What Jobs Can Blind People Do? Depends on Their Device

What jobs can blind people do is a question that requires asking what are the limitations that blind people have compared to sighted employees. First, we need to evaluate the differences between blind employees and sighted employees. Second, we need to ask whether or not they have the means to compensate for those differences in the workplace. Only then can we answer the question accurately with all of the relevant information and analysis. Third, we need to evaluate the job market in the countries they live in and the government and corporate opportunities available to blind employees in those countries.

Blind Employment in Developed and Developing Countries

There is a very big factor in what jobs can blind people do and that is which country they live in. In developing countries, the general population have low income and jobs that require very little to no training at all. These are countries where engineers, doctors, and scientists are found in low numbers due to the low level of education available to the general populace. These are countries where available jobs can often include working in a factory assembly line or operating sewing machines for large manufacturers. In contrast, farming, mining and other hard labor jobs are available to the general populace. In developing countries, academic education is usually more readily available to the affluent population. Government programs and corporate inclusion of employees with disabilities are not common. Blind employees in these countries do not have the opportunities and assistance that they would have received in developed countries.

In developed countries, most of the general population has access to basic elementary education. In most cases, academic education is common in developed countries. One of the main factors when it comes to the job market in developed countries is the country’s economical development and income per capita. The common jobs in these countries are software developers, lawyers, doctors, etc. Developed countries have local and international companies with offices which often include opportunities for employees with disabilities. Governments often provide tax incentives to companies that hire disabled employees which provide even more opportunities for blind employees.

What Jobs Can Blind People Do?

If you’re asking the question of what jobs can blind people do, you should also ask what can’t they do. Today, with assistive devices for the blind, they can perform almost any job. Jobs such as airplane pilots or drivers are obviously the exception, not the rule. However, the list of jobs that they can do will surprise you. Computer programming, lawyers, DJs, doctors, engineers, chefs and many more are jobs that are held by blind people worldwide. The reason they can have these jobs is that they use assistive devices for the blind.

Some of these devices provide them with audio information. The main information source any employee requires access to is digital or printed text. The most helpful devices are those that blind employees are wearable and portable. The most advanced wearable assistive device that reads any printed or digital text without requiring an internet connection is OrCam MyEye 2. Using hand gestures, it will read text to the user. Using this device, both hands are available for typing on a keyboard or performing any other work-related task. Blind employees that need to identify colors of objects or labels, can, using OrCam MyEye 2. It will also recognize faces, products and much more.

Organizations and Associations That Help Blind People

Almost every country has associations and organizations that help people who are blind and visually impaired. Some of them are operated by the government while others may be privately funded and operated. In most countries, the level of enablement and care that people with disabilities receive is increasing from year to year. This is true, even in developing countries.

India, for example, is a country whose economy is still developing. It’s placed 124th in the list of countries with the highest GDP. In 1995, the Indian government initiated the persons with disability act. Even after the persons with disability act was initiated, the question of what jobs can blind people do remained. The Indian Association for the Blind helps blind people all over India find jobs in the government and private sector as well as developing themselves as self-employed individuals. In developed countries, there are even programs to help blind employees acquire devices that will increase their independence at work and at home.

In some countries, governments will even subsidize assistive devices for blind students so they can complete their degrees independently and work in jobs that would otherwise not be available to them. There is a lot of development in recent years of advanced assistive devices for the blind, such as OrCam MyEye 2, the world’s most advanced assistive device for people who are blind or visually impaired. With all of these advancements in technology and accessibility, the career opportunities for blind employees will continue to improve and so will their quality of life.