Study + Work

What Post-School Options Are Available?

School-leavers who’re deaf have the same career options as their hearing peers, with digital hearing-devices and access to higher education. Some even work in speech-pathology, audiology and ENT fields after their childhood experiences.

Don’t just ask, “What’s a good job for a deaf person?”.

Try these tips for students with hearing issues on campus, or similar employees in your workforce. Educators and students or workmates can read these tips for talking with people who wear hearing-devices to ‘get’ how hearing difficulties impact a post-secondary education. Strategies for students, educators and colleagues are shared, with the need for greater public awareness about including a person with hearing difficulties in a group.

What Careers Do Deaf People Have?

Reading the occupations here, confirms the range of careers enjoyed by people who’re deaf and hard-of-hearing.

Students pick careers in speech therapy, ENT consultant and audiology fields, after growing up with these services.

Commercial aviation is now a career option for pilots who wear cochlear implants and who use digital hearing-devices.

An architect who learned to speak at the age of ten – Robert Duncan Nicol – granted an endowment to California State College at Fresno, to support deaf education.

Civil engineer Rachel McAnallen, at the US Defense Force, works with leadership and Air Force staff, to improve inclusion.

Healthcare careers are highlighted to students with hearing issues, with veterinarians, medical doctors and nurses testing digital tools to guide on access for future students in their fields.

Study supports exist for doctors with hearing issues, with most having to study harder than their hearing peers.

In 2013, a nurse in the UK qualified as a RN, twenty years after first applying, but times have changed.

Teaching is popular with students with hearing difficulties, who bring digital tools and lived experience to the profession.

Digital tools make journalism an excellent career for people with hearing issues and strong literacy skills.

Thanks to Duracell, legally-deaf Seattle-based NFL player, Derrick Coleman, is mentoring younger NFL players.

College Access in Ireland

Most colleges in Ireland offer lecture supports for deaf students, who use social media to network with each other. Deaf students in Ireland study all topics, at third level. Sound Advice knows of deaf trainees in the fields of dentistry, medicine, vet science and pharmacology.

Access and Guidance Organisations in Ireland

DAWN (the Disability Advisors Working Network) for Ireland’s universities, the ITs, NCAD and NCI, has said accessibility for deaf students is a priority. School-leavers wanting practical (vocational) career training also have the option of ETBI or community college courses, or a course at Roslyn Park. AHEAD, the Association for Higher Education and Disability, runs mentor pilots and work placements for graduates with disabilitiy: email info@ahead.ie for information on these pilots.