Bad Situation...

If you can't stand for long periods then medical assisting would be out. They are running all over the doctor's office.

What about secretarial type jobs, admin assistant, receptionist?

You can work in a dr/dental office perhaps as a receptionist and front office worker. They often hire people with little experience and you can move up with education.

My mom has done this for 10 years now and had the same experience as you. She took a computer course at a local community college to help her, but didn't do much else, though I still encourage her to go back and get some type of license.

my friend is a transcription, but it is very competitive and is often a 'who you know' type job if you get work or not.

I've heard good things about paralegal or even xray technician or phlebotomist (drawing blood) jobs.

I would contact your local community college to see what programs they offer, they also have financial aid.

Also, my church has career counseling, they help tons of moms write resumes to get back into the workforce and help them with interviewing skills as well. The service is free and open to anyone no matter their faith.

https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/ct/stakes---wards.jsf?name=th...

here is the dallas center:
https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/center/center_details.jsf?cen...

good things to know:
https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/ct/job-seeker.jsf?name=job-se...

power statements:
https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/ct/job-seeker.jsf?name=power-...

First off, go find out what public assistance you qualify for. There is no shame in taking advantage of those programs - you and your kids are why those programs exist. As far as the training goes, I work in a medical office doing coding and billing, and there is always a demand for that type of work. There are also training programs for medical office assistants, and I think those take less than a year to complete. There are some great financial assistance programs for single parents; I work with a woman that is a single mother and gets every cent of her school paid for.

Kudos to you for taking charge and wanting to better yourself for your kids. I can tell you are an excellent mom!!

If you are interested in getting an education then consider going to college full time for a while. When I went to college at a local Jr. College I got enough financial aid to pay all my bills for 6 months in advance and then I received food stamps and child support for extra money. When I got a scholarship to OU my financial aid package was over $20,000 the first year. No loans either.

I transferred to OSU after the first semester and my financial aid was a bit less but I still got low income housing in the married student housing on campus (all bills paid), food stamps, child support, and at that time I was receiving a monthly check from the state too. My child care was paid fully and I lived a very full and wonderful life, no one needed anything I could not afford to buy.

So, what I am saying is that working isn't the only thing you can do. If you have an interest that will take a 4 year degree you can do it too and not do without at all.

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Paralegal? Medical coder? Have you checked with the hospitals for clerical work? Perhaps you can apply for disability? Sorry, that's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck.

I agree with going and getting Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid....whatever else you can qualify for....Also look into the disabilty benefits.......If you have been a stay at home mom, you may be able to get some extra money in the divorce (alimony, spousal support, etc.).....Also ask for a fair amount of child support.....Talk to someone at a local Community College about some of the cheap or free classes they offer and start there.....There is no shame in working at Walmart, Taco Bell, etc. if that is what you need to do to make sure your family is taken care of while you try to get more experience and schooling under your belt. Good luck to you! YOU CAN DO IT!

T., I am so sorry to hear about both your long term health problems, having Lupus, and also you pending divorce with 4 children, which would positively exacerbate your Lupus and already compromised immune system.

I don't know anything about going on disability, but since Lupus is so unpredictable and you have a lot on your plate, can you talk to your doctor about the possibility of short term disability? Otherwise you might end up on long term disability and really ruining your health given the kind of stress you are describing.

I'm all for believing in yourself and rising to the occasion, but you could run yourself into the ground trying to raise 4 children, go to school and manage your flare ups. And then WHO would raise your children? There is no one better than you... so please ask your managing doctor NOT IF, BUT HOW you can get disability started for yourself.

My best to you and your situation.

Just wanted to give you a heads up that I went into a medical billing/coding program at a 2 year college and expected opportunities when I graduated. However, every job I applies for demanded experience and the school experience (I did do a externship) didnt count. That was 10 years ago and I have never found a job that has to do with billing and coding yet. It really stinks that I put time and money in to something and didnt get anything back in return. After this failed attempt, I went in to hospital administration and find that you can get a job at the medical records department without much experience. I would try there. In medical records, you can start off small (like filing) and work your way up. Sometimes, they will even train you themselves on something like medical transcription. With years of experience, medical transcriptionists can often work for hospitals/doctors at home. Just to add, my aunt has lupus and has qualified for disability because of this. Have you tried to qualify for disability benefits?