Are McJobs Asperger's Friendly???

Page 1 of 2 [ 18 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Texasmoneyman300
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2021
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,610
Location: Texas

16 May 2025, 1:52 am

Hi yall,
I am only qualified for McJobs despite having multiple college degrees. Are Retail McJobs Asperger's friendly???



nick007
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 May 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 28,552
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in capitalistic military dictatorship called USA

16 May 2025, 6:32 am

I have no experience working in fast-food but I highly highly doubt that would be Asperger friendly due to needing to do multiple different tasks in a short time span if not having multiple things to keep track of at the same time like keeping track of cooking fries while taking orders, stress of rushing when busy, & talking to various customers in a short amount of time to name a few.
My first job was a dish-washer at IHOP & I bet dish-washing in a restaurant is generally more Asperger friendly than working in fast-food. Dish-washing has less customer interaction, is more routine, & has less tasks to keep track of at once.
My second & third job were retail doing custodial stuff while the stores were open. I had less customer interaction than the cashiers & stockers did & I was usually left alone by management more & not rushed as much as they were. Perhaps custodial stuff in non-retail like offices, hotels, & hospitals could be mangeable for you as well.
While my types of jobs are not super Asperger friendly, may only pay minimum-wage, & might not have benefits but not having qualifications, skills, experience, or network connections is a majorly limiting factor with employment even for non-disabled NTs. You need to start somewhere as the saying goes. Try applying for most any job you think you might could do & get to & try your best when you get hired. After being there a bit you could start applying for other jobs that you think might be a tad better for you. I really wish you the best of luck.


_________________
"I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!"
~King Of The Hill


"Hear all, trust nothing"
~Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #190
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ru ... cquisition


Texasmoneyman300
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2021
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,610
Location: Texas

09 Jun 2025, 1:24 am

nick007 wrote:
I have no experience working in fast-food but I highly highly doubt that would be Asperger friendly due to needing to do multiple different tasks in a short time span if not having multiple things to keep track of at the same time like keeping track of cooking fries while taking orders, stress of rushing when busy, & talking to various customers in a short amount of time to name a few.
My first job was a dish-washer at IHOP & I bet dish-washing in a restaurant is generally more Asperger friendly than working in fast-food. Dish-washing has less customer interaction, is more routine, & has less tasks to keep track of at once.
My second & third job were retail doing custodial stuff while the stores were open. I had less customer interaction than the cashiers & stockers did & I was usually left alone by management more & not rushed as much as they were. Perhaps custodial stuff in non-retail like offices, hotels, & hospitals could be mangeable for you as well.
While my types of jobs are not super Asperger friendly, may only pay minimum-wage, & might not have benefits but not having qualifications, skills, experience, or network connections is a majorly limiting factor with employment even for non-disabled NTs. You need to start somewhere as the saying goes. Try applying for most any job you think you might could do & get to & try your best when you get hired. After being there a bit you could start applying for other jobs that you think might be a tad better for you. I really wish you the best of luck.

Thanks Nick. I appreciate it.



BTDT
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Age: 62
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 8,488

09 Jun 2025, 6:05 am

Are there any government or school jobs available?
Maybe not for profit organizations that have part time jobs?

A lot of places have healthcare jobs.



__Elijahahahaho
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 9 Jan 2024
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 285
Location: GERMANY

09 Jun 2025, 6:14 am

It depends on you.

I worked in a bakery once and it was horrible because the culture
required a lot of socializing with the other bakers who were
kind of weird, and did not understand my particular mindset.
Some were reformed criminals.

However, now much later in life I could handle that environment
as my social perception has improved, and I could even come to
enjoy it over more scheming corporate places.

mcjobs, being highly franchized, would be different. I think that
there are very specialized roles and a very clear system for how to make the burgers.
I think that this would actually suit someone with autism, provided they could tolerate
the sensory aspects.
So it is possible. You would need a good manager initially, as you would probably
take longer to learn what they mean in aspie-level detail.



Texasmoneyman300
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2021
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,610
Location: Texas

13 Jun 2025, 1:35 am

BTDT wrote:
Are there any government or school jobs available?
Maybe not for profit organizations that have part time jobs?

A lot of places have healthcare jobs.

Not right now....I am still trying to get connected with Texas DARS after 16 years of waiting.



GreenDragon42
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 21 Jan 2024
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Posts: 6
Location: United States

03 Oct 2025, 6:55 pm

Hell no. A loud chaotic environment, full of sensory overload triggers, apathetic co-workers and management who don't care about doing a good job (Which I can understand, nobody wants these types of jobs but don't let it affect your attitude at work), no actually job training and Karen customers who treat you like dirt, I had one of these a few years ago, ended up walking out after two days. Never again.



Tamaya
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 8 May 2025
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,644
Location: England

03 Oct 2025, 7:31 pm

I can see a lot of bullying going on in those fast food restaurants, as in two-faced cliques and snitching. Whenever I order a McDonald's I can always sense that sort of vibe.


_________________
My diagnosis story and why it was a traumatic experience for me:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=416910&start=1056#p9695026

Please notify me if there's a spelling mistake or an obvious autocorrect error in my posts.


Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,753
Location: Outter Quadrant

03 Oct 2025, 9:32 pm

Have known two people who worked at McDonalds , one with a degree one who was non verbal ..both seemed okay after adjustment period .. both were Aspies . But i have seen people working there seem to be moving constantly.


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


DoniiMann
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Sep 2010
Age: 58
Gender: Male
Posts: 632
Location: Tasmania

04 Oct 2025, 4:47 am

I only worked one, back in 88. Yes, loud, fast, chaotic. BUT... we only got put on one station at a time. So not much multi-tasking. If I fed burgers and buns into the cooking conveyor, then that's what I did. When I got put in the burger construction area, then that's what I did. Very factory like.


_________________
assumption makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'mption'.


Texasmoneyman300
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2021
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,610
Location: Texas

04 Oct 2025, 10:19 pm

I did not mean fast food...I meant jobs in retail big box box stores. McJob means menial dead-end repetitive low-wage to min wage jobs not neccessarily fast food even though the term comes from fast food. Sorry for the confusion.



kokopelli
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2017
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,406
Location: amid the sunlight and the dust and the wind

04 Oct 2025, 10:59 pm

Texasmoneyman300 wrote:
Hi yall,
I am only qualified for McJobs despite having multiple college degrees. Are Retail McJobs Asperger's friendly???


If you want a simple job, check with the state highway department to see if they have any openings to be flagmen. Basically, you would be a human red/green light where they are working on the highway.

Some road construction companies might have openings, too.



Texasmoneyman300
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2021
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,610
Location: Texas

05 Oct 2025, 12:22 am

kokopelli wrote:
Texasmoneyman300 wrote:
Hi yall,
I am only qualified for McJobs despite having multiple college degrees. Are Retail McJobs Asperger's friendly???


If you want a simple job, check with the state highway department to see if they have any openings to be flagmen. Basically, you would be a human red/green light where they are working on the highway.

Some road construction companies might have openings, too.


I was going to work on a rig drilling oil wells because it was the only way I could make a living wage and own a home with my own money. I was told I could not get hired because it is too dangerous because I am disabled. I doubt I could get hired at a dangerous blue collar job like road work because I am disabled. My job coach told me I could not be a roughneck because I am disabled. I want to work in a office but my parents wont help me get a desk job.I am only able to work at a Big Box Store or Goodwill because of my Asperger's. I dont want a simple job but its the only kind I could get hired for but thanks for your suggestion.



werecat2020
Hummingbird
Hummingbird

User avatar

Joined: 4 Oct 2025
Gender: Male
Posts: 20
Location: Mishawaka, Indiana

05 Oct 2025, 1:49 pm

It took me a while to even find a stable full-time job. What made things harder for me was that I started out as a young adult in a rural area in the middle of nowhere, jobs of any kind were hard to find, I didn't grow up there either and was an outsider, and my autism and stutter can be obvious to other people as well, making job interviews and first impressions more difficult. I was eventually able to relocate to a small Midwest city and basically start over again.

It's too bad about your parents being unable/unwilling to help, Texasmoneyman300. Hopefully you can hang in there and eventually find a job that makes you happier. I know from personal experience that it can be difficult to hold on to hope. I remember that one staffing agency seemed to just totally ghost me, likely because I didn't want to work 60+ hours a week. Maybe all they had were those types of jobs that do 10 or 12-hour shifts and a bunch of mandatory overtime. I had to deal with a few different staffing agencies, in order to find something that was closer to just 40 hours a week.



MaxE
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,648
Location: Mid-Atlantic US

05 Oct 2025, 2:31 pm

I would find a local autism society and ask about which employers to consider. Some will be better than others.


_________________
My WP story


nick007
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 May 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 28,552
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in capitalistic military dictatorship called USA

09 Oct 2025, 7:46 pm

Texasmoneyman300 wrote:
I was going to work on a rig drilling oil wells because it was the only way I could make a living wage and own a home with my own money. I was told I could not get hired because it is too dangerous because I am disabled. I doubt I could get hired at a dangerous blue collar job like road work because I am disabled. My job coach told me I could not be a roughneck because I am disabled. I want to work in a office but my parents wont help me get a desk job.I am only able to work at a Big Box Store or Goodwill because of my Asperger's. I dont want a simple job but its the only kind I could get hired for but thanks for your suggestion.
My cousin's former husband was almost hired to work offshore but he had to get a physical first. He passed the physical but he lost the job opportunity because they found out he had his appendix taken out like 20 years before. The odd thing is that my cousin's brother(he's also my cousin) worked as a crane operator about 20 years ago for the oil industry & he was a player type who had a criminal record; in 9th grade he stabbed a kid in the gut with scissors & when he was about 20 he stole a car. Those jobs apparently have a polity about not hiring anybody who ever had medical problems but they do not have a policy against hiring violent criminals :roll:

How do you expect your parents to help you get a desk job :?: My parents couldn't really help me get a job other than binging me to job interviews & to & from work. My parents mostly know people from work. My mom was a teacher & my dad worked in construction(primarily carpentry). I worked with my dad a little during the summer between 10th & 11th grade but I hated the work & was not physically cut out for it.

My voc rehab counselor recommended I apply at a new Goodwill that was going to open soon. The manager person told me those jobs are for people who are on benefits & only wanting to work a little so they can keep their benefits. I was not on any benefits at the time & I ideally wanted to work full time. I tried explaining that I did have disabilities & no work experience & that I had been applying for jobs for a while with no luck. While I preferred to work full time I was very willing to work part time to gain some experience & get my foot in the door & earn a little money instead of relying entirely on my parents to pay for all my expenses. She let me fill out an app but I never heard back.


_________________
"I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!"
~King Of The Hill


"Hear all, trust nothing"
~Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #190
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ru ... cquisition