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Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

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Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#91

Post by extra88 »

mburst wrote: post #23

I would recommend trying to study up on Section 508 compliance https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/index.html . It's a set of rules that all government orgs in the US must follow for making sure their content is accessible. If you do end up becoming visually impaired you'll end up with a unique perspective on building accessible websites.

The W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the basis for many accessibility laws and more useful for actually learning what makes a site accessible.

If you don't already place an emphasis on using semantic HTML markup, learn more about that, it's the foundation of accessible design.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#92

Post by gopaz »

ddevault wrote: post #82
hatsunearu wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sighted?

Not perfectly, and not for long. I wear glasses, but they only do so much, and my vision worsens every year. I use some light assistive technologies on the daily - higher contrast, large fonts, zooming in on things. To test the tools I linked to, I spend the occasional workday with all of my monitors turned off, relying on these tools to get work done. I also have a braille reader that I occasionally pull out. I have…

I would love to read more about this in your blog! Sway is my daily driver and I love it!

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#93

Post by matt_the_bass »

ddevault wrote: post #82
hatsunearu wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sighted?

Not perfectly, and not for long. I wear glasses, but they only do so much, and my vision worsens every year. I use some light assistive technologies on the daily - higher contrast, large fonts, zooming in on things. To test the tools I linked to, I spend the occasional workday with all of my monitors turned off, relying on these tools to get work done. I also have a braille reader that I occasionally pull out. I have…

It seems like this level of organization would be beneficial to the sighted community as well. Is this a value that you use to market to customers?

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#94

Post by O_H_E »

For navigation in the real world, make sure to check out echolocation. Some blind people have been navigating the world using sound reflections like bats. I was recently watching [1] and it blew-out my mind. You could start training now. Apparently after much practice people could be independent to the point of riding bikes.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08smCjKWNL0

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#96

Post by contingencies »

Get off the computer and enjoy the sensory world while you can. You will have adequate time to hone your comprehension of process, formalism and other manner of abstract erudition thereafter, which will have its own beauty. Travel is a bitch if you can't see. Get out there now. I can recommend from first hand experience cycle touring with a tent and sleeping bag as a good way to see much of the world at a leisurely pace and very cheaply which does not require you to waste time saving money. Having that geographical reference to hang subsequently acquired knowledge on is golden. Get out there. http://www.artoftravel.net/

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#97

Post by michaelmior »

vidanay wrote: post #68
kolanos wrote: post #47

You can definitely continue as a software engineer. I'm living proof. It won't be easy, especially at first. For a while it will feel like you're working twice as hard just to keep up with your sighted peers. But eventually, the better you get with your tools, you'll find you have some superpowers over your sighted peers. For example, as you get better with a screen reader, you'll be bumping the speech rate up to 1.7…

Your comment about proof reading and errors not sounding right reminds me of the "proper/best" way to learn Morse code for ham radio. Most everyone is familiar with the charts that show A=.- B=-... etc. Lots of beginners try to actually interpret the sounds in their ears and convert that to a letter and then convert a bunch of those to a word. Obviously, that is very processor intensive and has a high failure rate. T…

Any tips on how to start then? I used to know all the letters in Morse code but it was basically just learning the chart as you mentioned. I've since forgotten most of the alphabet.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#98

Post by frosted-flakes »

cortesoft wrote: post #64
Waterluvian wrote: post #19

I just want to throw this out there, just in case you haven't deeply considered it. I'm sure others will answer your question more properly. Have you considered that maybe you don't want to be doing software engineering and with this precious remaining time would rather prepare for something entirely different? Not sure what your financial situation will be or if you live somewhere with sufficient social support, but…

I am confused why his diagnosis makes any difference... this isn't a fatal disease, so he has no fewer years to live than the rest of us. If he thought being a software engineer was what he wanted to do to live a fulfilling life before his diagnosis, why would that change now?

Because programming without sight is hard. It's definitely doable and could very well lead to a fulfilling life. Or it might not. Maybe there are other careers that he might be better suited for and where his disability won't be as much of a hindrance. If so, he still has time while he can see to prepare for a career change.

Basically, the GP is telling the OP to consider all of his options and not to box himself into software engineering just because that's what he does now.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#99

Post by robocat »

dan-robertson wrote: post #79
diebeforei485 wrote: post #67

I have heard anecdotally that Apple in particular does hire a lot of blind software engineers - in large part to help make its products accessible to the blind.

On the other side of this, I’ve heard that the software Apple makes tends to be very good from an accessibility standpoint. An advantage of not needing to look at it is that you can have your phone screen permanently off and get a massively extended battery life.

I wasted a bunch of time attempting to start making a mobile single page app accessible. Much of that was due to Safari 12 on an iPad, because I had believed that Apple VoiceOver was good. I found VoiceOver to be incredibly buggy. With iOS system apps, I was able to see where the voice feature was totally misleading or just wrong. And trying to use the ARIA markup to get Safari to voice the UI correctly felt like a dark art, and I gave up after weeks of effort.

If Apple VoiceOver is the best, god help the blind, because our software is failing them (and that includes the software I was responsible for).

Re: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?

#100

Post by O_H_E »

RobMurray wrote: post #81

I have been blind since birth. I recommend downloading NVDA, a free screen reader for windows, and getting used to using it for basic computer use. Getting used to hearing the speech as fast as possible is key to being able to use it efficiently. You said you have hearing loss. Is it bad enough to make speech output useless? If so you would need to learn braille. I would never try front end design as I have no idea w…

This is a bit off-topic, but may I ask: how did you get introduced to programming?

Feel free to not answer :D

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