People living with epilepsy can live happy lives with fulfilling careers. There are several industries and occupations that those living with epilepsy can work in. In other words, your search for a career that you love is not limited in any way by your condition. But, there are some jobs that are more suited for people living with epilepsy than others.
In general, it is important to choose a career that isn’t stressful or have elements that can trigger a seizure. For some people, heat is a seizure trigger. So, choosing a career that requires you to be outdoors in the summer would be a problem. For others, flashing lights are a problem, and so on. Secondly, it’s advisable to stay away from a career that would be hazardous, if a seizure was to occur. Some examples of these could be driving or operating heavy machinery. If you were to have an episode while doing one of these things, it could endanger your life and that of people around you.
CAREERS FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH EPILEPSY
Here are some fruitful and engaging career options:
Librarian
People living with epilepsy can find peace in a library. They organize materials, help people to find books, magazines, etc, and create a budget for the library. It has quiet surrounding that brings about a sense of calmness. So, working as a librarian offers a stress-free work environment. This is a lovely job opportunity for both, the young and the old. If you love reading, value quiet time, and have a skill for organizing, this job is right up your alley.
Financial advisor
Pursuing a career in personal financing empowers people with epilepsy to work in an office setup. You can serve as an advisor on financial planning boards. You can handle savings accounts, retirement plans, investments, insurance, mortgages, etc. Even as you work with clients to establish short and long-term financial goals, you know they can obtain the right kind of assistance, in the event of a seizure. A job like this one offers a sense of routine and lots of growth opportunities. A job like this one is lucrative, too!
Fine artist
Fine artists can be flexible with their work timings while utilizing the concepts of color, texture, perspective, and space. It can be quite fun to experiment with these to enhance your portfolio. People with epilepsy can find their niche audience to display or sell their art to, even while they work from home. If you’d like to get out of the house, a private studio makes it convenient for you to deal with seizures. It can also be therapeutic for people living with epilepsy to create sculptures, beautiful paintings, and illustrations.
Conservation scientist
The work of a conservation scientist revolves around protecting the environment. It also includes supervising conservation activities in parks, rangelands, and other outdoor spaces. You may need to occasionally develop land-use contracts and ensure that all activities on a piece of land adhere to current regulations. These tasks do not stress a person with epilepsy. With a job like this, it’s easy to accommodate your responsibilities as a conservation scientist with your schedule.
Mental health professional
Individuals with epilepsy can work in a safe space while counseling people, groups, couples, and families on mental health problems. In a private office, you can help people process their emotions and make decisions about their future. Therapists are surrounded by other health professionals who can assist in case of a seizure.
Fashion / Interior Designer
Do you have a bit of creative flair in you? You can pursue a career in design. Whether it’s graphic design interior design, fashion design, or textile design – the opportunities. and growth are immense. A job as. a designer would allow you to work safely from home, or in an office. There will be some amount of outdoor work required, but if you can manage your seizures well, there’s no reason why this can’t be a viable career option for you. Playing with fabrics, textures, style, decor, and more can be quite a lot of fun! Not to mention, you’ll meet interesting people and attend great events, too!
Blogging
You’d be surprised to know that sharing your experiences and passions on the internet can make you big money. What’s more? You can set your own hours, work as little or as much as you like, and simply be yourself! With persistence, creativity and keeping your unique voice, you can grow your blog to be well-recognized. In fact, bloggers and Instagrammers are the modern-day version of celebrities. Some of them have followers spanning millions across the globe. Brands pay to have them endorse their products and services.
Pick a niche that you love and simply blog or post informative, engaging content on your website or social media. Be consistent and stick to what you do best. You could start a blog on food, travel, parenting, gardening and more. The list is endless. You can even share your ups and downs, as someone living with epilepsy. We’re sure you’d have thousands of people who’d relate.
Other Career Options
Training animals such as dogs, horses, or even marine mammals for performances, competitions or to work as service animals is Exploring different careers for people with epilepsy. You can also work as an independent contractor. Telecommuting, holding a work-from-home customer sales position, or even a freelance writer are all positions people with epilepsy can function successfully in.
Overall, there is no difference in productivity and job performance when people living with epilepsy pursue careers. Just as long as they can gain appropriate assistance in case of a seizure and are surrounded by the right people.
Get peace of mind with the Inspyre App
The Inspyre by SmartMonitor is an app that helps people living with epilepsy live their lives independently. At the same time, it offers peace of mind to their loved ones. The app can be downloaded on one’s iPhone or Samsung phone and pairs with the user’s Apple Watch or Samsung Watch. When the watch detects repetitive shaking motions such as those caused by seizures, it sends an alert to a loved one’s/caregivers phone via SMS and call alerts so that appropriate, timely help can be provided.
While these are safe career options, remember that there’s no scope to what you can do. You can grab every opportunity that comes your way and forge your own career path.
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