I found several good online technical writing courses and will enroll in one soon.
I am also researching book publishing services so I can get the assessment gems book into print and/or e-form. But I need a title…
Unpolished Gems
Communication Breakdown
Writes and Wrongs
Those are just off the top of my head. Got any ideas, folks?
Glad to be of service. I am an advertising copywriter turned tech writer turned instructional designer. And I’m willing to change again if needed.
There’s also a free (30-day?) trial.
I tell my design students “If you have to drop out of school for some reason, sign up for Lynda.com and you can easily learn enough to get a job, or plenty of freelance work”
I dropped this, sorry.
We’ve hired people out of data science and programming “boot camps”. I know others who have had similar rapid training and certification in IT security something or other. This is very different from what you’re currently doing and maybe not the right skill/interest set, but they’re examples I’m familiar with.
Lots of organisations have “communications” groups. I’m not sure who they hire, exactly.
If anyone’s looking for something to pay the bills for part of next year while they’re not working full time for whatever reason, the Census Bureau will be hiring hundreds of thousands of temporary workers next year to help out with the 2020 Census.
Most of those jobs will be ‘nonresponse followup’ - knocking on doors of people who didn’t fill out their Census forms when they initially got sent out - but there are other things that need to be done that start earlier in the year (couldn’t tell you what anymore - haven’t worked on a decennial Census since the 2000 cycle, and things have changed), so check out the website if you’re interested.
Obviously all of these jobs will go away in the fall of 2020, but they might get you through a few months.
could you be more specific? what would you recommend taking/learning - assuming starting from zero - to get a job or freelance work?
also assuming not very good at math or technology in general. 
I do rehab therapy in skilled nursing facilities and the latest thing companies are doing is making us treat patient in groups so they can cut our hours. I’ll be lucky to average 30 hours a week this winter and keep my health insurance.
The cuts/overwork that’s happening in healthcare is not good for salary or future plans. Hope you can keep your insurance!
You asked about what to learn “assuming starting from zero - to get a job or freelance work”. Well, my field’s Graphic Design, so the big one is spelled “Adobe”.
If you can learn the basics of Photoshop (for manipulating photos), Illustrator (a vector drawing program, mostly for logos), and InDesign (page layout, where you dump your P’shop and Illustrator files and do your type)… you can get a job! Some of my students have gotten freelance work in the first few months of our 2-year program (technical college).
One “returning student”, a woman in her late 30s, had to tell her parents to quit telling their friends that their daughter is taking design and would be glad to make money by redoing their logo/catalog/web site/advertising/etc.
Now, if you want to design WELL, you’d have to combine the computer skills with concepting, brainstorming, sketching, and the basics of design. Then some web design, maybe motion graphics, drawing and social media. Lynda.com even has videos on those skills, too.
ps: It’s a blast. I was a Bio major and ended up learning design on my own (NO math needed), getting hired by an ad agency later in life, then another. Was an Art Director, then Creative Director for a while… NO ONE ever cared that I didn’t have a degree in the field.
And it’s like messing around and getting paid for it.
thank you, Digs
I feel like I have more questions but don’t know enough to ask them yet. stay tuned! 
IME most adjuncts work harder than many contract instructors, and a good deal of their energy and effort just unnecessarily goes to managing work in several systems, so it’s not an effective use of talent. It’s a waste, and the students are the worse off because of it. Unfortunately, that dept. head is right.
So I am still teaching, but also enrolled in a technical writing course online. I am about halfway through. I may also take copy writing, CMS, and documentation specialist courses.
Also, this article popped up the other day on Pocket, and I would like to know what you folks think of the advice:
Your Resume Is a Waste of Time: 8 Better Ways to Get Hired for the Job You Want