Worthless Master's Degree

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I thought I could be a professor. I got an "earn while you learn" style teaching position at a university while earning my Master's, only to have it blow up in my face (Like every other job I had.) While the other grad students got promoted and got better pay, I, due to my evals, ended up staying in the same position, and ended up fired.

It's not like I refused to change. Far from it. I tried. But every time I changed, either old problems would find ways around it, or new problems would f**k me over. I was eventually fired. The ONLY grad student fired. I've been telling everyone I resigned to pursue other interests, but deep down, I wonder...

I got into this M.A program just because I wanted to teach this s**t. Seems like it ain't to be, so now I've gotten a Master's degree for nothing. John Elder Robinson was right: Although aspies are called "little professors," very few end up being college professors. Oh yeah, I'm also $20,000 in debt.

Seriously, is my life meant to be doing menial jobs for the rest of my life, since we live in a "communication-based" society where only good "communicators" get the good jobs? What a load of s**t.

I really hope my life improves soon. There's a bunch of other BS that's a bit too personal for me to talk about online going on in my life, but I'm getting really sick of this.

I can understand. It does get old; I've reached my thirties and still can't find employment due to the emphasis on social skills (plus I'm completely burnt out from bad experiences.) My degrees therefore mean little. Also, it doesn't make a difference for me if the job is "menial"--I was the only one let go when working part-time doing shop work. This was even though I was hard-working, polite, and punctual; I gave off the wrong body language (which they described in my evaluation.) I really don't know what to advise except to keep trying to find a place, learn to thoroughly understand yourself (to minimize bad experiences), and, wherever possible, choose a path that's rarely followed.

What sort of program did you enter into where the graduate students got "promotions"?? Most of the graduate programs I been involved in pay a stipend to students to work as teaching assistants while they are simultaneously taking classes and working on their thesis. I have held this sort of position myself and know how challenging it is to jugle your own education with your teaching duties. I enjoyed the teaching aspect and had a really hard time managing the proportion of time spent on teaching duties vs. the proportion of time spent on my own studies. I actually ended up using a very elaborate time tracking system to help me manage my time.

Did your program know you have AS?

Oh yeah...I am also in that group who is WAY overeducated and under/unemployeed.

It sucks, doesn't it???

I am also in this group, over educated and under employed...

Unemployed and just not quite able to get something going as self employed making enough to live off of...

Would be nice to live in a small hamlet, like the Amish but with a lot of aspies/auties which not doing the right social stuff doe not mean the difference between a job and advancement and being almost unemployable...

>goign to look at mining towns for sale again in northwest BC<

I know how it feels about the whole job thing. I graduated with honors in high school, yet because I got stuck in some day program, the only jobs they can give me were jobs that are done by the mentally ret*d. I felt insulted because unlike the other clients in the program(they went to the special autism school that the autism agency that runs this program also has) and these clients did not get an education but a certificate of attendance. Their education equals a kindergarten education because they are that disabled. The higher functioning ones have an equivalent of a 2nd grade education. Sitting in a crowded factory putting papers in bags, and only making not even $.05 (5 cents) a piece is not enough money for someone who has a high school diploma. That is the only wage we get, not a "regular" hourly wage.
Unfortunately, as I see, the only jobs out there for people who only have high school diplomas are service jobs and jobs that are extremely horrible for someone with Aspergers, like myself, who have social deficits, sensory problems with noises especially from other people and all aspects of those jobs.
It took my a lot of soul searching and a lot of trying to figure out what I am great at to come up with a career that I can do that
1. does not entail any skills that I lack
2. something in the medical research field( I love medical things which is my passion)
3. something that I can go to college for because with a college degree, I can earn a lot
of money that is all earned by myself and not given to me by anyone else.
That job and career, which I am going to school for is a Histology Technician.
The thing to do if you are stuck about finding a perfect career is to evaluate all of your weaknesses, talents, strengths, and interests. If you need help i would probably find a career counselor or any local and state run job seeking programs that are free. Where I live, there is an agency that people who are on unemployment are told to go to. They even take people with disabilities and people who are not on unemployment that need to search for that perfect career. They have computer centers to look for job, career counselors, give aptitude test, and even help you if you find a career that requires a college education or a certificate program, where they will pay for tuition. If they offer that in anyone's state and/or area That would be a great opportunity for you all.

OP - Have you thought about coming to Europe. Over here you can get onto a PhD without having any teaching abilty, they don't care as long as you have functional English in the UK. Of course I am assuming you can do research well?