Remote Career Options for People with Disabilities

Written By: Katherine Lewis, Content Manager for Diversability

For many living with disabilities, the traditional modern career - with its multitude of obstacles and restrictions - is nearly or entirely impossible. That doesn’t mean that disabled people cannot be productive and successful in the workplace though. In fact, it’s the opposite.

People with disabilities have knowledge, skills, and experiences that make them ideal employees. Although they may have limitations or chronic conditions that make performing duties in a traditional workplace difficult, there is so much they have to offer. And thanks to modern technology, there are more resources available than ever before to ensure they have employment opportunities and options.

This was a fact I discovered myself not long ago.

A few years after landing my dream job as a musician in the U.S. Army Bands, I got sick. I don’t mean the kind of sick you recover from if you take medicine & rest a few days. I had developed 2 chronic auto-immune diseases. This was permanent.

Fast forward three more years, multiple diagnoses and debilitating injuries later, every part of my life had changed – including as a musician. I was medically retired from the U.S. Army. My career as I knew it was over. To be honest, it was devastating. How could I make money to support my family, do what I love and be fulfilled in my work, and manage life with my disabilities? 

The answer didn’t immediately come to me.

I was consumed by the notion that traditional employment was the only way to have a successful career. (Like most of us.) 

But as today’s workforce continues to experience a Renaissance of sorts, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In my search for an answer to my “What next?” question, I found a multitude of options, resources, and tools to help me build a career I could enjoy and be proud of despite my limitations. And I’d like to share a few of them with you.

Freelancing

Freelancing is an incredibly popular employment option for people with disabilities. In fact, as a career field that now makes up nearly 36% of the workforce today, freelancing is on track to become the job market majority by 2027 for professionals of all abilities.
There are a multitude of reasons why freelancing is booming - all of which offer a unique opportunity for the disabled community. 

• It’s simpler. Freelancers are perfect for project-based work (which every business does). Whether a business is working on a quick rebrand or undertaking a _______, hiring a freelancer with a stellar portfolio and good reputation makes sense. It cuts out the complexity and impersonal nature of partnering with large firms while still accomplishing the same end result. 

• It’s cost-effective. The traditional route of hiring in-house teams or outsourcing to agencies is incredibly expensive. Hiring freelancers is a generally more affordable option.And that makes freelancers increasingly attractive prospects for businesses.

• It’s flexible & convenient. Freelancers typically work with one (or very few) client(s) at a time. This means they can dedicate more attention and time to a given project, are more readily and easily accessible, and can better meet their clients needs along the way.

• Location, Location. Businesses now have the ability to hire top notch employees, regardless of their location.

“I see it as an opportunity to go an alternate path to arrive at a solution And it’s on this path where novel and innovative ideas EXIST.” - Jacob Levy

While freelancing does require a large amount of time, and it can be less predictable in terms of benefits and income, there are plenty of resources available to make freelancing a fulfilling and profitable career option. 

To become a freelancer, you’ll need a marketable skill you can use to create a service for others. You may already be an expert in something, but if not that’s ok. Sites like Udemy, EDx.org, and Skillshare, and more have made it possible to learn new skills from home.

Joining a freelance marketplace or social media group for freelancers is an effective way to network, find job postings, meet clients, and grow your business. 

Home-Business

More commonly known as small businesses, home-businesses are another way to earn meaningful income virtually. Somewhat similar to freelancing, small businesses differ in one significant way: rather than render services to another business, small business owners work for themselves, rendering services to their own individual clients. 

Becoming a small business owner is a popular choice for many people looking for flexible career paths, and it’s particularly beneficial for people with disabilities. Home businesses offer a myriad of benefits - the largest being that both time and duties are entirely flexible and under your control. 

With a small business, the hours worked, daily work load, planning, and execution of work is managed entirely by you. Even if your business grows to include other team members, there’s a great deal of autonomy involved. And with the often unpredictability of living with disabilities, it’s this flexibility that makes a home-business a great option. 

Not sure how to get started? There are several resources available to get your small business started or grow. 

• The Balance Small Business offers articles, downloads, and various other materials to help budding entrepreneurs.

• Entrepreneur.com, one of the web’s leading training platforms for at-home business owners, boasts a huge library of videos, webinars, articles, and opportunity listings available for free. 

It’s actually what I chose to do, and I have found immense joy and success since launching my business. 

Telecommute

If you want to continue working in your current job or a similar field you’re qualified in, looking for telecommuting/telework options is a great place to start. Telework provides the opportunity to remain working for a traditional “9-5” employer while avoiding the need to travel to a central location every day to complete daily tasks. To find telecommuting options, you can search sites like LinkedIn or FlexJobs or discuss teleworking with your current computer either directly with them or an advocate.

At Home Arrangement with Current Employer

Another option is a work-from-home arrangement with your current employer. Although similar to teleworking, at-home work arrangements allow for more time flexibility, and don’t require that you be ‘online’ during a specific time range every day. Telecommuting and at-home work are considered reasonable accommodation under the ADA, allowing disabled employees the ability to present their employers with proposals for those accommodations. And of course, if questions arise, reaching out to advocates or your HR team may be helpful.

While it’s not as common, creating at-home working options for disabled people is completely possible. One of our Diversability Community members in fact found a way to offer at-home options for their employees as a small business owner themselves.

“[I’m the] founder of Kakana, a streaming accessible fitness platform. Our instructors work part-time right now and stream from their homes.”-- Matthew Ney

After years of being convinced I could no longer have a career because I was disabled, I finally realized that following the ‘traditional’ 9-5 path wasn’t the only way (despite what I’d been told). I took the leap, started my own business, and honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life now. Whether you work from home in your current job, start your own business like I did, telecommute, or combine several options at a time, having a successful virtual career as a person with disabilities is possible!