Is programming a viable job for an Aspie in the U.S.?

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I am near the end of my first year of high school and I am pretty interested in programming, (though I haven't gotten to learn much about it due to my high school not having classes for it) except I am not sure if it would be viable or if any job really would for an Aspie. I have read a lot about it being hard for us to get jobs and keep them, also I have read that for programming the companies often outsource. I get all A's except for a rare A- and an even rarer B, and I am planning on trying to do the hardest classes and do knowledge bowl, but I don't know if it would be enough. Anyone have any insight to offer on this? Also if there are any other jobs that are pretty viable for Aspies.

Well I don't know about the US but here in Australia my partner has AS and is a programmer and has been for 15+ years. He's mostly self taught, to get a job as a programmer it's all about the portfolio so practice practice practice and code as many things as you can if you're interested. Start investigating software engineering programs at colleges but as I said to get good at coding you need hands on experience.

As for what jobs are viable for aspies, it comes down to the individual really. I work in customer service for a busy doctors surgery, which some would say is not an ideal job for someone with AS. Honestly I don't think it's an ideal job for me but I'm able to manage my anxiety and interact appropriately with the patients. The benefit of having such a socially demanding job is that my social skills have improved a lot since I started working there.

Programming can be a good job for autistic people, yes.
You can learn programming on your own from books and online resources.
Popular languages are Python and C++ or C#.
Python can be downloaded free, and very easy to learn, so it may be a good place to start.
Try to see if you love programming, and if so, you can major in computer science or some other computational major that uses a lot of programming in college.
Getting mostly A's in hard classes will help you towards your goals.
Definitely your grades are good enough for programming career or other careers.

I work in the software industry. I think that aspies would do well as either developers or testers.

OP should abandon any hope of getting a job in IT. It is being over run with H1B VISA workers (cheap labor) which looks good to the bottom line. However, take a look at the help boards for IT with the slave laborers posting continually begging for help for a job they were hired for but have no clue how to do.

^ Disagree with previous poster. I used to work in a small software development company where I was the manager of the technical writing department. But since I was a manager I was aware of the salaries of everyone else.

The programmers started at 85K out of college, even the ones with H1B visas (foreign work visas, or non US citizens). After a few years they could move to another company in a larger city and make six figures, easy. You CAN do it without a degree, but it's easier to get in if you have a four year programming or related degree. Plus, you will have to depend less on your interviewing skills if you have a degree and structured experience to stand behind. I would look for a program that trains you in both back end (C# etc) and front end (.NET etc) programming and then specialize in whichever you like better.

I would say it's one of the most aspie-friendly and highest income fields, depending on your area. If you are in a region oversaturated with programmers, such as I suspect the case is with oldandscared's area, you should look in a different area in the US.

Programming, and system are great jobs for people on the spectrum who have the aptitude. Intricate systems, deep structure, millions of strange and arcane commands, working alone in a dark cave... Geek culture (as in computer geek, not comic geek) is one of the traditional nesting spots for people like us; many of us were there before people started understanding the spectrum seriously. Our strengths help us here.

There is and will be plenty of demand for good programmers for the foreseeable future. I agree with SocOfAutism that there's plenty of places to go in startups or established companies, don't worry about the dash of xenophobia from oldandscared.

Thanks for replying people, I just figured it would be a good idea to get input from other people, though regardless of what was said I would probably at least get a degree considering how it is used in many other jobs as well, but it is nice to know that for the most part people seem to believe it is viable. One problem I will have is I will have to learn mostly from online sources, camps during summer, and eventually college since my school unfortunately has very little in the way of programming classes.

One great way to learn stuff is to get a cheap computer, install Linux on it, and make it do the things you want to do. You can start with Ubuntu, but quickly throw off all of Unity and the GUI crap they put on top of it. Ultimately you can go to Arch or even Gentoo. These systems have a huge online community and using them will teach you the unix tools you'll need as a programmer.

Once it's up, you can make all kinds of little scripts in Python or shell to do what you want - it will frustrate you, reward you, and put you into a hacker frame of mind. I swear, the inside of a Linux box is as complex as the biggest video game and way more fun.

I think that there's hardly any better job than programmer. It's a real treat for logical minds and it's quite rewarding on all levels. I personally find that when you aren't NT, learning these kind of languages is in comparison more intuitive, much faster and in general much easier than learning any human language, coming with obscure subtleties and risk of errors. It's logical, consistent and you can create a lot, so if you're feeling comfortable with it since the start, it's certainly something for you. You can even work for charity or open source projects if you prefer, because it doesn't have to be a job, it can be a hobby (and if you want to be a good programmer, it always should be a hobby, simply a hobby that allows you to make money on it).
I agree with Nine7752's post, Linux is a good choice to start and it's becoming increasingly popular. You'll see if you quickly feel completely at ease with the terminal this way.
Even if you never become a programmer as your job, at least if you like programming, it's going to be a fantastic intellectually stimulating interest so it's never useless

I am a "programmer" in the US, although I prefer the term software developer.
I definitely recommend a computer science degree but there are also plenty of language specific resources to delve into for little or no expense.
A large part of the exported jobs come back because working with people in another country with a different language, culture and time zone doesn't work out as well as it looks on paper to the accounting dept.
Figure out what area of expertise interests you and go for it!

I agree with this, except be prepared to talk to end users or customers to take notes on usability, If the end user isn't happy, then you have failed. At many software development organisations, there is usually one individual who specialize in this so the others do not have to.

Some people are more or less made for some positions, and some are not - as illustrated by this video