Can Aspies make a career from their attention to detail?

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johnsmcjohn
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23 Oct 2011, 1:35 am

I was watching a tv show tonight when a woman fell from a building onto a cab. She's supposed to be dead and when the camera focuses in on her and you can CLEARLY see her blinking. Since this would be easily removed digitally, I assume the editor and the director never caught it. I have been able to spot things like that my whole life. So I am curious about two things: Has anyone here been able to parlay their observation skills into a job? And if so, what's the best way to do it?


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Apera
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23 Oct 2011, 2:23 am

From what I hear, it's a common thing for us folks to do. That said, the movie business is extremely fast, so if you tell an editor about something you noticed, they may well just ignore it. Movie errors are often continuity-related, such as a scene with burning candles cut together so that the candles visibly change size. Welders often have their work checked for micro-fractures with an X-ray microscope. I expect that is a more common field for us, but I believe there are some people on here involved with media.


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Ichinin
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23 Oct 2011, 3:40 am

johnsmcjohn wrote:
Has anyone here been able to parlay their observation skills into a job?


Yes

johnsmcjohn wrote:
And if so, what's the best way to do it?


By being thorough and not trusting people claiming that their product is "da-shit" and instead checking to find out if their product just are - s**t.


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Ashuahhe
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23 Oct 2011, 4:02 am

On plenty of occasions I have been told I would be good in the Design industry. I have told I have:

*good eye for colour
*good composition skills

That's good sign, my degree isn't going to go down the toliet yay :D



auntblabby
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23 Oct 2011, 4:24 am

in the field of audio restoration, i am constantly noticing mediocre work therein. my attention to detail involves noticing various kinds of extraneous noise, and removing such while keeping the musical ambience perceptually untouched. but nobody will hire me for anything involving audio restoration, instead preferring big-city alpha males with big talk. my older brother is a master mechanic but had trouble finding work because he is self-effacing rather than the typical over-confident alpha one normally sees.



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23 Oct 2011, 5:17 pm

Without offering a lot of attentions to the details of this debate I can add: It seems like you've found a spot for yourself, if you can see yourself working with these details for a long time. You may also go the opposite way, and work for advertising, product placement, and hidden messages

In Denmark we have an Autism based company called the Specialists (Specialisterne), who only look through details of programming, phone bills and other number-intense, repetitive tasks, they've consulted for Microsoft, too, I think. These are not Aspies, but people who are autistic to a degree, where they get early retirement, and are considered unable to work at all. The company is some 10 years old, and founded by a father of one such kid. You may have heard about them already around WP.



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01 Nov 2011, 9:36 pm

This might be the employment agency I had heard about … not an option for me, I'm afraid.

Detail has been a wonderful asset to harness in designing software interfaces. The challenge for me has been finding a way to communicate that detail to others, and to adapt those details (or ignore them) when faced with customer/client/superior feedback.

I'm pretty sure on a personal level that this kind of attention to detail is useful somewhere, but as you saw the movie was released with flaws, so is software, all the time.



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09 Nov 2011, 1:19 am

johnsmcjohn wrote:
Has anyone here been able to parlay their observation skills into a job?

And if so, what's the best way to do it?


Any job, if you really want it, research the company before the interview. Dropping highly relevant yet obscure nuggets demonstrates your attention to detail, and shows you care.



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09 Nov 2011, 9:58 am

"Can Aspies make a career from their attention to detail?"

YES DEFINITELY!! !

In my career I am currently building, attention-to-detail is paramount, I am training to be a conservator, specialising in books, paper and archives.
I discovered the job by accident and I really love it. I get to be in a room by myself with a radio and maybe one (very occasionally two) other persons and work on my own projects. Thoroughness and integrity while carrying out one's work rates more importantly than speed. I like being given the space and time to do work properly to the satisfaction of my own high standards.

I'm sure (as others have said) this is all transferable to jobs such as graphic designer, photo editor, pinstriper, etc. I've done various career-matching tests online in the past and they were quite helpful in seeing where my traits would be best suited.



baos
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09 Nov 2011, 11:47 pm

Programming. I spot and fix the bugs easier than others.



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10 Nov 2011, 8:00 pm

Mathematics and a Trades Salesman Lol



MacDragard
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10 Nov 2011, 8:52 pm

Of course you can. Have you seen that new show Person of Interest on CBS? Michael Emerson's character Finch does just that. In fact, I believe he plays an aspie in the show.



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12 Nov 2011, 5:07 pm

Aviation likes attention to detail. It can be the difference between a flight being cancelled and an accident occurring.



thelaughingman
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12 Nov 2011, 6:08 pm

Definitely programming. Also editing text...I've been editing grant proposals for someone at an energy company (although I'm not very interested in the subject matter...).

I recently read an academic journal article on how people on the spectrum are perfect candidates for software testing...attention to detail (and usability) are perfect skills to have in that area of work.



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12 Nov 2011, 9:00 pm

Also, the Air Force is nothing BUT attention to detail.



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15 Nov 2011, 11:27 pm

thelaughingman wrote:
Definitely programming. Also editing text...I've been editing grant proposals for someone at an energy company (although I'm not very interested in the subject matter...).

I recently read an academic journal article on how people on the spectrum are perfect candidates for software testing...attention to detail (and usability) are perfect skills to have in that area of work.


The software place that I last worked, and this is increasingly common, is using "agile" methods, which basically mean skipping a testing phase and foisting problems directly onto users. Businesspeople get to check their box that something was done sooner, but people suffer. It sucks.

More corporate-type places probably still use waterfall, which was the case where I worked before. But then the pace was frustratingly slow. I wish there were something in between.