[Blindtlk] Professions on list?

Sun Mar 24 16:31:55 UTC 2013

Peter:

Before proceeding, I'll tell you that I *do* worry about the economy and
out-sourcing although that last trend is abating as foreign labor becomes
more expensive and makes employment here in the U.S. attractive again. I
worry what will happen to people who heretofore had skilled jobs that might
not have required a college degree but now do. And I worry especially about
what will happen to unskilled and semi-skilled jobs in an economy that
requires more and more high-tech skills. But these are generalized worries
and apply to blind and sighted alike.

Now then: it is the contention of Federationists in general that your asking
the questions ass-backward. You ask: what can the blind do and within the
jobs available by this answer, what might I be interested in. Most of us
contend -- and it was and is the model on which NFB training centers and
those who follow their precepts believe in -- that, like everyone else, you
should instead be asking: what do I want to do with my life? What interests
me? And *then* you ask not whether but, rather, *how* you would do whatever
it is as a blind person. The answer may, indeed, at the moment be that you
will not be able to do exactly what you want. For example, you might not be
able to be a long-haul truck-driver. But this may not always be the case and
in the meantime, you *could* operate a trucking company (I knew a blind man
who did just that). Incidentally, I've known people who were electricians,
software engineers or computer programmers who all were blind. I met a blind
plumber once who did his own pipe soldering (how, I do not know). I met a
guy at a Federation convention who had a hum-drum civil service day job but
as a hobby was a SCUBA enthusiast. His local police department employed him
to search underwater for cars and bodies that had suffered the misfortune of
landing in nearby rivers and lakes. It didn't matter to *him* that the water
was mirky and he couldn't see six inches in front of his face -- he couldn't
anyway! The kicker of all this was that he made more money with his hobby
doing that than he did at his day job. I've been kicking myself ever since
that I didn't get the guy's name.

Once you've decided what interests you, you get on lists such as this one
and ask how you could do whatever it is you want to do as a blind person. Or
you could write to Dr. Maurer and ask. Every once-in-a-while, Federation
officers and rank-and-file members are asked to contact and/or mentor
someone who wants to do something but doesn't know how as a blind person and
it is known that someone in the Federation does that very thing. The
subjects of such inquiry can range from jobs to marching in a high school
marching band (some blind folks from Ohio were in the Rose Parade a while
back). Mrs. Maurer who had, herself, been in a marching band, answered that
query.

You could also get in contact with your state's agency rendering rehab
and/or other services to the blind. These range from abominable to
excellent. In any event, it is part of the mandate of these agencies to
provide to you or see to it that you are provided with the skills and
knowledge to do what you wish -- and *you* are in the driver's seat here
although it may take some convincing of bureaucrats to get them to recognize
this.

The keys here are a can-do attitude and flexibility.

Does this always work? Of course not. But then job-seeking efforts of the
sighted don't work always, either. And there's no question but that there is
prejudice against the blind (not out of hatred, mostly, but out of misguided
kindness). But we in the Federation seek to equip you with the tools and
attitudes you'll need to overcome this prejudice.

I don't necessarily expect you to put much credence in this answer, at least
at first, but there it is.

Mike Freeman

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Peter Wolfe
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2013 5:41 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Professions on list?

cheryl,

    I have a question for just like me weren't born blind but became
blind later in life. How did you know the right skills or technologies
to master in order to know which fields to go into being blind? This
is a question that I've puzzled on for a decade that i've found no
satisfactory answer for in my circumstance. At one time, I wanted to
be an electrician or software engineer or computer science cause of
loving to fiddle with things like my father who was a electrical
engineer for a utility company in my native Texas. However, my sights
are much lower with experience and discouragement of many
institutions, indvidiausl and even bios that I've read on NFB, AFB or
talking to fellow blind individuals that I gave up on those goals.

    I'd really appreciate any feedback to the above paragraphy even
criticism of it. It bleeds into my second and last question that I've
also been puzzled with too. Once you do decide your profession that we
all have problems with the skills and tools in our collective
professions at times right? How did you overcome or continue to
overcome against the odds with the changing nature of technology, the
economy and other adverrse situations? Yes, I know the general just
seems so hard for us or impossible in whole industries being
outsourced or done away in automation or whatever. I don't think its
an easy nor exactly fair question but worth throwing out there cause
its hard on everyone right now not just the blind. I try to keep this
prospective as I pursue employment that isn't that comforting as your
denied a job though. I don't mean any of my questions with any
disrespect at all just think lots of you come across as idealist or
naive on the state of the economy or of what blind people can do in
the real economy.

Thanks,
Peter

On 3/24/13, cheryl echevarria <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Good morning all:
> For someone who before losing her vision at 35, I was a college graduate
of
> Culinary Arts and also Business.
> I didn't pursue the Culinary Arts part of the Profession, but it help me
> learn the proper ways to cook and my family appreciates all the things I
> made then and now then and restaurant could plus it did help with my
> cooking skills after losing my vision doing to smell touch taste, hearing
> when things boil, feeling the heat of the stove and steam, and also good
> knife skills.
> The business part always helps in any profession.
> For 20+ years even in my late teens, I always worked in an office/sales
> enviroment to help with paying off school. Worked in the field until 2001
as
> an Administrative Assistant to the owner/president of a small sales
company
> here on Long Island for a number of years, until I had to leave due to
> medical issues that I eventually lost my vision.
> After that I and when I was able to do so and had gotten re-trained by the
> VR Centers here I became the 1st Blind person here on Long Island to be a
> graduate of one of our prestigage medical billing schools. I worked as a
> medical biller for one of the large laboratory (Blood and other testing
> companies here on Long Island), and then I started my own business in
2009,
> I am a Travel Agent, and as you can read by my signature here, have been
> recognized by my state and Vocational Rehab organizations here in NY as
well
> as by Governor Cuomo.
> We can be anything we want, it is a matter of learning on how to do it.
> I also share what I dont in the travel industry for us all. I fight for
all
> of us, and educate those companies that don't.
> Cheryl
>
> Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY State
> Leading the Way in Independent Travel!SNG Certified - Accessible Travel
> Advocate!Cheryl Echevarria,
>
Ownerhttp://www.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations@echevarriatrave
l.comhttp://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com2012
> Norwegian Cruise Line University Advisory Board Member.
> Affiliated as an independent contractor with Montrose TravelCST -
> #1018299-10Echevarria Travel and proud member of the National Federation
of
> the Blind will be holding a year round fundraiser for the
> http://www.NFBNY.org after Hurricane Sandy and other resources. Any
vacation
> package booked between November 6 2012-November 6, 2013 and vacation must
be
> traveled no later than 12/30/2014 a percentage of my earnings will go to
the
> affiliate.  Also is you book a Sandals for couples or Beaches for families
> and friends resorts vacation, $100.00 per booking will go to the affiliate
> as well.  You do not need to be a member of the NFB.org, just book through
> us.
>
>
>> From: blind411 at verizon.net
>> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2013 23:11:56 -0400
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Professions on list?
>>
>> Peter,
>>     There is a wealth of information available on various professions
>> blind
>> people perform available through the NFB. As for me, I had a challenging
>> time deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up and, since I have not
yet
>>
>> grown up, am still deciding! (grin) I have been a professional musician
>> since I was 16 years old. In my 20s I pursued a career in sales and
>> eventually found myself recruiting people to work overseas. After saddam
>> Hussein invaded Kuwait, the bottom fell out of the overseas employment
>> market, so I went back to school, got a Bachelor's degree in Psychology
>> followed by a master of Science degree in Mental Health Counseling. I am
>> currently in private practice as a Life coach and Hypnotherapist, though
I
>>
>> still perform regularly and serve Unity North Tampa as their Music
>> Director.
>>     When I do my public speaking, whether for the NFB or for kairos
Health
>> &
>> Wellness Center (my private practice, see http://www.KairosHWC.com)  I
>> generally employ music as a tool to engage and underscore my talks. I
>> share
>> this with you to encourage you to develop several talents and use all
your
>>
>> assets as you network with others!
>>
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
>> National Federation of the Blind
>> 813-626-2789
>> President at NAGDU.ORG
>> HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Peter Wolfe" <yogabare13 at gmail.com>
>> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 10:57 PM
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Professions on list?
>>
>>
>> > Dear fellow NFB-Talk participants,
>> >
>> >
>> >    What professions or careers have you guys or gals done in your
>> > lifestime? I'm gearing this question towards those with little to no
>> > vision using either screen readers and or braille as their main form
>> > of performing the tasks of their personal to professionl livelyhood. I
>> > believe that such lists like the Federal Muster or NFB's Jobs list are
>> > far too formal and don't facilitate legimate conversations on such
>> > topics. Maybe tell about some of your challenges, academic history and
>> > advice for blind people to enter your fields. Thank you all so much,
>> > so would like to gleam something in counseling or something myself out
>> > of this dialogue or abstract coping mechanism or something.
>> >
>> >
>> > Thank you,
>> > Peter
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > blindtlk mailing list
>> > blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
>> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> > blindtlk:
>> >
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>> >
>>
>>
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>  		 	   		
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-- 
Cordially,
Peter Q Wolfe, BA
cum laude Auburn University
e-mail: yogabare13 at gmail.com
"If you don't stand up for something your willing to fall for anything"
Peter Q Wolfe
"Stand up for your rights"
Bob Marley

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