, but if you mean computers, I bet you can still fix computers part time. My husband did computer repairs for major corporations, before he became physically disabled. Even when he couldn't get a job in the field (he learned how just in time to help resolve the Y2K issue and then the field collapsed between that and all the failed dotcommer positions), there was always a neighbor or friend who needed work done on their computer. We were thinking of getting him set up to do it at home, when he got sick.

I'm not sure if that's the kind of job you had, but I'm sure if you start thinking of the skills you still have (ten years later, and people still don't know how to maintain their computers properly lol) and start considering of the kinds of jobs you can do right out of your home, it will probably be enough to keep you feeling like a helpful member of society without getting to the point of exasperating whatever it is that causes you to be disabled.

(Oh, and I'm as shocked as everyone else with how much you receive, but I have family that could easily max out on the benefits, if they became disabled. Since we downsides quite a bit when we both became disabled too, I also know how hard it is to live on that "little." It has to do with where you lived and how you lived, when you become disabled. We were fortunate too, but more because we bought a house for way below what we could afford, so now it's about the maximum of what we can afford. lol)