Retraining in a STEM field

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For someone who is recently diagnosed, what would be the pros and cons of someone my age who has majored in liberal arts (minor in Accounting) and gone to law school going back to school for an Electrical Engineering degree instead (and then maybe going into patent law)?

Sometimes, it seems like I'm almost NT; then, something happens that makes me realize that my diagnosing psychiatrist was right about the depth and permanence of my impairments. I have good days, or weeks; then days and weeks where everything falls apart socially.

Honestly, I think progress is sometimes possible for those with AS, but a lot of the advice involves getting help from a "close friend." In 26 years, I've never had any kind of close friend, whom I could ask that sort of thing, just casual friends or possible friendships that never happen (I think it's more a function of my passivity and avoidance than it is of weird behavior, though there's probably some of that too). I think it would be naive to expect that to change at any point in the near future.

So, given that I still have over 100 GI Bill credits, why shouldn't I just ditch law school and go into something more "aspie friendly"? But what am I "interested in"? Honestly, I really don't know. I guess I'm interested in something where I can be successful. Not sure law, with its boisterous ostentatious people, is a good fit.

If you're not sure what you're interested in then try looking up some supplementary material associated with the courses you're looking into. Grab some books and even give it a shot if it's something that you can do to some extent at home. You might just find something that you really want to do.

hey, you're in law school! you must have some social skills. you aced the interview.

you might be able to get into patent law without the engineering degree, though if you go to the right school, the only courses you will have to take for a second bachelors are the engineering courses.

There was no law school interview. I did ok on job interviews once I fixed my voice, but I am concerned that I won't last in any job. I have a summer job in D.C. that is *supposed* to turn into a permanent offer, but given how I f****d things up today socially just today during a Law Review editing "party," I'm pretty concerned about not keeping up a proper act for 3 months, or lasting long/getting promoted in this field even if I do make it. I can charm people for short periods of time. This goes for acquaintances, women, and bosses. But I'm a pony with a limited number of tricks that run out quickly.

I know stem major who went to law school to become patent lawyer. BAP nerd/geek/dork type. Good fit.

Meanwhile if you're interested in & passionate about law, you might make a great lawyer. Apparently there are quite a few aspie lawyers because they're good at forming logical arguments and delivering believable monologues in quick succession. Might not be such a bad gig if you enjoy it.

I don't think AS should be a sign to outright avoid certain careers. Just be aware of the disadvantages you could have.

Also, have you gotten social skills training? Talk to your local autism resource center to see what they have for high-functioning adults.

I did a social skills group for a few months through this. I did not find it helpful. Even the instructor said my social skills are fine and questioned why I was there. What I explained to her is my social problems mostly manifest as selective mutism and sometimes just unconfident body language when I'm in a crowded or noisy place. It's hard to learn social skills when everything you learn simply disappears in mixers common to networking in the legal profession, not to mention the fact that I can't relate to people beyond basic small talk even under the best conditions. This is why I have never had any close friends, or really not many beyond aquaintance, also. I'm not sure the latter problem is relevant from a career standpoint. But the former is.


I really don't see myself as having friends close enough to take me to noisy clubs and stuff on a consistent basis. Most people I have the chance to hang out with are kind of quiet. Even these quasi friends are not close enough to provide me with enough exposure to social situations involving crowds and noise.

As I've suggested to others in other threads: Find yourself an aspie friend with mutual interests. It truly is pretty awesome to have a friend like that. Getting together with a like aspie makes hanging out with a friend much more... normal ? and socially fluid when you have similar quirks as well as mutual special interests you could talk to each other for hours about, or go and do together etc.

You've already got yourself well on the track to a good career, I say stick with it. If you want to go back and go into engineering, it's going to be at least another 3 years of schooling, and from your post you sound as though it's less due to interest and more due to a sense of social expectations. And if you are considering engineering because you feel it is less of a social position, I can tell you as an engineer that you do still have to socialize to a pretty high degree, depending on what particular job you get. You have to give presentations to your superiors, effectively communicate designs/decisions to operators or contractors, work with vendors, and so on. Sure there are the stereotypical recluse engineers who sit in their office doing calculations all day, but I'd say they're the minority in the field...most have a pretty high degree of interaction with others, and it does require superior communication skills. That said people in engineering can be pretty eccentric, and I think most people in the field are much more accepting of more "off-the-wall" personalities then they would be in say, human resources.

[quote="goldfish21"]As I've suggested to others in other threads: Find yourself an aspie friend with mutual interests. It truly is pretty awesome to have a friend like that. Getting together with a like aspie makes hanging out with a friend much more... normal ? and socially fluid when you have similar quirks as well as mutual special interests you could talk to each other for hours about, or go and do together etc.[/]

How would one do this? I've been to all the aspie meetup groups in my area. Haven't found anyone suitable there.

But actually it might be easier to find someone with similar interests in DC. My special interests are policy/govt - related. I'll be out of here in late May!! !