The perfect job/major for me?

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Hello, I'm a 16 year old self-diagnosed kid with Asperger's (I'd rather not have it on my charts). Just like all of you, I have huge problems socializing with people in general. On a formal basis, I have more of a grasp on what to say, but I usually haven't the slightest idea of what to say amongst a group of NT's. It sucks, but it's great to have a couple of close friends that go out of their way daily to make me feel cared for and enjoyed.

But I'm wondering, though young, what's a good career for me. As you guys do, I get really annoyed fast by loud noises, and get really anxious in rooms full of obnoxious kids who talk really loud, which I remedy by listening to music on my headphones. I also am very stubborn, and really have a problem when people tell me I can't do something. Yet with all that, I am a highly motivated person. People always tell me I dream big, and make sure to plan for it. For the longest I've dreamt of becoming a businessman, or a musician, or something that I'll be known for, but I secondguess my abilities to stand having people around for so long. I want to do something where if needed, I can just drown out the world for a few minutes of peace whenever needed. Something where there's a bit of structure to it, and if needed, I can take a few days off and travel.

But anyways, my obsessive interests that I'd probably be able to make a career out of are: Music (Not really composing, but just listening to it, analyzing, etc.)
Writing essays (and editing them)
Public transportation (I've memorized the location and schedule of every bus and train in my town and surrounding areas)
College (Lately, I've absorbed practically every aspect of getting accepted to college, living college life, etc.)
Computers (As a kid I learned how to fix and build them)

My interests are very limited, yet how do I make a career out of these? As mentioned earlier, I like a bit of stability, and solitude, but at the same time I sometimes really enjoy working with people who are as highly motivated as I am. I would like something where I am not stuck with the traditional 9-5, but that's not a must. Most of all, I need something where I can work at my own pace, and enjoy myself in the process, and not be stuck with doing the mundane, and not get stuck with having to deal with people who don't like me. What can that possibly be?

Okay, wow, I have to say, when I was a teenager I felt like you, but to be honest, I had no idea at that age how many actual types of jobs there are out in the world. by pure luck I have ended up in a job I love and if I had known it existed when I was a teenager I would have studied it. But the fact is, I went to Uni for a few months and hated it, too many people, not enough solitude, too much in your face egos going for fake individualism that was too obnoxious for words.
If you want to go to college, be prepared for every aspect of humanity demanding to stand in front of you and wanting attention.
Otherwise, if you love music, and you love computers, there you go, computers, would be the first choice, becuase of the range of options with then, programming, design, music synthesis, writing, coding, creativety is unbound on a pc, running your own business...the computer can be whatever you want to be.
And after a few years of experience trying out a few things, you might suddenly find you are doing something you never thought you would love, and it is making you happy.

My brother is thinking of going to a college in Florida called Fullsale (I don't think I spelled it right); it's school that specializes in music business. I heard that it's a really good school if that's something that you're interested in. Otherwise, I've heard of a lot of people finding their niche by a mix of knowing what you like and don't like, and a little bit of being fortunate to be at the right place at the right time. Maybe you could think of being a music composer for a company, maybe even for the movies, or something of the like. Ploots is right that you could do a lot with computers. I would say to start out by majoring in Computer Science in college and then start thinking of a career from there; maybe you could even think of minoring in Music so that you could have a college background in music. I'm currently a freshman in college and I'm going to major in Psychology to become a Psychiatrist, at least that's what I have planned by far. I say that the earlier you could make a decision on a major the better so that if you go to college you don't have to be struggling to get the requirements for your major; it's better than going to college and then not getting a degree when you get out. It doesn't mean you have to pick a major exactly right away. Some people don't know until after they take a couple of their classes in college (like GURs) during their first year or so and then they're interested in the subject that their teacher thought. I just know I don't want to be stuck during my Junior year of college (which they say is supposed to be your busiest year) and not having declared a major. Anyways, good luck on finding your career path; I'm sure you'll find something that suites you.

If you like writing, computers and the technical aspects of things, why not consider majoring in a career in Technical Writing?After all, someone has to write all those user friendly manuals of how to put appliances and all "technical" things together that we buy. You can pretty much work at your own pace...although you may have publishing deadlines.

I like many of the ideas above, and would add this one: transportation engineer. There actually are people who make a living by deciding what bus will stop at which stop and when.

You mentioned a career in "business," and my caution there is that succeeding in business tends to require top social skills. As has been noted in my profession (CPA/Tax specialist): what ultimately makes a business succeed or fail isn't the quality of it's ideas or products, it's how it is managed. And good management means negotiating with vendors and clients, managing employees, etc. Now, honestly, these are skills you may be able to learn if you wanted to challenge yourself in that way, but it is a challenge (my husband is Aspie, but has started two businesses anyway - he just spends a lot of time asking me how to approach certain things with people).

Government jobs seem to have less emphasis on social skills than professional service sector jobs, so that is also something to consider. But, they also tend to be less exciting, and you do seem to long for some real interest in your work.

Anyway, just a few tidbits. Hope something is useful.

Yes I was thinking Transportation Engineer. Either that or Music Librarian. Any Aspies here apart of these fields?

It is great that your motivated to find a career, but don't twist yourself into a knot trying to find the perfect
job right of the bat. Many people change jobs looking for the job they like doing during there life time. Just remember you will never find a perfict job, only just a job that make you happy to go to it, as you will still need to make sacrifices.
You might try to do an informational interview with someone at the transportation department, not a job interview, only information gathering on what jobs they have there. Have questions ahead of time.
If interested in going to school, go to the different college department Library's and look at the different trade magazines to get an idea what the different fields involve for that department.