I'm doomed

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It seems no matter what job I get into, I get burnt out within months.

I got a master's degree in special education. But once I got a job as a special education teacher, I've found I can't handle it. For one, I cannot handle teenagers. I just can't do it. Second, I ended up so bogged down in never ending paperwork: IEPs, progress reports. More forms than a lame DBZ joke. It's basically doing the jobs of two people: the classroom teacher and the case manager. And I just can't do it! I got so caught up in trying to keep on top of all the case manager crap that I neglect my teaching and students are behind, and I still can't stay on top of any of it. I just know I can't do this for another year. I'm out.

And this is what has happened at every job I've ever had. I couldn't handle working at a call center for obvious reasons. In healthcare I was overworked and underpaid. The only kinds of jobs I could ever get have all been high turnover because nobody wants them and there is no competition for.

But there's nowhere else I can go either. I do not have the option of falling back on family. I can't move in with family like everyone else in my situation does, and I don't have anyone that will help me financially. This is why I've been cyclically homeless for over a decade. So I have no option but to keep accepting the worse jobs. And I can't even work a second job because I'm too burnt out to even start searching for one.

I just can't keep going like this. I exhaust myself working to the point that I have no energy left to do anything but spend the rest of my time laying in bed. But I have no other option. It's a cycle I can never escape. This is not living.

Maybe you are doing too much work.

I was so good at answering the phone at work that I basically did all the work for a group of four people!
And other departments would send tough customers my way.

Maybe you need to pay more attention to the long time workers, if there are any, to better gauge the amount of work you need to do versus the amount of work management asks you to do.

Fortunately I saved a lot and retired early!
Which is really easy if you work too much.
Now I get to find ways to spend it!

That just isn't possible anymore.

A lot of young people like Millennials in their 30's and 40's have retired.I know its not possible for everyone but there are numerous examples of people in their 30's retiring on the internet today.You have to make a decent income like a 6 figure income to do it in many cases but it is possible for some.I know its prolly not possible for you but many young people my age have retired.its called the FIRE movement.

Hi Nightwing,

I just replied to your post in another thread.

Have you considered stepping away from teaching?
I don't know what the local requirements are there but how about lawn maintenance?
Strimming edges and mowing lawns is much lower stress than dealing with other people. Pay is reasonable and capital outlay on equipment isn't that high. Pick up some local gigs and then when you do a good job people refer you to their friends. In my area there many people who just CBF mowing their own lawn. You also mentioned Colorado so perhaps snow shoveling during the winter could also be an option?

I honestly don't think that would change much. I've come to the realization that I'm not capable of maintaining a full-time work week indefinitely.

First, You are not alone in this mill. Next month I will turn 64 and due to a series of typical events - like working and not getting paid - having been financially ruined by the plandemic, I have reached the bottom. At the bottom, there are no jobs that will get You out of it. One starts to do work for the sole purpose of not drowning. In my case I ended up working on a ranch in Florida. I am charged 1600 for a trailer. Working 40 hours a week leaves me with $200 per week. It is obviously a set up where You can never get anywhere. Modern slavery. But there are animals. Horses, goats and cats. Lots of birds. Nature. However, in spite of my high qualification, skills and talents, I am mostly shoveling manure and ripping weeds. Which is really strenuous at 98°. The owner told me that she can't pay me more - because she has twenty horses and a big house and two mercedes convertibles and, and, and. Anybody that knows about Asperger's knows about the talkativeness that comes with it. People like to talk to me - my life has been outrageous in both good and bad ways. I could talk 2002 nights and still got some more. The owner has now yold me that I am not allowed to talk to anybody more than three minutes. My depression is getting worse. My suicidal thoughts are back full throttle. Expecting a small inheritance, I am considering MAID, because I am done living like that. Fighting for survival working until You're blue in the face, only to go to the grocery store and realize that Your hard earned money doesn't buy s**t anymore.

This is only to let You know, that there are loads of people in our boat. Now comes my question:
As a teacher, have You ever considered to teach at a Waldorf school? Have You ever considered helping students after school to improve their grades? In my opinion, You are better off doing Your own thing. No matter what comes to Your mind. Explore, what You can do as a self-employed person with a good tax accountant. In my college time, I worked as a custodian for language students that failed in English and where sent to the UK. That was a lot of fun. And all expenses paid and a generous compensation. Another way to get better is to start growing mushrooms. Edible ones. Can be grown indoors, at home. Start something that is good for You. This is also my only remaining hope. A small organic farm. Eff the smart life. Grow food. Contact organic farms in Your area.

This is what I have realized after 63+ years of Asperger's: do Your own thing. No job will ever work out with people that give a flying hoot about autism. Someone told me recently that I just have to believe in Jesus and everything will be alright. Better to have a small farm living with animals and plants. The right people will be drawn to You.

I too was a teacher; I got tired of dealing with the students and the "school politics". I really enjoyed the summer months but I dreaded going back to the teaching grind. I got another job (and retired from it) in a lab in a steel mill. The pay was much better and the stress was a lot less.

I remember someone here who got a job prepping cars for painting. Not the actual painting. Just the prep work!
That way he didn't need to deal with customers! The paint guy worked with customers.
Prep work really important. Unless it is done right the paint job will look bad.

There are back room jobs that may not involve dealing with customers.

I remember an Econ Teaching assistant. He taught a seminar of just ten of us!
I thought it was better than going to a huge lecture hall watching some big name professor!
He was Korean and spoke good English.

Yes, don't mention autism or Aspergers or neurodiversity.
That only confuses people. Nobody has the time to figure it out unless their kid or loved one has it.
If you need a special accomodations, ask for it, just like you would ask for a special chair for a bad back.
Why do you need it? My back is bad. Most employers prefer Don't Ask Don't Tell.
Don't offer more info than necessary. They don't want to know why.