Fulfilling home-based careers for people with chronic pain is the discussion in this article. Living with chronic pain often means giving up your chosen career path and finding a new way forward. Some people may find it too difficult to work, but others may still have the desire and ability to work and earn a living. Some workplaces are inclusive, but others cannot provide the environment you need to work safely, and this is when you may turn to home-based career options.
Over 1.5 billion people live with chronic pain worldwide, and unfortunately, many of them find it challenging to work in normal conditions. However, since COVID-19, there has been a better understanding of remote work, and there are many more opportunities you can consider if you want to build a career from home while managing your pain. We’re considering just some of your options below.
Careers in Medical Transcription
Medical transcription jobs are highly sought after due to the flexibility they offer. Medical transcriptionists are provided with audio files from doctors and other medical professionals, and their job is to transcribe the spoken word into a fluent written document. This document becomes part of a patient’s medical records. The flexibility of medical transcription makes it popular with the chronic pain community. You are usually set deadlines, but you can work the hours to suit your needs within these deadlines. You can fit in any appointments and manage your pain accordingly. The average salary for medical transcriptionists sits around $32,000-34,000, though you can earn more or less depending on your contract and whether you’re self-employed.
Careers in Web Chat and Online Customer Service
According to Zoho, 85% of businesses in the B2B sector and 74% in the B2C industry use live chat for sales, providing a massive opportunity for live chat customer representatives and specialists. While some businesses keep their web chat specialists in-house, it is becoming increasingly common for online and web advisors to work from home. All you need is an internet connection, and most companies provide you with the additional equipment required, though it can help if you have your laptop or computer, too. Online chat agents often cover 24-hour shift patterns, so you can choose hours to fit your schedule and manage your hours around your medical commitments.
Careers in Remote Education and Distance Learning
Perhaps you worked in education before your pain condition became more difficult to manage, you may even be a teacher looking to find a way to keep educating. There are many online and virtual learning opportunities for people with knowledge to impart. Building a career as an eLearning tutor could mean holding video seminars and lessons or creating your online learning resources and selling them. The opportunities are multiple once you decide you are still committed to sharing your knowledge.
Careers in Web Design and Development
Web development and design are pretty specialist niches, but you can learn this skill, or if you already work in this field, setting up at home isn’t too tricky. Web developers are always in high demand as business owners and individuals seek high-quality functional websites for personal and professional purposes. Self-employed or contracted web developers often work best from home with their preferred tech setup, and you can work whatever hours suit your schedule as long as you stick to the deadlines agreed with your clients or contractors.
Build a successful career from home.
Health conditions that cause chronic pain are often debilitating. However, you may have specific periods or times where you can manage better and want to make the most of these periods. A fulfilling career in an area you enjoy can be the perfect way to fill this time, and it also allows you to boost your income, as living off social security welfare is not easy.
We fully understand the loss you feel if you have to give up your career when you begin experiencing chronic pain, but it does not have to mean the end of your working life. If you are able and happy to work from home, there are plenty of ways you can find a fulfilling career, earn a living and feel like you are making a difference to society.
Article Author: Jennifer Dawson
Published By International Pain Foundation, iPain Blog, Team iPain
