Communication-based jobs vs silent jobs

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_Breezy
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09 Sep 2024, 4:02 am

One of the traits of my autism is that my brain has to work a lot harder to process any language, either input or output. I’ve developed a high level of articulacy as a compensatory skill but it’s not authentic communication for me and it’s exhausting.

If you’re someone who also experiences this struggle with language processing, do you notice a big difference in your wellbeing between when you work a job/activity that doesn’t involve a lot of communication vs one that does?
Also, through your life was is misidentified as anxiety by you or others?
Thank you, I need to know if what I think Im experiencing is legit or if I’m just looking to justify a career switch that I want to do anyway!



Carbonhalo
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09 Sep 2024, 4:19 am

Hell yeah.
I was stressed out in IT support in the city, but was quite happy with a standard spiel for customers as a rural satellite installer.



JamesW
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10 Sep 2024, 3:02 am

Absolutely yes.

Years of experience in the software field have demonstrated to me that development and support are two entirely different fields.

Development is machine-facing. Support is people-facing. You cannot shunt people from one field into the other indiscriminately. This is something that a lot of managers simply just don't get. All they see is 'techies'.

A support person put onto development is likely to be frustrated and unhappy at the lack of customer contact. A development person put onto support is going to be irritated and unhappy at the amount of human interaction, and if they're autistic, they're also very likely to get overwhelmed.



JamesW
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10 Sep 2024, 3:11 am

From the point of view of customer-facing jobs: in my more limited experience, the suitability of the job revolves around who's in control of the interactions.

In an installation type of job, the installer is in charge; they explain to the customer what is happening and what the customer should do next, and the customer generally listens, posing only questions relevant to the ongoing installation. It is also usually a single, linear task. This is fine.

In IT support, meanwhile, the customer comes to you with a request (or requests) which is often incompletely or ambiguously described. There may be more than one request, and more than one customer asking at once, and those customers may all consider their own requests urgent or priority. So: (1) every interaction is putting you on the spot; (2) you are expected to multitask; (3) you are expected to prioritise tasks in direct conflict with the customers' expectations of priority. Speaking as an autistic person, it's a recipe for complete meltdown.



Carbonhalo
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10 Sep 2024, 4:36 am

Well those 2 jobs have been explained for me.
I also enjoyed working in an archery pro shop because I was only ever asked questions within my expertise, but the job I loved most involved intense vocal interactions with stressed out army officers during tactical combat simulations.
Go figure!