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Starting Over at 52
lightTree6221 June 24th
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I turned 52 in May and a week later I was fired from my job, well my placement as an independent contractor. Not because of my age, but because of my "schedule". I was also working on my PhD for this job and had just finished all my coursework. I only have my dissertation to go. But now I don't know what to do.

My health is very poor and the job I had was great because I set my own schedule, meaning that if I felt poorly I didn't have to work on that day. I am now worried about finding another job, because of the pressure it will put on me. I'm struggling to figure out what to do and feel like I have no prospects. When I was divorced at 35, at least I had my health and could work...now, I don't know what to do.

I'm grieving for the loss of this job, the loss of the clients I had, and the loss of my health. Not sure which way is up anymore.

4
toughTiger6481 June 25th
.

@lightTree6221

I am sorry you are going through this... it is not imaginable when we plan and think we can finish this or that and something comes along and just erases what we thought was going to happen.

This has happened to me more then once in life ........and all i can say like Dory from finding Nemo is "just keep swimming." ...  your life will go on ........and it is your choice to find a way to adapt or give up and blame whatever happened in your life on bad luck/ bad timing or whatever...

it takes a strong person to go for a PHD and such ... take a deep breath and only look back with appreciation for the great job  and the skills / and people you encountered when you had it not stressing about what could have been. 

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@lightTree6221. It’s very scary to loose your health at 52 (I can relate). I hope that you will be able to find another contract job with a flexible schedule.

goodSpruce3041 June 29th
.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I can relate. A few years ago, my division at work got shut down and we all got laid off. Then I got cancer. Life can be a female dog all right. My advice would be to seek any kind of help you can - there are charities and other institutions that help people in need. Don't feel embarrassed - everyone goes through bumps in life. I read that the singer Tina Turner had great success, then a series of setbacks so bad that she had to go on welfare. But she bounced back. You can too. You'll have to get creative. You might try remote work. There are books on Amazon that teach how to set something like that up - you might look into that. Best of luck and keep us posted. :)

Swordpsalm June 29th
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@lightTree6221

Hi Light. Sword here. I will be turning 53 this year. I can sympathize with you about job insecurity occurring simultaneous to pursuing a grad degree. I am having to set aside my Master's degree program because I didn't qualify for a government student loan. In order for my loan to get reinstated, I would have to self-fund my education for 1 semester minimum and pass the course. The problem is that I didn't pass my last course at my former school and that failing grade invalidated me from receiving a government loan. I was happy 2 years ago when I got an excellent staff job with another university but I got sick again and had to go on Long-Term disability. I might need to work for a minimum of 5 years to be able to save up a repository of funds for paying tuition for grad school. I know that I cannot always rely for government student loan funding to come through. Hang in there my friend. I believe it is worth it. I believe that God/Yahweh/Jesus is trying to teach us something- resilience/perseverance/determination/fortitude/endurance perhaps? Blessings and peace. Sword.

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