Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm quite curious what kind of work do people here do? I've seen from some comments in other threads that there are social workers and teachers out there. The stereotypical autism job is computer programmer, which I think is really cool and requires lots of talent. There are also students on this forum (I'd be interested to know what you're studying).
Also, what jobs do you think are well-suited for the autistic personality?
In my last 'career' I dealt with HMRC legislation in relation to pensions law, but had several roles within the same organisation over several years dealing with many different policies and legislation, most of the time it was to decipher and extract relevant information, sometimes to challenge which would result in positive changes made to policy (particularly public sector). I worked with masses of information and for most of the time up until I left I felt I was doing something 'worthwhile', making positive change, contributing, making wrongs right, making a difference to those who were affected.
In retrospect, it suited some of my Asperger's traits well, strong sense of justice, supernatural diligence, even the 'black & white' and 'rigid' thinking, focusing for hours on the same subject, love learning and gaining knowledge just for the sake of it, bit of an encyclopedia. In my personal life I amassed cardboard boxes full of research papers that I collected.
However, as a girl, I had 'tomboy' tendencies, like building go-karts with my uncle and loved working with him on his motorbike, or rather, watching as i wasn't allowed to touch anything, pleading with my granny to use my uncles chemistry set but after he set fire to the couch doing an 'experiment' the kit was banned. What I'm trying to say is that I was more 'practical' than 'academic' the latter seemed to come later and now the former isn't great, strange how things evolve....
Wish I could have my life over again knowing what I know now...especially with the Asperger's because maybe I could have told my teachers to teach me differently. I had a math teacher who I often challenged because I thought many math equations were overly complicated but I got told to be quiet and stop questioning everything just to accept what I was told, is that the worse kind of teaching or what? Needless to say, I didn't do well at math and accepted the fact I must be rubbish at it and so avoided it.
...and the one persisting theme that always made things so difficult, was working with people.
...I don't know if I'll ever get back to work now, I can't describe how utterly depleted I am, I had hoped that this time (last job/'career') things would work out but my level of being able to interact and 'cope' with people is so bad...I even struggle to work with those who offer support...I think I need to shut myself off from all contact but I can't even work out how to do that...even here on this forum is difficult and in some ways the 'masking' is still prevalent, maybe that's why this is so draining too...I think I've had my lifetimes limit...sorry if this has gone off topic a bit.
All too relevant to work, I think. My own work experience has left me with the strong feeling that many workplaces are toxic and draining to me and that I need a long convalescent period after each one.
The minor accommodations that most employers are able to offer wouldn't make much difference either as the stressors are embedded in the very fabric of these workplaces.
As a result I can only see me working on a self employed basis in the future, although I'm not at all sure that the DWP would accept my assessment of the situation.