Finally, a Career I CAN Handle!

Working with Cystic Fibrosis:

I've have worked a variety of jobs. Daycare Teacher, Server, Retail, Office work, Media, etc.. I know as I got older my ideal career path changed. For example in third grade I wanted to be a ballerina & a teacher. I went to college for Geology and by the time I graduated I was following the path of social work. I started Graduate school in 2013 for Medical Social Work, but just before the first semester finished I got really sick
and realized I couldn't keep up with college or a full time career anymore. I ended up medically withdrawing in November of 2013. I spent a lot of time in the hospital that first semester & my daily med routine is pretty full, learn about it in this post here.

Working a typical 6-8 hour shift is very difficult for me. I do three sets of nebulizer treatments a day, and some days I just don't feel very well. Between GI problems and my arthritis, I very rarely have a day with no problems or complications. Plus, being a server and a few of my jobs caused me to lose a lot of weight. I found very quickly working a "typical 9-5pm job" wouldn't work for me. I'd come home barely able to move, my joints would hurt, I'd have shed 1,000+ calories, and my lungs would be dying for my next meds. Finding a career that is flexible & that I love was KEY! I'm so happy I get to have a career in real estate.

Real Estate is the perfect career choice for me. I have ALWAYS loved houses, architecture and real estate. I started begging my mom to take me through open houses at the age of 8. I started designing floor plans at the age of 10 on graph paper. I kept (and still have) most of them in a binder.

Picture: my  floor plan binder open to a plan I designed years ago when I was in high school, next to my real estate book.

So I LOVE real estate! So why did I not go into the field sooner? I needed health insurance. As a broker, I'm paid based on commission. Typically 1.5% of a home's selling price goes to the broker (working for an office), but it's a purely commission based job. Therefore, since you are not consider an "actual employee" but an independent contractor, benefits are not part of the package. Which makes it a bit of a dangerous field for someone with Cystic Fibrosis.

However, I'm beyond excited to be able to REALLY focus on a career I love for once! So here it is. I'm officially going to be a realtor at Jim Maloof (Peoria, IL area). I'm licensed to sell anywhere in Illinois. After taking all the courses, I had a lot of different things happen. Wedding, moving, getting sick, etc

BUT, proudly I can say I took the licensing exam & will be working as a broker (as soon as I sign the contract Monday)! Being a broker means working a lot of hours, but most of them are flexible. Meaning I can focus on doing meds, even have days off to go to the doctors. Managing CF gets harder the older I get. So I'm hoping this career can be something I love, enjoy, and keep up with for many years to come!

I will keep you all posted on my progress. I know a lot of people with intense medical routines & problems can interfere with working, so I'm hoping this will be a solution for me!