New job posted in General for exposure.

[Goldfinch]

mods: I posted in general questions and answers because it isn't strictly employment related; it also concerns interpersonal skills useful to most any situation, I suppose. and this forum sees the most activity, and I have to go in for my first on site interaction with this employer tomorrow. Time is of the essence.

A cut and paste from an email I sent my former drafting and design instructor:

Hey Teach,
I hope this email find you well. Long time, no talk. I feel guilty using you for a reference sometimes because it's been so dang long since classes, and the MS made me kinda stupid. If it could ever have been said I had OCD and ADD, I believe the MS certainly enhanced them. Long, stupid story and a whole can of worms NOBODY needs to hear about. Anyway, I just snagged some interest from an employer for a quality control position, born out of my experience at the first company after the manufacturer you got me the internship at, so thank you yet once again!

The last two years were brutal when my MS ramped up and it got to the point that I was required to use a walker to ambulate when I went in for a new treatment with a new just approved by the FDA drug called Lemtrada. I was having a full blown relapse and the Lemtrada I received in 2015, and earlier this year, gave me enough breathing room from relapses to heal up to where you'd never know I was so incapacitated. But the worst part was that I lost two career level jobs over it. I couldn't think straight and my work suffered.

I feel a lot better these days and now I'm singing for a rock band. Today, this employer just got back to me after I answered an ad this morning for a quality control inspector. I emailed my response to their ad last Thursday evening, but hadn't received a reply as of this morning. They liked my background and quality control experience.

The owner liked my grades and the initiative I showed in tracking down the company from an anonymous craigslist ad with no address listed. (The ad showed a google map with one of the little pins pointing to an area, and I did the rest by driving over and asking people in buildings that looked like a good bet.) First one I went to, the receptionist confirnmed they were the source of the ad, and after that, the owner interviewed me on the spot. I guess he liked my answers because he emailed me tonight telling me they want to move forward with me. Yay!

So I get another chance to be a productive human being again, and I plan to make the most of it. It's going to be a great Christmas.

Cheers,
Goldfinch

So MSWorld, any advice or thoughts on someone moving into a completely new position (albeit related somewhat to what I used to do)? I have NO intention whatsoever of divulging my MS until I find out the number of employees on board that will determine if they must abide by the ADA, and unless I absolutely have to ask for reasonable accommodations. I may not even call them that. And BTW, I don't feel I need any at this time.

[pennstater]

Not sure I fully understand the question.

If not working now, and this is an opportunity to get back in the workforce, and you are up to it, that is great! If you think you still want your prior career at some point, is it a company that could present that opportunity in the future? Even if not, always easier to find a job when you have one. You can always figure out how to spin the career change later if need be.

If working now, and changing careers, then I would remove the MS from the equation, and think in general about pros/cons of career change. Then add MS back in, and see what additional pros/cons. If you have more cognitive challenges, which position is a better fit? Likewise, physical? Are there any accomodations that you were thinking you needed previously? If so, which career is better fit?

Not sure if this is what you were looking for or not.

Good luck today.

[Goldfinch]

Pennstater, thank you for responding! It's really late right now but I am going to revisit this thread to respond to your questions. And yes, I appreciated your thoughts on the matter, because your questions will help me think more about it. Maybe formulating a response to your questions will help me crystalize my thoughts about where I am and where I am going, and what I hope to achieve there, how to do it, you know? I'll be back after I have time to reflect.

[palmtree]

I'm sorry I couldn't read your long letter. It's frustrating with these new tablet programs there is no way to enlarge the print. It touched me, though, that you were considering a drafting career.

I worked many years as a drafts person before becoming an architect, I still have dreams that I am working again with a good salary. Just recently I saw an application for a job I would be qualified for....if I did not have MS.

It was a surprise that they offered me an interview. I did not call. I did not go. I did not want them to know. I just wanted to know if I did not that MS with the experience and accomplishments I made earlier in life that they would want me. That's all.

Good luck with your application. If you really feel up to doing the job. You have to be honest with yourself. Can I do it? But if the answer is yes. Go for it!

[Goldfinch]

Palmtree, thanks for your post! I understand what you are saying, perfectly. I was feeling SO demoralized when I kept struggling at drafting, because it was a job that gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment. I lost two career level jobs because of MS, and now I have a chance to feel productive again. The fact that they read my resume and offered me a job on the spot was SO uplifting.

It's not a drafting job, but it's related. I can read prints. I can perform dimensional quality control on parts, and from my previous life as a municipal police officer, I can navigate the ISO documentation requirements. (Having worked in poolice AND corrections jobs, I can hang paper on people with the best of them. ISO and quality control is just another way of documenting discrepancy, whether it's a part or a person.

Today was my third day on the job and it was encouraging. As long as I settle down long enough to concentrate on one task at a time, I think I'll be ok. At least I hope so.


Pennstater, you wrote: "If you think you still want your prior career at some point, is it a company that could present that opportunity in the future?"

The answer to that is yes; we currently have one engineer and two (time limited) engineering interns, but I could assist them with aspects of drafting should they decide to utilize me on a limited basis.

With regard to it being a better fit: Currently, it is, given that multitasking as a drafter at my last two jobs was very frustrating. I will be multitasking in this job as well, but more on MY terms. I was literal/literary before I was a drafter, so the ISO documentation part of my job will be a nice switch from measuring parts the other half of the time. I am more comfortable with documenting things than I am with accurately measuring parts with handheld and/or sensitive table mounted equipment that requires fluency in machine shop material tolerances.

The QC part is the part I will have to be OCD about accuracy, but at least there is less chance of being incorrect and causing problems at the tail end of the manufacturing process. If you mess up the drawing, and a part gets made correctly according to your drawing, it is ALL YOUR FAULT if the part doesn't fit or work. That gets expensive in a hurry, lol. (In the movie "Spinal Tap" there is an exquisitely funny scene involving a recreated Stonehenge stage prop that illustrates this concept beautifully. I about died laughing the first time I saw it. )

If my physical symptoms should happen to ramp up again, I may have to ask for reasonable accommodations. I intend to work my *** up to and until that becomes a necessity, so that they view me as worth placating enough to not balk at it. At present, the two business entities that make up my employer's physical and business public profile could arguably be said to employ at least thirty people, enough to qualify as being required to comply with the ADA.

I am inclined to privately document everything that happens in this job in case the owners get froggy with me in a worst case scenario. But so far, everything is looking up. New jobs always do, until you find out the aspects of the job that they don't show you when you interview. I will know more as I accumulate a warts-and-all view of the place over time.