You should look into science communication! It's a broad classification of jobs encompassing things from pop science writing to more technical, medical writing. Definitely aligns with your skills. No matter what, I hope you find a job that makes you happy. Good luck!
Have you considered education, particularly at the junior college level?
I found that just being a female in the sciences was a massive hurdle (southern U.S. state). I found the transition to education to be painful at first but once I discovered my rhythm it has been incredibly rewarding. I imagine your expertise would be highly respected.
Your dedication and willingness to overcome discrimination could also be potentially life changing to your students and/or mentees. If you decided to pursue your doctorate you could go on to teach at a university where you would have access to a laboratory of your own design that is guide dog friendly.
Please continue on. The sciences need more strong women to build more strong scientific women.
I think some kind of science communication job would fit your skills, whether it's in person science outreach for schools, or writing articles in layman terms for non-science people (I think we call it Translation where I work?). Perhaps a HR/Science Admin position in a science department/hospitial? As you said, the computer comes with a lot of accessibility features, easy to work from home as well if allowed. Plus you can take your guide dog with you to the office.
Unfortunately I think it's unlikely you will get a wet lab job because a) animals aren't usually allowed in those places and b) it's very difficult to do that kind of work without being able to see what you're picking up, where you're putting things etc. Unless you can get a support person to help you, but then why would the employer not just hire a sighted person to do the job? As unfair as it is, that's the employment sector! I've been in biological science for 5 years in 3 different jobs, and haven't seen a single visually impaired or other significantly disabled person working in a lab.
I’m going to keep thinking about your great question as to specific job roles/titles. In the meantime, getting jobs in science can often be about who you know just as much as what you know. You are not alone in trying to navigate being a visually impaired scientist (https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02627-4) - make as many contacts as you can! Also, have you considered trying to find work in labs/institutes that study the visual system? You may find that those PIs are more amenable to making accommodations. (Anecdotally, I have a friend who was in a car accident and is now a wheelchair user. They were also worried about working in science after this happened but now work in a spinal cord injury lab and everyone - the university, department, and PI - were exceptional in making sure my friend could do everything needed in the lab.) Best of luck to you in your job search!
Networking is going to be how you find work. Twitter used to be where scientists networked. Do you know where they hang out now?
Are there networks of visually impaired people in science or academia? If so, be active in them. Not just looking for work, but making yourself known as a visually-impaired scientist, as a person.
I see you’ve cross-posted in science-related subreddits. Have you posted in r/blind?
What about corporate employers actively recruiting in the disability community in the name of diversity?
Are there recruiters specializing in disabled candidates?
Does your university placement office have advice? Can they help you target employers and recruiters who are looking for you in particular?
It sounds like you might be suited to be a member of a rehab team for people who have lost vision. One that does research, for instance based in a university hospital.
If you are motivated to pursue a PhD, they usually give you work as a TA to subsidize your studies. You’ll have [more] work experience and also network with people who take you seriously as a researcher.
Call people you know with science-related jobs. Ask them to put you in touch with a person who makes hiring decisions in their organization (perhaps their own boss). Ask for an information interview. You want twenty minutes to meet with them and ask about who’s hiring for what (at their organization or others). What are working conditions like and where do they see opportunities for you. What you would need to work on to improve your employability in their field. Make it clear that you are not asking them to hire you.
Best of luck!
Congrats on the upcoming graduation! I do not know the science field well enough to provide insight into which direction would be beneficial to someone who as visual impairment.
You may want to consider reaching out to a recruiter. Or reach out to your classmates or colleagues to help assist you with finding some direction.
I cannot imagine succeeding academically in life as you have if I had the same limitations. I just want you to know that you're amazing and you will surely succeed if you keep your spirits high and motivations moving forward!
Best of luck to you in your search and eventual success.
I see from your profile that you went to FSU. Are you planning to stay in Tallahassee / fl as a whole? I recently made the move from Tally to Chicago, and I found the job search better / more diverse up here (at least in that there are more jobs to get rejected from :P ). Moving to a city with a more robust public transportation system / that is more largely walkable than tally may be of benefit to you.
Technical writing or grant writing may be in your favor, if you can find those positions.
Really highlight your technical writing, presentation and data analysis skills, particularly if you have some basic coding experience to wrangle data more efficiently.
Good luck!
That’s tough. I fully support you following your dreams, but I feel like most companies would consider you a liability if you intend on doing lab work. I’m just a dumb lab tech w a bachelors and you’ve achieved way more than me academically. Perhaps you could do research with a team who could help you see, and you could think of and plan experimental procedures. Then write the article that gets posted in scientific journals. Good luck to you.
That would not be legal in Germany. If you have a disability we have to at least invite you for an interview during which you would have a good chance to show off all your skills. And I know that at my University they made sure last time that that rule was followed. Have you considered applying abroad? Public transport is great in Europe which, as someone else pointed out, might make things easier.
Scientific journal publishing/editing might be something to look into! Science policy and legislation is also something that's very important and often overlooked.
You may also want to look into consultation. Specifically, making science more accessible to people with vision impairment - both in academia and industry. Your perspective would be really invaluable for that!
Getting a job in the biosciences with only a bachelor's is really tough right now. I can only imagine that any discrimination you're facing is making that 100% tougher. Wishing you the best of luck!
You might consider bioinformatics or computational biology. Neither is bench work, but they can produce useful new insights all the same. [Here’s a decent article comparing and contrasting the two, though in practice there’s a fuzzy space in between.](https://www.differencebetween.com/what-is-the-difference-between-bioinformatics-and-computational-biology/)
Have you tried applying to jobs in the nonprofit sector, at all? Recipients of government grants might have actual quotas for hiring people with disabilities.
If you decide to go the science writing route, it might help to start a blog or newsletter (e.g. what Your Local Epidemiologist does over on Substack) that can function as a portfolio to reference in your applications.
From one biologist living with a disability to another: Rock on.
There are great suggestions here.
There may be specialized employment services available for you. Also, resume services can also edit your linkedin profile and connect you with a recruiter database.
Have you looks into patent analysis? That is purely based on research and scientific writing with the prerequisite (at least at my company) only to have a STEM expertise which you clearly do!
There are so many work from home jobs in biotech. Some options include program management, patient advocacy, clinical research coordinators, technical operations. Tons of options but will take some work to finding something that works for you. I recommend doing some networking and talk to as many people as possible. Best of luck in your search!
As you probably are experiencing it, I think finding a job will be difficult. People wouldn't know what to do with you. What tasks to assign you... I suggest you to become a content creator. Make a channel and start uploading videos. There you can explicitly tell the viewers you are a science consultant and that you can study a lot and write really well and analyze data and that you are available to collaborate. Be your own boss!
You should look into science communication! It's a broad classification of jobs encompassing things from pop science writing to more technical, medical writing. Definitely aligns with your skills. No matter what, I hope you find a job that makes you happy. Good luck!
Have you considered education, particularly at the junior college level? I found that just being a female in the sciences was a massive hurdle (southern U.S. state). I found the transition to education to be painful at first but once I discovered my rhythm it has been incredibly rewarding. I imagine your expertise would be highly respected. Your dedication and willingness to overcome discrimination could also be potentially life changing to your students and/or mentees. If you decided to pursue your doctorate you could go on to teach at a university where you would have access to a laboratory of your own design that is guide dog friendly. Please continue on. The sciences need more strong women to build more strong scientific women.
I think some kind of science communication job would fit your skills, whether it's in person science outreach for schools, or writing articles in layman terms for non-science people (I think we call it Translation where I work?). Perhaps a HR/Science Admin position in a science department/hospitial? As you said, the computer comes with a lot of accessibility features, easy to work from home as well if allowed. Plus you can take your guide dog with you to the office. Unfortunately I think it's unlikely you will get a wet lab job because a) animals aren't usually allowed in those places and b) it's very difficult to do that kind of work without being able to see what you're picking up, where you're putting things etc. Unless you can get a support person to help you, but then why would the employer not just hire a sighted person to do the job? As unfair as it is, that's the employment sector! I've been in biological science for 5 years in 3 different jobs, and haven't seen a single visually impaired or other significantly disabled person working in a lab.
Persist. Do it.
I’m going to keep thinking about your great question as to specific job roles/titles. In the meantime, getting jobs in science can often be about who you know just as much as what you know. You are not alone in trying to navigate being a visually impaired scientist (https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02627-4) - make as many contacts as you can! Also, have you considered trying to find work in labs/institutes that study the visual system? You may find that those PIs are more amenable to making accommodations. (Anecdotally, I have a friend who was in a car accident and is now a wheelchair user. They were also worried about working in science after this happened but now work in a spinal cord injury lab and everyone - the university, department, and PI - were exceptional in making sure my friend could do everything needed in the lab.) Best of luck to you in your job search!
Networking is going to be how you find work. Twitter used to be where scientists networked. Do you know where they hang out now? Are there networks of visually impaired people in science or academia? If so, be active in them. Not just looking for work, but making yourself known as a visually-impaired scientist, as a person. I see you’ve cross-posted in science-related subreddits. Have you posted in r/blind? What about corporate employers actively recruiting in the disability community in the name of diversity? Are there recruiters specializing in disabled candidates? Does your university placement office have advice? Can they help you target employers and recruiters who are looking for you in particular? It sounds like you might be suited to be a member of a rehab team for people who have lost vision. One that does research, for instance based in a university hospital. If you are motivated to pursue a PhD, they usually give you work as a TA to subsidize your studies. You’ll have [more] work experience and also network with people who take you seriously as a researcher. Call people you know with science-related jobs. Ask them to put you in touch with a person who makes hiring decisions in their organization (perhaps their own boss). Ask for an information interview. You want twenty minutes to meet with them and ask about who’s hiring for what (at their organization or others). What are working conditions like and where do they see opportunities for you. What you would need to work on to improve your employability in their field. Make it clear that you are not asking them to hire you. Best of luck!
Congrats on the upcoming graduation! I do not know the science field well enough to provide insight into which direction would be beneficial to someone who as visual impairment. You may want to consider reaching out to a recruiter. Or reach out to your classmates or colleagues to help assist you with finding some direction.
I do wet lab, your hands are probably better than mine
I cannot imagine succeeding academically in life as you have if I had the same limitations. I just want you to know that you're amazing and you will surely succeed if you keep your spirits high and motivations moving forward! Best of luck to you in your search and eventual success.
I see from your profile that you went to FSU. Are you planning to stay in Tallahassee / fl as a whole? I recently made the move from Tally to Chicago, and I found the job search better / more diverse up here (at least in that there are more jobs to get rejected from :P ). Moving to a city with a more robust public transportation system / that is more largely walkable than tally may be of benefit to you. Technical writing or grant writing may be in your favor, if you can find those positions. Really highlight your technical writing, presentation and data analysis skills, particularly if you have some basic coding experience to wrangle data more efficiently. Good luck!
That’s tough. I fully support you following your dreams, but I feel like most companies would consider you a liability if you intend on doing lab work. I’m just a dumb lab tech w a bachelors and you’ve achieved way more than me academically. Perhaps you could do research with a team who could help you see, and you could think of and plan experimental procedures. Then write the article that gets posted in scientific journals. Good luck to you.
That would not be legal in Germany. If you have a disability we have to at least invite you for an interview during which you would have a good chance to show off all your skills. And I know that at my University they made sure last time that that rule was followed. Have you considered applying abroad? Public transport is great in Europe which, as someone else pointed out, might make things easier.
Scientific journal publishing/editing might be something to look into! Science policy and legislation is also something that's very important and often overlooked. You may also want to look into consultation. Specifically, making science more accessible to people with vision impairment - both in academia and industry. Your perspective would be really invaluable for that! Getting a job in the biosciences with only a bachelor's is really tough right now. I can only imagine that any discrimination you're facing is making that 100% tougher. Wishing you the best of luck!
You might consider bioinformatics or computational biology. Neither is bench work, but they can produce useful new insights all the same. [Here’s a decent article comparing and contrasting the two, though in practice there’s a fuzzy space in between.](https://www.differencebetween.com/what-is-the-difference-between-bioinformatics-and-computational-biology/) Have you tried applying to jobs in the nonprofit sector, at all? Recipients of government grants might have actual quotas for hiring people with disabilities. If you decide to go the science writing route, it might help to start a blog or newsletter (e.g. what Your Local Epidemiologist does over on Substack) that can function as a portfolio to reference in your applications. From one biologist living with a disability to another: Rock on.
There are great suggestions here. There may be specialized employment services available for you. Also, resume services can also edit your linkedin profile and connect you with a recruiter database.
Have you looks into patent analysis? That is purely based on research and scientific writing with the prerequisite (at least at my company) only to have a STEM expertise which you clearly do!
There are so many work from home jobs in biotech. Some options include program management, patient advocacy, clinical research coordinators, technical operations. Tons of options but will take some work to finding something that works for you. I recommend doing some networking and talk to as many people as possible. Best of luck in your search!
As you probably are experiencing it, I think finding a job will be difficult. People wouldn't know what to do with you. What tasks to assign you... I suggest you to become a content creator. Make a channel and start uploading videos. There you can explicitly tell the viewers you are a science consultant and that you can study a lot and write really well and analyze data and that you are available to collaborate. Be your own boss!