I am 21 years old w/ CF. I am currently working in a call center but I don't forsee it lasting long because of all the doctors appts., my declining health, and the fact that I cough a lot (they don't like coughing to customers - understandably). And all I've ever done prior to now is warehouse and retail. I'm just sincerely unsure what to do now. I don't feel like there are any options left for me. But I know there must be something I can still do. Here's the catch, I am moving out of my parents house on the 1st and won't have the option of coming back because they are moving 3 or 4 hours away from me to a city where the air is too dirty for me to be more than a day or two. I really need to find a job or career that I CAN do ASAP. Suggestions or ideas from other CFers would be sooooo appreciated right now, because I just feel lost right now.
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Career Path and CF?
- Thread starter Lena Bean
- Start date
M
mgl
Guest
Office jobs where you interact primarily with other employees instead of customers are good jobs. You can often get more work hour flexibility in an office job, too. Large companies tend to be good employers for people with CF.
For example, a bank would have customer-facing jobs in branches and call centres, head office jobs in many different roles, and back office jobs processing transactions. Head office and back office jobs both avoid interacting with customers, but head office jobs might be better because back office jobs often have the same lack of work hour flexibility as customer-facing jobs.
If you are having difficulty in making a career and employer transition, and you already have call centre experience, you could find a job similar to what you have now at a large company like a bank, utility company, government office, etc., and then transfer departments later. That would provide you with a career path. Plus large companies are good about supporting you while you pursue more education to get an even better role.
Good luck!
For example, a bank would have customer-facing jobs in branches and call centres, head office jobs in many different roles, and back office jobs processing transactions. Head office and back office jobs both avoid interacting with customers, but head office jobs might be better because back office jobs often have the same lack of work hour flexibility as customer-facing jobs.
If you are having difficulty in making a career and employer transition, and you already have call centre experience, you could find a job similar to what you have now at a large company like a bank, utility company, government office, etc., and then transfer departments later. That would provide you with a career path. Plus large companies are good about supporting you while you pursue more education to get an even better role.
Good luck!
isabella Mendoza
New member
21 y/o w/cf and career path
First of all, it is a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to discriminate against you because of your cough. (Not that you want to stay at a call center.) There are lots of options, I agree with everybody, but you really need to get some specific training.
Second. Go to school. You can do it! Just register with the office for Students with Disabilities (maybe that could be the first thing you do) and let them guide you. DON'T take out any huge loans with for-profit colleges, however. Those places are specifically in place to use you, the student, as a conduit to suck "government" loan money into their institutions USING YOU to do it. They aren't really educational institutions, they are machines (have you seen The Matrix?) which use you to wring money out of student loan programs. The catch is you will NEVER EVER get relief from those loans, you will be paying them back for 50 years whether or not you are as sick as a dog. The banks will come after you relentlessly in ways you can't even imagine. There is no government protection from the banks, the loan is between you and some gigantic faceless mega-bank. And the "schools" get their money at the front end. They could care less if you ever graduate or ever get a job. They will tell you the biggest lies -- they will tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear to get you to sign documents. (I'm talking about U. of Phoenix, Kaplan College, Vista College, RedRocks College, etc.) Here is what they told my niece "you will be making $50,000 in one year", "we place 100% of our students in great paying jobs" (not one of them ever got a job as a dental tech), "we will help you with food banks and housing while you study" (not one drop of help ever materialized). She is unemployed now and has $20,000 in debt (from a mere 12 months of "school") and she has no degree at all (at the very end they !Surprise! told her she needed more expensive classes to graduate.)
OK. Now. Go to a regular 4-year college and get financial aid! Do a FAFSA, your parents will help, and you will probably be eligible for scholarships and pell grants of some kind (possibly a completely free ride if its a state school). There are awesome resources to help you and you will begin to meet people who can help and inspire you when you are older and have a better idea what your passions are. You may even get access to the health clinic/plan on campus (especially if the school is affiliated with a medical school).
Both of my boys w/CF did this. They are now 22 and 24 and the older one just finished college - it took him a little longer because of exacerbations, but the school was always incredibly understanding and accommodating. He met lots of people who are now helping him. And he doesn't live with us. The younger one is in his last year, (it has been a little slow too due to illness) and the people he has met and the areas he has studied have completely changed him. They are both sick, remember, Lena, and its a little harder. But you will be surprised how your health improves just from being happy. Let us help you! Where do you live?
Isabella in Texas(PILLS)
First of all, it is a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to discriminate against you because of your cough. (Not that you want to stay at a call center.) There are lots of options, I agree with everybody, but you really need to get some specific training.
Second. Go to school. You can do it! Just register with the office for Students with Disabilities (maybe that could be the first thing you do) and let them guide you. DON'T take out any huge loans with for-profit colleges, however. Those places are specifically in place to use you, the student, as a conduit to suck "government" loan money into their institutions USING YOU to do it. They aren't really educational institutions, they are machines (have you seen The Matrix?) which use you to wring money out of student loan programs. The catch is you will NEVER EVER get relief from those loans, you will be paying them back for 50 years whether or not you are as sick as a dog. The banks will come after you relentlessly in ways you can't even imagine. There is no government protection from the banks, the loan is between you and some gigantic faceless mega-bank. And the "schools" get their money at the front end. They could care less if you ever graduate or ever get a job. They will tell you the biggest lies -- they will tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear to get you to sign documents. (I'm talking about U. of Phoenix, Kaplan College, Vista College, RedRocks College, etc.) Here is what they told my niece "you will be making $50,000 in one year", "we place 100% of our students in great paying jobs" (not one of them ever got a job as a dental tech), "we will help you with food banks and housing while you study" (not one drop of help ever materialized). She is unemployed now and has $20,000 in debt (from a mere 12 months of "school") and she has no degree at all (at the very end they !Surprise! told her she needed more expensive classes to graduate.)
OK. Now. Go to a regular 4-year college and get financial aid! Do a FAFSA, your parents will help, and you will probably be eligible for scholarships and pell grants of some kind (possibly a completely free ride if its a state school). There are awesome resources to help you and you will begin to meet people who can help and inspire you when you are older and have a better idea what your passions are. You may even get access to the health clinic/plan on campus (especially if the school is affiliated with a medical school).
Both of my boys w/CF did this. They are now 22 and 24 and the older one just finished college - it took him a little longer because of exacerbations, but the school was always incredibly understanding and accommodating. He met lots of people who are now helping him. And he doesn't live with us. The younger one is in his last year, (it has been a little slow too due to illness) and the people he has met and the areas he has studied have completely changed him. They are both sick, remember, Lena, and its a little harder. But you will be surprised how your health improves just from being happy. Let us help you! Where do you live?
Isabella in Texas(PILLS)
R
RytheStunner
Guest
First of all, it is a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to discriminate against you because of your cough.
This isn't 100% true. It's a violation IF you can perform your essential job functions adequately or IF appropriate accommodations can be made if otherwise. If an employer deems that it's a hindrance to your job function and there's no way to otherwise accommodate it, then there is no violation of the Disabilities Act.