Self education or a menial job?

[Riaz]

If a well educated 30 year old lost his job which was highly skilled and quite well paid then should he opt for self education or should he take a menial job? Assume he has savings that will last him about a year if he is frugal so the money from the menial job isn't too important. He is also considering the possibility of setting up his own business.

My advice is self education because he can learn new knowledge which will be useful in the future and if he doesn't really need paid employment in the short term then he need not bother with it. Almost everyone else says take any job, no matter how bad it is, simply to avoid a gap on a CV and that it's easier to get a (decent) job if you already have a job.

[Elaine Kirk]

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I would say self education

[moonrabbit]

Hi,
I would also go for the self education, though recently my partner and I have both been looking for work after periods of unemployment (me - obviously taking care of children has not much 'value') and self employment (partner). Now jobs I would have usually got or at least had an interview for in the past and am perfectly qualified for, or have experience of, I have now heard nothing from at all. It does seem the lack of a job appears to be quite a hindrance in some people's eyes. I've also been asked outright if I were looking after my children what would I do about the job if they got ill?!