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…