Real-Life Decision Making
Braille transcriptionists fill a very small niche in the employment market.
Because of this, opportunities for full-time work may be limited. You will
have to be thorough in your job hunt and flexible when opportunities arise.
You have just been certified as a braille transcriptionist. You have been
searching hard for a full-time position, but are running into brick walls
everywhere.
You find a local resource center for the visually impaired that is looking
for volunteer braille transcriptionists. The resource center has a good work
environment, and the people there are very friendly. You could really see
yourself fitting in there.
"There is a lot of work for volunteers," says Lawrence Rochon, a braille
transcriptionist who works from home. "There is not much funding for paid
braille work, but there is an overwhelming amount of braille work to be done."
You are torn. You really want to break into the field, but you also would
like a job that pays. There are some other people at the resource center
who are paid as braille transcriptionists, but there is no room in their budget
to pay any more people right now.
The manager of the resource center tells you that there will be a paid
job opening in about six months. This job would pay an excellent
hourly wage and full benefits. The manager tells you that a volunteer at
their resource center would be favored for the position when it opens.
You keep that in mind while you continue looking for a paying job opportunity,
but you are not having any luck. You know that working as a volunteer would
be a very good way to put your name at the top of the list for the job opening
in six months. It would be good experience and it would keep your brailling
skills sharp. But you also need to make a living.
You start to think about starting your own small business. You could contract
with an agency and send your work to them on disks. Then you wouldn't need
to have access to an expensive embosser.
After a little research, you see that there are many small businesses around
the country that produce restaurant menus, bank statements, government documents
and all sorts of things in braille. People seem to be making a successful
living that way, and they are their own bosses.
But in order to pursue this option, you would need more training as a businessperson.
That may mean going back to college before you could open your own business.
What do you do?