Phone call to an AS charity left me crying.

Hi, I’m currently working as a supervisor but lately I’m finding it very hard to deal with. I work in a supermarket so the hours and days are all over the place. And that one thing is, the pay. I can’t afford to move out on the pay and I have no idea what to do. I feel trapped. 

I phoned up a charity to ask if there was anything they could help me with, we talked about my needs and what I find difficult. But the person I spoke to was very rude…I actually left the phone crying. 

I told them about my current job and what I do, her words were “to be honest, I think this is the best it’s going to get for people like you” I asked her what did she mean, she told me most people with AS don’t work jobs as supervisors and that she can only offer me part time low paid jobs. It felt like a dead end for me and i had built up so much courage to phone someone for help. 

I’ve had a really bad panic attack. It’s left me feeling trapped even more. I can’t breathe, I feel selfish for wanting a better job when people with AS don’t work jobs like mine. 

I don’t know what to do now. Who can I go to for some real help? I’m sick of my job and I can’t do it anymore. 

Parents
  • The issue with high functioning autistic people is they often have the technical skills / qualifications for specialist jobs but lack the social skills to navigate the job hunting process. I can attest to those difficulties personally. And no one in the jobs industry has any idea what to do with us. The Government jobs centres see us as a huge pain. With our degrees / PhDs, often in technical subjects, but struggling to get interviews. Too qualified to be taken seriously in a shop / hospitality type job, too socially awkward to present ourselves well even on paper. And often with technical qualifications that are so niche that there aren't that many jobs out there for us to apply to in our fields.

    The agencies have the same issue. They love head hunting smart people but they are mostly looking to fill managerial roles where companies want a mix of soft and technical skills.

    If you have a degree graduate fairs might be worth trying.

Reply
  • The issue with high functioning autistic people is they often have the technical skills / qualifications for specialist jobs but lack the social skills to navigate the job hunting process. I can attest to those difficulties personally. And no one in the jobs industry has any idea what to do with us. The Government jobs centres see us as a huge pain. With our degrees / PhDs, often in technical subjects, but struggling to get interviews. Too qualified to be taken seriously in a shop / hospitality type job, too socially awkward to present ourselves well even on paper. And often with technical qualifications that are so niche that there aren't that many jobs out there for us to apply to in our fields.

    The agencies have the same issue. They love head hunting smart people but they are mostly looking to fill managerial roles where companies want a mix of soft and technical skills.

    If you have a degree graduate fairs might be worth trying.

Children
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