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Does anyone know what kind of jobs are available for Aspies in the education field? I don't want to teach or tutor; I'd like to do office work. I live in New York. Thanks!

I used to teach. I had too many difficulties navigating the social/political landscape of the public screwal system, so after 5 years of teaching I gave it up in favor of teaching privately.

The short answer of working in the education system is the kinds of jobs you're looking for don't really exist. Quite simply, you're not going to get one of those jobs, and I'm not sure you'd really be happy there. Apply for any/all kinds of office jobs that are available, don't just look at a single, narrow field. If you do well as an administrative or executive assistant in one office, you'll have a good chance of getting the same or similar job in a public school. You're going to want to network like CRAZY, get to know people doing what you do EVERYWHERE, and keep your ears open for inside info on who is about to resign, retire, or die. Start building relationships with school administrators the minute you enter the job market, even if you don't end up working for them, and don't wait for a job opening before you apply. From my experience, educational jobs, even support staff, are already filled when they are publicly posted. Administrators only do that for the sake of appearances, just to say they did it. Hiring and signing contracts are merely a formality more often than not (exception: rural or urban schools with bad reputations where NOBODY wants to end up working. Jobs in "critical needs areas" MIGHT be easier to find, but be prepared for the "two year curse." Make up your mind that you won't stay at a job longer than two years when you first start out, and only relax when you end up at a larger school with a respectable pay scale).

I too am lost in this job market, a writer with no experience and no idea where to turn, as all the sites keep showing entry level jobs that still want 5 years prior experience. It just sucks.

Don't let that get you down, though. My wife went from zero banking experience to head teller in 6 months. Things were not well with that job and she ended up resigning that job in less than a year. Two weeks later after resigning her position, she got offered a head teller job with another bank--better pay, and they actually LIKE their employees.

Lesson: Quite often, but not always, those "experience required" jobs are just posted to scare people off. Get to know people at a company you want to work for…like actually walk in and MEET these people, and you'll be amazed how quickly they make an exception.

As a writer, what YOU need to be doing right now is freelance work. That actually does count as experience. If you do good enough work, you may find you have no real need for an employer.

I don't like employers, btw, because I don't like feeling like I'm "owned." The only people who "own" me in a professional sense are my clients or students. They pay me for a service, I give them a service. If you are dissatisfied with me, don't continue to do business with me (at least have the decency to tell me what I'm doing wrong, or what you'd like to see improved). I don't think independently creative people are really cut out for the employment rat race. Do your own thing and see if you can get a few contracts here and there. A "permanent" position is not, in this economy, realistically a job option for the young.

I've been in a funk so long, I just want some day job or something stable, but I can't find what fits.

I struggle with this too. If the key to getting a job is "networking like crazy" and "getting to know people" so they like you, and make an exception for you... How is that supposed to work, if your whole problem is that you struggle with social interactions, and you don't come across well to other people?

I don't interview well, and even if I tried to "network" with people, they'd immediately recognize me as someone who is weird and socially inept, and not the sort of employee they're looking to hire.

(Then again, I'm really not functional enough to handle a job, so they'd be right I suppose! Haha)

To AngelRho (this site won't let me respond to you directly in you response space, for some reason):

I was actually thinking more of college office jobs. I am guessing that the answer is the same: they don't exist. Am I correct?

Sure. See if there is secretarial work. Or, get a degree in education and work in administration, either in a public or Catholic school. You can do it!

I'm an admin asst. It's a stressful job for aspies - one should know how to work the office politics, I have no idea how to do that. Also unless you love monotony (some people do for some reason), you will be bored out of your mind.