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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2020 - 12 - 24 - ID#kjlpku
7
Working virtually questions. (self.Blind)
submitted by Mister-c2020
Hello everyone, this is my first post here. So, I hope I could find some help with this question I had. I am a 20 year old college student who's looking for a new job. I have never really worked before thanks to school and general busy-ness of classes, homework and on campus events in an organization I was previously involved with. Also, to many this would not matter but, I am going to put this in. I am blind and I use screen readers to allow me to work on devices such as computers and most other smart devices.
For these reasons and more, I have never had any jobs in my life. I was trying to get a part-time job as an assistive technology intern but, it did not work out because of Covid-19 and the shift towards virtual jobs. Which, like many people in my age group, I have no experience with.
I was looking on sites like Linked-in, Indeed, and Handshake but, I have not found any good jobs that I would like to suit my schedule. A suitable schedule to me would probably be more work during the semester break and limited work during the actual semester since I am in college full time. I would also prefer something that I could do for the long run.
I have looked at things like coding online but, I am still considering myself to be entry level. I move at a slower pace than my peers because of my blindness and the reliance of visuals with in coding. Note- (This does not I am not a good coder. It just means I learn things differently due to text to speech. And having to understand how to read code line for line, use a somewhat complex UI that is geared towards sighted individuals and also learning keyboard commands associated with some developer programs.)

For these reasons, I have thought about blogging on the web. Many instructors, friends and fellow classmates who have seen my writing have said that I am a pretty good writer. In my two and a half years of going to college, I have taken at least 4 writing courses including Technical Writing, Writing 1 and 2 as well as others. I have received A grades in all mentioned courses, with most instructors praising my work.
I do consider myself to be good at writing creatively and organizationally. The only weakness I encounter in my writing is my grammar and spelling. To resolve this issue, I resort to things like spell checkers, proof-readings from my friends and peers or websites like Grammarly.com.
Finally, my main question for you (Reddit) is. How do I get into blogging as a beginner? How could I start getting jobs or what is the best recommended way of getting jobs? Do you have any other jobs that you may want to recommend that are not blogging but, suit my needs virtually? Finally, what software do you recommend I use for blogging? I ask this because I have no experience blogging and want to go by this with the easiest method for a screen reader like NVDA or Voice Over. All responses are greatly appreciated!

thanks in advance!
Envrin 6 points 2y ago
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My main work is software development, but as a side gig for some extra cash I also write for a popular tech site / blog, and it's been working out great. I somewhat just stumbled upon it, as was perusing the job boards looking for any potential clients, and seen a posting looking for technical writers.

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Contacted them, submitted a sample article, did two weeks of paid training (3x 1000 word articles), and all is well. Get paid $70 for every 1000 word article, each which only take me about 90 minutes in total including editor modifications. Required to submit two articles per-week (they can be as small as 350 words though but pay is less), and no limit on number of articles I can submit, which is nice. It makes for a nice little side gig during the times my brain is tired from typing code.

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Since I never write less than 1000 word articles, it's minimum extra $560/month for me, and more if I feel like writing. Can't complain any.

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Just Google for "how to write for..." then a popular site name, or subject that you're interested / knowledgeable in. Contact them, submit some samples, and take it from there. Lots of sites are always looking for quality content and writers.
thebluedanube15 4 points 2y ago
OP, THIS is the comment that you were looking advice for. Don’t listen to the naysayers! You do you and do what makes YOU happy!
Mister-c2020 [OP] 3 points 2y ago
I will, thank you so much for the support!
Mister-c2020 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
All right, thank you so much for the suggestion! I will do that.
Envrin 4 points 2y ago
No worries, and wouldn't worry about what the person above said. You don't need to be some magnificent journalist to land a writing gig, and case in point, look at myself. As long as you have useful or relevant information to convey, or are good at research, landing a writing gig shouldn't be an issue.
Mister-c2020 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
I understand that. Thank you so much for the help! The messages I wrote in response back hopefully should convey that to them.
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CloudyBeep 0 points 2y ago
The fact remains that the post was unnecessarily long and poorly written, both in terms of the style and organization of the content, and the grammar and punctuation.
Mister-c2020 [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Thanks for your opinion. Some of us just have a different writing style or a way of expressing ourselves. And unfortunately some people do not understand that. The goal of my post was for job advice not for critiques on my writing and grammar. There’s other subreddits for that. Although I do appreciate it but that is besides the point.
rannetri25 3 points 2y ago
I can relate to your backstory. I’m thinking about changing careers from Economics to Astrophysics (which I have limited knowledge of) and just reached out to a Astrophysics professor to ask for advice and to be their research assistant in 2021. God I hope he doesn’t reply like this asshole
siriuslylupin6 1 points 2y ago
That isn’t an excuse though. What was pointed out was very basic.
[deleted] -2 points 2y ago
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Mister-c2020 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Thanks, will do! I always try to write as much as I could.

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Take care!
CloudyBeep 2 points 2y ago
I recommend reading about "digital nomads" because it sounds like those jobs would suit you well.
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