Don't know how much vision you have, but I succeeded as a programmer with 10% acuity without feeling any limitations, though I love the field and started coding at 15. Even now that I'm totally blind I do still code, but only as a hobby, because I'm extremely self-conscious about my limitations and don't want to burden anyone with them.

I could have easily written this myself. I don't have any real advice but I absolutely relate. I go through ups and downs. Acceptance and grief I guess you could say. I wish I could do more with my life and I guess I could but the anxiety really gets to me and the worry that my vision isn't good enough for even some "simple" tasks.

Not being able to drive was devastating to me. I so wanted to learn but I jus at couldn't. I did learn to use public transportation and I walked a lot too. I picked where I lived based on access to public transportation. I hope you live in a place with access to it.

Having a visual impairment has a huge impact on employment so I wouldn't put your challenges all on you. I was lucky to find a training program right after grad school and found work I like and pays well. I am in academia.

I've also dealt with anxiety and depression.

I can only tell you that it's hard but you can do hard things.

My best to you.

I feel your pain... I live in Australia. I’m also worried about discrimination plaguing my job search experience. I’m grateful that I don’t need to urgently look for a job. I just feel like “Why would someone hire someone blind/VI when they can hire someone sighted
?”. The only advice I can give you is to be upfront about it, that you can’t drive but you more than competent at the job and state your skills.

Your feelings are valid and it's certainly a year where everyone has been questioning their careers or paths in life. What I will say is that technology has made being a blind professional much more accessible than in the past.

Remember too that most people are pretty bad at their job initially until they get comfortable, your situation is different in that the employer may be prejudiced to take a chance on you. As technology (and hopefully society) progresses it will get better. Maybe you could try talking to someone who works at a zoo and get advice about careers from them

Wow this is 1000% how I feel. I couldn’t have said it better myself... I’ve “accepted” the fact that I can’t drive, but I find myself going through a continuous grieving process about it. It sucks beyond words. Just like you, I’ve tried to not let my vision get in the way of what I do, but it’s sooo draining and sometimes it gets to me. I wish there was something that I could say or do to help you feel better. Please know you aren’t alone and you will figure it out. You should be proud of yourself for not only getting up each day and putting one foot in front of the other (despite how incredibly it is), but also for recognizing and acknowledging how you feel about your situation. Have you talked to your support system about this? I think the worst part about being VI is that your family and friends will truly never understand, but having someone to just sit there and be encouraging does help. Also, they may also be able to offer a different perspective and offer sloutions about the job situations. Depending on where you live you can most likely get resources/help about this from your state agency or government as well as from local non-profits. I don’t want to push anything on to you, but have you ever thought about therapy? It’s helped me a lot to deal with a lot of personal issues including accepting not being able to drive and just my eye condition in general. You may not find the right therapist at first, but you’ll get there. Try to remember that your feelings are valid and that you are so much stronger than you think. Take it one step at a time. My dms are always open 💕

I lost my sight as a teen. I'd get so depressed/angry when people in high school got their learner's permits, passed their driving test, and got a car. I never got to enjoy that sort of freedom and I always felt left out. (It also probably didn't help that I grew up in a rural area where you couldn't get anywhere without a car.) So I never got to go places when I felt like it, never got to go on road trips, never got to go pick up a girl at her house to take her out on a drive to who knows where for who knows what.

Now that I'm older, I find that it still makes me angry;especially when my girlfriend is also totally blind and we have two kids. Once again, I'm limited due to my blindness. It gets really old.

I lived just outside New York city after college and I also lived in Boston. It was great having trains and the subway! Neither of those places worked out long term though because it was just too expensive. (Living in a crappy small apartment for $1300 a month plus utilities gets old pretty fast. Want a place to live when you have two kids? Be ready to pay at least $2000 a month just on rent!)

While things like Lift and Uber are great, it sucks that a round trip that would be quick and cheap for somebody who can drive their own car can cost me over $35.

I'd like to get into a gigging band again but had to pass on auditioning for two bands here because none of the members were coming from this area and getting to the places they rehearsed at and back with Lift or Uber would have cost me around $60. I just can't make that kind of investment in a group where I may only make $100 or $200 per gig. It'd put me at a financial loss at the end of the day.

Same thing goes for work. While I do various things freelance, I wanted to find something a bit more stable. I found an okay job that sort of tied in with my degree. while it paid a bit over $30 an hour, once I put in the address, I found out that it would cost me a bit over $50 each day for the two way trip.

So much of being blind is difficult because of money. Do you want awesome accessible technology? Better have a pile of cash ready. Do you want to live somewhere with excellent public transit? You better be pulling in a few grand a month. Oh wait, you want us to hire you for a job that pays a wage you can raise a family on and own a condo or house? Well that's too bad. We're sure you're a great person but you...just aren't the...sort of person we're looking for.

That's another thing that really grinds my gears! I have been passed over for jobs over the years because I was blind. Some of them would pretty much say it straight out and some would dance around the real reason but drop enough hints for me to get the picture. This shouldn't happen right? Well in the real world, it does happen. The thing is, none of these places will actually put it in writing. Where's my freaking news coverage, my court case, and my damages check? Other groups at least get some sort of resolution in their favor but if you're blind, oh well, forget it, nobody cares. Better luck next time. I mean if a business wouldn't hire somebody or gave an employee crap for their gender, race, culture, religious beliefs, sexuality etc, twitter would blow up, facebook would blow up, and it may get national news coverage. Some of those stories have. A woman took her former employer to court due to religious discrimination a year or two ago and this chick walked away with millions of dollars!

But if you're blind or have some other sort of disability, sorry pal, you're on your own. It seems like people don't want to see that, don't really want to talk about that, and just don't take it seriously.

It's freaking exhausting sometimes. I can't wait for the fully self driving car to be a reality. Then, things will be a little more equal. At least I could have more independence.

Anybody feel me on this?

Where did you receive your rehabilitation training?

I found that working primarily with customers over the phone is great for me with a visual impairment. No one even knows I’m using my screen reader! Maybe you could consider something customer service oriented at the zoo or local vet office?

So, it depends where you are, what you want to do and what your experience is. I don't know what your situation is and I don't want to make assumptions, but some of what you are saying does sound like you're really pissed off and that's fine but it's not a great time for making life plans.

I bet you can do something close to what you want to do. I'm based just a short train ride outside London and I have made a living playing the guitar for more than ten years, so it can be done. And you can always change where you're based.

Give us a bit more information and maybe we can all help solve the problem.