Are Aspies Better Off Self-Employed?

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This is way too broad a question as there are far too many variables within the chosen career path. I think it is the nature of the job itself rather than the employed/self-employed status that is important.

I have been in both situations and for me, my self-employed years were the worst of my life, although I think a great deal of that was due to the nature of the work itself. I had to travel a great deal which was quite exciting and I got to visit new and interesting places, but living out of a suitcase, not knowing where I was going to sleep one week to the next, the hustle of airports and planes, language barriers, ets, etc were all very stressful. The other thing that was a big problem for me was financial stress - I was doing OK but there was always the fear of not having enough work to pay my way each month. Seven years ago I went back to employed status and although it meant a comparative drop in income, it was worth it for the secuity and not having to worry about where I'd be next. Consequently, I have not been abroad for seven years.

Ideally, I'd do what I do now (publishing) but from home rather than at the office. I have a well-equipped office at home which is technically more than capable of doing what I do at work, but the advantage is the peace and comfort of home. On those odd days that I do work from home, perhaps because the car is in for a service, I am far more productive as I don't have the constant interruptions and background noise of the office environment.

Self employment is not for everyone. The uncertainties and irregular income can wreck havoc on people’s lives. Most people who are self employed have to make large sacrifices just to keep things going. Long periods without an income will mean that you try to live on a lot less than you would otherwise do. The benefits are that you get control over your own schedule; which is important for Aspies. On days when the meltdowns or the like strike, it may be best to do little or something else to work off the symptoms. Being in an office and dealing with colleagues can often be disastrous as the reactions come out wrong and strong negative perceptions then form that can plague future interactions. By and large, if you can accept a simpler existence, self employment can be a way to help manage autism. It is not any easier, but at least it is possible.

I can't really say for myself. However my dad was diagnosed AS, and he's had his own buisness since I can remember.

Here's another advantage to being self employed.

I've never had problems at interviews but once I settled down into a job my collegues found out that dealing with someone who has AS can be difficult. I was often described as an a**hole, probably because of my poor social skills. If you are self employed, particularly if you are a short-term contractor, this is not a problem. After the three, six or whatever contract ends you just move on and start again with a clean sheet.

I did contract work for twelve years until I retired and I found that this really helped.

Ed Almos

Me too. I struggle with the money side of things, but I'm learning as I go along.

When I was younger (18 - 20) I did a lot of temping in the UK which taught me a lot about offices and social dynamics. Enough to know that cubicle life wasn't for me. As a temp you're only there for a short time so you aren't expected to get to know people well. As I got older I started working P/T while doing my own creative projects. Again because you're not there full time no-one thinks it's strange if you can't make after work drinks and office parties. I also used to do quite a lot of bar tending in my early twenties as I got to go out, be part of the party AND go home with money in my pocket. It was fun then but I couldn't do it now I'm in my thirties.

I had my first go at running my own business at 21 then worked again for a few years to learn the bits I felt I still needed. I've always chosen small companies to work in and the one year I spent in a large corporate ended with a spectacular meltdown, but it did give me invaluable experience. I started tele-working when I moved to New Zealand 6 years ago and now I run my own internet based company.

Moving from the UK to NZ was an excellent idea as it's a great country for Aspies. There's a long tradition of quirky characters here, and Kiwis tend to be quite laid back and open minded. When I went back to the UK in 2003 I felt completely overloaded by the sheer volume of noise, adverts and people. I can hear myself think in New Zealand and am very happy living here.

I edited school papers for about a year, until I got a job at my local newspaper as a proofreader. I currently work at my local public library, a job I have held for over five years. They were, and are, all good and appropriate jobs for me.

Everything feels like I should be self-employed but I can't see how I'd go about it. I got mobbed during my first jobs; although those were typical mobbing scenarios I don't feel at ease at my current job either (not that there aren't some persons having disgusting attitudes towards me for no justifiable reason). Also, when I work on a creative project of mine I can concentrate and achive something close to my full potential - at the office I feel I'm in a traffic jam; my progress depends on others and their ability/willingness to put me to some use. I don't enjoy what I'm doing much; just gathering experience and hoping something more interesting (for me) becomes available at the same corporation. My problem with this is that - if I'm going to be stuck in a cubicle the rest of my life because mediocre decision takers think "I'm weird" then I might as well, for the same ridiculous wage, dedicate myself to something I enjoy doing.

I live in a third world country and the more obvious forms of self employment I see are driving cabs and running small gritty candy stores. Then, there are things like webdesign which require technical skills I don't have (I have a degree in management) or that I have at a non-competitive level. I guess I could teach English but that'd be another dead end and not something I'd like to be stuck doing anyway. Sometimes I tried to think up business project possibilities but I don't have any specific knowledge so as to get started in any direction and my total lack of trustworthy acquaintances doesn't help either.
I spent almost 2 years unemployed after graduating; then another full year at a job were I wasn't assigned any work at all and wasn't spoken to because I happened to have a much better profile than the inept nephew of a guy pretty strong at the office politics; I'm not willing to take any more risks.

My family never helped; quite the contrary. . . while explicitly saying they'd support any endeavour of mine, any real help or guidance I ever got from them has to do with following a corporation career - if it's about that, I'm flooded with suggestions (some of which sound too much like threats) and acquaintances to send resumes to to the point of feeling numbed and apathetic; if I ever mentioned any other project of mine (not saying anything to anyone being the alternative) the answer was something like "nah" or "yeah. . . whatever". Not blaming is easier said than done when the only input you receive (and have received for decades) is something you actually have to struggle against to keep sane - and only then, after years, notice all the damage that was done and, only then, being able to barely begin thinking what to do about it.

I know an aspie whose been CEO of more than one company (the only reason its more than one is because of mergers, not because of a problem with him.) Then during the last merger he was only to be kept on for one year to help the merger transition smoothly, but they liked him so much that they gave him a permanent position as number 2 in the company. Aspies can succeed they just need to work at it.

And in the case of the person i'm referring to its his aspie traits that account for his success. Like his asking questions everyone else would be to polite/afraid to ask.

I mentioned a few time on this forum that I work with another aspie, who is hugely successful too. He is one of the top financial people in the business and also has a prominent leadership role in a national initiative for tertiary financial education.

He is just very tolerant of other people and I think a valuable thing he manages to do is not to feel that he is the one at fault all the time, when there is conflict. And he is nice - rather stays quiet when he can't say something positive or constructive. Dude, what a huge lesson to have to learn as an aspie... I get exhausted just thinking about it...

Probably, but there's no way I'd ever start a business on my own. There's no way I'd be able to manage it. I'd love to be able to work at home on the computer though.

You're so right about the owners' attitudes. I've been lucky enough to help horses who were due to be put to sleep when I took them on, and who are now back to full fitness and enjoying life again. Their owners don't give a stuff if I prefer to look at the trees when I'm speaking to them. I always get a cup of tea and a biscuit

Yes.

Do smething you like and do it well.

Just have patience with your NT customers.

I'm an engineer, and spent 8 years working for others and built a clientele that would follow me, with work I could manage, and left to do my own company. Sitting at the computer (at 7:30 at nite because I farted around on the internet all day and have one thing to accomplish before going to do what I want to do) with my cat on my lap, being able to pet the cat during a difficult phone call, and wear pajamas are the best parts. I have an NT hubby who does the books and helps with stuff I can't bear to do (tedium, some phone calls). And we moved away from the city, so the city noises don't bother me anymore either. I can go work in the sun when I need to, just take a break and be in the sun, or watch the birds at the bird feeder if I need to concentrate on something else for a bit. If they'd have worked a porch with a lounge chair, people that wouldn't talk to me mostly, and my cat (and much higher pay/hour and much less hours) into my office, I might have stayed. Except that the boss was an ass. I used to think this strange personality of mine was that of an engineer (now I find out it's aspie), but it's also very suited to being at home, with the appropriate accommodations (someone to help with that which I cannot do). Deadlines help a lot too. And carrots. We're going backpacking this weekend if we can get all of our other work done! I can't wait! I can't allow myself to start planning yet, though. That carrot I can reach for maybe weds, after much of it is done.

I went to work for myself after leaving IBM in 1969. I was later convinced to close the company to design a computer controlled pumping and irrigation system (16000 acres) That was much like working for myself, as nobody could understand what I was doing, so they left me pretty much alone. In 1978 I opened a business again and ran it for about 20 years.

When I was interviewed to work for the school district, my prospective boss asked me why I wanted to work for them after so many years of successfully working for myself. I told him, "I've worked for myself. I'll NEVER work for that SOB again. He doesn't know when to shut down." I laughed. He laughed. We both knew I was not really joking.

Pops

Oh, now that sounds familiar... I'm sure to a whole lot of people

Your life sounds wonderful. I'm forwarding your post to my hubby. I left my own business after five years because as the business grew, I ended up doing all the client calls, meetings and new business development (also known as "sales", sigh) while the others did the technical work, which was what I was good at. Wearing pajamas, a cat on the lap, own hours and a hugely stimulating brainy job sound like aspie-heaven.

I think worth mentioning is also having an understanding hubby (which I also have). They should get big awards.