Everything you ever
learned…
APPLIES TO ACCESSIBILITY
What’s in your skill toolbox?
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Technical skills
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Persuasion skills
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Developer
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Sales
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QA
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Substitute Teacher
Social skills
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Data skills
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Psychologist
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Accountant
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Pre-school Teacher
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Statistician
Communication
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Physical Skills
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Tech Writer
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Auto Mechanic
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Stand-up Comedian
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Warehouse Worker
Exploring the range of accessibility
positions
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Skills needed for the position
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Which do I already have?
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Which could I develop?
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Which don’t I have or want!?
Who is hiring?
What are they looking for?
WebAIM survey of accessibility
professionals

900 responses to survey in 2014
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90 % of respondents live/ work in US and Europe
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78% do not have a disability themselves
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Educated: 74% have a B.A. or above
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Corporate – 40%
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Government – 20%
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Job title: 40% have “Accessibility” in the title
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(at least) 25% are in tech
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50% work full time or near full time in accessibility
Educational institution – 20%
Jobs with word “Accessibility” in the
title or description
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Indeed.com
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LinkedIn.com
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Title ~ Accessibility = 107
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Title ~ Accessibility = 58
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Description ~ Accessibility = 11,444
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Description ~ Accessibility = 5303
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Same breakdown as indeed.com
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Same ratio 1 job using
“Accessibility” in title: 100 jobs
where
“accessibility” is used in the job
description
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Oct 25, 2015
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½ tech: developers and testers
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¼ manager/ administration
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¼ other
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Oct, 25, 2015
Job titles
thanks, tagcrowd.com!
Companies hiring Accessibility titles
Developer
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Technical knowledge of HTML,
CSS, good coding practices
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Ability to learn programming
languages
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Linear bias
QA
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Constantly testing
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Constantly questioning
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Measuring
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Pit-bull personality
What’s in your skill toolbox?
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

Technical skills

Persuasion skills

Developer

Sales

QA

Substitute Teacher
Social skills

Data skills

Psychologist

Accountant

Pre-school Teacher
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Statistician
Communication
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Physical Skills
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Tech Writer
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Auto Mechanic
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Stand-up Comedian
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Warehouse Worker
Psychologist
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Place person in context
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Understand motivations
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Appeal to their strengths
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Lead people to discover truths for
themselves
Anthropologist
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Ethnographic (field) studies
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Deep research into what makes
people tick
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Understanding of group dynamics
Pre-school teacher
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Make complex subjects simple
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Meet person where they are and
gently lead them to the next stage
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Patience personified
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Overlook momentary stalls as you
see the bigger picture
What’s in your skill toolbox?
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

Technical skills

Persuasion skills

Developer

Sales

QA

Substitute Teacher
Social skills
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Data skills

Psychologist
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Accountant
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Pre-school Teacher
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Statistician
Communication
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Physical Skills
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Tech Writer
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Auto Mechanic
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Stand-up Comedian
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Warehouse Worker
Writer
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Communication
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Deliver message without
preaching
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Embody different personalities,
styles; get into character
Technical Writer
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Explain the complex simply
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Write instructions to guide users
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Not afraid of technology
What’s in your skill toolbox?
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
Technical skills

Persuasion skills

Developer

Sales

QA

Substitute Teacher
Social skills

Data skills

Psychologist

Accountant

Pre-school Teacher
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Statistician
Communication
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Physical Skills
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Tech Writer
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Auto Mechanic
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Stand-up Comedian
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Warehouse Worker
Standup Comedian
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Thick skin to shed criticism
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Can see many sides to a subject
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Inject humor into the thorniest of
subjects
Stripper
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Keep audience attention
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Peeling the onion
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Appeal to basic instincts
Prison Guard
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Keep everyone aware of the rules
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Focus on safety and group
thought
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Track the unusual
Project Manager
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Detailed planning with known/
expected outcome
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Track multiple resources/
outcomes to deliver on time
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Taskmaster when needed
What’s in your skill toolbox?



Technical skills

Persuasion skills

Developer

Sales

QA

Substitute Teacher
Social skills

Data skills

Psychologist

Accountant

Pre-school Teacher

Statistician
Communication

Physical Skills
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Tech Writer
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Auto Mechanic
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Stand-up Comedian
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Warehouse Worker
Accountant
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Attention to detail
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Guided by rules; stay within
parameters
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Risk adverse
Engineer
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Work within constraints
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Enjoy meeting technical
specifications
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Able to work diligently for long
periods of time
Statistician
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Data cruncher par excellence
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Produce visualizations that convey
data discoveries
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Trusts the numbers
What’s in your skill toolbox?



Technical skills

Persuasion skills

Developer

Sales

QA

Substitute Teacher
Social skills

Data skills

Psychologist

Accountant

Pre-school Teacher

Statistician
Communication

Physical Skills

Tech Writer

Auto Mechanic

Stand-up Comedian

Warehouse Worker
Auto Mechanic
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Comfortable with technological
solutions
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Able to manufacture and
produce physical results
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Ability to follow rules and produce
same results repeatedly
Art Teacher
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Creative and also able to elicit
creativity in others
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Can envision workarounds when
the usual methods don’t work
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Willing to try something new
Ghostbuster
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Aware of non-physical dimensions
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Not afraid to go where others fear
to tread
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Imaginative in creating solutions
Professor
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Used to doing deep and critical
analysis
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Publish works for others to build on
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Research is built into their style
Lawyer
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Aware of how the law works: rules/
regulations/ guidelines/ standards
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Aware of timeframes around
legalities
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Can defend against litigation
Hidden job market
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Uses accessibility the way we use it as part of skills needed/ desired
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Uses other terms as well (ADA, Section 508, WCAG) in their recruiting
terminology
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Jobs with more usual job title, Instructional Coordinator, Project
Manager, Senior Developer, Quality Assurance Engineer
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“Accessibility Skills” are wanted but not to the exclusion of other
core skills
You
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Define your skills
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Line up your skills with accessibility
career which play to your
strengths
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Realize that you will be:
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Unique in the short run
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In short supply in the medium run
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Re-invent yourself again in the
long run
Web Designer UI/ UX for ‘Go Nimbly’, San Francisco, CA, $45 hr.
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We're looking for a designer to help our company redesign our website.
The successful candidate must ensure all elements of the UI (interface
design, navigation, information hierarchy, accessibility) meet business
objectives and user needs.
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Requirements:
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- Solid knowledge of Adobe CC web design suite on a Mac is required
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- Previous experience with web/mobile/responsive design, layout and
typography is essential
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- Familiar with Wordpress CMS (no coding experience required)
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- Passion for delivering beautiful, effective, results-focused, creative work
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- Proven ability to maintain professional usability and artistic standards
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- Excellent artistic eye for visual storytelling.
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Job Type: Contract
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Required experience:
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Web Design: 2 years
Thanks for attending!

Elianna James
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I Break Websites LLC, President
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www.ibreakwebsites.com
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720-425-1001
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eliannaj@yahoo.com
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Twitter: @eliannaj
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LinkedIn: Open invite to join me there