Say you’re one of the many individuals who are blind or visually impaired who have attended a university for an undergraduate degree and who are having a difficult time achieving employment, landing a dream job, or keeping a decent job. While you have the minimum school requirements to enter your career field of interest, you may think the missing link to career success is additional schooling.
It’s easy to convince ourselves a second Bachelor’s degree would provide the knowledge needed to obtain employment.
It’s easy to convince ourselves a Master’s degree would provide the credibility and authority needed to promote.
It’s easy to convince ourselves a different degree and accompanying career change are the only routes to job satisfaction.
Brace yourselves; Uncomfortable truth ahead.
There’s a chance additional schooling is not the answer. Instead, maybe personal changes are in order.
The missing link between you and gainful employment could actually be training in blindness-specific skills or assistive technology use; it could be improving social skills; it could be learning to “Get Your Disability Disclosure On and Embrace Your Diversity”; it could be utilizing organizational strategies; it could be volunteer work; or it could be seeking and implementing constructive criticism.
Before you jump back into school for a second degree or an advanced degree, investigate if it’s the necessary route to your desired outcome, gainful employment.