The last time that I was looking for a job I hadn’t yet been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. You wouldn’t think that having Celiac Disease would be a big deal when job hunting. I discovered this last week that it’s definitely something that you have to keep in mind.

I am a cost accountant, which means that I deal a lot with manufacturing and how things are produced. There was a job posting for a general accounting manager at a local company that makes a lot of bread products. Now, the general accountant won’t have to worry too much about possible cross contamination. As a cost accountant, though, you’re usually involved in inventory counts and job processes. Even if they were offering me a ton of money I don’t think that I could be comfortable taking a job in that company. I would never actually be able to partake in any of the products that we made. Also, if I had to help with inventory counting I would have to wear a hazmat suit because of the amount of flour that is more than likely in the air and settled on surfaces.

Another job that I was looking at said that it required a lot of international travel. Yikes! I have a hard enough time traveling in the States without worrying about if I will find something to eat. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to attempt to find something gluten free in a country where I may not even speak a common language, or try to smuggle food onto the airplane. I don’t do well with stressful situations that I’ve never been in. Especially one where if I make a mistake then I’m going to end up feeling VERY sick in a short amount of time.

 
I think that it might be a bit difficult finding your first job as a teenager with Celiac Disease, too. Think about it… you would most likely want to cross off any restaurant or fast food joint on your list. You can work retail, but you might want to be careful about working in grocery stores or bakeries. It’s amazing what you have to think about when just the slightest bit of gluten can make you severely ill.