What are the alternatives to acting NT?

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for someone who wants to stay employed and has too much NLD to likely be successful in a traditional aspie field?

Be yourself. And find a job that doesn't need much interaction, a solitary job if you like. Or start your own business from home which can all be done online.

Solitary job, such as?

Also, starting the business.

There really are only a narrow range of jobs I can do with NLD as bad as I have it (I probably could not do 95% of jobs). I don't know what business I could start either with my executive functioning the way it is. Basically, the only jobs I can do require social interaction.

Well, there is what I like to call "the openness approach". When meeting people for the first time who you will be having or hope to have future interactions with (such as work colleagues) you introduce yourself by saying something like, "Hi, it's nice to meet you, my name is _____. Just so you know, I am mildly autistic, so please be patient with me if I make any mistakes/seem a little slow sometimes/[fill in blank here with whatever your predominant difficulties are]".

No one can refuse this polite request for acceptance without looking like a complete jerk and if you are polite and helpful toward others, after doing this a few times you will probably find that people will come to your defense if anyone is rude about something related to your autism. In doing this, you will also need to be willing to explain what autism is and how it is for you to the people who ask, but I think this is a small price to pay for not having to stress out about appearing NT all the time. If you have difficulty explaining it you could try carrying an "autism card" with information on it which you can show to people.

Alternatively, you can just stop caring if anyone IS rude, mocking or unaccepting of you and just get on with your own business and let them think you are weird - as long as it isn't interfering with your work it doesn't have to be anyone else's business. The first approach is just a bit more honest and conductive to making friends.

Unfortunately aside from some self-employment solitary jobs are few and far between.

For any given field or discipline, we all have 'higher-ups,' a PhD supervisor, boss, the customer, publisher - whatever. Hardly anybody works truly alone. Granted, some jobs are considerably more people-orientated but we all work together regardless. Yes, neurotypicals can have the social advantage, but not necessarily and that feature alone does not win the battle. 'Office politics,' in whatever form, are inescapable. A No. 1 quality is good attendance, perseverance and hard work.

To answer your query though, what mostly matters is that you show and demonstrate your niche. That is, make your qualities marketable and with consistency. Everybody makes mistakes - that's not the issue. Instead, those 'higher-ups', whomever they may be, are looking for your unique contribution. Make yourself valuable.

[To say it the hard way: your 'higher-ups' truly don't give a care about so-and-so's special needs, etc. That just makes it complicated for them. You need not disclose to anybody.]

Tyri0n, I doubt you need to isolate yourself....that sounds kind-of awful! You have the qualities. Maybe now just find your niche.

Hello,

Do you mean that you have a job and you want to keep it?

What is the job?

If you don't have a job, what are your interests?

I have been down the work alone route and it's a hard one to follow.

Computer Science is the "it" (pun intended) field for people who don't want to socialize.

I have found working in a field that draws compassionate people was helpful to me. I work with nurses and social workers (and others) but those two fields tend to draw people who don't have a problem with my idiosyncrasies.

I work in a psychiatric hospital and the staff are used to just about anything. I thought if I needed another job, I might try working with any of the disabled because staff are in the mindset of helping and understanding difficulties.

You need to be more specific. Maybe programming in a cubicle or at home might work, but other IT jobs generally revolve around interacting with people (end users, management, consultants, other IT staff etc)

What IT lefts you do, is get away with being a bit shy, weird, withdrawn etc. as IT people are generally accepted to be that way.

I said computer science, which is mostly programming.
A lot of companies will hire you to work for them without being present in person (if your skills are sought after)

The goal is to communicate effectively with others. If you can get ideas from you to them and back again, then you'll have figured it out.

Many introverts also have this problem. Many workplaces assume you are extroverted, and the introverts will often try to imitate the extrovert's loud, fast-paced, multitasking style instead of using their own strengths. But introverts tend to find that if they communicate in their own way--one on one, quiet, logical, and attempting to understand the other person instead of bombard them with charisma--they will do much better than any imitation of extroversion they can muster.

I think with AS it's similar, especially if you're an introvert too. Find what works, use that, and don't care if they think you're eccentric.