I gave up on taking the 'Certified Social Worker' exam and found 'web writing' and 'note'☆

What I wanted to do

Even before I retired from the childcare industry, I had started thinking about studying for 'end-of-life planning' qualifications as my final challenge and trying my hand at work related to 'end-of-life planning.'
Specifically, I wanted to start a business where I could invite local people to drop by, organize 'study groups,' hold 'end-of-life planning lectures and seminars,' and provide individual support related to 'end-of-life planning'!

To that end, I obtained several 'end-of-life planning' qualifications, and finally, I planned to take on the 'Certified Social Worker' exam as my last step.
I thought that to start a business, it would be better to have a national professional qualification rather than just private ones. I knew it was difficult, but I felt like I could pass (lol).

To take the Certified Social Worker exam!

One of the requirements for taking the 'Certified Social Worker' exam was 'having graduated from a four-year university in the field of social welfare', so I assumed I was eligible, and without any hesitation, I signed up for U-Can's 'Certified Social Worker Course.'

I started studying around May, had finished almost all the final assignments by the end of summer, and applied for the exam in the autumn. When the documents arrived and I tried to apply, I realized that I didn't meet any of the eligibility requirements.
Whether I asked U-Can or the association that administers the exam, the answer was the same.
Because the Certified Social Worker system hadn't started yet by the time I graduated, it meant that people of my generation couldn't take the exam immediately, even if they had graduated from a four-year social welfare university.
To take the exam, I would have to go back to university or junior college and earn the missing credits...
If I were younger, or maybe, I could still do it...
Both U-Can and the association told me, 'It's still possible if you work hard,' and I
struggled. I thought about it. I worried about it.
In the end, I gave up on taking the exam.
Due to various reasons, such as age and money...

I gave up on the exam. What next?

You can start a business without qualifications. So, even when I intended to take the exam, I thought that if I failed the first time, I could just study while working.
But by giving up on the exam, I couldn't become a 'Certified Social Worker,' and the dream of starting a business felt unrealistic to me. Furthermore, the 'COVID-19 pandemic'...
The 'study groups' and 'seminars' I wanted to hold were also impossible.
What do I want to do... Should I give up... I pondered.

Suddenly, I thought that maybe I could hold them 'online.' If so, how about creating a website to share information and writing messages about 'end-of-life planning' on a blog on that site?
So, how do you make a website? How do you do a blog? I searched on Twitter and YouTube.

Meeting 'web writing'

While researching, I learned about the job of a 'web writer.'
I was told by Mr. T, whom I met on Twitter, that 'it's difficult to make money with a blog, but you can make money as a web writer.'
Aside from the income, I decided to first study 'writing,' so I registered with two crowdsourcing companies I was told about.
At first, I started with simple surveys and task-based projects, and then I also tried my hand at the typical 'earn while learning as a beginner' projects. From there, I also experienced being guided to 'LINE' and working on long-form projects for cheap rates like 0.3 or 0.5 yen.

Just when I thought I would be exhausted if I continued like this,

1. The importance of creating a profile
2. Treating applications like love letters
3. Tips for finding projects

I was taught things like these, and as told, I rewrote my profile and changed my applications. Above all, I became conscious of deciding on my strengths, my 'selling points,' and proposing them firmly.

When I put the many pieces of advice from Mr. T into practice, I was surprisingly successful in getting projects.
For things I didn't understand or know, I asked Mr. T or searched and studied. As I repeated this, I learned that I could learn while working as a 'web writer' and that my own knowledge would increase.
Furthermore, I learned about the various skills one should have as a 'web writer' and my knowledge of writing also increased. When I applied for projects, I would get accepted, and there were times when I was immersed in them every day, juggling many projects.

My income was 15,000 yen in the first month, and after that, it increased steadily (as of March, the total of writing, temp work, and Mercari is about 100,000 yen), but it became days of being chased by projects anyway. I would worry if I didn't have projects, apply, get busy again, and repeat... Deadlines overlapped, and stress accumulated.
Even so, seeing the figures of other writers on Twitter, there were times when I pushed myself, thinking I had to work hard too. To increase my income further, I wanted to create a 'portfolio,' and to do that, I had to start a 'blog'...
It was changing from the 'information dissemination' blog I had thought of at the beginning to a blog for getting projects as a writer.

At that time, I met another person, Ms. M. Ms. M is also someone I met on Twitter, and she was also about to start a blog. She was someone who, while tweeting about whether to do a blog or note, eventually chose note.
For some reason, I was drawn to her and sent her a DM. As we exchanged messages, I felt she was a person with similar sensibilities.
'My stance is strictly 'loose and relaxed,' 'I'm in the 'live loosely' camp,' 'Recruiting loose and relaxed members'—those words were heard many times in our DMs.
Even so, Ms. M started taking on note. Since my projects had just stopped, I was stimulated and changed my Twitter name too.

'Loose and fluffy web writer & beginner noter'

What I wanted to do was not to master writing, but to learn writing for my future dream.
And I made my 'note debut' to organize my thoughts.
I want to live a life where I don't sacrifice the present for the future, but enjoy the present, cherish my family and friends nearby, not forget the 'loose and fluffy' feeling, but work hard when I need to. I am thinking that again.

Therefore, when requested by clients, I want to provide as much as possible what the clients and the readers who see it want, and on note, I want to be honest about my thoughts... I want to work with that kind of balance.

What I am working on now is
1. Loose and fluffy web writer
2. Occasional temp job
3. Enjoying Mercari listings

With the above triple-plus-alpha (the plus-alpha is end-of-life planning work), my dream is to earn about 100,000 yen every month while doing 'information dissemination' and 'some kind of end-of-life planning related work.' And I want to continue the note I met here as one of the ways to put that dream into practice.

I'm not originally good at computers, I'm not good at reading manuals, and I'm not good at mastering functions, but I managed to start note. I could also empathize with the philosophy of note.
Yeah, I'm glad I chose note!

And today is my 12th day of note debut.
Today, I did a temp job for the first time in a while. I have a temp job tomorrow too. By the way, my temp job is helping with funerals. I am also working on this as one of the 'end-of-life planning' activities.

I started writing this note after I got home, but now I'm so tired and sleepy...
So, there might be a storm of corrections tomorrow, but I'm posting it to achieve 12 consecutive days. I can't really review it. (I feel like I'm going to fall asleep while reading it)
And I'm going to sleep now!
Good night (つ∀-) Good night

#CertifiedSocialWorker
#WebWriter
#GladIChoseNote