Stereotypical jobs for autistics... statistics or fiction?

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EsotericResearch
Deinonychus
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20 Jul 2013, 12:37 pm

You know I've been wondering. There are stereotypes about careers for different ethnicities that have nothing to do with actual interest, but with economics and politics. For example, South Asians / Indians being computer programmers and Latinos working in agriculture has everything to do with the economic cost of bringing these groups to the U.S., and the stereotypes follow forth from economic stuff. It doesn't mean people in these cultures are actually super interested in those topics.

We know there's a stereotype that some autistics particularly Aspies work in tech and STEM. I'm wondering, is this even statistically true? And also does it follow forth from not being *able* to get jobs in other fields due to social demands (like for many immigrants from Asia, the language barrier keeps them in tech), or does it follow from actual interest? The autistic folks I know in life generally are not represented in STEM but work mainstream jobs like retail and facilities. Yeah, these are ppl with Aspergers many of whom concern themselves with the geek shows, too.

So how many folks here work in STEM, and how many of us work instead in mainstream jobs like business / accounting, nursing, and stuff like that? I'm serious about this, and whether there's ever been a real study of these factors. Are we really more interested in STEM than we are in other stuff or is this part of the two cultures academic fallacy here in Western culture, or are we mostly just a bunch of football hooligans inside, or ... well... does this stereotype hold no validity?



btbnnyr
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20 Jul 2013, 12:53 pm

I do STEM, and I love STEM, chemistry, biology, neuroscience, computer.

iFather also STEM, chemistry, engineering.

iMother accounting, verry merry berry good with numbers.

There was study that showed highest rate of STEM majors in ASD college students.

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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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20 Jul 2013, 1:45 pm

I am a story / narrative / language arts type of Aspie.

I love understanding something and explaining it. Lately, I've been getting into medical topics. (In fact, if I was a younger person, I would think about medical school. And the case study method, although it does involved science and technology, is also at least as much about the human story.)



Willard
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20 Jul 2013, 2:27 pm

I can't do something for a living unless it aligns with one of my personal obsessive interests. Otherwise, I just can't stay focused on it and become miserable.

Even doing something I love, the day-to-day social demands of interacting with other people, especially management types who are constantly demanding and pressuring and changing things around with no warning, wear me to a frazzle after a period of months and they end up firing me because eventually I just freeze up and shut down from the stress. I averaged about 15-18 months at a stretch before I would crash, burn, then draw unemployment for 6-8 months to recover and go out and do it all over again.

When I entered the workforce, "tech" meant engineering (IT was 20 years in the future), and I'm far more focused on art and language, so I ended up in broadcast communications for many years, then later a form of graphic art.



Sheerboredom
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20 Jul 2013, 5:34 pm

I plan on working for the U.S government as a Marine.


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lole
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20 Jul 2013, 5:39 pm

I'm actually going to school relatively soon for either product design or architecture. When I was younger (starting at the age of 6 or 7) I used to draw really intricate floor plans and stuff. I never gave up that interest but I don't think it's going to be my major because from what I've heard, if you become an architect you're more than likely to end up never designing a whole house.



vanhalenkurtz
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21 Jul 2013, 4:00 am

Outside the stats, outside the mainstream. Weirdo writer, published & impoverished; handcraft hammocks for day job.


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