living on the road

[Anonymous No.191460]

Greetings /diy/. I asked /adv/ about this problem, but they weren't too helpful. I need help finding a job, and I have no idea where to look.

I just turned 18, and therefore I haven't finished college, but I'm at a point in my life where I feel like I really need to take a break and travel for a while. I've never been the best at school, I'll be honest... I have ADHD and it's been hell for me. It's not that I can't do work, I just find it nigh-impossible to get started.

I've never had a job, though. I've made small change in the past selling cigarettes and writing articles for textbroker, but nothing that one could live off of.

I consider myself to be a very creative and potentially quite productive person. I have a lot of skill at engineering, making or repairing things. Like, I have an extremely wide variety of skills and can pick up new skills extremely fast. But I'm not sure how cut out I would be for say, working at a fast-food restaurant.

I don't need much, just enough to live off of while I'm on the road. I plan to take one companion with me, and he or she could also work to support the both of us. We'd travel for at least half a year, and possibly settle down in a cabin or yurt or something for some time after that.

I have practically no money to start with.

TL;DR: I want to find a way to support myself living out of my car. Wat do?

[Anonymous No.191461]

Any other general advice for doing this would be greatly appreciated, too.

[Anonymous No.191473]

bamp

[Anonymous No.191481]

Look up WWOOFing. (Worldwide opportunities on organic farms). Basically you work on an organic farm in exchange for a room, food, and if you work enough hours, a wage as well. There are lots of places that will give you the room and food for ~ 20 hours a week.

This may sound like a bad deal for you, but it is a good way to get out the door and jump right into a very interesting life. You will meet amazing people, and have enough free time to look around for another job, try to get established, etc., and experience some wild stuff.

I did this for ~4 months in Colorado, it was the best thing I ever did. If you do this, before you head to a farm you should read what other WWOOFers say about the place (either on the WWOOF site, or blogs, or forums). The WWOOF site charges 20$ registration fee to access the list of farms, I would suggest doing this if you are interested.

One last thing, you should not advertise the ADHD thing. I was diagnosed with this as atalented /diy/er#44; thank christ my hippy mom didn't put me on ritalin like my friends parents did to them. I have always had trouble focusing, still to this day I can sit at a textbook and sometimes just stare for a good hour. That being said, I realized a lot of it was just growing up with video games/ internet at my fingertips and that I was having to adjust to doing real work. I really managed to make a lot of progress, and not a single fucking pill ever. I lose a lot of respect for people who blame ADD/ADHD for their inability to get off their ass and do work, and don't give a single shit that it makes me sound like a neanderthal. A lot of the older generation feels the same way I do, and they will likely be in control of any job you go for in the future. Just think about it!

good luck

[Anonymous No.191482]

>>191481
>talented /diy/er#44
dunno what this is, I typed "atalented /diy/erquot;

[Anonymous No.191483]

>>191482
ffs.

a

k
i
d

[Tozetre No.191493]

>>191460
The bad news, my friend, is that at 18, you are not actually skilled at anything. You've probably got talent and potential, and maybe a willingness to work hard, and that counts for a lot. But skill comes with years of practice, and you don't have that. Yet.

What you _can_ have, which is almost as good, is humility, a work ethic, and a willingness to do what you're told and learn on the job. That makes you a useful pair of hands. That, plus a summer working, turns you into an experienced pair of hands that's useful on a range of job sites.

>>191481
This sounds like good advice, actually. Don't feel the need to restrict yourself to organic, though; there's lots of summer work on farms if you aren't afraid to bust your ass and get dirty.

Don't lock yourself into the lifestyle yet, though. Blow the summer working like a dog and earning money. Also apply for a local college, and in the fall go and try a year of general studies with as random an assortment of classes as you can manage. After _that_, you'll have a better idea of what sort of stuff you like and what you're good at. If you decide you want to fuck off and live in a yurt forever at that point, go for it. If you decide you want to be a programmer or engineer, do that. If you decide you want to be a ranchhand or farmer, do that.

But don't decide until you've tried a few things, ya dig?

[Anonymous No.191498]

>>191481
me again, in response to this
>>191493

Very solid advice, and relevant; after the 4 months of WWOOFing, I resumed school for electrical engineering. While I said it was the best thing I ever did, it was by no means what I wanted to do for my entire life. I sort of aimed my advice for someone who sounds like they want to get away.
And yes, I imagine you can just as easily find work on a conventional farm, and will have the trade-off of paying more but maybe not being as...interesting? (imo)

[Anonymous No.191681]

>>191481
Thanks for the info. I'll look into it.

Any other input?

[Anonymous No.191735]

install gentoo

[Anonymous No.191785]

[Anonymous No.191796]

you got some pretty solid advie from a few folks here, I can't really add much other than a few experiances i've had on the road.
For about six months i rode around with this old hippy guy we made tye dye t-shirts and other little knickknacks that we sold for a small but respectable amount of money for the time invested enough for food ( most the time) and gas for the van. he was a pretty ccool dude and taught me a lot not that i fashion myself a hippy by any means. another thing is never beg for money its degrading and no one likes a beggar. If you want to street perfomr go for it but don't ever straight out beg.
There are a lot of cool people in the wolrd a lot of folks after talking to them a little bit will invite you to crash on their couch for a couple days or give you food, but never straight out ask for it its not cool to do so.
If you do hit the road remember its a lot of fun, but its also a lot of wet miserable cold and hungry. and it can be dangerous too, i'v been stabbed once and attempted mugged 3 or 4 times. Going to the hospital with a knife wound is no fun at all so you gotta be aware of the situations your getting yourself into, and avoid the bad ones, if you see a group of shady guys ahead, cross the street etc.. avoiding stuff liek that is the best.
I'm in college now and doing that whole thing but i still really miss the free lifestyle i used to have so after i finish my bacheeors i might just hit the road a for a little again.

[Anonymous No.191812]

>>191460
>has ADHD
>can't manage to hold a steady job
>wants to go live in their car

Disclaimer: I *really* am not trying to be cruel or mean to you here, but the way you make it sound leads me to believe that you're on the road to being a homeless person with serious issues, and I want to dissuade you from it.

I also have ADD. I'm also more than twice your age, and wasn't officially diagnosed with it until about 6 or 7 years ago, and I remember all the problems I had. I just happen to understand now why I had most of them, and still have problems at times.

If you're not on meds for your ADHD, get on them. They help. Seriously.

You need to keep working on coping with your problems, and try to have something like a normal, self-sustaining life. "Going on the road and traveling" isn't going to help you, it's going to hurt you, it's running away from your problems. Fight the urge. Find some job you can deal with, and stick to it.

Protip: Dull, repetitive work (like assembly work, or office work) is NOT for you. You need a mental challenge, something that interests you, to keep your hyperfocus engaged. You get bored, you'll stop doing decent work, you'll get depressed, you won't stick with it. You need to.

[Anonymous No.191827]

Join the army. free college and you can travel around the world.

[Anonymous No.191830]

>>191812
maybe he should become a truck driver cross country?

[Anonymous No.191851]

>>191812
>Protip: Dull, repetitive work (like assembly work, or office work) is NOT for you. You need a mental challenge, something that interests you, to keep your hyperfocus engaged. You get bored, you'll stop doing decent work, you'll get depressed, you won't stick with it. You need to.

This I understand. This is part of what I'm seeking advice about.

[sage No.191974]

>ADHD does not exist outside developed nations
>ADHD did not exist 30 years ago
>Blame it on my ADD baby!

[Anonymous No.192098]

>>191974
I'm not blaming everything on my ADHD... I probably didn't even need to mention it in the original post. However, I do have what could be described as ADHD, whether you consider it a real disorder or not. I do still try my best to overcome it.

[Anonymous No.192105]

- gold farming on wow
- selling/buying on ebay
- repairing computers
- do a web show, sell advertising
- tons of stuff you can try, look at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/205914 http://www.allbusiness.com/top-25-home-based-businesses/16659292-1.html http://homebusiness.about.com/od/homebusinessprofiles/a/75-Home-Business-Ideas.htm http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1646-great-business-ideas-2012.html http://www.noobpreneur.com/2012/01/02/2012-top-10-small-business-ideas/

The key is to move your lazy ass

[Anonymous No.192127]

[Anonymous No.192315]

[Anonymous No.192316]

>>191974
>hurp durp I get to decide what illnesses are real

[Anonymous No.192327]

Herpaderp... forget the whole ADHD thing. Can we just discuss ways of making money on the go?

[Anonymous No.192331]

You sound like an artist to me. Contrary to what your parents might of told you about artist, you can make quite a bit of money with out doing much work if you really are "creative" i.e. dont throw recycled shit at people.

You should start learning how to draw, then learn how to sculpt. When I was hurting for cash I was able to sell hand-sculpted figurines and statues for around 120-800 dollars a pop, mostly stuff based on the WarHammer and HP Love Craft universe.

this is the best place to start for figure drawing
http://www.alienthink.com/

great intro on drawing geometric things like rooms, cars, ect..
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/323/

I'm not going to lie, the big money is in drawing porn and sculpting monsters.

I am now a bit of a programmer, when I got in to digital art I started seeing how un-intuitive the back end of the websites I used to sell my products were and I just kind of started fixing stuff.

[Anonymous No.192335]

>>192331
I can already draw fairly well, but I'm not sure how I'd make money with the simple sorts of pencil sketches I do. Who buys drawings?

I'm not sure about sculpting. It seems interesting though.

I've considered making and selling steel sculptures; I can MIG and TIG weld pretty well, but that's something rather hard to do on the road.

[Anonymous No.192338]

>>192331
MIGHT HAVE
MIGHT
FUCKING
HAVE

IT'S A CONTRACTION YOU IDIOTIC THUNDERCUNT. DO YOU SOMEHOW NOT KNOW WHAT 'OF' MEANS? HOW HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO ADULTHOOD AND NOT FIGURED THIS OUT?

[Anonymous No.192349]

>>191974
>doesn't know about worldwide documentation of ADHD cases
>thinks all diseases are identified in a century old field of science
>implying OP isn't describing textbook problems for ADHD sufferer in adulthood

Hahaha, you dumb doublefaggot. Keep saging things you're wrong about and you'll never make a real post again.

[Anonymous No.192413]

continued bumping

[Anonymous No.192415]

continued bumping

[Anonymous No.192432]

>>192335
you need to be more creative than that, the fact you would even ask "who buys xyz" means your not even creative enough to ask the google machine how to make money drawing.

if you got to hentaifoundry or even diviant art, people buy commission work all the time.

A good wacom penabled tablet PC and a good battery from batterygeek will be your best friend here.

When I was hoboing it, I would find the nearest public library and setup on their wifi for the day.

stay away from metal sculptures, their heavy, expensive and hard to sell, if you are ready to just start sculpting buy some chivant NSP or super-sculpy and get going.

[Anonymous No.192441]

Learn computer programming. You can get a job even while finishing college and it is ADHD-compatible as it can keep you focused for longer than you can notice. And it makes you feel productive, too. For the best results, find a place to work where they use agile methodologies, where you'll be always interacting with other people.

[Anonymous No.192451]

http://www.workaway.info/ might be of interest to op

[Anonymous No.192530]

[Anonymous No.192700]

>implying ADHD isn't a "disease" created to make parents feel better about doing a shitty job raising their kids and failing to teach them discipline.
Diagnosed with ADD as atalented /diy/er#44; realized around 15 it was probably bullshit. Stopped taking meds and whatthefuck- it was a big life change. Finally proud of building my ability to focus though.
Kept getting the adderall, started selling that shit X-p
currently in med school, doing very well. making $ off dem pills. No longer confining myself to being a mediocre human being based on a doctor's suggestion, try it some time.

[Anonymous No.192701]

currently in med school, doing very well. making $ off dem pills. No longer confining myself to being a mediocre human being based on a doctor's suggestion, try it some time.

[Anonymous No.192702]

>implying ADHD isn't a "disease" created to make parents feel better about doing a shitty job raising their kids and failing to teach them discipline.
Diagnosed with ADD early; realized around 15 it was probably bullshit. Stopped taking meds and whatthefuck- it was a big life change. Finally proud of building my ability to focus though.
Kept getting the adderall, started selling that shit X-p
currently in med school, doing very well. making $ off dem pills. No longer confining myself to being a mediocre human being based on a doctor's suggestion, try it some time.

[Anonymous No.193675]

[Anonymous No.193681]

>>>/trv/

[Anonymous No.194246]

>>192338
Who hurt your butt? Can I help in any way?

[Anonymous No.194249]

>>192702

>confining myself to being a mediocre human being based on a doctor's suggestion

>get diagnosed with a disorder
>low self esteem
>feel bad about it
>get angry
>begin to resent my doctor and parents
>it must be a conspiracy
>stop treatment
>change some things in your life
>feel better about your situation and convince yourself you don't have a disorder
>self esteem higher
>confirms you were right all along
>wallow in self-affirmation of delusions

Psychology is a hell of a drug

[Anonymous No.194397]

>>194249
What? Are you suggesting the ultimate goal of the diagnosis is to promote the patient's resentment for the "disease" so they change their lifestyle and eventually convince themselves they don't have it? If so, then nope.gif

If you are instead trying to tell me that I am stupid or predictable for convincing myself I don't have ADD, well who got the last laugh? Yes, I HAVE had a huge boost in self-esteem because I'm working towards my goals the right way. I don't have to depend on medication to accomplish what I want, haven't taken pills in 8 years. Am I really delusional? I said I could function without the pills and I was correct; the delusion is telling yourself you CAN'T function without the pills.

[Anonymous No.194402]

>>194397
I have a feeling you slightly missed the point that other anon tried to make. Also, stop being so butthurt if everything is so damn well. Calm the fuck down. Cheers!