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Anyone in IT field?

Messages
80
I just wanted to know how you cope with CFS if your currently working in IT field. I'm thinking about switching career to IT if I can not do health care.

I need to get out of restaurant industry. I'm spending way many hours on my feet dealing with sub par workers. It really stresses me out and drives me crazy.

I can feel my CFS / relapse happening when I stress a lot.
 

Sparrowhawk

Senior Member
Messages
514
Location
West Coast USA
I can't say IT is going to be any less stressful than any other job, but it would at least get you off your feet.

There is plenty of IT in the healthcare field as well, if you go a hybrid route. Telemedicine is really just in its infancy, and all of it has to run over networks, which have to be stone reliable and HIPA compliant/secure.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Are you thinking of an entry level call centre IT sort of job? The pluses would be that there are sedentary jobs in IT, flexible and part time jobs are sometimes available but the minuses would be the cognitive challenge to get retrained and the costs of IT courses into areas that pay well.

A desk job away from the call centre can be easier for a PWCFS to do but you need to be skilled enough to find a job in a area like that. IT courses in areas that let one specialise are expensive where I live plus there is lots of comptetion from experienced workers - especially for the part time or flexible hours.

I do know of PWCFS who trained in developing websites intending to do it from home and then found that the market was saturated and it was impossible to earn enough to survive. A lot of the coding work has gone offshore to India and areas that are considered "cheap".

Have you had a look to see if IT jobs pay enough in your area to survive on and of there are entry level jobs available? If you are looking at a call centre type job then you may find that speaking on the phone all days causes PEM in the same way as other activity and exercise (well it did for me anyway).
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
I was trained in IT, but it depends on both cognitive capacity and cognitive endurance as to whether you can do it. Most programming requires good attention to detail, sustainable over time, and a capacity to think logically and mathematically, at least in terms of basic arithmetic. Having spent years putting myself through hell getting an IT degree, I then found I was too sick to work. Currently I cannot do math, even simple math, except occasionally and typically only with a calculator.

There are risks in going down this road. I know of others who were computer gurus, who developed ME or similar issues, who also had to quit work, or were fired due to all the time off they needed.

Having said that, I do think its possible to do work from home to supplement another source of income, provided there is some level of memory/concentration/numeracy competence.

This advice of course presumes things about illness severity. I think a mild patient might be able to handle enough part time programming work to survive. A severe patient wont be able to. A moderate patient ... risks becoming severe. So assessing your own capacity and probable response is critical.
 
Messages
15
Location
Sacramento,CA,USA
ill add a quick note to that. in my early days with ME i was a programmer for awhile, and then tech support for 4 years working mostly part time. it was difficult, but i was able to just manage it. Unfortunately i thought i could work full time and i crashed severely which illustrates alex's point about moderate patients risk can be severe.

With you on your feet so much a change definitely seems needed. Just dont underestimate the strain of sustained mental fatigue. On the plus side, IT work nowdays can be a very wide range of occupations. So approach with caution, and i hope you find something that works for you.
 
Messages
80
I was thinking more like tech support then working my way up to network engineer. I know programming is not a good gig to get into at this point since most of development is off shore. I do know that networking is not a bad field but entry level pay sucks until your trained enough.
 
Messages
80
If I can't do anything in IT then I need to find something in health care. Perhaps, respiratory therapist or pt assistance or RN. Any of the allied field i'm off.

Has anyone worked as a sleep study tech?

I have CFS but not enough that I can't work. Cognitive wise in the beginning i know it will be hard but I'm sure once I get the hang of things I should be okay.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
If I can't do anything in IT then I need to find something in health care. Perhaps, respiratory therapist or pt assistance or RN. Any of the allied field i'm off.

Has anyone worked as a sleep study tech?

I have CFS but not enough that I can't work. Cognitive wise in the beginning i know it will be hard but I'm sure once I get the hang of things I should be okay.

Nurse? Unlikely choice. Its exhausting demanding work that often has long hours and shift-work. I know someone who became a radiologist though, but she wasn't ill. Something in allied support healthcare might be the way to go. Sleep study tech might work if you can handle the hours.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
If you became a sleep study tech you could teach the doctors about sleep architecture and all of the other stuff besides sleep apnea that they do not know anything about.
{Bluestem is getting snippy, I think she needs to go to bed.}