Why can't we Aspies convert our success at academics into...

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success in the workplace? We can complete advanced degrees, graduate from prominent universities, earn scholarships, make the Dean's List, get solid recommendations from professors, etc. And it counts for what exactly? Most of us end up either unemployed or employed in a low-paying job we could've just done right out of high school. Meanwhile, high school dropouts make more than we can even contemplate.. Why is this? Does this only happen in the US or is it a worldwide phenomenon? Do employers really just prefer a complete imbecile to someone who's socially awkward? Is that how bad society has gotten? Note...I'm not saying everyone who fails to complete school is stupid, but let's be honest...many of them are.

What was your degree in? I'm an engineering major, and I thought just like you. But now I've learned that even at my prestigious university, I will have to relearn everything at my first job, which is a disappointment. At least engineering is pretty employable.

These "dropouts" have been working as hard, if not harder than you. Social skills involve a different part of the brain than analytical thinking. Even though I learned this fact, knowing it is not enough. Physical activity has been shown to improve social skills, so I took up martial arts. Additionally, a scientific study from UCLA shows massage therapy increases one's ability to bond with people, which actually worked for me.

I agree. I'm hoping my professor reccomendations work out and my college goals and job views work out. My older sister Erica is already in the Criminal Justice field so that gives me a leg up when I get my Bachelor someone in my own family can vouch for me and she sort of understands Asperger's so I think my job prospects might work out. I hope anyway.

I do believe some college students are STUPID! Couple examples

1) A student in Spanish "Oh I'll never need this s**t!" (Agreed learning a foreign language is hard etc.) He's aiming to go for Border Patrol! IDIOT! You'll have to know Spanish like you know English IDIOT! (EVEN I KNOW THAT!)

2) student: Do I have to come to class today? (to the professor walking by). Him: Yes. student: oh ok then. I asked him why was there a big test that day he replied "No I just didn't want to go to class today." Me: UH! IDIOT AND THEY LET YOU INTO COLLEGE!

3) My Criminal Justice class Intro. was AWESOME online with people in the field interested in the field etc. GOOD! Criminology NOT! Most students laughed it off and said they were just taking any course they could get and didn't care about the Criminal Justice field. SHEESH! When I showed excitement for the Group Project the team was like "Ok you do it." I did my share but did something totally different than the rest of the group we still thankfully walked away with an A. IMO with what I learned from Public Speaking the semester before. EVERY POWER POINT OF EVERY GROUP WAS A PIECE OF s**t AND WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A BIG FAT F from my Public Speaking professor. The Criminology professor graded EASY!

So YES I can see where you are coming from.

It is not uncommon for anyone to have difficulties finding suitable work after graduation these days., but I do share your frustration. I have an ok job now I guess, but it took years to get there. Part of the problem for me is being uncomfortable "selling myself" in job applications and interviews and taking knock backs personally. I found this put me off and I simply stopped applying for jobs.

Majored in English. Not a STEM person...are you going to tell how much I suck now? I get that a STEM degree is worth more than a liberal arts degree...that's fine, but why is no degree better than a liberal arts degree? That seems to be the case in the current economy (for the most part, anyway).



Sorry, but I will call BS on this one. You don't have to "work" at social skills if they come naturally to you, which they do for most NTs.

Maybe it's because we have somebody telling is exactly what to do, teaching us how to do it, and giving us a deadline of when it should be done by. Directions are very easy for me to follow. In one of my old jobs, I was not really given directions, just expected to "take initiative", and I think employers want people like this nowadays. It's a very unstructured environment vs. a very structured one (school).

Those are just my thoughts.

That is exactly my experience and I have no idea what to do about it. I'm 25 now, have an MA and about to start a part-time PhD butstill can't get a 'proper' job and do voluntary work most of the time and work in a children's club part-time. Every other job I've had hasn't worked out because of 'not taking initiative' and needing too much direction.

I have a Bachelors degree and a Masters in education, yet I struggle to get any work. It's very frustrating, living as an Aspie, watching people with less smarts, but more social savvy, take all the jobs.

I think about this on a regular basis. If I had my way this would be the opposite.

I never said you "sucked" or anything. But you accuse me of putting you down while you put those that don't need college down without knowing about their other strengths that don't require degrees...

Liberal arts teachers don't grade hard. No unusual effort is required to get a 4.0 average. These classes give you knowledge, but don't tell you how to put it to practical use. Sadly, the same is with engineering nowadays, so even social skills are important in engineering.

Math came naturally to me but at the same time, I have to work on it. Social skills are also a very complex matter.

I agree with a lot of the above and the original post. I have a masters and a doctorate but my job is far below my abilities. I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately. I think that, in the final analysis, social skills matter more than brains, diligence, skill, quality of work, etc. in the workplace. It was funny reading this thread because the one major thing I was criticized for on my last job review was not taking enough initiative. If my boss would give me more direction maybe I wouldn't be on the Internet all day.

I don't think it can be blamed 100% on social awkwardness.

How about executive function problems that come with some AS?

Or how some people need recovery days after being in a social situation?

Some people are very intelligent but just don't like the formality of school....entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, but it's hardly true of all dropouts. Many of them are dumb as s**t, but still get good jobs handed to them because of their social skills and "who they know."

A lot of studies show that the majority of drop outs do it because they are bored with school, not because they are dumb as dirt. Ironically the dumb as dirt ones will come for the social club aspect.

Link? Not saying there aren't people like that, but certainly not a majority. And of course, dropouts will SAY that they were bored rather than admit they couldn't cut it in school, but that doesn't mean it's true. Also many people like to belittle the academic achievement of others only because they are envious.