Careers for people with disabilities: special opportunities if you are deaf, hard of hearing : using today's technology you can succeed in any mainstream profession

CAREERS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES IF YOU ARE DEAF HARD OF HEARING

Institute Research Number 395 ISBN 1-58511-395-6

CAREERS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES IF YOU ARE DEAF – HARD OF HEARING USING TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN SUCCEED IN ANY MAINSTREAM PROFESSION WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT FIELDS

of endeavor that present a particular challenge to people with any degree of hearing loss, one of the first that comes to mind is probably music. What could be more essentially and inherently all about hearing and sound? And yet, thanks partly to technology, partly to a more enlightened way of thinking and partly to the efforts of activists, a career in music is fully within the realm of possibility for deaf and hard of hearing people. (Of course, you’ll still need talent and endless ambition!)

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Beethoven, certainly, is the premier example of a deaf person who exercised his passion for music; but plenty of hearing-impaired people with arguably less genius enjoy successful careers in the music field. Samuragoch is a popular composer of scores for video games who lost his hearing as a young man. Evelyn Glennie is a famous and accomplished percussionist who happens to be profoundly deaf. Shawn Dale Barnett is a deaf man who owns a record label and performs as a drummer. In recent years, music classes have multiplied in schools for the deaf. Many other career fields have opened up considerably in the past couple of decades, as well. Firsts may continue to be celebrated well into the future, much as they have been in the past. Americans hailed I. King Jordan – the first deaf president of Gallaudet University Marlee Matlin – the first actress to win an Academy Award for a signing-nonspeaking role Heather Whitestone – the first Miss America who was deaf But celebrated pioneers are few and far between – the reality is that deaf and hard of hearing people are increasingly found in mainstream professions, doing successful jobs and finding fulfillment in life. This report will help you figure out what it is you want to spend the next 40-odd years doing for a living – give or take a few decades. Today, it’s not uncommon for a person to have four or five distinct careers as their financial and personal needs change. So if you’d like some help in figuring out what is your best career goal – and you’d like some advice from hearing-impaired people who have become successful in life and work – keep reading!

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INVESTIGATING YOUR OPTIONS WHEN WE WERE FIVE YEARS OLD , THE QUESTION, “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE

when you grow up?” seemed so easy to answer, and we confidently gave different answers from one day to the next. As you get closer to making significant decisions about your future, though, it becomes important to consider this question more carefully. Now is the time to take steps to make the things happen that need to happen for you to get where you want to go. This will require some research and some soul-searching. But it will be fun – because it’s all about what you’re good at and what nourishes you personally, intellectually, psychologically and spiritually. There is no dearth of literature, vocational tests and Web sites proffering questionnaires, worksheets and exercises to help you answer these questions. But there is one source we recommend above all, and that source is Richard N. Bolles. Richard Bolles is the author of What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career Changers (Ten Speed Press), as well as The What Color Is Your Parachute? Workbook, The Three Boxes of Life And How to Get Out of Them (an introduction to life/work planning), How to Find Your Mission in Life and Job-Hunting Tips for the So-Called Handicapped. Although What Color Is Your Parachute? has been dubbed The Job Hunter’s Bible, it’s about much more than becoming gainfully employed. Parachute contains five chapters (over 150 pages in the 2002 paperback edition) devoted to identifying your passions and favorite skills, finding your mission in life, specifying what you’d most love to do, and figuring out how it all translates into a distinct job title. There’s also a chapter on starting your own business. You can take Parachute out of the library, but you’ll probably end up wanting to own a copy since you’ll refer to it again and again. The workbook, of course, must be purchased because you’ll write in it. Here are some exercises and ideas to get you started on finding your dream job. Pick an intriguing job title from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). This multi-volume set should be available at your public library. You can also access its contents online at www.oalj.dol.gov/libdot.htm. Make a list of job titles that interest you – they run the gamut from abalone 4

diver to zoo veterinarian. What do the job titles you find interesting have in common? Read the job descriptions and list all the verbs used. What are the tasks that jump out at you as something you might enjoy doing? What skills do you possess that would make you good at this job? Could you be persuaded to develop the necessary skills you don’t yet possess? Visit the Careers Internet Database wesite: www.careers-internet.org and take the career test. It will tell you, based on what you do and do not like to do, in which of six categories you’re most likely to thrive: Helping, Organizing, Analyzing, Creating, Influencing, and Producing & Adventuring. Then you can look at the list of careers for each category to see if any trip your trigger. One of the most helpful things about this test is it considers all of your interests and lists the relevant categories in descending order. At www.edonline.com/collegecompass/carhlp2.htm, there is a Career Interest Survey that asks you to describe your personal characteristics, interests and skills and then classifies you by type, such as practical or intellectual and suggests a dozen or so appropriate fields and disciplines you might want to pursue. The Princeton Review CareerQuiz at www.review.com/career /careerQuiz1.cfm?careers=6&menuID=0 is made of pairs of phrases and you are asked which describes you better. It then identifies your interests and your working style. Two books by motivational counselor Barbara Sher – Wishcraft (Ballantine Books) and I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was (Delacorte Press). Both books are designed to help you figure out what you want and how to get it. The first book contains many useful exercises to help you discover your strengths and skills and shows you how to chart a map that leads to your goal. The other book focuses a little more on motivational techniques to arm you against self-sabotage like negative thinking. So what did you want to be when you grew up, anyway? Is any part of that childhood dream still appealing? Why, or why not? You might say to yourself, “I no longer want to be a ballerina, but I’m still crazy about the performing arts.” Or, “I used to say I wanted to be a surgeon because my Dad is one, but the truth is I don’t even like science. My favorite subject in school has always been history.” 5

Once you’ve identified some areas worth pursuing, you can begin investigating them with greater scrutiny. Now is the ideal time to explore your options and prepare for your future. The print format reports published by the Institute for Career Research, like the one you are reading, and on the Web site at www.careers-internet.org, feature advice on exploring and preparing for each career, but it will be necessary for you to put together an exploration and preparation strategy on your own. If you typed a list of every job title in the DOT, your document would be over 700 pages long! But it’s not just the sheer astronomical number of possibilities that makes it hard to get a handle on all the possible choices. It’s also the fact that new job titles emerge all the time, as the world changes and the needs of business evolve. A decade ago, few employers were looking for webmasters (or even knew what one was), or was there a need for people who could sell DVD players or public relations professionals who specialized in putting a positive spin on genetically modified organisms. It’s no longer appropriate to bestow a traditional job title on a newly emerging field or position. One company well known for its support and encouragement of its employees appointed a Chief Fun Officer. Another small business named one of its founders President, Even Days and the other President, Odd Days. British Airways appointed a Corporate Jester, whose job it is to constructively criticize management without fear of recrimination. To get you brainstorming about exploring and preparing for different careers, here are more ideas, one from each of six different interest categories. See if you can think of ways to explore and prepare for each. Most exploration and preparation schemes should include at least some of the following fundamentals: Try the work on for size. Do a little of what these careerists do and see if it suits you. Spend time where they work to see if it’s an environment in which you thrive. E-mail some people practicing in this field, or a related one. What are the benefits and drawbacks to this work? What would they do differently if they were starting over again today? Do they have any advice? Get a head start. Study in high school what you will have to study in college to pursue this career. This is a good time to find out if you 6

really like statistics, if you really can write poetry, if the smell of formaldehyde in the chemistry lab makes you gag. Find out what kind of adjustments would be necessary to accommodate your hearing difficulty. What assistive devices and technology would have to be in place for you to do this job effectively? Would you be comfortable asking for and receiving such assistance?

Helping Career: Massage Therapy People with helping careers

like to work with other people in a helpful manner. The may inform, train, teach, develop or cure them. People in this group might be good with words and like to communicate. If your career test, your experience, your self-knowledge, or your gut instincts, suggests you may belong in one of the helping professions, massage therapy is among the many you might want to consider. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), massage therapy is “a profession in which the practitioner applies manual techniques and may apply adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.” Basically, a massage therapist is someone whose job involves using hands and fingers to manipulate muscles and soft tissue in order to help people improve and maintain their health and to feel good. More often than not, massage therapists are doing more improving and less maintaining. This is because, regardless of age, cultural background, or economic status, Americans are very busy people – very stressed-out and not very good at taking care of themselves. Can you brainstorm some good ways to explore and prepare for this career? Here are some suggestions: Get a massage from several different professional massage therapists. If you can’t afford three different massages, find out if there is a massage therapy school in your area. In most schools, the students offer lower rate massages to get experience. You can interview a massage therapist by e-mail by clicking on Find a Massage Therapist link on AMTA Web site www.amtamassage.org/. Most massage therapists – indeed, most people who truly enjoy their work – are eager to talk about their careers.

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Practice massage on your family and close friends. Start with short, five-minute shoulder or foot massages. Ask for feedback when you are done: Did it feel good? Was the pressure okay? Did I help relieve the tension, or is it still there? Take anatomy and physiology classes if they are offered in your high school. Or, enroll in a class at your local community college. Practice listening through your fingers. Pauline, a deaf massage therapist used a Basic Sign Language interpreter during the theory portion of her training which included anatomy, physiology, and massage theory. The interpreter also helped her understand the spoken instructions accompanying the practical massage teaching. A note taker would also have been useful, she believes, but the written handouts were informative, and she was able to do a lot of reading to fill in the gaps in her knowledge. After the first term of training, there was more practical work so the interpreter was needed less, but was still available for the consultations and any additional spoken instruction. Two major projects were part of Pauline’s training. One was on health, safety and hygiene; the other covered the practical matters of setting up a business as a massage therapist. Some deaf people might prefer to use video for project work, signing rather than writing and having the video translated into speech for the instructor. When instructors demonstrate and talk at the same time, it may be tricky for deaf people, who can only watch one thing at a time and may miss vital information as a result. It means that a deaf student in a hearing class has to be very assertive and clear about needs. As a freelance massage therapist, Pauline visits people in their homes. She finds a mobile text message/fax machine (like those made by Nokia) to be essential for staying in touch with clients while she’s on the move. Practitioners working out of their own homes or offices would need to have a vibrating pager to alert them that the doorbell or telephone is ringing. Pauline feels that flashing light-type alerts are too disruptive to the environment of serenity and relaxation the massage therapist works so hard to maintain. Any salon offering massage should meet the Americans with Disabilities Act standards for health and safety, and access for 8

disabled/deaf employees. This would include whatever human and technological resources would be necessary to facilitate communication between therapist and client. “I would imagine that therapists would build up a reliable client base of both deaf and hearing people, and would establish good communication with them,” Pauline says, “thus reducing the need for regular interpreter support. “Some deaf people worry that if they are massaging a client face down and hurt them they will not know,” she added. “In practice, a good therapist senses her clients’ responses through her hands, and should easily be able to recognize and adjust for any tension or discomfort in the client’s body.”

Organizing Career: Department of Interior Organizing types may prefer to work with data and usually have strong clerical skills. Organizers might be detail oriented and like projects that are straightforward. These people like to follow instructions, maintaining traditions. People who enjoy math fall in this category. If Organizing emerged as a likely career category in your investigations, consider that many careers with the US Department of the Interior require personality traits and skills in this area. As the primary conservation agency in the United States, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for most nationally owned public lands and for the development of natural resources in ways that best serve the interests of US citizens and those who live in territories under US administration. There are many components to the DOI, and there are employment opportunities in service, management and administration. There are jobs available throughout the United States and its territories. What do you think would be the first, best step toward preparing for a career with the DOI? If you said it would be to contact the DOI itself – that’s just the right beginning. You will discover there are many education and training programs designed to provide the means for high school and college students to explore careers with the US Department of the Interior. There are paying and volunteer positions available; various education and 9

training offerings; opportunities for economically disadvantaged and disabled students, as well as for those demonstrating high academic achievement; co-op, part-time, and seasonal work; and many, many different types of jobs. Want to know who the Department of Interior is looking to hire today? Go to this website http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/a9.htm Enter keyword Interior and click on Search. You will get a list of all the different bureaus within the department, including Land Management, Indian Affairs, and Fish and Wildlife Service. Select one, click on Submit, and you will be able to view all the notices of job opportunities currently available. It’s not likely you’re ready to start your job search for real, but you can get a good idea of the kinds of positions that will be available for you, what the jobs require and what the work entails, and how much different jobs pays. One attractive feature of working for the DOI is that the US government is a large, benevolent and generous employer. The federal government was mandated by the Clinton administration to serve as a model for private-sector employers in its efforts to recruit and hire people with disabilities. Perhaps more than any other employer, the US government can be expected to make a reasonable workplace accommodation, if requested, in either the duties of the job, or where and how job tasks are performed. Examples of workplace reasonable accommodation include providing interpreters and obtaining accessible technology or other workplace adaptive equipment. This would mean, for instance, a pager to alert the employee in case of a fire; public-address systems that feature flashing electronic message displays; as well as whatever equipment is necessary to facilitate communication between employees, if the deaf person does not read lips. Visit the Office of Personnel Management at: http://www.opm.gov/employ/disabilities/index.htm for more information about the federal government’s commitments.

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Analyzing Career: Financial Planner

If your personality type takes to analyzing, you probably enjoy exploring how things work, learning, evaluating and solving problems. In that case, financial planning is one of many careers that might suit you. The United States is the richest, most productive country in history, yet Americans are faced with financial problems of unprecedented complexity. The costs of achieving financial and personal goals can be staggering. How, then, to achieve those goals? Success comes only with long-term planning. For this, individuals and families need a qualified financial planner. Financial planners (also sometimes referred to as financial advisers, financial consultants, or personal financial analysts) used to be only for the very rich. Today, anyone with moderate income and goals can use the services of a financial planner. What do you think would be a good way to prepare for and explore this career? Take as many math courses in high school as possible. Use every opportunity to enhance your communications skills. Study! Useful classes include psychology, sociology, economics, business ethics, finance and law. Join or start an investment club. Volunteer or get elected treasurer of clubs or organizations you belong to. Invest in the stock market, with real money or imaginary funds. You can pick stocks and watch their progress, without actually buying any. Louis J. Schwarz is a well-known deaf Certified Financial Planner who operates his own firm. He was featured as the first deaf financial professional in the Who’s Who in Finance and Industry. You can take a look at his Web site at: http://www.moneysigns.com/advisors/default.asp

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Mr. Schwarz specializes in providing services to deaf and hard of hearing clients. He communicates in a variety of ways, including American Sign Language, lip-reading, Teletypewriter (TTY), fax and e-mail. Telecommunications Devices for the deaf (TTD), as you may know, make it possible for someone with a hearing impairment to communicate with another person using a TDD/TTY. Easily installed, TDD/TTY can be used with any telephone. Another option is a telecommunications relay service (TRS), which facilitates communication between one individual who uses one such device and another individual who communicates by voice only. With TRS, a professional specially trained in this work receives the typed message from the TDD/TTY device and conveys the message vocally to the hearing individual, and, conversely, receives the spoken message and types it for delivery to the TDD/TTY. Another option for hard of hearing people is a telephone specially designed to be compatible with hearing aids, or one with high-powered amplification. When he works with hearing individuals, Mr. Schwarz employs an interpreter.

Creating Career: Webmaster If you’re a creative person, you’re probably innovative or even intuitive. Creative people like to use their imagination and may enjoy working with words, music or other media and materials. Webmaster is one career that requires all these traits, as well as an aptitude for technical matters. All Webmasters do essentially the same things. They create and maintain Web sites, interact with people who access them and create new ways to make the whole process faster, friendlier and more useful. Webmastering lends itself ideally to self employment. Thousands of Webmasters earn excellent incomes by designing and maintaining Web sites for businesses and institutions. They can work from their homes or their own offices and don’t even have to live anywhere near their clients. Startup costs are relatively low, too. A career in the Web business will require constant learning. In addition to learning how to use new software, you will have to stay on top of new Web business practices, demands for new types of content and advances in associated hardware and infrastructure technology. 12

What would you do to investigate a career as a Web master? Jump on the Web and start exploring! Your school or library probably has computers set up to access the Internet. That’s a start. But your best bet, if possible, is to get your own Web access from an Internet service provider, or ISP. Some providers offer unlimited access to the Web for as little as $10 per month, or even less if you pay for a whole year in advance. Look closely at the sites you come across. Which ones do you find appealing? Why? Which sites offer the most information or services? How? Many Web sites are devoted to the business of the Web. The International Webmasters Association, for example, maintains a site that lists its members and the services they offer. Here is the URL (universal resource locator or Web address) www.iwanet.org/index.html. Deaf and hard of hearing Webmasters don’t need much special equipment. Even continuing education can be accomplished through distance learning or online classroom programs or merely by reading books and manuals. Your main form of communication with clients will probably be e-mail. If clients want to meet Webmasters in person, a sign language interpreter is best. Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) software, although intended for dictation, can certainly be used for one-on-one conversation between a deaf or hard of hearing Webmaster and a hearing client. Two popular and affordable ASR options are: Dragon Naturally Speaking www.lhsl.com/naturallyspeaking/ IBM Via Voice www-3.ibm.com/software/speech/ While you’re checking out IBM’s resources for people who are deaf, spend some time exploring their Accessibility Center at http://www-3.ibm.com/able/hearing.html. One Webmaster communicates with clients in person the old fashioned way: using pencil and paper! It’s low-tech, but the Web is a visual medium, so what better way to depict the design envisioned for a home page than to draw it?

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Influencing Career: Art Dealer You may be the sort of person

who likes to work with other people by persuading, leading or managing them. You would gain personal respect and self-worth from seeing plans fulfilled. Making money may be an important value for these enterprising professionals. One place where you might find fulfillment is in the world of art. Although art is largely in the eye of the beholder, some beholders carry more weight than others. The attempt to define what is good art and what is bad art is one of those timeless debates that will never be settled to anybody’s satisfaction. But that’s a big part of what makes the world of art so interesting and so much fun. The subjective world of art meets the no-excuses, no-nonsense real world in art galleries, where new artists and trends are displayed and put to the test, where reputations are made or broken, where the efforts of artists are turned into real-world money that provides them with a living. Job descriptions in this field include: Assistant directors carry out the wishes of the director or owner of the art gallery. Directors take ultimate responsibility for everything that happens at the gallery. Art consultants help people choose art. Framers are responsible for framing art when it arrives at the gallery and may also build display pillars and move walls around to make new spaces. Packagers prepare a valuable work of art for shipment. Art appraisers determine the monetary value of pieces of art. The steps you take to explore and prepare for a career in the art world may differ, depending on the specific job you’re interested in. There are a couple of common denominators: Take advantage of the art classes offered by your school. Appreciating anything is a lot easier and more satisfying when you know more about it. Other options are park districts and private art schools, not all of which are expensive. One of the trickiest parts about selling art is establishing a value for it. You can get some experience in establishing values for 14

largely intangible products in hobbies such as comic books, trading cards and stamps. Go to trade shows and conventions and wheel and deal a little. Haggle with other collectors. Learn to negotiate. Now, there’s a skill that will serve you well no matter what career you pursue! Interpersonal interaction – with gallery employees, customers interested in making art purchases, and the artists – is a key part of the job. Therefore, you’d probably require the assistance of an interpreter, at least some of the time. If bidding on art in person at auctions is one of your duties, you would certainly want to bring a hearing person along, someone who would respect your upper price limit. (Lip-reading an auctioneer would be a huge challenge!) You can also leave an absentee bid by fax or mail, or bid online. Online auctions are not just for the likes of eBay – even the esteemed Sotheby’s holds auctions on the Web.

Producing and Adventuring Career: Anthropology and Archaelogy If you aspire to a career producing and adventuring,

you might exhibit good athletic or mechanical ability. Perhaps you like to work with objects, machines, tools, plants or animals or in the outdoors. Two related career possibilities for people with these characteristics and interests are anthropology and archaeology. Archaeology is a specialized study and career field within the overall field of anthropology. Anthropology includes the study of primates, human social life of the past and present, language and the effects of technology and society on people. Anthropologists and archeologists are scientists. As scientists, they must analyze and compare the results of findings. They test theories based on previous results and then evaluate those same theories in light of new discoveries. Those new discoveries are made at dig sites. Many archaeologists and anthropologists work as professors, while others work as curators in museums. The federal government employs many anthropologists, as do state, local and tribal governments. The field of anthropology requires advanced formal education. A master’s degree is a must and as you pursue your career goals, you will find that a PhD is also very desirable.

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Can you think of a good way to explore and prepare for a career that answers the basic questions we all ask: Where did we come from? Where are we now? Where are we going? You will need classes in English, history and mathematics and science. Of the sciences, you will need biology and chemistry. Earth science classes will prepare you for further study. You should take computer courses to learn programming and general computer skills. A course or two in photography and art would be helpful. Go to your favorite library and look at the science videos or history documentaries. Choose the titles that interest you the most. Read books on the subject. A favorite of many archaeologists when they were kids was Gods, Graves and Scholars, by C.W. Ceram. On the Internet, search for anthropology and for archaeology and see what comes up. Search engines like Google and Yahoo are easy to use. As with other careers, your main concern on the job and in the field will be communicating with colleagues who don’t use sign language and ensuring that you can be alerted in an emergency. If you decide to become a professor at a mainstream institution, there are several ways to communicate with hearing students. For real-time interaction in the classroom, you may use any combination of interpreters, lip-reading, demonstrations, overhead projections, flip charts, slide shows, as well as the tried-and-true method of simply writing the important stuff on the blackboard. Printed material can be handed out at the beginning of each class to facilitate and maximize the learning process.

MORE IDEAS FOR EXPLORING AND PREPARING FOR ANY CAREER VOLUNTEER FOR A COMMITTEE AT YOUR SCHOOL OR PLACE OF WORSHIP, OR FOR A

nonprofit organization that has something to do with the careers you’re interested in. Volunteering is a good way to cultivate your skills and enhance your confidence while you serve others. It will give you a first-hand look at the type of work you might want to do, in the type of setting you would be doing it, with the type of people you’d be working with. Volunteer experience looks good on a résumé and a college application. 16

Join or start a club at your school or youth center geared to your interests, or organize a career day. Aspiring writers, and anyone who would like to communicate effectively via the written word, should recognize that American Sign Language (ASL) has a grammatical structure all its own. If ASL is one of your primary means of communication, you should pay special attention to the differences between the rules of formal spoken and written English, and those of ASL on the other. Obviously, you’ll want to write using the rules for writing. Keep a copy of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (Siegal and Connolly), and a basic grammar textbook next to your keyboard or notepad. Read everything you can get your hands on; take classes in writing and composition; and ask your English teachers to work with you to maximize your writing abilities. Definitely ask a teacher to critique any important text, such as an essay for a college application, before you submit it. Finally, visit the Technology Access Program (TAP), Department of Communication Arts, Gallaudet University, at: http://tap.gallaudet.edu. This is a research group that specializes in technologies and services that eliminate communication obstacles that deaf and hard of hearing people have historically confronted. It will help you find the kinds of assistive technologies available to help you through college and throughout your professional life. Of course, by the time you get there, the array of technologies and products will undoubtedly be more sophisticated than what’s available today.

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GETTING INTO COLLEGE MANY CAREERS REQUIRE A COLLEGE EDUCATION; SOME REQUIRE GRADUATE

study. Even if you’ve chosen a path that doesn’t require college, you should seriously consider it. College is your last chance to immerse yourself in learning for the sheer joy of it. By the time you get to graduate school, your studies will be more goal-oriented, your academic performance will be closely scrutinized and you may be required to teach undergraduates or perform research. There are many financial aid, loan and work-study options available. If finances are an issue, make research into these programs part of your pre-college preparation. Get in touch with the HEATH Resource Center. (HEATH was originally an acronym for Higher Education and Adult Training for the Handicapped, but that name is no longer used.) You’ll want to get The HEATH National Resource Directory on Postsecondary Education and Disability as well as Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Postsecondary Education. You might also be interested in Creating Options: A Resource on Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities. Visit the HEATH Web site at: http://www.heath.gwu.edu/ for information on how to download or order these publications. You have a lot of decisions to make when you select which colleges you’ll apply to. Generally, the strategy is to apply to at least one long shot and at least one sure thing in terms of admission probability. Gallaudet University, self-described as “the world’s only university for the deaf and hard of hearing,” is a fine choice, but by no means the only option. You can narrow down your list of prospects by answering the following questions: Would you like to go to a large school (more services) or a small one (more personal assistance)? Is the presence of many other deaf or hard of hearing students important to you? Which schools offer a major in your chosen field of study? Request course catalogues or browse online to see how large the faculty is in your discipline’s department, what courses they offer and whether the school will help set you up in a co-op program or internship. Often, participation in such programs will help you get your first job.

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If you request it, schools are required to provide reasonable accommodation that may be necessary for you to have equal access to educational opportunities and services. Examples: interpreters, note takers, written transcription of the verbal portion of films or videos; TDD or TTY; and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) the instant translation of the spoken word into English text using a stenotype machine, notebook computer and realtime software. The text appears on a computer monitor or other display. This allows you to participate in lectures and discussions in real time, as well as to ask questions. CART genuinely offers the equal access guaranteed by the ADA. Are facilities and equipment already in place or would you have to ask for them and follow through? Is this initiative something you’re comfortable doing? Could you comfortably ask a professor to assign you a permanent seat from which you can most effectively lip-read? Could you request that the teacher not speak while turning around to write on the blackboard, or repeat the questions and remarks of your fellow students in lecture hall? How assertive a self-advocate are you? Is there a Disabled Students Services Office or similar resource?

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DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PROFESSIONALS TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR CAREERS

I’m a Desktop Publishing Specialist for the Public Affairs Department at CSD [formerly Communication Service for the Deaf], Sioux Falls, South Dakota “My job entails writing articles for

the company newsletter and developing and designing brochures, advertisements and other public relations materials. I also coordinate and help plan special events, such as national conferences. I enjoy this line of work and I love working with people. What I like the best is the daily variety of job duties. Most rewarding is seeing my completed work in use – such as seeing an ad I designed in a publication. In fact, I can’t think of anything I don’t like about this job! I attended Gallaudet University for two years. Currently, I am working towards completing my bachelor’s degree through an online undergraduate degree program. Young people interested in desktop publishing should get as much training as possible in as many different software design programs, such as Quark, Macromedia Web Design and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I was lucky because I didn’t find this job – it found me! But jobs will not always come to you. Often, you’ll have to work your way up to get to your ideal career. Work aggressively toward accomplishing your dreams, keep your mind open to new opportunities and don’t be afraid to try new things.”

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I’m a Professor in the Department of Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University “My father attended this school, but

he had to quit due to hard times during the Depression. He had the experience and training that qualified him to become a member of the International Typographical Union and he worked as a linotype operator at the Baltimore Sun for 40 years. I have a bachelor’s degree in English from Gallaudet College and a master’s in Linguistics. I was recently awarded a PhD in American Studies at the University of Maryland-College Park. My dissertation was titled How Deaf Women Construct Teaching, Language and Culture and Gender: An Ethnographic Study of ASL Teachers. At Gallaudet, I teach courses designed to convey and inspire an appreciation for the history, culture, community and language of deaf and hard of hearing people all over the world. We take a multidisciplinary approach to the subject, as is appropriate with disciplines that use the term studies, such as women’s studies or African-American studies. When students appreciate their past and understand their present, it helps them plan for their future. In addition to teaching, I advise deaf studies students, particularly those planning to major in the subject. I love working with the students, watching them grow intellectually and personally. Most of my students are deaf or hard of hearing, although some hearing students from other schools may spend a semester or two at Gallaudet for academic credit at their home colleges and universities. Also, some hearing graduate students who are studying subjects of interest to the deaf community may attend or visit Gallaudet. Deaf studies as an academic discipline is still in its early stages. Even at this school, it’s a small department. For the field to grow and become more sophisticated, it needs more research, publications and experts. My parents were very active in local and national Jewish deaf organizations and services; in fact, they met at a Jewish deaf 21

social. I, too, have been involved in numerous community activities. For example, I have co-chaired the deaf Studies Conference V and the William C. Stokoe and the Study of Signed Language.”

I’m Senior Vice President of Administration for CSD, Sioux Falls, South Dakota “My areas of concentration

are Public Relations and Community Relations.

I am in charge of all printed materials. These include: The Spectrum, a quarterly publication of CSD; The Horizons, a quarterly newsletter for the 2,238 CSD employees in 32 states; SDAD News, a quarterly of the deaf and hard of hearing community of South Dakota; and newsletters of the CSD affiliates in other states, plus a variety of company-related brochures. Also, I’m responsible for maintaining and enhancing positive and productive relations with consumers and the community at large. What led me to this career was my desire to make things better for others and to bring the programs and services for deaf and hard of hearing Americans in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I served for 37 years at Gallaudet University in the area of student life; six years as the North Carolina state director of the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; two years as superintendent of the South Dakota School for the Deaf; another two as special assistant to the Executive Director of the National Association of the Deaf. I’ve been in my present position for three years running. Every job I’ve had has involved responsibilities in the helping profession and the area of community service. I love working with and for all kinds of people. I genuinely want those being entrusted to my care to be much happier and more successful than I myself ever will be. This job provides me with a wealth of opportunity to accomplish this personal mission. Young people interested in this profession should adopt this motto in whatever they do: Good Work Is Never Lost. When you 22

work hard in service to others, you create unlimited opportunities along the way to know what you are, what you can do and what you may be able to be in becoming all that is in you to be. The purpose of life is work and the purpose of work is personal growth.

Do not be afraid to make mistakes in any of

your undertakings. Failure is not fatal. It is our teacher, not our undertaker. It challenges us to higher heights of accomplishment, not new depths of despair. Failure is a valuable lesson you learn on the road to success.”

I’m the Director of Media Relations in the Public Relations Office at Gallaudet University “I work extensively with

reporters – TV, newspapers, even radio – and magazine writers. I also write a column in our alumni magazine, which is called Class News and Notes. Occasionally, I write feature stories for the magazine as well as for a few e-zines. One of my responsibilities is to set up appointments for the various reporters and writers who want to interview students, faculty, staff or administrators. I request that the reporters send us some idea in advance about the kinds of questions they plan to ask so that the interviewees can be prepared. Other tasks that are part of a typical day are responding to e-mails and letters and attending meetings of some sort. I graduated from Gallaudet with a degree in English, at which time I decided that I would like to work in a field that requires writing. I was hired as a writer in the PR office here back in 1975. After a few years in that position, I was asked to work more closely with the relations aspects of public relations. My supervisor felt that because of my writing skills, combined with the way I work with and communicate with others, I would be an excellent candidate for a media liaison.

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When I look back over the past 25 years, I realize how much technology has changed. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, it was somewhat frustrating because I had to rely on snail mail to communicate with writers and reporters, or use an interpreter when I had to make phone calls. But with the advent of computers, this no longer is the case. Today, most of my initial contact with reporters and writers is via e-mails and Instant Messenger. I can communicate directly with outside media people without having to use the relay or an interpreter. Technology has made this kind of a job totally accessible for deaf people, providing they have the appropriate skills. In this field of work, there is never a dull moment. You get to meet and work with people from all walks of life. Every day offers up something different. This kind of variety is what makes public relations such an interesting field. The most boring part of the job is going to meetings. Meetings are necessary at times, but I detest meetings that don’t have a goal or a planned outcome. To meet for the sake of meeting is a waste of time, in my opinion. One of the great rewards of this job is seeing the results of your efforts in print or on TV, or even in the movies. I had a Swiss film company here last year. The story line was about a deaf French girl who attends Gallaudet and I arranged for several students to be walk-ons in the movie! Anybody who has excellent writing skills and a good personality and pays close attention to details can succeed in public relations. Opportunities are more abundant today, but don’t expect to jump right into a position like mine without working your way up. Get started, prove yourself – and the sky is the limit. The pay is very good. An entry level job in the PR field pays as much as $30,000 to $35,000 per year. Many of my colleagues in this profession are now earning $60,000 to $80,000 a year.”

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I’m a Park Maintenance Worker in Sonoma County, California “I work for the state of

California, Parks and Recreation. The parks I’m responsible for – Fort Ross State Historic Park and Salt Point State Park – are located about three hours north of San Francisco on Coast Highway 1. I make sure they are kept clean, are suitable for public use and are safe. I’ve had this job for nearly 20 years. My first job, back in 1970, was at City Park of East Chicago, Indiana. I was responsible for making sure the two-city-block-size park – which at the time was home to more than homeless people – was clean and safe for the public. It turned me on to working in the outdoors. I worked there for five summers. When I was a student at Gallaudet, I worked for a National Park in DC one summer and then I went to work for Public Works in Fremont, California for two years. I took the civil service exam so I could get state jobs. I got the highest grade on the exam and was quickly hired to work at San Mateo Coast. I climbed up the ranks to where I am now, Fort Ross Historic Park, an outpost built by the Russians in 1812. I graduated from Indiana School for the deaf in 1975 and attended Gallaudet College for two years. I’ve also taken college courses at Monterey Peninsula College, which are paid for by the state of California. I occasionally take correspondence courses by mail and online courses to improve my skills. These are also paid for by the State. I live in a remote area, so there aren’t a lot of schools close by. My current responsibilities include managing seasonal workers and inmates who come from the labor camp and giving them assignments such as removal of hazardous trees, cleaning creeks and other bodies of water, building fences and building campsites. I’m in charge of all maintenance work. I work outdoors, rain or shine, all year round. I have a lot of contact with the public and I use pencil and paper to communicate. I keep in contact with other park workers by e-mail and TDD. One co-worker who has a CB radio also lets me know what’s going on. What I like best about my job is that there’s no stress, no pressure, it’s a pretty easy life. I quickly learned how to live with 25

the isolation of living in a very remote area. I have also written two books that have become best sellers along the Coast and am currently writing a third. One of my books is called All Abalone Are Deaf and it teaches people how to find and dive for abalone. Facing an emergency is the most challenging part of my job. There are life-and-death situations like firefighting, car accidents and drownings. Some people make it and some people don’t. About six to 10 people drown every year along my part of the Coast. It’s during this time that not being able to speak or hear is most frustrating. If you want to work in a National Park, study natural resources and the environment in college. Demonstrating an interest this way will get you a job quickly. Be patient and work hard and it will pay off.”

I’m a Licensed Counselor “I’m an Endorsed School

Counselor and a licensed private practice counselor in the state of Washington and Vancouver, BC, Canada. In addition, I’m currently working part time in a bank, servicing deaf callers nationwide on weekends. I also do case management on legal issues, assist in the case management of business issues and public relations. I got involved in this field because many people made the observation that I was a skilled facilitator and mediator. I am an Iranian Muslim and a US citizen by naturalization. I attended Gallaudet, where I studied mechanical engineering and founded the Muslim Student Association. I hope to begin working toward my PhD next year. I am also a US volleyball team Olympian and the father of four. I like the professional and financial independence my job affords me, and assisting and empowering the deaf community is most rewarding. Least enjoyable and rewarding is the paperwork, such as taxes and legal documents. Personally, assimilating to Western culture while rearing my kids with a multicultural approach has been very challenging. They 26

are exposed to Iranian culture, Canadian culture, US culture and – since they are CODA (children of a deaf adult) – deaf culture. To some extent, I also take a multicultural tack with my clients. For deaf and hard of hearing high school students, my words of wisdom are – read everything you can get your hands on, be open-minded to all cultures, talk to older people more often, interact among foreigners more often, walk a mile in another person’s shoes. Appreciate how tough the job of raising you has been for your parents. Thank them today!”

I Own a Travel Agency “I’m an independent travel

agent and also the owner of a small agency. Mostly, I book cruises, but I also do land tours and arrange air travel to go with them.

My secretary handles all the phone work with clients and land tour/cruise line companies. She also does the typing and some administrative work. Our staff is small, so we wear many hats. We create our own flyers, Web advertisements, newsletters, and program books and booths when we attend trade shows and other events. It’s just like any other travel agency, in fact, except that we’re deaf. We depend on voice relay all the time, TDD, e-mail and fax. Many people are surprised when they learn we’re deaf. We show them that deaf people can do anything they want, like owning or operating a travel agency. I became interested in opening a travel agency after I went on a cruise with a group of 500 deaf people about six years ago. I found it really enjoyable making new friends from all different places. I had planned to go again the following year, but learned the owner went out of business. That’s when I became determined to set up my own agency. It was not easy starting a business. I had to do a lot of research to find out what kind of schooling, licensing, fees and financial backing I’d need. I took some workshops and night classes with the assistance of an interpreter. My staff once flew to the headquarters of a major cruise line in Miami to meet with the officers and teach them to understand the needs of deaf guests. 27

The people there continue to be very friendly and cooperative, and we enjoy working with them. We love to have travelers use our services and make new friends during vacation. The more, the merrier! That’s the most rewarding thing. When you’re a deaf person doing phone work, it’s very frustrating to be placed on hold. You cannot turn your eyes away from the phone because the person might come back and start typing and you would miss their message and have to ask them to retype it. We haven’t been able to find a licensed, qualified interpreter for our office, because we haven’t been able to get one to send us a videotape demonstrating their signing skills. However, we do insist on having interpreters along on the trips. If you’re interested in this career, learn all you can about the travel business, particularly the agency end. You should have a desire to make a profit, and to travel and meet people. Really, that’s all you need!”

I’m a Physician in Family Practice as Well as an Associate Medical Director, Ambulatory Care and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine “On any given day, I might see patients,

oversee 15 health sites, teach medical students and residents and do research in healthcare. The typical day varies, but is always busy!

I’ve always liked science and people. I have also had positive personal experiences with doctors and the medical field in general. So when I was in college, I took the pre-med courses. I have a BA from Northwestern University and my medical degree is from Washington University. I did my residency at the University of Utah. I didn’t have access to any of the high-tech assistance that deaf and hard of hearing students are fortunate to have today. I have a lot of deaf and hard of hearing patients and we sign directly to one another. For other patients, I use an interpreter.

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As is probably true of anybody in the healthcare professions, the best part of my job is when I can help people get better. Teaching is also very rewarding, since medicine is such an important subject. The worst part, conversely, is when somebody doesn’t get better. I also dread some of the personalities I have to deal with in administrative matters. My advice to young people is this: You can do whatever you want to do if you put your mind to it. This applies to deaf and hearing people alike and to those who want to become doctors or anything else.”

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GETTING STARTED WHEN YOU START GOING ON JOB INTERVIEWS, YOU MAY FIND THAT IT’S UP TO

you to put prospective employers at ease about hiring someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. Explain to them the extent of your hearing loss and tell them your preferred method of communication. If you require an interpreter, tell the interviewer whether you’d prefer questions, comments and concerns to be addressed to you or to the interpreter. You can perform mock interviews with the career counselor at your college to perfect your technique. Otherwise, it should be like any other job interview – you are there to enlighten the prospective employers as to why you should be hired instead of the 20 other qualified individuals applying for the job. After the interview, in your follow-up letter, you may want to suggest strategies that will make it easier for you to perform the essential functions of the job in question, especially if the interviewer seemed dubious. For instance, there’s a window clerk at a post office in Barrington, Illinois who has posted signs indicating the various postal services and asking patrons to point at the one they need. Simple but effective. Your initiative and creativity might land you the job! When you’re offered the job, it’s time to be specific about what types of accommodations you require. Examples include a hearing aid-compatible telephone, or one with high-grade amplification located in a quiet area, or one equipped with TTY/TDD; vibrating pagers; electronic text versions of the spoken material presented on audiotape or video; and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART). The Americans with Disabilities Act has recognized CART as an assistive technology which affords “effective communication access.” For more specific counsel as well as an exhaustive list of resources, see Richard Bolles’ book Job Hunting for So Called Handicapped. DO-IT CAREERS at the University of Washington www.washington.edu/doit/ is another excellent source. Projects funded by DO-IT CAREERS encourage and prepare students with disabilities to enter challenging careers and increase their participation in work-based learning experiences. Don’t let the giant, looming specter of your future intimidate you. Hardly anything is irreversible. You can always change your major, 30

switch schools, go to college after you’ve been in the real world, and change careers entirely. As the poet Maya Angelou says, “You do the best you can with what you know at the time. Then when you know better, you do better.” Good luck in your journey!

ASSOCIATIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS n

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing http://www.agbell.org/

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DO-IT CAREERS at the University of Washington http://www.washington.edu/doit/

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Gallaudet University: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/

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Gallaudet University: National Deaf Education Network and Clearinghouse http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/infotogo/

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Job Accommodation Network http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/

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Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf: Online Career Fair http://www.msad.state.mn.us/onlinecareerfair/Default.htm

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Rochester Institute of Technology: Wallace Library, Subject-Based Deaf and Hard of Hearing Internet Resources http://wally.rit.edu/internet/subject/deafness.html

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University of Minnesota’s Disability Services: Employment Resources for People with Disabilities www.disserv.stu.umn.edu/TC/Grants/COL/listing/disemp/

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WORKink http://www.workink.com/

PERIODICALS n

CAREERS & the disABLED Magazine http://www.eop.com/cd.html

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DEAF LIFE http://www.deaflife.com/

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Deafness/Hard of Hearing Newsletter http://deafness.about.com/gi/pages/mmail.htm?PID=2749& COB=home

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Ragged Edge http://www.ragged-edge-mag.com/

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World Around You http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/WorldAroundYou/

COPYRIGHT 2006 Institute For Career Research CHICAGO CAREERS INTERNET DATABASE www.careers-internet.org

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