Can people with Asperger's hold a job?

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I have worked all of my adult life. I always worked as a field service tech for one of several equipment companies. I believe that the secret to my working success has been that I spend 95% of my working time alone. I had minimal contact with my employer, co-workers or customers on a day to day basis. However this was not by design, most of that time I did not know that I was a Aspie. I was not diagnosed until I was 62 years old. My working career just happen to work out that way.

I had my first job when I was 17 years old in the summer of 2012. It was at my local gym which I go there to work out often. I worked there for about 10 months before I was let go. I find it funny though because I was let go on April Fools Day.

My second job, was super boring. I would rather watch grass die then do that job again. I stuck through for a whole month then I left. I was nearly fired on the first day because it was super overwhelming and I wasn't working fast so they told me to go home but I came back and asked them to give me a second chance.

My third job was at my church I used to go to for youth group and I was a janitor there. That was probably the easiest job on the planet because there was hardly anything to do so I just was on my iPhone and listening to music for most of the time. They really didn't need me either. I somehow managed to last there for 11 months before ultimately being let go because there just wasn't anything to do and I was hardly doing anything. I was getting paid to play on my iPhone and jam to awesome music and occasionally mop some floors and clean some chairs.


My forth job was pretty easy as well. It was a super small pizza place and my job there was to wash dishes and occasionally cook pizzas when they let me. I actually did enjoy making pizzas, they just didn't want me to since I wasn't technically working for them. Because the place was so small and hardly anyone ate there, I didn't have a lot to do so I would just hang out and talk to the other people there. I was there for 5 months before I was laid off since they really didn't need a dishwasher and the business was dying anyways and they didn't want to officially hire me because the boss said I was "too hyper".


My current job which I started in mid February is my first job without being in some kind of program which helps you get jobs. It's at a local pizza place and i'm a bus boy and I work the dishwasher as well. Iv'e been there for 2 in a half months there. Hopefully they won't fire me. If they do fire me, then I won't have any good references so i'll be screwed.

I have been a police officer for 18 years, detective for 16 years, Asperger's was something of a gift for the type of work I did when I was left alone to solve my crimes but has proved very challenging in regards a disciplined environment and dealing with other people's agenda's and office politics and the rank structure.

Lucky you! I have to interact with people more than I'd like at work. I enjoy what I do (most of the time) but there are times when dealing with people really gets on my nerves. Thankfully I don't have to do retail. I don't have the patience to deal with the general public anymore.

My grandfather (who was probably on the spectrum too) was a machinist- very little interaction with others, and lots of autonomy at work. Now I know why he pursued a skilled trade.

Self diagnosed.

I've had many jobs over the years, some for 2-4 years at a time, some very short term.

Also self treated.

I can no hold a job as long as I want it & am working full time plus OT here and there + some of my own sales/contracting on the side.

Even diagnosed Aspies who don't treat their symptoms via any methods are capable of holding a job. Maybe not all, as the key is that everyone is different. There are no hard and fast rules about whether an Aspie can hold a job or not - same for NT's... there are all kinds of people in this world and a label of AS doesn't automatically qualify or disqualify someone from holding a job.

My husband held a very high paying job for 26 years, and the company had no issues with his work...

UNTIL

A new manager can along, and switch his job from only collaboration with a few people to a costumer service based multitasking one. His old job was no more and he lasted 3 months into the job change.

And no one gave a s**t.

So Aspies can hold jobs, it has to play into their strengths.

I've tried, but the longest I seem to be able to hold a job is two years. The last one ended when apparently the managers thought I was bored and would do better with my own business! Like.. yeah when I come into enough money to start my own yard I'll let them know pff. Personally I just think one of the other workers was intimidated when I went to the managers about their appalling work ethic, which left me pretty much holding the place up during my shifts. I had enough idiosyncrasies to not blame them for suggesting I leave, but it was very telling when they had to hire two members of staff to replace me... shot themselves in the foot there.

I'm either frustrated by poor and inefficient workplace practices, or overwhelmed by jobs that require me to be social, so in either case it never lasts for me. I can be social by the way if I have to be, but by the time I get home I'm dead to the world, and it's caused mental breakdowns before. None of us are made to hide crippling fear, or suppress our fight or flight instincts for extended periods of time.

Maybe there is a job out there which I could thrive in, but if it exists, I haven't found it yet. I only seem to get more sick and gain a few more wounds with each try.

I have a good work history. A movie theater job for 8 years; TJ Maxx for 10 years; and Samsung for 2. I do have trouble moving up in jobs and relating with co-workers. I'd like to think I'm getting better.

Same just recently happened to me. My psychotherapist were trying to get me further checked for Aspergers, but were told by the experts at the hospital that i couldn't have Aspergers, since I have a job and been working most of my life.

I did start working after i quit school, and mostly been working since then. Have quit jobs a couple of times since then though, 1 because of bullied by my boss, 1 cause I got burned out after like 2 months in a job i found stressful (didn't really quit, just rushed to join a welding course), and had to quit a welding job because of problem with tired eyes, and after awhile i fell asleep multiple times daily while i were welding. More likely would been without a job now with my shyness and problem with my sensitive eyes, if it hadn't been for the welfare here in Norway. Maybe I should have pushed more for trying to get a diagnoses, but that's easier said then done. And if I could muster up the strength to stand up for my self, then they probably tell me that aspies stand up for them self, so I can't be an aspie

Not sure if i got Aspergers or not, but would have liked to find out with more certainty if i got it or not. And I might need some help later on through welfare or guidance soon when i start at University or later when i have to start applying for jobs.

Being on the spectrum is a definitive disadvantage in the working world. How crippling it this disadvantage is affected by many factors, the nature and severity of your ASD, the nature and severity of your co morbids, who you are surrounded by during your life, if you had abusive parents your self confidence is likely to less than those that grew up with supportive parents, does your locale consider Autism or Autistic traits a horrible curse or an eccentricity?, how do the companies you work at view autistic traits?, and sometimes it is just a matter of luck or timing.

Autistic people have had and do have successful working lives.

That social worker is a fool. I care for my two kids (one ASD), work, and can even answer the door. But some jobs are really difficult for me. I've had just two typical office jobs and lasted less than a year at each. Even though they were seemingly low-stress, the group environment and constant input was very stressful for me; I made constant excuses to take breaks and escape. I've spent most in the last 15 years in the academic world, which suits me much better, though there are still situations that give me a lot of trouble.

In July, I will have worked at my current job for 15 years.

I'm able to hold down a job, but it's got to be part time. I work at the TD Bank, 10 hours a week.

Havent worked a normal job in.... er.... some number of years. Which works out well enough, I'm way too spacey, absentminded, angry/negative, and paranoid to accomplish much. Tended to screw things up alot, tended to forget things even more. Hated interacting with pretty much anyone.

The closest I come to a "job" nowadays is that I do some game design/programming stuff for an indie developer that I met a few years ago. This started out as a contract thing, which was paid, but when the market detonated and they started having trouble I changed it to a volunteer basis. Mostly though the entire thing works because the guys in charge are extremely accepting and accomodating... I explained and warned them about my issues before ever diving into this, but all they care about is the finished product, not the process of getting there or how long it does or doesnt take. And one way or another I do know what I'm doing (which is why I was asked in the first place), but the other half of why it works is because there's a general lack of restrictions on it. When I first asked them at the start "So what do I need to do first?" the response was "Well what do you think you should do first? Whatever that is, just do that". Which was moderately scary in an "I'm totally going to screw this up, arent I" sort of way, but... it ended up working out just fine. So I've been doing that for.... a bit over a year now. It also works because it is not and never was an hourly thing: when I have inspiration and ideas for it, I work on it (usually in large chunks). If I dont, I wont. Seems sensible to me.

I keep expecting everything to just collapse somehow but it just keeps working out. I moderate their forums too.

Of course, some people think of that sort of thing as not being a "real" job because it isnt some 9-to-5 idiocy. WHY do people think this way? It's baffling. The point of a freaking job or just work of any sort is to accomplish something, right? If it gets accomplished, particularly if it's well-done, why does it matter if it doesnt fit the "norm"?


Wheras other types of jobs, well.... there's SO many restrictions and rules, and some can be confusing, and others can be just bloody stupid. But you must remember and do ALL of them, even if they're something that legitimately makes the job slower to do without any benefit, because "that's how it works". I remember thinking "....Okay seriously, what moron thought THIS was a good idea?" so very, very many times with the sorts of jobs I used to have. And then I'd get agitated and more confused as things went on. And then more forgetful and spaced-out.

You are just getting the budget cuts, not the truth. Idiot messengers are often hired for their heartess devotion to lists. Autism is a spectrum, and no two cases have the same strengths and weaknesses. I have held jobs, but seldom for very long. I didn't have a family to support; I had a vocation to develop, and that took more time. At one that I took for a view into how others worked, I lasted longer than most of the other staff. I couldn't make myself do 99% of the jobs out there, but sometimes have the rare talent someone needs.

hmm...I work in IT and I've changed jobs more than I can count...can't hold one down for more than a year due to paranoia and complete and utter hatred of my colleagues. I'm a contractor now which suits me better...software tester...so I can just sit there and pretend I know what I'm doing. I get it though. It's a nightmare. My paranoia was and is out of control. Worried that someone will see through me as a fake...people are talking and scheming behind my back. I have genuine urges to get revenge sometimes. I'm ok for the moment, ,but sometimes gets bad.