The best of jobs, the worst of jobs

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If you could pick two jobs you have had: one where you feel you were treated the most fairly of all your experiences based on your personality traits (whether you knew it was AS at the time or not) and the worst job you ever had for your personality.

What were the 3-5 top reasons that made one a good experience and one bad? Was there any one factor that made the most the difference to you?

For example - in either best job or worst job, the factors might be:

co-workers understanding
manager's style
type of work
organizational culture
work station

Lets start with the worst job I ever had.

I kept a job for 3 1/2 years because it paid really well and I knew I would never get a better paying job somewhere else. That was all of the good. My co-workers hated, abused, and harassed me on a daily basis.

The sales manager would come into work and at 8:05 AM tell me 'What are you F****** on crack cocaine" about a decision I made that he didn't like and my whole day would be ruined. The sales manager was the person I had to work most closely with all day. Even without me ever mentioning about having Aspergers, he would say things like 'We've got a little aspie here in the office!' in the most derogatory and demeaning fashion. The claims manager was equally as bad, and I had to sit at my desk working all day sandwiched between the two of them.

After 3 1/2 years there I was injured at work and I didn't return. (Knowing all the while I would never get a job that paid as well ever again.)

The best job I ever had was self-employment immediately after this nightmare job.

I worked for myself, I had my own customers, I set my own hours. If I didn't like a customer or they insulted me, I could choose to never have anything to do with them again.

On the down side, I only made as much in 5 1/2 months of self-employment as I would have made in one month of working in the above nightmare job. I also went through a personal bankrupcy essentially losing everything I owned while trying out self-employment.

Unfortunatly, I eventually figured out I couldn't afford to live on the meager amounts I could earn being self-employed. Now I am looking for another job, working for someone else, that will pay better but ultimately where I know I will be abused and mistreated.

I worked at McDonalds for about 10 years from the time I was 14.5. Looking back that may have been the best job for me. It didn't pay $70K a year but, I had pretty good job security.

In my current career (electrician) I've worked on a few jobs with unsavory people but, for the most part it's been ok.

Least favorite job- Telemarketer for one month. It involved being forced to talk to people about a product that I didn't know much about, skimping on the fine print, dealing with people that requested not to be on the call list but other workers found it fun to ignore the request, getting the occasional threat both at work and on the phone, and eventually being fired because I couldn't sell anything.

My favorite job? Though I feel that I am not getting the best references though I was reassured otherwise, I'll go with my last job. I liked my last job at the cafeteria despite some of the hardships that I had. It was practically guaranteed employment, the co-workers for the most part were great, the schedule was flexible, and despite the issues with some of the customers, it wasn't so bad. I only quit because I disapprove of being embarrassed in the manner that one of the supervisors that I revered so highly did (Telling me that I piss everyone off in front of the rest of the crew). It was also my longest lasting job coming in at 2 years.

I don't think any amount of money is worth waking up and dreading every day. You made a valiant effort to get the kind of work you really need. I'm sorry it didn't pay enough, but I don't think you have to work in a place where you'll be abused. There must be something in between the two extremes you've experienced.

Perhaps you could work two part-time jobs. I do, and I'm getting by OK, although I have to live rather frugally. I do one of the jobs at home, which is GREAT for an aspie like me. The other job is taking ticket orders at a theatre. I have fuel assistance and free health insurance from the state for low-income folks. I'm not ashamed of this because I know I work this way because I have AS and this is what I need. I have less money, but I'm happier than I ever was when I made a lot of money.

The people on that nightmare job sound like a bunch of total low-rent trash. By the way, isn't it illegal to harrass someone because of a disability? AS is a disability - it was classified as such in 1994 by the American Psychiatric Association. I wonder if you have grounds to sue them? Even though they didn't know you had AS?

At any rate, I wish you all the luck in the world. This is a tough world and it's hard for people like us. You are not alone.

Higgie

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts.

I love hearing about how things have been in the workplace for you all. I"m sorry to hear that a lot of you have talents that aren't being used to the fullest and that you are subject to management styles that are embarrassing and harassing. When you tell me your detailed experiences, both good and bad, I can learn what the underlying themes are and help address them.

Please keep giving me more information as it comes to you. This is incredibly valuable and I hope the research will make people appreciate employees with AS more than they do right now.

I've only had 2 jobs in my life Mcdonald's (6 months) and Best Buy (4 1/2 years), Mcdonald's was easy because I didn't have to make eye contact and i could just listen to peoples orders and be done. The food smell was not a good part.. it made me feel gross all the time... Then I got a job at Best Buy. It's quite awesome, they did force me to do eye contact though, and now i stare at the bridge of the nose or at the left eye (if i look at the left eye i dont feel so awkward because it's like im just staring at their eyeball itself, but if i make the complete connection between the two i get really bothered). Sometimes i get stressed but i usually just zone out and get through the day.

What makes Best Buy such an awesome job? Do you like working with electronics? Or is it more specific than that? It doesn't sound like you particularly enjoy the working with customers (but, who would?)

The best job is absolutely the one I have right now. I work as a board operator for my favorite radio station. I also assist with producing the morning show. Radio and music are my special interests so that is a huge plus.

My coworkers don't really know I have AS but it wouldn't matter to them -- they treat me very well. We all tease each other so there is never anything too offensive or too personal. We work very hard and that unites us. I rarely deal directly with my manager and my position does not require that I do. Because I primarily work overnights it's me alone with music and the station for most of my shift. When I do deal with other people in the later morning hours, it's a small group and we usually have our own assignments to work on. Sometimes working with the interns is hard for me for a number of reasons, but over all it's okay.

The worst was my previous job where I worked for a staffing firm. I had various responsibilities and that, for one, caused a problem. I had a terrible time focusing and keeping myself organized. My supervisors pulled me in different directions and didn't communicate with one another. I also had very little interest in what I was doing and because there were times I had little reason to communicate with my coworkers my special interests would consume me. I worked in a cubicle but in an open office where I had all kinds of sounds going on around me which of course did not help with focusing. At times I worked as a staffing coordinator which required me to interview new people on a regular basis as well as make and receive numerous phone calls. This was incredibly stressful for me. Also, I was treated with little respect due to my age and the seniority and attitudes of my coworkers so I couldn't perform my job properly -- I couldn't place people because they really wouldn't let me.

worst job-
picking cucumbers in the hot summer puyallup valley sunshine, getting harrassed by stinging insects, blistered hands, sore back and knees from squatting all day, sore neck from craning from squatting position, sunburnt-- tied with-

working in a phone bank, trying to sell people stuff they didn't need, in a room choking with cigarette smoke- this job gave me bronchitis which didn't quit for months after i left.

best job-
ward clerk and entry-level unit coder- i was largely left alone, i just had to answer phones and transfer calls to and fro, which was largely rare because i worked night shift. i calculated and printed employee schedules, checked patients in and discharged them, collated through physicians' reports culling billing information for coding sent to billing department, various other office-type work. i got to wear decent comfortable clothing and never had to sweat. but shrub laid off a bunch of civil servants and i was among the first to go. figures that the only nice clean job i ever had would be the one that would be yanked out from under me.

ive worked many different part time jobs. All self employed ones which suited me much better as i could then choose each individual client i worked for and also what hrs i worked and i also worked alone which i prefer.

Ive worked as cleaners (till i had probably with sensitivity to chemicals), gardener and being a stable hand.

I've only really had one "real" job, and that was at McDonalds from 1993-96. For most of that time, I was 'stuck' doing the cleaning of the 'lobby' (eating areas). Later on they actually got me making food.

I really hated cleaning the ball pit/children's play area, but I didn't realize at the time that Lyme Disease had screwed with my muscles, rendering me unable to climb all over the equipment like I was supposed to in order to wipe it down.

Other than that, I sold Avon for a very brief period (highly unsuccessfully; my only real customers were friends of my mother's) and my mom got me into BS multilevel marketing schemes every chance she got, when she wanted some garbage product for a reduced price. I can't sell things.

I haven't been employable since 1996 though I didn't get disability til 2000. I tried getting a job after losing my job at McDonalds' (over inability to do job properly) and one never materialized.

Worst job - Stockroom loader at a large grocery store. Rats all over the place. Manager was lazy but temperamental. Edges of the boxes were sharp. Delegated the task of shooing away the hookers that congregated behind the store at night to me because I was the tallest. Pay sucked.

Best job - Bartender. Not as socially demanding a job as I would've thought. Could serve myself at times. Didn't have to get up early in the morning.

to be so to my self i'm working on two careers that i have to inter act ahhh

actress, model, poet. worst job but my goals so haha.