I'm visually impaired. I'm 24, and JUST got a job. It's at a dollar tree, stocking, but better than nothing. I would advise you tell your friend to look into any services in your area. Like Division of Blind Services. They can definitely help him out. If he can use a computer there's some jobs he can probably find online. If you guys need any help feel free to message me. (:

My advice: look beyond entry level, unskilled work. The job market is saturated with unskilled, entry-level people without disabilities. If you want to have a for filling career, or any type of meaningful employment, develop a skill, or become educated and get a degree. It takes work, but there are lots of supports out there if you can find them to gain skills that make you marketable to employers, and confidence in ownership of your disability goes very far.

What level of sight does your friend have ?
Blind / VIPs often struggle quite a lot with finding and maintaining work. Overall. Best advice i can give is ‘buckle in, this could take a while’.
What skills, education and experience do they already have ? The god honest truth is that he can do most things assuming he has the skills, qualification, experience and assistance. He could kick ass as a graphic designer, carpenter, HR manager or fitness coach provided he was set up for success.

Try to contact a school for the blind, maybe? There is one in my hometown, Louisville Kentucky. I think that such schools usually have resources like contacts with places that have successfully employed the blind before - as well as possibly skill classes for the blind to become more employable.

Most states have a Department of Rehabilitation that will help them out. They can be referred for any training that they might need and help applying for and navigating work.

I'm not blind so keep that in mind, but I had a call center job and there was a blind woman working there. As long as your friend can use a computer, I think that might be an option to look into!

Definitely have your friend contact their state vocational rehabilitation agency (which may or may not have a separate agency for people with blindness/VI, depending on the state--it's about 50/50). They can find training, help with job skills, job searches, etc., there for free.

I’m 26 and had my first job at 24/25. My first job was as a substitute teacher. My original plan was to become a psychologist, but that didn’t pan out due to licensing regulations. However, I’m now on track to be a special education teacher with additional endorsements in English, Spanish, and ESL and board certified and licensed behavior analyst. I’m also an adjunct psychology professor.

My point here is that your friend can accomplish almost anything he wants to. My best advice would be to get as much education as possible, hence why I’m going for behavior analyst licensure on top of teaching.

If you or your friend have any questions, feel free to reach out and I’ll do what I can to advise and assist.

How old is the friend, and what can the friend do? Both in terms of typically accepted skills and in terms of general cognition, mobility, literacy.