Explore Careers for Job Seekers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

What Is Career Exploration?

Career exploration is the first step to finding a job you’ll be good at and enjoy doing. If you’re new to the workforce or are thinking of switching professions, taking the time to explore the careers you’re considering will focus your job search and make you a more informed and confident candidate for the positions you apply for.

The career exploration process provides a structure for:

Defining your work-related personality traits and career goals
Researching the professional areas that are good matches for these traits and goals
Identifying the skills you’ll need to successfully pursue a given profession or job

This section of CareerConnect will take you through each step in the career exploration process—not only will you have fun along the way, you’ll end up with a clear roadmap for your job search.

The Benefits of Career Exploration for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

There are many benefits to doing thorough career exploration before you start your job search. Job seeking can be a long and challenging process, so it’s important that you’ve done the research to ensure that the positions you do pursue are right for you, your background, and your interests. Career exploration will help you avoid:

Applying for jobs for which you don’t meet minimum training or education requirements
Pursuing positions in a profession, field, or work environment not suited to your personality, values, or lifestyle
Going for jobs where the average salary and/or opportunities for promotion do not match your career plan
Ending up in a position where the reality of the work is not what you thought it would be

Career Exploration for the Job Seeker Who Is Blind or Visually Impaired

Career exploration can help you make a good, viable decision about your future in the workplace. Are you aware of the tremendous number of careers available to you as a person with vision loss? We know of at least 300 occupational fields in which blind or visually impaired workers are succeeding and finding delight in their work

To learn more, browse Our Stories to read first-hand accounts of life in the workforce from workers with vision loss, Make Connections, or Find a Mentor who is blind or visually impaired who can answer questions and provide guidance about working life.

Job Seeker’s Toolkit

Do you know what training is required for your career of interest?
Have you researched the market forecast for your target career to see what the future looks like?
Do you know what the typical job modifications are for a worker who is blind or visually impaired?
Have you connected with a professional who is visually impaired who currently does the work you’re interested in to find out the inside scoop?
Do you have a network of professionals to whom you can turn for help and advice?

The Job Seeker’s Toolkit can help you answer these questions and more. The Toolkit is a structured course that takes you through the Self-Assessment, Career Exploration, and Job Search processes, providing guidance on disability disclosure, job maintenance, and accessibility technologies—among many other topics—along the way. The Toolkit presents lessons and exercises that help you hone your employment skills and develop critical job search supporting documents, like your resume. Start your career exploration with the Job Seeker’s Toolkit, be inspired, and get ahead!