[nfbmi-talk] This is Interesting FW: [nfbcs] Work experiences

[Fred Wurtzel]

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2013 9:19 AM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Subject: [nfbcs] Work experiences

Mike asked about work experiences, so here's mine.
I got a B.A. in Linguistics, but was not getting anywhere with it, so I got 
a programmer certificate.  The program I attended had ties to business, and 
one of those businesses hired me.  That was about 25 years ago, and I've 
stayed in the same place since.
My first boss used to bring strangers by to show off the blind person, which

was very awkward for me, but he moved on after a while, and I survived.
I'm a mainframe programmer, so I've been spared the bit about everything 
changing every few years.  Every 10 or 15 years we change systems, and 
everyone has to learn the new one, but that has not been a problem.
The change to Windows from Dos was a big deal for me.  I used to use IBM 
Screen Reader for Dos, which was the best screen reader I ever had, and 
learning Jaws and Windows took some effort.  Once I found the right scripts 
for terminal emulation, things settled down, thank Goodness.
Now, we are going to slowly move to a system that uses SQL, so I have been 
learning that, and it's going well.  I was worried I'd have access problems 
with the SQL server, but, so far, so good.
My title is Project Leader, but, though I've asked my boss many times to let

me lead projects, he has not.  He gives that job to another guy.  I don't 
know if that's because he's a man and I'm a woman, or the other guy has a 
better style, or what.  But I'm asking for a title change to technical 
specialist, which suits me better.
I use Jaws and an Alva braille display.  I do not have any trouble keeping 
up.  In fact, if my boss wants something fast, he gives it to me.  He says 
I'm one of the best programmers in the City working on our system, which 
pleases me.
It's possible I could have progressed farther in my career if I'd been able 
to access training more easily, but the truth is that most people in my 
group don't get any extra training, anyway.  We used to, but not for years.
So my work experience has been good.  If I were more ambitious, I might not 
think so, but I'm sliding into that place of doing the job until retirement 
rolls around.
Tracy



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