Five fields an Aspie should NEVER work in

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is wall street a emergency service? lol

MANY surgeons have aspie tendencies.

One physician who I know said attending meetings with surgeons is like being in a room full of aspies.

We as aspies have different abilities. And to some extent most people will excell at one thing a little bit more than another.

I think the key is to find your niche. Look at your abilities first then your challenges second. By examining your abilities first, the job market opens. By then looking carefully at your personal challenges, one can narrow down what they would feel most comfortable with. I believe another key in autism is to allow our challenges help us grow. By doing so, I think we can give society more stability. This just my personal opinion.

Add public accounting to that list. I guess that ties in with your explanation of sales and management.

I worked as a sales agent, and I was good, once I realized all you have to do is act. You had to say your lines (and maintain a certain facial expression and body language), and respond to your clients' (very narrow) answers. Seriously, that was easy, because once you learn what to say and what facial expression to have, and once you learn how your clients might react, it's easy.

So I'd say it's not impossible if you're ok with acting (I don't mean on professional acting, but pretending not to be you).

>>2) SALES: again, this field should be avoided...sure an Aspie can relay technical product details inside-out, but would miss the subtle signs that a potential client is not interested in what you have to offer, and try to recoup the sale or adopt another tactic to sell them on something else. <<

Missing social cues can be an advantage in sales. When I did telemarketing, the quality assurance graders thought I was awesome because my persistence overcame clients' objections. I suppose there should be a limit to everything, however.

>>Also, in this field your co-workers tend to be cut-throat and competitive even in an unscrupulous way, so an Aspie is liable to be walked all over, have credit stolen for sales due to being too trusting with colleagues as "friends", etc...not good.<<

Sales are probably the arena where you are least likely to lose credit. Close sales and the stats are yours.

If you decide on self-employment, which many of us do at some point, you will need to learn about sales. It's not hard.

My father's very likely an Aspie and he's been an EMT/firefighter since he was 13.

I think Aspies shouldn't limit themselves based on preconceptions and stereotypes.

Wow, you guys have some very insightful responses, well done!! ! As the original poster of this thread, I am pleased to see it's grown to 70-odd responses already. Now that I can extract some discernable patterns, the one glaring thing is that being a WAITER is the biggest red flag for any Aspie, the #1 must-avoid job. I have seen people refute the other types of conventionally non-Aspie-friendly jobs (like emerg services, sales, etc.) and I see plenty of merit in their reasoning, but nobody (that I've seen, I could have missed it) has come forward and said they were a successful waiter and made lots of tips, got lots of compliments on the comment cards etc. I think this is because a server has the worst anti-Aspie formula, i.e. gross and fine motor skills, catching non-verbal cues while in a hurry, use of short-term memory, being diplomatic and making judgement calls if an order is delayed (do you give them 50% off, or ask the manager?) However, it is quite structured in that the menu is finite (sure, people can ask for no onions, or substitute mushrooms, etc...) and you just have to come by once in a while and ask the canned phrase "is everything OK?" STILL...the net verdict is "stay away" in my mind.

The Hospitality Sector- I too, was harassed and this was only during a hospitality course, so I saw the negative side straight away , thus turning me off from ever wanting to work a job in this particular field.The hospitality industry is great for some, but it can have a very detrimental effect on others.

Funny. I love carpentry. And I was pretty darn good at waiting tables. It's easy once you learn the rules-- get everything for your customers that you can, do everything you're told, never expect to be praised, and understand that getting kicked regularly is just part of the job.

The fact that I showed up promptly, wasn't there to socialize, and NEVER minded busing tables and cleaning bathrooms made me everyone's favorite employee.

I worked as a cashier, server, and cook at a bakery/cafe. As a cashier and server, I noticed that younger customers treated me as though I was stupid because I was a cashier; older customers seemed to like me, as well as visitors from foreign countries. I got the best treatment from the foreign customers because I understood them without any issue, unlike a lot of other people.
As a cook, I was much more relaxed. For whatever reason, the clang of pans and the crash of glass soothes me. Unfortunately, my boss liked me to be up front because I brought in the highest tips and could memorize the regulars' orders after just one or two instances. For that reason, I quit; I wanted to be in the back of the house.
The only problem I have with working in the back of a restaurant is my coworkers. If you're in a good workplace, you can wind up in a group of down to earth and nice people. However, you can also wind up with egotistical people. For example, when I was in culinary school, there was one guy who would leave early so he didn't have to clean up the kitchen lab and threw a tantrum when half the class called him out on it. He believed that because his mom was a chef he had special priviledges and was above those of us who came from simpler backgrounds.

I've been researching jobs for Aspies, as, my prior ventures into the working world (and academia) have been challenging. As the owner of a small consumer electronics business, I managed employers and customers, acted as a salesman, did installations (which combined wood-working and electronics), and provided tech support. I was adept at the latter two, though perhaps a bit slower than others. The management and sales portions were nigh impossible to master for me.

I've tutored and taught math and stats extensively. The tutoring generally went well, but it's a very different dynamic than teaching. As a tutor, I could always bring levity to difficult subjects with my "geeky" humor, and the students always knew I'm was there for them - and only them; the perception of being a helper was there, while with teaching, it was of authority. With teaching, you're also responsible to the subject matter (standards), compounded with purview over many students. Empathy becomes much more of an issue, and the teacher-student relationship can turn adversarial (and incredibly stressful) quickly.

I found the "Best and Worst Jobs for Aspergers Adults" article, some of which I found very enlightening. Interestingly, that the article clearly differentiates between pure math and applied math fields. My BS is in pure math, and I flubbed terribly when I went to grad school to continue those studies. I'm studying engineering now, which, while just as challenging, is much more engrossing, making it easier for me to study (and hopefully succeed in the workplace).

Do any of you have any other reading suggestions?