[nabs-l] Stop Blaming the Economy

Sun Nov 17 02:17:34 UTC 2013

Also, self-employment allows you to control your own schedule, and your own
methods with how you complete your tasks, and serve your customers.
Everything is accessible.  Do your own self-inventory of your skills and
just see which ones are viable for employment, or self-employment.  You do
not have to do it like your sighted counterparts.  We have to be more
deliberate in in the steps we take, and for us, it is more imperative to
find a corner of a market.  To find a job, our methods from start to finish
have to be planned out a little better than our sighted compatriots for all
of the reasons mentioned on this list.   However,  it is very doable; not
easy, but doable. Remember, a lot of effort in the wrong direction equals no
effort in no direction, and a lot of lost energy and frustration.  Using
about half of said effort in the right direction, in other words, proper
application of your skills with a positive attitude will take you quite a
ways.  You have to be able to explain to an employer from A through z, how
you can help the company including enough about the assistive technology so
that the employer will no that you can find solutions.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jamie P.
Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2013 8:24 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Stop Blaming the Economy

First, let me get my key positions out of the way with very little
song-and-dance...
1. I understand the economy is in the dumps, however, this does not mean
there are ZERO jobs available. In fact, I frequently encounter a large
number of businesses in my area alone (Denver and surrounding cities) that
are, in fact, hiring. There are, of course, more and more people who have
been laid off in previous years who will be competing for these jobs along
with the recent college grads with significantly less work experience. The
fact of the matter is that jobs are hard to get, but perhaps not so hard to
find, and when people say "stop blaming the economy", they are more likely
trying to say that knowledge of the state of the economy is not sufficient
reason to simply not look for a job - ACTIVELY! If you really want a job,
you have to beat the pavement. You have to fill out lots of applications and
make lots of phone calls and in-person visits to places that are hiring,
every single day, until you've either run out of options or have that job.
It's probably not going to be your dream job. You might be serving ice cream
in the mall with a bunch of high schoolers for a year, but you'll be getting
work experience and earning money, and if that is important to you, that's
what you'll need to do. If you're content collecting SSI, or if you're
holding out for some more ideal job that may or may not exist, I don't have
a problem with that. That's your choice. I just personally don't enjoy
listening to a small few peers (probably not on
list) who will not even take the first steps in trying to find a job and
will say it's because the economy is bad.

2. Regarding job accommodations, it has generally been my experience that if
you are offering up a solution to an access problem that will not cost your
employer a dime, they're willing to work with you. For example, I worked for
a research institute for a short time, and needed to perform, all of my work
tasks on a computer. When I suggested that I use my own laptop at work so
that the employer wouldn't have to acquire or install any new software on
their own, and would in fact have a computer of their own completely
unoccupied and available for another's use, they were thrilled.
I know a few sighted software developers who use their own laptops at work,
too. Security isn't as huge an issue as you might think. There are enough
contractual agreements between employers and employees to keep everyone
protected, and where those fail, firewalls and other technological security
measures step in. A much bigger issue for any employee is going to be the
cost of hiring you, and if there is any way at all that you can clearly
minimize that cost from the start, you'll be better off.

3. Finally, I could be wrong, but I'm not sure I've heard anyone discuss
self-employment as an option for a lot of us who are qualified for hire but
can't seem to find a job for what ever reason. I wont say it's easy to start
a business, but it isn't so difficult that you need to be some kind of super
genius or business expert to do it, and this I can say from experience.
Sometimes, to be successful, you have to travel the road less taken. If you
have a skill, a talent, a special interest or hobby that you're happy to put
a lot of time into, chances are very good that here's a way to monazite it
and turn a profit. Programming is great for this, because software costs
virtually nothing to make, and only requires time and effort as start-up
capital. Teaching is another skill that can be turned into a self-employment
opportunity. I have a friend who makes his entire living as a private tutor,
and lives very comfortably with no need for SSI or any similar benefits. And
this is just the tip of the iceberg. I feel like if we're going to discuss
blindness and employment, we need to give the idea of self-employment a fair
amount of time in our minds and in our discussions because while it is not
the standard 9 to 5 we typically associate with the American Dream, it is
certainly a viable path to the same, if not greater, success in this world.

On Sat, Nov 16, 2013 at 12:36 PM, wmodnl wmodnl <wmodnl at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I think, the other side to the argument is:
> Regardless of the economy, we always appear as a liability not an 
> asset to companies large and small.  Companies will always blame the 
> economy, or our "costs" before hiring us.  It is the fact of corporate 
> America.  They think with the pocket, not the fact that, we are 
> probably harder loyal workers compared to most "normal" people.  The 
> average individual can not deal with, or handle seeing someone who is
"different" in an office setting.
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Nov 14, 2013, at 9:54 PM, "Littlefield, Tyler" 
> > <tyler at tysdomain.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Joe:
> > Minh's point was just this:
> >
> > There are a ton of people right now (it's not really uncommon to see
> college graduates living with their parents) without jobs. all of them 
> are qualified and all of them would love a job. While you're keeping 
> your skills sharp, so are they. Now, when it comes down to the hiring 
> process, who do you think employers are going to hire? Are they going 
> to hire the blind guy who they are uncertain about, who they may need 
> to spend money on accomidating, or are they going to hire the next 
> perfectly abel person in line? They can pay lower wages and people 
> will still take the jobs, and guess what? If they don't, the next 
> person will. The economy is bad right now, which means it's bad for 
> everyone--you, me, uncle sam and most small businesses. Why shell out 
> extra hundreds of dollars that may be required on accomidations when 
> you can have someone that does the same job and costs you less? You 
> sound like you're in a bit of denial here, but it's the facts of life. 
> No, Minh never said we are less able. She was just pointing out some 
> of the logical reasons behind your point. you can deny all you want, 
> but it doesn't change the facts of life. As to your jab about her 
> mantality, she's probably one of the most active blind people I've 
> met, so I don't think that's the case here. It may be different for you to
point that finger if she sat at home and did nothing.
> >> On 11/14/2013 9:32 PM, Joe wrote:
> >> Tyler,
> >>
> >> I'm not sure what reality check you're hoping I'll receive. If it's 
> >> unemployment you're wishing on me, anything is possible, but even 
> >> with a position in the federal government I have kept a part-time 
> >> business
> running,
> >> because although government jobs are said to be secure, nothing is 
> >> guaranteed. The shutdown didn't bother me because I still had 
> >> income to
> fall
> >> back on. If I lose my job tomorrow, I will have six months of 
> >> savings to actively seek the next best position. Why? Because I 
> >> have kept my
> skills up
> >> to date, because I have kept a fair professional network intact, 
> >> and
> because
> >> I understand the ability to create positions for myself through the 
> >> consulting capacity that a lot of Americans pursued after the 
> >> economic decline several years ago. I say that in hopes people will 
> >> be angered
> enough
> >> to try new strategies to find their next job. Remember it's usually 
> >> the first one that's the toughest to obtain. If an idiot like me 
> >> can
> steadily
> >> increase his income, you can do it better.
> >>
> >> It's easy to say there are more people looking for jobs than there 
> >> are
> jobs
> >> to fill. Unfortunately that oversimplifies the argument into one of
> quantity
> >> without fully looking at quality. The people who get chosen are the
> ones who
> >> make the cut, and that's true no matter the condition of the economy.
> The
> >> concern should not be the sheer number of people competing for the 
> >> jobs
> you
> >> wish you had. It's what you've been doing to separate yourself from
> those
> >> numbers.
> >>
> >> Ashley,
> >>
> >> Right on about volunteering. I completed a year of AmeriCorps. 
> >> During
> that
> >> year I pushed myself into areas outside of my responsibilities and
> learned a
> >> valuable skill that played a key role in landing my first real job.
> Anything
> >> you can do to fill your resume is viewed positively.
> >>
> >> Minh,
> >>
> >> I don't agree with Tyler's points, but I can see where he's coming
from.
> >> Yet, it's exactly your mentality I can't process. This notion that 
> >> we as blind people will always be at a disadvantage when compared 
> >> to people
> who
> >> need no accommodations drives me crazy, because it assumes no 
> >> matter
> what we
> >> do, we will always be viewed as second class citizens when compared 
> >> to
> our
> >> sighted peers. An employer is not thinking about the state of the
> economy
> >> when she is looking to hire someone to fill a role. All she cares 
> >> about
> is
> >> finding the right person to do the job she needs completed. We're 
> >> going
> to
> >> need accommodations no matter the economy, so either we are
> competitive, or
> >> we are not. I don't buy the logic that somehow the dim economy 
> >> makes
> things
> >> significantly worse for us.
> >>
> >> Joe
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> > --
> > Take care,
> > Ty
> > http://tds-solutions.net
> > He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; 
> > he
> that dares not reason is a slave.
> >
> >
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