Ethel,
 
Your questions are good ones.  This may be boring for other readers so  
feel free to skip.
 
Since I went into this with a background in Physical Therapy and as an  
accredited LLLLeader for 7 years before I sat the exam, they are not questions 
I  asked. I was already on the path I needed without knowing it. I also did 
not ask  "can I make a living" following this calling, oops.  :) At the 
time, and  for a while, it was not a big issue as my family was in a state of  
stability, two children in public schools locally and a partner with a solid 
job  and salary. Now, things have changed radically. One child post-college, 
working  full-time but needing help with college loans, one child entering 
college ( who  got rejected by every public college she applied to, 
saturation of students +  poor SAT scores), a partner with a job who hasn't had even 
a cost-of-living  raise in 10 years, and whose allied healthcare 
professional company may  fail any second as insurance companies kill off small ones 
like the one he works  for (his is the only one left in the area that has not 
been eaten by a giant  conglomerate due to the crushing effects of 
insurance companies restricting,  denying, and taking back legitimate payments.) I 
have been IBCLC for 13 years  now, helping moms and babies in their own 
homes, and frankly can't imagine  doing anything else but if he loses his job, I 
will probably have to find  something else to do. The  amount of money I 
make for the hours I  put in, in homes, traveling to and from on public 
transit, on the  phone, available six days a week most of the time,  helps us stay  
afloat and keep up so far with bill payments but it's close to the  bone 
with two of us working at what we are currently doing.  Working in a hospital 
or other place where income is steadier, or  reentering the PT profession ( 
I still have my license and did some PT work over  the years) are 
possibilities we have talked about. I LOVED my work as a PT but  have felt that as an 
IBCLC, the community needed that more. That also may be  changing, : I know  
that there are 4 qualified women who sat the IBCLC  exam yesterday near me, 
who will all probably want to work in private practice,  so I'm not sure 
whether I will even get enough calls next year. I also live  where a local CLC 
with very little experience and a store with  breastfeeding paraphernalia 
to run, is billing like an IBCLC  and sometimes undermining the hard work 
moms working with me have put  in.  It may be just me, but it seems a tricky 
time to be a private practice  IBCLC where I live. For now, I just keep doing 
what I do, just trying my best to  help local families recover or establish 
or maintain normal breastfeeding and  nurturing.
 
I hope my honesty is what you were asking for. My situation may not be  
yours in terms of location and community resources,etc. I beg everyone's pardon 
 if you kept reading and are now sorry!
 
Peace,
Judy  

Judy LeVan  Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY,  USA

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