[Blindtlk] Employment Question...

Mon Feb 9 13:21:25 UTC 2015

In what field will your master's degree be? This might help some of us send positions your way that meet with your qualifications. 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of James Kelm via blindtlk
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 12:17 PM
To: Julie J.; Judy Jones; Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Employment Question...

Dear Julie, Chris, and all...

    Thank you so much for your help, advice, and good wishes!  I sincerely appreciate them!

    I do plan to remain in Minnesota, at least for the near future.

    As a little bit of background, and what motivated my question.  As I said, I will be finishing my Master's program in a few months.  My Master's will be in an unrelated field, but a Master's never the less.  LOLL  Like most people, I am looking at my different options for building up my employability.  I am an "older worker" of 53, so this will be a kind of changing of careers for me.  Because of my age, this also means that I want to maximize my gains, but minimize the amount of time that will be necessary to achieve a given objective.  I don't want to acquire a given degree/certification, only to then be looking at retirement.  LOLL

    I currently, and intend to continue , work as the Pastor of a local church.  Unfortunately which is often the case, my church is not large enough to provide a full-time salary.  So I have been looking at ways that I can supplement my income.  (My wife has been spoiled, and expects food on a regular basis! LOLL)  Recently I was speaking to the director of a local non profit agency that works with blind rehabilitation.  Our conversation concerned a different issue in which I will be doing some side work with this agency.  During our conversation and after I had casually mentioned that I was looking for additional employment, the Director commented that she would really like to hire me, and that she thought that I would be a great asset to the agency.  She mentioned however, that right now there wasn't anything for me, because they needed those with certain "certifications".  This got my mind working, and I thought that I would begin by asking questions, acquiring background information from this list, since I knew that there were several of you that work within this type of field.  I thought that if I could gather information, then maybe it would be feasible for me to pursue one, or several of these certifications.  This would make me more desirable for the local agency that I mentioned, while also helping my chances of gaining employment in other areas if I decided to move!  So this is where I am at now.  *smile*

    By the way, I could be persuaded to move, if one of you have a great job that you would like to offer me!  *smile*

    Again, thank you for your help and guidance!

Respectfully Yours,
James

-----Original Message-----
From: Julie J. via blindtlk
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 5:13 AM
To: Judy Jones ; Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Employment Question...

I am a Commissioner for my state agency.  You only need a college degree, BS or BA, to be hired.  A Master's degree will advance you on the pay scale, but isn't required.  The degree does not have to be in rehabilitation.  Once hired our agency provides the specific blindness training needed by all staff.  This means that your first several months with our agency will be spent 100% on training.

If you are interested in certifications, there is the NOMC for cane travel instructors and the certification for literary Braille, sorry the exact
letter abbreviation escapes me at the moment.    National convention is a
good place to meet people from all different states, get a feel for how they operate and find out if there are any job openings.

Are you considering relocation?  Each state is different in it's requirements.  You'd have to contact the state in which you are looking to know exactly what you'd need to work there.  Some states do require the certifications you are thinking about and some do not.

Good luck!
Julie
Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman's Quest to Train her Own Guide Dog is now available! Get the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXZSMOC
Visit my new website on developing courage and living authentically:
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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy Jones via blindtlk
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 7:29 PM
To: James Kelm ; Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Employment Question...

It sounds like your questions are almost too general to answer.  Decide on a blindness field you wish to enter.  Most require a Masters degree, depending the location.

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: James Kelm via blindtlk
Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2015 2:43 PM
To: Blind Talk
Subject: [Blindtlk] Employment Question...

Dear friends,

    This may be a question who’s answer is too involved for the general list, but if someone would like to assist me off line, please feel free!
jameskelm at earthlink.net  I would love to hear from someone from an agency, or other type of professional that works with this issue regularly.

    I will soon be attaining my Masters degree, and once that course of study is finished, I am looking toward other areas in which I can gain further employability for myself.  I have heard that a number of agencies, including some within my own state, are looking for a number of certified instructors.  From what I have gathered, mobility instructors, Braille instructors, and others are needed.  My question is two fold.

    Firstly, what are some of the certifications that I could consider, that are commonly most needed within the field of rehabilitation for the blind?

    Secondly, what is involved in one acquiring such certification?

    Thank you for your help!

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