Your trade didn't work out

[The Penguin]

There are many people have a dream trade they want to do. Those are lucky is able to go school and study their trade. However, for those who do manage to land a job after their graduation, some learned within time their trade is not for them. I'm curious to hear about people who falls in this category?

 

[kris]

I do! I went to engineering school... for no real reason other than I was good at math and didn't know what I wanted to do and it sounded "responsible." I had no idea about Asperger's at the time.. liked engineering school well enough for the first couple years but hated it by the end. but at that point, I just wanted to finish my degree and be done with school. Quitting with all those student loans was not an option. Got a job relatively easily.. economy was great when I graduated and I got a job through a professor so I didn't even have to interview (thank goodness.. I don't think I would have made it through an interview process). Stayed at that job for 9 years.. it was ok in the beginning.. I was good at it and pretty much just got to sit at my desk and run calculations all day. Aspie heaven, right? Well.. economy crashed and my boss retired and I got moved to a new group within my office and started having problems immediately. That group was all about climbing the stupid corporate ladder and taking on more responsibilities. I used to have panic attacks every time my phone rang because it was always something I didn't have an answer for. I got really good at saying "send me an email for the record, please".. at least that gave me time to formulate a response to architect and contractor questions and not have to try and talk. Job site visits and meetings were another pretty big problem for me. Work pretty much got to be a total nightmare. I started getting really poor reviews, too. I lasted another couple years before figuring out I needed to get out of it.. still unaware of Aspergers..

Anyways.. I've always loved to sew.. like really really loved to sew..ever since as long as I can remember. So I started an etsy shop and it took off well enough to make a decent living.. I had enough money saved up to quit my engineering job so I just did it. I've been self employed over a year now and my business is doing pretty well. I haven't touched my savings except for a couple times, and I've been able to put it all back the next month. Now, I have an entire sewing studio set up across the street from my apartment and I get to sew all day every day. And I am so incredibly happy... full time dedication to my lifelong special interest LOL. I learned about Asperger's about 6 months ago and things definitely make sense in that light now.

Anyways... sorry that got really long, but I'm a big believer in doing what you love.. life is too short for otherwise.

 

[The Penguin]

kris No worries I glad you shared the details you did.

I had a somewhat related experience when I got a new manager things went down hill for my job and they let me go. It very hard for me to get a job because my learning disability and not doing well in interviews. A few months ago I got accepted in a business program with a government to start my own business. I get a living allowance while I try to build my business. I'm working hard to make things work as I don't want to have a life struggling on my 30's

 

[kris]

kris No worries I glad you shared the details you did.

I had a somewhat related experience when I got a new manager things went down hill for my job and they let me go. It very hard for me to get a job because my learning disability and not doing well in interviews. A few months ago I got accepted in a business program with a government to start my own business. I get a living allowance while I try to build my business. I'm working hard to make things work as I don't want to have a life struggling on my 30's

I have no doubt you can do it! I never saw myself as an entrepreneur, but it has been such a blessing. I am truly grateful every day for what I'm able to do... I'd be happy to offer any advice I can. What is your new business?

 

[kris]

And you know what the best thing about self employment is? Nobody can take it away from you

 

[The Penguin]

What is your new business?

Starting a software development business. I'm going to start marketing my services to the tourism industry creating apps to help grow their business.

 

[Cali Cat]

I totally wasted my education in a field that was not the least bit suited to me. I was trying to fit my square self into a round hole. I thought I could fake my way through it, but in the end, it didn't work out. I spent several years getting a degree in food service and nutrition with the idea of becoming a dietitian. I loved all the science and math courses, and I was pretty proud of myself that I did so well in them. What I wasn't good at was the courses that involved interaction with people. This should have been a big red flag, but I persisted and got my degree. When it came time to do the internship that I needed to get my license, I found I couldn't deal with the people. Not the patients, not the co-workers and not the nurses or the doctors. I couldn't stand any of them. Talk about a snooty bunch of self-important wankers. Sheesh! I knew I could never fake my way through a lifetime of that, so I bailed from the internship and fell into the career I have now. This is why I recommend to any young person who has a "dream career" to first volunteer in the business where he/she can experience the reality of the work environment on a daily basis. This is a very important first step. It will save thousands of dollars on a wasted education if you find out you don't like it, and it will provide necessary experience if you do like it.

 

[Cali Cat]

And you know what the best thing about self employment is? Nobody can take it away from you

Uh, well ... unless the government gets involved and decides to regulate the life out of your business. But, that's another story ...

 

[epath13]

I graduated as a fashion designer, and to be fair, I would be quite happy if I had a job as one. Because I was drawing, designing and sewing since childhood, it was one of the most logical choices, but I actually wanted to go to school to become psychiatrist or at least a psychologist. I think I could pull off the psychologist. Medical school would probably be too stressful for me. I don't have very good memory. In the end I would probably be very successful in any of the trades I found interesting, the problem was - my sensory and social challenges always stood in the way and I never received appropriate support for it and had to deal and figure stuff out on my own. I would do a lot of things differently if only I had a correct diagnosis and knowledge about the symptoms and their causes. Now I think that if I ever have a chance to have a good employment or earning opportunity it has to be by using and improving skills that I do have. I set a goal for myself to have a portfolio set within 2 years. I just hope I'm not delusional, one thing is to be disillusioned in your 20s, it's a completely different when it happens in your late 30s...

 

[epath13]

I do! I went to engineering school... for no real reason other than I was good at math and didn't know what I wanted to do and it sounded "responsible." I had no idea about Asperger's at the time.. liked engineering school well enough for the first couple years but hated it by the end. but at that point, I just wanted to finish my degree and be done with school. Quitting with all those student loans was not an option. Got a job relatively easily.. economy was great when I graduated and I got a job through a professor so I didn't even have to interview (thank goodness.. I don't think I would have made it through an interview process). Stayed at that job for 9 years.. it was ok in the beginning.. I was good at it and pretty much just got to sit at my desk and run calculations all day. Aspie heaven, right? Well.. economy crashed and my boss retired and I got moved to a new group within my office and started having problems immediately. That group was all about climbing the stupid corporate ladder and taking on more responsibilities. I used to have panic attacks every time my phone rang because it was always something I didn't have an answer for. I got really good at saying "send me an email for the record, please".. at least that gave me time to formulate a response to architect and contractor questions and not have to try and talk. Job site visits and meetings were another pretty big problem for me. Work pretty much got to be a total nightmare. I started getting really poor reviews, too. I lasted another couple years before figuring out I needed to get out of it.. still unaware of Aspergers..

Anyways.. I've always loved to sew.. like really really loved to sew..ever since as long as I can remember. So I started an etsy shop and it took off well enough to make a decent living.. I had enough money saved up to quit my engineering job so I just did it. I've been self employed over a year now and my business is doing pretty well. I haven't touched my savings except for a couple times, and I've been able to put it all back the next month. Now, I have an entire sewing studio set up across the street from my apartment and I get to sew all day every day. And I am so incredibly happy... full time dedication to my lifelong special interest LOL. I learned about Asperger's about 6 months ago and things definitely make sense in that light now.

Anyways... sorry that got really long, but I'm a big believer in doing what you love.. life is too short for otherwise.

Hi I have a few questions about your business, if you don't mind.
I see you in LA, I'm from Illinois. Some tax regulations may be different, but shouldn't be that different, I guess.

1) did you have a business plan before you started?
2) did you have to invest in marketing in the beginning?
3) how did you register as self employed?
4) do you have an attorney and an accountant, and, if you do, did you use their services from the beginning?
5) how frequently do you do your taxes: every 2,6 months or yearly?
6) do you have some sort of business insurance?
7) any advice for a beginner? what I want to do is to sell some hand made stuff and some printed materials, with a possibility of do freelance design work for somebody else. I'm capable of making many different things and doing different jobs, my issue is not with making but more with negotiating and communicating about the work... my plan for now is to create a portfolio and bunch of products...
If I had money I would hire people to help me, but I have $0 to invest, so my plan is to create something then... maybe, if it goes well ask people to invest ...

As for the legal part... In a few years (or sonner, if I can) I want to register as self employed, but when it comes to absorbing a lot of information and going through a lot of paperwork at once - I can become very overwhelmed, but I'm sure I can manage well if I know what needs to be done exactly.

 

[Cali Cat]

I'm from Illinois. Some tax regulations may be different, but ... I want to register as self employed, but when it comes to absorbing a lot of information and going through a lot of paperwork at once - I can become very overwhelmed, but I'm sure I can manage well if I know what needs to be done exactly.

In California, there's no rush to register as self-employed until you're actually collecting taxes on your product. You can probably get by with just a business license. That's pretty simple. Go to the county office that handles business licenses, fill out a couple of simple forms, pay your fee and they give you a list of newspapers in which to publish your license. Contact some of the newspapers, find out which one is cheapest and they'll tell you what they need for the advert. This simple procedure doesn't affect your tax status, but it protects your business name and allows you to set up a business bank account while you get the ball rolling.

 

[Judge]

I was a successful insurance underwriter for nearly 20 years. However the legal environment of insurance reform and changes in corporate culture evolved the job from enforcement of rules and policy to something far more akin to a marketing representative. I wanted to be an underwriter. Never having anything to do with marketing that required incessant personal contact with insurance agents.

At least after all these years NOW I know why I was never cut our for marketing!

Ironic to recall a fellow co-worker who also shared so much of the same stress, who ultimately left the company before I did. Looking back I'm certain he was an Aspie too.

 

[The Penguin]

At least after all these years NOW I know why I was never cut our for marketing!

Speaking of marketing, this is the step I hate working on for my business. Maybe when I get good sales I get someone else to do it.

 

[Judge]

Speaking of marketing, this is the step I hate working on for my business. Maybe when I get good sales I get someone else to do it.

Yep. That's the one real issue of being a self-employed Aspie. Even if you have a first-rate product on the market, at some point you'll likely have to personally sell it to a customer to seal the deal.

Just another reason why I'm doing what I'm doing....to skirt most of the social aspects altogether. Not to mention virtually no overhead.

I once tried to partner my web design skills with a friend from tech school who knew the marketing end of the business...but we just couldn't get it off the ground. Still it sounded like the right thing for me to do. Salesmanship is and never will be my strong point.

Yeah William, I understand exactly what you're saying. Perhaps you can make that marketing contact in developing your business....maybe you'll have more success than I did.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I started out working toward website development/design, but that promptly stopped about five years ago and I switched gears. I find modern web design to be butt ugly with it's 72pt+ fonts for both header and body text size, the clashing colors, JS sliders and incessant pop-ups for feedback, social buttons, and "tell me I'm awesome" surveys, and I'm quite creeped out how there are pictures of irrelevant faces everywhere. And I'm just too traditional to be a functional/"reactive" coder. Get off your damn phone and use a real computer. My design inclinations may be a decade old, but at least I know how to type with all ten digits.

Still love to goof off with HTML and all, but I stick to my own site and favors for friends and family. I just focus on portraits and accounting now. They'd better work out, they're my fallback.

 

[Judge]

I started out working toward website development/design, but that promptly stopped about five years ago and I switched gears. I find modern web design to be butt ugly with it's 72pt+ fonts for both header and body text size, the clashing colors, JS sliders and incessant pop-ups for feedback, social buttons, and "tell me I'm awesome" surveys, and I'm quite creeped out how there are pictures of irrelevant faces everywhere. And I'm just too traditional to be a functional/"reactive" coder. Get off your damn phone and use a real computer. My design inclinations may be a decade old, but at least I know how to type with all ten digits.

Still love to goof off with HTML and all, but I stick to my own site and favors for friends and family. I just focus on portraits and accounting now. They'd better work out, they're my fallback.

Yeah. It was fun at the turn of the century. Client-side for the most part limited to bandwidth considerations. Since then it's morphed into something else entirely. Not what Jakob Nielsen had in mind...