For the Aspies who can work and/or are highly educated

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I completed high school but have no degree. I do work and I have always found work I can do. I have dealt with anxiety on the job but I got through it and dealing with meltdowns. I have also had conflicts with co workers over misunderstandings but I always stuck with my job because I wanted to be employed.

Many NT's have expressed that they are impressed at my understanding of people and social dynamics ..............BAHAHAHAHA .....if they only knew.

I'll be frank, there are still things that fool me and things that I do not GET at all. But, I try my hardest to understand these things and I accept that I fail from time to time.

One thing I do is I ask others how they view people and situations to check my own interpretations against the NT standard. I'm often right but sometimes I am off. This practice helps further refine my mental assessments.

and to think the NT's do this all subconsciously....lucky basturds

It's interesting reading some of the posts here on the social sciences! My study of Psychology has helped me pretend. I perform well in interviews because I can put in a performance for short periods. I am never 'out' as an aspie to anyone except this forum, one friend and my partner. I would never write on any form that I have ASD and have avoided a formal diagnosis because I do not trust 'the system' (I'm a rebel without a cause at heart!).

I have an IQ of 146, I have a BA in English and an MSc in Psychology. I was also asked to start a PhD, and have an unconditional offer to do so if I ever wish to return, but I have declined the offer for now. Right now I need a routine, and I found individual study kind of isolating and unstructured.

I know all of the above sounds impressive... But in truth I lack confidence. When I am in the workplace I am surrounded by people who are less talented than I am, but because I struggle with workplace politics I have left every job I have had. I am looked on as less capable because I do not get involved with these games. And, I struggle with basics: I am scared to drive and travel to new places. I work hard to fit in, but there are times I just break down and struggle.

I cannot cope when people have their own agenda, I can't understand it, I panic and I resign. I have big gaps in my CV where I have chosen to be without work. I sometimes don't realise I am being bullied, or I think I am when this is not the case.

Education is somewhere I excel. I can remember anything, learn anything and think about things in a different way to other people. My obsessive nature means I will do everything right and put 100% effort in.

I got a distinction in every module of my Psychology MSc and a test score of 96%.

But, when it came to it, can I see that a PhD has any real value, or would 'being highly educated' lead to a 'proper job'. No. I need people and routine now. I couldn't spend three years by myself. I need the workplace... But however 'educated' or 'intelligent' I am on paper I feel completely unprepared for the real workplace and disrespected there because people don't understand me...or I them!

I don't know that education or profession are the true measures of successes in life.

My greatest achievement is having a partner that loves me, friends that I enjoy spending time with, and a dog I love walking! These things are simple for some people, but for me to be able to say: I enjoy spending time with some people, is such a huge thing.

I see no reason why anybody in their right mind would want to become highly indoctrinated with the pseudo-intellectual dis-information that's promoted in those so-called academic-institutions. Were I to be required to re-start a human-life, I would actually just ignore school, start working at an early of an age as possible, and "self-educate" myself at the public-libraries, learning about entrepreneurship, business, marketing, establish a business at some point, then continue to use my spare time to make a hobby out of "questioning everything" and learning as much as I can from "unbiased" sources that aren't paid/funded by corporate-interests, but of course, the whole system is rigged, and I would probably just end up repeating what happened during this life-time again with the corporate-government screwing me over for its profits into wanting me to pay it money before I've even had a chance to be able to earn any money to be able to pay it.

Anyway... International-Bankers are a plague upon society.

I have known a number of people who work full or part time and do their PhD on the side.
Could this work for you?

I'm actually looking into doing a professional doctorate one day... Working and doing research within through my job. That kind of matches what you suggest, mixing work life and study.

But, as a hobby I still always imagine doing a PhD at some point... I like to keep my mind busy. I'd do one for fun, no pressure. I just wouldn't pay to do one, go into debt, or do one full time right now.

Well done to those who can manage full time work on top of research, though! Wow!

1) find and keep work = Social Skills not intelligence (Who you know, not what you know). Unless you find a job where social skills do not matter. Example: Doctor. If you wanted to be a doctor I would say do not have a TV show about medical facts but rather go brain surgeon or researcher. There are alot of options like that, it just depends on the field of interest. Then just be good at your job.

2) become highly educated = You do not need to be intelligent, you need a field that interests you enough to study. Are you willing (assuming you have the resources like time and money) to put in the necessary time every day to learn about that topic. That is the key IMO.

To be educated and disciplined to a tee is a hobby, not a guarantee of social promotion.

I believe that it's possible to be boorish, incompetent, and game the system.

You might have a gift for trivia and logic, but not for executive action or self promotion.

The idea that you need to be "intelligent" to become highly educated is a myth. All these courses are just a bunch of words -- the difficulty doesn't change. If you have a dictionary and some persistence you can learn anything.

That's definitely not true of STEM.

I've been in the same field for 28 years. Difficulties didn't start until a year ago. That led to the diagnosis. Being adaptable and no meltdowns at work were a plus. A while ago adapting, quick dancing and asking and using aid from smarter people than I helped. It was also the hardest.

My specialty interest were useful on and off the job. Putting them on my resume actually got me an interview for my present job which has lasted a high percentage of the above 28 years.
I still have interesting internal dialog when folks ask me for expertish advice .

I am convinced that my intelligence is the thing that has helped me most. It has allowed me to learn social skills (over many, many years - I was in my late teens and 20s when I really started to figured that out), and it also has helped me develop my musical and teaching skills. I think people find me hard to get along with or get to know, but I am excellent at what I do and that earns me respect. People need what I can do, so they have to put up with me.

This being able to pass as NT works for the Aspie crowd but not those of us further down.

I could read social primers until the cows come home. It doesn't enable me to consistently use the information in real time.

Many Aspies seem to be close to being NT and can pull this off. Those of us in other levels of functioning have a hard time relating.

That is true.

That is how I feel about some of my executive functioning difficulties, though mine are not as bad as others. Reading books on housekeeping and organization for 15 years of marriage and still failing is what started my journey into realizing I am probably on the spectrum, though high-functioning.

Most people do not see my EF problems, though, because they do not see the effort it takes to get something done. They only see what is "finished." Just like they probably do not see the anxiety I have to push through in order to talk to people.

This Aspie has 1. Pulled it off for long periods of time 2. Did not do it as well he thought he was because if one has limitations in theory of mind and body language reading one will think they are pulling it off better then they actually are. 3. It caused Autistic burnout

If somebody has a mild condition they can usually cover it up routinely. With ASD the limitations/differences occur in social communication the highest priority of the NT world. Most people communicate 70 or 90 percent depending on what study you read non verbally. So even if a person is legitmataly very mild and pulling it off well it is difficult. The better you pull it off the more people will be disturbed if you slip because you are tired, stressed or just having a bad day. If you are pretty aware, you are constantly aware of the fine line between acting typical or not. This is exhausting, anxiety producing and can and often does lead to one and usually more mental illnesses.

An apt figure of speech.