[phoen]

Please allow me to preface with this: I figure your intent is not to demean the tasks of other professions, and none of what I'm saying is rhetorical.

That said, why not take the job of caring for the elderly relatives? Use it as a way to buy yourself some time while you become a specialist?

(I know a couple of people who have worked as certified nursing assistants for about ten years, among other things, scooping poop. They like excrement about as much as, I presume, most other people in existence; for them, it's a fact of life, though, and they're able to support their family well enough.)

[OldCoder]

I intended no disrespect. The person who was considering hiring me was the one who used the term. It was a casual discussion. And I will consider caregiver. I do well with older people.

[phoen]

I understand, and figured as much.

The positions you mention just didn't work out, then?

[OldCoder]

There were two such positions. Both involved relatives of friends. In one case, the family doesn't feel that it's needed yet. In the other, my friend's business has grown more slowly than he'd hoped, so he lacks funds for new expenditures.