Are all Autists unemployed?

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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

The 6th panel holds the key:

"Modern work is Kafkaesque so long as you expect it to make sense. The moment you let go of that, you'll be fine."
-- Zach Weinersmith, 2017-04-27

So stop trying to make sense of it, and just get a job!

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

-- by Zach Weinersmith, 2014-08-17

Fnord, I will have a job in China this August teaching IT at a Canadian International school. Hopefully everything will work out. I already am in China and reside in China (dependent visa) before they banned foreigners and giving out Visas. If it does not then hopefully they will still take me when and if this whole corona virus blows over.

And, modern work for me is no longer Kafkaesque for me since I have an understanding that everything they do is for their bottom line.

And, my SO and myself are trying to start up a business so our future children can eventually be a part of our family business instead of having to play someone else's game by someone else's rules since their interests our for their bottom line and not my bottom line.

And, my SO is sick of all the BS as well. Truth is that the employers, companies, etc aren't made for me and other autistics. Employers represent their interests and not our own. Employers and companies are created for and ran by the majority which is NT, white people. There are black people who say the same thing but don't represent black people's interests.

Yes, I will play the game here as best as as I can. But, the game I play isn't the end but a means to an end. I will do the whole shucking and jiving so my children, grandchildren and others in the autistic community don't have to. Where you are right on this Fnord is I will have to sacrifice my pride and my ego on this to accomplish what I wish to accomplish.

But, that doesn't mean I won't call it out for what it is which again is a crapshoot.\

Give a little to gain a lot!

I hope you get to go into the Mongolian Steppes sometime, Cube. I’ve always wanted to go there.

Good luck in your pursuits in China.

Been employed out of survival necessity. Even when I was burned out to the extreme (like now), I had to work or starve to the detriment of my psyche disintegrating. In my experience, employers could care less about ASD unless it helps them or the (pr) optics are bad. Eg, outward care if the intellectual disability is obvious. When issues arise due to ASD/ASP, see you later. It is the brutal world we live in.

^Pretty much the case.

Aside from saying that employers could NOT care less, it is safe to say that you are very close to the truth, if not spot on. We, as workers, need to adapt to it or start our own businesses ... and eventually become like every other employer -- prioritizing employee compliance to enhance profits. That's just the way it is, and complaining about it does no one any good.

Fnord & Kortie both have vast life experience and I listen closely to your thoughts, jimmy too. I wish I could word my summation a little better. There are certain jobs that are not good for us and will literally eat your lunch mentally. The last one I had like that caused a complete mental breakdown. This is how: I was required to meet a list of metrics and adapted to that. Processing heaps of info as fast as humanly possible is not possible long-term for autists. I became the top 1% at a massive financial institute in what I did. When we had to compete with AI for processing, with overseas partners who did not have the same parameters we had but had to compete with them, increased metrics that were adjusted day to day, a new work flow, changes in that flow (major problem), and vicious personality types it was not going to last. When I worked in a different area at this institution, they did the same thing but the reason was nefarious. It was to get the most amount of work out of us as fast as possible in order to cause stress and instability so that you quit; thereby creating an empty space which they were not hiring for and gave our work overseas for 1/3rd the $$. A minor example of vulture capitalism but it is the financial devil. In a few more years as much as I don't like the idea of UBI, it may be necessary since work will be a memory or in another country.

That's very sad, Wren. My career path has been a little different, and an engineering degree may have made all the difference. For the most part, and especially in the last couple of decades, I have been in positions where I am directing others to perform tasks while keeping Management off their backs. When I could, I would bend the rules for even the poorest performers to give them a chance at self-improvement. The saddest moments in my career have been when I had to dismiss people from their jobs -- usually for anger-management issues, theft, lying, harassment, illegal drug use, chronic absence or tardiness, or simply failing to perform their assigned tasks. It sucks, but I'm paid to run a business and not a daycare center for dysfunctional adults.

I totally understand how that works. The key of running a business is to add value. But the financial institute got rid rid of swaths of people for no reason but to save a dime by shipping jobs off; a few months it was rewarded by obtaining about $30bn a day from the gov. Lame. I too did technical work in a STEM field for about a decade and have around 160 units in that specific area of expertise. Which means zero since I got hurt at work and the company employed every dirty trick and mind game to defeat me for filing for comp for a permanent disability. LOL @ daycare for adults. I get very tired of that too.

Thanks

Truth: As long as most people believe and accept this system as is then it will be the way it is now. This system has no power greater then what most people choose to give it.

Truth: Perception is reality and as long as most choose to perceive that this reality must be true and it can't be changed then it will be true and can't be changed.

Truth: I will do what I need to do to prosper and survive but that doesn't mean I won't complain about it about how much this system sucks and how much of a double-think cluster f**k it is.

Truth: I will conform and play the game so my children won't have to. That would be one of my things I'd want to see on my death bed. My children being in a position to where they can choose be themselves or not.

Truth: My hate for this system is my motivation to play within it so my descendants can choose to play or not.

Truth: I'm a stubborn bastard but knows when one has to do some give and take and concede certain things to get bigger and better things.

Truth: I don't hate you Fnord. You have your personality and thinking style and so do I. We will always bump heads but I don't wish you ill will and I wish you to have a nice, relaxing retirement. Please be careful of this coronavirus. Don't go out to much.

Truth: It's all good!

I have autism (Asperger's type/high functioning) and I'm currently employed, but only part-time and in an unskilled job, although I have a 4 year college degree. I've been looking for a full time job that would be right for me. I've worked a number of different places, and none of them have worked out for one reason or another. Mostly due to social problems, unclear expectations, or being overwhelmed. I do not do well at job interviews because of inability to control my social anxiety and social awkwardness, as well as verbal communication problems and very slow mental processing speed. I would need a a job with a predictable routine where I could learn a task or several tasks and follow an established procedure. The job could not be extremely stressful. I think that if I could get past the interview process, I would have better luck finding a job.

I'm a Republican. I'm very conservative. I like Trump because he speaks his mind and *most* of the time I agree with him. It's kind of funny that he says whatever he thinks and has no filter, just like many of us Aspies! Who knows, maybe he is an Aspie? This is not a political site though and everyone is free to believe what they want as long as they don't threaten or harm people.
Maybe part of the reason I'm a conservative is because I have Asperger's, and people with Asperger's tend not to like change. It could be why so much of the "progress" that liberals want to make, to me, is repugnant.
In general though, I distrust the government and authority figures. I think most people in power abuse that power.
And I think that if they can get away with it, most employers, schools, colleges, etc. can and do discriminate against people with autism and other mental disabilities. They just find other excuses to get rid of us or not hire us in the first place.
I do like Basset hounds though, and pugs! They're super cute and I agree with you on that. Animals are awesome, much more so than humans.

I'm a "No Political Affiliation", some of my conservative views would make most Republicans look like New Dealers (that's an FDR reference, youngsters), and some of my liberal views would make most Democrats look like Tea-Party members. I believe in limited government, freedom of expression, fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, mandatory civil/military service, requiring all Presidents to be honorably-discharged veterans, women's reproductive rights, an egalitarian society, and basic allowances for education, housing, and medical care.

But all politics aside, I believe in being the best that I can be, doing the best that I can do, and adapting to my employers as needed -- all of which have kept me employed for the last 45 years.

I agree with all of those with some exceptions. mandatory civil/military service I agree as long as people like me can serve in a non-physical, non-dangerous desk job that is Aspie-friendly and respects individual needs and preferences. women's reproductive rights I agree with all women's reproductive rights but draw the line at abortion. That to me is the same as child murder and is unacceptable. There might some very extreme situations where it is justified but I don't see many as there are so many free or low-cost birth control options available.
But you are free to believe what you want, but don't try to change my mind, because you won't.