Sources of income/ careers/occupations for PWD

[Deleted]

Hi everyone , I’m a new quad here and have been currently nonstop thinking of my monetary options as a PWD that is striving for financial independence. This question is open to both PWD’s and devs. 
for PWD’S: if you are comfortable sharing what occupations have you had/ currently do ? A lot of jobs i aspired to before injury are out the window as most required some physical work that now as a quad are no longer viable for me
for dev’s: what occupations did a PWD you know/knew hold?

With facilitating a helpful conversation for all PWD’S on here in mind,  I won’t limit the scope to what I as a quad would be able to do. For anyone answering, please feel free to share no matter the level of physical ability required for the occupation. Thanks in advance, and looking forward to everyone’s responses

[midwestguy]

I'm a quad that works in marketing. I was fortunate to be studying Advertising when I had my injury.
If you don't have a college degree I'd recommend looking at education in IT or Human Resources. These are fields that have a lot of entry level positions with potential for career growth.
Many large companies have inclusive initiatives to hire PWDs. Use this to you advantage.

[kro354]

I know of quads who are an accountant, a social worker, and even a guy who bottled his family sauce recipe and sells it to stores across the country.

[writerg]

1. Accounting firms hire PWDs because of tax incentives
2. Sales,some can be remote
3. Teaching (tutoring, or work in a school)
4. Customer Service

My advice is do what you can do and figure out an angle that you like about it. You will learn to enjoy the lifestyle advancement/enhancement of having employment even if what you do is not your favorite: UNPOPULAR OPINION: Avoid asking for disability modifications if you can. Do intensive research and visualization and only apply for opportunities you know you can do just as well/better than able-bodies. Yes, depending on your severity, the pickings may be slim. Good luck!

[Dr. BiPAP Sachin]

If academics is your thing, as is mine, writerg has #3 as most likely the right option. I currently work as a part-time online adjunct math professor at GCU, working remotely from home, primarily due to my weak physical stamina, because of a severe form of DMD. Of course, I'm replying from my own experience, because I acknowledge that the replies to your original post will vary from one PwD to another, with the extent of disability certainly playing a role in that.

[mrmonster]

I have SMA type 2 so i have one arm that "works". That arm has limited strenght and mobitility. I have worked in different marketing / creative roles since graduation. As my condition is progressive i have adapted my roles as my career have progressed. I started in 3D animation / VFX which after about 10y of progression of my condition became to heavy on my arm / hand stamina. So i transitioned more into the communication role of marketing. And now i am working with marketing communication at a software company without any disability related issues.

The job market have alot of "holes to fill" in the software development / web development / all sorts of "coding" fields. And on the plus side, the salary is good even at entry-level in that field and remote work is very possible. So i would definitely give that a go if i had to change occupation

[frenchwheeler1978]

First of all, i have spina bifida and live in France.
As for me I took the "weird" way. Working part-timme as a marketing assistant in food security business. Which is partly quite far away from what I studied.
I studied communication two years at community college and then got law degree from university. Then health issues made me stay away from job market a few years.
One day (that means 14 years ago) i received a job proposal that I accepted even if in the begening i didn't really know the job, it's like... I saw a light and entered, stayed there

So it's also about taking opportunities.

But yeh, you have good advices above, human ressources and IT can be great options, yeh.

It also depends on where you live, if i take the exemple of France, companies of more than 20 employees have to hire a certain amount of people with a disability (6% of the employees if it has not changed).

Wish you good luck!

[lyon11]

Greetings to all
I am also a quad, I work in an office capturing data on a computer, I make orders so that the technical support staff come to solve problems in computer equipment.
Secretary type.

[ProudRealist]

May 8, 2022 3:38:44 GMT -5 @clandestinealchemist said:

Hi everyone , I’m a new quad here and have been currently nonstop thinking of my monetary options as a PWD that is striving for financial independence. This question is open to both PWD’s and devs. 
for PWD’S: if you are comfortable sharing what occupations have you had/ currently do ? A lot of jobs i aspired to before injury are out the window as most required some physical work that now as a quad are no longer viable for me
for dev’s: what occupations did a PWD you know/knew hold?

With facilitating a helpful conversation for all PWD’S on here in mind,  I won’t limit the scope to what I as a quad would be able to do. For anyone answering, please feel free to share no matter the level of physical ability required for the occupation. Thanks in advance, and looking forward to everyone’s responses

Whilst I can appreciate that there are limits, I think it's important (and not just for disabled folk) to actually figure out what you enjoy doing. Once you have a list of things that you're keen about, I would start shortlisting roles that are available. Also, be pragmatic concerning your limits, what you can and cannot do... can you work a full eight hour day? How far can you travel for a role? Do you need support workers throughout the day? etc...



I've had quite a few roles over the years, both in government and in private companies, and I can honestly say that for the better part, most have been accommodating to my "specific" needs.



Of course you might grow tired of working for people eventually, and starting up your own thing is always an option

[robert_house]

I found my job through a program called Workforce recruitment program. It's for Qualified college students to be matched with government jobs. I haven't started yet, so I can't tell you what it's like, but I can tell you it's really nice to be the one that's approached for once instead of the one that's needing to shop their resume around.

[sungod]

I am a quad, and I work as a chemical engineer. I have worked both in-person and remotely. Both are doable, but I love ease of logistics working remotely. If you are interested in getting a degree, there are plenty of engineering careers that are sufficiently computer-based that they are very doable as a quad! Especially if you're interested in any sort of combination of engineering with data science.

Others have mentioned some great options that work for a quad, both in-person and remote:
-Social work
-Customer service/telemarketing
-Marketing
-Teaching
-Graphic design or Video production

If you live in the US and rely on the government for insurance and caregiving, working can definitely make it a challenge to continue receiving benefits. Look into the availability of Medicaid buy-in programs, and ABLE accounts can help us around asset restrictions. Or let us know if there is any truth to the huge number of "WORK FROM HOME AND MAKE $40,000 PER MONTH WITH SEO" ads with dudes doing 5 minutes of work daily and living their dream in the Caribbean.

[fer]

I have SMA type II and work as a software engineer for a mexican company working from home, my next step is to find a better job hopefully paying in USD. I also know of another guy with sma here in mexico who is a psychologist and has his own office.

[dannyboy95]

May 8, 2022 3:38:44 GMT -5 @clandestinealchemist said:

Hi everyone , I’m a new quad here and have been currently nonstop thinking of my monetary options as a PWD that is striving for financial independence. This question is open to both PWD’s and devs. 
for PWD’S: if you are comfortable sharing what occupations have you had/ currently do ? A lot of jobs i aspired to before injury are out the window as most required some physical work that now as a quad are no longer viable for me
for dev’s: what occupations did a PWD you know/knew hold?

With facilitating a helpful conversation for all PWD’S on here in mind,  I won’t limit the scope to what I as a quad would be able to do. For anyone answering, please feel free to share no matter the level of physical ability required for the occupation. Thanks in advance, and looking forward to everyone’s responses

I'm a lawyer and criminal defense attorney. In my opinion the legal profession is very accessible. Especially with the advent of tele-working it's mostly a desk job. If you don't do litigation or in court representation (i. e. Contract law/M&A) you won't have to travel a lot.

[Green]

May 8, 2022 3:38:44 GMT -5 @clandestinealchemist said:

Hi everyone , I’m a new quad here and have been currently nonstop thinking of my monetary options as a PWD that is striving for financial independence. This question is open to both PWD’s and devs. 
for PWD’S: if you are comfortable sharing what occupations have you had/ currently do ? A lot of jobs i aspired to before injury are out the window as most required some physical work that now as a quad are no longer viable for me

What jobs are those? For the job itself, the only kind you could be limited with are the jobs that require physical effort. Like being an archaeologist wouldn't really work. As corny as it might be, you really can do whatever you put your mind to. You can't do literally everything, but the point is, doing what you want takes effort. Say, if you really like painting, you probably wouldn't be able to do it with your hands, but using your mouth is realistic.

[hiiroller]

Software engineer here that works totally remotely! Really happy with the low level that my disability affects my ability to do my job