Why is the work that I did in the past so important?
During the disability process, the Social Security Administration is trying to evaluate whether they believe you are able to perform the work you used to do. The period of time they are focusing, typically, is the last 15 years.
SSA is looking at your past work from two different perspectives:
1) They are trying to get a detailed break down of the specifics of your past work. A lot of times people will say they did a particular job but when you ask more detailed questions, you realize it is much different from the job title. Also, SSA is trying to determine if your limitations will give you the ability to go back to do those jobs.
2) They are trying to determine what skills you acquired from those jobs. The reality is that we learn a lot of things from each job that we can take to another. As such, SSA wants to figure out if your job gave you skills you can use in other jobs.
Remember, you don't want SSA trying to figure out what you did in the past. Be as specific as possible.