Tech News

Why Hire Engineers With Disabilities? They’re Practiced Problem Solvers

After graduating, mechanical engineer Kurt Driscoll endured more than 100 interviews over 10 months before he was finally hired. A quadriplegic, he encountered some who told him that he couldn’t do the job, while others simply claimed to be “going in a different direction.”

He finally got hired by an engineering firm through a family connection. He worked there for three years until the company went bankrupt in 2001. His next job hunt was nine months long. “I tried the most direct, in-your-face approach I could think of,” says Driscoll. To demonstrate his ability to do the job, he videotaped himself working at his desk. Finally, one interviewer at Faurecia’s automotive seating group seemed more intrigued than put off by his disability. (He drives his wheelchair with his chin.)

“I told [the interviewer] I know how to solve problems. I know how to look for solutions. Despite what you’re looking at, I’m a go-getter. If I don’t know how to do it, I’ll learn it and I’ll get it done,” he says. Faurecia made an offer, and Driscoll is still there.

People with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) jobs compared with their numbers in the overall population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. But those who succeed share qualities of acceptance, tenacity, and resilience. By necessity, these engineers and coders have well-honed problem-solving skills.

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