Last Updated on October 2, 2023 by Editorial Team
What will my child do in the future when he is facing so many difficulties with words and numbers? It is a common worry that almost all parents face when they realize that their children’s intelligence assessment test shows poor results.
The good news is that having learning difficulties is not the end of the world. Further, we all have heard about people with extraordinary skills and talent to have suffered from difficulty with reading words and numbers, in their early days. The examples like Picasso, the great painter, or Einstein, the great scientist, show that being intelligent, skilled, and gifted, and being dyscalculic or dyslexic are two different things.
As we know Dyslexia and Dyscalculia are learning disorders that make it difficult for children to exchange information through words or numbers, people with these difficulties can find alternatives to communicate through technological innovations like word processors and using Text-to-speech applications, to achieve their daily objectives. As an adult too, there are several fields where dyslexics or dyscalculics can work and earn themselves a promising career.
Let’s take a look at the career choices suitable for dyslexia and dyscalculia where they can employ their creativity and skills.
Career & job options for people with dyslexia
Let’s take a look at some of the promising career choices that can help dyslexics stand on their own feet and make themselves financially independent.
1. Web designer (Average Salary: $36K to $50K)
Designing is one of the areas where people have to show their visual perception skills. It is found that the creative abilities of dyslexics are quite prominent. Their thinking abilities allow them to visualize shapes, color combinations, etc. in a way superior manner.
That is why; they can make designing-focused jobs as safe career options for themselves. Web designing, where most of the work is focused on building templates and visual designing work, offers the dyslexics a wholesome stream for utilizing and displaying their talent.
2. Space Scientist (Average Salary: $81K)
Love for Physics, instruments, and stars helped overcome Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist and physicist Dyslexia. She completed her education as high as a Ph.D. and then moved on to become a noted space scientist.
This inspiring story is strong enough to show there is no place for learning difficulties when the mind is ready to take on challenges. A dyslexic can work in NASA or other space research agencies of the world and get paid handsomely. A sense of achievement and participation in projects of national interest has no match.
3. Neurologist (Avg Salary: $2,20,000-$3,06,000 annually)
The love for brain science and the nervous system can make a person with Dyslexia work hard as a neurologist. They make use of word processors to complete their education (just in case you are wondering how they attain a degree for such a complex field) and have the support of assistants to enable the written communication required to do with the patients. Thus, despite learning difficulties, they can make a stable career for themselves as a neurologist.
4. Landscape Artist (Average Salary: $38K-$64K)
This artist is in high demand among recruiters who need specialists in home architecture. Those, who want their houses and their external portions to have a character, employ architects who can create engaging landscaping designs for their properties.
Their visualization skills are needed to get this job done in a result-oriented manner. Since there is a lot of planning, visualizing, and creating involved, the dyslexics find these jobs quite satisfying. They become financially independent when they find competition for routine desk jobs to be too overwhelming.
5. Surgeon (Average Salary: $396,767, as per September 2020 records)
A report published in IST Training, South East of Scotland Programme[1], suggests that about 10% of medical students taking training as surgeons had been diagnosed with dyslexia in their school days. The inclusive model of Scotland University that offered adjustments in educational assessments allowed dyslexic students to have extra time in exams, or have an education support tutor, extra revision time, library loans, etc. Thus, dyslexics evidently can take jobs as a surgeon, if they have found their natural calling in medical science.
Career & job options for people with dyscalculia
If math and numbers sound like insurmountable challenges to you, it does not mean that you will have to depend on others all your life. There are jobs with No Math, which can utilize your talent and skills, and carve a niche with financial independence for yourself.
1. Lawyer or Judge (Average Salary: $120,910)
A judge in the court or lawyer in any firm is not appointed on the basis of math skills, but on argument skills and on the basis of knowledge of law or work done in this field. Of course, you may choose to share your learning difficulty with colleagues to get help when needed. The passion for law and its enforcement can drive you to make a career in this field even if you have dyscalculia.
2. Photojournalist (Average Salary: $65,878)
Photography is one such field where your visualization and camera knowledge earn you the bucks. How to pick a shot or frame people and things, the rule of nine, and the use of a tripod, lens, aperture, props, etc. are some of the essentialities of becoming a photographer; this profile has no math anywhere to be seen in use. So, opt for a feature photographer or photojournalist in a magazine, or a newspaper, where your contribution will be required and recognized.
3. Life Science Research Scholars (Average Salary: $51K to $72K depending upon the job profile)
The love for life science can be your driving force to help you forget about dyscalculia and do the real work required to become a biologist. If you are still not convinced, you can take inspiration from Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist who hated math and was very slow in it.
The role of a biologist or life science research scholar is instrumental in making new discoveries, which can be helpful in improving the quality of human life. So, dyscalculia is not to be dreaded, only a way around is to be worked out to make a successful career as a research scholar.
4. Professor (Average Salary: $63K)
Your life as a dyscalculic can be your strength and can win you the job of a professor in the stream of your choice. Many people with Dyscalculia have managed to continue with their academic dreams and earned higher degrees, which made them eligible for the post of a professor in a college or university. So, having a zeal to learn and excel in the academic field can be your driving force when the world around is busy branding you as stupid because of your specific learning difficulty.
5. Social Media Manager (Average Salary: $50K)
Social media is the most trusted promotion platform these days. All businesses need to have a social media presence to drive their numbers. Dyscalculia cannot come in your way of becoming a social media manager when you have focused your attention on other strengths required for this post. You may not be good with numbers, but with understanding people’s expectations and marketing models. So, you can leverage these strengths to create a successful career as a social media manager.
To conclude,
Learning difficulties cannot come your way to creating success stories as scientists or holders of high-paying jobs of any other kind. All you need is to search more extensively and with an open mind. Identify your true strengths instead of feeling overwhelmed by difficulties related to learning, and support yourself with a reliable career choice.
References:-
- The Dyslexic Surgeon, a report published in IST training, East Scotland Program
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,