When I was preparing for an internship at a major technology company, I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the product that I was going to be working on, developing a strong understanding of this application’s accessibility features, and learning from power users. While this was helpful for my PM internship, I didn’t spend much time using this application like I imagined; most of my day was actually spent using email, collaboration platforms, and writing documents. I don’t regret taking the time to learn about the product I would work on, but it would have been wiser to practice other tech skills that would help me do my job.
I have low vision, so I often have to spend extra time learning how to use software or configure workflows so they are accessible for me and my visual impairment. A lot of advice for incoming tech interns that I would read focused on developing “soft” skills like networking; learning to network is helpful, but it’s also important to know how to find event details on a calendar or access announcements about networking events, something that might not necessarily be intuitive to someone who has little experience with a particular application or who has to figure out how to access said application with assistive technology. These soft skills often had “unwritten” prerequisite tech skills that visually impaired users might need extra practice with.
As a way to help other visually impaired interns preparing for tech internships or other technology-focused positions, I’ve compiled a list of “unwritten” tech skills for tech internships that incoming interns may be expected to already know, or that can help with using assistive technology or managing visual fatigue. This is not an all-encompassing list of helpful skills for a tech internship, but these skills can be helpful to practice before new employee orientation or as part of career education/compensatory skills Expanded Core Curriculum lessons.
Determine preferred monitor size and computer setup
About two months before the start of my tech internship, I received an email from the business administrator for my team that shared the name/number of the building I was working in, as well as my office number. Prior to my first day, my mentor and business administrator both reached out offering to modify my office or request any specific technology; I had already met my mentor in-person, so they were aware I have low vision. I had no idea what to ask for at the time, and kept my requests fairly generic by mentioning things like a large external monitor, external keyboard, and external mouse with a Windows computer.
Later on, I learned that I could have been much more specific about what I needed, especially regarding monitor size. Visual impairment is a spectrum, not a binary, and there is no universal monitor size or screen size that will work flawlessly for every person with low vision. When requesting workplace technology, consider the following items:
- Monitor size and number of monitors (e.g., two smaller monitors vs one ultrawide)
- Operating system for computer
- Assistive technology software (JAWS, NVDA, ZoomText, etc.); note system requirements
- Peripherals: keyboard, mouse, webcam, microphone, USB hub, headphones
- Laptop docking station
- Laptop screen size and laptop weight
One of my friends had a USB dongle with JAWS that they could connect to any computer, so they didn’t have to keep reconfiguring JAWS or be restricted to only using one computer. Another friend had a work laptop with 64 GB of RAM to accommodate using a screen reader and multiple applications simultaneously. Being specific and proactive about the technology needed for a job will save a lot of time and frustration later on.
Related links
- How I Set Up My Tech Internship Desk: PM Intern With Low Vision
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Computers
- Building A College Technology Toolbox For Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- A to Z of Screen Magnification For Low Vision
- Learning to Self-Advocate With Low Vision
Configure accessibility settings for IDE
Even though my PM internship didn’t require me to write much (if any) code, learning how to configure IDEs and code editors for low vision accessibility has been crucial for other internships, classes, and projects that I’ve worked on over the years. Some companies require software engineers to use a specific IDE, while others have more flexibility; however, interns are generally expected to know how to configure accessibility settings or request specific settings in advance.
When I work with an IDE, I often enable accessibility features or display customizations like:
- Larger font sizes (set in px or pt)
- Dark mode or high contrast mode
- Color-coding or color themes for locating items quickly (e.g., nesting parenthesis)
- Keyboard shortcuts, including custom keyboard shortcuts
- Accessibility add-ons, if needed
I also use additional assistive technologies like screen magnification or text-to-speech when writing code, so that I don’t have to strain my eyes to read text. I also adjust my screen resolution as needed so I can optimize for large print access.
Related links
- Accessible Python IDEs For Low Vision
- Pre-Teaching Programming Languages To Visually Impaired Students
- Tips For Teaching R Programming To A Low Vision Student
- Free Accessible Coding Resources With Large Print Options
- Google Colab Low Vision Accessibility
Take control of email inboxes: use folders, rules, and filters
With dozens of emails appearing in my inbox every day, I could theoretically spend the entirety of my work day reading every email that I received, which would make it much more challenging to be productive and manage eye fatigue/cognitive fatigue. After I told my mentor that I was struggling to manage my inbox and figure out what was important to read, they scheduled a meeting so we could reconfigure my email inbox. This way, I could easily locate important emails and avoid straining my eyes for non-essential tasks first thing in the morning.
Here are some examples of how my work email inbox was streamlined for low-visual access:
- Set up email rules to send emails from specific senders or with specific words included to a dedicated folder. For example, organization-wide newsletters (which were not time sensitive) would go to a folder I could read later, but that could be distracting if they are in my primary inbox.
- The main inbox was largely for emails from team members, managers, or other people that I directly interacted with; I would move these emails into folders after reading them. I had folders for my manager, the project I was working on, and a folder for the broader team/organization.
- If I could not unsubscribe from an irrelevant email listserv or notification, a rule was created to automatically send emails from that address to the trash.
Knowing how to keep emails organized at work is a helpful tech skill for tech internships in general, but is especially useful for blind interns or interns with low vision who don’t want to spend their energy sorting through inbox clutter.
Related links
- How I Organize Emails In College With Low Vision
- Secret Microsoft Office Accessibility Features I Use Every Day
- Typo Protection and Typosquatting: Online Safety Tips For Low Vision
- How To Use Text-To-Speech With Low Vision
Learn how to use calendar and set up reminders
Before starting my tech internship, I had very little experience using the calendar tool that connected to my email application. This is a skill I really wish I had practiced with more prior to my internship, because so much of my internship revolved around the meeting reminders, links, room numbers, notes, and scheduling tools in the calendar application, and it took some practice to figure out how to access them in large print or with screen magnification. Within the first two weeks of my internship, I had to complete these tasks over a dozen times:
- Accept or decline a meeting invitation
- Add meeting location to invite, including videoconferencing link
- Find room number and/or meeting location
- Create a new event on the calendar and invite others to meeting
- Propose a new meeting time
- Share potential meeting times with others
- Set up blocks of “focus time” on calendar
Another strategy that helped a lot was setting up reminders or alerts before the start or end of a meeting, which was helpful for transitions and time management. For incoming interns that do not have a lot of experience with calendar applications, practicing these tasks will make the first few weeks of a tech internship go much more smoothly!
Related links
- How I Keep Track Of My Schedule With Low Vision
- How I Keep Track of Assignments With Low Vision
- What’s In My Backpack: Program Management Intern With Low Vision
Join work calls and use videoconferencing
Although my internship was largely in-person, I still joined a few meetings from my desk or would use videoconferencing software, because I had trouble seeing information when it was projected on a screen several feet away. My team would often share meeting files beforehand so I could open files on my own device and follow along, but I still had to plan for how I would access live demos or view other people’s screens.
Beyond practicing skills like joining/leaving calls, muting and unmuting audio, and testing video/audio, helpful skills to practice include:
- Pinning video feeds or screensharing views to make content larger
- Zooming in on video or screensharing views
- Identify which assistive technology and/or accessibility settings are visible while screensharing (varies by platform); this can be helpful when explaining bugs
- Turning off incoming video
- Downloading or accessing meeting transcript
- Sharing files in chat or in collaboration space
- Choosing the appropriate screen sharing view: single tab, single screen, system view with all screens, etc.
- Connect computer to projector/screen in meeting room
Some meeting rooms are equipped with options for screen mirroring, which enables users to duplicate a display in real time on another device, which can be useful for low vision access.
Related links
- Tips For Screensharing With Low Vision
- Choosing Custom Video Backgrounds For Low Vision Audiences
- How I Take Notes During Video Lectures With Low Vision
- Attending The Hybrid ASSETS Conference With Low Vision
Memorize keyboard shortcuts/hotkeys for applications
Learning to use keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys helped tremendously with visual fatigue because I didn’t have to strain my eyes to read menu text or spend time visually scanning the toolbar to find what I needed. Some applications require users to turn on keyboard shortcuts manually or offer multiple options for configuring keyboard shortcuts to avoid conflicts with screen readers.
Lists of keyboard shortcuts (sometimes called hotkeys) can be found online by searching “(product name) keyboard shortcuts (operating system)” without quotation marks.
Related links
- My Most-Used Keyboard Shortcuts For Academic Writing
- How To Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows
- Must-Have Tech Skills For Online Classes
Search documentation and find information online
Learning how to write specific search queries or how to search software documentation effectively is important for minimizing visual fatigue and finding relevant information. This is especially true for finding accessibility documentation or fact-checking sources; someone on my team might not necessarily have an answer, so I need to be able to figure things out on my own.
Some of the search strategies that have been particularly impactful include:
- Using web search operators to narrow down results
- Turning on verbatim mode
- Searching for specific file types or searching a set of websites
- Learning how to use the internal company search engine
Another strategy that has been incredibly useful is organizing bookmarks and pinning frequently used websites to the desktop, which makes it much easier to locate information when needed. For example, I had a folder dedicated to keyboard shortcuts for applications that I used at work.
Related links
- Web Search Tips and Operators For Low Vision
- How I Write Research Papers On Accessibility Topics
- My Experience Using Kagi Search With Low Vision
- Helpful Ways To Bookmark Websites For Low Vision Users
Be proficient with both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Even though my university primarily uses Microsoft products, being proficient with both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace and their associated accessibility features gave me more options for potential tech internships, since I didn’t have to worry about learning a new-to-me platform or software. While accessibility varies between platforms, being aware of how to use both and how individual applications interact with assistive technology helped a lot with day-to-day tasks. If someone asked me to create an accessible document, explore a spreadsheet, or put together a slideshow, I would feel comfortable using Microsoft or Google applications to do so.
To validate my knowledge, I earned Microsoft Office Specialist certifications in high school and Google Workspace certifications in college, plus additional Expert certifications for both platforms. Interviewers ask about my certifications often, and I’ve continued to renew them because I use skills that I learned from these exams every day.
Related links
- Mainstream Educational Technology Certifications For Teachers of the Visually Impaired
- Designing Accessible Documents With Microsoft Word
- Navigating Project Task List Spreadsheets With Low Vision
More “unwritten” tech skills for tech internships for visually impaired interns
- A typical day at my internship involved walking to at least three different locations every day, something that became easier as I learned where different rooms were located. Learn more in Learning To Navigate My Internship Building: PM Intern With Low Vision
- Another important tech skill for tech internships is knowing how to type! I share accessible typing programs in Learning To Type With Low Vision
- The original version of this post was about classes that prepared me for a PM internship, which reflected that I changed my major three times during undergrad; I revamped this post to include more practical advice. To learn about changing majors, read Ten Questions To Ask When Changing Your Major
Published May 31, 2022. Updated September 2025