Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies?

Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by wqtz on Thursday April 09, 2026 @05:32AM (#47701294)

My hobby involves trying to help my brother get a job. He has a disability and can only work remotely at low-skill jobs. So, I have spent years applying, starting, and doing work in virtual assistant, support desk, and social media management roles for him. I apply to contract and freelance projects on his behalf, get started with the work, and later try to hand it off to him. He will either say one of two things: "You do it yourself" or that his brain cannot process the work. I make 10-15 times more money at my regular job, so hearing him say "You do it yourself" is not fun.

This hobby also includes trying to convince him that the business schemes he comes up with are not great—they're exclusively fraud-related, such as various forms of gambling and crypto stuff.

Mum keeps telling me that if I do not look after him, he will likely end up in a worst situation. He is in his early 40s by the way.

I did a second job as a hobby so I could just pay him the money, but that did not work because he keeps investing it in one of his schemes. So, I have to find him a job and convince him to keep it. I have a set of fake accounts that I use to apply to jobs and beg him take them on while he continuously says "you do it".

This has been going on for 7 years now.

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Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by getcrunk on Thursday April 09, 2026 @05:44AM (#47701371)

You’re a great brother! Sorry to hear your unappreciated.

I have a friend, philosophy masters, smart, autistic and he is not entering the work force. Any tips?

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Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by wqtz on Thursday April 09, 2026 @06:02AM (#47701495)

No, I am not. That is the thing—it has been 7 years, and we are stuck in the same loop. If I were to give your friend advice, it is to send a lot of warm emails. Joining a freelance marketplace is going to be brutal. Connect with folks in different communities, talk with them a bit, and then ask if they have any jobs. The success rate I would say is about 1 out of 50 to 70 outreaches.

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Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by napolux on Thursday April 09, 2026 @05:34AM (#47701309)

Dunno which kind of disability, but at some point you being the good brother can reach a limit.

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Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by wqtz on Thursday April 09, 2026 @05:56AM (#47701465)

He has a physical disability, and he had major trauma that he is dealing with, but that was more than a decade ago. He went to therapy a few times but a couple of therapist essentially gave up on him. He said they were zoned out when he keeps talking.

I have been at my "limit" for several years already. I have a day job, and at night I am making freaking "Happy Easter" posters in Canva for a print shop with 200 followers on Instagram. Everyday I am begging the guy to take over the contract while he continuously keeps saying "you do it" or that his brain does not work. He is literally doing the whole 9 yards. Even has a podcast and live streams. I am not kidding at all. I told myself maybe talking to the camera is a way for him to connect with his friends and a coping mechanism.

We all carry our burdens. It sounds extremely disrespectful and dishonorable, but without the help of autistic parenting groups, I wouldn’t have lasted this long. He is my platonic autistic surrogate son.

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Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by brador on Thursday April 09, 2026 @06:04AM (#47701523)

It’s time to let go.

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Re:Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies? by wqtz on Thursday April 09, 2026 @06:33AM (#47701803)

I am not sure that is possible because I act as a buffer between him and my parents.

My other siblings drew a line, and they are miserable themselves because they can't help.

He is the kind of guy who will take a mortgage on my parents' house to do some sort of forex play because he has figured out the true intention of US oil policies and how that impacts South East Asian oil-supplying countries—and wants to bet everything on Brunei and Malaysian currency.

So, I am trying my best to divert his attention.

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