worst jobs for aspies...

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Lonelybonesey
Velociraptor

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 433
Location: The teddy bears picnic of course

11 Dec 2007, 10:29 pm

Prime Minster

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just a little higher (puff puff puff) almost got a job

Aquamarine_Kitty
Snowy Owl

Joined: 6 Oct 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 155
Location: Way northern California

11 Dec 2007, 10:57 pm

rushfanatic wrote:

WAITRESSING!!

Yeah, I tried to be a volunteer waitress at a fundraiser to see if I could handle it at all.
*The first five minutes of my shift, I spilled punch all over the white blouse I was wearing.
*I had no idea how to go about taking people's orders. I would inch up to a table, try to stay invisible while I see if they need their order taken, get really nervous when I can't tell for sure, and eventually try to spit out the words: "May I take your order?"
*The same process happened with taking dessert orders, taking plates, asking how the meal is going, etc.
*I spent most of the time talking to my family and carefully working in the kitchen.
Waitressing doesn't seem to be suited for someone who is very clumsy and has low social skills.

Kwiksnax
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 9 Dec 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 61

12 Dec 2007, 1:23 am

sarahstilettos wrote:

I think its a little from column a and a little from column b. I had a job which involved telesales. It vastly improved my confidence AND gave me a mental breakdown. I still don't totally regret it as it lead onto my next, (not customer facing) job.

Well, I'm glad you can look on the bright side of your experience. How is your current job going?

Hendikins
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 34
Location: 34°00'S, 150°52'E

12 Dec 2007, 8:34 am

caffeine_demon wrote:

Hi,

I was just thinking what the worst jobs for aspies would be...

<snip>

5 - customer services

That one is an interesting inclusion. I do customer service myself for CityRail - and railways have long been an interest of mine.

If you can combine it with an interest (and detach the notion that it is a social thing), it is possible to both be good at it and enjoy it :-)

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Hendikins - The Lurking Wolfox
"There's three ways - the right way, the wrong way and the railway"

sarahstilettos
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Sep 2007
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Posts: 847

12 Dec 2007, 9:55 am

Kwiksnax wrote:

sarahstilettos wrote:

Well, I'm glad you can look on the bright side of your experience. How is your current job going?

My current job is amazing. I work in a cash office so I basically spend most of my time counting big ol' piles of money in an underground room with no windows. People only come in and disturb me when they need to have emotional conversations on their mobiles where my boss can't see them. Usually they don't even acknowledge me - apparently they think that because I don't talk very much I must also be deaf. I find it very funny.

I don't know if its looking on the bright side so much as remembering that a lot of people here have trouble finding jobs at all, I'm convinced the only way I've avoided that situation is by doing anything just to have something on my CV.

caffeine_demon
Blue Jay

Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 83

12 Dec 2007, 10:05 am

Hendikins wrote:

caffeine_demon wrote:

Hi,

I was just thinking what the worst jobs for aspies would be...

<snip>

5 - customer services

Yep - I can understand that that sort of arrangement could work quite well, but I was thinking more of dealing with complaints - eg "my dishwasher's broken", "Where's my stuff" "can't you guys get anything right" etc...

Hendikins
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 34
Location: 34°00'S, 150°52'E

12 Dec 2007, 8:16 pm

caffeine_demon wrote:

Oh, like "Where's my train?", "What do you mean I can't use the toilet?", "Get a real job", etc?

_________________
Hendikins - The Lurking Wolfox
"There's three ways - the right way, the wrong way and the railway"

Kwiksnax
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 9 Dec 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 61

12 Dec 2007, 9:50 pm

sarahstilettos wrote:

Sounds fantastic, what a sweet job. If emotional conversations weren't so banal there'd be all sorts of juicy stuff to eavesdrop on too.

Quote:

I don't know if its looking on the bright side so much as remembering that a lot of people here have trouble finding jobs at all, I'm convinced the only way I've avoided that situation is by doing anything just to have something on my CV.

I'd say that's looking on the bright side. That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger, and we're all gonna die sometime anyways so might as well live an interesting life

Anyways, kudos to you Sarah!

Space
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 2 Apr 2006
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,082

13 Dec 2007, 3:05 am

I think any job that emphasizes networking and interpersonal skills, and requires you to be an assertive people person is bad for people with AS. The sh***y thing is that it seems that all the high paying jobs seem to emphasize areas that AS people find problematic, save maybe for engineering surveying, or some science jobs.

Kwiksnax
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 9 Dec 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 61

13 Dec 2007, 6:11 am

Space wrote:

I'd say it's more challenging than bad. Social situations and the jobs that require them are indeed more demanding on people with AS, but they are by no means impossible, and the skills involved can be learned. None of us should ever give up and say we can't enjoy the lives that many NT people enjoy. We simply have to devise our own strategies for dealing with these challenges.

In general, threads like this do not help anyone. They generally work as self-fulfilling prophecies of negativity. We can do better than this!

Space
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 2 Apr 2006
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,082

13 Dec 2007, 1:19 pm

Well the point of a job is find something you are talented at and passionate about. If you are not choosing a job based on your strengths, you are setting yourself up for failure. Yes every job has some social interaction and you can get better at it, but it doesn't mean you will ever go from being an introverted, shy/quiet AS to a born leader, extroverted, A-type, networking go-getter who puts everyone else to shame. It is good to want to improve, but the fact is many NT people will be much better in certain areas than you because of your AS. You can either, A)compensate by being better in other areas, B)try and learn the areas in which you are lacking, or C)do both. Nothing is impossible, but recognizing your personal strengths AND weaknesses is key to finding a job you will be successful in. That being said, it depends on the person and their personality, if you are a person with AS who has great people skills and is a networker, then go into sales. I am sure you will do well. The thing is certain personality characteristics are common in AS people, so you can generalize that some jobs would be ill suited to most of the group.

Locke
Butterfly

Joined: 11 Dec 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 11

13 Dec 2007, 1:31 pm

Clothing Retail...I've done management for a popular clothing store in the States...One of the most challenging and draining things I've ever done. There were over one-hundred people on staff and there was never any quiet except when I would kick our stock person out and do it myself.

Kwiksnax
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 9 Dec 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 61

13 Dec 2007, 4:21 pm

Space wrote:

A lot of good points there, Space. As you say, it's essential to take your own strengths and weaknesses into account when considering a job or career. However, I think the case for many people with AS is that they underestimate their strengths and overestimate their weaknesses. They try something new, don't succeed the first time, then throw up their hands and say 'I knew it all along! I can't do it!' Yet with dedication and commitment, they could develop their skills and overcome their short-fallings. Everyone fails at certain things at certain points in their life, you just have to keep going despite the setbacks.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with what you say about natural inclinations for people with AS. AS can make life infuriatingly difficult at times. What I'm disagreeing with is the general message of threads like this which seems to be 'you can't win, so don't even try'. That's just wrong, in my opinion.

Kwiksnax
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 9 Dec 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 61

13 Dec 2007, 4:24 pm

Locke wrote:

It's amazing how much a little bit of quiet 'reflection time' can help. Did you find that you needed that down-time in order to recharge yourself after the daily onslaught of social interaction?

Space
Veteran
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Joined: 2 Apr 2006
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,082

13 Dec 2007, 4:43 pm

Kwiksnax wrote:

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with what you say about natural inclinations for people with AS. AS can make life infuriatingly difficult at times. What I'm disagreeing with is the general message of threads like this which seems to be 'you can't win, so don't even try'. That's just wrong, in my opinion.

I agree. That's the problem with AS culture, or the information about AS. So much of it is negative, and really makes AS people seem like they are hopeless, unless they are a savant math genius or some other stereotype :roll:

There are a lot of threads here where people b***h about the most common problems for people with AS:
1)I can't get a girlfriend/boyfriend, and have little experience with the opposite sex
2)I can't get a job, I don't know what I would be good at and
3)I have no friends, I can't seem to make any.
It gets really depressing when you see the same threads in one form or another, over and over. It is very rare for someone here to talk about having success in relationships, overcoming barriers to get a job they enjoy, or successfully branch out and gain new friends who accept them. I really liked the interview with the Heather from america's next top model, it is one of the few rare encouraging portraits of a young AS adult. I wish we had more "success" stories like that here, there must be AS people who have found their way in life, it would be nice if we had more of them.

Kwiksnax
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 9 Dec 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 61

13 Dec 2007, 4:52 pm

Space wrote:

I really liked the interview with the Heather from america's next top model, it is one of the few rare encouraging portraits of a young AS adult. I wish we had more "success" stories like that here, there must be AS people who have found their way in life, it would be nice if we had more of them.

Absolutely. There are plenty of AS people living happy, successful lives. As for this forum, let's be the change we want to see.

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