How Tech Can Help Your Career When You’re Living with a Disability

When you’re living with a disability, it’s important to use all the resources at your disposal when it comes to your job. Fortunately, these days, there are a ton of apps, sites, and devices that can help you do your job with ease. Whether you’re looking for a job or just need to be able to work comfortably from home, there are several tools you can use that will help you advance in your career. Think about what your needs are, and then consult this list for ideas on how to use tech to your advantage when it comes to your professional life.

Make Working from Home a Cinch

Some of the best jobs for individuals who are living with a disability are the ones that allow for remote work, which means you can get things done in the comfort of your own home. In the past, finding a job that allowed a person to work from home was like finding a pot of gold, but these days, more and more companies are turning to freelance contractors who can do their jobs outside the office and save them money. Using a job board will help you connect with the right gig for your experience level, such as data entry. As Upwork points out, data entry can put your detail-oriented skills to work by populating spreadsheets or transferring info to databases, and you can do it all from the comfort of your own house without a long commute.

Utilize Your Phone

If you’re going the freelance route, make sure you have a dependable phone that will help you stay connected no matter where you are or what you have going on. Need an upgrade? Check out the super-fast iPhone XS Max, which has a state-of-the-art dual-camera system and will keep you going for 13 hours before it needs to be charged. Not an Apple user? The Samsung Galaxy S10+ has similar features but offers a wide camera rather than the dual option.

Prep for Your Interview

When you’re ready to look for a new job, it can be intimidating to think about polishing up your résumé and going in for interviews. With a few helpful apps, however, you can prep for those face-to-face meetings by researching the company, boosting your cover letter and résumé, and even getting ready for the technical aspect of the interview, such as practicing potential questions. By utilizing these resources, you can find out more about a business through their social media posts, which could help when you’re ready to sit down with the hiring manager.

Boost your Small Business

Owning and operating a small business is a huge job, and tech can come in handy in just about every aspect. Whether you run things from home and need a streamlined method of communication with your team or you just want to make your online presence bigger, there are several ways to go about it. One of the easiest places to start is the Google Suite, which offers everything from customized email to file-sharing services that will allow you to stay organized. You can also consider using a portable card reader so you can do business on-the-go.

Whether you’re ready to overhaul your career or just give it a little push, there are so many ways you can make the process easier on yourself using tech. Think about your specific needs and where your budget lies, and make sure you’re educated about how to become a freelance contractor, if that’s the route you want to go in. Look online for details concerning the state you live in since freelancers are typically required to apply for a business license. By utilizing the resources at hand, you can boost your career in just about any direction with ease.

Ask Kit Kat: Species Re-dicovered

Hook Law Center: Kit Kat, what can you tell us about a re-discovered species in Vietnam?

Kit Kat: Well, this is another wonderful tale about the resiliency of nature. Scientists had feared the silver-backed chevrotain (also called the Vietnamese mouse deer) was extinct. However, in mid-November 2019, data about the creature was released in the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. First noticed in the spring of 2019, the chevrotain was photographed in the wild in southern Vietnam over a 5-month period. It was the first time the mammal had been spotted in about 30 years. The term “mouse deer” is very accurate as far as how the animal looks. About the size of a rabbit, it looks like a mouse on relatively long, skinny legs. “For so long, this species has seemingly only existed as part of our imagination. Discovering that it is, indeed, still out there, is the first step in ensuring we don’t lose it again, and we’re moving quickly now to figure out how best to protect it,” says Vietnamese biologist An Nguyen, an associate conservation scientist with Global Wildlife Conservation, a nongovernmental organization.

The habitat of the chevrotain is the coastal rainforest in southern Vietnam. To gather more information about the chevrotain, scientists set up cameras for 5 months in areas where local people had spotted them. Over that period, 1881 photographs were taken. Chevrotains are neither related to mice nor deer, but are labeled ungulates or hoofed mammals. They are the world’s smallest in this class. They usually weigh under 10 pounds, are shy and solitary, seem to walk on the tips of their hooves, and have 2 small fangs.

Scientists first described the species in 1910 when they had access to 4 specimens. Then, they seemed to disappear, and there were no more verified records until 1990, when they became aware of one caught by a hunter in central Vietnam, much further north than the latest sightings. The two habitats are different—one is in wet evergreen forests, and the other is in dry forest. There is still much to be learned about these unusual creatures. Also, how they were discovered offers lessons as well—scientists utilized local people and listened to their stories. They did not discount their accounts. With modern technology, they were able to verify and collect data about them. Hopefully, measures can now be taken to protect this unusual species.

(Katie Hunt, “Tiny deer-like animal thought lost to science photographed for first time in 30 years, “ www.cnn.com, Nov. 11, 2019)