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314159
Hummingbird
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02 Oct 2010, 8:17 am

Does anyone know a good place to figure out career suggestions, or have any to offer?

Most things I'm interested in either require social capabilities I'll never have or pay so little it wouldn't be worth the education necessary to get the job - and even if it was, it wouldn't pay enough to live on.

I have severe social anxiety, selective mutism (I'm only comfortable talking with people I already know so I seldom speak although I can responded somewhat to people who speak to me first) and of course Asperger's. That eliminates anything where I work directly with customers, teamwork jobs, noisy environments, lots of bright light and movement and jobs as a driver.

I love to read and write, I'm fairly good with computers and prefer tasks where I have concrete accomplishments. I've had jobs where I perform the same routine tasks each day and find them unsatisfying - I need to be making or changing something for the job to last more than a couple months. If some creativity and decision making is involved that's better. I don't do well feeling like a machine part that could just as easily be exchanged with any other relatively competent worker.

I'm going to college right now as a returning sophomore. Most of my general ed is done so I badly need to decide on a major and stop changing my mind. I thought biology with a future career in a lab, but then decided lab work tends to be teamwork and higher level biotech jobs require meetings, proposals and campaigning for grant money. I've also considered something in writing or editing, but those fields are so lowly paid to start with that I wouldn't be able to make ends meet for years - if ever. The better paid ones are so highly competitive to get I don't think I would be able to get past the interview if I even got one. So I plan to write on my own time and consider that if I make any money off it, it's a bonus. Still need a day job. My next choice is something in computer science, possibly in web design, programming or as a software engineer. My math skills are adequate (I'm proficient up to algebra and my mind doesn't like to wrap around anything higher) but not outstanding. I need to make a bare minimum of $40-50,000 to start. I can get office jobs right now that are over $30,000 but the cost of living is so high here that that doesn't cover rent and childcare. That pay requirement makes it much harder to decide on a career that can provide it without needing me to be gregarious.

I've been to the career center on campus but they haven't been helpful. I already know where my interests are, that seems to be all they help with. They weren't able to advise which careers would accommodate my social limitations. I have an intense need to get my work done, and usually am more productive than any of my coworkers. Previous jobs have not worked out because people don't like me. I'm not able to be "friendly" and do small talk, which eventually leads to people doing petty things like not doing the minor task they need to do before I can begin my tasks, or doing poor quality work that negatively impacts my ability to do my work. This is unacceptably frustrating for me. I need a job where petty, low intelligence and low moral coworkers will not impede my ability to do my job. I am hopeful that a more advanced position requiring a degree, something technical or difficult would be less likely to have the same coworker obstacle. Coworkers at a higher level should logically be equally inspired to complete their tasks, right?

Does all that add up to any other ideas for anyone, or does anyone have an opinion on my existing thoughts/plans?



azbluesgal
Tufted Titmouse
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02 Oct 2010, 8:39 am

biomedical would still be a good choice if you like machines, there are plenty in the medical field which will still be a good place to be no matter what the economy. i have mentioned this before on another thread, but I actually had a pretty good run as an R.N. before i got "stuck in the middle" between superiors and subordinates. :lol:



Lene
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02 Oct 2010, 11:51 am

If there's a chance you could get help with the maths side of things, I would suggest following up the computer science degree; there's loads of jobs in that area (or at least there seem to be).

Or how about training to be a librarian? (not sure what the pay is like though).



Logan5
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03 Oct 2010, 9:32 am

Many modern business claim that they need employees with good "soft skills", by which they mean communication skills, team-working, and creative and critical thinking --at least for employees that work in offices. In my (limited) experience, what this actually translates into is people who are good at playing office politics and (social) networking.

Many colleges and universities claim that it does not matter what you major in, because all their majors produce people with good creative and critical thinking skills, the ability to communicate effectively, and to work as part of a team. I am highly sceptical of this claim, at least when it comes to people on the autistic spectrum, but this probably why your university’s career centre was unhelpful.

(Parenthetically, this article, "Masters of illusion: The great management consultancy swindle" < http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 88556.html >, provides a good illustration of what someone who is not on the spectrum can do with a doctorate degree in philosophy. I would never be able to pull off something like that.)

For many years, news media have claimed that there is high demand in business and industry for people in the fields of science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM; or STEMM, if you think mathematics is somehow distinct from the other sciences). If this is true, then you should major in one of those areas. (It might be even better to have a double major, or at least minor, so that you could cover two areas.) Unfortunately, even if you major in one of those areas, you are still likely to find that a lot of the jobs require those "soft skills". If you are lucky, you might find a job in which they are willing to overlook your deficits because of their need for someone with your technical skills.

Alternatively, there are some people on the spectrum who work as freelance computer programmers. They work from home and their only interaction with clients is via the internet. Of course, to do this you have to be able to manage your own business, including attracting a sufficient amount of work to pay your bills.

Also see this thread http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt139284.html . Note that the OP lists her occupation as "Technical Writer".

314159 wrote:
.... Coworkers at a higher level should logically be equally inspired to complete their tasks, right?


I once worked in academia, with a bunch of people with PhDs. In my experience, the main difference between academia and the corporate world is that people in academia have bigger egos and lower salaries. Academia has just as many sycophants, psychopaths, and narcissistic jerks playing office politics and screwing over other people.

Lene wrote:
.... Or how about training to be a librarian?


Unfortunately, I think you will find that these days librarians are expected to interact a lot with library users/ clients/ patrons. Libraries often rotate duties, so that it is rare to find someone who only does less sociable/ interpersonal tasks, such as stacking shelves, or processing the inter-library loan requests.

Sorry I could not be of greater help. Currently, I work at night, doing a form of data entry work. This is highly structured and repetitive work, which is rather boring, but I am allowed to listen to podcasts. Moreover, I need the structure to offset my executive function problems. (The nature of my work makes it impossible for me to procrastinate.) In addition, my job involves very little interpersonal interaction, and it is such a low level position that I do not have to engage in office politics. The pay is low, and my high level of education is completely wasted doing this work, but I simply can not deal with all of the "social" crap that goes on in the typical office environment. C'est la vie. :?