Careers?

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Hello,
I was just wondering...what jobs out there have Aspies found that are ones that you actually *like* somewhat?

So far I am volunteering (and hope to become certified) as a horse trainer. I volunteer as a lesson helper/ horse rider and love it.

I'm going for TV broadcasting.

Yes I'm attracted to technology, and am going for a technology oriented career.

I unfortunately am yet to find something.

I LOVE calltaking for an emergency line - you get to help people but not make long term relationships and who better to talk to someone in an emergency than someone who has relatively few emotions?! We have taken some practice calls that made other people cry and I was thinking 'Ok - do we send EMS or just the police?' and nothing else . . .

A very bad job for aspies is as a counselor - I have several degrees in psychology and at one time I thought I wanted to get into clinical psychology until I did a few practice counseling sessions and, after about 15 minutes, thought 'I wish this person would just stop whining and go away . . .' - I decided this was not the attitude I should have so I got out of that area of psychology . . .

My profession and passion: programmer (i.e. software developer or software engineer). IT and academia are niches where some degree of eccentricity is actually expected. And I won't even start exploring the subject of the geek culture that is prevalent in IT.

Pros:
1. Reasonably well paid job.
2. Intellectual, respectable work.
3. The work is usually quite creative, and one learns new things constantly.
4. Lots of satisfaction when final product is released.
5. This profession does not require a lot of people skills; programmers are usually shielded from clients and other unfamiliar social interactions.
6. Management tolerates social deficits and quirks to greater degree than in case of other employees.
7. One of the most stable jobs. Many programmers become de facto key employees, because they hold vital knowledge that is difficult to put on paper or transfer to other employees. This makes programmers difficult to replace.
8. One is usually assigned a project on which one can work in one's own pace (within limits, of course), and without constant supervision.
9. Good job for a daydreamer, as lot of thinking is usually required.
10. It is often possible to negotiate flexible hours, e.g. I was starting workdays at 11 am, simply because on mornings I function best in bed. Generally one can leave office at any hour unnoticed.
11. Casual clothing allowed, no ties!
12. If office gets unbearably hectic, it is often possible to negotiate working at home.

Cons:
1. Not much exercise, and monitors strain eyes.
2. Long working hours - one often stays late at night, until the work is done.
3. When deadlines come, one has to work on weekends. Deadlines are actually not so scary, because software development is notoriously difficult to plan, and one can expect deadlines to be moved anyway.
4. If you don't love and understand computers better than yourself, it is not a job for you.

Some of us are lucky with our interests. I'm a graphic designer. I'm completely obsessive about it, so it suits me. Problems are that you can easily find you spending your entire waking time designing, and employers can exploit this. I've gone through several jobs experiencing severe work/design overload. These days I've come up with an arrangement with some very special people, so that can't happen any more.

I used to be a volunteer for the Cats Protection League, which involved feeding and taking care of the homeless cats at the centre for one day a week, it was lovely to see the kittens especially, I really enjoyed it. It moved location so I was unable to continue.

I'm going for a degree in Special Education. I just feel that I want to be a role model for people like us and to help them out. Maybe it's something that others would not pursue as a career choice, but that's what i'm going for.

I was trained to be a baker. I was a history major in college but I left after four years due to personal issues I was having with my college. I sometimes wish I had stayed, but I don't think I would have been terribly happy.

I went to Culinary School in Florida for a year after college, where I majored in baking.

I really don't want to work in the Culinary industry, but I will if I have to. You can't always do what you want in life.

I'd much rather be a clerk somewhere.

I just wish I had a career at all. I wish I didn't have so much trouble trying to get hired.

I've been a programmer for 7 years. Programming is my second favorite thing. What I like to do best is writing which I get to do after work and on the weekends. I'm also the editor of the Asperger Thai Association's newsletter.

Most programmers are geeky in general. It's easy to get along with them. Nobody expects a programmer to be a social powerhouse. My work doesn't require a lot of human interaction. Although I have to go to the client's site and meet unfamiliar people once in a while. The clients are usually non-technical and are very neurotypical. I dread going but I have managed so far.

If you find that you are talented, you should get a B.S. in computer science. Actually I've found that degree means absolutely nothing in terms of ability to write the best codes (think Bill Gates). That means, I've met people without degrees who can write beautiful codes, people without degrees who can't write code, people with fancy degree (CS from MIT) who can write code and people with fancy degree who are crap.

However, it's always easier to find employment if you have a B.S. in Computer Science. It's easier to pass through the human resources if you have the right qualification.

Programming is a male dominated profession. It has been less so but still is. If you are a girl, this is also a great place to find dates.

I am planning on becoming an engineer and going into the hot, new field of nanotechnology, which is obviously where my screenname comes from. I am hoping to participate in some form of an internship next summer, either at Georgia Tech or in Dallas. I think this will be a good fit for me and a number of my family and relatives are engineers; this includes my dad, sister, and an uncle. I hope to earn my master's degree through a special five year BS/MS program. Even though this program may end up being extremely difficult, I think I will give it a shot. For anyone else considering nanotech, the best degree to earn is one in materials science and engineering, at least for the time being. According to some sources, including US News's college guide, it is preferrable to earn a degree in mechanical and electrical engineering. This is definetly not true, since both of those are too focused and most of the concepts you will learn do not apply to nanotech, whereas materials science programs are much broader in focus and most of what you learn will apply to nanotech in some form of another. Materials science is also great because most of the programs in it are very small and have an excellent student to faculty ratio.

I am a stay at home/homeschooling mom. I got my bachelor's degree summa cum laude in English Language and Literature. Everyone was always asking me, "Are you going to be a teacher?" I invariably answered, "No way, I could never stand up in front of a classroom of 30 kids and teach!" I always knew I wanted to be a private tutor. So now, thanks to a wonderfully supportive dh with a good paying job able to sustain all of us, I AM that private tutor and have been for the last 10 years... to my own kids!

As I am highly interested in science, especially astrophysics, I would like to work as an astrophysics theorician/astrophysicist, which means doing research. This is not very social, and I can use computers (which is good because I also like computer programming, which is one of my secondary interests) and I can write books and articles about it. I am also interested in movies (another secondary interest) and I would like to have the opportunity to make a few movies from time to time.

Loy

Not only do I have a spectrum d/o, but my son does as well. I have found social work to be rewarding and a challenge, as the people I am trying to help accept my differences and I theirs.