Community College graduate with Aspergers - Help

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Hello.
I just got my Associate's degree in Computer Networking and I'm having trouble finding a job in my field. I have worked as a courtesy clerk (the shopping cart person) and bagger at Giant for 4 years and I'm sick of it. I am taking classes at UMUC for my bachelor's degree. I feel stuck in a rut, as the job at Giant pays just under $8.00/hr. In addition, I have spent $125 in public transportation in the last 2 months to travel 4 miles to my job. I am having bad experiences with interviews, some worse than others.. What should I do? My father says I shouldn't quit until I find another job, but I'm miserable at Giant and not making much money at all... How should I approach this?

Congratulations on your Associate's degree, and congratulations on your continued work toward your Bachelor's.

It's a numbers game, you know that as well as I do. The good news is that some economic council whatever, estimated that the recession (really the worse economic downturn since the great depression) ended last summer, that is, summer of '09, and now things are slowly, slowly coming back. So, I advise, be realistically optimistic, things are coming back, keep trying and something good will break.

Okay, about interviews, one thing I've found is that I try to 'excel.' and that often just makes the other person uncomfortable. More and more I'm learning that an interview is just demonstrating that you're a steady eddie by, in response to the pro forma questions, just giving the pro forma answers. Somewhat to my surprise, it turns out that that's what you're 'suppose' to do.

Your father is giving the conventional advice, and in a way it's good strategic advice. At the same time, your father might be missing some of the emotional dimension of just how much you hate the current job at Giant. He may be on the spectrum, or he may not be. Either way is perfectly okay, and he needs to come to decisions about his life on his own time frame.

Using measured disclosure (vagueness, a more formal phase, confidently not saying more) is there a way you could take a 'leave of absence' from Giant? Now, be aware that this is kind of half-quitting and may morph into full quitting, please know that going in.

When my boyfriend who works in the computer field looked for a job he wasn't successful until he was spending 6-8 hours a day searching and applying for jobs. Obviously as a student you can't do that but my point is don't half-ass your applications. Also I would recommend doing mock interviews with a neurotypical who can point out some things. Does your college have any internships to nearby companies? Several people I know got their first job by being hired by an internship supervisor.

congrats

Your boyfriend sounds exceptional in this regard. And more power to him.

However, this is a very high standard. I think most people---Aspie, 'Normal,' Different in Different Ways---just people in general, can't do this many hours for about ten different reasons, the emotional energy required by job hunting chief among them.

I'm also reminded that Stephen King writes for about three or four hours a day, and then he's basically shot for the day. And that's when things are going well.

I've had better results with the approach---quit early, live to fight another day. For me, I'm a morning lark, so I do what I can then, and once I kind of get that point of emotional exhaustion, I then do other activities. But then I come back the next morning fresh to continue with the high priority activities. That is, I work steadily, day to day to day.

Also, if there's a community center in your area, frisbee golf you've seen advertising, you've thought about volunteering for a political campaign (and this is the time), whatever, pretty much anything where you're trying new things, getting connected, giving new people a medium chance. One, it keeps you fresh and reminds you that you can do all kinds of things. And two, the social networking, 'I just got my two year degree in computer networking,' some people won't know how to respond to that or won't pick up on it. But other people will.

Congrats on the Associate's Degree!

It's good that you're going for your Bachelor's as it's harder to get a job without one these days (or so professors tell us... )
Have you tried an internship in your field? If not you should consider it. They may be paid internships and can offer full time employment upon graduation.

As for the interview, what I do is try really hard not to be myself. Act like you're going to get the job (be confident but not arrogant), tell them that you're interested in the company, research the company first so you know something going in, smile, make eye contact even when you feel like you can't, and dress well.

**Also, practice answering the typical interview questions, like "explain a time where you did something wrong on the job" or "what are your strengths/weaknesses", etc. Write them down and study them if you have to. This could help. I did all of this for my last interview and actually got the job. Good luck!

pardon my french but.. suck it, take it in the ass, suffer whatever you have to.... Get that bachelors degree first. The associates will get your foot in, the bachelors will move you up the ladder.

And yes, dont change job unless you have another one lined up. Heck in this economy you're lucky to have one.