Work that requires high concentration?

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Can you please give examples? As I read, work that requires high concentration requires often minimal people skills.

Surgeon. And there is a hospital stereotype that they have far worse people skills than other doctors. They have minimal interaction with patients compared to other doctors and do not have to listen to patients describe their symptoms to figure out what is wrong. So it doesn't much matter if they aren't very good at interacting with patients.

I think it depends on what you are concentrating on. I could concentrate very well on one thing but if I had to concentrate on a number of interrelated things I would be a disaster because of inattentive ADD and or executive dysfunction.

Most jobs that work with numbers: Accountant, engineer, network analyst, computer programmer, lab assistant... on the lower paid side: file clerk, library aide, veterinarian assistant are just a few.

I'm realizing I answered a question that wasn't asked. Apologies, my brain has a mind of it's own.

One job that demands extreme concentration...and is also, highly stressful...is Air Traffic Controller.

CAD drafter/technical illustrator - it's possible to acquire entry-level skills for this profession in one or two years.

I think most high-concentration jobs also require a fairly high level of technical skills. In my experience, skills are the key to keeping this kind of job. The people I see who get hired with only average skills are always the first to get laid off. Best to overcompensate for lack of people skills with exceptional technical skills.

Another job which requires high concentration but limited people skills is a chemist (in a laboratory). That would take years of training and/or at least three years at university.

+1

Hmmm, I once dated a very high-strung, somewhat Aspie-ish fellow who used to be an air traffic controller. Made lots of money, but also seemed always on verge of a nervous breakdown. I would be too, if I understand correctly that it also involves extreme multitasking ability, which I suck at & find stressful. (Very short-lived relationship, we didn't get on very well, but he sort-of stalked me afterwards. )

I've heard the surgeon stereotype too.

I'm in IT, with a MS in Computer Science. My job is mostly programming now, mixed with other miscellaneous IT stuff. From my experience and observations: programming, system design, hardware design (and to a much lesser extent, system administration) are the IT areas requiring the most focused concentration, and the least social skills. Get too far into other areas, such as tech support, and people skills are needed more. I don't think it has to do with numbers necessarily. I am very good at extreme concentration but terrible at math, even remembering numbers is hard for me. And my social skills are bad and getting worse. My strategy for being employed usually involves either an understanding, Aspie-ish boss who himself actually does IT work, or, if I must work with NTs the job is structured in a way that minimizes interaction with them.

In many of the higher-powered job descriptions I've seen for laboratory technicians, there are phrases like "abnormal mental concentration is required for two thirds of the working day." You get more money if you can get your supervisor to corroborate such a claim, it's one of the criteria for upgrading.

Science is often a good activity for Aspies. It's nice that they recognise strong powers of focus and diligent work, and there was once a time when they'd most likely keep quiet and avoid interrupting a scientist at work (I even heard of one manager who wouldn't allow a telephone in the lab because he wanted his staff to work without distraction ). Unfortunately that's all vanishing now. People skills are becoming more important, though at least in the public sector there's still a lot of tolerance for eccentrics because (I think) it's understood that good scientists often look and act rather oddly. There's still absolutely no dress code where I work.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5oc-70Fby4[/youtube]

Contract killer?

Read the book about Richard Kuklinski - The Ice Man - who killed more than two hundred people, many of them as contract killer for the mafia.

He not only had to deal with the victims, and find out how he could get them. He also had to deal with his customers, to ensure they were satisfied and recommended him to other.

Library aide might be good for me. It reminded me that once I did that work as a student. I didn't dislike it, and I guess for other people it must be extremely boring. I like putting books back on the shelves in their right place.

It was so funny that the first thing I see when I came back home was the post about "surgeon". I'm just back from an awful experience with a surgeon, who's a piece of s**t but has the best people skills to get away with murder. And surgeons need to be very charming to their patients in order to get chosen among all the surgeons available. Most people don't have recommendations and have to choose by appearance.

I have to disagree with veterinary assistant being mentioned. It is a highly people-oriented job. Just like nursing. You'd have to deal with a new person every ten minutes. And you have to be able to explain everything to them - what the lab tests are and why do them, why they should vaccinate, what is distemper, can people get intestinal parasites, etc. etc. etc.

I went to school for vet tech, got good grades, and even got my certification, but I failed numerous job interviews. This was before I knew I had AS. I wish I had known about AS 6 years ago, I would have chosen a different career. Now I work in food processing, do some lab work and operate machinery. I make a livable wage, but I have a lot more potential as a chemist or medical laboratory technician. But now as a single parent, I can't afford to go back to school.