VR update

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Hey Gang,

just a small update since it's been a long long time since I've posted in this section yesterday somebody speaking on my behalf managed to get a hold of some higher higher up in the VR organization because the person whom is my job coach/placement "specialist" really hasn't done too much to help me find a adequate job for my skill set I told my job coach/placement "specialist" I wanted to get a PT summer job to which he said go for it & when you find something let me know and I'll support you. I mean if he's not going to reach out to try to help me get an office type of job then what good is he? I can go to any retail job and fill out an app and get a job I don't need his help so I dunno what the hell he's suppose to do on my behalf so we're going to have a meeting in about 2 weeks to see what he's doing or suppose to be doing.

a few months ago I sent him my resume and he told me he had made some tweaks to it but had never shown me my revised document and I have requested to see it or have it e-mailed nothing (as of yet) I'm not really thrilled with the service I'm getting from this guy nor VR. Ya know for either organizations that claims they have "connections" to companies for meaningful jobs they have yet to show me what they have other then retail/goodwill.

I'm about to lose faith in these people I know where i want to go I can't get there on my own how hard would it be for these people to charm my way in? I've seen some publicists and heard some of the verbiage that they use when promoting artist that's kinda like what job placement "specialist" does is promote the individual while downplaying the faults/negative aspect. and such has yet to be done with me.

Don't know what VR is, but no one will really try to help you get a job. They may help you improve your application skills, that's about it. If you want a general labour job, you can sign up with an employment agency, if they have them where you are.

Yeah, there really is a limit to what they can do. You have to be proactive. And you may not get your ideal job. I didn't get a university degree so I could clean bathrooms, but that's the way things go sometimes.

VR stands for Vocational Rehabilitation.
It's supposed to help you get a job and retain that job.

Not every state or country has it.

I used to go to an agency which my programme discontinued for some odd reason (could be government cuts) which specialised in people with disabilities whether it was physical or mental, which was also meant to get me a job and keep me in a job, so if I did get a job while on that programme they would get paid for it, so a bit of motivation for them but also a gamble for the goverment to get more people into work, this has been going for a few years so it was probably a trial kind of thing. Now the government is 'slowly' trying to find ways of getting disabled or disadvantaged people into work whether they'd enjoy it or not. I didn't get any job out of it, only some work experience in a field I wasn't interested in.

The only thing they managed to do is improve my CV, and it does look more professional than my version. They also said instead of having a 2 year gap on my CV they would have to put the courses i did at university that I failed and put notes under them explaining why so it doesn't look as bad. Who knows what agencies I will be put forward for in the future because I won't be suitable for the standard work programme the jobcentre has; which they said according to my disability.

I think part of the problem is that employers don't really want to hire people with disabilities. So job centres cannot do much. The challenge is convincing them that they would make a good employee. It depends what kind of job you are looking for too, the better ones are more competitive.

EDIT: I'm not sure if the above was intended for me or the Scorpius14 so If I speak out of turn I apologize.

I'm looking to get into broadcasting more specifically Master Control but if I can get my foot into the door I'll be happy.

I've read some of the PR stuff these job coaches use to help employers hire ppl with disabilities including tax breaks good publicity and meeting gov't regulations to hire certain amount of people whom are disabled, it's all about making the company look good in the public's eye they really don't care about us. As for my job placement specialist.....asleep at the wheel! A week or two ago I requested an updated resume (something he claimed he had finished a few months back) only to be told he's updating it and finishing it now (that was last Tuesday I believe) still nothing from him and I've got another damned meeting with VR this week to see what progress is being made and to see if I had been looking for a job (which is kinda hard to do without an updated resume) I could update the thing myself but he want's to tweak it so it looks better then it is plus I don't know what verbiage he's using.

He went to my college to see what resources he could find to better help me to which he found none all his talk about contacting county/state representatives if nothing happened was BS so I'm going for my own at the college and actually doing a little bit better then expected...but my expectations are low with the whole VR crap I may just kick them to the curb and see what I can do apparently I slip though the cracks because I am a higher functioning autistic I don't need the intensive services nor will I settle for a low wage job remedial job that they toss out to people whom are low(er) functioning.

If you consider yourself higher functioning, then I would not mention anything about disabilities to the employer. They would not understand it and it would only reduce your chances of getting a job. To get your foot in the door you can just get a basic, unrelated job in a company that specializes in your field that you want to work in. Once you are in and make a good impression and some experience, it would be easier to get hired into the position that you want.

Believe me this is not something that I would want my future employer to know the only thing is getting my foot in that door that seams to the hardest part of it right now...My Job specialist thinks it would be a good idea to tell them of my disability full disclosure up front because they can't discriminate when hiring people...while that maybe true on paper theres loop-holes these companies can use to keep me out of that job and not be hit up with a discrimination charge and this specialist doesn't really seam to grasp that.

I wonder if people in the more socially progressive states have some of these issues that I'm experiencing here

I can sympathize with you on this issue. I used to be a VR consumer but left after wasting three years of my life being fed false promises by my job coach. I was almost always offered minimum wage jobs despite having a college education.
I became so irate over VR's services that I contacted a local media outlet to do an expose on VR services. VR lied to the media outlet though and told them all of their consumers have reported positive outcomes with their services.
A friend of mine (also a VR consumer), was just as angry as I was. We drafted a proposal asking that 'communication support' be offered as a VR service since communication breakdowns in the workplace can be common among the autism population (at least I know that's were my difficulties were). We brought our proposal to an Assemblyman in New York (where I live) asking for his support. He is now sponsoring Bill No. A05141 based on our proposal, aimed at significantly improving employment outcomes among autistic VR consumers.
I did get angry at VR....but then I got even.

Fortunately, for broadcasting / MC type work, ATL is not a bad place to start. Cox is headquartered here; Turner may also have some MC operations here, though I am not sure about that.

Many, many years ago I had a 4-5 year career in broadcast production that began when I volunteered my services as an office errand boy. So for me getting the proverbial foot in the door was vital. It was after I proved myself as a reliable sort that a technical position was offered, which included on-the-job training.

A quick peek at Monster turned up this:

Link to Cox broadcast MC job.

Cox has openings in other markets as well.

Thanks for the reply guys so here the update: I went to a meeting and met with my case worker her boss and my "job placement specialist" and they asked me what type of Job I'd like to get into and I told them I wan to get into a broadcasting job on the production side of things "the guy behind the scenes" to which I was told by my case worker's boss "you know that they require a masters degree for that job" even tho I didn't tell her it was in Master Control to which I told her that's not totally true and I have contacts within the broadcasting field and they told me that a college degree isn't really necessary then she quickly jumped in by "saying yeah but you need some kinda certification or a licenses to work in the area you want to get into" to which I said I'd have no problems getting a certification (just because it would help me look more favorable) & since the Fcc deregulation I don't need a license to work in master tho in all honesty I just want to get my foot into the door and work my way into the position that I want to get into to which she said "I recently staffed a guy whom had Aspergers at a local PBS station for the type of job you want to get into" (she started to make hand motions as if she were pressing buttons) which I said ok why not me?!
She also said that "cox media group shoots their promotion commercials in the area we could see if they can staff you either for the production or as a clean up guy" then my "job placement" guy said "w-wait I tried showing you something for cox media and you turned it down" So the person I went to the meeting with talked on my behalf said that was just a warehousing job stuffing flyers into papers and that print is becoming a dead medium, So my placement guy said yea but it's cox media the people he wants to work with (he doesn't realize there's many different departments within CMG) So after going back and forth about this career choice they asked me what type of job do I want to do in the meantime I asked what about the tech field maybe entry level I.T. I know that there are tech firms in Atlanta including Google they really didn't know what I.T. comprised of only to say that "google was fined by OSHA 5,300 dollars because they had an employee whom didn't have a GED and the job he was working required one" (to date I have yet to find any news like that). Then I finally said a bookstore (know there's two Barns and Noble stores in my area that are hiring) because it's more or less sensory friendly to which my caseworker's boss said "they wont hire you due to your education status in fact McDonald is starting to require people with a diplomas" (ok so I'm working on my GED here with college in mind). So I get the feeling that they want me to aim low so that it's easier for them to find me a goodwill <ahem> bullsh!t job they asked how open would you be to doing some of the jobs you did before I told them right off the office in restaurant/sales out so they were grasping for straws and said rent-a-car is looking for drivers and people to wash and clean their cars to which both me and the person I went to the meeting went to and said no that I was more qualified then that.

Last Friday I also talked with a family member whom knew people whom worked in Master Control for a cable company and he said that it was bullsh!t because nobody he knew that worked there had a college degree nor did that cable company require one.

I don't think they really want to work hard for me just place me in a retail job for next to nothing pay because if I'm working it makes them look good however I'm not going to settle for a next to nothing job.

Whew, well that's the update

Since I couldn't edit my last post on time I wanted to add the follow

Here are my short term and long term goals:

by age 40 I want all of my education out of the way,

Present: I'd would like a PT job while I'm taking classes (either at a book store or in a tech/broadcast production field) So that I do not end up going broke.

Fall or winter (at the very latest) of this year : Have my GED in hand as well as a 500 dollar scholarship towards the college I want to go I'm currently looking at two colleges.

Spring/Summer 2016: Go to a collage that have class(es) in the field that I want to get into go for a masters (2-5 years) & take an internship with a local outlet.

Finally, by the time I'm 40 I'll still be marketable & by then I'll have the proper education to help me get a job in Master Control (I was told that College degree isn't really necessary but it would help).

Is a GED like a high school equivalency? Also, can I ask how old you are?

yes, I was kinda stiffed out of a decent education when I was in school so I'm trying to correct a wrong now. & 34

Learning goes on for a lifetime, hopefully. Just keep at it. Have you considered volunteering in a broadcast environment? It might be a good way to get to know people and have them see what you can do. And it's good on a resume.