Living with a Disability - Exploring Careers and Training Opportunities

​Return to the Disability Employment Guide Home Page​ for more information.​

When deciding on whether to enter the workforce it is important to think about what career you might be interested in. You want to be sure that you are going to be doing something that makes you happy. The first step in this process is to explore your skills and interests, along with looking at what you bring to a job as well as what you will need from a job.

To find out your skills and interests we provide the Skills and Interests Surveys. You can access the surveys from the My Dashboard menu at the top of any Illinois workNet page after you are logged into your account. Click here to learn about account benefits and get more information.

After that, you can access the Skills and Tasks Worksheet to write down the skills you have and the new skills you've discovered from your surveys. This will help you have a clear picture of a career path or job that makes you feel satisfied and fits well with your personality and skill set.

Another helpful resource you can check out is the Conditions and Contributions Worksheet. This will help you think about any conditions you may have around work. Some examples would be working close to home if you don't have transportation, only being able to work part-time, etc. Next you will want to write down the contributions you can make to an employer. These will be the skills, abilities, and knowledge you have. You might even find some new contributions that you didn't even know you had using the skills and interest's surveys. Next, use page 2 of the Conditions and Contributions Worksheet and talk to at least two people who know you and have them describe you in only positive terms and see if their descriptions match what you listed on page 1.

Now that you have a good idea of the skills you bring to the table, you will want to look a little more into career options. The Careers, Wages and Trends tool will provide you with information about different career pathways down to specific career/job information. While exploring you will discover expected job openings, pay range, job growth, working conditions and more. All of these things will help you determine if a career option fits your needs and if you will be a good fit for the job's needs.

After you have found a few careers that you feel will be a good fit you will need to determine (if necessary) what training program can help you reach this career goal. There are many different universities, colleges, and training programs all across Illinois that are there to help you gain the skills and knowledge to land the perfect job.

Make sure and check out the WIOA training search to see the available programs around you (if you are eligible to receive WIOA funds, which provides assistance with financing the training). Check with your local Illinois workNet Center for more details on WIOA funding.

There is also a public and private training programs search tool that provides information on many of the other programs available in Illinois. These programs are not WIOA funded but there are other financial aid options, such as FAFSA to help you fund these training programs. You can find all the relevant information about each school and program to ensure that you are informed when making a training decision. Remember, many public schools and training programs have disability services offices that will assist in providing additional support, advice, or assistance if needed. Utilizing these offices will greatly ease the possible stress of starting training.

Start exploring your skills and interests, and future educational goals, today! ​

Click here to get organized and search for jobs.