What does everyone do for a living and how have you handled it?

[Paralleluniverse]

I'm a 30 y/o female aspie in the banking and financial services industry .. Currently taking a long break after resigning in September and the job market has been crazy I have a major interview tomorrow fingers crossed.. But what fields are all of you in? I'm so interested to know...
How have you handled open plan offices, too many rules , and low frustration tolerance at work? I was in a large corporate Job and it almost broke me literally. I was taken advantage of underpaid etc. I need to work early in the morning and finish before 5... Some companies don't allow that in fact they'll say come whenever you want but leave late. Anymor this will be my third job and I really hope I can stay!
What's everyone's career sorry? Tell me everything...
Love
Taz

 

[Progster]

I'm a private language tutor, and I also do seasonal work. Both are freelance, working at home, part time and seasonal. I used to teach in a school, but couldn't cope with the work and the environment, so no longer teach classes, only one to one. I still find the teaching exhausting and difficult because of the interaction involved. It's only just about doable because of the long summer holidays and because I work part time and don't have so many hours a day. The proofreading is boring, but well-paid, it doesn't stress me so much. Working at home, being my own boss and setting my own schedule helps a lot, but I find sudden changes to the schedule very frustrating and stressful. It also helps that my main means of communication is by email, but I get frustrated at people's frequent failure to communicate with me.

I've never worked in an open plan office... I don't think that I'd cope well with that. I's probably ask for a desk near the window or in the corner, away from the main activity of the office. Good luck with the interview!

 

[Judge]

I spent nearly 20 years in finance (property/casualty insurance). Where social interactions became increasingly difficult, mostly because of the evolution of my underwriting job which continued to become ever-more marketing oriented.

Eventually left to go back to vocational school to become a website designer in a Silicon Valley software company. Loved the job, however it only lasted a few years given the dot-com crash. Very difficult to find such work in bad economic times.

Then I ended up becoming a primary caregiver to my mother until she died. Which left me as the executor of her estate which became yet another full-time job for a year and a half. After several months of being unable to find work at the beginning of the Great Recession I decided to take what capital I had and go into personal investments.

Having a background in finance courtesy of my insurance underwriting experience, where I routinely had to determine the financial solvency of business entities seeking various types of commercial insurance. Gave me a bit of an edge in terms of some of the more basic metrics involved in picking profitable stocks. Though these days those metrics don't seem to matter as much as the daily headlines and all the "high-frequency" trading that goes with them.

Though while many of us are huge advocates of being self-employed, in this instance this sort of work isn't for just anyone despite what online brokerages advertise to the contrary. And I subsequently retired last year, mostly given the overbought status of a bullish stock market on the inevitable "cusp" of becoming a bear market. Equities are inherently cyclical, and can't remain on top of the pyramid forever.

The end.

 

[Paralleluniverse]

So awesome! I trade stocks too.. I'm glad you seem like you're enjoying life!
You give us hope

 

[Judge]

So awesome! I trade stocks too.. I'm glad you seem like you're enjoying life!
You give us hope

Umm...in my case that might be an overstatement.

Self-employment is a big deal for Aspies. No question. But investing in equities...risky business in the most profound of ways.

But for today I am taking a leisurely day just watching it snow. Guilty as charged!

 

[Sid Delicious]

I make and break software. Best thing I ever did was to get into the tech industry. You can get permanent work if you want to, but if you have no ties to anywhere specific then there are always contract jobs going (many of which you can do remotely). I'm also building up two companies (again, software) on the side and I trade stocks and other things (hello, fellow traders) which is now a small regular income for me. So in my case it's a mash up of different things. I worked in various finance/analyst roles before that. I'm a big fan of having multiple income streams, so you are never reliant on one thing. I graduated into the recession, so I simply do not trust PAYE work enough to settle in one job.

 

[Gracey]

Jack of all trades, master of none. Yet

Many different things from Dog Groomer and volunteering at local vets to heavy goods vehicle driver and Traffic Clerk. (In the military then for a civilian logistics company)
Worked in (what was) personnel/ admin in Social Services, been a (short lived) legal secretary.

I’ve cleaned offices and stacked shelves and delivered for the Home Shopping dept of supermarkets.

Sorted mail and worked in factories.
Helped run family business and did a bit of my own. Volunteered in classrooms, paid dinner lady, on the school governors committee.

I didn’t ‘get on’, never really understanding why up until a year or two ago.

There’s got to be a vocation out there with my name on it.
Something I haven’t tried yet.

 

[Judge]

Probably the single common denominator that I've learned in working is pretty basic for most of us on the spectrum. That the fewer people we are accountable to on the job, the better. -Period.

 

[Gracey]

Probably the single common denominator that I've learned in working is pretty basic for most of us on the spectrum. That the fewer people we are accountable to on the job, the better. -Period.

It’s only taken the best part of half a century for me to figure that out,
the hard way

 

[Judge]

It’s only taken the best part of half a century for me to figure that out,
the hard way

Me too.

I think this is one of those considerations where being diagnosed earlier in life might give others an edge. In that they can use their self-awareness to consider a formal or vocational education that may make the most out of seeking those kind of jobs that involve far less social interactions with customers of coworkers.

No guarantees in a dynamic job market, but at least one can potentially prepare to make the best of what they have to offer their employer and themselves.

 

[clg114]

I am a field service tech and I am self-employed. I have been self-employed for 11 years and have been a field service tech for 51 years. I service and repair electric vehicles (mostly fork lifts), batteries and battery chargers. I enjoy my job very much because it is perfect for me. I get to work with my special interest (machinery) and I almost always work alone. It has been like this for 51 years, I am one lucky Aspie.

 

[BraidedPony]

Whatever job you find, put away money for retirement! If your company has 401k plan, do it and if not start your own.
Want a new car or newest smart phone? Save the money instead!
My frugality has paid off, was able to retire at 55.
My favorite job was database manager, programmer and web master. I also enjoyed working in shipping/receiving.

 

[Loren]

I have three, part-time jobs, currently.

Interior Architecture - drawing/ drafting/ CAD. I am also, a Woodworking teacher at an elementary school, and a swimming and water safety instructor, to children and adults, during the Spring and Summer months.

I am a craftsperson by nature, and would like to start a business, selling my wares. I had a small business, designing/ building furniture in the past, but, of late, I've been sewing linens, bags and apparel of various kinds, and would like to attempt to make this my livelihood, if possible. My hope is that I can sustain myself, financially, in this manner, and discontinue working for a design firm, of which the pressures have become to much for me to handle, yet, has been my main source of income, for the past several years. I plan to continue teaching, as it is one of my greatest passions, and, particularly, working with children.

 

[LadyBird84]

Thanks for making this thread. It's an interesting read.

I work with children, but struggle a lot. I've very recently cut down on my hours.

I'm thinking of, once I find my footing, maybe taking a course in something that's actually compatible with my autism. I was diagnosed later in life and had already finished two bachelors in the social realm. Looking back on it, it makes sense, I studied those things because I didn't know how to do them.

I started working with kids because they are easier for me than adults, but kids are loud and chaotic and ultimately not compatible with.. me.

I'm not sure what I'll end up doing but being my own boss somehow sounds quite good TBH.

 

[Fino]

Music, because I can't stand to work long hours and I need constant stimulation. Kind of a confusing combination sometimes.

 

[Major Tom]

I am a teacher for a private English school in a foreign country. As long as I'm not being jerked around like a puppet on strings working full-time, the job is barely tolerable. I'd like to do something else, but nothing is available to me.

 

[Thinx]

I inherited a strong work ethic from my father, who was probably also Aspie. This has made me persevere at university then at various full-time jobs throughout my life - so far - despite how hard that's been. Like many, I didn't know about the autism, and did many years in therapy working on a variety of ways I was, some changed, some didn’t. The stuff that remained turned out to be autistic traits.

I resonated with @Gracey, about finding out so late, plus I have strong social values and have wanted to work in statutory services or charities, but the varied social demands and norms in workplaces has often been challenging for me, especially because essentially, I don't care about any of it.

I care about the work and the clients, but the day to day grind of meetings where people promote their views or share information that could have been briefly summarised on an email, gets me down. I'm ineffective in meetings too, especially because I am more aware of a substratum of information / vibes from others than what they are saying, that seems often to be motivating them and is different from what they actually say.

I'm still at work because I am a bit afraid to stop, I am not going to have a big pension, so it seems prudent to stay, however I am considering cutting down to less hours, and various more radical plans like moving to the seaside...

 

[tlc]

I am a mechanical design engineer for a company that builds equipment for dust-free loading of bulk materials. Cement, grain, coal, sand, whatever. I've been there 20 years. It's worked out well for me because they know my strong points and weak points so they keep me doing what makes them the most money. It was tough for quite a few years with some poor management decisions, but in recent years that's turned around and I'm thankful I stayed. Before that I worked in engineering for another company for a couple years that did work for GM, Ford, Chrysler. At the time they were doing well, but I'm glad I got out because it's not the heyday it used to be.

 

[Nihil]

I pick items at an Amazon fulfillment center. I handle it pretty well because I don't have to talk to anyone and people generally leave me alone. Also I get a three day weekend, which is nice.

 

[Crossbreed]

I am a semi-retired systems analyst [electronic tech + programmer]. Currently, I deliver free papers, once a week (15.5 miles on trike

) and a caregiver for my 24yo daughter and, unofficially, my wife.