How to use your Jobless period effectively

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in this subject but I will share what I do to keep my mind engaged.

Looking for a job can be a very daunting task. Getting rejections and/or no responses at all can drain anyone. They drain me. I am one of those people who gets depressed easily: being an introvert and no talking about it. Currently, I am not making much income and living off my younger sister whom I appreciate a lot. Here is how is what engage in apart from scrolling every day for a job that suits me.

Skills

Web development

Covid-19 has brought bad and good things thought the former seems to outweigh the latter. After I was told to stay home and most projects came to a standstill, I deleted my social media apps and started learning to do website development. I did my two websites from scratch and was excited about it. I wanted to learn and make websites for other people too. I enrolled in doing courses in HTML, CSS and now I am struggling with Javascript(which am told is not as essential and hard). I like challenges and i am going to win this one too.

Data science/Bioinformatics

Having enrolled in the master's course out of hurt and being unstable with my finances, I didn't explore my curiosity enough in learning the tools. I have taken this moment of no work to learn python alongside R using online free courses. I have recently downloaded Linux and figuring myself around the operating system. Sometimes I forget I don't have a job and it keeps me going.

Business

As I work on a tool I am building for business, I chose to learn more about business so as to transition easily. I am not sure where the skills will help me in my research career but I love the experience of learning. Skills I learnt last year e.g. digital marketing came in handy later when I didn't expect it. Plus learning challenging stuff is pretty exciting and keeps me occupied.

Language

I am not linguistic. I don't even know either of my parent's languages but I took a challenge to chose to learn german. I am near completing my A1 level using the DW tool.

Hobbies

Music

Not all hobbies require financial resources. I love music. Of recent, I have been learning a lot of techniques in music with my love for low vocals. I have been singing all my life but I love challenging myself to do things people think are impossible. Sometimes when I have some extra bundles to use, I upload a random video on my youtube channel.

Wool Work

I grew up seeing my mum crotchet to put something on the table. I learn quickly from just watching someone do something. I built on the skill and started making bags and recently learnt how to make a mat which I teach others on the same.

Nature Walks

I would love to see more of nature but I use the little I have to look around and appreciate nature just to get a feel of what is around. This is a good time to reflect and most ideas come from these moments. It also helps with my health since I can easily disappear in the house for months without feeling weird about it.

Blogging

It started as an escape during my tough periods. Most of the pieces are not published up to date on my old blog, however, I have made two more blogs on my own. One as an educational resource and the other a science blog.

Reading

As much as I lived with a reader, books, author, journalist etc. I never enjoyed reading a lot unless its science-related. To improve my writing especially as a young science communicator, I have turned reading into a hobby and read loads of books and looking forward to reading more.

Looking for money

I work with different clients on building digital marketing strategies and websites. I also work on my websites to make money out of it. I do graphic designs on a few things here and there like logos, posts etc...

Volunteering

A lot of people are getting into different kinds of business. I teach people how to get their business online for free. It's really satisfying to try to get people on their feet with the little you have. However, I miss hands-on volunteer work. I mentor students and recent graduates on navigating the science world. I mentor new science writers and bloggers on building their own skills. The last is the best. I listen to people who need someone to talk to.

Facebook: Sarah Nyanchera Nyakeri

Twitter: @sarahnyancheran

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