My Career Voyage! Charting The Course

By Joseph Shapiro
National Public Radio (NPR)

As large numbers of Americans deal with losing jobs, the unemployment rates are even higher among certain groups, including men, minorities — and also people with disabilities.

Lenny Kepil knows. He was laid off from his job this spring as a software test engineer. He'd been the last hired, but his whole department took a hit. "It makes you nervous when you're laid off a long period of time. And right now, it's been seven months so far," he says. "So I have to get ready for the reality that things are stacking up against me."

Kepil, who lives in Naperville, Illinois, has an impressive resume with more than 26 years as a software engineer. He's also deaf.

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