Software Engineering != Computer Programming

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I recently quit a job as a software engineer because it was not what I expected it to be. I was anticipating a quiet job in a cubicle writing code by myself most of the time, but that's not what it is at all. Rather, software engineering is a highly collaborative profession that requires a large amount of teamwork and working well with others. In addition, the software engineers I worked with probably only spend about 20% of their time actually writing code (or at least that's how it was at the firm I worked at). Most of the time is spent on project requirement writing, designing the project, peer review, debugging and testing. Not much time is actually spent on writing new C++ code.

As an Aspie, I very much struggle with the teamwork and constant social contact that means dealing with many different types of personalities. I never knew what to say, how to act, or what people expected of me. The experience was draining to the point where I was having frequent meltdowns and was not able to eat, sleep, or function normally.

The movie Office Space is an remarkably accurate representation of what working as a software engineer is like, although I will caution you that the movie is a bit of an exaggeration of reality. I found software engineering to be rather a soulless job where you're basically tied to a desk in a windowless office where you have to socialize with coworkers in some capacity much of the day. I like programming and working with computers, but not with people.

That said, I don't know why software engineering is a recommended profession for people on the spectrum. Maybe it's different at other companies, but in my experience you have to be at least moderately proficient at dealing with people and possess decent social skills to make it as a software engineer. If you're the type of person who likes to work alone and does not like constant contact and dealing with people all day everyday or office politics, stay away from this profession.

It sounds to me like you were imagining spec-work. Where a design document is given to you, you bang out the code, and return it. Someone else tests it for you, and kicks back bug reports.

I'm not sure where you live, and your cost of living, but you can check-out sites like Rent-a-coder.com (I don't even know if it's still around or not.) Perhaps you can find some piece-work that fits your both your passion & your expectation.

Also, you can work independently if you design & write your own applications. This could mean desktop applications, distributed apps, mobile apps, etc. Make something people need, like and are willing to pay for (the last bit is the hard part.)

I'm sorry the engineering didn't work out for you. There is indeed a lot of intra-personal communication required in that job.

freelancer.com , seriously, check it out.

I'm a software engineer in my current position. I do have to communicate with people regarding the project but I don't mind it too much because the conversation is primarily project focused. I only have issues when I'm grasping for something to say to people socially. I'm not bound to a desk or an office. I could work at home or Starbucks if I want to. I tend to go into the office so I can work closely with the lead programmer or I'll go to the main office to talk to the COO or one of the VPs about the project. I'd say the majority of my communications is via email which I like because I communicate best in writing.

I do enjoy coding and wouldn't mind doing more of it. Right now, it's mainly working on business process analysis and data structuring but my boss continues to encourage me to learn more languages. I'm taking a php class right now as part of my MIS degree program. But I do forsee at least two other projects lined up after this one, not to mention they're already talking about selling this application and flying trainers out to train clients. I hope I'm not one of those "trainers" but I might be, at first anyway. So who knows when I'll ever be primarily programming.

I agree that software engineering is very much a team effort, perhaps especially these days. Might have been different early on in the computer field.

I like to see programming as an art form, that you can be highly creative with. Would you ask two or more artists to collaborate on making a painting? Would they enjoy it, would it be good?

Being confined to an office, expected to be productive for someone else is not always a great spot to be in. Some days I wish I had more concrete tasks to work on, perhaps helping people solve problems in a more direct manner.

I'm a software engineer as well and though we do a lot of project work, I work from home 4 days a week and mostly do my own thing supporting build and deploy systems our team have put in place. It really is what you make of it and there are niches for all personality types. We have a lot of meetings, but because of the global nature of the team they're mostly on skype or over the phone. There is scope to learn lots of new languages, tech and develop in the job and over the course of 10 years we've moved from shell scripting/ant/perl/c/maven to ruby/jython/rails/heroku etc If you're just starting out, persistence might be needed as you have to build a reputation first before you get gifted the perks. Also don't get sucked into project management, that way lies madness

I hear you. I love programming and computer science and math. Commercial software development, not so much. I just quit my last job because all my coworkers compained that I worked too much by myself. Never mind that I was plenty productive on my own.

In part I'm a bit of an elitist about discussing things with coworkers. I don't mind interacting with people who I can learn things from, and some of my colleagues and I had interesting conversations about tricks and techniques and subtleties. Other coworkers who are just 9-5 types with no passion for coding, well I don't really like involving them in my process, they just get in my way.

I think you're probably more invested in your work than I am. 10 years later and I'm comfortable I'm just doing it for the money. I do hobby programming on the side (a bit of game development) which I'm very protective of because it's mine, but systems from work not so much. I get on with my coworkers quite well and met my husband at work, but couldn't tell you what half the systems that pass through us do because after they leave my little bit of the process I don't care.

I used to work in software development. I managed a technical writing department, so I was in on the management meetings. What the OP said about it being like Office Space and no one doing any actual work is correct. However, it's important to stick with it because it can be a wonderful area for aspies to succeed. This is why:

-When everyone else is 20% efficient, an employee who is 80% or more efficient is gold.
-If you disclose to HR that you're on the spectrum, the ADA protects you from the social expectations/bullying. It's so helpful to disclose that I even recommend going to a Dr. to get diagnosed if you need to.
-Once you have made your usefulness and needs clear, it's not that hard to work inside the structural framework to make your job tolerable, or even pleasant.

I'm writing my thesis on the topic of experiences of aspies in work environments. It will probably be a survey with A,B,C,D-type answers plus a chance to elaborate if needed. It will be anonymous and you don't need an official diagnosis to participate. If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll put your username on a list to be emailed a survey when it's ready. Hopefully it'll be ready in the next couple months.

I am a Freelance programmer. I travel between clients, mostly working in their space. I have great latitude in how I approach a problem. I also code in my spare time because coding is my special interest. I would hate working in a team writing documents all day long as you describe. It sounds like maybe you have the wrong job in the right sector.

Interesting. For me the difference between a software engineer and a programmer is that the engineering side is more creative and solution driven, whereas as a straight programmer I'd expect you to basically be given a spec to work from.

I tend to call myself an analyst programmer but in my last position my job title was (lead) software engineer, and my current position is pretty much the same but my title is senior developer!

To be honest I don't think most companies really consider the distinctions and nuances in the different titles, so if you want to know exactly what the job entails you need to ask for a full description in your interview, or even before you apply.

As for being proficient with people, well yes as an engineer it's required because you're discussing how to get from a a business process flow to a working technical design, but for me at least my social problems go away when I'm dealing with other intelligent and technical people, because the need for social niceties and small talk isn't there. Plus I get carried away with the creative aspect and enjoy that collaboration.

Job titles can be tricky. I spent many years as a Software Developer (programmer) followed by many more as a Software Engineer (business & systems analysis, and a lot of writing). The engineering was not so bad for me because I was working from home. Those occasions when I did have to go into the office for meetings were a drag.

I finally created a niche for myself where I did both analysis and programming for small web projects. That part was also in a work-from-home setting, so it definitely worked the best.

You might want to check out elance.com