why is it hard for some aspergers to have a job?

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beer1982
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26 Jun 2014, 7:11 am

HI
I am worndering why it is hard for some aspergers to find and keep a job. I konw that we (yes I am an spie as well) are bad at reading people but there is plenty of jobs out there in the world that does not requre that skill. With our avarage to high IQ then it should be possible to all of us to take an education or find a job as long as thsoe thing dont requre any human skills. So I am wondering why so many aspies dont have a job. (please ntoe that I am not trying to offend people who has aspie and not a job, Just trying to understand it)



Kurgan
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26 Jun 2014, 7:20 am

Given that today's job interviews (particularly when it comes to jobs not requiring a college degree) are popularity contests, many aspies fail at these.


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beer1982
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26 Jun 2014, 7:23 am

I have never tried to apply for jobs without a degree myself. But if it is so hard to get a job without a degree then those without a degree should go after a degree*

Please also note that I am from Denmark where all education is free



Kurgan
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26 Jun 2014, 7:27 am

beer1982 wrote:
I have never tried to apply for jobs without a degree myself. But if it is so hard to get a job without a degree then those without a degree should go after a degree*

Please also note that I am from Denmark where all education is free


To be able to get a job with a degree, you need previous job experience.


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beer1982
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26 Jun 2014, 7:38 am

Quote:
To be able to get a job with a degree, you need previous job experience.


Then I must have been one of the luckiest aspies out the the world. I did sent for 4 job application out. 1/2 resulted in an interview. In one of the cases they wanted a fresh meet without any bad happits. I was getting the other job.



Ann2011
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26 Jun 2014, 7:48 am

I used to be able to get a job much more easily. Now I am older and not so cute and have a sketchy work history. I can't even get interviews anymore. The few that I have had in the past year have been terrible - I just don't have the energy to pass as NT anymore.
And actually working in the jobs I have had has been difficult. It's not just the social cues, but sensory processing as well. I get confused and am unable to think clearly.
Oh and I do have a degree, but so do the people I'm competing against.



AspieUtah
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26 Jun 2014, 8:37 am

Ann2011 wrote:
I used to be able to get a job much more easily. Now I am older and not so cute and have a sketchy work history. I can't even get interviews anymore. The few that I have had in the past year have been terrible - I just don't have the energy to pass as NT anymore.
And actually working in the jobs I have had has been difficult. It's not just the social cues, but sensory processing as well. I get confused and am unable to think clearly.
Oh and I do have a degree, but so do the people I'm competing against.

Exactly. Almost all my jobs have ended in a supervisor telling me (in so many words) that I didn't adapt well to changes in project instructions. I realized that myself, but felt the need to complete a project before changing direction. Neither I nor they understood that this was because of my being an Aspie, and that knowledge might have aggravated the situation, anyway. Also, I despised the idea of project meetings. If I said I would complete a project at a certain time and date, I will. There isn't a need to interrupt my work by asking me constantly for status reports.

Grrr.


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26 Jun 2014, 8:52 am

AspieUtah wrote:
Also, I despised the idea of project meetings. If I said I would complete a project at a certain time and date, I will. There isn't a need to interrupt my work by asking me constantly for status reports.

Grrr.
Oh, RAMEN! Status requests were so ignorant. Haven't you got anything better to do than stop your day to stop my day? Geesh. I ALWAYS finished each job within 2 weeks of being requested. If it shows up earlier than than, be happy, it won't show up later, so quick effing asking me! Multiple those emails and phone calls and status meetings by the 75 projects I could've been working on at a given time?

Silliness.



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26 Jun 2014, 8:56 am

Daria would be most perturbed :wink:



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26 Jun 2014, 9:10 am

beer1982 wrote:
I have never tried to apply for jobs without a degree myself. But if it is so hard to get a job without a degree then those without a degree should go after a degree*

Please also note that I am from Denmark where all education is free

Oh, and as for this... education can be VERY expensive here in the US. Not everyone is willing to saddle themselves with debt or can't afford to stop working long enough to finish school.

Also, there is still a big part of our population that is kind of anti-education and feel they should get good paying jobs without it (this apparently outdated idea caused many divorces in my town after the manufacturing plants shut down.), folks that can do so are now the exception rather than the rule.



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26 Jun 2014, 10:45 am

Kurgan wrote:
Given that today's job interviews (particularly when it comes to jobs not requiring a college degree) are popularity contests, many aspies fail at these.


Got that problem right here. I feel like my personality rather than what I can do is being judged at job interviews.


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26 Jun 2014, 10:55 am

Simple answer: because no matter what job you're in, you have to deal with other people.

Irritatingly hyper-social NT's.

Ok maybe not all jobs.... but I doubt there's that many openings for lighthouse operators in the middle of the pacific ocean.



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26 Jun 2014, 11:11 am

Closed minded people. Even if you are capable of working and having a job, other people have to be willing to work with you like giving you more instructions, reminding you to do things, re showing you how to do something because it's not in your routine to do it so you are not able to remember how to do it a week later. Not everyone is willing to do all this so of course you might be let go.

Also there are lot of road blocks to getting a job. You need references and cover letters and if you don't know anyone or have any friends and you are shy and have social anxiety and don't like social situations, you are screwed. Places want all this and how can you get it if you have social anxiety and executive dysfunction? You also need recommendations. That makes it harder to get a job. Also don' forget interviews, there are right answers to each question and when filling out a work application. You are already getting judged. If you don't understand something so you ask for clarification, they might not just hire you and just toss out your application after handing it to them. So it's best if you have someone else help you with it eg. friend, parent, neighbor, than asking the people at the job you're applying at.

And people b***h about people who are capable of working of being lazy because they are on Social Security. Well guess what people, if you are the one who does the hiring, you are part of the problem why people are on it. It's people like you why they can't get a job so they need it to survive. Just stop judging and start hiring and less people will be on it, including people with ASDs.


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26 Jun 2014, 11:20 am

Well in my case its not just social things I have trouble with, there are executive functioning difficulties which interferes with getting started on tasks or knowing how to go about it and essentially slows me down, sensory issues can be problematic for me and interfere with my functioning and I seem to process things slowly and forget directions of what to do that the employer or whatever just told me and then having to ask again....so yes the autism causes its difficulties. Then I have Depression, Anxiety and PTSD all pile on top, its the opinion of a few mental health professionals that job stress would easily help drive me to becoming suicidal and thus dangerous to myself I mean yeah when I am in a very low stress environment and only around people who enjoy my company I could easily appear functional enough for work but that does not reflect how I do under stress....so in my case the autism combined with all that prevents me from holding a job currently.


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Golubaya_Krov
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26 Jun 2014, 11:30 am

I must be lucky to get a job and worked for almost 10 years in the same place ! Thanks to 'subsidized job contracts' :D

My experience is from dream to nightmare. On the beginning, people working there were sympathetic and acknowledge my limits, they actually helped me to get into discussions, improving my communication skills. Not enough words to thanks them :P

Then years have passed, new people comes in (turn-over in my department is quite high) and they are not aware of my personality caveat, the new employees are the snob-ish type. I still don't have enough human skills to meet their standards, so when I try to communicate with them, they don't understand me well and this infuriates me, triggering inappropriate reactions. They also like to point out in their gossip about my odd beliefs/personality/behaviour. I use my headphones most of the time, but I can listen sometimes from their chats. Not to mention I am now very isolated from the others.
Every day passes, the poop storm is growing bigger and bigger.

Boss is aware of my problem from the beginning, but I know it is painful to cope with for both of us especially those last two years.
Now I'm planning to quit, since my mental health has declined and making everything difficult. but I don't really know what to do next and I don't know how to bring this issue over to my managers :cry:

@structrix : Happy to see another user with a picture of Kuroki Tomoko as avatar :P



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26 Jun 2014, 1:58 pm

You have to be able to read people to get through job interviews.


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