When you work hard and do the right things, you would hope that it would pay off in the end, but that is not always the case.

What would you do if you went through a lot of difficulties in life, but you continued to focus on getting your degrees and working your jobs for years, only to find yourself unemployed and in a bad financial situation at 52?

That is what the man in this story is dealing with, and he is feeling defeated. While he has done everything right that he can think of, he was fired as part of his job’s employment reduction, and now he doesn’t know where to go from here.

Read through the heartbreaking story below and see what you think he should do.

I got fired 3 days ago in a Reduction in Force after almost 9 years with a company. At almost 52 years old I am screwed

I dropped out of school because we had kids soon after we got married. Graduated highschool in 91.

Website design was a great job back then.

I was self taught in fixing hardware and software. Then I learned HTML and CSS and designed websites in late 90s.

I finally went back to school in 2014 and in 2018 in got my BS in Information Technology – Software.

He is moving up in this industry, good for him.

At the time I was working full time writing, maintaining, and optimizing SQL reports.

I wasn’t making much money at the time, but I did then move into a C# developer position at the same company.

Getting this type of education will pay off in the end.

I decided to go back to school again but was living off my income and student loans. I got a 2nd job working graveyard at a convenient store, Friday to Sunday.

I was also a full time student getting a Masters Degree in Computer Science – Software Engineering.

This must have been a lot of work.

I would get off work from the convenience store at 6 AM Monday and drove straight to my other job, changed clothes in a bathroom stall and worked another 8 hours.

I would get my work done fast at the convenience store and sit on the counter with my laptop writing research papers, that sometimes were 35 – 50 pages long.

This would be heartbreaking.

Finished my Masters February of 2020. Got a raise at work and was made Software Engineer I. I quit my 2nd job about 2 weeks before COVID hit big. I was given a laptop and was work from home since then.

3 days ago my company let go 10% of the department and I was one that lost their job.

Wow, he really went through some bad times.

I had a serious accident in 2008 that I broke my neck. From 2012 to 2016 I was on SSI with permanent disability. I lost our home in 2008 in the market crash and lost my job then as an IT Manager.

Had to file bankruptcy in 2017.

15 days before I lost my job, my wife lost her part time work from home job.

This must be such a struggle.

My oldest is getting divorced and is moving in this weekend to help with rent and utilities. Our 4 youngest are also adults and live at home and pay some rent because they can’t afford to move out.

Now I have no job, no credit, almost $100, 000 in student loans. Medical bills like crazy because of my chronic pain. I had a neck fusion in 2012.

He can’t give up.

I spent the last couple days filing for unemployment, food stamps, and state medical. I contacted a lawyer to get back in SSI. I am applying for jobs everywhere including part time at grocery stores, just to get some income.

I worked so hard and pushed through so much pain at work to get where I was and now I have nothing to show for it.

Hopefully, he will get through this difficult time.

I am almost 52, I had worked almost 9 years at my last job and had planned to retire from there and now I feel so lost and tired and sad and angry.

It is heartbreaking when someone works hard and does the right things for so long, and then they fall on such hard times.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who is irate after she gave a group leader money for her daughter’s lunch, only to have him pocket the cash and ask all of the kids to pay their own way.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Starting his own business might be a great option to consider.

I would bet on this guy too.

The job market is very odd.

Reaching out to his former clients is a great suggestion.

Sometimes working hard and doing the right things just don’t pay off in the end. It is a sad reality that life also requires a little bit of luck.

Fortunately, his life isn’t over yet, and if he keeps doing his best, he will get through this challenging time.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who just let clients complain after her boss refused to approve overtime.