I can't do the physical or emotional demands of my past work experiences...what now?!
Megan B. on October 16, 2017
I can't tell you how many times I have sat down to write to this amazing resource group. I guess I have been a bit overwhelmed and I don't know what direction to go in at all.
I will tell my cancer backstory as quickly as possible. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when I was 18 years old, I have had major surgery about every other year since then, I am now 28. This will be my life pattern, I am not curable and my cancer grows a bit aggressively as it lives in my soft tissue, which I recently found out is pretty rare. lucky me. Surgery is never an easy time, I would say it takes about 6 months before I finally feel like myself again afterwards which results in job gaps, or time off with angry managers. To begin with, working in the animal world is a very very thankless career, and I do not mean by the animals.
Having cancer at the same time as struggling to get my degree put a lot of things into perspective. I immediately chose my passion, which was my Bachelors in Animal science. However, upon graduating, I found that it was a much more demanding field than it had been portrayed to me. After so many surgeries on my neck and shoulder, I can't do the heavy lifting and restraining I was doing in my past jobs as a Zookeeper and a vet tech. I want to be able to build a life for myself like the people around me at my age are doing. I would love to make a decent income with health insurance while also being happy to go to work. I don't need my dream job, I don't think that exists for me anymore. The worst part is I don't know what direction to go in anymore. I don't want to waste my degree, but I am tired of feeling like I am just failing at life. Does that make sense?
Thanks for reading this and any advice you can shoot my way. If nothing else, thanks just for listening. I feel like I'm drowning in the unknown so it's pretty neat to have a site like this that may be able to provide any guidance.
-Meg
2 Comments
Nicole Franklin, MPH
Oct 27, 2017
Cancer and Careers Staff Comment:
Hi Meg,
I am so glad you reached out to us. It sounds like the last 10 years have been really challenging to say the least, I want you to know you are not alone and I totally understand how you could feel discouraged at this point, but it’s still possible to find a job that makes you feel happy and fulfilled.
I’ve reached out to a couple of our fantastic career coaches so they can share some thoughts to get you started, in the meantime, the following resources might be helpful:
I also wanted to let you know that CAC offers a Professional Development Micro-Grant program that provides cancer patients and survivors professional development opportunities to build or enhance their skillsets. The application period for 2018 grants is currently open (until November 6th). For more information and to apply: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/resource/micro-grants
In addition, if you aren’t familiar with these other organizations in the cancer community, I encourage you to check them out for additional support:
Stupid Cancer: www.stupidcancer.org
ThyCa: http://www.thyca.org/
The Samfund: http://www.thesamfund.org/
Imerman Angels: https://imermanangels.org/
First Descents: https://firstdescents.org/
A coach will be in touch soon!
Kind regards,
Nicole Franklin, MPH
Manager of Programs
Cancer and Careers
Julie Jansen
Oct 28, 2017
Career Coach Comment:
Hi Meg,
You have and continue to experience a rough time that many people will never be able to understand, especially at your age. I have been a career coach for Cancer and Careers for many years and have contributed to many of the resources that Nicole shared with you in her email. The reason I am telling you this is because my primary objectives are to give you hope that you can fulfill the majority of your needs and wishes when it comes to finding work that fits your situation, and to arm you with information to support the idea that you can truly find work that is gratifying.
Here are my thoughts and suggestions for you:
- You earned a degree despite major obstacles and a degree is never wasted. So many people do not end up working in the functional area or industry that they went to school for and this is okay.
- It is important that you learn what your skills are (you have more than you realize) and also that you can learn new skills all the time. For example, you are a strong writer and there are many ways to incorporate writing into work. I realize you may not enjoy writing, it's merely an example.
- There are thousands of thousands of jobs that exist and unless you know what they all are, (which most people do not), then it will feel as if there are only a finite number of types of jobs. So this means that you will need to research jobs, and I don't mean just on job posting sites. The department of labor is a dinosaur on one level but very detailed in publishing lists of every job known to mankind.
- Because you constantly have to have surgery, flexibility and autonomy are two crucial elements of work for you. This doesn't mean that you need to be glued to your computer without interacting with people regularly, however it probably means that you cannot go to an office everyday. Thank goodness for technology!
- I don't know your financial situation however I would totally apply for the grant with Cancer and Careers to work with a career coach because in your situation, smart as you are, you need the help of a professional to identify some viable types of work that you can pursue.
- I know that thyroid cancer is a life-long battle for you, however you are 28 which makes it much more possible to start and try a few things before latching onto something that is right for you.
Please do write back to me with any comments or questions you have Meg.
Take care,
Julie
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