Amanda Lewin:

I have been visually impaired since birth and have 20/100 vision as well as a host of other issues related to being born with cataracts. I've been working as a Building services consultant since I left university and have really enjoyed my job, but a scare last year when I developed a detached retina has left me unsure about my future plans and how to manage the likely degeneration in my limited eyesight that will occur as I age. 


I'd be really interested to speak with other visually impaired people in technical roles, really just to see some other points of view from a similar situation as I don't know anyone else in the same position as me in real life. 


Amanda 

Hello Amanda,

                            I am a hands on electrician. My left eye is o.k. and I can drive legally, but my right eye is poor and I find it difficult to focus properly and gauge distances. I  sometimes install things when the light is poor and I have to assemble fiddly things and insert small screws etc. I do actually do many tasks safely through muscle memory, like musicians remember chord patterns on the guitar without actually thinking about it.


I carry a small glass magnifying glass in my pocket if I have to read small print on things like miniature circuit breakers etc. I also have a small pocket torch that helps me to see poorly lit things.


We have to keep up to date with technical matters and wiring regulations so I have to be able to read for that. If ever I considered myself to be a danger whilst at work working with electricity I would think about retiring. (Any way I am well over 21).


Before bed I enjoy talking books on any subject. I bought a big box load of dramatized plays and comedies in cassette form cheaply from fleabay.  I don't mind old technology if it works o.k.


Good luck,


Z.


 

Amanda Lewin:

Thanks for your reply Zoomup, as a consultant I do a lot of survey work and site inspections, and have a similar issue with reading MCB's etc. I can just about read them, but there are often situations I don't really want my face that close to the installation! I photograph and then zoom in on my camera screen to read things, and head torches are the best thing since sliced bread :) I'm good at adapting but like you say there will reach a point where its a safety issue, and I worry about missing that point if I end up with a slow deteriation. I'm hoping that I can still have worth as an M&E consultant without being able to visit site in the future, as retiring at 50 is probably not going to be an option! 

There are always options Amanda. As Darwin said, it is the  animals that can adapt to change that can survive, not necessarily the fastest or strongest. An income can be made by investing in good shares or funds. This is much better than saving money at less than one per cent interest. A stocks and shares ISA is a good start. A very respected broker is Hargreaves Lansdown. But it is possible to lose money on investing as well as making it. So, we are told not to invest more that we can afford to lose. Stocks and shares ISAs have tax advantages. The investment should be timed at a period of at least 5 years or  longer.


Nowadays I undertake less glamorous work, mainly domestic, and some holiday park maintenance and installations work. I can make more money doing several smallish jobs per week that one or two large jobs.


So we must just plod along doing our best and adapting as required.


Be happy,


Z.