what do you do for a living?

[joshstevens7]

If you do work full time, what do you do for a living, and do you enjoy it? if you could would you change it, and what would you change to? i am currently staring at the fork in the road and trying to figure out which path to take.

[willingtocope]

Programmer...System Analyst...Computer Wizard...

Enjoy it? Usually. I talk to computers well. Its the people I have problems with...

[Mike Honcho]

I'm a professor at a public university. I love it. I get to hang around college kids and I only have to be on campus about 20 hours a week for less than 8 months out of the year.

[t8burst]

I work in a hedge fund that does algorithmic trading using artificial intelligence. Before my accident I was more management oriented, after my accident I have switched to more of an individual contributor role. In simpler words I spend more time doing analysis and writing code and less time talking to people. For someone in a wheelchair I can't think of a better job.

[goldnucs]

I am CEO of GO! Mobility Solutions. I enjoy it; it's very rewarding, although it's definitely not as much fun as my 10 years living on the beach in paradise, in Mexico!

[WahWah]

I'm an architectural draftsperson. Not a bad job for someone in a chair. Measuring up houses for extensions etc. has never really been a problem for me because most of the clients i get either supply detailed measurements and photos. If not I hire a buddy to do it or if the house is pretty easy to get around my wife and i will do a measure up. I've got some good contacts and stuff and all the permits, engineering and energy ratings are outsourced. I love it, but the building industry is changing over and above the current slump we are experiencing here in aussie.

Sadly, new house work is lessening every year now since a number of big franchise builders are building package homes on my patch. Fact of life though, might be time I began looking for another challenge...t8burst's job sounds interesting actually.

What do you do at the moment, or did you do prior your injury josh?.

[joshstevens7]

well i was injured the summer after i received 2 associate degrees. a year after my accident i got back in college and finished my bachelors degree at oklahoma state university. i went for recreational therapy but the people at the hospital during my internship wouldnt sign me off to do it because they said they didnt feel i was safe enough with the patients. they wouldnt dare say it was because of my wheelchair. so i am a rec therapist minus getting the internship signed off and taking my test. i did have enough hours to graduate with a university studies degree

I have worked at at&t as a retail sales consultant, a trucking company as a broker/CSR, and a staffing specialist for a staffing agency helping people get jobs. my problem is, i am tired of working at jobs i dont care for. I want to do something i enjoy going to every day. i would love to work with people like us somehow, or some type of disability awareness. i would also love to start my own company, but not sure what i can up and going in my city of approx 48k people.

[Adrian]

I teach in an international college, 16-18 year old students, with about 75 nationalities represented in a total of 360 students. The paperwork drives me nuts but the variety in the students is really stimulating and the holidays are good.

[Katja]

I'm a software project engineer for an aerospace company. I manage teams of programmers working on a variety of projects. Like t8burst, I'm now looking to transition to more of an individual contributor role so that I can work more flexible hours. My career has been mostly desk work, but I have gotten to work operations on several missions, which involves travel and shift work. On the whole I enjoy it a great deal - I love the mental stimulation and being part of very nifty projects.

[wheeliecoach]

I am a computer programmer for a benefits consulting firm. I do like it most days, but I feel my ideal job would be something that involves sports. That is when I am most happy...playing or somehow coordinating a sporting event. However, the programmer job pays the bills and gives me insurance, so I cannot complain.

[Monoski]

I run a portfolio accounting firm (part of the investment mgmt world) I like my job and my disability really has never been an issue although I have seen others get hit with responses that seem discriminatory.

[outkastsl]

I am a Medical Social Worker, currently working for a dialysis clinic as the Nephrology Social Worker. I recently went back to school to finish up my BA and MSW (master's of social work) when I was laid off 3 times in the mortgage field begining in 2007. When I was laid off I went on SSDI and went back to school. Now I am working to get my license and hopefully can work at a local hospital with a large rehab facility such as Santa Clara Valley Med Center, Kaiser Vallejo, Children's Hospital, or Stanford. I wnat to be a Rehab social worker and assist others in overcoming their illness/disabilities. I find my career to be very rewarding.

[SCI-Nurse]

When I was laid off I went on SSDI and went back to school. Now I am working to get my license and hopefully can work at a local hospital with a large rehab facility such as Santa Clara Valley Med Center, Kaiser Vallejo, Children's Hospital, or Stanford. I wnat to be a Rehab social worker and assist others in overcoming their illness/disabilities. I find my career to be very rewarding.

Don't rule out the VA. Federal employment has some major advantages. There is a SCI Center at the Palo Alto VAMC, and they also have a large TBI Center, as well as a general rehab unit (stroke, amputation, etc.).

(KLD)

[TomRL]

I am retired now, but I did work as an investment adviser managing investments for individuals.

[outkastsl]

Don't rule out the VA. Federal employment has some major advantages. There is a SCI Center at the Palo Alto VAMC, and they also have a large TBI Center, as well as a general rehab unit (stroke, amputation, etc.).

(KLD)

I forgot to mention the VA. I did my second year field practicum for my MSW at Palo Alto VA SCI/D unit. I would love to go work there again and I do keep in touch with my supervisors/managers there. Unfortunately the SW department that oversees the SCI/D unit is hard to work for. I shadowed in the Poly-Trauma unit and that was a great experience. Poly-Trauma serves Vets with multiple trauma's such as TBI, SCI, and Amputations. I would really like a job in that unit.