[ddots-l] Re: Job Question
- From: "Mike Tyo" <mtyo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:33:12 -0400
Hi Chris,
Boy - this could turn into a rather loaded question. The way I see it,
unless some things turn around in terms of simple economics, it's eventually
going to be difficult for anyone being able to get a decent job. There are a
lot of highly educated people coming out of colleges and universities who
aren't getting work, and quite often times they have to settle for lesser
paid employment or none at all. On top of this, there's the massive debt
that's being incurred from student loans, taxes going up on individuals,
small to medium-sized businesses, and corporations.
This is all personal to me as I'm experiencing a similar situation. I get
rather offended when somebody has the balls to regard what I do as being a
hobby. I invested time, personal funds, and grant moneys from various
student aid programs to go to college; so I know full well what frustration
you're feeling. I also feel that people should be thinking long and hard
before they go into debt up to their ears as it really isn't a good time to
be doing that right now. Unfortunately most of the blind community worldwide
is still out of work in spite of advances in assistive technologies. I think
it's a broader issue then just being proficient in the use of computers,
etc. That's another topic - most likely not appropriate for here.
Nevertheless I deal with people who can't seem to get their arms around the
fact that we just can't jump in the car and go deliver pizzas and whatnot to
pick up the slack. I know that living in New York State that I can't
continually keep running to the state to get them to buy the latest upgrade
to JAWS or whatever screen reader you're using every year when it's
released. The states are broke, and the blind community is not exactly on
the top of their list of people who might possibly need some help
financially now and then. If you have poor credit, no credit, or bad credit,
good luck trying to get help to clean up that mess, even if it's not your
fault for causing it in the first place!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that there's one answer
that'll fix it. There are a host of things that simply have to be turned
around so that everybody can benefit from the fruits of their labor. I
believe that people need to be happy in what they do, especially in their
professional lives. I'm 53 years old now, and I'm still trying to get out
there. Everybody has something to bring to the table; we're all blessed with
innate gifts, else we'd be just little robots running around without a
purpose. When those gifts are honed, well - you know the rest of the story;
it should only get better from here. If you abandon something that you
really like doing to satisfy somebody else, you're not helping yourself at
all. I had a government agency tell me after they help pay my tuition for
four years that it was time for me to go back to school and learn a skill.
Mind you, I thought I had been doing that all this time. I try really hard
not to compromise my principles when it comes to wanting what I want.
I know it didn't answer any questions, but I hope it helps you with a little
positive reinforcement.
Cheers!
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Smart" <csmart8@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 17:21
Subject: [ddots-l] Job Question
Hi folks.
I have some employment related questions, specifically, I'm wondering in
what parts of the computer field blind folks are finding work these days.
Or,
If there is a list specifically for blind computer professionals, or more
generally, employment of blind folks, please mention it and I'll gladly
take this over there.
Both teaching music and mixing and mastering audio are both not getting me
anywhere in terms of income. It's sadly, time for me to just forget about
the music business as anything more than a hobby, and find work elsewhere.
if you were going to retrain presently, what area would you focus on?
Networking? Coding? Smartphone App developing? Something else?
I attended university before the first big dot com boom and bust in the
late 1990's. Back then, a computer science degree was golden. I have no
idea if that's the case now, or where the money and opportunities are.
I'm also wondering who offers correspondence courses that has a reputable
name. i.e. not some fly by night operation or free course somewhere, but
an institution with distance learning options and real credibility and
name recognition. And, preferably somewhere that can offer something
focused, specialized, and intensive. I need to take something over the
next year or two, not four years or more, and am prepared to work flat out
to finish it.
Thanks for any ideas or pointers to more appropriate lists.
Chris
--------------------------------------------------
CTS MASTERING, affordable and professional mixing and mastering:
http://www.ctsmastering.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CTSMASTERING
BLOG: www.ctsmastering.com/blog
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