Social Skills have too high a premium in the workplace?

Fully agree.  In many ways I feel misled as throughout my education teachers insisted that good qualifications will lead to a "good job."

Unfortunately I never thought to ask them about what they thought was a "good job" or to really examine my own thoughts and inclinations.  Somehow (and I don't know whether this is a common experience), I thought they were telling me what would be best and it came as a surprise when careers advisors seemed to suddenly switch to asking about what we liked or were interested in.  At all previous levels of education we basically had to do stuff irrespective of whether we were interested, on the basis that these were somehow the "best" things to learn.   Naturally, after clinging on to various courses for as along as I could (I had been taught to get 10/10 for much of the time), I fell off the end of the education system  ill equipped to survive.

I had a whole rake of qualifications but hardly anything in the way of interpersonal skills.  I also discovered that, given the pressures of the job market, the boot was very firmly on the foot of the employers and I had hardly any choice anyway.  It was more a case of taking what I could get and, in order to even get that far, working  out how to appear to be "the right person for the job."  I quickly learnt how to fake this for the duration of an interview, but could see people becoming puzzled by the very different person who then turned up to do the job. 

Later in life, in my 40s, I found myself in a position where I was advising people over the phone and, realising that I had no specific training, I enrolled for an interpersonal skills course at the local college.  I didn't expect much and it was very basic but I actually came away wondering why on earth this simple training couldn't have been given to me at the age of 14!  It might have made such a difference. 

It all perplexes me though.  A part of me is still hoping to trade in my excellent qualifications for the "good job" I always imagined I'd have. 

My personal view is that the job landscape has changed so that a typical autistic career does not exist. All jobs seem to insist on ‘excelllent communitcation skills’ these days. At the moment, the only real opportunities specifically for ASD is in IT. Whilst this is always welcome, it does not help the vast majority of those on the spectrum who have a variety of interests and careers.

The next decade needs to be one where nureodiversity is accepted. It will require a significant push, but one that needs to be done. 

Indeed.  Although I've only just been diagnosed, I always knew that I needed a job for an introvert.  There werent very many when I graduated in the 1980s and even then I found myself pretending to be an extrovert for job application and interview purposes. 

Over the years, though, these jobs seemed to become fewer and fewer on the ground and my work situations became more and more uncomfortable for me.  Noisy, open plan offices, harsh overhead lighting, no natural flow of air and humming fans in the summer, plus hotdesking so that even our desk spaces weren't really our own.  This formed the background.  In terms of the actual jobs and person specifications, I somehow needed to become more and more outgoing - team meetings and briefings, training courses which just happened to involve overnight stays in different parts of the country, inter-departmental meetings, involvement in training exercises, presentations, telephone skills etc.

I'm not sure my ideal job exists.  Dickensian bookkeeping (in a silent office where only my maths and penmanship count), lighthouse keeper, gardener, artist, writer, beekeeper, archivist, data analyst (but please will someone else share the results)...  Something solitary and quiet.  All I was met with on the jobs market were descriptions like "team player" "shirt-sleeves approach" and "dynamic individual required" etc etc.   I knew this wasn't me but I needed an income so I had to pretend.            

Indeed.  Although I've only just been diagnosed, I always knew that I needed a job for an introvert.  There werent very many when I graduated in the 1980s and even then I found myself pretending to be an extrovert for job application and interview purposes. 

Over the years, though, these jobs seemed to become fewer and fewer on the ground and my work situations became more and more uncomfortable for me.  Noisy, open plan offices, harsh overhead lighting, no natural flow of air and humming fans in the summer, plus hotdesking so that even our desk spaces weren't really our own.  This formed the background.  In terms of the actual jobs and person specifications, I somehow needed to become more and more outgoing - team meetings and briefings, training courses which just happened to involve overnight stays in different parts of the country, inter-departmental meetings, involvement in training exercises, presentations, telephone skills etc.

I'm not sure my ideal job exists.  Dickensian bookkeeping (in a silent office where only my maths and penmanship count), lighthouse keeper, gardener, artist, writer, beekeeper, archivist, data analyst (but please will someone else share the results)...  Something solitary and quiet.  All I was met with on the jobs market were descriptions like "team player" "shirt-sleeves approach" and "dynamic individual required" etc etc.   I knew this wasn't me but I needed an income so I had to pretend.