Asperger's and Jobs

Despite my reservations about assumptions made that an aptitude for computer games makes for a career in IT there is no getting away from the fact numbers of people on the spectrum find jobs in aspects of IT. Just I feel caution is necessary in computing degrees because you neded to pass in all the aspects, which does lead to lots of failures.

IT environments seem much more accepting of social misfits - as long as you can do your job that is what matters.

The problem is why so many other work enviroments obsess about you having to fit in with workplace social structures. If IT can do it, why not countless other workplaces.

I did quite well for 12 years as a systems engineer, even though I didn't have an engineering qualification I had scarce skills that made it possible. Such organisations involve IT and are similar, and you often hear of engineering as a good place for people on the spectrum. I certainly met lots of engineers who with hindsight probably had autism.

The trouble I had in engineering was with time-wasters. I appeared different. There were people who spent hours (when they should have been working) engaging me in pointless conversations trying to work out what was behind the difference. There were also people trying to make me make mistakes, and then complain about me. Engineering is full of such timewasters, and may be why this country is losing out to overseas competitors in so many areas of engineering we used to lead on. Maybe they need to employ more autistic people.....

Trouble is I'd always wanted to teach in a university. When I finally got there, in the latter and main part of my working life, I found it full of petty tyrants, cliques and bullies. They say that academia is a good place for people on the spectrum, but those saying so are blissfully unaware of the petty idiots who get most of the jobs (and are usually bad teachers as well).

But then a lot of working environments are like that. You aren't allowed to be different, and there are people around who will go out of their way to make it tough for anyone who isn't eactly like them.

Despite my reservations about assumptions made that an aptitude for computer games makes for a career in IT there is no getting away from the fact numbers of people on the spectrum find jobs in aspects of IT. Just I feel caution is necessary in computing degrees because you neded to pass in all the aspects, which does lead to lots of failures.

IT environments seem much more accepting of social misfits - as long as you can do your job that is what matters.

The problem is why so many other work enviroments obsess about you having to fit in with workplace social structures. If IT can do it, why not countless other workplaces.

I did quite well for 12 years as a systems engineer, even though I didn't have an engineering qualification I had scarce skills that made it possible. Such organisations involve IT and are similar, and you often hear of engineering as a good place for people on the spectrum. I certainly met lots of engineers who with hindsight probably had autism.

The trouble I had in engineering was with time-wasters. I appeared different. There were people who spent hours (when they should have been working) engaging me in pointless conversations trying to work out what was behind the difference. There were also people trying to make me make mistakes, and then complain about me. Engineering is full of such timewasters, and may be why this country is losing out to overseas competitors in so many areas of engineering we used to lead on. Maybe they need to employ more autistic people.....

Trouble is I'd always wanted to teach in a university. When I finally got there, in the latter and main part of my working life, I found it full of petty tyrants, cliques and bullies. They say that academia is a good place for people on the spectrum, but those saying so are blissfully unaware of the petty idiots who get most of the jobs (and are usually bad teachers as well).

But then a lot of working environments are like that. You aren't allowed to be different, and there are people around who will go out of their way to make it tough for anyone who isn't eactly like them.