Career suggestions for those with IBD

[lively_child]

Hi all,
I was not sure where to post... My son has moderate to severe Crohn's disease and will be graduating from high school next year. He has not expressed a lot of interest in any career, but does lean toward more physically demanding careers, such as farming/HVAC/welding. I want to push him toward getting a degree in something that he could do from home or at least part time sitting in an office (close to a bathroom). I am looking for any suggestions from adults with careers that are forgiving to the ups and downs of IBD. Thanks ahead of time for suggestions.

Mom of I (17) diagnosed w/Crohns at 15
Current Treatment:
Remicade started in June 2017
Methotrexate Injections 25 mg weekly - March 2018
Vitamin D supplements
Iron Supplements
Folate supplements

Past Treatments:
Imuran
Prednisolone
Nexium
Prilosec

 

[Maya142]

My daughter is currently in college and is studying chemistry. She has both Crohn's and arthritis. Her arthritis is fairly severe and I think it's what will limit her job options more than the Crohn's - she can't really do anything too physical.

She currently wants to do medical research. I think she could probably do that, though I do worry about her being in a lab and on her feet...

I guess I don't have a real answer, but I can tag some of the other parents whom have kids around your son's age: Tesscorm, Clash, crohnsinct, my little penguin, Jmrogers4

Has your son talked to his guidance counselor at school? Some high schools have vocational programs, so kids can try out different fields. Our high school has a program with the local technical college, so kids can try out different things until they figure out what they want to pursue - they have everything from the culinary arts to auto technology classes. Kids spend half the day at their regular high school and then go to the technical college for several classes. They can then enroll there full-time after they graduate.

 

[lively_child]

Thanks Maya142, I am not sure about the schools programs. We are in a small school that has been less than helpful with his absences and 504 plan so I am not sure they will give us any assistance. I've been trying to push him toward business and/or finance because it is a field he would be good in and also an area that he could possibly do a home based business. But your suggestion of culinary arts and auto technology sound more like things he would be interested in. I guess I just hate to think of him putting a lot of time and effort into a career that might not work if his health got worse.

 

[Maya142]

Honestly, I would just have a frank discussion with him. Ask him what he thinks he may want to pursue and then talk to him about whether he thinks it is realistic and tell him what you think.

If he has an interest in something, even if it is physical, he could try an internship or even just shadow someone who is doing it. I was talking to one of the nurses we had when my daughter was recovering from surgery and in the hospital. She said she had a heart condition and because she was hospitalized so much as a kid, she thought she wanted to work in medicine but wasn't sure she could physically do it.

She talked to her cardiologist about it and he offered to let her shadow him - so she got to watch heart surgery etc. while in high school! It also gave her a good idea of what a nurse would have to be able to do.

The rest is history - she is now a great nurse, definitely one of the most empathetic and compassionate nurses we had during our stay there.

He wants to go into welding, let him shadow/help out someone in the field. If he's interested in cooking, see if he can get a job at a restaurant. Most people are quite happy to have a student shadow them and help out a bit - it's free labor .

My daughter was very interested in journalism in high school - she was the editor of the school paper and wrote a column for our local paper. She also had an internship with a local news website, which she enjoyed but also showed her that she didn't really want to go into journalism professionally.

Trying out things helps them figure out what they like and additionally, what they can do.

What meds is your son on? Is his disease well-controlled?

 

[Guerrero]

There are no jobs for ibd people specifically.
The most important is finding a job he likes,.. i'd say he could do anything. Even physical jobs. He'll find his way

 

[lively_child]

Thanks so much for your response

Maya, he is currently on Remicade since June 2017 and added Methotrexate Injections in March 2018. I would not say the disease is well controlled. The last 5 months have been the best he has been in years but he had a bad flare in March that almost put him in hospital.

He is just so stinking stubborn, lol...teenagers. The talk may help the most because I don't think at his age he really thinks about what his body may do in the future. He is in the now.

Guerrero, you are right, I am ALL for him doing whatever makes him happy. I'm interested in what others with IBD do for career and how it works with their health issues.

 

[jennyfoust]

If it was me - if I were him, I'd learn as much as I can about the things you listed, or whatever things I'm interested in, even if I feel like (or mom knows) one day my body might not let me do the things I like. My idea is: get good at something, learn about it, and look into work that's in the field, but maybe not always the hands-on work. Does that make sense? If his body could let him do HVAC or welding stuff for five years, maybe then he would be able to move into management or planning, where he might have the flexibility that his body might need later in life.

I started college to be a teacher, dropped out, went back at 30 - still to be a teacher. I was half way through that degree, started visiting classrooms, and realized I didn't want to be a teacher. I am very introverted, and didn't think it would be too hard to overcome fatigue by knowing that I was doing something good. Just visiting classrooms for a week wore me out. Plus, no bathroom breaks, on my feet all day, stress. I changed my major to computer science. Now, I work for the department of education, behind the scenes with the data.

Something like that, you know?

Something near what he is interested in, but that allows flexibility. Sounds like he's probably not that interested in technology or sitting in an office, which is always what I tend to tell people to try for if their bodies are not cooperating with them. He sounds like he really wants to get in there, get his hands dirty, and do interesting things, but what if he worked for say, the department of agriculture? He could do some really cool stuff related to farming. There are always great departments in local government - city/county/state. Usually good benefits, really decent pay. Usually work that's easier on the body. Lots of different kinds people people.

Good luck! I hope he doesn't make it too hard on you with all that ambition and stubbornness.

 

[Lisa]

There are soooo many opportunities out there....I finally got my 'dream job' when I was over 30! before that I tried all kinds of things - to name a few.... EMT, volunteer fire fighter, auto parts driver, farm hand on horse farm, live in caretaker for 2 horses and a dog, fire/EMS dispatcher, police dispatcher, packing out merchandise (shelf stocker) at department stores, in 2002 I became a Fire Protection Specialist (State Fire Marshal) and am still here.....

It is always a good idea to at least take some business courses, maybe think about getting the core classes down (math, English, psychology etc) before finding specialized courses.....some of hte trdes are in quite high demand, and if you are good at them, you can just about write your own ticket!