Work

Hello Community,

I would like to ask a question, which is strictly related to my biggest problem right now.

I am not able to find a job that I can stand for more than one year. I know this is normal, because as I never even thought about being neurodivergent, I have put myself in very stressful jobs and situations in the past. I never knew what to do really, never had a dream job or something like that. 

For this reason I worked in so many different fields and covered so many roles, I have lost count now. 

Basically, I hate office jobs, because I find them boring and too passive, I need to move frequently, my legs gets restless easily, I usually feel pain, after a day spent sitting.

Apart from that, I always had an inferiority complex, feeling not smart enough for any office job I have had and people tend to speak a lot, while I have difficulties articulating dialogue, writing is the best way to communicate for me.

Also, I cannot stand being the only person taking care of a task, because people would come and ask me or they would expect I am specialized and I know the answer, but I have been suffering from brain fog a lot in the last years, so I do not retain a lot of info unfortunately and, because of my inferiority complex, I am absolutely terrified about people asking me things or public speaking or anything that puts me under the spotlight.

I have spent my whole life doing what others advised would be good for me, in terms of jobs. So first my parents (a nurse and a school janitor) pushed me to go to uni and then look for any office job, as they would think that is the best job ever, comparing to their jobs.

As I never liked any of those office jobs, I never specialized in anything, tried admin, HR, customer services, operations, but nothing works for me, I hate them all and everytime I ended up quitting in burnout.

Hospitality is my only "happy place", specifically every time I worked as a waitress in catering, I have really enjoyed and felt happy, loved the fact that it is a dynamic role and never boring. (it is also true that I had these experiences in hospitality before unmasking, so I don't know if this would work for me now).

Thing is, my current partner pushed me into leaving hospitality, as he thinks these kind of jobs have no future, they are not going to help us economically and I will not always be young and able to perform physically demanding jobs. 

Currently I am looking for a job, after a whole year home. During this year I have tried studying programming languages, hoping I could find joy in a job that could create something, but I found it very difficult and ended up abandoning the idea.

I have no idea what to do with my life, I am applying for part-time jobs as I do not want to go back full-time straightaway, I do not feel ready. My partner still advise I look for office jobs, but I really think he does not understand me and my situation. He often defines my issues like "just a wrong point of view", or a "wrong way of looking at things". He says I should grow-up and look for an adult job, that I will not be able to work part-time in simple jobs forever and I am starting to think he will never understand my needs, which makes me feel desperate.

What do you guys do, what are your roles and do you have any advice for me?

Thank you so much to anyone who will answer!!!

Parents
  • Hi there, I can relate to this. I’ve been working in marketing for a good few years now and although some roles have been better then others, I’ve been really struggling with it recently, especially when understanding and following instructions. I also take things literally which has got me into trouble (I took a parent as giving verbal Consent to be on a video literally instead of written consent which got me a written warning). I’ve not yet been diagnosed, but I scored 35 on the 50 aq test and going to speak to my gp. I used to enjoy waitressing as well, anything that was more practical and hands on, but I’m in my mid 40s now and live alone, I can’t afford to pay my mortgage on a minimum wage. I understand what your partner is saying, but you are who you are and it’s more important to be happy at work than have a career plan. Perhaps you could do a couple of days a week in an admin job and a couple in a more practical role so you get that balance. It’s something I’ve been thinking about too. 

Reply
  • Hi there, I can relate to this. I’ve been working in marketing for a good few years now and although some roles have been better then others, I’ve been really struggling with it recently, especially when understanding and following instructions. I also take things literally which has got me into trouble (I took a parent as giving verbal Consent to be on a video literally instead of written consent which got me a written warning). I’ve not yet been diagnosed, but I scored 35 on the 50 aq test and going to speak to my gp. I used to enjoy waitressing as well, anything that was more practical and hands on, but I’m in my mid 40s now and live alone, I can’t afford to pay my mortgage on a minimum wage. I understand what your partner is saying, but you are who you are and it’s more important to be happy at work than have a career plan. Perhaps you could do a couple of days a week in an admin job and a couple in a more practical role so you get that balance. It’s something I’ve been thinking about too. 

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