[Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking

Thu Feb 19 03:50:52 UTC 2009

Paul,

I am a professional civil engineer, specializing in water resources 
planning.  I currently work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in our New 
York City office, doing planning work on flood control and coastal storm 
damage reduction projects.  Before coming to work for the Corps two years 
ago I did water supply planning work for state government in California.  I 
am 31, have also been blind all my life, and use a white cane and Braille. 
I graduated with my bachelor's in 2001 and while working for state 
government earned my professional engineer's license in 2004.  I was 
fortunate in college to get two years of internship experience with the 
state government department for whom I worked after I graduated.

I admire your persistance.  Don't give up!  David, Denna, and John have each 
given you some great ideas.  I too would encourage you to look at jobs with 
the federal government: in addition to NASA (cool!) you may wish to consider 
especially the Department of Defense, such as the Navy.  In fact, while 
relocating to be nearer my girlfriend-now-wife I applied for a job at the 
Navy submarine base in Groton, Connecticut.  I wish I could be more helpful 
regarding the Corps, but we do little work building things that fly. 
However, if you'd like to talk more about the way I found federal government 
jobs and applied for them, including using my blindness as a way of getting 
my foot in the door for interviews and cutting some of the hiring red tape, 
feel free to reply or write me off-list.  Certainly explore as many options 
as you can.

While you are searching for a job full time, consider working with VR to 
prepare you for likely relocating.  If the thought makes you nervous (it 
still did me as a relatively settled, homeowning professional when moving to 
join the Corps), take advantage of any additional cane travel training you 
can get, etc.

Keep networking here and don't give up!

Nathanael Wales

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
To: "NFB Science and Engineering Division List" <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking

>
> Dear Paul,
>
> I think that proccemity could have something to do with it also.  You may 
> need to think about moving from where you are at, to an area where there 
> are businesses that could make use of your skills.
> Florida, California, Texas, North Carolina might be better hunting 
> grounds.
>  You might even check with Emery Riddle in Daytona Beach Florida as I 
> think their aviation program has a Blind Professor teaching there.
> There are some other Blind engineers in the NFB who work for the Navy and 
> Aircraft makers.
> Just don't give up and keep plugging away.  You will find it or it will 
> find you somehow.
>
> Look at NASA jobs and the Army Corp of Engineers.
> It is out there somewhere.
>
> Your friend,
>
> David Evans, NFBF
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <aerospace1028 at hotmail.com>
> To: <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 2:34 PM
> Subject: [Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear List,
>
> I apologize in advance for the lengthy post.
>
>
>
> I have been lurking here for the past couple of months now
> and feel I should introduce myself.  My
> name is Paul, I am a recent college graduate and I have been visually
> impaired/blind since birth (for those of you that are curious, I have 
> “retinopathy
> of unknown etymology”).  I have some
> usable vision, but I travel with a cane, read Braille (g2, Nemeth, and 
> recently
> I’ve started dabbling in UEB), and I use a screen-reader to access a 
> computer
> (I’m most familiar with JAWS, but have also recently familiarized myself 
> with
> Orca on Ubuntu).
>
>
>
> Like many persons with visual disabilities, I am unemployed.
>
>
>
> Ever since my childhood, I have had a fascination with spaceflight.  In 
> primary and secondary school, I did well
> in the sciences.  When I graduated high
> school, I enrolled in college to study engineering.  I successfully 
> obtained my undergraduate
> degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, with a focus on
> structural mechanics.
>
> Unfortunately, during my term of study, I was unable to
> obtain any relevant work experience--and not for lack of trying.  One of 
> the prerequisites for internships is
> 1-3 years previous internship experience.
> Upon graduation, the prerequisite for an entry-level engineering
> position is 2-5 years previous experience.
>
>
>
> I remained persistent and kept applying everywhere; from the
> big-name contractors like Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and ATK Thyakol, to the
> smaller sub-contractors like Analytical Mechanical Services, and even some 
> of
> the newer private-sector companies like Armadillo Aerospace, bigellow
> Aerospace, and SpaceX.
>
>
>
> On several occasions, I was able to land an interview.  The question of my 
> lack of employment always
> came up, some companies were even less critical than others that it was 
> not an
> oversight in updating my resume.  But I
> always ended up getting a letter, "regretfully informing me that the
> position to which I had applied was being filled with another qualified
> candidate."
>
>
>
> I am working with VR, but they seem to have trouble with my
> education as an aerospace engineer.  They
> recognize me as being "smart,"' and they see my resume has a list of
> "computer skills" and seem to be herding me towards software
> engineering and network administration positions.
>
>
>
> I had a recent close call with a job.  I found a start-up company in 
> Portland
> Maine that was willing to hire me for
> structural consulting, but they have since folded under.
>
>
>
> I am finally willing to admit, the cliché is correct; who you
> know, is more important than what you know.  My problem is that I have no 
> network of "whos"
> inside the engineering industry.  None of
> my relatives works for any aerospace companies, and living in a rural 
> community
> on the Maine-New Hampshire border, there just isn't much aerospace 
> presence around.
>
>
>
> Finally, arriving near the end of my post, is there anyone who
> can help?  Does anyone on this list have any
> contacts with whom they could put me in contact?
>
>
>
> Thank you
>
> --Paul Boucher
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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