how should Aspie choose a job?
Whatever our passions are, we should try and pick careers centered on them. If that's not possible for some reason or another, then a job where you have a comfortable work environment and can exercise your rights are what's most important, as well as getting time to develop your strengths and explore your passions.
I'm working towards my PhD in Japanese literature now. What a long road this shall be, but so very rewarding.
+1 to doing something that holds your interest. The trick is knowing if it holds your interest. I find that I tend to float from interest to interest over the years, so getting a job doing something is never a long-term guarantee. You can also think you like something having done some research but real-world experience makes you feel the exact opposite about it.
I am a musician and writer...
Whatever you are obsessed with works...
You will just feel lethargic if you try and do anything else!
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Very carefully.
If I had known about AS when I started work I would have made entirely different career choices and probably suffered a hell of a lot less stress.
1) Jobs where we meet the public every day might not be a good idea, I'm thinking bank teller, police officer or xerox service guy here.
2) Jobs that have a high level of stress should be avoided, especially if you suffer meltdowns.
3) Consider working in a small company or organization rather than a large one. You will probably feel at home quicker.
4) If they have an annual review where your performance will be considered then it might be an idea to look for new work. They always find something that they don't like because this is an excuse to keep your salary low. If the company has reviews every quarter or, even worse, every month, then leave right now.
The best job I ever had was as a technical librarian in a company employing 120 people. I had my own office full of books and everyone knew that if I couldn't find the information then it probably didn't exist.
Vanilla_Slice
Ichinin
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Location: A cold place with lots of blondes.
Speaking as a potential Aspie, i would recommend that you really think ahead about your career choise.
Example: Working as a programmer may sound fun, but it does in fact require LOTS of social skills, much of this can be learned in the field if you pay attention, but it takes time and most employers do not give you this time. (The best thing that could happen to you if you are intrested in being a analytical IT geek would be to be locked into the basement of NSA with a bunch of similar thinking people that appreciate you for who you are
).
I have had various success working as a consultant (short times), some people i have come into contact with have been appreciative of my analytical skills and my openness, but some have also reacted to my inabillity to chitchatt about subjects that are irrelevant to me. I have done my best to try to dress up properly and tried to smalltalk to people, but the latter is like nails on a chalkboard for me...
So, what is my advice? Talk to people that work in a specific field and ask them what they think about it, present to them who you are and what your negatives/positives are and let them give you feedback on your career and your character - just dont take any crap that people may say to you.
Consider self-employment if you have the capital and something you're obsessed about to sell. That way, your job is on your terms. What you do is still ultimately out of your control because cold logic is your boss, but at least the decisions come from you. You'll probably end up working harder than you would for an employer, but when I'm working on a special interest, it doesn't feel like work. Self employment has a dignity about it that a mere job can't equal. But do your market research carefully and realistically - otherwise you'll probably end up working yourself into the ground for the privilege of losing your capital. And don't overlook the likelihood that you might need to work a lot with people. See if you can tailor that to be Aspie-friendly, e.g. by basing as much of the communication as possible in the written word rather than phone calls and face-to-face meetings. Real-life meetings are said to be everything in the business world, but if your product is worth buying, I doubt people will give a damn about that. And you can always employ a neurotypical PR worker.
Universities and similar public institutions in the UK pride themselves on equal opportunities, so declare your autism and ask them what jobs they've got. They'll probably be happy to pander to your special needs and use you as a statistic to crow about how politically correct they are.
Spotting things other people miss.....maybe a scrutineer? or one of those people who defuses UXBs (I doubt if they get pestered much while they're at work!). Frankly I don't like the look of most jobs - too much emphasis on flexibility (by which they often mean total obedience to their sudden whims). Possibly with an official diagnosis it might be possible to stay on benefit for quite a long time (in the UK) - I guess it'd be hard for them to stop your money if you were very picky about the kind of work you applied for. With a secure income behind you and lots of lovely spare time, you'd be free to look for something that really suited you, and to try out and reject anything that wasn't up to scratch. But that's only conjecture. Social security people can be very awkward.
If I had known about AS when I started work I would have made entirely different career choices and probably suffered a hell of a lot less stress.
1) Jobs where we meet the public every day might not be a good idea, I'm thinking bank teller, police officer or xerox service guy here.
2) Jobs that have a high level of stress should be avoided, especially if you suffer meltdowns.
3) Consider working in a small company or organization rather than a large one. You will probably feel at home quicker.
4) If they have an annual review where your performance will be considered then it might be an idea to look for new work. They always find something that they don't like because this is an excuse to keep your salary low. If the company has reviews every quarter or, even worse, every month, then leave right now.
The best job I ever had was as a technical librarian in a company employing 120 people. I had my own office full of books and everyone knew that if I couldn't find the information then it probably didn't exist.
Vanilla_Slice
What background did you need to be a tech librarian? What schooling? I worked in libraries and the librarians were irritated because I always knew what books the clients wanted before they did.
uh, yeah phd is a problem. probably your options depend somewhat on your field of study and location. lots of physicists end up in finances, stocks whatever is that called.
There are lots of info on science mag website about alternative careers. I saw that there are science writers and patent examiners.
When I get depressed about my job (I am a postdoc) sometimes I think of going to teach highschool or community college. it pays well for phds and it is a steady job. only if it wouldn't involve all the kids hahaha.
oh yes, now i remember you can try and find government or nonprofit org job. these seem to have less stress and decent pay (less than industry of course).
Just an idea: I think writing user manuals should be something limited only for aspies. User manuals written by NTs are inaccurate and some things in them require that the reader already knows how to operate. Aspies, on the other hand, tend to write less with "intuition" and more with logic, so that it is easier to learn reading them.
Then again, my opinion is biased, because I am an aspie, too.
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Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
That is likely because when we research, we work alone without the way the general 'world' does it. The way they do things does not work for many of us (for me). You can't keep trying to jam a square peg into the round hole. "They" are not going to change, no matter how many 'disability laws' are passed. Until there is a 'cure', I am in real torment over work and this has lasted the better part of 22 yrs. I am done.
I am a musician and writer...
Whatever you are obsessed with works...
You will just feel lethargic if you try and do anything else!
Totally. No matter what your interest/obsession there must be a way you can make a living from it. Get really good at it and just keep doing it that part is easy, you'd be doing it anyway since it's your interest/obsession so make money while you're at it. The fact that we can do something non-stop the way NTs can't or would find very difficult gives us a massive advantage in this regard. The hard part is figuring out exactly how to convert your obsession to cash but just because something is hard doesn't mean you can't do it, when the penny dropped for me it seemed really obvious.
