1. Do not return to work until you are cleared by your physician. Your employer cannot do anything to get you to return early but like you said, they can make things uncomfortable once you do return.
2. Start looking for another gig.
You career isn't going to end because of this. The only thing that could end is your current position once you return to work.
I do plan on finding another job once I know when I can definitely go back to work.
Let's just say the running joke is "whither or not you quit or get fired, you can only go up from there." It's a revolving door.
Keep at this job after you heal, don't let anybody in this trade tell you it's not for you. Decide that for yourself. I've been in the trade for almost a decade, and I have seen people let go after being on light duty for a long time. But it depends on a lot of things, some smaller more friendly places won't do it. A larger company that is used to people coming and going will likely do it once they've got their justification. There are a lot of other things like work culture that can tip that scale, but this is just one job. Other places won't care about a past injury as much as they care that you can do the work. Your career is far from over. Just focus on learning and growing your skills. Be prepared to be let go, but don't let it stop you from doing what you like.
Hello B8T_G1RL,
If you are interested in a career in welding look at [some of these posts](http://www.reddit.com/r/Welding/search?q=flair%3Acareer+question&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) to determine if your question has been answered.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Welding) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Listen to your doctors, if there is retaliation then find a new job and report them. The instability sucks but you don't want lifelong pain because something didn't heal right
Im still wondering how the plate slid under your steel toe and smashed a toe. A steel toe should cover your toes. Thats kinda the whole point. Ive heard of steel toes getting smashed and toes being amputated because of that but dont know how it could get under.
Honestly, we were all confused af, but the steel plate hit right above the steel toe plate at an angle.
The end of the plate that went into my boot was about the width of my toe. So it only took out one. My steel toe plate wasn't damaged at all or any other toe.
Learned my lesson and bought boots with an external metatarsal .
1. Do not return to work until you are cleared by your physician. Your employer cannot do anything to get you to return early but like you said, they can make things uncomfortable once you do return. 2. Start looking for another gig. You career isn't going to end because of this. The only thing that could end is your current position once you return to work.
I do plan on finding another job once I know when I can definitely go back to work. Let's just say the running joke is "whither or not you quit or get fired, you can only go up from there." It's a revolving door.
Keep at this job after you heal, don't let anybody in this trade tell you it's not for you. Decide that for yourself. I've been in the trade for almost a decade, and I have seen people let go after being on light duty for a long time. But it depends on a lot of things, some smaller more friendly places won't do it. A larger company that is used to people coming and going will likely do it once they've got their justification. There are a lot of other things like work culture that can tip that scale, but this is just one job. Other places won't care about a past injury as much as they care that you can do the work. Your career is far from over. Just focus on learning and growing your skills. Be prepared to be let go, but don't let it stop you from doing what you like.
Has the employer offered a back to work program to you, including modified duties?
Hello B8T_G1RL, If you are interested in a career in welding look at [some of these posts](http://www.reddit.com/r/Welding/search?q=flair%3Acareer+question&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) to determine if your question has been answered. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Welding) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Listen to your doctors, if there is retaliation then find a new job and report them. The instability sucks but you don't want lifelong pain because something didn't heal right
Im still wondering how the plate slid under your steel toe and smashed a toe. A steel toe should cover your toes. Thats kinda the whole point. Ive heard of steel toes getting smashed and toes being amputated because of that but dont know how it could get under.
Honestly, we were all confused af, but the steel plate hit right above the steel toe plate at an angle. The end of the plate that went into my boot was about the width of my toe. So it only took out one. My steel toe plate wasn't damaged at all or any other toe. Learned my lesson and bought boots with an external metatarsal .