What unskilled work doesn't involve too much social contact?

You might think that the ebay and paypal fees are greedy but if you are running a business then this is quite a reasonable cost for being able to make any sales. You are not paying for a shop and there probably aren't any lower cost ways of putting your goods in front of customers. Normally, high street shops might make a 100% mark up to pay for staff and premises costs.

If you are buying for the purpose of reselling then that isn't very grey.

www.telegraph.co.uk/.../eBay-users-warned-to-declare-income-as-trader-is-jailed-for-tax-evasion.html

I suspect you are not making a great deal and that if you did declare it then you probably wouldn't pay any tax or have to pay any VAT. If you declare it before they catch you then you are likely to escape any penalties.

have you looked at the Access to Work scheme? This is supposed to help people who have a disability get back into employment (including self employment) This may be a good path for you to follow as you may be entitled to financial assistance to help you get off the ground.

Hi,

 The only advice I can give is as above. Find a local course to teach you what you need to know. I only work part-time just now, due to the commitments of my sons, but you can start slowly and work up to what you can manage. It's not for the faint hearted, I guess, but it is rewarding.

I don't understand much about e-bay trading etc, but I'm pretty sure what you mention re your trading is suspect, unless it's a hobby or non profit type venture. Get some advice and consider going legal if you find that what you are doing is wrong. Personally, I've done everything properly, because I perfer to sleep at night. That would be my advice. If you are going to work for yourself. Do it right. It saves any complications and gives you peace of mind. See an Accountant and a solictor who knows about your type of trading etc. They will advise you and get you registered with HMRC etc. 

Tell you the truth, working is the only way I get to meet people outside in the real world, otherwise my life would be completely isolated. Care has it's rewards, but I have to have outside interests beyond that, otherwise I wouldn't really feel like I was contributing and my life would be quite empty.

I used to volunteer quite a bit, Have you considered volunteering anywhere?

Good luck

If you took a job in a garden centre or at a plant nursery then they would not expect a lot of knowledge to start with but you could learn on the job. Some garden centres also employ people right round the year (some of them are more biased to home decorations and furnishings etc than plants so they have more heated shop areas to shelter in during the winter!)

I would also recommend reading some books about how to get on better at work. I've been reading a book "Dealing with the boss from Hell" www.amazon.co.uk/.../0749444525 I was reading it because I always think my bosses are idiots. The first part of the book is all about understanding what bosses really want and learning to play their game. There is a corresponding book about how to deal with the employee from hell which again pushes the reader to see it from the other point of view. Seeing things from others' point of view is a key weakness of aspergers and I know that I have been rubbish at this in my working life. It is however something that can be learnt about. Most people would do this without any effort but we have to learn things the hard way or read books to understand how to play the game better.

Thank you for the link stateofindependence, driving is out, which is a shame, Iquite like decorating. I'm just moving into a really mash up house and am enjoying sorting it out, lots of lovely details, plans and lists (oh how I love lists!).

Thank you long man. I will look into some of those ideas. It's great to have a bit of help as I have just been stumbeling around saying "Eh?" a lot!

Thanks recombinantsocks . I've tried cleaning and found I am pretty bad at it!

Gardening's a good idea. It sounds like my kind of thing, I could really get into learning about it (I've never had a garden so a lot of research would be required, another plus for me!) but Doesn't that mean unemployment during winter?

Excellent suggestions. All of them.

Coogybear

I'd second the conservation work. One friend who describes herself as 'not a people person' and has no qualifications does a lot of volunteering via this organisation
www.tcv.org.uk/volunteering and also does gardening. 

Another who was on benefits for some time due to social phobia is now a painter and decorator, although you would need a car to do that. 

Conservation related work is an option. qualifications are sometimes required but there will be posts that don't need prior qualifications, and where you can advance doing self-study courses.

Also some conservation work is voluntary, but these sometimes provide food and accommodation if they involve away periods, and doing it voluntarily can lead to paid work.

Conservation includes: footpath maintenance (rights of way, routes in country parks), groundwork of all kinds on national trust sites, country parks, local nature reserves, linear parks, british council for conservation volunteers, wildlife trust, etc etc. Sometimes this is working in a group, but not mentally engaging with the others, just doing a component of the work, but many are attracted by the solitary nature of such jobs.

Grounds staff are needed in many urban areas for upkeep of parks, cemeteries, hospital grounds, private grounds/company offices in parkland, maintenance of shrubberies and local playing fields on housing estates. The work involves routine tasks such as hoeing, raking, trimming, pruning, grass cutting, litter picking.

Away from open spaces cleaning is often viewed rather disdainfully, and isn't just antisocial hours (usually night) or minimum wage, or just domestic (house cleaning). It is a flourishing industry, and can involve permanent and quite well-paid posts and contract work - cleaning hospitals, factories, offices, public ammenities (not just loos - theatres, cinemas, community centres), schools, colleges, universities, shopping malls, retail premises..........  You can get qualifications by day release and distance learning, and you can get a degree in it. The work may be team based but not necessarily social and a lot of such work is solitary.

Wastes management is hugely important - not just binmen - there is a great deal of specialised waste management including the ruinning of landfil sites, organising the logistics of waste movements, specialised wastes - chemical, medical, hazardous, building wastes, packaging, also wastes conversion, and then there is a vast industry on recycling, where the AS mind can be put to good work and often working alone. Again there is training and qualifications up to degree level and postgraduate qualifications.

I could go on....

Coogy: what do you actually do or make in your self employment?

Astrogirl: Have you thought of working in a garden nursery, I should think that the work there would have scope for spending a lot of time alone with the plants - propogating, potting on, etc.

My uncle (with some of the family traits!) was a self employed gardener - cutting grass, weeding, replanting for people who are too busy to do it for themselves. Most of his time was spent alone in other peoples gardens. He had the freedom to agree to work or not - you can always say you have a lot on and can't go as soon as someone wants you to. It worked well for him after redundancy and did it for many years until retirement.

People still want cleaners for their homes too. It's hard to get reliable and honest people who will actually clean effectively. This can be done on a self employed basis too so you can be in control of how much you do.

Travel costs and time may be an issue but I believe that you can get benefits through Access to Work that might help with this? A bike is a good and cheap way of getting between jobs and you can expect employers to provide materials and tools for cleaning and gardening jobs.

Have you considered self-employment?

I have Dyslexia, ASD and anxiety, yet I've had to go self-employed from home to ensure i can be their for my boys.(Also ASD)

No need to fill in a CV, you keep the hours to suit you or work around your calander, No boss to fire you, you get to work alone if you are a sole trader and could make things rather than deal with people directly if you chose.

Just a thought. Incidentally, depending on where you live their are free courses for enterprize if you need training.

Good luck

Coogy