conversation: User (Crimson_Eyes): "I do not currently work, but bring in ~$800 a month (Social Security) I have no savings, work experience, no degree, no license, and no vehicle. I own no assets which can be liquidated. Imagine a 17-year-old in city who no substantial public transit, and then make that person mid-twenties.\n\nHi!\n\nI've considered entering the workforce, but because my current income is tied to the fact that I do not work, I'm not sure I can justify it. Even at ten dollars an hour at a full-time job, I'm only bringing home ~$400 more than I currently do, in exchange for 160 hours of my time per month. Once one factors in the cost of acquiring a car, insurance, increased food consumption, and so on, even $10-an-hour doesn't seem to justify itself.\n\nAs it is, I love comfortably, always have enough food in the house, and live a simple lifestyle. My diet is a bit poor, but that has more to do with infrequent visits to the grocery store and a distaste for vegetables than anything else. I eat meat, fruit, dairy, and grains with every meal.\n\nWhy on earth would I give that comfort up, work harder, and have less free time when even the highest-paying low-skill jobs in my area barely cover the increased expenses?\n\nI could go back to school, in theory, but given my areas of relative strength (English, primarily) getting a job in a field with a degree isn't exactly STEM.\n\nYes, a degree of any kind helps, and yes, I can go to school for free (or close to it) thanks to FASFA and the like, but without reasonable transportation options (which I lack) and the promise of solid income, the time and effort don't seem to line up with the reward.\n\nYes, I could pursue technical college and pick up some trade that I hate, but again the logistical issues rear up, in addition to the problems of trading comfort and a reasonable life for a job that I dislike and, particularly in trade-work, may disappear under me as tech innovates.\n\nAll for a little bit of extra money.\n\nYes, I could eat less well, but that strikes me as borrowing from my future self. Sure, I might be able to save up a meager sum of money, but when eating ramen and mac-and-cheese leaves me infirm and weak, the medical bills are going to pile up.\n\nAm I really better off just staying as I am than trying to improve and risking losing the income I already have?"
  Self: "You need to look beyond the immediate next step. Yes, picking up a low skill job will probably not cause any real immediate benefits and a fair bit of hassle. But without some experience or schooling you won't ever be able to make it to the higher paying jobs that might provide tangible increases in your quality of life. It's like you're standing next to a ladder in a slight hole and saying "eh that first step isn't any higher up then where I am now, it's not worth the effort to step over" when there's still all the steps out there that are *higher* on the ladder.\n\nAnd that also ignores the fact that the "guaranteed" income you get now is based on rules and regulations that could technically change at any time (as well as being vulnerable to things like your house burning down or rent prices increasing). You aren't even standing on solid ground looking over at the ladder, you're standing on a pile of gravel and comparing yourself to the first step of a ladder resting on solid ground."
  User (Crimson_Eyes): "You're right, that is precisely what I am doing. Because falling while on the gravel is less likely than attempting to climb further up the ladder, failing, and not getting to come back down to the rung I am currently on.\n\nThere's no guarantee that if I join the workforce and fail, I will be able to get back on SS. It is, in fact, incredibly unlikely.\n\nYes, there are unemployment aids and programs, but most people who end up on them find them to be less-than-stellar and hard to use as a platform to rise from."
  Self: "Then it's up to you to decide if you have enough faith in your own ability to succeed to not fall. I know that personally looking back I can think of dozens of times where I regret not pushing myself, but can't ever really think of any where I regret learning a new skill or expanding my comfort zone.\n\nI'm not up to date on my SS/FAFSA interactions, but you say that you can go to school basically for free. Why not take that chance to better yourself if it doesn't really impact you? If you could jump from the gravel straight to step number 3 or 4 it might make it a bit more worthwhile than just stepping across to step 1."
  User (Crimson_Eyes): "It absolutely would. The issues, as outlined in my OP, are primarily transportation/logistics and the fact that my primary areas of interest aren't exactly high-paying fields.\n\nCould I, I dunno, go get a STEM degree and just say "frag it!" Sure! And then I'd be working a job I have no intellectual interest in for the sake of paying for things I was previously content without.\n\nThat doesn't sound like a way to live to me. That sounds like the kind of hell burned-out workers in their 40s talk about."
  