Educational Attainment and Employment for Individuals with Visual Impairments

Higher educational attainment is known to be associated with lower unemployment rates and higher employment rates and lifetime earnings for the general population. However, it is not known what the relationship between higher levels of education and employment for people with visual impairments or how it compares to the relationship between higher levels of education and employment for the general population. The purpose of this study was to address these unknowns utilizing national labor market data across a 10-year period. The following research questions guided this study: Research Question 1: What are the employment rates of people with visual impairments based on educational attainment? Research Question 2: How do the employment rates of people with visual impairments compare to the employment rates of people without disabilities with similar educational attainment? Research Question 3: What percentage of people with visual impairments obtain a college degree and how does this compare to people without disabilities?