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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2021 - 03 - 08 - ID#m0s22s
6
What was your first job? (self.Blind)
submitted by K-R-Rose
I’m legally blind and I have no idea how I’m supposed to support myself until I get a degree in a field I know I can work in. What job was doable for you with a VI?
codeplaysleep 5 points 2y ago
My first job was working as a police dispatcher in the late 90s. After that, I pretty much went straight into my career as a software engineer and have stayed there ever since.

I have some functional vision, but I've known people who were completely blind that did both of these jobs.
FantasticGlove 2 points 2y ago
My first job was working for a South Korean braille learning company that made toys. I did their advertising. It was a fun experience.
DrillInstructorJan 2 points 2y ago
I had an office job at a big company which involved a lot of supporting that company's customers. It wasn't consumer stuff, it was business to business, so it wasn't as horrible as just manning a helpline though it sometimes felt a bit like that. Ended up running a few people and it was okay, but it got old fast.
Fridux 2 points 2y ago
My first job, long before I became fully blind though have been visually impaired with 10% of sight my entire life, was as a call center operator answering to tech support calls for an Internet Services Provider, followed by a full time programming job which was my profession until I became fully blind and finally decided to take advantage of the disability benefits that I had been entitled to all along. I started working at 17 and never even finished high school.

Honestly I can't see (pun intended) myself working ever again, because all I know is coding, and although I do impress myself with the stuff that I can still do, I'm aware that I wouldn't function well in a team environment where I would be expected to be productive at reading other people's code more than writing my own. People often make the mistake of looking at the stuff I can do alone thanks to the experience that I gained with sight, and assume that would be of enormous value to a company, but when productivity is factored I do know that it wouldn't. One must have a lot of versatility to integrate a development team, and I simply don't have it anymore, meaning I'd force the entire team to adapt to me rather than it being the other way around as it should. Can I work to save my life? Absolutely! But I like to be an actual asset to whoever employs me for technical reasons rather than just being someone who's there to meet the minimum quota of disabled employers required to unlock financial benefits.
queengemini 2 points 2y ago
Not sure if you'd be interested but this reined me of this article I read a while back ($1) maybe you'd be interested.

Or perhaps you could see if you're eligible for a braille display for interpreting others' code.
Zeebaaraa 2 points 2y ago
I have vision in only 1 eye and it is about 200/20. I have worked at a dollar store, grocery store, batista (that one was rough), daycare worker, disability support worker, I now work in a financial institution, I was a teller for a while and am now doing administrative work. I typically apply for things I think I can do with simple adaptations. I do not share my vision in the interview either but thats because I have had negative experiences with doing so.
Winnmark 2 points 2y ago
A museum & at an office.
AchooCashew 2 points 2y ago
First job? I worked at a fast food chain when I was 14.
K41M1K4ZE 2 points 2y ago
I'm a software developer, but not blind, yet.
It was my luck to switch carrers way before my diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa.

Before that I was a hotel specialist and I really wouldn't have a future in that field if I stuck with it.
phillstaf 1 points 2y ago
My first job was stocking shelves at a department store before high school, however that lasted 2 months so it wasn't a good fit

My best paid job so far was working as a receptionist for a local charity, being such a small organization they were very quick to accommodate, and didn't take much asking to get a change.

My favorite job is a volunteer job I've had for 5 years. In this position I surprisingly work with a local television brodcast company, during which I have directed TV shows, written scripts for teleprompters, updated on screen graphics, and even worked live television cameras (the rolling joke is they're so desperate for volunteers they let the blind guy work camera). But the best thing about it all and my #1 favorite part, is working audio mixers for both recorded, and live television shows.

The way I view it, is that nothing is impossible, if you want to try something there will always be some way to do it, and who knows you might make a career along the way.
QuentinJamesP89 1 points 2y ago
My first job as a teenager was giving piano lessons and I had another playing the piano in a restaurant. I've continued to give lessons over the years until last year with the combination of the pandemic (tried over zoom for a while, but no) and failing eyesight in my only good eye.
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