Employment

I have worked as a cleaner, an investment banker, a baker, in an art gallery, as an estate agent, as a dog walker, making crafts and jewellery and selling at fairs, as an administrator in a car home, for a local council as an administrator, for ‘The Bank’ in Threadneedle Street and for one day only at a well known jewellery store. The only one I slightly enjoyed was the estate agent and the self employed jewellery job. I’m currently unemployed. My advice it to do what you enjoy and ignore how much you’re being paid,

Hello Katy,

My first post, too.

I've had numerous jobs from leaving school (mid 80's), never seemed to fit in, so no doubt like yourself moved on to many others.

I've finally found a job that I actually like most of the time & I'm a lone worker most of the time which works for me. I've kept this job now for over 15 years, I was initially full time, but due to other health reasons I'm now working part time. I'm hoping to keep going until I retire, fingers crossed. 

Also prior to this job I worked voluntarily for a year, as I was really unsure what to do, this worked well for me, as I then decided I actually liked what I was doing. I then decided to take up a full time job. I'm an adult disability support worker, I find my job very rewarding, I find it easier communicating with the people I support, rather than a lot of staff I've worked with over the years, within the past (not all). I very much dislike working in groups, but tolerated it over the years to some degree. My wage is poor, the hours can be long at times, but the rewards can be great. 

I don't have an official autism diagnosis yet, but I do believe I have autistic tendencies. Only took me 53 years to realise this lol. I think I have a 3 year wait for a referral, but I'm on the waiting list. I didn't realise this, because everyone's normal is different. I recognised it with people I support, but not within myself, until i actually gave it some thought & it all finally came together. 

It's great that you are encouraging your son's interest in languages!

I can't work unfortunately. I have tried but the stress abs anxiety it causes is too much. I'm hoping it'll change in the end but for now can't handle work. I have thought of volunteering and a nurse agreed and thought maybe an hour a week might be something I can do in the future. 

Apart from some time in my early 20's, and a month this year I have always worked. I was made redundant form a job after 13 years this year and I do miss it because it was easy and I had masses of free time at home. I am a service engineer going out to customers. I find mostly being on my own travelling helps me. It is a bit stressful going to diffrent places but it is mostly schools and the customers are mostly nice. I do struggle some days but I can get away with stuff if i need to. Hate working to be honest, I pretty much hate every job I have ever had deep down. I just want to retire really. I didn't find out about ASD until I was 50 and was never allowed to be anything but normal by my parents. 

I write articles like the one linked here for a living!

I've worked online under a gig economy employment model since leaving education in 2011.

In my youth I found one of those personality tests for employment helped narrow down what to do...in the end where it said was where I ended up.

Public service employers tend to provide the stability we need, the open mindedness to difference and all that. I doubt I could have made it in the 'business world's. Anyway, I need to feel that what I do has genuine positive impact on someone, not just paying the bills, public service gave me that.

What is Commercial Locksmithing?My mother thinks that being a locksmith is low-paying and prestigious, but it's not. I want to become a commercial locksmith, but first, I must convince my mother that I am making the right choice for my future profession. Perhaps some of you have already heard of this profession. You can read about it here: What is Commercial Locksmithing? In today's world, there are many online professions, but if everyone chooses "prestigious" professions, how will we live without simple workers: construction workers, plumbers, plumbers, cleaners, etc.? I think I'm making the right choice.

Been in an out of employment since 2011, for me, it's never usually something I've done but more so factors outside my control. Things like the contract ending, apprenticeships being finished, zero hour contracts, and more recently redundancy after nearly 4 years.

I want to work in basic IT support, but those jobs do not exist any more and when they do show up they also require a driving licence, some new certifications and having to know every programming and scripting language in the world.

Hi. 
I am very lucky in the sense that I’ve had a full time job that I love doing for the last four years. 
I think that a job that you can make a decent crack at has to in some way involve an interest that you have. Otherwise it’s a thankless task to which you end up either fed up or wound up. 
don’t get me wrong I’ve served in a lot of jobs before my current job but I don’t see myself as being at work as I enjoy my job. 

I did the same job from when I was 18 till 28. I found something I didn't like but which I could get away with being a bit of a disaster in because it was a very low pressure job - I worked in a students' union shop. I had to get out of it though and worked in care for about five years.

It's interesting to read that some of you have found being self employed the best option when it comes to work, because that's what I'm doing now. I've done guitar lessons on and off, and now I'm mixing my experience in care with my time spent being in bands and teaching the guitar to run music sessions for people with learning disabilities and autism. I guess the idea that you should find what suits you is a good one, even if there is no job vacancies in the specific role you've chosen for yourself, and if autism means you struggle in work as I always have.

More than anything I hope to make my creative work my job - musical composition or fiction writing. I do okay in these areas and have had some small success, but I didn't do so well academically, so I'm catching up now. I think I matured a lot later than most when I think about it... 

I can understand how it would be so frustrating for you to have to move from job to job. I often stick things out in a job as long as I can, and find it distressing because I feel like I underperform drastically in certain areas, especially to do with organisation and short term memory. And short term memory.

I hope you find what works for you.

Thanks

Well done - radical change really!

I am currently working in today payroll in an accountants. My opportunities are limited because I have Fibromyalgia aswel. I think work & trying to fit in has made my body give up.

Katy x

I'm not employed but I'm starting an access course with the goal of becoming a mental health nurse very soon. I also recently applied to be a Just Eat delivery rider but I had to ask them to postpone until I know the days of my course. So jobwise maybe something like that? It's not a "high" wage though. You basically pick up food and deliver it on an electric bicycle.

I've had one job in a warehouse and that was ok but I lost it due to experiencing a psychotic episode.

When I was younger I put some effort into understanding what I want from a job, what I enjoy doing and how I can do it in a way that makes my employer and myself both happy.

That led me to a career that friends tell me is successful, and has given me a level of financial security. Although I frequently get highly stressed and/or frustrated and the job often needs far too much emotional energy, that exploration into the various options confirmed for me that I'd be no happier doing anything else. Staying with the career path in which I have the experience to justify a nice salary is just the best option for me.

Ignore people expecting you to seek promotions and move between jobs to progress and allow your choices to be organic. Will you enjoy this new opportunity, and does it offer more rewards (including time to yourself, working environment and the work itself, not just money) than your current role? If not, don't take it.

Just by being happier at work you'll do better, and that will let you grow your skills and experience, and new opportunities will arrive. At some point you'll decide one of them is worth the risk, give it a go and it'll work out wonderfully. You always have that safety net of going back to a role similar to the one you just left.

Where to start? Always a tough ask, especially knowing little about you. My start was 'I really enjoy this, and people will actually pay for it!' so maybe think about how you want to spend non-work time, and whether there are jobs in that field that will give you a route in.

My final job was as a facilities manager at J&J for a service provider. I initially left to set up as a handyman. Then I got offered a trainee role with a local builder and worked for them for nearly 2 years. One of the owners was a qualified electrician, so I got to do electrical work with him. Then I left them and decided to put myself through the course. I finally got signed off in November last year.

Well, I had an interview in 1986 and left the same employer, in order to retire early, in July 2020. I took the autistic's dislike of change to its extreme! I did get various promotions and my job description changed a number of times, however.

How/when/why did you switch corporate → sparks?