What do you do for a living?

[Shevek]

I am a software developer. I enjoy it quite a lot. I have been working from home for over 10 years, which is ideal for me. I think I spend more time interacting with people than most would expect though. Programming computers is probably under 50% of the job. I talk to other developers, designers, project managers, system administrators, and users quite a bit. That is my least favorite aspect of the job. I find so much satisfaction in the programming part in which I make useful things for people that it is worth it overall.

If I didn't do this, I think I would like being a machinist. I took some classes and learned to operate milling machines and lathes. They can both be programmed using a language called gcode. Manually operating the machines and making things is fun too, just not as fast or repeatable.

I really enjoyed programming for my own jobs, to speed them up. I like the logic and precision, and the repeatability, as well as the extension of ability, like a power tool for my head. However, I spent today doing machining for fun, making a super-convenient and attractive sound cutoff for my desk. I think that if I ever bought a proper lathe, I'd be skipping meals, but I really enjoy using what I have. Working freehand has it's charms, but being able to precisely follow a drawing uses more parts of my brain. It can be a trap, though. I once needed a part for a jig, and asked a pro machinist to drill a hole near the middle of a thick spacer. He couldn't do it. He had to find the exact center first.

 

[Fino]

CPS Social worker

 

[Jumpinbare]

Former Air Force physicist, security guard, electrician, electronic technicians.
Currently retired, with so many projects going on I wonder how I ever had time to work.
Nothing I really have to do all day, but at the end of the day, I'm only half done.

 

[Nervous Rex]

I'm a programmer. I mostly do back-end libraries that some other software uses to do some processing. My stuff goes into the firmware in physical devices that my employer sells.

I do a lot of math in my job, too, and I love that part.

 

[SusanLR]

I'm retired but still do some cleaning and helping take care of a house for an elderly man in exchange for cheap rent for two rooms and a bath, use of kitchen facilities
and access to a car.

I've done a lot of varied things in my life. Pharmacist was the main one since I took medical arts in University.
It was wholesale pharmaceuticals so I didn't have to work with public. Filled orders for jails and nursing homes.

I was a model and instructor for a major modeling company when I was young.

A good night job I had for several years was overseer of the composition room for Auto Trader and Boat Trader when they were still magazines.
Other odds and ends in between like delivery for a Florist and inventory accountant part time.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I recently graduated from medical school and I want to be a child and adolescent psychiatrist. However, I do worry about it being a too stressful job long-term that leaves me absolutely drained. I enjoyed it so much the times I spent there, but I was really drained in the evening and during the weekends.
Secretly, I wish to work with animals one day. There's nothing that gives me so much peace, and animals seem to like me.
Who knows, maybe I can combine those two one day. Like, work at a facility that works with animals as a form of therapy for kids with mental health issues. Maybe dogs, or other animals - I am not that good with horses, I find it hard not to be scared that they kick me or bite me, they're just so big.

 

[jsilver256]

CPS Social worker

That seems like a very difficult position for autism, how do you do it?

 

[AuAL]

Read what @GypsyMoth said again; there’s some really useful advice there.
After highschool I spent an aggregate of 16 years studying at university, mostly part time. While studying I had vacation and casual jobs as a general hand on a drilling barge, general hand sorting industrial refractories, brick press operator, fitter’s mate, electronics technician for a company contracted to a music store (repairing lots of amps and audio gear), full-time research assistant in a university fluid dynamics laboratory, and research assistant in a university physics laboratory. When I graduated with my first degree, I got a job as computer systems manager for an industrial research facility for 8 years. Then spent a couple of years at the facility working in computational fluid dynamics research, modelling liquid steel delivery systems. Then moved to a position as a supercomputing applications consultant helping university researchers port their programs to parallel supercomputers. Started a PhD in computational science, part-time. Became manager of the facility and acting CEO for a brief period, then university manager of research computing services. Transitioned into senior lecturer in computer science, and now retired as an adjunct associate professor. Still co-supervising 6 PhD students and co-authoring academic papers. Self-funded retiree. (Just a note: it took me many years, some false starts and 4 different universities to get my qualifications. There isn’t one single, correct path to get to wherever it is you’re going.)

 

[jsilver256]

So good to see so many CS experts. What field do you specialize in?

Mine is so small that I'd be naming myself just by mentioning it.

 

[kenaij]

I`m a janitor. But not in the way many people think. I`m not like the old dude cleaning the floors like you see in american movies. My job is a combination of classic janitor work, social worker, Teacher's assistent. If you combine those 3 you pretty much have my job.
It works well for me. I have a co-worker who has ADHD, and who has a son who is autistic. So we understand eachother quite well. And my two other co-workers understand both our needs very well. So the two of us have a lot of room to retreat during work and take a breather. If not for this job I`m sure I would have run into a burnout/depression having to work fulltime.
It is the best fit I could imagine.

 

[AuAL]

@jsilver256, I work mainly in optimisation, in computational science. Using computers to find answers to interesting problems, across a wide range of disciplines (design of parts for jet engines, design of antennas, adaptation of agriculture to climate change, discovery of molecular transition energies…)

 

[GypsyMoth]

So good to see so many CS experts. What field do you specialize in?

I am studying a post-grad certificate in Data Science and Business Analytics. If I survive the experience, I want to pursue another master's, perhaps in Machine Learning, so that I can be more competitive in the field.

I have NO background in computer science. The only computer science classes I've taken were in...1996 or 1997? And I failed them, both, because I had really not ever used a computer before. The degree requirement was waived for me, since a lot of our students at that time were rural and had never seen a computer. (But give me a green horse and I'll give you back a calm riding buddy!)

I have the business and life experience to do well in this field. I am struggling with the pace of the coursework, though, as both the computer side of what I'm learning and the math side are brand new to me. But you know what, I'm going to do finish this, then find a journeyman-level position (do they have those in DS?) and I am going to make a career out of it (with the higher ambition of teaching philosophy as an adjunct -- because I can't make it on an adjunct salary. @AuAL is right; if you're willing to endure a circuitous career path, you will at the least find yourself doing something both interesting and rewarding, too.)



(By the way, you may be thinking, what were they teaching in 1996/97? Something akin to this: "This is the power button. If you want the computer to turn on, it has to be in the 'on' position. After you've turned the computer on and it's finished booting from one side of the floppy, you have to flip the floppy over for it to finish booting. This is a mouse. It is an input device. The printer is an output device. The flashing green box [black background] is your command prompt. Information is stored in bytes, but I really can't explain to you what bytes are because no one really knows..." Seriously, that was my first college-level computer class!)

 

[GypsyMoth]

I`m a janitor. But not in the way many people think. I`m not like the old dude cleaning the floors like you see in american movies. My job is a combination of classic janitor work, social worker, Teacher's assistent. If you combine those 3 you pretty much have my job.

Janitors are pretty amazing people. My husband does 'building maintenance'--it's the same thing, except he also oversees big-ticket activities, like upgrading the HVAC or repaving the parking lot. One day he might be corralling volunteers, the next he's meeting with a federal grant agency about upgrading the building's safety measures. We live in a tech world; our buildings have to meet the standards that that tech requires. My brother-in-law was a 'janitor' for a defense company. He had to have some kind of top-level security clearance just to take care of the building. Let's just say, listening to him changed my opinion about what a 'janitor' does!

It is the best fit I could imagine.

That's awesome. That's a real blessing to have a job you enjoy and are a great fit for.

 

[kenaij]

Janitors are pretty amazing people. My husband does 'building maintenance'--it's the same thing, except he also oversees big-ticket activities, like upgrading the HVAC or repaving the parking lot. One day he might be corralling volunteers, the next he's meeting with a federal grant agency about upgrading the building's safety measures. We live in a tech world; our buildings have to meet the standards that that tech requires. My brother-in-law was a 'janitor' for a defense company. He had to have some kind of top-level security clearance just to take care of the building. Let's just say, listening to him changed my opinion about what a 'janitor' does!

That's awesome. That's a real blessing to have a job you enjoy and are a great fit for.

Yeah, most people see an old man cleaning the hallways of a school. And at the end of your day you give some life changing advice to one of the students or old students. And apparently we drink a lot of coffee.

Now I`m not saying that does not happen, I have given some great advice for which students have come back after years to thank me for it. It is mostly the stuff everyone takes for granted. But it does have to be done.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Help my dad work on Asian import cars and wash dishes three times a week in the nursing home. My second job can be hard sometimes but I still like it. What I find to be crazy is that within the past week and a half, we lost eight residents including a couple that had been married for over 70 years.

 

[Aspychata]

I did a short retirement stint for employment, that was hard losing the residents. It was hard when l didn't get to see them again. I really enjoyed making them laugh. One of the residents always started to giggle when l walked up, because l would have her laughing in about 2 mins.

 

[GypsyMoth]

Help my dad work on Asian import cars and wash dishes three times a week in the nursing home. My second job can be hard sometimes but I still like it. What I find to be crazy is that within the past week and a half, we lost eight residents including a couple that had been married for over 70 years.

Your job must require a high degree of compassion. I'm sorry for the loss of your friends/patients.

 

[jsilver256]

@jsilver256, I work mainly in optimisation, in computational science. Using computers to find answers to interesting problems, across a wide range of disciplines (design of parts for jet engines, design of antennas, adaptation of agriculture to climate change, discovery of molecular transition energies…)

Like, pipelining, branch prediction, and such? Really cool... a lost art.

 

[Meowser18]

Hello everyone,
I am wondering what everyone does here for a job as I am currently unemployed and trying to figure out what I wanna do in life that feels fulfilling for me; I am curious about what everyone does here for a living. I know some people with ASD won't work or can't work and I haven't held a job before in my life but I am getting to the stage in my life where I want wanting to do something fulfilling.

But I am stuck between trying to find a job or becoming self-employed, which I heard is good for some people with ASD, I have an interest in computers and photography but I strive at physical tasks more than non-visual tasks.

I look forward to hearing what some of you do as a living, hopefully, this can give me better insight into what I wanna do and help me decide.

I work in the agricultural field. I love being outdoors and working by myself. An added bonus is I usually deal with people who have the same interests as me!

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I work in the agricultural field. I love being outdoors and working by myself. An added bonus is I usually deal with people who have the same interests as me!

Have not done this since a teenager then went to college.