Jobs which don't involve interacting with others?

Post Reply New Topic

It's clear to a certain colleague of mine at volunteering that I hate interacting with people who I don't know. I'm happy to talk to her and other staff members; but generally hate speaking to strangers.

This leaves me with a bit of a problem. I'm looking for a job, which there are very little around at the moment. Nearly every job seems to involve interacting with strangers. Either that, or I'm nowhere near qualified to do this job.

It's not something that's going to change overnight.

What do I do?

Driving a truck would minimize the need to interact with people and doesn't require great skills.

I'm scratching my head on this one. While you will eventually get to know your co-workers, and repeat customers/clients, there will always be new/occasional customers/clients. There is no way to know everyone you will deal with all of the time. Your best bet is an "inside" office job, or a factory/warehouse/light industrial position where you won't be dealing with the public. Then you will deal primarily with co-workers. Bear in mind some office jobs are "inside" in that you work mainly with co-workers and not the public. Other office jobs are "outside." That is, you deal also with people from outside the office. They could be from other offices, or branches, or customers/ clients, or service people, vendors, sales staff, etc. Also, even in an inside office job you may have to talk on the phone with strangers sometimes.

If you have such a hard time with strangers, I don't recommend self employment, as you would have a hard time dealing with customers/clients.

I am a very shy person with social problems. When I was young I went to many job interviews. I also had many temp assignments. This eventually helped me to deal better with my shyness. I still have it, but it no longer holds me back. Perhaps you should work temp assignments for a couple of years to help you get used to dealing with strangers.

Another benefit I got from all those temp assignments was that I was exposed to people of all economic, ethic, and racial backgrounds on a regular basis, so I got comfortable working with people of all backgrounds. Thanks to this I really don't care what people look like. I care how they treat other people, and that's the way it should be.

Good luck with your job search!

Thank you :0 I've been where I am for a year on Tuesday. Don't have problems talking to co-workers (I know most of them by now) - it's just people I don't know.

I can't drive unfortunately.

I know that I am kind of lousy over the telephone and at the front desk. I would probably get along better with co-workers than customers. That is why I would be suited for work involving bookkeeping, recordkeeping, file management, budgeting, accounting, and word processing.

I don't think you should box yourself into only seeking employment where you think you won't have to interact with people as much. Certainly steer clear of sales positions, but try to mostly keep an open mind.

I've come to realize that it's not human interaction itself that I'm afraid of. Rather, I'm afraid of human interaction that involves more than an exchange of basic information. I get anxious when I am expected to come up with something witty or interesting to say but I'm comfortable simply exchanging information. I have found that interaction with people at work is pretty easy because most of your conversations center around the work you're doing - how you do this or that, what are the results of this certain report, what is the price of this certain item, etc. It's a basic exchange of information.

Meeting someone new in the workplace is hard because they don't know anything about work yet so you are forced to make chit chat which is a social conversation rather than an exchange of basic information. Unfortunately newbies will be a part of any job so it's something you just have to accept.

maybe some kind of janitor/custodial work?

Actually, I found retail sales in a small independent bookstore to be beneficial for my shyness. I had a kind of loose script to follow, so I didn't have to worry about what to say. I also got to closely observe a very outgoing co-worker and I copied him a lot.

I wash cars for a car rental place. It's nice and methodical and I very rarely have to interact with people.

Even if the job itself doesn't require interacting with people, GETTING the job likely will. It's all about who you know in this economy.

Teaching kids is a good option
especially in tuition classes, kindergarten
there is less interaction with parents and children are not difficult
part time job where you just have to do your job and walk out is good

Two great jobs are shipping/receiving and courier. While both require interaction, it is usually with the same people each day, who are generally laid back and easy going. There are also many introverts in these jobs and you will likely meet some Aspies. It is also highly structured and there is a set routine which is perfect for many Aspies. I do similar work and highly recommend it because few people can handle being alone for most of the day.

While I don't have much direct experience, there are many warehouse worker positions where I live and they don't require even less interaction. Despite what ignorant HR people say, those on the spectrum have an advantage in this type of work.

Add warehouse work to the list.

House cleaning.

House sitting.

Yard work.

Obviously there's at least some interaction at some point with jobs, but it can be less frequent.