Hello, mkrooks1, and even though I don't post often anynore, I'll also say Welcome to the forum and the "Club." I got my diagnosis 18 years go, at the age of 54. For many years, I posted to bipolar forums and got into some great online communities of friends. I've been mostly stable for a long time, now, and also have made plenty of friends in the city where I live, several of whom are also in the "bipolar club"! After my dx, I was put onto Social Security Disability. I didn't want that, and only wanted a good job, with some "reasonable accommodations," which is the legal language in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Prior to my dx, counseling and meds, I had had two small service businesses. They were successful, in that I had lots of clients and made a profit, but these jobs didn't completely support me for lack of energy and up and down symptoms that caused me to take days off. I discovered that the best type of "job" for me is as an independent contractor. In one of the IRS publications, there is a definition of the difference between being an "employee" vs "self employed." As an employee, the employer/boss can tell you "what do to, how to do it, and when to do it." As a contractor (which means a self employed person), the person you work for, and you yourself, discuss and negotiate these things. YOU decide what days or hours you work for the people you work for/with. YOU negotiate when the job will be finished. YOU decide exactly how the job will be done, so long as the finished results please your customer! The customer does not tell you, for example how to hammer a nail, use a stapler, whether you can dance while you are doing a long copier job one a copier that you either own or use at someplace like Kinkos, etc. Instead of co-employees saying to you, "You're havin' too much fun" if you giggle or dance or whistle, they will admire you for running your own business. Telecommuniting -- i.e. computer work at home -- is a great option for people with bipolar. Job sharing might work, too. If you are able to find a GOOD staffing agency, that might work, too. I used to do temp work in the 1960s when almost nobody did that, and it worked super. I worked when I felt like it, the jobs were plentiful, I could go to work the very day I signed up, and when I didn't feel like working I stayed home or did something fun, and even saved a lot of money in the bank. But more recently (1990s) when I did "temping" -- where the employees of the temporary agency (now calling themselves "staffing services") the jobs were very demanding, and I was not treated with respect. There was certainly nothing left over to put in the bank, for office work. I did have one temp job for six months as a technical writer, though, and it paid professional wages. From only that one experience, I wonder if professional temps are treated better than office workers. And, mkrooks1, now that you have your dx, you may be able to get assistance from your state's Vocational Rehabilitation Dept. (which may have a slightly different agency name where you live.) A good Voc Rehab counselor will help you find the kind of work you can do. A good one will go places with you so you can get a feel for the employment environment at the place, and the counselor will make sure that the employer will provide the accommodations you need. Be real careful, though, about going into training or back to school, which Voc Rehab is famous for granting their clients. Be absolutely certain that there are REAL and CURRENT opportunities for work in any field you choose. Voc Rehab has historically trained people into fields where they never find jobs. I'm real out of date now about Voc Rehab, so hopefully things are better with them now. The ADA has had about 20 years to mature, whereas it was new when I was seeking work. I'm pretty sure Voc Rehab will also assist a person to get self employment, , and if the person and Voc Rehab find that person is a good candidate for that.