Are Aspies late bloomers when it comes to careers?

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WantToHaveALife
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21 Aug 2016, 6:05 pm

I wish it made me make the question longer, but anyway, is it normal or common for people with Autism, Aspergers, to be late bloomers in life when it comes to being financially stable, finally getting a career? As in, having a job that pays them well enough in order to support themselves, being self-sufficient, etc.?

Do the majority of people with Aspergers, Autism, graduate or finish college, acquire college degrees? I know there is a school and college section on the forum of this site, it's just i bring it up here is because college education, college degrees and career really kinda go hand in hand, because it really seems it's almost impossible to acquire a career, a real job or professional job, a job that is financially stable, if all you have is just a high school diploma.

So overall, is it common for Aspies, people with Autism to not become financially stable, get a career later than NT people? i'm in my late 20's and i still don't have a career yet, i'm currently in a medical assistant program, to get a certificate, i chose that path because for a while now i haven't been sure on what i want to do with my life in terms of a career, so i decided to pick something even if i'm not really sure, because i figure it's better than just trotting around through life and working a job that doesn't pay much, it's hard to put into words but hopefully you get my point.



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22 Aug 2016, 1:06 pm

WantToHaveALife wrote:
Do the majority of people with Aspergers, Autism, graduate or finish college, acquire college degrees? I know there is a school and college section on the forum of this site, it's just i bring it up here is because college education, college degrees and career really kinda go hand in hand, because it really seems it's almost impossible to acquire a career, a real job or professional job, a job that is financially stable, if all you have is just a high school diploma..


I don't think Aspies are any less likely to graduate college than NTs. The problem is unless their degree was in STEM, they are pretty much in the same boat as someone who never finished high school. Society's biases are such that they think Aspies are incapable of performing any other job.



Kiriae
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22 Aug 2016, 2:59 pm

I graduated college and I have 2 degrees (Accounting and IT) but I struggle getting a job. I am 27 year old.

To be honest I don't know how to look for a job because all job offers seem to be a miss compared to what I can do. I wonder if they give you some training once you start a job or you have to know all those stuff from the start? I don't even understand what some of job offers ask for. For example "Implementation of tasks associated with testing systems at many levels of architecture." - What the hell? Architecture? What does it have to do with IT? Am i supposed to use an elevator to test computer systems on every floor of a building or what? :lol:

But even bigger problem for me is the place of work. There is virtually no work where I live and where I con go by public transport and I never lived by myself and I don't really know how to live in a big city (I would have to learn how to use tram and stuff) so the idea of finding a job away from home freaks me out. I wish someone could help me find a job and a place to live. But apparently I am not disabled enough for that.



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22 Aug 2016, 3:12 pm

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/11/news/economy/men-work/
Getting in the work force is hard now--it didn't use to be that way.

The implied assumption that non-Aspies have it easy is wrong.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/24/.html.html
Even with the improvement in the job market, the unemployment rate among millennials remains stubbornly high at 9.1 percent—or 14 percent if you include those who have given up looking for work. (And that's a sizable population at 1.1 million.)



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22 Aug 2016, 11:13 pm

Kiriae wrote:
I graduated college and I have 2 degrees (Accounting and IT) but I struggle getting a job. I am 27 year old.

To be honest I don't know how to look for a job because all job offers seem to be a miss compared to what I can do. I wonder if they give you some training once you start a job or you have to know all those stuff from the start? I don't even understand what some of job offers ask for. For example "Implementation of tasks associated with testing systems at many levels of architecture." - What the hell? Architecture? What does it have to do with IT? Am i supposed to use an elevator to test computer systems on every floor of a building or what? :lol:

But even bigger problem for me is the place of work. There is virtually no work where I live and where I con go by public transport and I never lived by myself and I don't really know how to live in a big city (I would have to learn how to use tram and stuff) so the idea of finding a job away from home freaks me out. I wish someone could help me find a job and a place to live. But apparently I am not disabled enough for that.


Small town, 27, IT degree and some other degrees, hard to find work, not much public transit, not fond of big cities? Welcome to my world. :wink:

Anyway, as for architecture, that just refers to specific coding design patterns or something. I usually just look at the stuff that says "Required Skills" and don't pay too much attention to all the fancy mumbo-jumbo before that. :)



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22 Aug 2016, 11:54 pm

I know it's the case for me. I had my first job this year, at 23. I won't be starting college til next year. Idk things have always been harder for me between multiple mental health concerns.


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23 Aug 2016, 11:42 pm

I've been reassured that next spring a new building project will be finished giving the town and surrounding area a modern and regenerated feel which would ultimately bring more jobs to my local area, but the reality in my mind is the more new things that come, the higher the standards it raises to the area. These projects will likely attract richer or more influenced people - increasing my competition, so that whatever skills I have will be devalued and things like: appearance, mood, and attitude will need readjusting - which I have not got the capacity to do. So I don't know if this is consistent with the traits of an aspie or not, but the knock-on effects would affect my self-esteem, depression and whatever else comes with it.



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28 Aug 2016, 2:43 pm

Depends on our skills sets and circumstances. I was able to get my first real job at 25 so I would say that is fairly normal. Now I may get a bit off topic but as far as I'm concerned, most of us are probably very late bloomers when it comes to dating. Working is more about doing tasks and getting a job done so it's not a hard concept for most of us to grasp. When working a job, you don't have to worry about being judged socially so much, your skill at that job and performance takes precedence. With dating, I can't even figure out how to approach a person and feel that being judged on how I am socially is a big problem because I cannot fathom how to present myself in a socially, acceptable light. My point is, I feel at least for me, I am a late bloomer for dating, not working.


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WantToHaveALife
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15 Oct 2017, 5:06 pm

i'm still kind of in this boat, although I only need 1 more class to get a certificate, so is it truly more common than we think to be almost 30 or over 30 and not be financially stable yet, not have a career yet?



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16 Oct 2017, 4:33 am

I'm in STEM and I'm a late bloomer because of my mental health problems and kids.
My sisters, whom I strongly suspect to be undiagonsed aspies but with no STEM interests, found some jobs in their early twenties - they theach music and conduct local church choirs. They get some money for this, not enough to be independent but more than nothing. Does earning a little in your field of interest while still living with your parents in your mid-twenties make you a late bloomer?


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30 Oct 2017, 10:04 am

I'm 20 and I've never had a real job, so I know I am.



canzosis
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30 Oct 2017, 3:25 pm

Kiki1256 wrote:
I'm 20 and I've never had a real job, so I know I am.

Well... why is that?


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nomad42
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04 Nov 2017, 10:14 pm

I wonder when the blooming career will ever happen for me, 45 and bullied in almost every school & job I've ever had.
I'm always given multitask issues in retail where I get criticized for inefficiency or something. I twice opened my own business and lasted a while both times but, never make a profit long term with an ever-changing economy.



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15 Nov 2017, 10:36 am

I didn't graduate high school until I was 30. So I won't be a spring chicken when it comes to college and graduate school.


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Kiki1256
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24 Nov 2017, 9:34 pm

canzosis wrote:
Kiki1256 wrote:
I'm 20 and I've never had a real job, so I know I am.

Well... why is that?


I actually do have a job now! I’m working at the campus recreation center next semester. I never had a job because I didn’t have the social skills to successfully go through an interview until now.



adoylelb90815
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24 Nov 2017, 9:49 pm

I feel like I'm a late bloomer because I've struggled to find a job, and keep one as I'm often the first to be laid off, and it's amazing I've never actually been fired. Getting jobs has been difficult because of the interview process, and when you don't get a job right away after being laid off, it's much harder to get hired. I finally got a job this summer as a mail clerk for a toy company. This job is actually pretty secure, since once you make it through the training/probationary period and officially hired, you have to pretty much be caught on camera stealing in order to be fired.