2 ms·

Mostly agreed on all of this. The only real way out for people on SSI, based on my experience, is to get a degree in a field where your disability doesn't hold

Mostly agreed on all of this. The only real way out for people on SSI, based on my experience, is to get a degree in a field where your disability doesn't hold you back. For me, this was computer science. However, I'm not about to go tell everyone on SSI the way out of that poverty trap is to simply 'learn to code'. I'm fully aware that 'learning to code' isn't even an option for most of the able bodied population, much less those dealing with disabilities. I simply don't hold out much hope that governments will ever allow those 'on disability' to live a dignified life.

mrguyorama 3y ago
The majority of disabled people would much rather work a significant amount, but employers will turn away a hundred willing disabled employees over spending even ten bucks on accommodating their disability. I have a dwarf friend (his preferred terminology) who has a chemistry degree, and had to interview at fifty different places, including ten interviews at the same place where many of the managers knew him by name and wanted to hire him, before he finally got a job. This insanity included a previous place that he interviewed at that explicitly told another company not to hire him because he requires accommodation. That accommodation? A fucking tall stool for the lab bench.
- wing-_-nuts 3y ago
  Yeah I have cerebral palsy. My one request for accommodation is that I be allowed to 'whiteboard' seated with pen and paper. This is often ignored. In the past, I didn't push the issue until I found myself solving a hard problem at a whiteboard in front of a panel of 7 people who peppered me with questions for the better part of an hour. Stress makes my spasticity worse, so by the end I was literally shaking. Afterward they provided feedback to the recruiter that while my solution worked, I didn't seem confident enough or cool under pressure. These days, I've done well enough for myself that I can push back. Remote interviews are especially nice. My current boss didn't even know I had a disability until we met in person months after I started.

mrguyorama 3y ago

The majority of disabled people would much rather work a significant amount, but employers will turn away a hundred willing disabled employees over spending even ten bucks on accommodating their disability. I have a dwarf friend (his preferred terminology) who has a chemistry degree, and had to interview at fifty different places, including ten interviews at the same place where many of the managers knew him by name and wanted to hire him, before he finally got a job. This insanity included a previous place that he interviewed at that explicitly told another company not to hire him because he requires accommodation. That accommodation? A fucking tall stool for the lab bench.

wing-_-nuts 3y ago
Yeah I have cerebral palsy. My one request for accommodation is that I be allowed to 'whiteboard' seated with pen and paper. This is often ignored. In the past, I didn't push the issue until I found myself solving a hard problem at a whiteboard in front of a panel of 7 people who peppered me with questions for the better part of an hour. Stress makes my spasticity worse, so by the end I was literally shaking. Afterward they provided feedback to the recruiter that while my solution worked, I didn't seem confident enough or cool under pressure. These days, I've done well enough for myself that I can push back. Remote interviews are especially nice. My current boss didn't even know I had a disability until we met in person months after I started.