Bored and lonely and no job

NB: I'm living at home.

Sorry this is a bit long.

I'm a graduate student (I technically graduate in a couple of weeks) living in Plymouth, Devon. I've finished my rather disappointing top up year at university from college where I felt lonely a lot. In college it was easier as the environment was more classroom-like so I could easily chat to people and generally interact. However at university the work was very solo and if I tried to chat to people in the computer rooms they'd just say I was disturbing them . Also due to software incompatability (thanks Adobe) I ended up having to work from home which is a bit lonely.

I had a look at the societies there but there weren't many that suited me. I don't like the pub/nightclub/disco atmosphere at all, unpleasent and dull. I joined Camcru who seemed okay but there was only about 5 events in the whole year which was a bit rubbish and I also joined the (student) vegetarian society there (since I'm a vegetarian) which ran about once a month with meals out at vegetarian food places.

The problem though with a group environment I find is that if there is a crowd of, say, ten or more people talking simultaneously I can't make out a word. I just hear it as noise and cannot join in since I can't pick up on the threads of conversation and can only talk to whoever's nearest to me. This has also finished with the end of the university year.

Right now I'm looking for a job and a life and finding neither. I vaguely know some people here but they do not generally respond to my attempts to contact them and there's noone I can see on a regular basis. I also have no activities to participate in and the absence of anyone to do them with is somewhat dispiriting. I had a look at social clubs and societies here but I can't find anything suitable for me. I want to find, for example, I club where I can experiement with various forms of 3D art and creativity (mixed media) as opposed to painting and drawing which I'm not so keen on. I tried a club at uni in the latter but wasn't that great.

Jobs wise it feels futile as I've been looking around the job sites for a print design something something type job (see my website www.goodwinsanimations.com/) in Plymouth area to no success. It doesn't help that I only have a vague idea of what I'm after or how to keyword it. I don't want a higher up role such as managerial etc. because I'd probably be totally lost.

My friends from London suggested I look for just any shop job but I think that kind of thing would bore me to death, I'm a creative, and I'm probably overqualified with a degree and no shop experience.

I'm a bit stuck now with nothing to do every day and more importantly noone to do anything with. I see groups of people around and just feel lonely. Constantly. Help.

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longman over 12 years ago

Flexibility, openheart, is a difficulty for people on the spectrum. We tend to have a comfort zone, and very quickly become disinterested, uncomfortable or even alarmed when diverging much away from it.
I'm afraid I'm a little perplexed as to how it defines a country going down the tubes, or that job roles are too flexible.
The big problem is that in this country we train too narrowly, and the high qualification is a degree, which is mostly overly academic, about writing essays and reports, and being descriptive. It is therefore rather irrelevant to the economy past, present or future.
Employers groan incessantly about the quality of uk graduates, but it is a fact - the training we offer, at this level, is usually wishy washy academic, lacking application.
In the rest of Europe they have long had a baccalaureate type system where the higher qualifications can be obtained through experience based practical learning, more effectively directed at employers needs.
I myself have long been active in favour of Britain moving that way, through the development of foundation degrees and 14-19 diploma, which sadly has fizzled out.
What I actually meant by flexibility was the need to consider jobs that tabby499, the originator of this thread, might not actually have considered. That means researching other sorts of jobs, well beyond what he has ever thought about. Because often the jobs you think you'd like to do are over-subscribed with applicants. But there are careers that aren't obvious or well known.
The difficulty for tabby499 will I guess be moving away from what he thinks he would like, to exploring new possibilities. That's harder for people on the spectrum. It is good advice because many graduates who find good jobs do so by being more adventurous.
One way to explore the job market is to look at the Sector Skills Councils, recently reorganised by the coalition government, but you can still find links under sector skills councils. These are the areas of professional skills, the training committees etc. Browsing those may be a good way forward.
Also consider working for a university in student services, library or IT departments, as lots of graduates do, or doing short term research, survey or outreach projects with a local authority. With these sorts of jobs, being seen to be doing well can get you fast tracked into more permanent posts.
I'm afraid I don't share your view, openheart, of how the country is run.
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longman over 12 years ago

Flexibility, openheart, is a difficulty for people on the spectrum. We tend to have a comfort zone, and very quickly become disinterested, uncomfortable or even alarmed when diverging much away from it.
I'm afraid I'm a little perplexed as to how it defines a country going down the tubes, or that job roles are too flexible.
The big problem is that in this country we train too narrowly, and the high qualification is a degree, which is mostly overly academic, about writing essays and reports, and being descriptive. It is therefore rather irrelevant to the economy past, present or future.
Employers groan incessantly about the quality of uk graduates, but it is a fact - the training we offer, at this level, is usually wishy washy academic, lacking application.
In the rest of Europe they have long had a baccalaureate type system where the higher qualifications can be obtained through experience based practical learning, more effectively directed at employers needs.
I myself have long been active in favour of Britain moving that way, through the development of foundation degrees and 14-19 diploma, which sadly has fizzled out.
What I actually meant by flexibility was the need to consider jobs that tabby499, the originator of this thread, might not actually have considered. That means researching other sorts of jobs, well beyond what he has ever thought about. Because often the jobs you think you'd like to do are over-subscribed with applicants. But there are careers that aren't obvious or well known.
The difficulty for tabby499 will I guess be moving away from what he thinks he would like, to exploring new possibilities. That's harder for people on the spectrum. It is good advice because many graduates who find good jobs do so by being more adventurous.
One way to explore the job market is to look at the Sector Skills Councils, recently reorganised by the coalition government, but you can still find links under sector skills councils. These are the areas of professional skills, the training committees etc. Browsing those may be a good way forward.
Also consider working for a university in student services, library or IT departments, as lots of graduates do, or doing short term research, survey or outreach projects with a local authority. With these sorts of jobs, being seen to be doing well can get you fast tracked into more permanent posts.
I'm afraid I don't share your view, openheart, of how the country is run.
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