Jobs Being Done by People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired American Foundation for the Blind M.C. Migel Library & Information Center 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300 New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212.502.7661 TDD: 212.502.7662 E-mail: afbinfo@afb.org ----------------------------------------------------------------- Jobs Being Done by People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired (April 1997) By AFB Employment Team It wasn't very many years ago that most blind people who were employed were working in a small group of occupations. Some examples of such jobs include piano tuning, sewing, winding brooms, and operating vending stands in Federal facilities. While a number of blind people are still successfully employed in these occupations, the 1980s and 1990s have been a time when many blind people have sought and found employment in various other fields. The emergence of reading machines, personal computers with speech or braille output, on-screen magnification, closed circuit televisions, improved magnifiers of various sizes for various purposes, and many other technological developments have contributed to some blind people moving into jobs that they previously could not do without sighted assistance. Additionally, changes in Federal legislation have made people who are blind more aware of their rights to pursue employment in the field of their choice, and these same laws prohibit employers from discriminating against the blind applicant or employee. Unfortunately, far too many qualified blind and visually impaired people are still unable to find work. One of the ways that this problem can be addressed is by ensuring that blind and visually impaired people--whether they be students, rehabilitation clients, or working-age adults losing vision--are made aware of some of the many jobs that others are successfully doing. What follows is a partial list of jobs held by persons enrolled in the American Foundation for the Blind's Careers and Technology Bank (CTIB). CTIB members are willing to be contacted to exchange job-related information or information about assistive technology with other blind and visually impaired individuals, assist rehabilitation professionals in exploring career options for clients, and provide information for employers seeking to hire and/or promote blind or visually impaired persons. This listing of jobs is not considered to be all inclusive. However, it is hoped that it will serve as a start to helping you, a family member, client, student, friend, or colleague identify a career goal or a career growth opportunity. A Sampling of Jobs Held by People in AFB's Careers & Technology Information Bank Business 172 Accountant Customer Service Personnel Purchasing Agent Tax Specialist Travel Agent Clerk/Typist Data Entry Operator Medical Transcriptionist Legal 100 Attorney Judge Paralegal Information Services 20 Information Specialist Librarian Education 161 Elementary and Secondary Education Teachers Administration and Support (K-12) College Teaching in Over 20 Academic Disciplines Administration and Support in Higher Education Special Education & Rehabilitation 274 Assistive Technology Specialist Early Childhood Specialist Rehabilitation Counselor Teacher of Visually Impaired Students Human Services 69 Psychologist Social Worker Medical & Allied Health 35 Health Aide Nurse Physician Psychiatric Social Worker Scientists & Engineers 63 Scientists Biologist Mathematician Physicist Statistician Engineers Civil Electrical Mechanical Technology/Computer Related 162 Computer Network Manager Programmer Technical Support Specialist Telecommunications 20 Telephone Operator Telecommunications Specialist Radio/TV/Print Media 50 Journalist Radio Broadcasting Television Broadcasting Writer Agriculture 2 Farmer Food Services 14 Cook Food Services Worker Music Industry 16 Musician Miscellaneous 87 Actor Clergy Inventor Business Owner Factory Worker Craftsman For more information about AFB's Careers and Technology Information Bank or to get in touch with a CTIB member contact: American Foundation for the Blind National Technology Center 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300 New York, NY 10001 Phone: (212) 502-7642 fax: (212) 502-7773 e-mail: techctr@afb.org Note: In keeping with AFB's mission to achieve equality of access to information for people who are blind or visually impaired, this document is available, upon request, in one or more of the following formats: electronic file, braille, large print and audio recording