the whole issue is a fine balancing act. We, as a population, tries to be as independent as possible. Unfortunately, not everything works in our favor for that (like printed materials, etc.).

I, too, have spent a large amount of time (like the last 5 years) seriously looking for real work. SO far, not a thing. I don't have any degrees, but I do have practical in the field experience going back over the last 30 years dealing with computers and their associated systems.

The problem I have is that I don't have any verifiable work history since 1989. A lot of it was word of mouth or cash only. So, I am in an AT training program right now and also doing a low paid internship program. THis will give me 2 things:
1. recent work history
2. a skills update on technology.

SOmetimes, this is the only way you can get your foot in the door.

-eric

On Sep 30, 2014, at 2:23 PM, Jim Shaffer wrote:

> Be aware, I might be blowing smoke here, as I have no data to support this, 
> but here goes:
> 
> I have for some time been concerned about all the special accommodation 
> students receive these days.  They have these special student offices on 
> campuses which handle all sorts of accommodations including providing 
> readers and even attendants in some cases.
> I think of the people who've been to universities and
> seen those special student offices, and are then in a position to hire a 
> blind person.  Do they say, "Oh yes, they can do the work.", or do they say,
> "Gosh, they needed a special office on campus, and our company isn't going 
> to have that, so we'd best hire someone else."
> 
> Whether we like it or not, the opinion of a lot of people, indeed probably 
> most people, is that we're
> best suited for some sort of manual labor such as simple assembly line work,
> if we're suitable for any work at all.  We have to do our best to show that
> we can be independent and productive.  I was responsible, for example, for
> getting my own readers, while these days the handicapped student services
> usually provide the readers as I understand it.
> 
> I remember a petition on change.org where this couple was saying that, after
> getting their degrees, the only work they could find was subminimum wage
> work at Good Will.  Of course, a lot of blind folks were upset at Good Will
> for paying subminimum wages, but I had other questions.  Did they try to get
> jobs in other locations?  What did they major in in college?  What were the
> GPAs?  I just didn't buy that two people, blind or not, with degrees 
> couldn't find other work.  These folks were in Montana, and Yeh, you might
> have to move somewhere to get a good job.  If I had stayed in my home town 
> in Iowa, I wouldn't have found much work either, unless I started a local 
> business, which I didn't want to do.  So I got a job with the state of Iowa 
> in data
> processing, although I'd graduated Magna Cum Lade with a degree in physics
> and math.  The vast majority of applications I sent out either went
> unanswered, or were rejected,  I got very few interviews.  After three years
> with the state, I got a job with IBM, where I worked for 30 years before
> retiring.
> 
> But anyway, my concern is that we might be seen as needing too much help 
> from special handicapped services, since there are so many accommodations 
> being made.  However, I can't point to any case where this actually 
> happened, although you'd need insider information to establish such a claim, 
> since no one would admit to not hiring a blind person for this reason.
> --
> Jim, KE5AL
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Steve
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 3:18 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: employment
> 
> Alan,
> 
> It depends on who your friends are.  There isn't a big amount of statistical
> research done on this; but the last I knew, AFB research says it about 70
> percent unemployed or under-employed.
> 
> And, if it weren't for Randolph-Shepherd and the Rehab industry, I dare say
> it would be more like ninety percent.
> 
> I deliberately chose not to go into a "blindness-specific" occupation when I
> was younger.
> 
> Unfortunately, a lot of positions that were open to the blind years ago are
> not real good career opportunities now.  Medical transcription is being
> outsourced overseas in a lot of instances, and with speech recognition, it
> will become even less available.  In my opinion, same thing with piano
> tuners, as a lot of people use digital keyboards which now have real
> piano-like feel.
> 
> I will echo Colin's comment too about developing a resume that does not
> indicate age.  Even though age is not a Bona Fide Occupational Qualifier, a
> lot of employers implicitly avoid older applicants.
> 
> In my view, the Americans With Disabilities Act also limited our
> possibilities more than they helped.  There was a small industry of
> consultnats helping employers design job descriptions listing the Essential
> Functions of their jobs.  Even though they're supposed to make reasonable
> accommodations, I think the result of that whole process was to really
> tighten up the screening process to where it has disadvantaged a lot of
> disabled applicants.
> 
> Steve
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Alan R. Downing
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 12:16 PM
> Subject: Re: employment
> 
> 
> Howard, on the subject of employment, is the unemployment rate of the blind
> still in excess of 70% or more?  I am not affiliated with  the ACB or NFB,
> so don't read any of their publications on a regular basis.  I was always
> suspicious of such claims as all of my blind friends were gainfully
> employed.  I attended Perkins thru my freshman year and then transferred to
> my local public high school.  I still believe that had I stayed at Perkins,
> I would never have gotten into MIT, or any other science or engineering
> colleges or universities.  Naturally I had many friends from my Perkins
> days, and thru my adult life, they were all employed in their chosen fields;
> teachers, attorneys, accountants, piano tuners and the like.
> 
> Alan
> 
> 
> Alan R. Downing
> Phoenix, AZ
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Howard Kaufman
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 7:52 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: employment
> 
> Ron, I will trust your research.
> My data is subjective.  Again, my data is the most important data for me,
> because it is my job hunt.
> I also have two disabilities.
> I am beginning to think age is bigger than blindness.
> I always got a job before, and I was always blind.
> Since I passed 55, it has been much harder.  After 60, not even an
> interview.
> 
> H T Kaufman MSW LCSW
> Adaptive Technology Instructor
> 
> 
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