Five fields an Aspie should NEVER work in

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steffan
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12 Oct 2011, 1:42 pm

Im a restaurant supervisor in a large retailer ;).



Jayo
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12 Oct 2011, 7:45 pm

Catamount wrote:

Overall, however, it's been great profession for me and Tony Attwood even writes that jobs in the legal profession are often good fits for Aspies. This has been my experience in life.


I've always thought that way as far as Aspies becoming lawyers; it was one of my preferred career choices even before diagnosis (but here I am, working in a lab/IT environment, and have no complaints :) ) I think the main hurdle in the case of a lawyer would be to speak w/o sounding monotone, to sound convincing, which a speech therapist could help with (I got speech therapy about 10 years ago to correct my Aspie speech oddities, seems to have worked wonders). Having a penchant for logical, reasoned arguments w/o getting emotionally attached is what you need to be a lawyer, plus a great memory and ability to absorb convoluted text and provisions definitely helps. You don't need motor skills, or intuition in sudden, unplanned situations like you would for a cop (and kudos to you for being a great cop, it is an inspiration to many of us on the spectrum!)

Of course the stereotype of lawyers is that they're dishonest and sleazy, I don't generally agree with that - and an Aspie could still succeed in the field in spite of other lawyers reeling in business by fibbing - it wouldn't be as much of a barrier as say being a used car salesman where you have to be completely dishonest to succeed.



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13 Oct 2011, 2:50 am

daspie wrote:
Such posts are what make this site going on amidst quit a lot of nonsense. I would like to add few more jobs and also those jobs which are aspie friendly.
ASPIE UNFRIENDLY
CASHIER/WAITER: Requires good short term memory, executive function and motor skills (in the case of a waiter).
SURGEON: This would require fine motor skills, instead an aspie should become physician, general or specialized.
EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES: I left a PhD program about three years ago because I was told, and rightly so, that I was theoretical minded. We care about each and every detail which an experimentalist must ignore to take the initiative, we would then spend time reading about such detail and thus will not be able to give time to experiments. Also we would also be clumsy due to lack of motor skills. Other factor is lack of the ability to do multitasking and planning so that there is no down time as it requires common sense which we do not have.

ASPIE FRIENDLY:
TEACHER: I believe most aspies should become teacher barring those who are average I.Q. because while NTs with average I.Q. can and do become teachers and even become "researchers" because of their faking ability, we aspies have to be of at least slightly above intelligence to have such jobs. And I guess this rule applies even in other fields, it is often seen that an aspie because of lack of social skills doing a job whose requirement is far below his/her qualification. Highly intelligent aspies can, and they do, become theoretical scientists/researcher.
A very good reason to become a teacher is that in free time you can go to the library and do not need to socialize and also you need not figure out complex social relationship among people like you will have to in other jobs to keep the job. The point is that being an outcast would be much easily ignored in a school, college and university. Therefore I believe that aspies should receive an affirmative action for teaching jobs.
LIBRARIAN: This is also aspie friendly as it requires arranging books according to a rule, issuing them to readers according to rule. So it does not require people skills.


For some unknown reason, Aspies seem to be drawn like magnets to social situation jobs. I don't know why. It's a mystery to me. :D
I am a college graduate with two BAs. My first one is in Communications and Drama (double major). My second one is in English Education.
Although I excelled in these areas *book-wise,* I could not actually *function* in them in the "real" world. I have always lived in rural areas, so my opportunities in Communications and Drama were very limited. My parents pushed me to be a public school teacher, even when I told them I didn't like it. (They said it was a good profession for a woman. [It is, just not for *me*.]) I tried to teach, but I could not handle all the different personalities and demands of 25+ students at a time. My old-fashioned values also didn't seem to work in the modern-day schools either. I never felt accepted by the other faculty. So...I say that maybe teaching (unless it's at the college level) would NOT be a good profession for an Aspie.



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13 Oct 2011, 1:17 pm

Jayo wrote:
Of course the stereotype of lawyers is that they're dishonest and sleazy, I don't generally agree with that - and an Aspie could still succeed in the field in spite of other lawyers reeling in business by fibbing - it wouldn't be as much of a barrier as say being a used car salesman where you have to be completely dishonest to succeed.


I think the reason a lot of folks think criminal defense lawyers are sleazy is that it is generally a given that they are knowingly defending individuals who are guilty. I don't even think it's a true perception of dishonesty as much as that many people cannot wrap their minds around the concept of divorcing personal feelings from simple interpretation of the law. Good lawyers don't defend clients, they defend the law itself. I agree that you are right that Aspies might be better than most at being able to do this as our general mindset is based in logic. The simple fact of the matter is that all of those "not guilty" verdicts of people who are likely guilty forces the police to do a better job, leading to a greater justice system for all. Of course, those who pass the bar can also work as prosecutors if they can't handle the idea of defending the guilty.



CarolineD
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13 Oct 2011, 5:40 pm

Jayo and Catamount, I agree: I used to work as a lawyer. In fact, I practised in criminal defence (in England). I enjoyed it, for all the reasons Jayo lists.

The issue of defending clients 'you know are guilty' is a little misleading. First, the only way I could know for sure that they were guilty is if they told me so - I am not a one-woman replacement for a judge and jury, after all! In that situation, professional ethics did not allow me to say that they were innocent. Secondly, if the evidence against them was strong enough that I was fairly sure they were guilty then it would be likely to convince a court too. (Most defendants who had that weight of evidence against them would plead guilty in any event.) Thirdly, as Catamount said, the need for the prosecution to put forward compelling evidence in order to obtain a conviction is absolutely vital for a just system.



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14 Oct 2011, 9:58 am

Jayo wrote:
Catamount wrote:

Overall, however, it's been great profession for me and Tony Attwood even writes that jobs in the legal profession are often good fits for Aspies. This has been my experience in life.


I've always thought that way as far as Aspies becoming lawyers; it was one of my preferred career choices even before diagnosis (but here I am, working in a lab/IT environment, and have no complaints :) ) I think the main hurdle in the case of a lawyer would be to speak w/o sounding monotone, to sound convincing, which a speech therapist could help with (I got speech therapy about 10 years ago to correct my Aspie speech oddities, seems to have worked wonders). Having a penchant for logical, reasoned arguments w/o getting emotionally attached is what you need to be a lawyer, plus a great memory and ability to absorb convoluted text and provisions definitely helps. You don't need motor skills, or intuition in sudden, unplanned situations like you would for a cop (and kudos to you for being a great cop, it is an inspiration to many of us on the spectrum!)

Of course the stereotype of lawyers is that they're dishonest and sleazy, I don't generally agree with that - and an Aspie could still succeed in the field in spite of other lawyers reeling in business by fibbing - it wouldn't be as much of a barrier as say being a used car salesman where you have to be completely dishonest to succeed.

Lawyers can perhaps be defined in two categories, one civil and other criminal. I think aspies can become good civil lawyers fighting issues which require logical thinking like environmental issues etc but I disagree that aspies could be good criminal lawyers, it requires mind-reading to think the way criminal did, to understand the motive. We simply lack these skills.



CarolineD
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14 Oct 2011, 10:21 am

Daspie, I've done the job and it really requires logic rather than mind-reading. Motive is generally a small aspect of the case: it is not usually part of the legal definition of the crime; in many crimes it's obvious anyway; and some crimes are beyond the understanding of most NTs and Aspies alike. Motive can be more important when it comes to sentencing, but at that stage the client will usually explain their motive so again, no mind-reading is required.

Certain areas of civil law, such as family law, could be more difficult for Aspies.



daspie
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14 Oct 2011, 11:42 am

CarolineD wrote:
Daspie, I've done the job and it really requires logic rather than mind-reading. Motive is generally a small aspect of the case: it is not usually part of the legal definition of the crime; in many crimes it's obvious anyway; and some crimes are beyond the understanding of most NTs and Aspies alike. Motive can be more important when it comes to sentencing, but at that stage the client will usually explain their motive so again, no mind-reading is required.

Certain areas of civil law, such as family law, could be more difficult for Aspies.

O.K. but my experience shows that we are easily fooled in debates because we take everything (trivial matter) seriously.



bergie
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14 Oct 2011, 11:55 pm

I actually find that I work very well under pressure where others start to freak out, I can maintain my composure,



bergie
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15 Oct 2011, 12:00 am

daspie wrote:
Jayo wrote:
Catamount wrote:

Overall, however, it's been great profession for me and Tony Attwood even writes that jobs in the legal profession are often good fits for Aspies. This has been my experience in life.


I've always thought that way as far as Aspies becoming lawyers; it was one of my preferred career choices even before diagnosis (but here I am, working in a lab/IT environment, and have no complaints :) ) I think the main hurdle in the case of a lawyer would be to speak w/o sounding monotone, to sound convincing, which a speech therapist could help with (I got speech therapy about 10 years ago to correct my Aspie speech oddities, seems to have worked wonders). Having a penchant for logical, reasoned arguments w/o getting emotionally attached is what you need to be a lawyer, plus a great memory and ability to absorb convoluted text and provisions definitely helps. You don't need motor skills, or intuition in sudden, unplanned situations like you would for a cop (and kudos to you for being a great cop, it is an inspiration to many of us on the spectrum!)

Of course the stereotype of lawyers is that they're dishonest and sleazy, I don't generally agree with that - and an Aspie could still succeed in the field in spite of other lawyers reeling in business by fibbing - it wouldn't be as much of a barrier as say being a used car salesman where you have to be completely dishonest to succeed.

Lawyers can perhaps be defined in two categories, one civil and other criminal. I think aspies can become good civil lawyers fighting issues which require logical thinking like environmental issues etc but I disagree that aspies could be good criminal lawyers, it requires mind-reading to think the way criminal did, to understand the motive. We simply lack these skills.


My second choice (after computer programmer) would have been lawyer. I tend to develop very strong opinions on the right or wrongness of a position so I believe I could defend a position (criminal or civil) with a zeal that many overworked lawyers could not. If I lost...that would be another story. The meltdown would probably require several weeks of recuperation. I also would not likely be able to muster the willpower to defend a person/position I personally disagreed with.



E8
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15 Oct 2011, 11:26 pm

NobodysHome wrote:
For some unknown reason, Aspies seem to be drawn like magnets to social situation jobs. I don't know why. It's a mystery to me. :D
Moths to a flame? I was attracted to teaching because of the social interaction, which was "safer" than other forms - the intellectual variant. It helped to quell the pangs of loneliness that I typical feel due to my social failures.
NobodysHome wrote:
I tried to teach, but I could not handle all the different personalities and demands of 25+ students at a time. My old-fashioned values also didn't seem to work in the modern-day schools either. I never felt accepted by the other faculty. So...I say that maybe teaching (unless it's at the college level) would NOT be a good profession for an Aspie.
I stuck it out for a single term at the high school level, and 4 years of college (math) instruction. Perhaps I would've had better luck in a well-organized department with high standards (or better training), but in the end, the stress from the social interaction with unmotivated students outweighed whatever good I felt I was doing, and I switched to engineering.



NobodysHome
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15 Oct 2011, 11:44 pm

E8 wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:
For some unknown reason, Aspies seem to be drawn like magnets to social situation jobs. I don't know why. It's a mystery to me. :D
Moths to a flame? I was attracted to teaching because of the social interaction, which was "safer" than other forms - the intellectual variant. It helped to quell the pangs of loneliness that I typical feel due to my social failures.
NobodysHome wrote:
I tried to teach, but I could not handle all the different personalities and demands of 25+ students at a time. My old-fashioned values also didn't seem to work in the modern-day schools either. I never felt accepted by the other faculty. So...I say that maybe teaching (unless it's at the college level) would NOT be a good profession for an Aspie.
I stuck it out for a single term at the high school level, and 4 years of college (math) instruction. Perhaps I would've had better luck in a well-organized department with high standards (or better training), but in the end, the stress from the social interaction with unmotivated students outweighed whatever good I felt I was doing, and I switched to engineering.



Your experience sounds much like mine. I was a high school English teacher and then later tried work as a teacher's assistant in grade school, but I couldn't cope with either. I've decided to train for a totally different career path...something that I may be better able to handle. :)



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16 Oct 2011, 3:16 am

Lovinlife2 wrote:
I agree with the job list. However I am really trying to clarify the theory that aspies don't empathise. I have all the other so called aspie traits but I over empathise with others. I have done enormous amounts of training and can read social ques now if looking for them but have always struggled with a sense of feelikng what others feel even when I don't want to..... is this true for other aspies? I became a counsellor eventually as I learnt lots of skills etc. and have moved away from counselling again. I am three times as qualified as the person that just got awarded the job I am temping in!! !!

Grr


Firstly, daspie I love your list. So true. I've always thought I'd be a good teacher.

Lovinlife2, I totally sympathize with that. I've noticed there seems to be a couple of different kinds of aspies - I've seen some who have no emotion and/or doesn't show emotion and those that are "overly" emotional. Or whatnot. Anyway I'm one of the latter, I have alot of emotions and I feel alot. (and cry really easily) Some people don't even believe I have aspergers' but the fact is the spectrum is so wide, there are so many variants :P Counseling sounds like a great job for you. Counseling and teaching - both great ones.



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16 Oct 2011, 12:44 pm

I dont think #7 is true at all. well it is if you want to limit yourself. If you use your AS you can get alot of work done quickly, and done right. Better then a non aspie. I think it might be harder to get the skills for a trade, but you need to find someone that gets your AS and you need to be very tech when you learn something or get a direction. Thats what helped me ( well didn't know what my deal was till only a few years ago). But once you get the skills to get stuff done, I think your better off. You know the whole project, and can see many step ahead. And as you work to get there it right on. You just have to learn to not let the little things you can't control bother you so much, and if thats really gona matter to what your going.



Trainbuff
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16 Oct 2011, 6:32 pm

The Airline industry would be a bad choice for aspies as well.

Air Traffic Controller... lots of stress

Pliot... Self exploratory IMO...

Operating trains probably could fall into this category, then again a Aspie in NYC did operate a subway train safety for several stops along the "E" line in Manhattan back in the day, this same aspie also operated a bus successfully from the NYC Metro area to North Carlina.

Operating subway/Light Rail/Buses aspies probably can do, but a 100 car long Freight train or any railroad train seems very difficult.

A job the rails seem very attractive to aspies that are loaners such as myself as you are usually alone in the cab operating the train. Same thing with being a truck driver....

A engineer that is NT AFAIK said the training for engineer was the hardest thing he has ever done.

Also being a NFL QB would be hard for a Aspie as well, esp when you play on the road and the crowd cheers extra loud so your team has a harder time setting up the play before the snap.



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17 Oct 2011, 11:23 pm

In some respects I am not typical for an autie

I am very creative and I need jobs that allow a creative licence.

I get bored by repitition, but I am socially akward at times.
Most jobs in the arts involve self employment which I have a hard time with because of severe executive function dysfunction.
I need a boss, I think to establish structure. I cant create it for myself.

I am good at low pressure sales...just show them the stuff, give the facts, let the products do the selling.
I also a good councilor because I listen well and I can come up with creative solutions...however that counciling friends and family...I am akward with strangers. soooo maybe not.

unlike most aspies...I suck at math in a phenominal way, and kinda skittish of computers. I know only the basics for use.
However I work well with animals, worked for a dog groomer once and I did very well at that.
Its creative and it involves minimal people interaction becides co-workers..... and dogs are easier to understand than people.

I might do good as an art teacher.

but what I really want to do is be an art therapist for ppl on the spectrum.
I think as an insider, I would be good at it and I have seen how much art has healed me in my life. The creative process is very healing as long as you get the inner critic out of the picture.

The problem with being so specialised like that is that I would most likely be self employed which brings back to that executive functioning problems which is a hurdle that I cant seem to overcome.

I cant seem to organize my bills let alone run a buisness.

Jojo


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