AS friendly work environments

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I was wondering if anyone here with a job that is working out well for them is willing to talk about what they have done and/or what naturally makes the job compatible?

Horror stories about what makes a job incompatible with AS and/or anything you may (or may not) have done wrong are welcome as well as long as they contain useful advice.

I have held many unsuccessful jobs
before but my current employer outed
me of my Autism(called it AS and asked
me to do some research). I can say
they have been supportive, but too
bad it was a part-time job, and it will
not house me, but It broke my emotional
iceberg.

How is this useful? Well, If I hadn't learn
to accept this autism, how many more
jobs will it have took to heal? How many
more casualities if I couldn't identify the
symptoms that will not have been better
handled if not under awarenesses guidance.

I could lose the job for a full-time job, but
no longer with this Iceberg. Mind you,
this doesn't constitute the normal job scenerio,
but it will allow you to be aware, and cautious
on the type of job you take in the future.

I'm a self-employed graphic artist, illustrator, and web designer. I pick my own hours; 90% of my interaction with clients happens over the phone and email (so I rarely have to psych myself up for in-person meetings); I can work from my house; I don't need to do any driving or even own a car.

The biggest issue has been networking in order to find clients, since I couldn't afford to advertize my services when I started out. Most of my clients have been people I've met through family and friends, though I picked up a few through my college's career office. I always carry business cards with a link to my online portfolio, so if anyone asks me what I do or asks me about my artwork, I can give one to them.

I am 39, gifted in some areas and I am
becoming aware of my self-employment
and education connection. Like Pyraxis,
I know no normal NT would accept me,
but If I go back to school and make my
strengths a job potential, I can see a
more stronger me fiscally.

I gave up a long time ago to expect help
in the NT world employment , but I still
must eat. If through education, "No Icebergs
called lack of awareness", and patience I
can, as Pyraxis, see some fiscal aspect of
this I-Physical world.

GOOD LUCK SEAN,
From Ghosthunter

I'm not in quite the situation you describe. I haven't yet been able to get a job through a normal job interview situation, but that is not going to last forever. I'm in the process of training myself to handle interviews and conferences and networking, with decent success. In a few months I'll be graduating with a degree in computer art, and I'm going into the computer gaming industry. To assume that no normal NT would accept me would be to give up before I've even started.

Something to think about?

Thanks,
From Ghost Hunter

I am a police dispatcher - I love it - it is really the perfect job for me - I joke with people who know about my AS that they need to hire for people with AS for this job . . .

I mean, really, who would you rather take a hysterical call from someone who's parent is having a heart attack in front of them? A NT who is likely to freak out with them or me, who is going to be concerned that they are not calm enough to do what needs to get done, but certianly not hysterical . . .
Being detail oriented helps a lot - but I think the thick skin thing is the best trait . . .
I get a little frustrated with people who put themselves in bad situations and then expect me to send them help and then put themselves back in that bad situation and I talk to them 2 days later . . . but it isn't my place in my job to let that concern me - it is just a passing distraction

I was a teacher at one point, too - well, I went into schools and did a five day seminar on HIV/AIDS - that was a lot of fun - I don't think I would have been a good long term teacher because that would require relationships - but just walking in, doing my thing, and leaving worked well for me . . .

I tried to be a therapist in college and that went amazingly badly . . . really, though I am interested in how the human mind works, I really don't want to listen to someone go on and on about how upset they were that their boyfriend said their butt looked fat in a dress - to me, there are two solutions to that problem 1) ignore him or 2) get a new boyfriend - you just have to decide which to do and how to do it - and talking to me endlessly won't help . . .

But I really think that dispatch is great for people with autism - I should say that they don't know about my diagnosis at work - I may tell them at some point, but for now they just know that I'm strange!

I have a bit of a success story. I work part time at a cracker barrel while I finish up college. I just got my performance evaluation today, and I got a pretty decent score. i got an 85 and you need an 80 to pass. Their were few minors things I needed to work on The real paradox to AS came when she evaluated my attitude, she described me as "outgoing, friendly, and courteous to co-workers and guests" She also noted that I knew how to work well as a team. ( Some of the things she was complimenting me on are things aspies often have alot of trouble with in the workplace, so I felt pretty good about myself today.I don;t really have that many sensory issues, so thats not a problem for me. Although I sometimes have trouble processing what people are saying if their is alot of noise in the background and/or they talk too fast. Im also very well liked by alot of my co workers. I think another thing that helps me is the fact they strive for diversity, and have a 0 tolerance policy on bullying and harassment (not that anyone there would or does harass me)I went in there with the attitude of "what can I do to make my employer's and co workers job as easy possible?" And so far that has worked for me. Another thing that works for me is trying to be outgoing as possible even though its hard sometimes. I'll often walk by a co worker and ask how their day is going or something, and just basically try to create small talk.

I hope some of this helps and good luck with your job search.

From Ghosthunter.......

I will appologize for misreading your thoughts Pyraxis.

Sincerely,
Ghosthunter

I'd like to know more about how you are doing this. Could you please explain in detail?

animallover said:

How do you enter into a field like this. I've always thought I'd be good at that, or as one of those people that tell peoples family's when somone's died. I think nothing of death. It creeps me out that I think that way. Death.....oh well.

About 20% of the problem (for me) comes from genuinely misreading social clues - the other 80% is fear. Keeping up the conversation during a job interview while holding my awareness at a level that could respond to the unexpected without panicking (like the VCR malfunctioning when I play my computer art demo reel) is kinda like playing a piece of music by memory. If you start out the first notes strong, momentum can carry you along, but if you make a mistake and lose your place, it's hard to recover without losing the beat. So I'd have times where I'd blank out for long enough that it looked unnatural, like my mind was disconnected from my voice, forgetting how to form the right words. But that's a result of fear/stress.

Jetson described it well in another thread - the pilot who learns to override the body's natural response to danger, so keeps operating consciously as he was trained, even if the plane is about to crash. Part of what's working for me is learning not to fear overload. I used to run from the things that triggered it and would never have dared to let myself believe that it could be fought and controlled. Another part is keeping my thoughts optimistic, instead of defensive and reactive to danger, which avoids the downward spiral into increasing fear. It's the difference between striding into a situation as if it's a computer game to be conquered, instead of ducking to avoid an onslaught of hostile/powerful forces.

So once I'd done an interview in that state and proven to myself that fear was unjustified, I had a lot more resources to focus on technique. Roleplaying networking with a business-experienced friend (the scene of being at a conference and stopping at a booth to chat with a company rep and give them my reel and resume) let me learn the pattern of how a successful encounter should go. Then when I actually went to a conference, I spent a lot of time observing people and figuring out what they wanted (for instance, a lot of students act overeager and desperate for work; this is annoying to company reps). I set concrete quantifiable goals, like exchanging business cards with the person in the seat beside me, or approaching the presenter, at every talk. I've also done several interviews since then, and the practice helps a lot.

My sister is a funeral director....for the most part it is very very interpersonal skill intentsive. She has to be very supportive of the family and not say or do anything that would offend. But her first job was working for a place that had a contact with a hospital/medical school. She prepared bodies for travel. You know, if the person came for treatment but died. No family contact there.

I have met some of her co-workers in both places. They are a very respectful bunch. They place high value on the dignaty of the human body.

Death is a natural part of life.

I've had okay luck with jobs, since I've always worked in copy editing or research fields. Not much interaction with other people, just kind of this meticulous attention to detail and repetitive busywork that allows me to either get lost in what I'm doing or get lost inside my head while I'm collating papers or something.

I wish there were less interaction with other people, actually, but that's my only complaint.

B

I've had about 35 jobs and wrote a 600 page comedy about my life called Maxwell Zdaemon Gets A Job.

I started out as a piano tuner and hated every minute of it including school, although if I had been a classically trained musician it might have worked for me. Lots of piano tuners are antisocial perfectionists.

I tried dishwashing and enjoyed the work but usually didn't get along with half the people, especially the busboys and waitresses. The managers always like me. Being overqualified (or appearing to be) was often a problem.

I got a job at a mailbox/shipping place and it was the only job I ever kept for several years. That's partly because there was a lot of variety so there were several activities I could use to escape from other things, and partly because the boss took me on as a project and had the social skills to convey to me (shove down my throat) and because he had a personal ethic that was against firing people for anything short of stealing. I was a good notary because I refused to bend the rules so never got in trouble, although I notarized over 6000 documents. A mobile notary is a good thing to be in California because you can make good money at it.

If you can drive. Although I didn't own a car till I was 28, I have ended up as a 49 year old pizza delivery person working part-time and collecting social security to make up the balance. Driving is tough for some aspies and it is not easy for me but if I keep my mood balanced and my attention focused (but not too focused) it works. I enjoy (too much) the map growing in my mind and get really excited about learning a new part of town or a new shortcut or knowing six ways to get to a certain place. Problems include getting too excited about knowing something and trying to shove my favorite ideas down my boss's throat against his will. It is very hard for me to let my boss retain his ignorance. I recently got fired from my dream job (delivering pizza in a wealthy community with no big scary roads or freeways running down the middle of it) for letting my boss know that he needed to be trained by me.

Well he did.

Last edited by luther on 24 Apr 2005, 10:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I was unemployable or close to it for many years because I couldn't ask for a job. It's still the hardest thing. I am always convinced that the new work environment will match my worst nightmare, and some of them have. My experience is in two-bit disposable jobs because I can't go near the corporate environment without breaking into hives.

It has been helpful but not easy for me to learn some of these things from experience:

There are people who will hire you because they like you, without looking at your resume or calling your references. Your personal presentation is more important than what's on your resume.

A letter of reference from a former employer is worth its weight in gold.

Eye contact might hurt, burn, and sting, but force yourself to do it.

Also, force yourself to keep talking, and calling back at least once a week. Ignore the inner voice that says you are bothering someone by being aggressive.

And force yourself to describe your good points. Talk about what you're good at. Even if it sounds stupid and goes totally against your grain.

Smile and say you want the job in the worst way. Act excited, animated, and enthusiastic even if it's just an act. Aspie traits are easy to mistake for dullness.

Watch Napoleon Dynamite. Find humor in your dilemma.

If you're passing by a place and think, "I could enjoy working there," grab the opportunity to stroll in while you're feeling relaxed and confident, introduce yourself and proclaim that you sure would like a job.

Pretend to yourself that it's no big deal; try to get into a relaxed, confident headspace.

Don't start your spiel till you are talking to the hiring manager. The others can be considered the discouragement fraternity and will misrepresent your interests or even discard your application, or just tell the boss you're weird.

I am no expert, but I've gotten lots of jobs, mostly against my own wishes, but I have to eat. Obviously I only kept one--the one I have right now.

Based on my experience I doubt that I will ever be able to keep a job permanently. I do not tell an employer that. I always lie and say I want the job for at least two or three years.

I just learned I am an aspie, before that I had other less plausible explanations for my so-called life. I am thinking seriously about telling my next potential employer that I am autistic. I think it would help, and maybe screen out intolerant bosses from hiring me just so they'll have someone to persecute.

Jean-Paul Bovee has an interesting article on aspies and work.