Asperger's in the IT industry

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I was wondering if anyone is or knows anyone with Asperger's or Autism that work in the IT industry. What do they do and are the successful?

I got my A+ certification last year and I've taken the MCITP course twice already. I'm starting my CCNA/CCNP class early in December and I'm a bit concerned. One of my biggest problems is reading comprehension. The more details in a sentence, the harder it is for me to process and understand it. During my MCITP class, I was very successful with my labs and had little trouble with them because the instructions were clear and easy to understand. When I try studying for my exam, though, I have trouble with the questions. I've already failed my 70-640 test once already. I've been studying for almost a full year and have yet to pass one of the six exams needed.

But there is a bright side. There are several things I'm very comfortable with and seem to have a knack for. Whenever we did a lab on scripting for LDIFDE, CSVDE, or used PowerShell, not only was I able to complete my lab, but it took others several hours to get through the same labs. This happened in both classes I took. When I would help my classmates I was immediately able to point out the problem (there's not supposed to be a space here, there's a type there, etc.). My attention to detail really helped with that. Of course, reading further into it and getting a firm understanding of what I was doing is still hard, but I'm confident that, with persistence and my doctors helping me with this issue, I could do well in this area.

The other thing that I really caught on to was IP addressing. Normally, I would learn about that through Cisco, but my teacher felt it was still a good idea to get an idea of it during our training with Windows Server 2008. He's very passionate about Cisco too, so it was fun for him to teach it. I'm excited about my CCNA class because I'll be doing this kind of thing frequently. Unfortunately, just being a "Cisco guy" doesn't cut it in this field any more as you're required to wear multiple hats. That's why the program I'm in has you do A+/MCITP/CCNA, so you're a well-rounded IT person.

Because of my unique skill set I had someone suggest two things I should consider for a career path. The first was to try programming. Even though it's not as lucrative as being a sys admin (according to payscale, anyway), I think that I could be happy doing it and still make a good living if I were to be good at it. I'd really love to design and implement programs for businesses as it would also cater to my joy of helping people make their lives easier. The second was that, since I love IP addressing and will probably do well in Cisco, is to learn Linux and get into the security class to get my CEH/CHFI. This field always fascinated me because, while the penetration testing is needed and legal, there's still this feeling of it being taboo to it.

So, that's my long-winded speech about my IT experience. Please tell me yours!

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"I've already failed my 70-640 test once already. I've been studying for almost a full year and have yet to pass one of the six exams needed."

I suspect you need to do more practice questions. Try to get a test bank of practice questions. Try to get legitimate practice questions rather than "brain dumps". The whole point of certification is to actually know the material and not just recall the "answers". I think good practice questions will provide you with with an explanation rather than just the answer.

I think aspies can be successful in IT. I am currently in desktop support. It's not so much the job is bad (not my favorite but do-able) but poor management.

I have Asperger's Syndrome, and have 29 years experience in the IT sector as an engineer. Originally I was a hardware engineer, but now I am a software engineer.

The greatest things you can have as an Aspie engineer is huge interest in the subject area, a great eye for detail and a logical analytical mind.

I like programming because it is logic in action - it's predictable and I also think there is beauty in the structure of programming and challenge in solving technical problems. It's a great career for intrinsic satisfaction.

Can't comment about the pay, but my family appears to be fed clothed and house OK.

I was 45 years in software design and application software along with applied mathematics.

My first experience with computers was in 1955 using an IBM machine with drum memory. The program sat on the drum and was executed as the next instruction address came under the heads.

So I spanned drum memory to solid state.

ruveyn

I've really been putting thought into learning programming, but I'm not sure which language to start with. There don't seem to be any certifications for these languages either and I don't have the money to pay for my current classes as well as a degree in computer science. I know that each language is just another tool and I should always have a lot of tools for any scenario, but which tools will I use more than others? I'd really like to make applications for business use rather than things like games.

I've been trying to unpack the abbreviations for the courses you are studying, and there seem to be a lot of Microsoft and administrative content. I don't personally have a lot of experience with Microsoft.

I'm pretty sure you can get Sun certification for Java programming, but life is not all about getting certificates.

I'm encouraged that you have a leaning towards business applications rather than games programming. Personally I am perceiving an aspirational trend towards games programming which is something of a niche skill and ignores a lot of the business/scientific/engineering sectors where I think there is more intrinsic value and perhaps more satisfaction to be had.

It's not easy to say what one language you should learn, there is no golden bullet to be had that all employers will want. You need a language that will be sufficiently easy to learn, and be a stepping stone into the next language at the same time allowing you to do a range of useful tasks.

My personal favourite would be Perl, which is reasonably intuitive at the same time having support across platforms (e.g. Windows, Linux and the Unix'es) and a very good set of library functions through the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN).

Perl is one of the possible P's of the so called LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL and Perl/PHP/Python). You can do a lot for free e.g. with a Linux distro such as Ubuntu Server, or Ubuntu desktop if you want graphical admin. Have a play.

I'm expecting a lot of flames after this - after all everybody has a favourite language and each language has its own positives and negatives. What language you use will depend on what you are trying to do. Don't be put off by this.

Look at self-teaching materials such as a good introductory book or an online tutorial to get you started. Not everything has to be learnt from a formal course.

Last edited by barnabear on 28 Nov 2011, 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

A+ is the non vendor specific computer tech certification. MCITP is six Microsoft certifications, including server/network administration, network infrastructure, and Windows 7. CCNA is the basic Cisco certification for routers and switches.



You're right. Anyone can memorize brain dumps and get certifications, but they are still important to have. I've recently been told that you show your programming skills with your work, not certs.

Thanks for your advice. I'm also asking my uncle, who is a programmer. Can't wait to see what happens!

Ok, maybe this just a small candle flame....

I wouldn't generalize all game programming as something that has less value. Depending on the game, it's a type of programming that can cover a lot of very advanced topics... AI, physics, large scale data processing, etc... Game programming borrows a lot from all fields of programming. And at times can be quite lucrative, it's a multibillion dollar a year industry, competitive with TV & film. We're not talking about "pac-man" anymore.

The business/scientific/engineering approach and the game approach really have a lot to offer each other. The business/scientific/engineering approach can greatly improve the data handling and simulation accuracy of games, and game programming can greatly improve the quality of the user experience and data visualization in the business/scientific/engineering realm. They are not mutually exclusive.

And satisfaction is an issue of personal taste.

...

In response to the OP:
My IT experience is mainly in web design & games. I started as a graphic artist, but as time goes on I am learning more and more about programming. Right now, I am mainly experienced in web languages like Java, Javascript, actionscript, PHP, SQL. But now I am expanding my skill set into C,C++,C#. I don't really have a favorite language, I believe in using the proper tool for the job.
Having a background in art & graphic design, I am drawn(no pun) mostly to graphics programming. But I have several game concepts I would like to flesh out. Games what would blur the line with the scientific/engineering realm.

I have thought about getting certifications for A+ and the other things the OP mentioned. network, system admin, & repair are not my passions, but I have the tech talents to do those jobs. And it's good to have more options for income.

Just for fun go to: http://www.codecademy.com

Redacted

Last edited by nat4200 on 19 Apr 2012, 4:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, I think that's right. I'm not sure I've seen much Python for sysadmin where I am, we tend to use Perl. There are some people who like Python and something called Jython.

If you do decide to go for Perl, I think the Library for WWW in Perl (LWP) could be fun to play with. This is an HTTP client that you use to go and fetch web pages and you can then process them content for your own purposes - it's a good source of live data.

I never did care much for Perl. I'm sure it's a fine language, but I am haunted by memories of people using it to do things that could have easily been accomplished with nothing more than a simple shell script.

I suggest that Ruby is the language to learn. I believe it will serve you well regardless of what career path you choose. Most importantly perhaps, learning Ruby will teach you good programming practices. Of course when I use the word "good" in this context I mostly mean object-oriented as I'm shamelessly biased in favor of object-orientation. Therefore if you do decide to learn Ruby please be sure to consult high quality reference material so that you're not merely learning to write procedural code in an object-oriented language.

Perl Object Orientation is a clumsy afterthought and is not a particularly pleasant experience. I used to be heavily into OO with C++ and Java, even taking things a step further with Design Patterns.

Yes, if you want to learn OO, don't go for Perl. If you want something you can knock up quick scripts and then move on to larger library projects - it's fine.

Can't comment about Ruby as such although I do remember going on a PHP course where the instructor kept going on about how Ruby on Rails was much better. Wasn't a very good course.

Java is heavily OO from the very start, but I wouldn't regard that as a scripting language. I don't think Ruby necessarily has the same uptake as Perl in the commercial sector, but this might change.

I too have seen Java used in a procedural (non OO) way - yuk!! ! If you're going to program OO, do it well.

I recall reading that Python was designed as an object-oriented language. Even so, its object model always seemed to me to have been tacked onto what is, in reality, a procedural language.



That is just bad. If one is going to go through the trouble to teach a class on a technology, he or she shouldn't be using said class as an opportunity to proselytize.



I do like Java, but as you say it's certainly not a scripting language, i.e., it's not something that a system administrator is likely to use regularly at work.



I feel that I'm unqualified to comment on this due to woefully insufficient work experience. I will only say that I worked for three years as a system administrator at a company with approximately 300 employees, and I was permitted to use whatever programming language(s) I wanted as long as they helped me do my job.



Unfortunately it's more common than not to see people pretending to be doing objects while still doing the same old thing. Procedural programming can be a habit that is difficult to unlearn.

Seems that a lot of people have differing opinions on which language is best. Here's what I've been hearing from other forums and people:

Ruby/Perl is good for server-side applications, while Java is good for client-side applications. This could be completely wrong. What I'd like to know is unbiased facts on what languages are capable of what things. I've also been hearing that Java is a great first language because it's compatible across all platforms (W7/Mac/Linux).

When I was doing my MCITP class, I really enjoyed doing the CSVDE/LDIFDE and I also liked working in PowerShell. I seemed to be decent at it as the labs only took me about 20 minutes while the rest of the class spent 2 hours trying to figure things out until the teacher had me help them. I was able to point out where they made mistakes because of my natural desire to correct.

I appreciate all the feedback and I'll check out that codeacademy later. If you've got some good info, please feel free to PM me too!

It is.

You'll hear a lot of different opinions on which language to learn first. If you ask Joel Spolsky, he'll probably tell you to learn C. I don't think it matters that much as long as you stay willing to learn more (i.e. you don't become one of those people who learn one language and its paradigms and then apply them regardless of the language they program in). If you're not willing to learn and then learn some more, it doesn't matter which language you start with, you'll be a bad programmer. Good programmers always look for better ways to do the things they already "know how to do", bad ones always try to get by with what they know without learning anything new.

Java or C# are both pragmatic choices for OO and general software development. If you're planning to stay in systems administration etc., scripting languages like perl, bash etc. are better candidates.