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Is being underemployed or struggling to get into a career that pays enough to support oneself, common for people on the autism spectrum?

FayetheAspie said:
@Gerontius Hopefully the truck driver training will work out for you.
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And likewise hopefully you can land a career in the sciences.
I have picked a sort of voluntary-poverty approach to things where I minimize expenses but that's not everyone's cup of tea. For me, the salary of a driver will let me focus on saving up for open land and attempting to build a little homestead out there. I will also be able to keep enjoying intellectual pursuits, audiobooks, classical music, and public radio.
 
this makes me feel a little bit better, i know from discussing with my folks, that me and my brother(my only sibling), will inherit the house and property from them after their gone, and we as a family are still paying mortgage, but my parents are confident and believe the mortgage should be fully paid off before they are gone, so yes that means less bills to pay, but i still worry about my future a lot.

Lots of people make it out to be so easy in terms of finding out what they want to do with their life career-wise, and i also can't help but envy people who managed to get into a stable career that pays them enough to live on and they managed to do it without college education.
 
Here in Canada university give out degrees, colleges give out diplomas. I did OK with two diplomas. not knowing I was on the spectrum, my older brother had a university degree in engineering. lost his job due to mental health issues, unable to find reemployment. None of us knew we were on spectrum, A younger brother not on spectrum Mensa member got degree in psychology, unable to get position if field, ended up as a millwright. So it is more complicated than it looks on surface Another brother a college graduate also on the spectrum used his special interest to become independently wealthy. The real issue is society does not to recognize what we can contribute
as we are different. My older brother was a genius, his genius now lost to society. I guess his legacy lives with the Canada arm on the international space station. Due to my younger Aspie brother, and my wife's accounting background and our trust of his advise we are having a very comfortable retirement. Fortunately he freely share his
stuff at no cost.
 
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Keeping a job has always been a challenge, the social part always infringing, and eventually I got used to getting fired with the explanation that I was not a good communicator, which seemed to happen every time I was fired. I mean, I am working on a record. Now everyone I work with is disabled and I have sustained this job....finding other people who I can deal with and who can at least in a roundabout way understand makes a huge difference; working with people you don't like or don't trust will ruin a job.
 
RemyZee said:
I got used to getting fired with the explanation that I was not a good communicator...
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I got told in so many ways all my life that I communicate a little too well, I have a bit of a temper and don't like being pushed around. I changed jobs a lot. :)
 
What was interesting to me is that whenever I was fired for being a poor communicator, they never actually TOLD me WHY I was a faulty communicator--they didn't communicate it! Even though I asked, they could never seem to put their fingers on what was wrong. It seemed like more of this amorphous idea they had about me or feeling they had they couldn't express or state, so they would just say I couldn't communicate because that was the closest thing they could say about what was wrong. And when I asked they never seemed to have a good answer as to what I had done errantly....they would just say, "communication."
 
I changed jobs a lot for various reasons, pay plant closing. Did great job next position fixed process changed industry, time to leave nothing left to fix. Next Owner of company thought he won a lottery hiring me issue with other other manager, who I stepped on toes leading to complex situation. last position lasted twenty one years. Each time I changed position new skills gained. prepaint to post paint aluminum steel to plastic to different treatments to few colour to thousands of colours. also exotic colours like metallics. siding to appliances to vehicles.to testing lab.
passed over for promotion due to poor communication skills even through nobody else had close to my experience nd education, in coating application. If only I had known. or they knew or understood. Repeatably told over the years I was phenomenal employee, yet I could not get promoted.
 
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I have applied for jobs and been to three interviews at different places. I didn't get any of them because I would have to work evening hours. I can't drive and walk around my city and take public transportation to do errands. I still don't feel comfortable walking home alone at night.

I still do well. I get a substantial amount of money a month from SSI, as well as my family helping me out. My social battery is always very low and that has become a challenge, regarding employment.

The bottom line is, there's only so much I can do and only so many hours I can work.
 
Fortunately, every position I got only involved day shift even through my last position was at a company that had a seven twenty four hour operation, My education and experience was such they did not want to take a chance I would not take the position.
 
its unfortunate that more countries of the World can't be like Finland, Norway, and Japan, when it comes to addressing homelessness. I doubt the US and Canada will become like them anytime soon.
 
yeah i know and am completely aware that constantly worrying about something doesn't help or change the situation, but at the same time, its an unavoidable thought, i am worried about my future a lot in terms or in the sense of being able to support myself after my folks are gone, because honestly, in my current situation, i can't survive without them.

Yeah i started this thread because people naturally feel better when they can relate to others who are going through the same situation.

I have worked, i've had plenty of jobs in my life, but never a high level corporate job, just regular entry level jobs, or plain jobs, such as at a grocery store, restaurant, retail, warehouse, etc.
 
I was unaware, when I started my career, determination, and continuous education even joining the union negotiating commitee, were ways I fought back. for the most part it worked. My qualifications improved immensly. hard for The NT's to ignore. changed positions a few times.
 
yeah, sometimes i feel i can relate to Tony, as long as he has been a user on this site, he has repeatedly changed his description of him, i remember one of his previous descriptions, was titled "Forever Single Loser with no future".

I feel i can relate to that, even though what makes me different from Tony, is that, Tony has hardly ever worked in his life, for 99 percent of his life he has been unemployed, last time he mentioned he had a job was 2001.

While i have had plenty of jobs in my life, just never high level corporate ones or high level profession ones, just regular basic entry level jobs, i think thats what they call it.
 
reminds me, i was having this discussion elsewhere, and someone told me, and i believe her, that the cost of living has skyrocketed a lot over the decades, she told me that, for example, in the 1970s, someone could work a part-time job and that was enough to pay rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in the Los Angeles area, along with food and utilities, but today, its a much different world.
 
while i have not had nervous/mental breakdowns in my life, sometimes i feel i am on the verge and mainly due to stress and worry about my future in the sense of being able to support myself after my folks are eventually gone, i don't want to think about my folks eventually passing.
 
The cost of living has increased dramatically since 2020, and FWIW, neurotypicals are also struggling to find good-paying work. There are many people in my husband's social network who are NT and who are making $35k to $50k per year and struggling very badly to get by.

Most W2 workers simply do not get fair compensation for the work they do, regardless of neurology. But it is definitely harder for those on the spectrum.

This is why self-employment is the best option.
 
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