I am working about 20 hours a week and want to work about 25 hours per week. I am getting stressed out but am balancing my work with time off. I believe, schizophrenia affects people differently. However, how the individual handles the illness is paramount to being able to work or not. I went to a graduate school and got a doctoral degree in a healthcare field but it took my twice as long as an average student to graduate. I hated it and am glad I got out of the healthcare field. I was sick off and on throughout graduate school and was not good at performing in the healthcare field. I am now teaching and making as much as a full-time teacher per month teaching at a school. I work for a company now and my performance is based on customer satisfaction. So, I am always at the whim of the students which is very stressful. Despite this I am happy at times. I like teaching a lot so am much happier than in the healthcare field. I am planning to do this job for awhile but not until I retire. I am hoping to go into business for myself doing property investments eventually. This will be stressful too. I probably will only work part- time again but hopefully will earn more money than being a teacher. I think schizophrenia is disabling but if you find the right treatment, i.e,. the right medication and therapy, you should be able to work to some extent and live a full life. At work I have not asked for accommodations nor told anybody about my illness. I realized in the long run, people tend to hire people and keep people who can work without asking too much in return. I don't let the illness define me and just think of it is as a responsibility which needs to be taken care of by taking my medication and seeing the doctor. I have to say this though- when I am off my medication, I am very ill and impaired. I can't function at all by myself. So, it is a necessity for me to continually take my medication no matter what. I diverge but I was homeless once because I was not compliant. I also was unemployed for a long time because of my non-compliance. As a result, I am very grateful for my current situation and cannot stress the fact that my compliance has made a big difference in whether or not I can be independent and work. I would like to add I have been at this job for seven months so far and never have taken an absence nor have been late so far. I am hoping I can continue working like this but know that taking it one day at a time is the best approach.