Old Farts take the First Step Forward

Yesterday Grandma was kind of cranky. I'd just read a piece in the NYT about people over 50 expected to not be able to find jobs in their lifetime if they were unemployed. In case you missed the post "Old Farts Should just Give Up?" feel free to read it before you go on.


So, Grandma did what Grandma does. I decided to just butt in and give some suggestions to those who are worried about job prospects as the economy recovers. I came up with a few ideas:


Did you know that there were places to learn online? FOR FREE? Yep. You can watch video lectures from several well known higher learning institutes. Lifehacker has compiled a number of places offering free online education for of us not quite ready to live a life of imposed retirement.


Whitson Gordon writes in his article Where to Get the Best Free Education Online:

"While most online resources won't grant you a college degree, there's a lot more to the internet than Wikipedia when it comes to learning. Whether you learn best through video or text, want to take a year-long course or just to touch up on a few topics, there are more than a few places online that can give you the full experience. In fact, there are enough that it can get quite overwhelming, so we've rounded up the best resources to make it all a bit more manageable. Here are some of the best places to get an education without ever leaving your computer."

For those who feel the time is right to jump into the freelance world and work from home, the internet offers a lot of people who have a lot of tips and experience to share.


For example, Suzanne Alicie writes a blog called Work From Home: 

"All about work from home opportunities and methods of earning from the comfort of your sofa. No scams! Only real work from home opportunities."

I follow this blog because it has so much information that I really find helpful.


I write a blog about freelancing called The Frustrated Freelancer  that you might want to check out just in case you think writing full time is a picnic in the sun.


The person who wants to find a way to get by while they're looking for employment will find a way. Especially the folks in Grandma's generation.