[stylist] Working in blindness field

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Ashley,

Without actual stats, we can't really debate this, but that being said,
I beg to differ, at least to a degree.

I don't think anyone here is trying to make generalizations seeing as we
all are blind, but we are all speaking from our experiences and personal
observations.

In the ten years I've been blind, which isn't long compared to some,
I've met more blind people working in a blindness-related field or
hoping to be employed in a blindness related field. For every lawyer,
teacher and computer programmer I've met, I've met ten who worked in a
job relating to blindness.

There's nothing wrong with this, and most of us would agree that blind
people need to be working in these fields, but I also think it can
become a safety net for some; not all, but many.

I've been to NFB conventions, and yes, there are people employed in
various fields, and many scholarship winners plan to, or are, pursuing a
myriad of career paths, but again, for every one of these people I've
met, I've met a dozen working in the blindness field. Or many of these
people end up in a blindness field despite their choice of degree.

And having heard several scholarship winners speak at conventions, a
good number of them hope to work in some way in a blindness field or
teaching the blind. Again, nothing wrong with this, and we do need blind
people doing this, but, for me, it shows how many blind people go into a
blindness related field.

And in our affiliate, most of the leadership either works in the
blindness field or hopes too. Of our eleven state board members, only
two are employed outside of a blindness field, and one is working
towards a degree so they can work in a blindness job.

More and more blind people are seeking opportunities outside of a
blindness related career, but many are still drawn to the field for
whatever reason. Again, we need strong, competent blind people in this
field, but we also need to consider what we truly want as a person and
not a blind person.

And a side note, I don't think Lynda meant anything negative by her
comments nor was she implying all blind people work in a blindness
related field. She was merely detailing her experience and speaking to
that experience alone.

Bridgit

Message: 11
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 22:28:29 -0500
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Sending this again: Article
	showingwhatparentsofblindkids are facing
Message-ID: <D073072BEB3F4E1F938EB6B7A6FF190A at OwnerPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=response

Lynda,
I beg to differ. Have you been to a nfb convention?
There are people employed in all walks of life and most scholarship
winners 
have a career aspiration in a non blindness field; they include future 
teachers, therapists, researchers,  counselors, and doctors.
Most blind people I know work either in the IT field as computer
programmers 
or in the government, far from the blindness
fields! Read the braille monitor and you will see the wide variety of
fields 
too!