What jobs best suit you as an autistic adult?

I was an IT technician for 15 years, an IT manager for 17 years and currently run my own business renovating property as part of my early retirement plan.

Being my own boss works well for me as I know everything that is going on, why it is being done that way, who I have scheduled in to do the tasks and that I am able to substitute for any of the tradespeople if they let me down.

I also get to use the time between projects to source the next ones, research the market and get to know the whole field much better - it lets me be a subject matter expert in my chosen field which suits my Special Interest autistic trait.

My preference for clear and precise instructions makes me quite suited to train apprentices so I help out a number of local youngsters who can benefit from the skills and start out on their own. 

That slightly more formal relationship means I don't get drowned in so much of the social slang and chit chat that they use amongst their friends and hence makes the interaction more comfortable for me.

Being in control of the workload helps a lot although I have been known to take on way too much and run myself down physically from too much manual work. Once you get sick you can't just call in - you need to drag your ass back onsite and keep going even when you are sick or feel fried mentally, so there is that to remember for beng self employed.

On balance this change is the best thing I ever did.

I've been an IT technician for the past 3 years or so, however on Monday I handed my notice in and now I'm on garden leave. I left because I disliked the management and the way they handled things, how they treated staff, and how they ripped off customers by selling them things they didn't actually need.

I'm looking to either get back into IT (ideally in a network engineering role or something like that to work my way up), or go self employed delivering IT solutions. I know the focus of this forum is autism rather than business, but would you have any advice for me?

I've been an IT technician for the past 3 years or so, however on Monday I handed my notice in and now I'm on garden leave. I left because I disliked the management and the way they handled things, how they treated staff, and how they ripped off customers by selling them things they didn't actually need.

I'm looking to either get back into IT (ideally in a network engineering role or something like that to work my way up), or go self employed delivering IT solutions. I know the focus of this forum is autism rather than business, but would you have any advice for me?

Both are people facing, but only one on one. Neither can be replaced by a machine easily. 

A bit like unblocking drains or changing locks.

Thank you, I appreciate the insight! I definitely have some things to think about over the weekend.

For longevity, I'd say hairdressing or become a tattoo artist, salons for both of these seem to be the only businesses that are booming

orangutan said:

I'm looking to either get back into IT (ideally in a network engineering role or something like that to work my way up), or go self employed delivering IT solutions.

I would actually advise getting out of IT as the rate of progress of AI means the majority of roles here will be automated in the near future and there will be a large amount of staff displaced and looking for the few roles that are advertised.

Find something that AI cannot replace such as a trade (electrician, plumber, plasterer etc) and train up as people will always need somewhere to live and these always need building, upgrades or repair so you have a life long job.

However in the short term I think the network engineer roles are unlikely to be an option as there seem few positions and a lot of candidates looking who are already experienced. I looked down this route about 15 years ago, got my Cisco certifications etc but nobody wanted a paper engineer - there were plenty of experienced candidates to choose from and it seems you need to fall into the role organically to make it most of the time.

The skills of the moment would seem to be all AI related so if you want to try something interesting then get involved in this, but realise that most companies are interesting in replacing staff with AI so if you have moral issues around suspect management actions then this may not be for you.

Project management was one of the more interesting things I tried - it is a very versatile role as you get to do all sorts of things, IT and otherwise and they can be very deep dives into the subject matter if this interests you. You do have to do a lot of people influencing to be effective here however and the work can be a bit "lumpy" with quiet spells then several projects starting at the same time causing a huge workload.

To do most of these things I think it best to upgrade your skills in your own time, pay for your own certifications and try to use a job using your existing skillset to move into these areas. Most of this need human networking skills to get the management to want to give you the opportunity and this needs you to be able to accept poor management and sometimes questionable business practices if you want to succeed.

There is a great deal of suspect behaviour and dodgy dealings going on in many companies upper management and if you go in making a fuss over it then you will quickly find yourself out. Learning when and how to make a stand on this is an artform but so long as you do not participate in it yourself it is about as good as it gets from what I have seen.

That was a long winded answer but maybe some discussion points to consider.