Career Trends for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Post-Millennials

All through high school kids dream of being independent. Living on their own and eating what they want. No curfew. Free to do and become whatever they desire.

Many students go on to university or college and some dive straight into the humdrum of the workplace.

These young professionals are called Generation Z, or Post-Millennials. Born from the mid-1990s to early 2000s Generation Z is now entering the workforce and are on the hunt for challenging career opportunities.

58% of Gen Z’s worry about the future. Now, imagine the distress such a young professional feels with the added burden of finding a job that accommodates a hearing loss.

In the UK there are over 11 million people with some form of hearing loss. Granted the majority are over 50 years old, but the number of hard of hearing people in the UK is estimated to grow by another 4.6 million by 2035.

45,000 children in the UK are deaf, so it stands to reason that a large number of deaf people are now between the ages of 18 – 25 and ready to start their careers.

Curious, I did some research about trending career opportunities for Gen Z and analysed which jobs deaf candidates might find appealing. What might be a good deaf job? Here’s what I found.

Generation Z are true ‘digital natives’, and because of their Internet, smartphone and app-savviness, this generation could find a welcome home in tech-related careers.

This is great news if you’re between the ages of 18 and 25, and looking to start a career that is not 100% dependent on your ability to hear.

There is currently a huge deficit in finding qualified and passionate people to fill all the technology based jobs now available. IT jobs are one of the highest paying career choices for both deaf and hearing individuals.

The power of the Web is in universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect. – Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web.

• Software development and testing: These two teams work in unison. As codes are created, they must be checked for quality. Developers learn their chosen programming language (Java, C, Ruby, Python, etc.) while the testers require skills in programming languages and automation tools.

Being a deaf developer is a very real career possibility if this line of work interests you and most courses can be done online without having to attend seminars.

• Information security analyst: Much like software developers and testers, this career path does not require much interaction with people. It is essentially the installation of specific software to protect computer networks against malicious attacks.

• Environmental engineering: If you love maths and the environment, then this career opportunity is worth investigating. Read Alexander Balsley’s story on being deaf and an environmental engineer.

• Market research analyst: In this career, you would be tasked with gathering and analysing huge amounts of data on both consumers and competitors to examine the potential for business growth and opportunities to increase sales.

The boom of Generation Z consumers requires a keen attention to their trends and attitudes. Who is better equipped to analyse and predict the market of their peers than a market research analyst?  – CareerCast.

• Ecommerce is one of the hottest career trends for deaf and hard of hearing Post-Millennials. Online selling is huge, with mobile commerce already capturing 20% of online sales. Ecommerce is not just a day job. What you learn working in Ecommerce can help you one day launch your own lucrative business.

• Website and smartphone app developer: For this particular career choice, experience and portfolio work are generally valued higher than a “traditional” degree. Your job would be to create websites or apps that provide great user experiences. No hearing required.

Businesses are accumulating record amounts of digital information, which has led to the growing demand for big data experts to help them make sense of it all. These businesses are also in desperate need of digital marketers that can spot opportunities in the data and implement them in creative ways.

There is a soaring demand for analytics professionals. Many organisations believe these skills will enable them to gain much more precise business insights. Most of these jobs can be done remotely and only require your physical presence now and then, as long as you remain connected to the company during business hours.

Deaf and hard of hearing people should aim to focus on the analytical result-driven aspects of Ecommerce with special attention to improving the user experience. You have unique insight into the ways websites can communicate with potential clients without the need for over the phone or face-to-face communication. Use your expertise to spot opportunities to connect with customers digitally.

First, you must start by asking yourself:

• What are my interests?
• What are my top values? For example, family and freedom to work on projects that interest me.
• What is my natural skill set and where should I focus my efforts?
• How valuable do I want to be to potential employers?
• Do I want to work for a company or go-it-alone from the start?

Your final choice should depend on your interests, skills and academic background.

Take advantage of assistive technology if you want to study further. 121 Captions offers onsite and remote captioners, verbatim and non-verbatim. Receive captions directly to your smartphone, tablet or laptop.

As you tackle the job market, you might benefit from a mentor in navigating some of the more challenging aspects. Deaf career counselling might be a good option for you to explore career opportunities, especially with the rapid advancement of technology.

Deaf career counsellors will help you identify your values and skills and match these with future deaf job opportunities.

If you feel you require a bit more assistance before tackling the job market, visit BID Services. They provide employment support for deaf people and can refer you to deaf job resources across the country.

You also may find it useful to check outDiversityWorking or DeafEd for the latest deaf job listings and career advice.

With a wealth of information easily accessible on the internet, you can learn how to create smartphone apps and websites, succeed as a digital marketer or big data expert and break down barriers.

Don’t let having a hearing loss stop you from succeeding. Be the generation that thrives. Deaf job opportunities you might be interested in include:

• Software developer
• Software tester
• Information security analyst
• Environmental Engineer
• Market research analyst
• Ecommerce
• Website developer
• Smartphone application developer

Choosing a career in one of these business sectors will enable you to change the way business is done. As the newest generation entering the workforce, you have the unique opportunity and responsibility to change the way organisations view working with deaf and hard of hearing people. Take advantage of this opportunity – contact us and ask for our Special Report “Support Employees with Hearing Loss to Perform at Their Best”. This report is full of useful communication tips for your co-workers and managers; share this report with your colleagues to help you to work together better. You never know, you may just turn your dream job into your dream deaf job.