Do Aspies have a hard time finding jobs?

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According to Internet folk lore, the unemployment rate for Aspies is 70%. So consider yourself lucky to have a job at all. And from what I've read we all underperform in relation to our actual job qualifications. I know that all my life I've been told that I have good potential. But I've never been able to translate that into success.
To be honest, there are probably a lot of jobs I could do. But every one of them requires interacting with people hundreds of times a day. That's something I could never do.

I have a diagnosis, but I'm high-functioning, so I don't know whether it's specifically the AS that's keeping me from getting a job.

I know I'm very bad at interviewing. I also know I'm short on skills and experience. My main strength is being a fast learner, but that's never going to get me in ahead of someone who already knows how to do the job.

Also, I'm under the impression that AS isn't specifically covered by the ADA. I feel like it's better to just not mention my dx. Is it possible to get support services but keep them secret from potential employers?

I went to a normal career coach and didn't mention AS. I'm doing my best to follow his get-a-job program but so far not much luck. (He spontaneously commented that my social skills didn't seem too bad, but maybe he was just trying to be encouraging.)

I am more smart that half of my friends....and yet the only job I have ever had is a Federal Work Study working at my college's media center. I am 20 right now, and have applied to MANY places...even Wal-Mart, and I wasn't even hired there!!

I don't do well in interviews because I cringe and then probably act like I am too smart for the job. The other downside is I currently don't drive...so places not within walking distance from home is an issue. But nobody is even willing to give me a chance to figure things out!

It ticks me off

I just learned that I likely have AS....I based that "self-diagnosis" on the details of AS and how perfectly it matches my life ever since I was a child.

I'm 40 now...employment has never been a problem as far as having a check coming in, but the job hunt process is emotionally draining (if not depressing) and I'm always getting "poop" jobs that are well beneath what I'm able to do and the level of pay/benefits I should be bringing in compared to my peers with similar abilities and education.

I am quasi self-employed. I started a business idea and my old employer agreed to be my first client as I worked the bugs out of my business model (in exchange for doing all my old duties as well).

The motive came from a guy I know and respect in a biker group I belong to. Not knowing about AS or that I had it, he told me a simple observation....

1. I will NEVER fit into corporate/government workplace culture and will never be happy there if I did get hired. So, stop pursuing it.

2. With how anal I was about doing things right and doing things my way (if it fails, I know I am to blame and not stupid corporate policy), being self-employed would be harder, but more emotionally satisfying.

Now that I know about AS, I do want to know "for certain," but I debate the wisdom about disclosing AS in an interview.

On one side, the ADA does not offer any real protection. It requires "reasonable accommodation" which is a huge gray area, but it also gives employers an incentive to not hire someone presenting extra "baggage" for their company to cope with. Disclosure is a good thing when going for jobs where they state they want to hire and promote people who are disabled, but that means a government job...which might be the wrong place for an AS person to be for their sanity.

Still, I find people tend to be more tolerant when they know someone has a condition that affects how they are compared to what they would expect of someone who is NT. You really have no clear win either way. The best idea I have is to try and mimic good interviewing skills and disclose that "peer relationships don't come easy" without admitting to AS. I wish interviewers understood that 20-30 minutes isn't enough time to really get to know someone, and people with AS who do have fairly functional social skills usually need time (the one thing not enough is given) to make "connections" with those they will end up working with.

I have been without work for long periods of time, once i was without a job for over 4 years, but i decided to study the last 2 years of that time.

I have had big problems trying to market myself to employers:

1) most people reading applications does not even know what the words mean, and if i try to explain it in laymans terms, my CV will end up being on 5-6 pages and "noone wants to read that" according to recruiters i have spoken to.

2) As a modest person, i have a big problem trying to sell myself, and selling the brand: "Me" is the most important thing you should be able to market.

During my unemployed timeperiods i have learned alot how to do this, write a proper CV, write a personal letter that explains to the employer why you are the best person for the job, and dont be too frank with people: It is easy to tell someone why you would love to work there, but trying to look intrested in a job that "any monkey could do" because you need the money and not lie about it, thats a completly different thing.

On interviews i have had some problems earlier, but i have learned to bring up subjects that i feel comfortable talking about and not go into less awkward subjects like "why did your last job end?". At times some recruiters havent even checked my references/previous jobs, they do a personality test of some sort and go by their "gut feeling".

As someone mentioned earlier, yes, the emphasis on social skills is discriminatory against people with reduced skills in that area, people should think about what AS/Autistics can offer society instead of trying to force everyone into a "joe average" form.

True, Bill Gates would not be where he is today without Steve (and possible Paul), but who would Steve be today without Bills (and pauls) knowledge?

I for one is lucky that Aspies and Autistics can get goverment help where i live: reduced work time, financial assistance to employers up to 4 years, a career/social "coach" and some other things. This is the only reason why i want to be diagnosed to get some proper help.

I have had big problems trying to "fit in" to societies expectations and have ended up not being hired (we have a 6 month trial period here in Sweden) and at times i have felt that i cannot cope with the employer and left.

Jumping around on the job market is a real PITA and without a steady income i cannot start to have a life and do the things i want to do. I have not had a single vacation - EVER, i constantly worry about if i ever will find good solid work that allows me to fit in and this whole thing makes me depressed, and i am already depressed because of lonelyness...

My life is - and will be - a long period of gray misery untill i find my place in the world.

Well... looking at ads, I don't have a license and its like you have to for pretty much everything (even if I can't see why). I'm epileptic but even if I weren't, I wouldn't be able to drive because of the sensory bombardment.

Then I find something and do the resume. I didn't finish college, so I think that probably screws me over. Even if it's something where they say "education in _____ preferred" and I got up to junior year in that field, no call. Even if it pays barely above minimum wage. There's a proofreader job at the local paper that I see an ad for at least 5 times a year. I submitted my res, cover letter, references, not a damned call. But with a turnover like that, I'm not so sure I'd want it.

So let's assume I get a call. Then I have the phone interview. I'm terrible on the phone, but I've never had someone call me and not schedule a real interview........ but the in person interview? Forced eye contact (super fun when the HR lady has a colored contact askew), uncomfortable clothes, ack. I'm just going to stay unemployed.

I have had 2 successful job interviews ever in my life one was in September 1986 was for a small firm which claimed to be a firm which specialises in analytical chemistry and when I was hired I was just filling these bottles and bags with lubrication oils and gels for ultrasound and wasn't too good at that poor coordination. I was basically lied to in the job description. The boss really didn't like me at all and used of often yell at me to do that sort of thing quickly. When there were no barrels of ultrasound oils and gels then I would do some proper analytical chemistry of soaps/shampoos, talcum powders. That bit I enjoyed but the filling bottles from the machine in the shed behind the firm's lab could get very cold and I could use a calor gas fire but had to keep the door open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. That job was about £29 per calendar month. It oonly lasted 3 months and I hadn't had a job till 2003. The second job I had was one for an organisation that I set up myself as some sort of civil rights worker. However it should have been more disability friendly since it was for a self advocacy organisation and I was the one that wrote the constititution for it myself. The pay I was given was about £20 a week and the job description was 'working under pressure' but and was told by the so called assistant that I should be a role model and should be expecting more from me but I done most of my work for the self advocacy group in my spare time and a couple of weekends. You pay peanuts you expect monkeys. The stress caused me to have overload, shutdowns and had a meltdown at home. I also had epilepsy which I tried my best to keep under control. The office phones were painful to hear so high pitched and loud. I don't know how sometimes I could manage to motivate myself with that going on. OK it was for a self advocacy organisation that ws to help people with learning disabilities speak up for themselves but ended up providing support for people with all kinds of disabilities including Asperger syndrome people. That was in accordance with the rules that I laid down and didn't need the allistic telling me I should be a role model since I didnt have role models as a kid and tone/language policing which was totally against the rules. He also used my Asperger syndrome as an excuse for this hypocrisy. No wonder I had anhedonia which I had since 1991.

They do discriminate against autistic people finding jobs. I've had atleast 2 jobs denied because the application asked me if I had any disabilities and I had to be honest and tell it yes. Then when I called the place to inquire what they mean when they ask that they went on to say that they don't generally take on people when they find out they have a disability because they are a liability and they don't know how to accommodate for the disability.