Five fields an Aspie should NEVER work in

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I have been diagnosed based on a state voc rehab-sponsored WAIS test. I work as a programmer and had a job coach I stay in touch with.

My job coach told me about an undiagnosed aspie they worked with who was hired away from a Silicon Valley company to come to manage a software project for the world's biggest computer chip manufacturer. It only took him four days to get locked out of the building, no doubt because of some comment or incident that occurred in a meeting.

So just being highly competent isn't enough, you can get promoted or hired into positions where you don't have the social skills to cope as expected. Let me also add that employers can get faked out.

My dad knew a programmer who worked for his company (huge engineering firm) that went off to some other company for a higher salary. It was actually a smaller company, but she got fired because when she was trying to provide information to the owner of the company, she said something like "Here, this will jog your memory". The owner felt personally offended by that. It's BS, but you really do have to be careful. Even the smallest things can upset someone.

What you talk about though is very common in public accounting, and a lot of times in just accounting in general. You'll hear about the best and the brightest accounting students washing out their first year. http://audit.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/h ... lly-sucks/

Autistics would be good a selling houses because today's economy requires out of the box thinking.

OMG...yep...that'll do it. Classic case of the disconnect between the (positive) intent of the Aspie speaker, and the NT recipient. It could have been worse, imagine if she inserted the word "perhaps" between "here" and "this".

I'm not sure that particular industries would necessarily be off limits or not advisable. The main thing I'd suggest is hooking up with a company in whatever industry, but where there is a bit of a geeky, or geek-friendly, workplace culture.

I'd say the worst situation is to work for a boss with politician-like aspirations: these are the types who will most likely expect a lot of unspoken gestures, and who will want their egos stroked. People on the spectrum will generally not pick up on all the unspoken cues and b.s. and from there the working relationship is likely to only get worse.

Have to say I have the same opinion as you two. I'm a paramedic, and have been for the last 8 years. And while my social skills (or lack of them) have occasionally backfired on me, most of the time my aspie traits actually help me do my job. My colleagues are all now aware of my diagnosis, and so as they know WHY I get a bit crap social wise during a case with large amounts of trauma, they no longer take it personally- they understand that all the concentration I would usually devote to trying to act "normal" is taken up with diagnosing and treating that critically ill patient.

The methodical approach is very advantageous, and the ability to remain objective is excellent in this job. Last week, I was shadowing the consultant in A&E at our local hospital. A two year with scalds on his face from pulling a hot cup of tea onto himself came in, and I was asked by one of the nurses after we'd dealt with him how I stayed so calm while wrestling with the poor kid to get certain procedures done ... Had to then explain I was an Aspie...

The other advantage with working in a medical field is that your colleagues will most likely juat go "Ohhh, right." when you disclose Aspergers, then go off, read, and realise that you aren't an aloof weirdo. Well, mostly. Some medical folk are simply jerks, too!

I've worked over 20 retail and hospitality jobs. Mostly all have been fired from, a few I have quit.

I've made the pledge to never work a "job" again unless it pertained to my aspergian skill traits.

I feel as if this is super ironic because I am an aspie currently working as an assistant manager at a retail store and training to be an EMT. Let me explain why I excel at each.
Sales- I work at a shoe store and know my product inside and out, and while most people in my store are desperate to make sales, my intricate knowledge of my product make my job extremely easy. Lets say a customer comes in looking for a winter boot. They pick one up that looks pretty and bring it to me and ask for a size. I can make several deductions from this action:
either a) they know precisely what they are looking for and are asking for this for a reason
or b) they want something similar to this, but have absolutely no idea what they are looking for and are looking for my help, which leads me to:
"Oh this product is excellent, were you looking for this brand in particular or are you open to some suggestions that I may have for you"
They are going to answer to the question as either an affirmative, yes they are looking for that product or no, they are just looking for something similar. If it is the former then my job is easy, if it is the latter than my job is still easy. I ask a series of questions related to the product and then use my product knowledge to pick the best option for them. Now, they can either accept this selection or reject it. But most of them understand that from my direct and blatant approach that they can either say one of two things "yes" or "no, that doesn't work for me" and I will continue on to another viable option. There have been few instances where a customer frustrates me to the point where I have gone into the back room and simply not re-enmerged, but those are far and few between and usually if I don't emerge after a couple of minutes one of the other people I work with knows well enough to take over the sale.
As an Assistant Manager- I don't take people's BS. Straight up. I tell people how I can help them, and if they refuse to listen I repeat myself until they either understand or get sick of me and leave and call someone higher up from me who will give them exactly the same answer that I did proving to them that I was right.

and FINALLY, my favourite
Emergency Services- I am an extremely intelligent person. I don't mean to make myself sound better than I am, but honestly, I am really smart. And that smartness translates well into me thinking well on my feet (as emergency services there is a checklist that you must go through when treating someone, regardless of the extent of the injury or illness) and the only issue that I have run into that pertains to my Asperger's while working emergency services is a couple of instances where my bluntness has upset family members (although, ironically, because I don't get very frustrated along with being blunt it usually calms people down. I have yet to yell at an upset family member in frustration, unlike a lot of my colleagues). Now, I can see where working as a police officer or with fire services may be difficult to someone on the Autistic Spectrum, but the simple fact is that being an EMT/Paramedic you don't really actually have to deal with a lot of people aside from family members and emergency room doctors (with which you actually become acquainted with fairly quickly). I'd have to say that being on the Autistic Spectrum actually can be a huge benefit in this type of job. Rarely do I feel the need to attend critical incident debriefings, mostly because my emotions (which are virtually non-existent most of the time) do not follow me to work. Seeing a child in distress would bother a lot of neurotypical people, and I've actually witnessed my co-workers freezing up in situations like this, where I don't think twice about going to work. Also, I imagine that seeing someone die is quite distressing to someone more neurotypical that is able to express things like empathy and sympathy to the person's family. Again, not a problem for me. My intricate knowledge of the workings of the human body, coupled with my automatic thinking and acting actually, in my opinion, makes me the ideal emergency worker, and because I am so intelligent, the few social faux pas that I may make are more than made up for by my intelligence. Also, contrary to what was mentioned by the OP, my motor skills are not an issue for me. For some reason, while some things seem off about them, I actually have extremely superior motor skills (I'm ambidexterous, because my brain was wired to be right-handed, but I grew up in a left handed household, so I learned everything from a left-handed perspective). Also, the reason I enjoy working in emergency services is the fact that most of my co-workers actually have to be educated on differences like Autism and Asperger's so I feel a lot more comfortable being open with my co-workers about my diagnosis and they are pretty understanding about it.

Basically, if I was to have a point, it is that this post, while having the best intentions, really isn't pertinent to a lot of us. I believe that if you enjoy something then you should go for it. Regardless of how social you may think you may need to be. When I went into emergency services, I was terrified that I would have to deal with people, but I surprised even myself. I am more professional than a lot of people I encounter.

I find that working retail was close to impossible. There was too much product and too many people.

But a shoe store sounds nice. Town Shoes f.e. is pretty small, and all they sell is shoes. Easy.

I've always been good at retail, regardless of the size of the store and the product that I'm working with. The one thing that I found really hard was being a personal assistant.

Retail for me was iffy. See, I have been told by various Psychs I have Aspergers but they won't diagnose me as I am extremely outgoing and social, which in work anyways is a BS facade I put up to do well, I've learned how to interact socially well enough to get by, though I suck at eye contact and can't read tone of voice and body language, so sometimes it's tough.

I think if you work on your interaction skills you can excel in an industry that involves talking to people. I was an Assistant Manager trainee at Blockbuster, an Assistant Manager at EBGames, I also was a bartender/bar manager. I work in a grocery store stocking shelves now, but I started with bagging groceries and taking them out, which involved tons of small talk. I didn't transfer to stocking shelves because of the social interaction getting to me, it just paid more and had better benefits.

I think retail is tough for people with Aspergers, but it is something you can do with a little practice and a lot of bullshitting.

That last paragraph sums up the job I was in before my current one. I vowed, never again - will I ever work for a narcissist. I'm totally against ass-kissing which some NTs in the corporate world seem to have no trouble with.

I worked in 1, 2, and 3. All before I realized I'm as Aspie as they get!!
1. I was a grill cook at a major fast food chain when I was 15. All the new girls got to work the cash register, why did they stick me on that hot a** grill?! Maybe the manager sensed something odd about me. I was chewed out on a regular basis. When people made requests like no onions, I forgot and added them anyway. I had a habit of burning holes in the hamburger patties, and instead of wasting a perfectly good hamburger patty, I filled those holes with ketchup, mustard and a layer of cheese. After all a hungry person isn't gonna notice that, right?? NO!
2. I was a telemarketer and a face to face sales person. Thankfully Google and a couple of shots of liquor helped me to put on a facade and close some deals. I watched a lot of "pros" at my job and copied everything they did too. I did not know how to make small talk but I sure learned how in this field of work.
3. I was an airport security officer right after 9/11. For nearly TWO years. My attendance sucked, some days I could not deal with so many people and bright lights and noise. I called in sick many days without hesitation. Yes I was sick...of THAT job. And.... I studied to become an emergency medical technician, until I realized that I would be responsible for saving someone's life...oh shiz that's way too MUCH pressure.
now that I think about it I guess I do have experience in Managing, if you want to call it that. In college I was often elected by my peers to be project manager or team leader. Because I did EVERYTHING!! ! I had extreme difficulty with delegating tasks, I did not know how to ask for help or communicate with others. Maybe that's that mindblind thing that I hear about, I was so unaware that I was being used, and it made me so pissed when everyone else got credit for my work, and better grades than myself...but I digress.

Well... I work as a carpenter. I work for myself. There are often gaps between jobs. I couldn't have a career where I can't have time off.

I don't actually like carpentry but I am very good at it, they say. I pay attention to detail. They call me a perfectionist. I don't advertise but my name gets passed round a lot of people and now a builder and a plumber get me work too. I have lots of heavy tools which I must cart around from job to job which is painful but good exercise for my muscles. The dust isn't good for my lungs though.

I am quite experienced now after maybe 15 years. I don't work all the time but that suits me because I get too tired. I would like to do something else though.

I went to art college. I got a first, probably for my original unusual thinking and for not giving in to the fear about doing things that had to be done. It's like I can turn myself into a machine and become a slave to the task that gets set.

Sometimes I wish there was an alternative way of living.

I work in retail as a cashier, though I started out as a bagger. It is a very social job, and can be at times not Aspie-friendly (especially with noise and bright lights.) However it helped me to refine a lot of my social skills and if I didn't do it, I wouldn't be as good with people as I am now.

Next job is to be a police officer, and the hardest thing right now in becoming that is finding a person who wants to exercise with me. I don't know if I could do the police thing or not, but I won't know until I try. I do know that I don't seem to get upset in stressful situations (if I am on my own I do fine) and at times I feel calm. Hopefully it will be a good fit, as it's a dream job and I hope to do it some day.

Being a EMT can be good or bad depending on your ability to enpathize with others. From past experiance my lack of empathy helped to get right to work at the worst wrecks. Not reacting to the gore is a plus to actuly help people, however this comes at the price of people thinking that you dont care for them. Take a seiously injured child with parents there if you dont react like them you come acrost like some inhuman monster.
As for what I think would be a good job for most aspies a inspector of others work. Because you shouldn't be too friendly with the coworkers, have a detail orianted mindset and the ability to memorize tons of specifications.
I have worked for a construction contractor and found that electrical work suited me better than the carpentry. This was due to less contact with coworkers and a more structured method of working.
Im currently a auto tech at a dealer and even though my personal obsesion is cars. I find that the working environment distracting, the noise, the people, the constant changing sheduals, and multitasking on two or more vehicals. I do belive however a small privite shop with less people would be better, expecialy if i could tell them about asburgers syndrom.

Now for a little venting as well as any posible solutions you have to offer.

Every day Im at work is rediculisly stressful I think it would be a lot less though if I was not perceved as the"slowest man" at work. Due to the way I talk and the delay when I answer questions "have to dumb down the speech and decide if the question is literal or figuative" has caused a rift between me and the lead tech and the service manager. I dont know how to fix there impesion of me and no matter how well I do at my job it will not change there impesions of me i.e. the person I replaced had 4 mistakes in his last month Ive had two noncritical mistakes in just under three years. Less than any one elts here even our most experianced tech.