Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Going to go legally blind. Need career advice. (self.Blind)
submitted by brush2
I've been a programmer since the last 7 years now. And because, my macular degeneration has gotten worse, I can hardly spend 10 minutes reading text on screen. The eyes will start to rapidly shake and I feel pain. I'm gonna have to rest atleast for 30 minutes to relax them. I'm not legally blind yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to in 2 or so years since MD is progressing in my central vision.
Im having hard time working as a programmer and planning to change my career. Which career do you guys recommend, and what skill set should I start learning in my free time?
Im having hard time working as a programmer and planning to change my career. Which career do you guys recommend, and what skill set should I start learning in my free time?
DaaxD 8 points 3y ago
Blindness does not neccsarily mean that you have to give up on your career, although it might mean that you have to make some adjustments on how you work and what tools you use.
A small demonstration about how a a blind engineer working for Microsoft uses Visual Studio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94swlF55tVc
Here is a thread on stackoverflow about how blind people program: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/118984/how-can-you-program-if-youre-blind
And if my memory serves me right, there are actually quite a lot programmers here on /r/blind as well, so I dare to say that programming might be one of the most accessible careers out there.
I'm not saying that you should cling on to programming. If you don't want to continue programming and really want to change careers then that's you to decide. I'm just saying that blindness does not necessarily mean that you have to give up your current career.
Re-learning your toolset might prove to be difficult at first, but it could also be an advantage. Knowing how to program and knowing how screen readers work, puts you in perfect position to be an accessability advisor/police for your company (given that your company does anything UI related and actually cares about accessibility).
A small demonstration about how a a blind engineer working for Microsoft uses Visual Studio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94swlF55tVc
Here is a thread on stackoverflow about how blind people program: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/118984/how-can-you-program-if-youre-blind
And if my memory serves me right, there are actually quite a lot programmers here on /r/blind as well, so I dare to say that programming might be one of the most accessible careers out there.
I'm not saying that you should cling on to programming. If you don't want to continue programming and really want to change careers then that's you to decide. I'm just saying that blindness does not necessarily mean that you have to give up your current career.
Re-learning your toolset might prove to be difficult at first, but it could also be an advantage. Knowing how to program and knowing how screen readers work, puts you in perfect position to be an accessability advisor/police for your company (given that your company does anything UI related and actually cares about accessibility).
brush2 [OP] 4 points 3y ago
That is true for software developers. I work in CGI however. I not only have to program, half the tkme I'm gonna have to interact with virtual objects in 3D space, which is kinda becoming difficult because I'm gonna have to be extremely precise while placing those objects manually.
codeplaysleep 2 points 3y ago
Blind programmer here. Yeah, that's not going to be accessible, unfortunately, but you could consider switching to a different type of programming. That may be the easiest transition for you in terms of learning curve. If you already have a good CS foundation, learning new languages or frameworks should be pretty straightforward.
As for other career options, I know blind people who are freelance writers, accountants, and police/fire/EMS dispatchers. I believe just about any office job could be done with the right accommodations.
I'd recommend that you start by finding a couple of things that you want to do and then work on making that happen, rather than switching to something just because it seems doable.
As for other career options, I know blind people who are freelance writers, accountants, and police/fire/EMS dispatchers. I believe just about any office job could be done with the right accommodations.
I'd recommend that you start by finding a couple of things that you want to do and then work on making that happen, rather than switching to something just because it seems doable.
DaaxD 2 points 3y ago
Ok, that doesn't sound too accessible. Your OP just mentioned programming so I went with that assumption. Maybe the take away from my post is that since you already know programming, maybe software development is the path of least resistance.
lepton 3 points 3y ago
There is a code editor for Ruby written for completely blind people https://github.com/edhowland/viper Don't think it's being worked on now but it is worth looking into.
Laser_Lens_4 3 points 3y ago
You're probably already in a pretty good career. Programming is one of the easier jobs to adopt 2 a workflow without a vision. Screen readers and Braille displays both exist to facilitate any sort of computer work. I'm getting into computer science myself. I don't know enough to give you specific advice but you should contact your rehabilitation agency. They can hook you up with equipment and training to help you adapt.
meoverhere 3 points 3y ago
It may be worth combining your programming experience with new situation and specialising in developing for disabilities, or consulting for companies who need this kind of specialised work.
It’s quite a niche role right now but I think it will continue to grow in demand and could be a sought after skill set.
It’s quite a niche role right now but I think it will continue to grow in demand and could be a sought after skill set.
brass444 1 points 3y ago
Absolutely. Making web sites and apps accessible is a rapidly growing field. In the United States, our Supreme Court recently ruled that businesses need to be accessible. I am shocked how few are.
You can do that from where you live for businesses all over. Best to you!
You can do that from where you live for businesses all over. Best to you!
bright_side1977 2 points 3y ago
Look up Matt King from Facebook and Jennison Ascencion from LinkedIn. They are both completely blind programmers. My son is goes to the school for the Blind in California and they have a coding club. Speech to text software and text to speech software make coding a viable career for people who are visually impaired.
helpmeiamretarded 2 points 3y ago
What support does your country offer? I don't know where you live but here in the UK there are support workers whos job is to help visually impaired people rehabilate and learn skills. I would try to seek that out if you can.
I have met a guy who is 35, last year in the space of 2 weeks he lost 90% of his vision. He is currently in uni learning to be an accountant. He says he uses text to speach to help him alot, as well as other gadgets you can get.
I just found www.visionaware.org
They have a page on "working life"
I have met a guy who is 35, last year in the space of 2 weeks he lost 90% of his vision. He is currently in uni learning to be an accountant. He says he uses text to speach to help him alot, as well as other gadgets you can get.
I just found www.visionaware.org
They have a page on "working life"
brush2 [OP] 4 points 3y ago
Me and my family live in third world countries where there are no such government programs.
Thank you for sharing his story, that certainly gives me hope. My biggest worry is me going homeless when I loose my career.
Thank you for sharing his story, that certainly gives me hope. My biggest worry is me going homeless when I loose my career.
TheBlindBookLover 1 points 3y ago
Hi. What country do you live in? I am currently blanking on the name of the charity, but I know of a blindness organization that helps blind individuals in third world countries learn skills to be independent.
brush2 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
I'm currently living in India and my family lives in Sri Lanka. Let me know if you ever recall the name of that organization. Also, I'm not blind. I'm not even legally blind. So I'm not sure if I would be qualified to join them..
CloudyBeep 1 points 3y ago
There are agencies that support blind people in India. Just do a Google search. Obviously it won't be as much support as you'd get if you lived in a first-world country, but there should be other blind people who can help you. If I remember correctly, India has quite a large number of blind people.
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