<p>I am not stupid, at least not completely stupid. I have a nonverbal IQ of 120+ which explains why as an undergrad I breezed through classes like math, physics, computer science and so on, but I always hated classes where I had to read and write, because I don't absorb and process verbal information easily.</p>
<p>What I want to know is what career paths, if any, are appropriate for a person who can easily do quantitative tasks but feels extremely uncomfortable reading.</p>
<p>Do those careers exist or am I look at something like car mechanic or construction worker?</p>
<p>My brother is dyslexic – to the point that he almost didn’t pass English to graduate in 1974. </p>
<p>He has had a very successful career in software engineering, without a 4 year degree. He has a 2-year associates from a tech college, and took some courses towards a BS in Math, but became so successful (read: busy and distracted with work) that I don’t believe he completed his degree.</p>
<p>Please note the time period however – he got into computer software design in the late 70s, at the beginning.</p>
<p>My dad is dyslexic and is a police officer for a major city. He has currently worked his way up to being a sergeant of a high-profile financial crimes investigations unit. He attended a mediocre college and appealed grades by professors who took off for spelling a few times, but ended up finishing with a Bachelor’s in social work. His spelling and grammar are still pretty horrible, but spell check definitely helps him a lot and he tries to do things verbally rather than written whenever he can. I don’t think it’s a big issue unless you decide to make it one; otherwise, you can definitely succeed in the right field as much as anyone else.</p>
<p>I think it’s better to look at the career paths you wouldnt be able to do, then you have everything else to consider. Forget business, academic jobs, research jobs and writing proffessions. Thats all.</p>
<p>Now you can consider all else for a career path.</p>
<p>What are you good at? Are you good with people? Athletic? Do you have a mind for business? Art? Figure out what your talents and passions are. Coursework and training that involve reading will be inevitable but you can overcome your disability and succeed if you pursue things you have a knack for.</p>
<p>So if you want to do something, go for it. Don’t let your disability completely limit you. I understand that you obviously want to choose a career path that wouldn’t include a lot of reading, but if you do find that a certain career is really what you want to do and it has a lot of reading, don’t let that stop you. :)</p>
<p>My boyfriend is dyslexic and he is going into clinical laboratory science. He was originally planning on doing math. </p>
<p>Different people have different levels of disability, AUGirl. My boyfriend double majored in clinical lab science and psychology, and he actually did much better in psychology-- but he wouldn’t have at a more rigorous school. With my dyscalculia I will NEVER be able to do a technical job. That’s just a fact of life. I could probably learn the material that I would need to do the job but I would never be quick enough at it or sharp enough at it to be a professional, and the odds that I would be able to meet the academic requirements are slim to none. Some people can plow through their disabilities and succeed in things they shouldn’t be able to do, others not so much. I have to find another way to be successful. That may be the case for OP, too. I understand you didn’t mean it that way but it can come across a little condescending when you say “don’t let that limit you.” You wouldn’t tell someone in a wheelchair not to let that stop them from climbing the stairs. Sometimes you just need to find a ramp.</p>
<p>Yeah. I almost considered not posting it, but then I thought about it, and I was not trying to be condescending. I said don’t let it completely limit you. Obviously we all have our limits. I understand that. My own sister is autistic and I know that the likelihood that she’ll even be able to go to college or anything like that is just not realistically high for her at all. She’s limited by her disability. We still encourage her to do things that she wants to do, even though they may be difficult or nearly impossible for her. That’s all I was saying here.</p>
<p>Sorry if it was condescending or offensive.</p>
<p>I think it’s better to look at the career paths you wouldnt be able to do, then you have everything else to consider. Forget business, academic jobs, research jobs and writing proffessions.</p>