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My spine is fused, what job certification/training can I get and do with chronic pain?

Veteran

Charles Reynolds Clayton, NC

Sitting and standing more than 30 minutes at a time causes pain and stiffness so I'm looking for some training or certification in a job that would allow me flexibility to stand up or sit down or take a break to relieve the pain.

8 March 2017 5 replies Education & Training

Answers

Veteran

Kenneth Brown Dallas, TX

Maximize all education benefits and get into COMPUTER CODING; MEDICAL CODING; get as much computer skills education as possible and find positions that you can work REMOTELY. Buy a waterbed or foam mattress set and develop a work environment that will be suitable for you; Another out the box idea is to maybe research holistic medical practice programs that help seniors in water therapy and you train in a water environment alleviating stress from the weight of your body as you work with patients.

Stay strong in faith. Remember that those who think suicide do so because they want the pain to go away. Your life is precious and out of the 300 million people in this country, we are here for you. It is hard to get help sometimes though even from those closest to you. But keep reaching out. NEVER QUIT!

Advisor

John Green Cary, NC

You could be an independent contractor. Some examples are : virtual assistant, virtual receptionist, or some other content creator for various marketing firms. Indy sites like UPWORK allow you to post your availability and respond to offers. Writing product reviews will help you pay the bills and being independent contractor will give you control over your work environment, work hours, and work load. Best wishes, good luck.

Advisor

Jim LeVan Port Monmouth, NJ

a fair amount of IT jobs today allow/encourage work-from-home scenarios

Advisor

Mike Cottell Glen Head, NY

Hi Charles, I am not an attorney either, but Michael is correct, so what I will suggest is asking you to think about what you like to do and what you are good at. A starting point will be a website https://www.mynextmove.org/ which will let you do a few things:
1) take an " Interest Profiler" to see where your likes and skills could match up in a career
2) sort by career type
3) section for vets to translate their military skills to civilian sector.
4) see what skills are needed and then you can think about training you might need to obtain.
Once you get a feel for what might work for you, the next steps will be to :
a) Craft a resume that showcases your skills and experience properly
b) draft cover letter template and rehearsing an interview pitch saying why you are the " right person" for the job.
Staying within the realities of what you feel is right for you, the focus needs to be on you targeting jobs, companies, government agencies etc. on why you have the skills and experience to be the right and best person for the job. The ADA-American's with Disabilities prevents discrimination and mandates " reasonable accommodations" , but you need to first sell yourself as the best qualified candidate. Again, I am not an attorney, but as a former Senior Exec in corporate world, comfortable with my guidance.
I would be happy to work with you off line or via phone to assist you crafting this point of view to assist you in achieving the best possible opportunity for you. I'm also sure some additional advisors will come in with terrific advice. Please reach out to me if you'd like at mtcottell55@gmail.com if you would like additional support.
Thank you for your service to our country Charles and GOOD LUCK to you.
Best Regards, Mike

Advisor

Michael Leung Purchase, NY

I'm not a lawyer, but from what I understand, as long as you can do the job, employers have to make reasonable accommodations for you. This should be in accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act. In the corporate world, I've seen colleagues have desks that can be adjusted so they can stand while working, special keyboards provided to them for carpal tunnel, special ordered chairs for those with back problems, etc. An employer that wants to hire you should be wiling to make those accommodations. If not, that's probably not someone you would want to work for anyway.

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