Thanks, jojobean, that was really interesting.
Actually, lab work is also a very good job field for people with autism as it requires accuracy, perseverance and repetition. Provided that you don't have to work directly with people, the lab is the perfect place to exersise your autistic skills. It is only you, the equipment, and the samples, and you quietly work your magic on them. For me it feels very safe and happy.
From what I've seen of my neurotypical colleagues, they spent a huge amount of time socialising, have trouble focusing, their memory is really poor and rather patchy - that is, they remember only what is emotionally coloured or important to them personally and they get their work done much more slowly and uneffectively. And they simply can't visualise so as to identify potential issues and they can't spot patterns so they do the same mistake over and over again.
I don't have a fellow Aspie at work to compare results with but I feel that where I work a person on the spectrum would be much more valuable than a bunch of NTs.