Digital accessibility is a rapidly expanding career field. There are a wide variety of accessibility-related positions offered by many different types of companies all across the nation and around the world. Employment opportunities exist with companies providing accessibility consulting services to others and with “tech-heavy” companies designing and building web content or enterprise software applications for themselves or their customers. Examples include financial institutions, healthcare or health insurance providers, colleges and universities, and educational resource materials producers. Anyone who maintains a robust online presence is responsible for ensuring the accessibility of what they are producing and maintaining.

We are establishing relationships on an ongoing basis with several companies who are providing work-related opportunities for our program graduates. These may include paid internships, independent contractor project-based work, and outright employment opportunities. The program graduates must apply for acceptance, based upon which of these companies are actively seeking candidates at the time of their graduation. All onboarding or hiring decisions are at the sole discretion of these participating employers. Our participating employers will vary based upon their current talent requirements. These participating companies require internal accessibility teams to ensure accessibility and usability throughout the entire lifecycle of the digital products they are creating.

The current price is just over $12,000.00. The actual price for a participant is based upon contracted service rates between the Carroll Center for the Blind and the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies who will normally fund participation for qualified and approved applicants.

Most pre-qualified and approved participants will be funded through the VR agency in the state where they reside. It is possible for someone to be a “direct pay” participant, and these arrangements should be discussed with the Carroll Center’s Director of Admissions.

This is a 7-week program, Monday through Friday. Classes are held via Zoom from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All times stated are in Eastern Time.

There are many reasons why attending in real-time is necessary. There will be projects and interactive components when you will be communicating with an instructor, your fellow students, or with external professionals who are presenting on specific topics. Also, you may have questions about what you are learning and doing in tandem with the instructor and other students that will require a response before you can proceed with the activity.

Since JAWS will be the primary screen reading software we use and teach during this course, all participants should be competent in its use before applying for acceptance. They will also need a current version of JAWS on their laptop or computer. However, we will assess, on an individual basis, whether we believe someone who is proficient only with NVDA could acquire the necessary JAWS skills quickly enough to successfully participate in this program.

This is a fast-paced training course, with a great deal of written communication in Word, Excel, and by email. This is why we require solid keyboarding competency to participate successfully. If your skills are not where they need to be, we encourage you to practice and consider delaying your application for this program until you are fast enough and accurate enough to keep up with your classmates.

Yes. Most smartphone brands will be acceptable, as long as they have either VoiceOver or Talkback screen reading software on them. You must also have the ability to download and use native mobile applications and a web browser on your phone. Some of this course will be aimed at enabling you to user test for accessibility using your smartphone.

We ask for at least some amount of college experience for two reasons. First, most employers will require that level of education to hire you. Secondly, having that college experience gives you specific skills to better position you for employment success. Such aptitudes as proving you can meet deadlines, navigating and interacting with an online learning platform, and collaborating with other students are all transferrable skills necessary for successful employment. If you possess other life or employment histories that can substitute for formal education, we are always willing to consider those alternative qualifications.

The primary objective of this training program is to help you secure meaningful employment with a progressive career path. Most potential employers are going to require a resume as a part of the job application process, so you will need a well-structured and accurate resume by the time you complete this program. We have built-in several segments to help you either create or improve your resume.

The price of the SRUTT program presently fluctuates between $12,100-13,700. The final price is based upon contracted service rates between the Carroll Center for the Blind and the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies who will normally fund participation for qualified and approved applicants.

You will find information about technology requirements under the “Prerequisites” drop down on the Screen Reader User Tester Training program webpage. We will also work with you to ensure you have the hardware, software, and internet connectivity you’ll need to successfully participate in this fully remote training program.