I couldn't find a job for 9 months, so I decided to learn new skills. I'm now assembling electronics with no experience.

The author has taken a new job building electronics after months of unemployment. Javier Zayaz/Getty Images I lost my job in public service nine months ago and have been unemployed ever since. I accepted a random position assembling electronic parts, so I'm learning new skills. Soldering and building printed circuit boards are helping me get by as I wait for a job in my field. When I was 20, I spent a summer working as a maid, cleaning houses . The hours were long, the pay was terrible, half the day was spent in traffic, and the work was frequently unappreciated by our clients. But the job did have one excellent benefit: I learned a lot about cleaning houses and commercial spaces , skills that have paid dividends for the last two decades by allowing me to maintain a clean and healthy home.