Being Deaf
I use a cochlear implant to help me hear. The thing is amazing, and it’s changed my life. Like, it’s the difference between being a shut-in with no life and being happy, well adjusted contributing citizen. But I always like to understand the devices I use in my life, tweaking and modifying them to suit me. I’d like a phone application to control it, or use it to receive phone calls, or whatever. Make the implant itself the size of the loonie, like the magnet part currently is, and control it only remotely. In this way it could be more seamless and waterproof.
Programming
I’m almost done my diploma in Computer Systems Technology. It’s a practical, hands-on course where you get tons of programming experience, like probably more than the average software engineering graduate gets. Last year we had a pretty amazing teacher for Java – a rather hard headed individual who was tough to get along with, however, he demanded more out of us than most teachers do, and got what he asked for. I think everyone who passed the course came away with an actual understanding of Java.
This year he’s teaching us Android programming. You can imagine how stoked I am. After this I’ll be able to build the interface for exactly the program that I want to control my CI.
Moving to Australia
The company that makes my CI is located in Brisbane, Australia. I’m going to be moving there in about 6 months. I’ll have a diploma in computer programming, 6 years of being a CI user, and the ability, unlike many deaf people, to communicate clearly in English my needs and ideas for improving the equipment, and I’ll be in the city looking for a job.
Am I not the exact person that Cochlear is looking for? I think so. My mission now is to let them know.
Goal
For CI company that makes my CI, which is based in Australia, in Brisbane where I’m moving to anyway, to hire me to make remote controls applications for their equipment. Everything kind of… works.
So, I’ll do the online application and all that. But this is going out to the internet, in hopes of finding the engineer, now working at Cochlear in Brisbane, who might be able to make room in his budget for one more engineer who has something special to offer.
