Is It Possible For Aspies To Be Financially Wealthy?

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True. Look at all the famous people who had 100's of millions of dollars---- and ended up bankrupt/in financial difficulty.

Trading is a very stressful occupation. What are you studying, where? Wall Street firms tend to give priority to Ivy-League grads.

My tip is; wait as long as you can to have a relationship. Having a romantic partner costs so much money. Not the being together per se (normals actually save money that way) but you''ll wanna do and buy tons of stuff you don't need.

I just figured you might already have one. Get rid of the relationship or stay poor

IIRC, Bill Gates does not have AS. He's just the classic tech nerd who's exceptionally ambitious.

I dream about being financially wealthy. I am fascinated by the concept of business and the economy even microeconomies like in a certain MMORPG I play. Well earning money makes me feel good. I guess its perfectly possible for aspies to be wealthy. Thats what entrepreneurship is all about lol.

I think that a lot of big company owners are aspie's but I don't think that a lot of people who work under them are.

I believe that you can accomplish any goal that you really want to achieve. As far as making $500,000 per year, good luck. First, the upper class in the US, defined as income greater than $250,000 per year, amount to just 4% of the population. Look around: 96 out of 100 people you see make less considerably less than $500k, therefore the odds are stacked against you regardless of your neurological status. Second, you will never make any real money in the US working for somebody else. The only way to make real money here is to start your own company, work for yourself, expect to work extremely hard for a long period of time, and expect to fail at least once or twice along the way. Lastly, with great wealth comes great sacrifice...what are you willing to sacrifice for the money? Love? Family? Friends? Hobbies? Personal integrity? Honor? All of the above? As many people have noted, money does not equal happiness. "A common issue within our society is the belief that money solves most of our problems. Another big problem is the lack of financial guidance when being handed over a large amount of money. In fact nearly one third of multimillion dollar lottery winners become bankrupt in just a few short years after they’re big win." Abandon the greed.

> I prefer people to give me directions in a polite manner and patiently be helpful. This is my personality. I like to be given instruction in a calm patient manner but i don't like being very overly rushed because i get easily annoyed by pushy attitudes, so do you think working in this field would be too harsh for someone with a personality like mine?

Do some research about what it's really like to work on Wall Street. There are some neat books by Michael Lewis, e.g. Liar's Poker. Entertaining read, too. From what I read it sounds like a pressure-cooker environment where people are rude and crude and are more likely to yell at you than be polite. This would not be a good match for what you describe.

First of all, if you're looking for an above-average salary, Wall Street is definitely the place to be. The real problem is that you will need to live near a major financial center (New York, etc.) to find work.

I know nothing about trading, but it seems like sitting in front of an array of 10+ monitors for hours at a time might be a good job for an Aspie.

I went to work at broker-deal as a junior sell-side research analyst a few years ago. I was brought in by a former executive that I used to work with who realized that my "special skill" would be useful in picking stocks.

When I first started the brokers (mostly frat-boy types in their mid 20's) quickly gave me the nickname "Rain Man", not necessarily in a good way. This led to some very uncomfortable moments for me where I was sitting in front of 30 guys during the morning call pitching a stock with many of them whispering and giggling while I spoke. I just ignored it and kept going.

But the fact is that I am very good at what I do (I am useless otherwise), my stock picks worked, and most importantly the institutional funds we sold to really liked my work and wanted to consult me on my companies. This meant $ for the brokers so they learned to accept me.

After two years, the senior analyst moved to investment banking and I was promoted to replace him. I was recognized as a finalist in my sector in the 2009 Wall Street Journal "Best on the Street" awards. Which I am really proud of.

During this time, my pay more than doubled to the low $200's - the guy I replaced made $450, so I was actually underpaid. I don't say this to brag, but just to show you what an "average" WS salary looks like if you make it 'in'.

Unfortunately, I didn't survive last year's meltdown, a lot of analysts much better than I were let go too. Since there aren't a lot of broker-dealers where I live, and I didn't want to move, I went back to my original industry.

I just wanted to tell you about my experience to let you know that if you are very good at what you do, and are able to grow a really thick skin, a Aspie CAN be successful on Wall Street. Please note that I am 42 years old and I didn't get good overnight, so be patient and focus on getting good and with a little luck you have a decent shot at hitting your financial goal.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

well if you are committed to accuracy, and do what your job requires with no deficit, then you will be promoted until you can go no higher.

if you stay where you can achieve well for most of your working life, then you can have a house to own and live in with security of permanence.

i have 2 houses and some other assets that i chiseled out of the world in return for my services. i am still working and amassing what i can.

if you are truly good at what you do as a job, you can not fail to collect security for your effort.

I consider myself financially wealthy with my own business, have won awards in my internet career and have owned my home since my twenties. I have been studying business since my teens as I knew that working for other people was never going to make me rich. I count my riches as a home of my own, my wonderful aspie husband and having time to spend doing what I love with people I like.

Will I ever earn $500K a year? No, because I don't see the point of driving myself into the ground when I can happily live on a tenth of that. How much do you think you have to make them to get your $500K? I'd rather work less hours and pocket all of the income I generate.

I do know that every time I have worked at places because of the money I have ended up working alongside dreadful people and it messed my head up. I have found it better to take the longer, harder road of building up my own brand and company which is the only job for life anyone can count on these days.

If any of you are creative then read my MsBehaviour Files at the Big Idea. Plenty of tools, tips and ways to stay indie and earn a good living from your home studio: http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/news/columns/msbehaviour#

Bill Gates?

I think in many ways an AS person could have the advantage. For me, It's easier for us to become obsessive about a subject, I am often unaware of others emotions, I'm how clueless on my words can step on someone else's career (backstabbing is not intentional, just don't ask for my honest opinion), I can also become fixated on small details.

My problem is I come of with great ideas at the wrong time. With money I save up while in the Army, I opened my first computer store in the mid 80.. too bad I put my whole bankroll on Commodore (I felt the Amiga was the future)

Sometimes I have great ideas and am not able to follow through all the way. I tried a few other businesses and investments, to loose my shirt each time.

Now I work for the Government because it's stable and has benefits. I will never make 500k a year, so I need to be happy with 50k. It keeps a roof over my head and provide basic needs for my family.

ASD folks are pretty common in the engineering world, and the most common 4-year degree amongst Fortune 500 CEOs is Electrical Engineering. There was also a time my friend going through the class pictures in our Chemical Engineering department, pointing out the guys that are VPs of the company for which she worked. So yeah, it's quite possible, but don't expect anything immediate. For example, with a 4-year Engineering degree, it's pretty standard for you to go into management after 5-10 years, then become a VP at around 20 years (you can go through this faster, yes, but that's just the norm).

Wonderful advice, Mellisa! Thanks for that post on page one.

Being wealthy not only involves having a large paycheck but also being able to save and spend wisely. I think people with AS have the edge in the second part if they learn a little discipline in spending; they're not as prone to emotions when making spending decisions and will have better control.