The real reason why Aspies are often unemployable.

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Yeah.

All I can say is that higher education is fun, and you can put off the nigh-inevitable doing it. But the people who say it'll help you get a good job in the future don't mean you. They mean NTs. You and me are free to choose fields of study with zero professional applications and it probably won't make a scrap of difference. The mindless factory job I'm going to apply for tomorrow or the next day doesn't need my BA or my Master's. And I'll be grateful to have it. If I even get it.

DW, yeah. It should be like that, but it isn't. I'm 36 years old and have never been financially independent, because it isn't like that. And I don't expect it will be in my lifetime.

What worked quite perfectly for me was how I got my internship -- I applied, they didn't interview me, they interviewed my instructors about me. And probably thought, "Oh, god, what have we got ourselves into?" when I arrived, and got a happy surprise because I was ripping along with an acceptably low error rate within twelve hours. And by the time it was done they'd forgotten that I'm weird. I wish employers would just call my internship supervisors and ask them.

Actually, I think I do have the interpersonal skills for this work, or even some more intensely social stuff. I was 'lead' on a little project with another student who was behind me in the program and after a few days she, without my asking, started to remark on how pleasant and easy I am to work with and why. It was nice and very useful feedback. But nobody's going to know that about me based on a 30 minute interview. As I understand it, 30 minutes with me just leaves people thinking, "There's something creepy about this guy and I'm not sure what." It's better if I tell them what, but half the time they think I'm joking or something, I guess. Maybe that's why I can't pass an interview. I'm either a creep, or a creepy clown. But really, I do quite well socially if people give me some time. (I imagine that it is sort of like watching a CGI character in a movie. It looks horrible and kind of scary for a while, and then you get used to it.)

Heck, I am not even uncomfortable during interviews. I don't mind them. Meds do wonders for me and I'm pretty comfortable talking with people now. I wonder if this makes me worse, though -- they also make me chatty, and ticcy.

It's okay. You're a mom. It's not normal, in my experience, for moms not to at least try to refute despair.

Jkid-

Your words are so powerful and amazing. I have been struggling to explain why my social failings and troubles with friendships affects my employability as an adult.

I never could explain it. I have so many skills, I can repair computers, hardware and software. I can repair almost anything on a bicycle, I have built them from the ground up from parts I found in the garbage. I have done 90% of my own auto repair, clutches, headgaskets, ball joints, brakes, pulled engines, etc etc. I can do lots of carpentry stuff, framing, drywall, roofs, replace windows, even some electrical and plumbing. I can polish a piece of granite till it looks like a mirror. I am a good gardener. I am very knowledgeable about natural and herbal remedies. When I put my mind to it, people tell me I am a gifted writer. I could never explain why I had so much trouble with jobs and most people think that if I have all this knowledge and don't hold down a job I must be just lazy or not really trying or whatever.

Getting and keeping a job is very much about being part of the social circle as it is being able to do the work at hand. I almost always fail in the social arena, I usually end up on the bottom of the pecking order or completely excluded altogether.

Thank you so much for this post, I still don't know what to do about this problem, but now I have a much better understanding of it. You are a brilliant person.

I read once about a vineyard in Japan which employs people with autism and even provides housing. Don't remember what it was called or where the article was.

If only there was some organization that could help folks bypass the standard interview process...some sort of employment agency that had connections and contacts with HR people and executives at local businesses...that would show/tell them how what the HR folks see as a problem can be a benefit (such as not sitting around gossiping all day leads to increased productivity). A group or program that would make sure folks on the spectrum don't slip through the cracks.

Well, my workplace held a meeting with all staff just today to warn of impending staff cuts, where four services will be merged into one to cut costs, though specific staff implications are not yet known. However, I have succeeded well in this job and I have been there for over 5 years which is longer than I've held any other job, partly because I have been in a way well supported because the manager has an understanding of AS, even if it can be misplaced. He is in regular contact with a few other Aspies because they attend the same church as him. Without being lucky enough to have this sort of support Aspies are wide open to social and economic Darwinism, much more so in the current horrible climate. So far every time staff reductions have been made where I work I have lost my job, so I sure hope this time will be different. After all it took me 5 months to find this job, and 9 months to find a previous job, and these were not during recession times either.

There is some truth in this. Lacking social connections makes it a lot harder. Also the truth is that when you get a job, no matter how hard you work and how good you are at it, if you don't have social connections and friends there, you will be targetted when people are looking for someone to blame for something. They will make an example or a scapegoat of you just because you don't have friends there who will care. It took me a really, really long time to realise this. For many years I thought that ability and hard work was all that mattered in a job. I was very wrong.

Its best to have jobs with clear goals, consistant work in a controlled environment, where productivity can be easily measured (numbers do the talking not you) Also, get something where stuff is in writing, for example log sheets for truck drivers or daily reports. We do good writing clearly.

My current boss in safety department loves how I do the log sheets. I actually fill them out the right way... everyday and actually do a pretrip inspection of my vehicle.

I've worked on assembly lines welding and in factories. Currently I'm an armed guard (bank truck) with a dedicated route, same place everyday.

Aside from 2 supervisors that I'm stuck with 4 out of 5 days, it is going well. I'm trying to get a regular laid back partner that is of equal rank to myself.

Heck, at my normal stop, one of the managers says that I'm TOO organized ! !