First off, consider your emotional well-being as well. Being a medical examiner requires a medical degree, and as I know from my pre-med jaunt, those anatomy days in the dissecting lab? They stay with you.

That said, you seem to really like investigating puzzles, so why not go for forensic tech and see from there? Just my thought, also because my FIL is a research doctor, and they're fairly sedentary. Not too tough on the body as long as you don't get "microscope hunch".

Dunno if you're near a good university, but if you are, always worthwhile to check out their registrar or dean of admissions about disabilities, career advice, etc. Good luck:-)

.

You need to be realistic. You also need to consider the demands of a job. I worked as an investigator for a while in the Corners office for a while and he was also a Forensic Pathologist. The work was very demanding and you often had to take call which meant being woke up as soon as you got to.sleep and maybe not getting back to bed until the next night. And some cases can be physicallly demanding depending on the circumstances and emotionally demanding
Even though you have to detach yourself emotionally, some cases get to you.

The education and training for several of the jobs you've listed is long. hard and very demanding.

Looking at.your list I wonder if you aren't thinking about these jobs based on what you've seen on TV. I can assure you that TV does not portray the day to day demands of the professional jobs you've mentioned. Some of the jobs are totally opposite as are the requirements. You really need to talk to a vocational counselor and find out what jobs you can realistically look into.

Going back to school is a great idea! It can help you interact with groups, build confidence and strength self-esteem.

Before you invest your hard earned money in a new career please do some research on each career. Investigate stressors in the job and why you are attracted to it. Do a pros and cons. Maybe make a few calls to talk to or meet with people doing the job so you can get some really good insight.

Another thing that might be helpful is to go to a career counselor at the school and see if they can provide some testing that tells you what your career likes and dislikes are, often the software matches up good fitting jobs for you, but you need to honest with your answers. Also see if you can talk to the coordinators of the program you are interested in. Right now your areas of interest are to broad. There is a huge difference between running a bakery and being a medical examiner. You also have to decide what you can handle health wise, you do not want to get into a job you cannot do because it triggers you

In my own personal experience, I went back to school to hide from having to go back work. I took purchasing unfortunately in my panic to ensure I did not have to deal with work again for a while I did not think it through all the way. Since PTSD I am not able to organize, problem solve, have problems making decisions, second guess myself and generally have no concentration or focus. I got a purchasing job and it was a nightmare, I could not do the job and was fired in less than 2 months. It really sucked. I wasted a lot of money and a lot of time only to find out that was not my best career choice.

Take your time, and really look at your own current strength and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, your passion etc.

School is expensive, even if you qualify for help like Pell Grants and they don't pay for everything. Can you work and also go to school. You do need to be site you can get a job in the field you study. If there is a community college in your area try talking to a councelor there. Sometimes the things you think you want to do aren't good choices for supporting yourself when you get out of school.

Consider your physical limitations when thinking about what type of career. Vocational rehab (state department of vocab rehab) can help you decide on what to do and pay for a career change (school costs) if you qualify.

For me: I thought of becoming a therapist but I couldn't sit for 50 minutes at a time. I thought of teaching ESL which might have been good because you can get up, move around, and then sit down when you like. And the on-site work is usually part-time.

However, the school (local university) offered the class from 4pm -10pm and I couldn't handle that.

Think long and hard about what your physical limitations are and what these types of jobs entail. Talk to people in the field and ask exactly what they do: how long they have to sit, stand, walk, or whatever it is that gives you trouble. good luck!

That's an awesome list! Half the things on your list are exactly the kind of things I dreamed of doing. I even saw a career counselor and took a test. Forensic Detective came out #1 for me and Diver came out #2. So I went to an Oceanography college and told them I was interested in becoming a diver. Everything went well until they told me I didn't qualify because of my back injury (the tanks, gear, tools, and helmet weigh at least 50 lbs and you have to be able to walk unassisted wearing everything to the water line). I knew I couldn't be forensics detective because of the long demanding hours on your feet and getting called in the middle of the night. Sigh....

Run a bakery? Yup I liked that idea, too, but my feet were always killing me. And running a restaurant of any kind means being on your feet a lot.

Anyway, research all these career fields and find out what each of the people do physically and mentally. How hard do they work, what kind of hours, etc etc.

Good luck!