[nfbcs] jaws speed

[Brian Buhrow]

	hello.  The WPM (Words Per Minute) at which one listens to a synthesizer 
seems like a strange metric to give a prospective employer.  No matter how
fast I set my synthesizer, there's no way a straight words per minute rate
compares with visual reading speed.  However, that doesn't mean I'm less
efficient with documents than my sighted colleagues or that my ability to
handle data is slower than my sighted colleagues.  In my work I
bring other tricks that help compensate for this difference.  I have a
good understanding of the domain in which I work which allows me to slice
into a problem more concisely than others might ; depending on the problem
or project I'm working on, there may be other tools I can use that greatly
improve my efficiency over straight reading.  
	My point here is not to say that advertising the WPM at which one
listens to a synthesizer isn't a good thing to do or that it isn't an
interesting factoid to have in one's pocket, but that when one is
interviewing for a job, the key is to demonstrate that you are agile,
adaptive, able to think on your feet and able to solve strange problems
with novel solutions.  As blind people competing in the workplace with
sighted colleagues, it's important to remember that the brain is more
powerful than the eye and that we cand and should tool our brains to help
us gain every advantage possible.  If we do that, the chances that we'll
land an interesting job that pays well and keeps us engaged are much
grater.

-thanks
-Brian