Published on 12, July, 2020
Hey everyone,
I'm currently exploring various job opportunities and considering a career in labour, particularly as an electrician. I'm fascinated by the idea of working with my hands and finding a sense of accomplishment in a tangible result. However, I'm curious to know about your experiences. What do you do for work, and how did you find your way into your current profession?
If anyone here works as an electrician or in a similar field, I would love to hear about your journey. What drew you to this line of work, and how do you find it suits your strengths and preferences as an autistic individual?
Feel free to share any advice, challenges you've faced, or even just what a typical day looks like. Let's build a supportive space where we can learn from each other and offer guidance to those who might be considering similar career paths.
I work in a school with young children. I'm a part of a great team and my autism aids me in a lot of ways. I'm eccentric and childish, in a good way that the children relate well to. I'm a natural mimic and able to do voices for the children and I have an excellent imagination which is fun for role playing games and story time.
Prior to this I was working in an opticians but this wasn't ideal and led to me experiencing burnout multiple times and then a mental breakdown. A school is a much better environment for me. The biggest struggle I've had so far is with the noise, it's not easy to deal with but I'm doing all right so far.
One of the best bits of advice I've received with working is to make sure you take time out for yourself and remember that it's ok if you can't work.
I am glad to hear you have found something that works for you, It's just the mindset I have currently. I am hoping to find something that can help me fulfil what I wanna do in life. At one point in school, I was thinking of getting into catering.
But I dropped out the sixth I was because I disliked it a lot due the not having much structure with lessons, I understand that working is not for everyone as some people with Autism get overwhelmed and have big meltdowns.
Thank you for your advice Danny!
I think you made the right call with catering. I have a sister who does that, she's not autistic, but she says it's manic and you get a lot of shouting from customers and the head chef can sometimes be a bit of a gimp.
An electrician would be a fun job I bet. And if you're self employed if you took that route it would be less stress as well. I love electrics and fixing them, I self taught myself on YouTube to do electrics, might be worth checking that out for some guidance?
I do up classic cars and own a Vauxhall Senator on which the electrics are a total nightmare but I do them myself now and they are working, for the time being!
I hope this helps and more so I hope you can get into the field you want and enjoy yourself.