Am I being lazy?

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I'll start off by saying I'll consider any replies here to be somewhat biased in my favor since most all of us had had difficulty getting and keeping a job in our lives.

My life is in a dead-end path. YES, I know it is a bad economy with significant unemployment numbers (USA). YES, I know a lot of people with better credentials and references are stuck in dead-end jobs/career paths.

However, some are hard on me and say I'm not really applying myself. In the interest of disclosure, this following is true of my personality.

1. I like my "personal" time. I want to put in my 8 hours and go home at the end of the day.

2. Caveat to #1....if I really am into my job, putting in more than my 8 hours is no big deal. So, if I could do amazing things if I found my "niche," but I have not.

3. Generally, I'm a hard worker. I think I work harder than most people do.

4. Caveat to #3....I can get bored and burned out easily. If a job is stressful (like where I am now), I deliberately give less and care not for the outcome as a coping mechanism for the workplace stress.

5. I'm not interested in getting more schooling/training without a GUARANTEE that it will lead to a better job for me. I'm in over my head in student loan debt that never delivered the things I was assured would come. I do not have the funds for more training nor am I inclined to take on more debt for another negative outcome. At best, I'd be willing to do it IF an employer hired me and put me to work while I train so that I can at least take the cost of my training as an income deduction.

6. I had only once career I was ever passionate about, and when it failed to come together, I was so despondent that I wanted to kill myself. I learned that no career is worth getting that worked up over. Since that day, nothing has ever inspired me or gotten me excited. The few things I somewhat enjoy, I see no way to turn into a sustainable income flow.

Many people (obviously NTs) think I am the problem. I think that if there was strong job creation, I'd have more options both in finding a job and the possibility of working for myself doing something people could pay me for. It's easy for some people to judge....they are where they excel, and they got there before the economy really went downhill. It's like a professor who chastised me for falling asleep in class in spite of the fact that noise in our dorm kept me from sleeping. He reasoned that because he managed in spite of working three jobs while in college that EVERYONE should be able to do as he could. Well, not everyone is like YOU. What YOU can do may not be what I can do.

Thoughts?

Well, those kind of attitudes towards work sound typical to me, and are nothing to get really upset about, provided you show up to work when you're supposed to. As for schooling, wariness is definitely a wise choice these days. Like you said, finding decent work, or any work at all, is a considerable task for more highly qualified NT's, let alone an aspie.

It is good though, that you are at least willing to possibly attribute some of your difficulties to your own actions. That shows a level of maturity that a lot of people don't seem to have.

True, but my work attitude is similar to my social attitude.

If you want me to change, the best strategy is to accept me as I am. I am more inclined to modify my behavior for people who love me as I am than to do it to gain the affections of those who do not. Experience has taught me that I can make myself miserable to become more like someone else, only to (1) be told it's still not enough, and/or (2) be accepted but miserable.

Likewise, with work, I feel that if others who are clearly less talented and less competent can have good jobs, why should I have to do revolutionary things to get my piece of the pie? Clearly, I need to be looking for the "right" opportunities to excel, not ramming my head into brick walls, but the message I get from those who are successful is mixed. They will admit that a person should go after what they excel at, but then they make it sound that if you haven't found what you excel at, it's because you didn't/aren't trying hard enough.

Talk about a "theory of mind" issue.

I don't know about the theory of mind issue, but do not give up. You have to constantly work hard, whether or not you have found the right career, to get and keep your "in".

It sounds less like laziness and more that you're just in a rut. I was in a similar state a few years back. You mentioned student loan debt, did you complete a degree? If so what in? I can try and offer some job suggestions based on what your skills/experience is in.

I got a law degree, but realized in my 3rd year I did not want to practice (not that there's a lot of job...over 50% unemployment in the field).

My undergrad is political science and mass communications. As journalism is a load of politicized garbage nowadays, I doubt anyone would want a rookie who believes in getting to the truth and not distorting it for an agenda.

I'm good at nuts and bolts detail work, but I don't like people or office politics.

If the economy was better, I'd probably have more options. Right now, it's about having the right credentials, and I can't justify spending (or borrowing) for yet another useless piece of paper. As nothing fires a passion within me, I have no real direction.

I know next to nothing about any of those fields, but I would think that having all of those degrees would be extremely valuable on the job market. Have you looked at human resources type jobs? I'd try applying for various government agencies as well (both state and federal). With a law degree and two undergrad degrees in relatively desirable fields, I can't see you not being able to get a halfway decent job, it just may take some effort and it may be in a field you haven't necessarily considered.

Also I'm sure that you can do more with a law degree than just practice law...such as law enforcement/FBI, CIA, ATF, etc.

The skills you get in a law degree or in communications should be very valued. So, instead, you could say "Scrupulous researcher" or "detailed and analytical".

I know, that is a bit "in the air". But a degree is never entirely wasted, even whe you think it is for a while.