Dear reader,
I'd like to start this post with the general announcement that I noticed that I posted TOO often on my blog to read for everyone. So I will reduce the number of posts I make on this blog to once every 2 days with a threshold on de number of reads of 50 reads. I think if my last topic got around 50 reads, it's time to post something new. This doesn't mean I spend less time on my blog, in fact, it wil improve the quality of my posts because I had more time to think them through.
Now Ontopic:
Yesterday I had a conversation with the foundation that is providing me with volunteer work and support to re-intergrate to "normal" work. This conversation was about the fact that I wish to do a Career-track education that will make it more likely for me to find a fitting job in ICT. Because I became ill while I was doing my bachelor in ICT, I in fact only have a Highschool diploma and some certificates at bachelor level, but not a bachelor's degree.
Well, a full bachelor's degree might be to much to ask for in this life for me, not that I wouldn't be able to understand it, my intelligence is OK and not affected by my dissease, but the stress that comes with a Bachelor level education is just too much for me now, I just can't cope it anymore.
But in the Netherlands we have many diffrent levels of education. Bachelor is called HBO (translated: Higher Professional Education) and Master is just called University or WO (translated: Scientific Education). But there's also a level lower called MBO (Average Professional Education) and between HBO and MBO there is special training courses at MBO+ level which is what I am aiming for.
I wish to do the EXIN Career Track of Certified Network Administrator which, if I get a certificate from also grants me the certificate of Certified Systems Administrator. I feel that if I got these two certificates my chances of ever getting back to a normal working life a greatly enhanced.
At the moment I get a form of Social Security Fee specially designed for people with Chronic Illness that they got while still in school, if you already had at least 2 years of working experience you'd get another form of wellfare fee based on you last income. But mine is the first one which is based upon minimum wage. I get almost a 900 euros a month on my account (after taxes that is) but minimum wage for 36 hours is still a little more with 1335 euro's per month before tax deduction (that will leave around 1080 euro after taxes).
Well this institution that is paying my wellfare check had an arrangement for people willing to reïntergrate to normal work again, where they would get training and study paid to increase the chance of succes on a normal job. This was a fine arrangement, because maybe they pay like 7000 euro's to educate somebody in my situation but if I work 20 hours a week after that, the part they pay me to get a normal income is so low compaired to a full wellfare cheque, that they would have earned the money back within the first year.
But NOW we have this STUPID STEALING RATS for a goverment and they changed all kinds of policies and laws around my type of social security fee collectors... NOW it seems that the intitute that is paying me my wellfare will rather pay that to me for the rest of my life then to really actively help reïntergrate me.
The carreer track I really want to do (CNA and CSA) costs about 6500 euro's together this is peanuts you'd think, but I don't have that kind of money. And if my goverment is not sponsorring me, I can forget about going back to school all together, thus minimizing the chance of ever getting a regular job. And all of that because I got schizophrenia... which ofcourse is a severe dissease, but it's not like I'm teminally ill or something... I can function normally when I just use my prescribed medication. The only thing is that I need more rest than most people, so I can't work fulltime ... 20 tot 24 hours a week at most.
So this is what they told me yesterday: "The chance of the government paying for your study is less than 1% because you already finished highschool and that should be enough to find a parttime job, only not in your field of expertise... but the government doesn't care about that." ... So what they're actually saying, that I - while partially educated as software designer and system administrator, I have management skills and a IQ over 140 ... And with those qualification they want me to work behind the counter or in the factory? I mean nothing bad about people who work in the factory, factory workers are needed and do usefull jobs, but to me personally I had a diffrent carreer in mind.
I'm really fucked up about this. But I wont give up. I'll knock on every goverment door there is about these matters, I will even write the state-secretary a letter if I have to ... But I will do that education because I want to do something meaningfull with my life, instead of kicking the wellfare like I've done for the past 7 years.
Sorry, this was a really long story, but if you read this: THANK YOU VERY MUCH for taking the time to do so.
