Can someone be too smart for school and too dumb for a job?

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I used to excel at high school and the years before that. I struggled very much in college though and barely finished it. I'm also very bad at my job and struggle to understand the smallest things. Can anyone relate to this feeling, like you've became dumb as years pass? Can this be related to aspergers?

and i was the same way. 4.0 (out of 4.0) gpa in high school. AP calculus ab, ap calculus bc, ap us history, ap chemistry, ap literature. National Merit Scholarship commended student. and et cetera.

ucsd. took over six years. (6). 2.19 gpa (out of 4). majored in cognitive science.

did bad at jobs. like i can't pick things up.

don't know if that's related to AS.

but of course it also depends on what school and which job. my high school was academically easier than the high schools that some of the ucsd former classmates went to.

jobs have a wide range of difficulties

schools have a wide range of difficulties

there are a lot of autistics.

So glad i'm not the only one! The problem is my psych knows i have aspergers but thinks i can do the job since i was able to graduate college.. Maybe she hasn't seen much people with aspergers since they apparently don't exist here She's a good psych but autism is still not well known in this country so maybe that's why she misunderstood my capabilities..

It's a different skill set. Why do people barely make it thorough high school, and have extremely successful working careers?

My ASD husband is very good at extremely structured situations (school/studying). Put him in the daily grind where things aren't scripted, he sinks. School has clear objectives and you more or less work alone. Not many jobs like that anymore.

So you are not alone.

^ Thank you, i wish people were more knowledgeable about these kind of things, even my psych said to me that i'll be able to do it just because i graduated college. And my parents were always so proud of how "smart" their kid was, no wonder i grow up expecting too much of myself

I was going to say this. I have the same.e problem. School and college were clearly defined whereas working life involves a lot if thinking on your feet.

I have this issue too. Work really stressed me out because I'm always having to figure out what exactly it is people expect of me.

It may partly be because i'm working at a job that doesn't interest me at all.. I'M interested in things like interior design, fashion and things that require creativity, but i didn't choose them bc i thought i wasn't creative enough, so now i'm stuck working at a law job

I got stuck in a job I wasn't creative enough for. It was very stressful trying to come up with design ideas.

Why dont you look for a different kind of job. If you're doing administrative work at a law firm you could do admin for a different type of employer.

yes, that's exactly what i was worried about, maybe it wouldn't work out either for me. I'm currently something like an intern in a law office, but it's proving to be too hard for me. I'm also having trouble balancing my job with housework so i'll probably look for a part time job next

This happens all the time... Plenty of people are book smart, but lack common sense.

^ That certainly makes me feel better, i wish i knew more people like me..

Well, I barely made it through high school but excelled at university and have a job I love and am good at, but to answer the OP, yes it's possible to do well in school and suck at a job. There's academic knowledge and there's practical skill. It's good to have enough of both, but it's highly possible to be really book smart but not be good at practically implementing whatever it is you know so much about, or maybe being less than stellar at applying that knowledge in real time, on the fly.

What kind of job do you do? I'm intrigued. I haven't really enjoyed my jobs. One was good, but i got made redundant. That one was building Wordpress sites.

What do you suck at? Don't do that.

What are you good at? Specialize in that.

I would select a career where you do not interact with people as a primary function. I always thought that an insurance underwriter would be a good job. Sit at a desk and work.

I have found that selecting a job where one talks over the phone effectively eliminates body language interaction, and is quite restful. Tech support, customer service, and sales. Inbound sales is basically customer service that seems to pay better, and often comes with bonuses.

I am good at managing resources, and creating efficiency. People doing things out of efficient order drives me nuts. I want people to maximize efficiency. For example, if I were to find a toy worth a substantial amount of money, then I would not donate it to toys-for-tots in hopes that it would make a child happy. I would sell the toy, and buy more toys to make more children happy. Yet the option with the biggest impact is often seen as the wrong "heartless" one in movies.

I was asked to apply for a management position, I did so, and I am waiting for the results. I am hoping that I can manage resources, and maximize efficiency. I see a definite need for standardizing expectations, having written procedures, and measuring success.

^ I suck at pretty much everything i think. I just want a job that is not fast paced and not requires multitasking and thinking on your feet. I can't understand things easily and can't concentrate well. A repetitive, boring job would suit me best but i don't know if there's something like that.. (I'm supposed to be a lawyer btw, keyword SUPPOSED TO BE)