The job market today is extremely dynamic, to say the least. The process of choosing a job is gruelling, and the competition is usually high, with hundreds or even thousands of candidates all applying for the same position, as anyone who has ever browsed jobs online knows all too well. Furthermore, although there is so much information out there, somehow it has become even more difficult to find a job and an employer that is the right fit for you.
This is doubly true for people with special needs or disabilities. Besides finding the perfect company and position, they need to make sure that the job fits their condition and that the work environment is inclusive as well. This is a truly challenging mission in the modern-day market, especially for someone who is already struggling with a disability.
However, the advent of technology and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, have brought in seemingly endless amounts of remote job opportunities. A quick search for “remote work” on Jooble will instantly provide you with over 700 thousand vacancies to pick and choose from. This means that the number of opportunities has increased for people with disabilities as well, now more than ever. When you work from the safety and comfort of your own home, it is a lot easier to make sure that your special needs are met.
But what are the best or most popular remote job opportunities to empower someone who is living with a condition, and to enable them to generate decent income? Here are a few aspects worth considering:
The diversity of remote jobs
Few people realize just how diverse remote employment can be. This is especially important to know, for people with special needs, who may feel that their options are limited – this cannot be farther from the truth! Here are just some of the most popular opportunities available out there: write for a blog, transcribe audio or video to text, become a social media specialist, do voice-overs, test mobile apps or games, translate, perform data entry, work in customer service, become a tutor or even a teacher, the list goes on and on. Moreover, by undergoing special training or completing online courses, one can extend the list even further, adding job opportunities such as accountant, guidance or vocational counsellor, legal assistant or even medical assistant.
Big Companies
Some of the biggest companies in the world are extremely active on the remote work market, even more so ever since the pandemic has hit the globe. Big-time remote employers include Amazon, Zoom, American Express, Microsoft, Apple, GitHub, Xerox, IBM, Ernst & Young, KPMG and event Hilton. Needless to say, these heavyweights have a stellar reputation for being inclusive and doing their best to accommodate employees with disabilities. However, landing a job with an employer of this magnitude can be quite challenging, which brings us to the next point.
Freelancing
This is by far the most popular choice for remote work. Instead of working for a single company, one can choose to be their own boss, and to work at their own pace, which is ideal for a person with a disability. Websites like UpWork and Fiverr have literally millions of jobs available to everyone out there. Creating a profile and starting on a gig is relatively quick and simple. On the downside, although freelancing is perfect for earning some cash on the side, it will take some time to turn it into a source of steady income on which one can rely on a monthly basis.
Setting up the perfect environment
With all the advantages of remote employment, working from home can be challenging as well, in ways quite different from traditional jobs. The comfort of one’s home also brings numerous distractions, making it harder to focus and get into a proactive mood. Thus, it is extremely important to have a designated place with a special setup for work, perfectly adjusted to one’s needs, to ensure maximum productivity. A person with a disability might even consider getting some professional advice, to help them better prepare their environment for remote work. By becoming more accessible than ever, remote employment is already helping many people with disabilities avoid unnecessary stress, such as the daily commute or working long hours with no breaks. And with the increasing diversity of available jobs and types of employment, this positive trend is sure to increase in the next decade.
