Try out xTiles for free: xtiles.app/en?fp_ref=meg I hope this video was at least a little bit helpful! If you missed my video responding to some of the most questionable parenting of autistic children I’ve ever seen: th-cam.com/video/rJwSU8yolr8/w-d-xo.html Thank you so much for being here! Feeling super stressed out about moving at the moment, but very glad I have this channel to focus on 💛 P.S. if you want to apply for my video editing position, the link is in the description! 🐌
Can timestamps be added? My attention span means despite wanting to watch this video, I need to be able to skip through topics vs watching the whole thing at once and I’m a row. Thank you for this vid and your channel as a whole!
Very important and very good work by you! I am old now, but i like to repair all kind of things or invent technical solution. I am a MD and an engineer, worked a lot in science in the virology lab. I enjoyed to be an ambulance driver and the work in an icu was interesting. I can imagine to be a firefighter, also as a fire fighter pilot.
I'm here looking for job ideas because I need to leave my low paying library job, but am still in the process of getting a degree to work in library archives. That one section spoke volumes to me haha
I honestly am still considering being a curator but I'm not sure on education. Lecture halls bore me. Edit: it is also surprising that I used to hate the idea social jobs but now that I know so many supportive people, I would like being a teacher but again, the schooling to get to that level scares me.
This is sadly a reality for lots of us, it just isn't really talked about enough. Especially as someone who wasn't diagnosed until adulthood, it took me quite a while to realize that it wasn't all my fault that I struggle finding work, and it's not because I'm just "not trying hard enough". There should be more awareness about it so less people like us have to learn it the hard way. (Also I am a fan of your music, I was a little surprised to see you in this comment section, but glad I did)
Tay, I’m sorry to hear about your unemployment. I have the same problem… Your music is great and inspires me to try and be a musician myself! Maybe one day it could even pay some bills. I hope you have a great day.
The problem for me is not the jobs themselves, but the job searching process. It feels like I am expected to lie, to play a weird social game that goes against all my instincts and values. People will see my qualifications and be happy with them, but then hear my voice and decide I'm not enthusiastic enough to hire. I'll be instantly rejected for jobs I fit perfectly except for having 3x more experience than they're asking for. The whole system is so incredibly hostile to me, as an autistic person, I feel like I'm almost forced to go self employed, but I don't think I have good odds of making a living that way.
A work around that has helped me personally is bringing examples of my work and explaining it, also blank paper for drawing diagrams. Written and drawn communication is easier for me so it plays to my strengths and generally they see me as extra prepared. Doesn't apply to every job, but great when it works.
I feel you. If you ask me especially in hr there are many people very fluent in social communication and will be especially alienated by social akwardness. I d sugesst trying to get a recommendation of a friend or family (many employers love hiring by recomendations). Also try small companies when a ceo is hiring themselves they ll often be happy to have a well trained employee and will be more flexible than hr. If that doesnt work I d suggest the lower wage sector. They usually have quiet an odd bunch of employees anyways and will cater more to your needs. They in my experience talk more directly and will accept more direct feedback. (I once was in the hiring process of mc donalds, none asked my why I wanted to work there. I didnt need to lie. I had 5 minutes of talk and then was working, it was lovely - and it was for a integrated degree program) Also on the lying part I d suggest the Mr. Spock strategy, you dont have to say a lie but if you select what you tell them they ll make up their own truth. I wish you the best in your job hunt :)
First, the job market right now is a nightmare. Try not to stress yourself out about something that could be out of your control. Second, I've failed a lot of interviews, but I've also done really well when the interviewers are neurodivergent. I've noticed that there are a few companies that are staffed almost entirely by neurotypicals, and others that are run by neurodivergents. When I've gone into an interview with a neurodivergent company being myself, they've been really receptive. Not every workplace is for everyone, and if they're not open to who you are at the interview then there's likely a work culture there that you're better off avoiding
There are plenty of jobs that a portion of autistic people can do well or even thrive at. The problem is the modern interview is basically a can you act neurotypical for 30-60 minutes test often with very little relation to any of the actual duties of the job
Last time I was looking for work, I had around 20 interviews (quite possibly more), so many said I was 'second best' and praised my enthusiasm. It was so frustrating. I was very open about my autism in interviews. I always asked them to print out the questions on a piece of paper, and, if they expressed annoyance at the interview about it, I knew I wouldn't be getting that job. I still made an effort, but there were a few I had to try very hard not to walk out because they were so awful. Not to sound full of myself, but my CV and personal statements were very good. I spent days on them, checking and fine tuning them for every job I applied to. I have always been very hands on at my jobs too, helping everyone, so I have experience in a wide range of tasks. I was on an apprenticeship, and I was the only apprentice willing to help out at events on weekends, set up my own book club to support LGBTQ+ people in our area, and created a support group for all the library apprentices to unite us and bring attention to the issues we were having (annoyingly I was the only apprentice not given a job at the end). Plus, I have always volunteered (normally in an area I am looking to work in) when I do not have a job so I can minimise any gaps in my CV. I hate how it ends up coming down to how a person does in a single interview.
@@zaraandrews600 Haha yeah, sounds a lot different from my giant 2 year gaps in my CV. I'm also depressed so I don't think it's going to get better with that any sooner.
Getting hired for the job I've been in past 23 years. They had two jobs. I applied for the first did the interview masked. The second interview went 90% unmasked. It was the 90% unmasked that got me the job. About 10 years later the we were hiring and I was on interview team with HR lady that was in my interview. She commented on how different I was between interviews. It as like I was two different people. So masking in an interview can cost you the job. Autistic passion, really shows through when you drop he mask except for most annoying stims for example.
@@zaraandrews600 I experienced the same thing. I was just persistent. Second best actually go me a job. The first job being second best turned into an interview for another position that came 6 weeks later.
@@chrismaxwell1624 The handy thing was, with all those interviews, I got an idea of where I wouldn't particularly like to work. I ended up in a job where there is a lot of neurodivergent people, which has been super nice.
Im autistic and i own a small plant nursery. I regularly have people comment about my cheerful infodumping about the specific plants they are buying, and them seeing that as incredible customer service :)
I’m autistic too and I’m a grocery store florist which I enjoy doing (just the grocery store environment isn’t the best bc management cares about money more than the staff)
@@SR-fu7tymaybe you should find a local autistic job hunter who is interested in plants too for an extra hand or another person to help who might be better with the executive functioning if possible? We all have different levels of functioning and some things are easier than others. Goodluck!
@@Jesterisim I wouldn't be able to pay anyone to help me. To get that kind of money, I would have to have a job that pays well enough. I can't get that sort of job and keep it, and I already mentioned that I cannot sustainably make that sort of job/money for myself, so how would I even pay another person? I have nothing of value to speak of, so I cannot get a business loan. I can't even pay my current student loans. I don't know how I would realistically apply your advice to my life?
I drive a tram at a zoo, and I love it. Every tour is a solid 45-minute infodump delivered to a group of people I can't see or hear. I drive the same route every time and look for animals I can start spitting facts about. If I don't find any animals, I talk about the plants instead.
Nature interpreters + nature centre docents are probably a good option. I also remember at least 2 people hired from volunteering at the local horticultural centre + our historical gardens. (I worked part time in the café.) One woman went from being a volunteer at the gardens to deputy heard of the provincial orchid association. It's hard to think of jobs where you can get volunteer experience & get hired from hands-on performance, but the OP made me think of those cases. There are so many good ideas in the video & in the comments!
After 47 years of being alive. This year I finally have a job with benefits as a stage manager for a symphony and a production manager for a music festival
Congratulations!! I’m 20 and in college majoring in theatre with a concentration in technical design and I hope to be a stage manager one day as well ❤ I hope I can succeed like you have! Proud of you :]
Omg that’s so cool! I’m a music student right now and also work at my university doing stagework. it’s so stressful sometimes but it’s also so much fun!
I work backstage in theatre, so when we have symphonies it our job to set up the chairs, music stands, and lights, as well as a shell if the venue has one. It is my experience that theatre and music jobs seem to attract neurodivergent folks. Has it been yours as well?
I look at these lists of jobs I could have, and the only thing I can think is, "but how do I actually get the job?" I don't have the connections for these things. And the biggest fear is that I get the job and it doesn't work. I got a job in screen printing, a thing I liked doing, but I had to constantly mask. People would comment on me going quiet. My boss was mean to me for getting to do things in a way that worked for me and my brain and that experience still haunts me. I'm not afraid of the work, I'm afraid of everything AROUND the work.
I worked at a framing shop and had the same problem with my boss. It was such an awful experience that despite the fact I LOVED that job I was traumatised by the interactions around it especially with my boss. I’m terrified of having an awful boss again.
i haven't even started this video and i've always wanted to work somewhere in the GLAM umbrella and would LOVE TO, i currently work at a bakery department in a grocery store but i hope it'll be temporary someday, for now i do see it as honing in my sometimes-interacting with people skills.
@@emmadilemma4177 As someone who worked in strictly foodservice and finally got employment in a library this year, I very much believe that your current position could be considered as helpful for getting a GLAM position! It all depends on how you frame it 😊 Just start thinking about how your current duties could be transferrable into other roles, get those organized in a résumé, and keep your eyes out for opportunities-or even ask people you feel comfortable with if they can help you on the opportunity part. Rooting for you!
I LOVE libraries. I think that might actually be a job I could keep, like, forever. Sadly the only ones I've ever seen that hire want a LOT of experience.
I would love to if I didn't have any qualifications to do it. These types of places don't generally have entry level positions. Masters or doctorate in the specific field. These places often don't hire much, and there's more of these types of positions in cities- bigger the better.
The best job I ever had as a neurodivergent person was being a certificate producer at the University of Toronto. I loved it because it was structured, quiet, I had my own office, and all I had to do was print, pack, and mail out certificates. There were even days when I didn't have anything to print, so I could just hang out in my office to read, write, or doodle in my sketchbook. Plus, the people were so kind! Alas, it was a contract position, so it could only last for so long. I miss that job.
Just to respond to your line in the stay-at-home parent section of "have people really been doing this since the beginning of time?" No! They haven't! Our modern conception of nuclear families where the mom and dad do everything without any support is SUPER NEW, historically speaking. If you go back more than a couple hundred years, the norm was for extended families and neighbours to all join together to help raise children. (Which is where the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" comes from.) You'd often be living either with or very close to aunts, grandparents, cousins, etc., all of whom would help raise children together. No wonder modern parents are so exhausted! This was never supposed to be the job for just one or two people!
Depends of how high on the social ladder you are, but you don't even have to go back this far. In my family 2 generations ago family was always around to help (or annoy lol). Children were playing in plain sight and also raised each other by playing and doing stuff. I myself contributed a lot to raising my siblings, like my mom did for her many siblings (both she and I are middle children).
Many were raising their kids like back in the 1990s, which is when that saying comes from - it comes from Hilary Clinton having a book ghostwritten on the topic, discussing issues children face and different government programs and legislature to solve those issues. It has little to do with family childcare and was modern focus at the time with very little on the older household structures where families ran farms or other businesses together while also supporting children grow up.
@@dehn6581 The saying pre-dates Hilary Clinton; it might've been Margaret Mead but it def pre-dates Clinton. She was "reclaiming" it as a saying when she wrote the book of that name.
I ALWAYS wanted to work in a factory on an assembly line! I love REPETITIVE ACTIVITIES! Laminating, alphabetizing, categorizing, sorting. It’s one thing I think my autism makes me great at 😊
The problem that I face is that the interview process includes nonsense questions: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" "I don't even know where I'll be in 15 minutes. There's a Burger King down the street and I could go for a burger, but there's also a pizza place... ooh maybe I want Chinese?" or "What's your greatest strength" "Brevity" or "What's your greatest weakness" "Answering stupid questions during interviews"
I've learned that some of these are trick questions and should not be taken literally. For instance, "Where do you see yourself in [insert timeframe here]?" can be used to gauge whether or not you have ambition (usually related in some way to the position), but it's also usually used to gauge if you plan to commit to that employer long-term or not-much less if you want to take on more responsibility than the bare minimum (i.e., move up to a position with higher authority). That way, they can tell if you'd be worth spending the resources to train or not. (To put into perspective, some people literally hop from job to job with the premeditated plan of staying long enough to garner a paycheck and then just...not showing up. Those are some of the people they're trying to weed out.) "What's your greatest weakness?" is supposed to gauge your resilience and your problem-solving capabilities, as you're supposed to follow up with some way you overcome or cope with said weakness. "What's your greatest strength?" is technically a chance to brag about yourself. But the most important thing about almost _all_ of the questions is that they're usually supposed to be answered in the context of the position you're applying for. So what they're really asking for that last one is: "What is your greatest strength...and how can you apply it to this position?" So they might seem pointless as phrased, but they have a purpose. They're just...not posed in an autism-friendly manner.
It is legal to discriminate against autistic people at work. I just went through a dispute process with my previous employer, where I witnessed them isolate, harass, and fire another autistic employee. Then when I spoke up about it and reported it, I, another autistic employee was fired. I have receipts. I have chat logs. I filed a charge with the EEOC. I spoke reached out to 50+ attorneys. I spoke directly with 4 or 5, paying for at least 2 consults. No one will take the case. The problem is a doctrine in the ADA which says that it's not discrimination if you can't perform an "essential job function", and it turns out that "social communication and behavior" is an "essential job function" for almost all jobs. So what did my previous employer do? They claimed -- despite all evidence to the contrary -- that I struggled to get work done, and that I struggled to communicate to others at work. This is factually untrue. I could easily bring in 10+ different people that would back up my work performance and communication from that very job. Some who still work there. Doesn't matter, says the attorneys. All that my past employer has to do is "communicate a belief" that I couldn't do my work because I'm autistic. It doesn't matter how many amazing performance reviews I had. It doesn't matter how hard I worked. It doesn't matter that their "belief" is a lie and that they know it's a lie. It doesn't matter, because the law does not recognize anything other than the employer's belief that the "essential job functions" couldn't be performed due to the disability. All they have to do is lie to the EEOC, and to the courts and their "belief" is counted as fact. Because a "belief" is all that is required. Want to know why 85% of autistic adults can't keep a job? It's because it's 100% legal to discriminate against autistic people. All you have to do is say "communication is an essential job function and it was our *belief* that this person with ASD couldn't do these essential functions of their job". Doesn't matter if it's true. All that matters is the "belief". That's it. You can have all the proof in the world that the employer is lying and because of some doctrines of law regarding disability at work there is nothing that can be done. Nothing. To quote an attorney who advised me on this matter: "A senior attorney here and I have been waging war on a doctrine applicable to your situation. The doctrine concerns disability-related misconduct, that is, conduct an employer punishes, rather than accommodates, even though the conduct is directly caused by a disability. In our firm, and across the nation, these battles have been lost. At this point, in light of controlling appellate decisions, the EEOC or OCRC would be highly unlikely to find reasonable cause and, more importantly, a judge would very probably grant summary judgment against you. In employment discrimination law, an employer’s belief may be mistaken and yet still preclude a finding of discrimination." All they have to do is make up stuff about how your ASD interfered with your "essential job functions", and even if it's a lie. It's enough. There are no legal protections for autistic people at work. Not one.
My therapist recently told me I don’t have to conform, which is great and I appreciate the validation. The problem comes when society and employers don’t understand how difficult and detrimental it is to even try to conform.
You absolutely have to conform unless you have your own business and even then there's a limit. I don't think there's any way around the fact that we need to mask heavily and conform. It's just reality and if it weren't, autism wouldn't be a disability.
Depending on the details and how much they were foolish enough to put in writing or say in front of other people, getting fired due to illegal discrimination could be of great interest to a particular kind of lawyer.
@definitlynotbenlente7671 I am not a lawyer, but here are some thoughts about why it isn't safe to assume an airtight defense of discriminatory conduct without speaking to a lawyer specialized in this in your area. 1. That is only if they are being smart about their law breaking, which isn't always the case. People engaged in discrimination don't always realize they should cover their tracks. 2. Courts are often in the business of establishing the motives of people with reasons to lie about the same. If the only change between a positive performance review and a firing for "bad performance" is self-identification of disability, a court is free to call BS on that. 3. Policies that result in discrimination can be illegal even without showing intent under the doctrine of disparate impact. If a policy (even an unwritten one) affects a protected class worse for no good reason, then that's illegal, regardless of why it was implemented. 4. Employers are required, in the US, to provide reasonable accommodation for disability. That can mean swapping out non-core job duties, changing working conditions, etc. There are limits to this, but courts don't always take employers' word when they claim it would be too much of a burden to practice basic decency. In short, an employment or civil rights lawyer might have options to help in a case like this, but only if they are told about it. Some lawyers also advertise fees contingent on winning the case.
Autistic ex teacher here. I taught mainstream secondary for 5 years and then I was an autism specialist teacher for 2 years. Sadly I could not recommend it as a career to my autistic peers. Whilst I did love it in many ways and I was good at it, the hours are far too long and the pressure is far too much. It can break down the most resilient person and as an autistic person you will just find yourself living in a cycle of burnout and recovery until your physical and mental health is completely damaged and depleted. 💔
So sad! I’m hoping to go primary school myself, because teenagers are just so stressful and mean! Talking from the perspective of a teenager myself, who cannot handle their class….
I currently work in an elementary school as a lunch/playground supervisor and your phrase "living in a cycle of burnout and recovery" I feel that to my soul. I would love to find a job that pays at least the same if not more but that is somewhat quiet and preferably involves animals.
I'm a teacher with over a decade in the profession. I think a lot of that is down to not being in a core subject. I think if most head teachers put subjects in an importance order from highest to lowest mine wouldn't even be on the scale as it'd been overlooked. There is a lot of comfort in being unimportant
Made it 13 years as an American high school teacher, but I think I’m hitting the burnout that’s going to end my career. I’m pretty scared because I can’t afford to quit.
My main issue with jobs is I hate going to the same place and doing the same things at the same time every day. I also get bored of jobs and start to hate them after six months to a year. I also have ADHD lol 😂
Not diagnosed as adhd, just ASD but I’ve a serious case of itchy feet and leave most jobs within two years. Got to the point that a few years ago when they introduced me, I told the manager in front of the other staff, “I look forward to working for you. Just to let you know I tend to leave after two years but I’ll give you my best for those two years”
bro literally me. having both makes me feel like a walking paradox. after 3 months doing the same thing I just feel like I'm living in hell. I loove finance and investing. perhaps an econ/business tutor could be something I could work towards. God I hate academic bureaucracy so fucking much though.
Thats why I work in a usually not so perfect job for autistic people, health care. Its not unusal to find autistic people in health care but the work and human contact stresses most of them out, including me. But I found the almost perfect middle ground: I work as assistant for two people with mental and physical disabilities, in their home and it is pretty good. My general work enviroment is the same every day (their house), but since I assist them, we also go outside a lot and do all kinds of stuff (going to Cafés, doctors, shopping etc). Which brings a lot of variety. I dont need to have much small talk or maintain eye contact all the time, since they dont really care about that. I am working alone usually and only see my collegues when I start or end my shift. No boss around looking over my shoulder either. The pay is better than most other jobs that employ people without degrees.
AuDHD registered nurse here…pediatric ICU night nurse was the perfect setting for me, noticing details and patterns saves lives and night shift meant I didn’t have to interact with the rest of the world lol…I was a NOC shift PICU nurse for 8 years while not knowing I was neurodivergent, that was only revealed to me when I became a mom
For real. Night shift, weekend medical laboratory scientist here. I run 4 departments in the lab for the entire hospital, alone, for 12 hour shifts. I have never thrived more. Just me, a shield of rules, and rational machines. Nights and weekends are full of neurodivergent folks. I get along very well with career night shift nurses. The ADHD/AuDHD ones babble so I don't have to, and the rest know I'm not offended if they just want to wave and not talk. The hardest part of each new workplace is the hiring process, playing the social game long enough to get through onboarding and 3 months of training. Now I only have to avoid saying anything too abrasive for the 1 hour overlap I have with the neurotypical folks on Monday morning handoff. Or not. The manager said she just assumes I'm sleepy/grumpy after a whole weekend of night shift.
After you mentioned technical writing, I went down a rabbit hole and I've found my dream job - thank youuuuu! I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to do any job, after researching many different careers and not finding anything suitable. But now I have this - I can do non-fiction, explanatory writing (my special interest) about science (my other special interest). ❤ We just gotta make it there now...😂
@@johnfist6220 I'm a technical writer and so far, all the technical writers I've talked to (including my manager) have said AI won't take over our jobs. Of course, I don't completely believe them, but I also see where they are coming from. AI needs to make some big steps forward before it has a chance (unless the company is willing to have a dip in quality of what they are putting out). One of the important things in technical writing is to have accurate information. Generative AI is not good at fact checking, and this is a huge drawback. Plus there are some writers (like me) who don't use AI very much if at all in our daily jobs. For me, it just isn't worth it. The main thing I would use it for is writing, but I always prefer whatever words I come up with to what Chat GPT does (I actually know the connotations of words and how others may interpret them while reading), and if it is something like a simple email it is always quicker for me to just do it myself. Basically, if technical writing seems interesting, don't let the threat of AI keep you away. Instead, learn about AI and see if there are ways it might be able to help you out in your own writing. This will also help you figure out the limitations of it and help you figure out where you can help out.
They are saying AI will make lots of things obsolete - we’ll see. I’m not convinced that this will all happen, mostly because I think AI will work out like Web 2.0 for a good long time: that is to say, a bad if cheap replacement for a competent real person. Grammarly friendlying up an email is pretty easy, but from what I’ve seen, explanatory text has to conquer the garbage in/garbage out problem.
I do the same thing and it’s so satisfying! The downside is when the production managers want to deny that they are the problem but it’s all part of the job and my department enjoys making fun of it lol.
Every time I fill out a job application, they have a question like “can you perform all job duties and responsibilities WITHOUT reasonable accommodations?” And I hate that. Because often times, no. But I have to lie on the application or I won’t even get an interview. There’s nothing autism friendly around here for work.. and I still need to pay my freaking bills and buy food. So I have to take any job I can accept.. also, what an ableist question to have on EVERY application. Most jobs will avoid hiring someone with Autism or disabilities at any cost.
WTF does "without reasonable accommodations" even mean? Are you supposed to write something without a pen and paper, are you supposed to give people piggyback rides if you're a bus driver without a bus? I don't think any human can do their job without proper accommodations.
That's almost certainly illegal if you're in the US. Jobs are required to provide reasonable accommodations. Asking if you can do the job without something they're legally required to provide is opening themselves up for a lawsuit for sure
No fr! I see it constantly. I don’t think it IS legal to even ask or refuse accommodations but it happens constantly, firing and retaliation. I’m from New York State too. It doesn’t matter 😭
@@Allystargirl I believe that you see it. I also think that if you brought those applications to some kind of ADA lawyer that would be grounds for some sort of lawsuit. Whether or not they pursue it would be another matter, but you definitely have grounds
Hi Meg, hi community. I am a lumberjack, arborist, and tree assessor. Tree assessment means I check trees in public areas such as roadsides or parks for health and safety concerns. It's what I do 95% of the time atm and the #1 job I want to do for the rest of my life. I'm mostly on my own besides the occasional chat with a local, asking what I do (Infodump incoming! 😅). Walking is one of my favourite stims, and I do quite a lot of walking. 5 to 10km on an average day, but I have had days with 25km or more. And I get to experience nature, which can be pro and con at the same time: from freezing cold (-18°C) to scorching heat (39°C), (way too) bright sunlight, cloudy and misty days, high winds, rainbows and thunderstorms... I've had it all. And trees have become one of my Spins. So I'm stimming, busy with my Spin, mostly free from societal demands and my job has a huge impact on public safety. Plus, the company I work for has made quite some effort to accommodate my autistic needs. I do consider myself one of the extremely lucky few. Ok, I gotta stop typing now. 'Bout Time to actually work. 😂
May I ask how you got into the job? I quite like nature and walking, and I'm looking for a job where I'm around fewer people than my current healthcare work.
@sarahr8311 Well, by chance, basically. - became a lumberjack: 3 years of apprenticeship + 1.5 years working in the job - 3 years in a roofing company - Boss's brother had a company, too. Mowing, cutting hedges, some landscaping, and arborism - We sat together one afternoon and decided my experience as a lumberjack would fit better with the "green" company. So I switched companies and became an arborist. - only a couple months later, I got the opportunity to become a tree assessor - switched back and forth between assessment and cutting for 5 years, but now I'm doing 95% assessment I don't know how much of a thing tree assessment is in your country. Most of our customers are public authorities, but that might be specific to Germany (where I live).
@sarahr8311 Yeah, that's probably the case. I've seen quite a lot of videos made in the US, where I could tell after a few seconds that the trees are basically being "neglected" until the damages are apparent to everyone. But this may differ between states or even counties.
I'm autistic, 29 years old never been in a job, can work with family so I can dip in and out but still have many days I'm overwhelmed and overstimulated have to sleep off mental exhaustion in the day. I'm amazed at autistic people who manage to hold down a consistent work pattern even on a part time basis.
Just not Amazon for warehouses. Worst three years of my life. Had such severe burnout that six years later I'm only just now working full time again after switching between part time work, gig work, and unemployment during that timeframe. Not a fun time 😢
So true! The one I worked at put a lot of pressure on people to take additional shifts. So you would do one shift and straight away do another. I physically could not walk home after those shifts because my body was so painful. I ended up having to spend money getting a taxi with several other people. I would have dreams of still being in the warehouse whenever I went to sleep. I broke down on a shift 1.5 months in and quit. They didn't realise I had quit, despite me saying so, and I had to awkwardly come in a few days later to sign some paperwork. It was just horrendous. The money was good, but my body got screwed up so quickly.
@@zaraandrews600 That's so awful! I didn't work back to back shifts, but they were always long and there was so much pressure to go faster and faster. It took a couple years for me to stop having the dreams of being at the warehouse 😭 my husband still works there and I can't even listen to him telling me about work or I'll have a panic attack.
I’ve heard so many bad stories about Amazon. Micromanaging maximum workflow is incredibly stressful for employees. Unfortunately the model has been spreading. It’s no surprise that abusive companies also engage in union busting practices.
I worked at one where we had 10 hour work days four days a week instead of 8 hour work days 5 times a week, and could barely slog my way to my car after it ended every time. And collapsed more than once on the job, and was fired for "not being productive enough" lol. Hell.
This amount of burnout is such a burden. Tgank you for sharing - I'm a poor refugee and I'm probably overestimating my abilities to last on jobs like that
As an autistic with a job, the job i currently work at is high physical demand i cannot keep forever, its becoming impossible to do the job. Im a commercial janitor, so high work outs for 5 dollars more than minimum wage. It doesn't help that i have asthma and pots, so i faint on the job. 😅 But i finally got disability and im currently a part timer, so i fill the job for anyone that got sick or ingered which happens alot. 😅😅😅
@@EmmaDilemma039I've been trying to get jobs as a custodian at a university because many of the ones around me give free credit hours every semester for full-time employees.
Would you be willing to speak with me about getting disability while also having a job? I just applied for disability in the southern US, and everyone is telling me I can’t work at all as it will affect whether or not I get benefits.
@@ahsokaventriss3268 I'm not on disability, but I've been looking into it, because I also do janitorial work and have been struggling the last few years(I have spinal spondylitis), I quit my full-time job and work part-time, which is much more manageable for me. Got lucky and still make the same as I did working full-time, which is more than SSDI will allow. Anyway, you can work and get SSDI, so long as you don't make more than $1,550 a month. That's before taxes. If you make even a penny more than $1,550 in a month, you could lose your benefits. But I'm not sure if you can get the benefits while working, you may have to quit working until you get benefits(Which could take a year), then find a job through the Ticket to Work Program. At my former job, I heard that a co-worker got help from our employer to get on disability, his back problem was so bad he couldn't work though, but maybe you could talk to your employer if you think they are decent enough to help?
I feel this. The problem for me isn’t just the job itself but every step leading up to it and the day to day of dealing with anything at all going wrong in said job. I’m terrified to interview, terrified to reach out to people for things like letters of recommendation, terrified of the potential rejection involved in it all. Terrified of confrontation on the job and having to deal with disruptions to the schedule and things not going how I expect. Terrified of trying to fit in to the fabric of the team and communicate effectively. It’s all too much 💀
i went into game design because i really like making up characters and found out that making uv maps(marking and cutting seams, laying out all the unwrapped pieces on the screen etc) is SO SATISFYING TO ME
@@IDEKaaaaaaaagh I use blender and krita! Basically I layout the uv pieces first, then choose the "Export UV layout" option-- this generates a png with the wireframes of the pieces visible. I then lock that layer and set it to multiply, then create my actual texture layers below it so I can see through the wireframes as well as see my painted details. Once the texturing is done, at least temporarily, I hide the multiply/wireframe layer, and go back into blender and edit the models material to use an image texture and import the texture I created. If it needs tweaked, I can just go back into the image and adjust it there. I repeat this until I'm satisfied, basically!
I think the biggest thing is not to force yourself to do something you hate and mask it. Just listen to yourself and make sure you're doing things you actually vibe with.
@@barsuiter9543sometimes ppl have the means even if they don’t immediately realize it. Unfortunately this is not universal and there will be ppl who have to take jobs they dislike… hopefully not hate, but it does happen
There's a real gem within engineering/trades for outdoors people that is relatively unknown as well; land survey. You basically go on hikes and measure stuff with cool equipment, then crunch numbers to make sure it's measured as accurately as possible. Sometimes the entire day is like a scavenger hunt trying to find coordinates in abandoned places. Good mix of high tech and hacking stuff with machetes.
In the US, Surveyor is a licensed professional title so you’ll need to pass a couple exams and work under another licensed surveyor for some time(you are getting paid) . I think most states require a number of college credits focused on survey/geospatial as well.
If you like working with kids might i suggest childrens entertainer rather than after school care or teacher. I have trained as a teacher but kids are NOISY and intense. The energy they put out is pretty constant, so even though i loved it, it burnt me out hard. Being a childrens entertainer means small bites of intense interaction, and then down time to recover.
Also in teaching and after school care, you end up having constant interactions with certain parents. In childrens entertaining, you only interact with the parents a little bit and they're usually grateful for your presence, so less complicated adult interactions.
This is great info because I was so excited to be a teacher. Did it for a year and quit. Kids too loud, stinky smells, drolls, slob, spit, and snotty noses. I hated how the staff were so fake with the parents and other teachers. I absolutely loved most of my parents and I received so many gifts! I’m still close with a few families 😂
Depending on the style of entertainment, you can also be mostly scripted, and can often do something like sctick, being silly or goofy. Shtick was the way my father could put himself out there. I’m similar; I’ve done a couple things that qualified as kids’ entertainer, and I was pretty good at it. Responding to groups of people, whether child or adult, in real time, ad lib, and on real, rather than fanciful terms, was where I crashed and burned, because people are so complicated and I don’t think well on my feet.
I used to want to be a mortician due to my lack of squeamishness, but now want to work in some sort of field regarding archaeology from the classical period of Greece. Ancient Greece is my special interest I'm one of those people who writes essays for fun. Maybe one day I'll write a book on it. Who knows.
There's one thing I NEED from a job. I need meaning or purpose because if I'm gonna spend 40 hours a week doing it I need it to be meaningful. For me I've always really wanted to help people so as long I can feel that through my work I'm alright.
Most people, no matter what walk of life, almost always wind up with jobs that seem meaningless and leave them feeling empty inside. That's just another facet of life, a near universal shared experience. Alongside spending our final years being sad, distant, frustrated and unfulfilled.
@@Zavitor I disagree. There are many people who hate their jobs but there are many who love their jobs. There are many people who spend their final years like that but I also know there are many people who spend it satisfied and hopeful. I worked very hard to get the job I have now and I found meaning in it because I knew it would give me meaning for the start. My job is far from perfect but I love it anyway. I just hope you can find more hope and happiness in your life because if you search for it you'll probably find it.
I feel the same way. I loved working at a small nonprofit, helping people indirectly. Unfortunately, there were SO many interruptions from my narcissist boss, who literally told me she "could interrupt me whenever" she wanted, and would then give me negative marks for time management.
I'm similar, except instead of meaning, it's some level of enjoyment. Like, I don't think I could work a job that I wasn't at least slightly passionate about.
Transcription is a nice solitary, easy one for autistic, introvert, people who don't really like teamwork etc. Can be done at home or in an office, flexible hours, pay isn't bad either
I've been looking into transcription and I'd love to hear what it's like for you. How many hours do you work and what do you typically work on? Many autistic people also have some auditory processing issues, is this a problem for you, and if so how does it affect your work?
@@naomiparsons462 I worked 37.5 hours when I did this. First did legal, then a job in a hospital office which then moved to remote work from home. Audio processing was no issue other than the usual challenges that came from dictation, as variable quality of the actual recordings. It becomes quite routine as you get used to the people who are dictating letters. The documents are in templates too, so it's literally typing what is said. Some interpretation of instructions required but they're straight forward directions like please bullet point this, please number this, please copy this text from previous letter etc. Worst part of it for me was the screen brightness as I wasn't used to being at a screen for hours at a time. Blue light glasses, turning down the brightness and regular walking breaks away from the screen helped
@@lizziehepworth4500 I worked in legal to begin with but full secretarial work was too peopley. Then I moved to my local hospital. The job is unionised and pays well. Some part time and some full time work available. Look under the job titles medical word processor, transcriptionist, stenographer (although this one is more hand writing than actual typing)
@@lizziehepworth4500Yeah I had that same experience actually, I looked at three different websites where you had to sign up and fill out all of these things BEFORE they tell you that they're not currently taking on any new transcribers... Like 😓 so yeah, I kinda gave up on that lol
I’m a walking tour guide! 😅 my guests often ask me “how do you know so much?” And I laugh to myself because being allowed, nay, encouraged to info dump my special interest is EASY for me! I love it!
My transition from being a waiter to office job has been so amazing for my mental health. I worked as a waiter before I found out I was autistic, and I never understood why I would wake up with a sense of dread, feel completely stressed even though I didn’t need to be.
I remember that feeling so well from nearly five years working at Wal Mart. It was only a short walk from where I lived (which was the appeal for my agoraphobic self) but .. ugh. I still have nightmares about that place a decade later. Congratulations on the new job!! ❤
I shelve books at a used book store. It makes me happy. Quiet for the most part, I love alphabetizing and when a customer needs help they are really chill.
@@nameless1763 Library work is probably full time but my job is only part time. It really all depends on the employer but I feel like book stores/libraries are fairly autism friendly places to work in general.
@@abmrose I think they mostly digitize documents, but they also have been working with the police service to review body cam footage (I think to find and censor identifying information).
@@SnoozleTheWaterWizard The owner's son is autistic, which I think was the reason he created the company. I considered applying, but they're located in the downtown area that I want to avoid for a number of reasons.
Accountant/bookkeeper works for me. I mostly sit at a computer by myself, take a bunch of nonsense, and make it correct. I work for someone else and have low client interaction
@@emisformaker make systems so you can pick the mistakes up later. Then trust the system you have built. Helped a lot for me with checking on myself and not worrying much in the moment. Bookkeeping has many possibilities for this.
I'm training currently to be a bookkeeper or accountant, previously was a technical writer and technical editor. Tech Editing was a job I loved so much but it's not valued by many.
@@emisformaker Most bookkeeping work checks itself, like tying to a bank balance. Accounting work is trickier, but after a while, you get a feel for when something looks weird, and you can compare to the previous period and investigate differences. But yeah things like payroll are stressful because you don't want to mess that up and all you can do is triple+ check it.
I am a therapist. There are a lot of us which surprised me a bit. I can work from home and I have an amazing neurodivergent boss. Despite being highly qualified, I struggled to find and keep a job. I want to encourage all the other neurodivergent people to not give up. We all deserve to find careers we love (if that's what we desire) and people who appreciate us.
I really wish there was more opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities. I never finished high school (grades 9-12), and nearly all of these jobs involve college/uni degrees. There's so many fields that I'd love to work in that I'd be completely unable to ever qualify for.
Have you looked into equivalency exams? If you're in the US, each state has their own acronym for them but I have a feeling you pass quite easily and I know there are online prep courses so you can practice at home and then go take the exam.
I'm autistic, and I work at a local history museum! I work in collections, so I spend most of my time organizing, doing inventory, re-homing, and doing condition reports on artifacts and archives. I do a lot of research, too. In the springtime, I give class tours to students aged 5-10. I usually work on my own in my office and can listen to audiobooks or music while I work.
@@lumii903 it depends on the institution and the position. Some will require a masters degree in museum studies or a related field. My boss is working on his History PhD. On staff we have a variety of bachelors degrees and a couple masters ranging from visual art to engineering to business to education.
A few of the problems for me. 1. I am autistic but with ADHD, so barely any jobs satisfy both and at the specific times I would need them to. 2. The job search and interview process. 3. Most places don't let you make your own schedule and I REALLY need that, ultimately being able to come and go as I please and take breaks whenever I want. Selling ebay was the only thing I ever did that satisfied all that.
What I’m struggling with is that any jobs I might feel more comfortable in, do not pay nearly enough. I find my job hard, I need to mask the majority of the time and I’m close to burnout at times… but it pays good money.
Im a doctor and while my patients are really happy with how empathetic i am, it leaves me burnt out at the end of the day. Limiting the number of patients i see has helped me get more control in my daily life.
Hello, I am 13, almost 14 and I rlly want to become a doctor (I am completely sure of my choice, I have done research about it asked ppl, so this isn't a choice made out of the blue ) could you please tell me more about your career and lifestyle, I would really appreciate to know about the experience of an autistic doctor since I am autistic myself. Sorry if I bothered you, have a wonderful day/night/weekend :>
8:24 i actually would NOT recommend being a teacher. Not just for autistic people, but for anyone. Teachers face a lot of abuse from both their bosses and their students. Ive heard so many stories of female teachers especially being s3xually harrassed by their male students. Other stories involve just straight up assualt.
I even had this happened to a teacher of mine. She was my summer school teacher and yeah. A couple of boys were saying sexual stuff and I helped told them off for it. I actually got a thanks from her!
I went to an all girls school and the young attractive male teachers all had teenage girls hitting on them, which never got taken seriously. I think it probably happens even more to male teachers because males are socialised to pretend to enjoy or at least not be upset by any expression of sexual interest from females, even unwanted sexual grabbing and pinching is supposed to be laughed off when an older woman does it. So when teenage girls hit on male teachers all the teachers probably think about is that if they say anything to the headteacher they are likely to be suspected to have encouraged it cos of gender stereotypes about it always being men who are sexually inappropriate. But from what I saw, and still see in the media where female celebrities openly sexually objectify men and even underage boys like they did Justin Bieber several times on TV in old clips, in a way that would get called immediately if vice versa, the belief that most sexual harassment is done by men just comes from fact that men don't get taught to formally complain when they are sexually harassed, or talk about it like that is what happened. I also volunteered for a charity boss in her 50s or 60s who was open about flirting with the young men who would work or volunteer there especially if they were black, she had a thing for young black men and would openly joke about this fact and everyone just found it cute and funny cos it was assumed at that time and I think often still is that all men are sexually open and perfectly fine with public sexual attention at work from bosses they are not interested in. Sexual harassment is something all autistic people need to be taught to recognise and arguably all men too whether autistic or not cos every guy I have seen on the receiving end has acted as if he had to play along with the "all men are sluts and cannot feel humiliated or objectified by sexual attention like women can" societal belief in order to be socially acceptable.
@@compulsiverambler1352I don’t think it happens more often to male teachers overall, but rather that it’s more common for male-targeted sexual harassment to be unreported bc of what you said on gender expectations. Either case, we need to be vigilant to prevent these kinds of unwanted commentary/touch regardless of gender of recipient or initiator/aggressor.
Huh I was a teacher (all levels then taught at a uni for masters levels). I love teaching BUT at the uni I received the worst conditions. Low pay (was a casual) and abuse from students. No respect for your hours and it Was a highway to autistic burnout. When I was teaching to middle and high schoolers, I was just tired all the time. Conditions were really tough because there weren’t enough maths teachers so I got loaded so many classes. I still love teaching but idk if I can ever find fair conditions where you are not overworked or harassed.
Recently I had to get a passport and the person who helped me with the paperwork and photo had an autism button on. I realized it was probably a good job for an autistic person. I’m a developer by day and artist by night. On the IT side, a good option for people who need a lot of independence might be pen testing. I bets that’s perfect for people with autism. In psychology, don’t forget there are research psychologists. For when you’re interested in people but don’t want to deal with them. 🎉
What really bothers me about jobs it’s that in almost any of them I can keep up with the load of work. I’m great at graphic design and video editing, but I can’t deal with the daily demands of that kind of jobs, they always lead me to burnout. That’s been the most troubling part, I know I won’t be able to work in what I love because of that
Same - the work is the easiest part. It's all the nonsense surrounding it that makes it exhausting. It's really frustrating. Did you see that I'm currently looking for a video editor? I have a link in the video description 😊
I have a dyspraxia diagnosis and work as an artist. I am able to paint very fine details but other than that I am extremely clumsy and awkward with my body
As a vet student, my professor has joked that you could basically smell the autism in the air in the vet school and vet hospital. There's just so much of us here!
Hi I'm currently looking into IT right now and have a few questions if you don't mind- How difficult is it to get in infrastructure and engineering? I heard net+ was very difficult, and yes it does get easier as you move up because you learn more on each job, but I just opened packet tracer and it's like I felt like a dumb ant or something. How could I get into it if I can't even grasp the basics of packet tracer? Say I do get into it, what is it to be on the "projects side"? And also, I heard that NOC / SOC is highly stressful. Is that why you recommend night shift?
@@chespinmcgreen3682 What makes me successful in IT is obsessive personal interest in it. Since the 1980s I've gone down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, and I don't get tired of it. Building up understanding through years of poking at it made college fairly easy, and work very productive. It's not a struggle to choke down the study like it is for many people. It's what I do on my own time, too. If you are fortunate enough to love something that people will pay you to do, I think it's the best anyone can hope for. I don't envy those of us that have to get a job they don't care about. Those are the hardest jobs.
I did 30+ years as a network engineer, worked well for me most of the time. Until I ended up on a project job that was incredibly demanding and stressful. I helped finish the project but was so burned out at the end of it that I couldn't face going back into IT. So after a few months I tried being a postman for a while. That worked well for 10+ years but the last year has been horrendous with bullying from both colleagues and management. They don't see it like that of course... I was diagnosed 2 years ago as "likely" having AuDHD. This has helped in some ways as I've been able to sort through my reactions to certain environments and avoid them. I really like working on my own most of the day, but the time at the DC in the morning has turned from tolerable to terrible. My managers recently demoted me for showing signs of autism, even though I'd informed them beforehand. 🙄 It shows that with the right managers and colleagues it can be a good job. Just down to the people I guess.
Something to mention in regards to trades and heavy industries is that social etiquette requirements are usually more flexible and less demanding... but that doesn't explicitly mean more inviting or accommodating. You could be left to be the inoffensive wierd/awkward person but bullying and harsh behaviors is often pretty accepted in the industry and "old school" attitudes are pretty common so if you do end up needing any extra accommodations you might not even be taken seriously
I'm in my early 20s in Germany and I feel like there's absolutely nothing for me here. Germany is ableist when it comes to autism, its not a very well-known thing here and its generally looked down upon. Not many psychiatrists are actually qualified to diagnose autism, due to their lack of knowledge, which makes it expensive to even get a diagnose in first place. 99% of autistic people in Germany are unemployed. Another problem here is that most of the jobs they offer here are catered towards allistics (which is no surprise) and finding those very niche jobs is impossible. I've tried looking into animal care, art and laboratory jobs but those are basically non-existent and also require good education (which if you don't have you're kind of screwed either way.). If you're autistic and live in Germany, you're doomed, especially if you don't have any financial support from parents or anyone else. People may think Germany is a good place to find work, but it's an absolute nightmare for disabled people. Forgot to mention that i'd REALLY like to earn my own money, but with the difficulties of finding a job, it's not going to be possible. I've been dependent on my parents (who also don't earn that much money) pretty much for my entire life.
If you get an education as lab technician, you will always have a job. It usually takes 2years + 1 year of actual work internships. Try looking into it, is is quite a good job for autistics.
@@maggie2811 I would but there's nothing like that in my area. And I mean I've looked over the span of 3 years, it's always the same jobs. I don't have the money to move to a different province to live on my own. I also don't meet the requirements, I've had a 5 (or F) in math at my final test before graduation. Finding a job with my grades in that field is impossible, even if I am interested in science.
I was a bicycle tour guide in Prague, Czech Republic, and I got to lead people on bikes and then stop and info dump for a few minutes before moving on or sending them to look at something while I watched the bikes. I loved it, and kept learning and exploring the city for things that could never fit into my tours. big cons are the traffic could be hectic, and some people just get on a bike and decide to be an idiot. walking would be calmer, but people would walk next to you and ask more questions, plus there's a cartel for most of the walking tour companies and I stayed out of that. its a give and take. I loved that job
I'm an immunologist and I do really struggle working full time in general but man... the amount your manager can make or break a job is really scary. I had a bad manager who was very ableist and she made me so incredibly miserable. Job switching isn't easy it took me a year or so to find another job and I'm having difficulties with a colleague in my new job. Hopefully I'll figure out something that works better for me in the future
I had a similar experience. My last manager was awful and I would have panic attacks about going to work. Now I have a new job and the manager is also autistic and ADHD like me, and it is so nice to have someone be so understanding. I feel like I hit the jackpot with my new manager.
I am currently a library receptionist. I hate how much I need to interact with people. There is so much pressure to always be ready, especially as I am the only one who works at the library every day. I am trying to hold in there to become a librarian, as I think that will really suit me. In the NHS the librarians do a lot of literature reviews, and it seems really ideal as I love researching. Yes, you still see people, but it is a lot more spaced out, and I am not fending back the people in the morning at the entrance telling them to wait until I have finished preparing (sanitising computers, preparing the water, tidying rooms etc.) before they can come in. At my workplace the librarians also get to work from home a lot more, and can keep working when ill because they can just work from job. In comparison, when I get ill, to prevent it spreading I have to take time off, even if it isn't too bad. Plus, I often get sick because librarians just disregard the rules and come in badly ill anyway. I have just applied to a Masters so I can eventually become a librarian, but, because I am working full-time it will take 3 years to complete. On the bright side, I will have a paid study day once a week once I start (provided the university agrees to having me). Their pay is also substantially more than mine. It is over £10,000 more a year, which (after tax) is £700 more a month! I could actually afford to move out of my mum's place with that extra money. Right now, I commute 2 hours each way to work because I can't afford to move closer.
I work in a Warehouse, I work in the Labels room . I put lot numbers on the Labels, I put labels on boxes, bags, pails, jars. I love it, I'm good at it. I know what is expected of me, I'm given my project and start. I'm in a quiet room, I get to listen to my music or listen to videos on TH-cam. I get to use my hands all day. I'm a bit of a perfectionist which is good for this type of job, getting the Labels on straight, no bubbles under the Labels no wrinkled labels.
I am a nurse. And I love what I'm doing. It's just like you said, most of the conversations are about what the people are in hospital for. I avoid to talk a lot to the other nurses or to the doctors. Theres a lot of bullying ongoing and I hate to be with them. The most difficult thing to stand are all the noises from ICU, people talking without any brake, 2 telefons ringing all the time, the patients bell ringing, and everytime there ist the one that has got to be shouting out that hes angry about little things. To be focussed on your things, your documentation, to even hear the doctors orders they are giving you passing by is nearly impossible. So to enter the patients room is like an escape. I love to talk to them, to be able to help them with my knowledge and perhaps with my kindness. There is such a leck of kindness in this world, that's what I can do.
I wasn't diagnosed till I was 40 years old. I spent my 20s working retail and it broke me so bad. I had a complete mental breakdown. I dropped out of high school even though I was on the honor roll because I just couldn't take the bullying. I never pursued college because of the fear of bullying and fear of failing. Everyone told me I was lazy. The only job I have ever been good at or able to tolerate is being a Dominatrix. I choose the price, the time, and what I am willing to do. I know this will get lots of hate but maybe someone will relate. I wish all of us fulfilling lives where we can thrive and support ourselves.
I'm an elementary teacher and although I am motivated and find a lot of meaning in teaching, the pressure and chaos of it lead to my worst burnout to date. I can't really recommend it if you're autistic. There is an overwhelming amount of various tasks to be done, so you have to half-ass a lot of it, and still work way beyond the hours you're supposed to. You need to have every lesson planned out in advance, but you can never trust that things will go according to that plan. You work with 20+ children and a million different factors influence how they feel, and what they are willing and able to do. You have to be on top of multiple things at once or things will escalate into chaos. You have to listen, calm, coerce, soothe, motivate, demand, mediate and psychoanalyze. Every class has multiple children with problem behavior or other issues that will disrupt and hurt them and people around them, and that you need to follow up on and try to get ahead of constantly. Not to mention parents and their expectations and accusations.
I work in libraries right now, but if I had the money I would in a heart beat start down the path of being a medieval history lecturer again. I had started studying a MA in Medieval Studies during covid, and had a nervous breakdown. I am happy with my current job, but studying history is my greatest love. I was particularly excited to research medieval environmental history as it is still a fairly new area. I really wanted to evaluate the Hundred Years War and see how the Little Ice Age affected warfare for my PhD. Several teachers suggested I also study archaeology to further my understanding in preparation, and I found a really ideal university which specialises in environmental archaeology. I have also looked into universities to restart my Medieval Studies MA with, and found a good course, which just happens to have its library located next to my workplace. Eventually, I want to get back on that path, but I need to get financially stable enough first.
my problem is consistency. some days i’m incredibly productive, talkative, focused, etc. and other days i can barely get out of bed. i never know how i’m going to be day-to-day and it makes holding down a job impossible. that plus the weird social dynamics in workplaces are a huge problem for me
I share this problem. I found the solution in working 3 days 6 hours each day and just stay in work mode. Not do much else. After that i can focus 4 days on other stuff and do my household chores. I work in costumer service by phone, with lots of putting through to second line if its complicated. I only answer or solve easy problems. I am also a hamster breeder, that is were my passion and hyperfocus is on. Sadly i can never make enough money of the selling hamsters, so got to have a job next to it. Right now i'm happy about my situation. I can work from home and also at the office. Most of the times i choose home. I am alone a lot.
I did a deep dive into available job sectors fairly recently and basically came to realization its not the job, its the work environment. A lot of job sectors have reliably horrible work environments so I dismiss them altogether. Data entry is my jam, but it does feel difficult to find real gigs.
I have Asperger's Syndrome, and one job I've been really successful at because of it is being a baseball mascot performer. Yes, there are often big crowds and so much happening at times, but it usually doesn't bother me. When I put on that kangaroo costume, I seem to become someone completely different, more outgoing and fun-loving. And my biggest strength as this mascot is how I'm especially good with the kids!
Curious how many artistic jobs will be on here, personally, I think creative jobs are best for people similar to me, who prefer making their own schedule and mot depending too much on others. Edit: Personally, I plan on being a tattoo artist! Which although I get the social skills isn't for everyone, it's somewhat in demand, and a job where I get to make unique art that holds meaning for a lot of people!
I think it depends, as with any group of individuals; personally, I'm a game designer! Edit: To add, though, especially for more commercial (client-based) group oriented creative fields, the challenge I've had is translating my deep intuitive understanding of my craft into a convincing argument about why we should do something. As with a lot of peeps, my field of interest is so intense - though not necessarily due to specific academic knowledge - that I can get into a flow state making something because all that knowledge has been intensely internalized.
I spent fifteen years as a graphic designer and mostly loved it - I often worked for myself, chose my own hours. I loved the creative side of it so much, but would struggle when the workload got too big, which it often would as I would find it impossible to turn work down. Very rewarding when you see something you’ve done in print 😊
I was planning on being a tattoo artist but the self promotion was a dead turn off. This was well before tiktok or even insta so I suppose it would be easier nowadays. Or not if you don't get social media like me😅
@@SRE3007 Granted it does, but depending on where you start and how far you go, you hire someone to market for you or you work with a studio that will do it for you. And at a certain point, the quality of your work becomes your marketing - it's a very work of mouth business, if only because it's such a permanent thing that's hard to vet otherwise.
@@SRE3007 it appears like it most to be mostly word of mouth and relying on studio's, I would've just made awful photo shop posters back then I won't lie 😅 but modernly, I'd probably go with an Instagram portfolio, I've honestly probably consumed almost all available tattoo content that I can find online that isn't trash TV shows lol
I’m working as a caregiver for elderly people and I absolutely love it. Giving them support is so rewarding for me, and I do much better one on one at a time than many different people or in a group.
Im happy to come across your post as I've been thinking about getting into caregiving alot lately. It sounds like its working out for you. I've got a few questions. Are you in the US? What does an average day as a caregiver consist of regarding the tasks? What did it take to get into caregiving for you?
The HVAC trade has been such a godsend! Complex systems in service of human comfort. It tickles my troubleshooting impulses and my desire to serve people.
You keep saying "not a hairdresser" but I was a successful Cosmetologist for 17 years. Although I worked with the public, as an AuDHD it was actually perfect for me. I loved that I always knew I was doing the same type of services but I also loved that I didn't always know what I was doing (I worked in a lot of walk-in salons). I loved that I could meet different people everyday but also that I had a ton of regular clients. I loved that I could talk about my passion while also helping people feel better about themselves. I also loved that even tho I worked with other stylists, I always could zone out in my personal work. I loved Monday morning when I was a manager because I could go in and do paper work: payroll, scheduling, daily and weekly stats, ordering and I think I was the only one who loved doing inventory of the whole salon. Formulating colors was very exciting too. Hair was my passion since I was 4. I've been retired now for 11 years and I miss the creativity, working behind the chair was my playground. 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks for sharing! My 6 year old was just diagnosed and is dead set on being a hairstylist. I know that might change but I'm glad to hear from someone who loved it!
I think that audhd recommended things in general can vary somewhat from those for purely autistic or purely adhd (but even that is variable). Because it’s all a spectrum and we have different experiences. Thank you for sharing your own experiences so ppl can know that it may not be something to completely write off on
@@cameronschyuder9034 I can agree with that. I've always said I'm a walking contradiction and this career gave me that flexibility I needed to prosper. Something I left out is that while working, if someone wasn't in a talkative mood it gave me a chance to just work and refuel my energy for actually engaging in conversation.
My grandfather designed machines for a textile company. In retrospect I think he may have been autistic -he was a extremely hard of hearing from the work, and some things I thought were due to that was autism, I think. His son/my father almost certainly was.
Maybe we can all work together and help those who don't have jobs get somewhere ♡ I mean I have been unemployed my whole adult life due to life circumstances but I am a game developer and one day will get around to releasing an actual game... you know , when life stops throwing me under the bus regularly. Also I have been thinking about volunteering at my local animal shelter since novak (my cat) passed earlier this month ❤
Game developer!! That's amazing. I hope you catch a break soon and can focus on what you love 💛 That's a lovely idea regarding the animal shelter. RPI Novak 💔
@@imautisticnowwhat Game development is an amazing thing but I'd love to just be a world builder or someone who does the environmental storytelling in a game ... But as i do everything myself ( coding , world building , ui, 2d art 3d modeling, audio, the game design documents ... basically everything that goes into a game I do myself) I have alot of unfinished games so unless i kick the perfectionist side of me i dont think ill ever fully publish a game 😂 But thank you ♡ I've recently got into making stuff out of resin (I made a necklace with some of my furbabys ashes so he's always with me) so I've been super into that at the moment but I am also drawing a game up about novys life at the same time... who knows maybe I'll actually finish the project if its for him ♡ Yeah I think my local shelters could use some extra help and I am alone 24/7 now so I defo need the company and something to do ... I wanna look into it and see what's available and stuff like that but I think it would be nice to do something ♡ He is at peace now ♡ and home thanks to this amazing community ♡
My condolences ❤ I lost two kitties this year. I highly recommend volunteering anywhere. It's great experience. I was unemployed my entire adult life too, up until this past year. 😅 I started volunteering a year ago in an organization that aligns with my degree. I did try volunteering at the animal shelter, but never went back after the orientation due to anxiety. 😅 I hope you have better luck with the animal shelter than I did. The kitties out there need some love. ❤ Volunteering a couple times a week is a great way to get that socialization quota in. Lol.
32:06 You could be a research psychologist, though. There are non social, office based or research based, behind the scenes versions of nearly every job.
That's what I do. I have a B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. in Psychology, and I do research in auditory motion perception. I conduct research, run experiments, analyze data, write papers, write matlab code (computer programming), present my research at conferences, etc. It's a little bit of everything, and I get paid to info dump about auditory motion perception :D
I worked as a research assistant, now as a researcher and occupational therapist. We have 3 autistic people in our team, we do everything.. It is a qualitative research, exceptionally large, about autism. Every member of the team specialise in a different task (I was interviewing and guiding the focus groups, and presenting the findings at conferences) It a diverse field, you can find a job that best fits your skills
Im kinda high support, and late in life diagnosed... i know i need welfare and im most likely getting it in my country, in my country that lasts for life, but i dont want it for life.. i want to used that to pay for education in my special interest and then hopefully get a job. Sound technitian.. here i hopefully come in about 5 years ❤
I will say that if you can get a job as a sound tech it has been my experience as a stage hand that theatre and concert workers are way more accepting of our autistic quirks than most other people. The job seems to me to attract a neurodiverse crowd.
I have worked in film, tv, theatre, and audio and I've never heard of a sound technician being required to have any specific education. Some short term classes might help boost skills, but I think usually you just start as a production assistant and let the production manager know you want to focus on the sound department and are eager to learn, and you gradually move up into roles with more responsibility from there. In most production jobs as long as you get your work done and let your colleagues know what your goals are they will usually be happy to teach you things along the way and give you advice. I hope this helps!
The main problem is that you could have a lonely position in the middle of the desert and still being a talkative and extremely social teamplayer would be an absolute MUST HAVE for you to be even considered for the job... And the second problem is that every single job that would have been interesting and sounded like it was right for me would have required me to go to a university which is impossible if you don't have parents who can pay for you as long as necessary. Working on the side would have just led to sacrificing sleep and any minute of spare time (and with spare time I mean every time outside of the university courses, including time required for learning or other study preparations) and it still wouldn't have been enough work time to get paid enough to support myself for even a month, let alone several years. At first I still had the childish idea that I could put money aside and then study full time and support myself with my savings. But it's been 17 years since then and I only have enough savings for about a year.
I really wanted to get a psychology AND medical PhD along with a lawyer’s degree but with these statistics I’m really struggling with finding a good accommodating position for them when I’m older with the constant stereotypes for autistic people. But I find that some of these options are really helpful for me and I’m already only a few minutes into the video!! Thank you!!! Also the fact you mentioned a diagnosis could help with employment in the first category, that really is quite the relief. Thank you so much for making this video in such detail!!!! 💚
I started off by doing a PhD in nutrition and then taught Nutritional Biochemistry at a university for a time. Then I re-trained and became a massage therapist. That was a wonderful job because it was one on one with clients... But then I developed psoriatic arthritis and had to give up massage, and now I am a massage therapy instructor. Which is the best job ever because I get to info dump on stuff that I am really interested in (anatomy & physiology). And where I am (Canada) massage is classed as healthcare... I am also a nutritional counsellor. Again, one on one with clients and I can also get to info dump about stuff that interests me (nutrition).
I loved massage as well. I developed a special interest in trigger point therapy and that helped my career a lot. I also loved that I could be social with talkative clients without making eye contact, or if I really needed quiet I could be terse with a relaxing voice, and they would take that as a cue to focus on the massage without getting offended haha. It's a really great job for light and sound sensitivity as well.
Work in a repetitive job where you can wear headphones (gardening, warehouse, merchandising cleaning etc) while keeping up with a social interest (music, podcasts etc). In your downtime, do informal education. Find (or have a carer/support worker find) a syllabus (textbook, teacher site, university course reading list, MOOC) because learning builds from foundations up, so you need to do things in a logical order. Then you can use that order to find learning materials or spaces that work for you. You could be just following a special interest, or you could take yourself through a school curriculum at your own pace and without the social and sensory demands of a classroom. It’s possible, given time and determination, to teach yourself enough to do high school diploma equivalents and/or get yourself accepted into (some, but more C than you think) tertiary institutions on the basis of informal learning. If the latter is your aim, I would start a blog, vlog, website or other public space to share knowledge and document your learning important thing is to be systematic, even if what you’re doing is teaching middle school algebra to your cat. Look up things like learning styles (detailed versions, assumed at teachers) to find what works for you. Create your own subject specific dictionaries for words and phrases. If you intend to transfer to formal education: Once you think you’ve learned something new, spend some time writing (online or privately) about it, even if this isn’t your preferred style, because that’s how our society tests knowledge. There are organisations to help if literacy or language are an issue - your local library is a good place to help you find them. You CAN do this. Until the late C20th, libraries. and night schools supported informal education. Now it’s mostly online, but it is there.
I am going through a burnout as a working from home software engineer. One thing I was really struggling with working from home especially and employment in general is all the implicit rules on production output and expectations from management. It doesn't help that I masked heavily at my work and I can be extremely people pleasing and non-confrontational, and since I am a high achiever I keep getting more work. Working from home kind of made it worse in some parts, because of how all of my life became blurred together, and I was unable to set boundaries. My job would exhaust me and I would have no transition from it and spend my evenings and week-ends in some sort of limbo or shutdown. Putting some boundaries would have been easier in the workplace, but then it was a sensory and social hell so I guess I just couldn't win. More than the amount of work it is the long hours that are draining me mentally. Doing a really intense cognitive work and putting a lot of pressure on myself, it was just too much. I wish I could have worked half the amount of time I was working every week, on the long term I am sure I would have actually achieved more. I just can't work at low intensity like others do. I can also recognise myself in the idea of the job kind of sucked the life out of my special interest for programmation (although my interest is not dead and I will get back into it when I am ready). More than the job title itself the environment is equally as important, I wish I had learnt that sooner. I am now leaning more towards self employment, but also working on unmasking and learning to be communicating my needs and boundary should help me.
Hi, Software Tester here. I've had a similar experience with long working hours and being too intense about my standards. I was ill for a years, bit the I switched to a 25 hour work week, so that I have enough time to rest every day. Its been difficult to find employment with "only" 25 hours a week, but It found my dream employer who is completely fine with that, respects my skills and my boundaries. So I want to encourage you and give you hope, that working less hours in a job you like can really make a difference.
I really relate to that. I took a high pressure job doing something I really liked, and I was impressed that I could handle it, as I didn’t think I could. But I kept feeling like it was changing me in bad ways I didn’t understand, and has a vague feeling that it might end up costing me my mental health, my marriage and the rest of my life. Which is what has happened, though there were other factors too. They closed the local office and I moved to in home work, but as you say, everything blurred. I had worked at home wheh I was self employed, and this was an issue then too, but I had more control over my workflow. And starting with COVID, both my wife and I started working at home, which worked out really badly. We both need quiet, and we also both make a fair bit of noise when we work, so... 😓
@@emmynoether9540how did you find an employer that supports you in doing this? I’m in exactly the same boat here, 40 hours a week of cognitive labor is just not sustainable for my mental health, but I don’t really know how to pivot to any other jobs, so I wish I could just reduce expected working hours…
I relate to your experience a lot. Working from home has been a mixed bag for me, too. On the one hand, it made me realize how much I was masking in the office, and I was actually able to relax. But our company’s grown a lot in the past few years (I work for an insurance broker), and my department has grown, but in my opinion, not enough to keep up with the surge in new business. I feel bad complaining, because I actually get paid well, get regular raises, and generally have a lot of benefits that I know many employers lack. I’m also embarrassed because I can’t seem to work as fast as my colleagues. I take longer to process and I can’t help it-I get stuck on small details. It sometimes is a benefit, because I catch things that other people miss, but mostly it stresses me out because I can’t work at my own pace. I feel like for every 1 thing I cross off my to-do list, 5 more things get added. I’m in a constant cycle of burnout and I know I will probably eventually have to quit, but I’m scared to leave this job because it’s very secure.
I am listening to this while doing stuff for my job as a webshop manager for an animal rights charity. I have been an activist for them for over six years, and I have been dreaming of working for them pretty much ever since, although for a long time my self-confidence was too low to apply. It was actually through a more outgoing friend (and some coincidence) that I got this job. And I absolutely LOVE IT! Not only am I doing stuff for an organisation that I am 100% behind, with likeminded people with an activist mentality, my colleagues are all so nice and understanding of my autism!
I'll put this in: When I worked as a bank teller I did really great with the customer service aspect. My supervisors always said how much the customers loved me. However, the bank regularly put me in positions where I couldn't help the customer which really weighed on me. If I ever needed to put a call in for a customer (which 95% of the time they could do on their own phone on their own time), I'd be on hold for a long time and the stress and awkwardness weighed on me. If a customer wanted something that literally could not be done, I'd always feel like I was the one who personally wronged them (they'd treat me that way, too). In fact, being yelled at by customers was the first time I ever felt a shot of adrenaline in my life. The branch manager said he had a "kill them with kindness" approach which was easy for him to say, never having to deal with them. There was even less help and more pressure from corporate. They also wanted me to sell credit cards and the like to customers which I could not do.
This is how I feel in Retail, I love customer satisfaction, but hate that everyone else doesn't seem to care about the customer's needs Edit to add: I also am not comfortable with cramming product down a client's throat, but I'm a very good salesman when it comes to giving customers what they need, or what would suit them best
I volunteer at a museum related to my special interest and it's so rewarding cause people literally ASK YOU to tell them things. They come there WANTING to be infodumped to. I love it. Plus when there's no one coming in I get to hang out and cuddle with military jet airplanes!!!
I work within the Civil Service & it’s great for me. Generally, there’s a lot of policy and procedures, which can require black and white thinking. Also there’s options to Work from Home, which was a game changer to stop burnout. 😊
I'm autistic and I work as an investigator. I like pouring over details like that and I'm basically in charge of myself when I'm out and about, my main interaction is handing my work off to my supervisor
As a librarian and who has worked in various libraries in various roles I fell I have to say that libraries, especially public libraries are not always the best for autistic people or nuerodiverse people. It is very customer service driven. It can be very busy and very changeable. No two days are the same that some could find difficult. There can be quite elements such as resheliving but these are often part of of a job not a job by it's self. Archives, records management and museums might be a better fit. Records/information management, both resources and physical, is something of a growth area as more and more companies of all sizes have realized they need to properly organize all their information. Naming conventions, people, naming conventions. Anyway If you have any questions about library work I'm happy to share my experience. I'm Australian and my experience is in Australia.
I said this in a previous verious of this video and was pretty much destroyed 😂 public libraries in Australia are NOT good for autistic people, especially if it's customer service facing which most of it is. Volunteering on the other hand was excellent because where I am the volunteers do the shelving and don't help customers.
death care has always been my autism-safe career route since it combines my interest in death and not actually interacting with alive people so much (although i have not been able to find much yet, since i only know of three crematories in my direct area. we will see since i havent finished school yet). very happy to see it on the list! EDIT: art is my special interest that people always expect me to get ahead in career-wise but i am terrified to lose the interest if i have to do it whether i like it or not, whoops
If you live in a larger metro area in the US, try working for an SCI care center as an embalmer. SCI have separate funeral directors and embalmers, so if you worked for them as an embalmer, that’s the main thing you would be doing every day. Plus benefits, PTO, etc.
I am staying with a relative as I was kicked out. I am currently looking for a job so I can move out and stop being a burden to my family. Thanks for the video
I know this is random, and I just started watching the video (currently at 1:52) but burnt orange looks stunning on you!! It brings out a glow in your skin and makes your eyes look so colorful! I love your blouse with the cute little foxes too! 🦊
I have a really stimulating and people-heavy job. I'm a respiratory therapist at a community hospital. One of the scariest things about realizing/finding out that I'm autistic was learning that a lot of autistic people can't stay in stimulating jobs like this long-term. I really hope this doesn't happen to me. I struggle with it but I also love it. I was going to start working with a specialized occupational therapist this month but my car flooded and there went that money.
@@jeanbob1481it’s not that they’ll hate it but that their body/mind cannot take the stress anymore (if they are hypersensitive; am guessing this is less of a problem for hyposensitive folks). This is how burnout starts - continuous exposure to a stressful environment with little reprieve. It’s likely they’ll still love the job but will need to put their health first. OP ought to make changes before burnout happens, such as asking for accommodations or working a night shift or giving themselves more time to just zonk out and nap/sleep after a long day at work (non-exhaustive list), if they want to comfortably keep the job long-term
I think fields that work with the natural environment to learn about it and/or protect it can be great for Autistic people. I'm a habitat biologist and I've worked in related positions for over 14 years now. Being out in nature is very soothing for me and people who work in this field tend to be fairly laid back and I think a lot are Neurodivergent. And this work also is making the world a bit better which feels good. Plus, people in this field really appreciate people who have lots of knowledge about the natural world. In my line of work, these positions are referred to as "subject matter experts" which is basically someone who brings a wealth of knowledge to the team and is valued for that knowledge. Always seemed like a great fit for Autistic people. At least it works well for me :)
Try out xTiles for free: xtiles.app/en?fp_ref=meg
I hope this video was at least a little bit helpful!
If you missed my video responding to some of the most questionable parenting of autistic children I’ve ever seen: th-cam.com/video/rJwSU8yolr8/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for being here! Feeling super stressed out about moving at the moment, but very glad I have this channel to focus on 💛
P.S. if you want to apply for my video editing position, the link is in the description! 🐌
Can timestamps be added? My attention span means despite wanting to watch this video, I need to be able to skip through topics vs watching the whole thing at once and I’m a row. Thank you for this vid and your channel as a whole!
I just put in a application, hopefully you and your team look at it
Very important and very good work by you! I am old now, but i like to repair all kind of things or invent technical solution. I am a MD and an engineer, worked a lot in science in the virology lab. I enjoyed to be an ambulance driver and the work in an icu was interesting. I can imagine to be a firefighter, also as a fire fighter pilot.
I'm here looking for job ideas because I need to leave my low paying library job, but am still in the process of getting a degree to work in library archives. That one section spoke volumes to me haha
I honestly am still considering being a curator but I'm not sure on education. Lecture halls bore me.
Edit: it is also surprising that I used to hate the idea social jobs but now that I know so many supportive people, I would like being a teacher but again, the schooling to get to that level scares me.
I didn't *hear* a bunch of scary statistics about autism and employment. I became one.
It's the legend.
This is sadly a reality for lots of us, it just isn't really talked about enough. Especially as someone who wasn't diagnosed until adulthood, it took me quite a while to realize that it wasn't all my fault that I struggle finding work, and it's not because I'm just "not trying hard enough". There should be more awareness about it so less people like us have to learn it the hard way. (Also I am a fan of your music, I was a little surprised to see you in this comment section, but glad I did)
Tay, I’m sorry to hear about your unemployment. I have the same problem… Your music is great and inspires me to try and be a musician myself! Maybe one day it could even pay some bills. I hope you have a great day.
Same boat as you so I got to thinking entrepreneurship is definitely worth while being our own esteemed employers
Can you rain your chocolate on me?
The problem for me is not the jobs themselves, but the job searching process. It feels like I am expected to lie, to play a weird social game that goes against all my instincts and values. People will see my qualifications and be happy with them, but then hear my voice and decide I'm not enthusiastic enough to hire. I'll be instantly rejected for jobs I fit perfectly except for having 3x more experience than they're asking for. The whole system is so incredibly hostile to me, as an autistic person, I feel like I'm almost forced to go self employed, but I don't think I have good odds of making a living that way.
A work around that has helped me personally is bringing examples of my work and explaining it, also blank paper for drawing diagrams. Written and drawn communication is easier for me so it plays to my strengths and generally they see me as extra prepared. Doesn't apply to every job, but great when it works.
I'm neurotypical and I feel the same lmfao. Job searching is such a horrendous waste of time, some heads need to roll for how terribly it's set up
I feel you. If you ask me especially in hr there are many people very fluent in social communication and will be especially alienated by social akwardness. I d sugesst trying to get a recommendation of a friend or family (many employers love hiring by recomendations). Also try small companies when a ceo is hiring themselves they ll often be happy to have a well trained employee and will be more flexible than hr. If that doesnt work I d suggest the lower wage sector. They usually have quiet an odd bunch of employees anyways and will cater more to your needs. They in my experience talk more directly and will accept more direct feedback. (I once was in the hiring process of mc donalds, none asked my why I wanted to work there. I didnt need to lie. I had 5 minutes of talk and then was working, it was lovely - and it was for a integrated degree program) Also on the lying part I d suggest the Mr. Spock strategy, you dont have to say a lie but if you select what you tell them they ll make up their own truth. I wish you the best in your job hunt :)
I had to self employe
First, the job market right now is a nightmare. Try not to stress yourself out about something that could be out of your control.
Second, I've failed a lot of interviews, but I've also done really well when the interviewers are neurodivergent. I've noticed that there are a few companies that are staffed almost entirely by neurotypicals, and others that are run by neurodivergents. When I've gone into an interview with a neurodivergent company being myself, they've been really receptive.
Not every workplace is for everyone, and if they're not open to who you are at the interview then there's likely a work culture there that you're better off avoiding
I’m a successful forensic scientist. You usually get left alone at a crime scene to do things however you think best. 10/10 would recommend.
That sounds amazing!!
That sounds fulfilling too.
That sounds cool af
That is so cool!
I faint at blood. But reconstructing a crime or accident seems straightforward.
There are plenty of jobs that a portion of autistic people can do well or even thrive at. The problem is the modern interview is basically a can you act neurotypical for 30-60 minutes test often with very little relation to any of the actual duties of the job
Last time I was looking for work, I had around 20 interviews (quite possibly more), so many said I was 'second best' and praised my enthusiasm. It was so frustrating. I was very open about my autism in interviews. I always asked them to print out the questions on a piece of paper, and, if they expressed annoyance at the interview about it, I knew I wouldn't be getting that job. I still made an effort, but there were a few I had to try very hard not to walk out because they were so awful.
Not to sound full of myself, but my CV and personal statements were very good. I spent days on them, checking and fine tuning them for every job I applied to. I have always been very hands on at my jobs too, helping everyone, so I have experience in a wide range of tasks. I was on an apprenticeship, and I was the only apprentice willing to help out at events on weekends, set up my own book club to support LGBTQ+ people in our area, and created a support group for all the library apprentices to unite us and bring attention to the issues we were having (annoyingly I was the only apprentice not given a job at the end). Plus, I have always volunteered (normally in an area I am looking to work in) when I do not have a job so I can minimise any gaps in my CV. I hate how it ends up coming down to how a person does in a single interview.
@@zaraandrews600 Haha yeah, sounds a lot different from my giant 2 year gaps in my CV. I'm also depressed so I don't think it's going to get better with that any sooner.
Getting hired for the job I've been in past 23 years. They had two jobs. I applied for the first did the interview masked. The second interview went 90% unmasked. It was the 90% unmasked that got me the job. About 10 years later the we were hiring and I was on interview team with HR lady that was in my interview. She commented on how different I was between interviews. It as like I was two different people. So masking in an interview can cost you the job. Autistic passion, really shows through when you drop he mask except for most annoying stims for example.
@@zaraandrews600 I experienced the same thing. I was just persistent. Second best actually go me a job. The first job being second best turned into an interview for another position that came 6 weeks later.
@@chrismaxwell1624 The handy thing was, with all those interviews, I got an idea of where I wouldn't particularly like to work. I ended up in a job where there is a lot of neurodivergent people, which has been super nice.
Im autistic and i own a small plant nursery. I regularly have people comment about my cheerful infodumping about the specific plants they are buying, and them seeing that as incredible customer service :)
I’m autistic too and I’m a grocery store florist which I enjoy doing (just the grocery store environment isn’t the best bc management cares about money more than the staff)
I am a horticulturalist, and I am miserable at trying to run my own business. Executive dysfunctions trip me up.
How do you manage?
@@SR-fu7tymaybe you should find a local autistic job hunter who is interested in plants too for an extra hand or another person to help who might be better with the executive functioning if possible? We all have different levels of functioning and some things are easier than others. Goodluck!
That would be a great place. I love the local nursery in my area, I could seriously live there if given the choice.
@@Jesterisim I wouldn't be able to pay anyone to help me. To get that kind of money, I would have to have a job that pays well enough. I can't get that sort of job and keep it, and I already mentioned that I cannot sustainably make that sort of job/money for myself, so how would I even pay another person? I have nothing of value to speak of, so I cannot get a business loan. I can't even pay my current student loans.
I don't know how I would realistically apply your advice to my life?
I drive a tram at a zoo, and I love it. Every tour is a solid 45-minute infodump delivered to a group of people I can't see or hear. I drive the same route every time and look for animals I can start spitting facts about. If I don't find any animals, I talk about the plants instead.
I'd never considered that to be a good job for people on the spectrum, but I see it now. Congrats!
Nature interpreters + nature centre docents are probably a good option. I also remember at least 2 people hired from volunteering at the local horticultural centre + our historical gardens. (I worked part time in the café.) One woman went from being a volunteer at the gardens to deputy heard of the provincial orchid association. It's hard to think of jobs where you can get volunteer experience & get hired from hands-on performance, but the OP made me think of those cases.
There are so many good ideas in the video & in the comments!
I am so happy knowing you’ve found this perfect niche for yourself. 🐷💩🫶🥲
that sounds awesome!
Ohhhh that is so cool omg😭😭😭
After 47 years of being alive. This year I finally have a job with benefits as a stage manager for a symphony and a production manager for a music festival
Congratulations!! I’m 20 and in college majoring in theatre with a concentration in technical design and I hope to be a stage manager one day as well ❤ I hope I can succeed like you have! Proud of you :]
That sounds so cool.
Omg that’s so cool! I’m a music student right now and also work at my university doing stagework. it’s so stressful sometimes but it’s also so much fun!
I work backstage in theatre, so when we have symphonies it our job to set up the chairs, music stands, and lights, as well as a shell if the venue has one. It is my experience that theatre and music jobs seem to attract neurodivergent folks. Has it been yours as well?
Awesome 🎉
I look at these lists of jobs I could have, and the only thing I can think is, "but how do I actually get the job?" I don't have the connections for these things.
And the biggest fear is that I get the job and it doesn't work. I got a job in screen printing, a thing I liked doing, but I had to constantly mask. People would comment on me going quiet. My boss was mean to me for getting to do things in a way that worked for me and my brain and that experience still haunts me.
I'm not afraid of the work, I'm afraid of everything AROUND the work.
This.
Well put.
Yeah...
Your boss isn't nice
I worked at a framing shop and had the same problem with my boss. It was such an awful experience that despite the fact I LOVED that job I was traumatised by the interactions around it especially with my boss. I’m terrified of having an awful boss again.
6:04 GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) jobs FTW. Academic Librarian here.
Libraries tend to have plenty neurodivergents working
i haven't even started this video and i've always wanted to work somewhere in the GLAM umbrella and would LOVE TO, i currently work at a bakery department in a grocery store but i hope it'll be temporary someday, for now i do see it as honing in my sometimes-interacting with people skills.
@@emmadilemma4177 As someone who worked in strictly foodservice and finally got employment in a library this year, I very much believe that your current position could be considered as helpful for getting a GLAM position! It all depends on how you frame it 😊 Just start thinking about how your current duties could be transferrable into other roles, get those organized in a résumé, and keep your eyes out for opportunities-or even ask people you feel comfortable with if they can help you on the opportunity part. Rooting for you!
I LOVE libraries. I think that might actually be a job I could keep, like, forever. Sadly the only ones I've ever seen that hire want a LOT of experience.
I would love to if I didn't have any qualifications to do it. These types of places don't generally have entry level positions. Masters or doctorate in the specific field. These places often don't hire much, and there's more of these types of positions in cities- bigger the better.
The best job I ever had as a neurodivergent person was being a certificate producer at the University of Toronto. I loved it because it was structured, quiet, I had my own office, and all I had to do was print, pack, and mail out certificates. There were even days when I didn't have anything to print, so I could just hang out in my office to read, write, or doodle in my sketchbook. Plus, the people were so kind!
Alas, it was a contract position, so it could only last for so long. I miss that job.
Damn i'd love this!
Just to respond to your line in the stay-at-home parent section of "have people really been doing this since the beginning of time?" No! They haven't! Our modern conception of nuclear families where the mom and dad do everything without any support is SUPER NEW, historically speaking. If you go back more than a couple hundred years, the norm was for extended families and neighbours to all join together to help raise children. (Which is where the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" comes from.) You'd often be living either with or very close to aunts, grandparents, cousins, etc., all of whom would help raise children together. No wonder modern parents are so exhausted! This was never supposed to be the job for just one or two people!
👀
Depends of how high on the social ladder you are, but you don't even have to go back this far. In my family 2 generations ago family was always around to help (or annoy lol). Children were playing in plain sight and also raised each other by playing and doing stuff. I myself contributed a lot to raising my siblings, like my mom did for her many siblings (both she and I are middle children).
It seems like things changed drastically with technology and the ability for people to travel far distances. Families live so far apart nowadays.
Many were raising their kids like back in the 1990s, which is when that saying comes from - it comes from Hilary Clinton having a book ghostwritten on the topic, discussing issues children face and different government programs and legislature to solve those issues. It has little to do with family childcare and was modern focus at the time with very little on the older household structures where families ran farms or other businesses together while also supporting children grow up.
@@dehn6581 The saying pre-dates Hilary Clinton; it might've been Margaret Mead but it def pre-dates Clinton. She was "reclaiming" it as a saying when she wrote the book of that name.
I ALWAYS wanted to work in a factory on an assembly line! I love REPETITIVE ACTIVITIES! Laminating, alphabetizing, categorizing, sorting. It’s one thing I think my autism makes me great at 😊
SAME
until you're forced to do it for 8 hours straight for low pay for the rest of your life
Me too 🎉 Only I think it would irritate some inflammatory physical conditions.
Yes🎉
You can have my job, it’s not a good fit for me
1:50 JOB CATEGORY #1 A CAUSE
3:48 JOB CATEGORY #2 QUIET AND SCRIPTED
5:23 JOB CATEGORY #3 MUSEUMS
6:41 JOB CATEGORY #4 PERFORMING
9:00 JOB CATEGORY #5 ART
15:25 JOB CATEGORY #6 TRADE
16:45 JOB CATEGORY #7 IT
17:15 JOB CATEGORY #8 STEM
22:54 JOB CATEGORY #9 DRIVING
23:40 JOB CATEGORY #10 PARENTING
24:52 JOB CATEGORY #11 KIDS
25:14 JOB CATEGORY #12 OLDER PEOPLE
25:44 JOB CATEGORY #13 ANIMALS
26:16 JOB CATEGORY #14 RANDOM
28:14 JOB CATEGORY #15 SPECIAL INTEREST
Please pin the above comment!!
Thank you so much!
wish this was pinned i luv u
This covers all jobs in the world, though…🙄
@@MyBeautifulHealththat’s good though, it means there is multiple choices.
The problem that I face is that the interview process includes nonsense questions:
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
"I don't even know where I'll be in 15 minutes. There's a Burger King down the street and I could go for a burger, but there's also a pizza place... ooh maybe I want Chinese?"
or
"What's your greatest strength"
"Brevity"
or
"What's your greatest weakness"
"Answering stupid questions during interviews"
If someone answered "Brevity" at what's your greatest strength, I'd definetely consider hiring them. That's a great strength.
I'm going to use "Answering stupid questions during interviews" if I get asked that now.
@@ArturGlass.C "If I had more time, I would've written a shorter letter."
I've learned that some of these are trick questions and should not be taken literally.
For instance, "Where do you see yourself in [insert timeframe here]?" can be used to gauge whether or not you have ambition (usually related in some way to the position), but it's also usually used to gauge if you plan to commit to that employer long-term or not-much less if you want to take on more responsibility than the bare minimum (i.e., move up to a position with higher authority). That way, they can tell if you'd be worth spending the resources to train or not. (To put into perspective, some people literally hop from job to job with the premeditated plan of staying long enough to garner a paycheck and then just...not showing up. Those are some of the people they're trying to weed out.)
"What's your greatest weakness?" is supposed to gauge your resilience and your problem-solving capabilities, as you're supposed to follow up with some way you overcome or cope with said weakness. "What's your greatest strength?" is technically a chance to brag about yourself. But the most important thing about almost _all_ of the questions is that they're usually supposed to be answered in the context of the position you're applying for. So what they're really asking for that last one is: "What is your greatest strength...and how can you apply it to this position?"
So they might seem pointless as phrased, but they have a purpose. They're just...not posed in an autism-friendly manner.
My life experience has trained me not to make plans further out than tomorrow.
It is legal to discriminate against autistic people at work. I just went through a dispute process with my previous employer, where I witnessed them isolate, harass, and fire another autistic employee. Then when I spoke up about it and reported it, I, another autistic employee was fired. I have receipts. I have chat logs. I filed a charge with the EEOC. I spoke reached out to 50+ attorneys. I spoke directly with 4 or 5, paying for at least 2 consults. No one will take the case. The problem is a doctrine in the ADA which says that it's not discrimination if you can't perform an "essential job function", and it turns out that "social communication and behavior" is an "essential job function" for almost all jobs. So what did my previous employer do? They claimed -- despite all evidence to the contrary -- that I struggled to get work done, and that I struggled to communicate to others at work. This is factually untrue. I could easily bring in 10+ different people that would back up my work performance and communication from that very job. Some who still work there. Doesn't matter, says the attorneys. All that my past employer has to do is "communicate a belief" that I couldn't do my work because I'm autistic. It doesn't matter how many amazing performance reviews I had. It doesn't matter how hard I worked. It doesn't matter that their "belief" is a lie and that they know it's a lie. It doesn't matter, because the law does not recognize anything other than the employer's belief that the "essential job functions" couldn't be performed due to the disability. All they have to do is lie to the EEOC, and to the courts and their "belief" is counted as fact. Because a "belief" is all that is required.
Want to know why 85% of autistic adults can't keep a job? It's because it's 100% legal to discriminate against autistic people. All you have to do is say "communication is an essential job function and it was our *belief* that this person with ASD couldn't do these essential functions of their job". Doesn't matter if it's true. All that matters is the "belief". That's it. You can have all the proof in the world that the employer is lying and because of some doctrines of law regarding disability at work there is nothing that can be done. Nothing.
To quote an attorney who advised me on this matter: "A senior attorney here and I have been waging war on a doctrine applicable to your situation. The doctrine concerns disability-related misconduct, that is, conduct an employer punishes, rather than accommodates, even though the conduct is directly caused by a disability. In our firm, and across the nation, these battles have been lost. At this point, in light of controlling appellate decisions, the EEOC or OCRC would be highly unlikely to find reasonable cause and, more importantly, a judge would very probably grant summary judgment against you. In employment discrimination law, an employer’s belief may be mistaken and yet still preclude a finding of discrimination."
All they have to do is make up stuff about how your ASD interfered with your "essential job functions", and even if it's a lie. It's enough.
There are no legal protections for autistic people at work. Not one.
Out of curiosity, was this in the UK, US, or elsewhere?
@@racheldurman9876 They mentioned the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), so the good ol' gaslighting USA, the GrEaTeSt CoUnTrY iN tHe wOrLd 💀
@@racheldurman9876 The US
Fuck that's horrific.
Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry that happened to you just because you tried to stand up for your beliefs...
My therapist recently told me I don’t have to conform, which is great and I appreciate the validation. The problem comes when society and employers don’t understand how difficult and detrimental it is to even try to conform.
That is advice that is freely given by people who have never had this issue, and do not know what happens to you when you take that advice.
You absolutely have to conform unless you have your own business and even then there's a limit.
I don't think there's any way around the fact that we need to mask heavily and conform. It's just reality and if it weren't, autism wouldn't be a disability.
except when asking for accommodations for autism, you get fired, like when i worked @ disneyland
Depending on the details and how much they were foolish enough to put in writing or say in front of other people, getting fired due to illegal discrimination could be of great interest to a particular kind of lawyer.
They never officially state they fire you becouse of that reason they make up some other reason tk fire you
@definitlynotbenlente7671
I am not a lawyer, but here are some thoughts about why it isn't safe to assume an airtight defense of discriminatory conduct without speaking to a lawyer specialized in this in your area.
1. That is only if they are being smart about their law breaking, which isn't always the case. People engaged in discrimination don't always realize they should cover their tracks.
2. Courts are often in the business of establishing the motives of people with reasons to lie about the same. If the only change between a positive performance review and a firing for "bad performance" is self-identification of disability, a court is free to call BS on that.
3. Policies that result in discrimination can be illegal even without showing intent under the doctrine of disparate impact. If a policy (even an unwritten one) affects a protected class worse for no good reason, then that's illegal, regardless of why it was implemented.
4. Employers are required, in the US, to provide reasonable accommodation for disability. That can mean swapping out non-core job duties, changing working conditions, etc. There are limits to this, but courts don't always take employers' word when they claim it would be too much of a burden to practice basic decency.
In short, an employment or civil rights lawyer might have options to help in a case like this, but only if they are told about it.
Some lawyers also advertise fees contingent on winning the case.
Yep yep yep... The US suuuucks for this. Lawyers are there to help the business, not us.
I also asked for accommodations justified by my psychologist and psychiatrist, But they simply said No
Autistic ex teacher here. I taught mainstream secondary for 5 years and then I was an autism specialist teacher for 2 years. Sadly I could not recommend it as a career to my autistic peers. Whilst I did love it in many ways and I was good at it, the hours are far too long and the pressure is far too much. It can break down the most resilient person and as an autistic person you will just find yourself living in a cycle of burnout and recovery until your physical and mental health is completely damaged and depleted. 💔
Many teachers I know have left too - it's so sad. They're going to lose all of the good ones if something doesn't change!
So sad! I’m hoping to go primary school myself, because teenagers are just so stressful and mean!
Talking from the perspective of a teenager myself, who cannot handle their class….
I currently work in an elementary school as a lunch/playground supervisor and your phrase "living in a cycle of burnout and recovery" I feel that to my soul. I would love to find a job that pays at least the same if not more but that is somewhat quiet and preferably involves animals.
I'm a teacher with over a decade in the profession. I think a lot of that is down to not being in a core subject. I think if most head teachers put subjects in an importance order from highest to lowest mine wouldn't even be on the scale as it'd been overlooked. There is a lot of comfort in being unimportant
Made it 13 years as an American high school teacher, but I think I’m hitting the burnout that’s going to end my career. I’m pretty scared because I can’t afford to quit.
My main issue with jobs is I hate going to the same place and doing the same things at the same time every day. I also get bored of jobs and start to hate them after six months to a year. I also have ADHD lol 😂
Also have adhd and that is exactly my same problem!😢
Same! I work at a car wash and am totally bored with cleaning regular customers vehicles. I love cleaning ones that I don't usually clean
Not diagnosed as adhd, just ASD but I’ve a serious case of itchy feet and leave most jobs within two years. Got to the point that a few years ago when they introduced me, I told the manager in front of the other staff, “I look forward to working for you. Just to let you know I tend to leave after two years but I’ll give you my best for those two years”
bro literally me. having both makes me feel like a walking paradox. after 3 months doing the same thing I just feel like I'm living in hell.
I loove finance and investing. perhaps an econ/business tutor could be something I could work towards. God I hate academic bureaucracy so fucking much though.
Thats why I work in a usually not so perfect job for autistic people, health care. Its not unusal to find autistic people in health care but the work and human contact stresses most of them out, including me. But I found the almost perfect middle ground: I work as assistant for two people with mental and physical disabilities, in their home and it is pretty good.
My general work enviroment is the same every day (their house), but since I assist them, we also go outside a lot and do all kinds of stuff (going to Cafés, doctors, shopping etc). Which brings a lot of variety. I dont need to have much small talk or maintain eye contact all the time, since they dont really care about that. I am working alone usually and only see my collegues when I start or end my shift. No boss around looking over my shoulder either. The pay is better than most other jobs that employ people without degrees.
AuDHD registered nurse here…pediatric ICU night nurse was the perfect setting for me, noticing details and patterns saves lives and night shift meant I didn’t have to interact with the rest of the world lol…I was a NOC shift PICU nurse for 8 years while not knowing I was neurodivergent, that was only revealed to me when I became a mom
For real. Night shift, weekend medical laboratory scientist here. I run 4 departments in the lab for the entire hospital, alone, for 12 hour shifts. I have never thrived more. Just me, a shield of rules, and rational machines.
Nights and weekends are full of neurodivergent folks. I get along very well with career night shift nurses. The ADHD/AuDHD ones babble so I don't have to, and the rest know I'm not offended if they just want to wave and not talk. The hardest part of each new workplace is the hiring process, playing the social game long enough to get through onboarding and 3 months of training. Now I only have to avoid saying anything too abrasive for the 1 hour overlap I have with the neurotypical folks on Monday morning handoff. Or not. The manager said she just assumes I'm sleepy/grumpy after a whole weekend of night shift.
After you mentioned technical writing, I went down a rabbit hole and I've found my dream job - thank youuuuu!
I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to do any job, after researching many different careers and not finding anything suitable. But now I have this - I can do non-fiction, explanatory writing (my special interest) about science (my other special interest). ❤
We just gotta make it there now...😂
Good luck!!
I've heard that AI will make that job obsolete unfortunately.
@@johnfist6220 I'm a technical writer and so far, all the technical writers I've talked to (including my manager) have said AI won't take over our jobs. Of course, I don't completely believe them, but I also see where they are coming from. AI needs to make some big steps forward before it has a chance (unless the company is willing to have a dip in quality of what they are putting out).
One of the important things in technical writing is to have accurate information. Generative AI is not good at fact checking, and this is a huge drawback. Plus there are some writers (like me) who don't use AI very much if at all in our daily jobs. For me, it just isn't worth it. The main thing I would use it for is writing, but I always prefer whatever words I come up with to what Chat GPT does (I actually know the connotations of words and how others may interpret them while reading), and if it is something like a simple email it is always quicker for me to just do it myself.
Basically, if technical writing seems interesting, don't let the threat of AI keep you away. Instead, learn about AI and see if there are ways it might be able to help you out in your own writing. This will also help you figure out the limitations of it and help you figure out where you can help out.
They are saying AI will make lots of things obsolete - we’ll see. I’m not convinced that this will all happen, mostly because I think AI will work out like Web 2.0 for a good long time: that is to say, a bad if cheap replacement for a competent real person. Grammarly friendlying up an email is pretty easy, but from what I’ve seen, explanatory text has to conquer the garbage in/garbage out problem.
I do the same thing and it’s so satisfying! The downside is when the production managers want to deny that they are the problem but it’s all part of the job and my department enjoys making fun of it lol.
Every time I fill out a job application, they have a question like “can you perform all job duties and responsibilities WITHOUT reasonable accommodations?” And I hate that. Because often times, no. But I have to lie on the application or I won’t even get an interview. There’s nothing autism friendly around here for work.. and I still need to pay my freaking bills and buy food. So I have to take any job I can accept.. also, what an ableist question to have on EVERY application. Most jobs will avoid hiring someone with Autism or disabilities at any cost.
WTF does "without reasonable accommodations" even mean? Are you supposed to write something without a pen and paper, are you supposed to give people piggyback rides if you're a bus driver without a bus?
I don't think any human can do their job without proper accommodations.
This is surely illegal these days.
That's almost certainly illegal if you're in the US. Jobs are required to provide reasonable accommodations. Asking if you can do the job without something they're legally required to provide is opening themselves up for a lawsuit for sure
No fr! I see it constantly. I don’t think it IS legal to even ask or refuse accommodations but it happens constantly, firing and retaliation. I’m from New York State too. It doesn’t matter 😭
@@Allystargirl I believe that you see it. I also think that if you brought those applications to some kind of ADA lawyer that would be grounds for some sort of lawsuit. Whether or not they pursue it would be another matter, but you definitely have grounds
Hi Meg, hi community.
I am a lumberjack, arborist, and tree assessor.
Tree assessment means I check trees in public areas such as roadsides or parks for health and safety concerns. It's what I do 95% of the time atm and the #1 job I want to do for the rest of my life. I'm mostly on my own besides the occasional chat with a local, asking what I do (Infodump incoming! 😅). Walking is one of my favourite stims, and I do quite a lot of walking. 5 to 10km on an average day, but I have had days with 25km or more. And I get to experience nature, which can be pro and con at the same time: from freezing cold (-18°C) to scorching heat (39°C), (way too) bright sunlight, cloudy and misty days, high winds, rainbows and thunderstorms... I've had it all.
And trees have become one of my Spins.
So I'm stimming, busy with my Spin, mostly free from societal demands and my job has a huge impact on public safety. Plus, the company I work for has made quite some effort to accommodate my autistic needs.
I do consider myself one of the extremely lucky few.
Ok, I gotta stop typing now. 'Bout Time to actually work. 😂
May I ask how you got into the job? I quite like nature and walking, and I'm looking for a job where I'm around fewer people than my current healthcare work.
@sarahr8311
Well, by chance, basically.
- became a lumberjack: 3 years of apprenticeship + 1.5 years working in the job
- 3 years in a roofing company
- Boss's brother had a company, too. Mowing, cutting hedges, some landscaping, and arborism
- We sat together one afternoon and decided my experience as a lumberjack would fit better with the "green" company. So I switched companies and became an arborist.
- only a couple months later, I got the opportunity to become a tree assessor
- switched back and forth between assessment and cutting for 5 years, but now I'm doing 95% assessment
I don't know how much of a thing tree assessment is in your country. Most of our customers are public authorities, but that might be specific to Germany (where I live).
@@thurisas8438 ah, yeah, I'm in America. Likely a different thing here
@sarahr8311
Yeah, that's probably the case. I've seen quite a lot of videos made in the US, where I could tell after a few seconds that the trees are basically being "neglected" until the damages are apparent to everyone. But this may differ between states or even counties.
:~) happy for you
I'm autistic, 29 years old never been in a job, can work with family so I can dip in and out but still have many days I'm overwhelmed and overstimulated have to sleep off mental exhaustion in the day. I'm amazed at autistic people who manage to hold down a consistent work pattern even on a part time basis.
Same
I’m 40 and don’t/cant work either. I’m much more accepting now.
Just not Amazon for warehouses. Worst three years of my life. Had such severe burnout that six years later I'm only just now working full time again after switching between part time work, gig work, and unemployment during that timeframe. Not a fun time 😢
So true! The one I worked at put a lot of pressure on people to take additional shifts. So you would do one shift and straight away do another. I physically could not walk home after those shifts because my body was so painful. I ended up having to spend money getting a taxi with several other people. I would have dreams of still being in the warehouse whenever I went to sleep. I broke down on a shift 1.5 months in and quit. They didn't realise I had quit, despite me saying so, and I had to awkwardly come in a few days later to sign some paperwork. It was just horrendous. The money was good, but my body got screwed up so quickly.
@@zaraandrews600 That's so awful! I didn't work back to back shifts, but they were always long and there was so much pressure to go faster and faster. It took a couple years for me to stop having the dreams of being at the warehouse 😭 my husband still works there and I can't even listen to him telling me about work or I'll have a panic attack.
I’ve heard so many bad stories about Amazon. Micromanaging maximum workflow is incredibly stressful for employees. Unfortunately the model has been spreading. It’s no surprise that abusive companies also engage in union busting practices.
I worked at one where we had 10 hour work days four days a week instead of 8 hour work days 5 times a week, and could barely slog my way to my car after it ended every time. And collapsed more than once on the job, and was fired for "not being productive enough" lol. Hell.
This amount of burnout is such a burden. Tgank you for sharing - I'm a poor refugee and I'm probably overestimating my abilities to last on jobs like that
As an autistic with a job, the job i currently work at is high physical demand i cannot keep forever, its becoming impossible to do the job.
Im a commercial janitor, so high work outs for 5 dollars more than minimum wage. It doesn't help that i have asthma and pots, so i faint on the job. 😅
But i finally got disability and im currently a part timer, so i fill the job for anyone that got sick or ingered which happens alot. 😅😅😅
So glad you got disability! That would be soo hard to do with PoTS, I'm sorry 😩
I'm a custodian at a university! glad to see another autistic person being a janitor lol
i'm glad you got disability though!
@@EmmaDilemma039I've been trying to get jobs as a custodian at a university because many of the ones around me give free credit hours every semester for full-time employees.
Would you be willing to speak with me about getting disability while also having a job? I just applied for disability in the southern US, and everyone is telling me I can’t work at all as it will affect whether or not I get benefits.
@@ahsokaventriss3268 I'm not on disability, but I've been looking into it, because I also do janitorial work and have been struggling the last few years(I have spinal spondylitis), I quit my full-time job and work part-time, which is much more manageable for me. Got lucky and still make the same as I did working full-time, which is more than SSDI will allow.
Anyway, you can work and get SSDI, so long as you don't make more than $1,550 a month. That's before taxes. If you make even a penny more than $1,550 in a month, you could lose your benefits. But I'm not sure if you can get the benefits while working, you may have to quit working until you get benefits(Which could take a year), then find a job through the Ticket to Work Program. At my former job, I heard that a co-worker got help from our employer to get on disability, his back problem was so bad he couldn't work though, but maybe you could talk to your employer if you think they are decent enough to help?
I gave up on finding employment. I'm lucky my husband has well paying job. sadly I got "crippling anxiety" autism not "fearless entrepreneur" autism 😔
I feel this. The problem for me isn’t just the job itself but every step leading up to it and the day to day of dealing with anything at all going wrong in said job. I’m terrified to interview, terrified to reach out to people for things like letters of recommendation, terrified of the potential rejection involved in it all. Terrified of confrontation on the job and having to deal with disruptions to the schedule and things not going how I expect. Terrified of trying to fit in to the fabric of the team and communicate effectively. It’s all too much 💀
@@endeavor1664 100% 😭
I'm very very happy you're well taken care of and I hope you continue to be able to rest easy
i went into game design because i really like making up characters and found out that making uv maps(marking and cutting seams, laying out all the unwrapped pieces on the screen etc) is SO SATISFYING TO ME
also i went into marching band playing the flute which coincided rlly well with my finger tapping stim!
That's what I wanna go into!!
What progams do you use for it? I always find UV mapping to be the hardest part of 3D work.
replying so i can come back to this
@@IDEKaaaaaaaagh I use blender and krita! Basically I layout the uv pieces first, then choose the "Export UV layout" option-- this generates a png with the wireframes of the pieces visible. I then lock that layer and set it to multiply, then create my actual texture layers below it so I can see through the wireframes as well as see my painted details. Once the texturing is done, at least temporarily, I hide the multiply/wireframe layer, and go back into blender and edit the models material to use an image texture and import the texture I created. If it needs tweaked, I can just go back into the image and adjust it there. I repeat this until I'm satisfied, basically!
I think the biggest thing is not to force yourself to do something you hate and mask it. Just listen to yourself and make sure you're doing things you actually vibe with.
In a perfect world!
@@barsuiter9543sometimes ppl have the means even if they don’t immediately realize it. Unfortunately this is not universal and there will be ppl who have to take jobs they dislike… hopefully not hate, but it does happen
There's a real gem within engineering/trades for outdoors people that is relatively unknown as well; land survey. You basically go on hikes and measure stuff with cool equipment, then crunch numbers to make sure it's measured as accurately as possible. Sometimes the entire day is like a scavenger hunt trying to find coordinates in abandoned places. Good mix of high tech and hacking stuff with machetes.
What kind of training or qualifications did you need for your job?
In the US, Surveyor is a licensed professional title so you’ll need to pass a couple exams and work under another licensed surveyor for some time(you are getting paid) . I think most states require a number of college credits focused on survey/geospatial as well.
If you like working with kids might i suggest childrens entertainer rather than after school care or teacher. I have trained as a teacher but kids are NOISY and intense. The energy they put out is pretty constant, so even though i loved it, it burnt me out hard. Being a childrens entertainer means small bites of intense interaction, and then down time to recover.
Love this!
Also in teaching and after school care, you end up having constant interactions with certain parents. In childrens entertaining, you only interact with the parents a little bit and they're usually grateful for your presence, so less complicated adult interactions.
This is great info because I was so excited to be a teacher. Did it for a year and quit. Kids too loud, stinky smells, drolls, slob, spit, and snotty noses. I hated how the staff were so fake with the parents and other teachers. I absolutely loved most of my parents and I received so many gifts! I’m still close with a few families 😂
Depending on the style of entertainment, you can also be mostly scripted, and can often do something like sctick, being silly or goofy. Shtick was the way my father could put himself out there. I’m similar; I’ve done a couple things that qualified as kids’ entertainer, and I was pretty good at it. Responding to groups of people, whether child or adult, in real time, ad lib, and on real, rather than fanciful terms, was where I crashed and burned, because people are so complicated and I don’t think well on my feet.
I used to want to be a mortician due to my lack of squeamishness, but now want to work in some sort of field regarding archaeology from the classical period of Greece. Ancient Greece is my special interest I'm one of those people who writes essays for fun. Maybe one day I'll write a book on it. Who knows.
Maybe a museum job.
There's one thing I NEED from a job. I need meaning or purpose because if I'm gonna spend 40 hours a week doing it I need it to be meaningful. For me I've always really wanted to help people so as long I can feel that through my work I'm alright.
Most people, no matter what walk of life, almost always wind up with jobs that seem meaningless and leave them feeling empty inside. That's just another facet of life, a near universal shared experience. Alongside spending our final years being sad, distant, frustrated and unfulfilled.
@@Zavitor I disagree. There are many people who hate their jobs but there are many who love their jobs. There are many people who spend their final years like that but I also know there are many people who spend it satisfied and hopeful. I worked very hard to get the job I have now and I found meaning in it because I knew it would give me meaning for the start. My job is far from perfect but I love it anyway. I just hope you can find more hope and happiness in your life because if you search for it you'll probably find it.
@ryutak777 You must live outside the US, for such a Pollyanna outlook.
I feel the same way. I loved working at a small nonprofit, helping people indirectly. Unfortunately, there were SO many interruptions from my narcissist boss, who literally told me she "could interrupt me whenever" she wanted, and would then give me negative marks for time management.
I'm similar, except instead of meaning, it's some level of enjoyment. Like, I don't think I could work a job that I wasn't at least slightly passionate about.
Transcription is a nice solitary, easy one for autistic, introvert, people who don't really like teamwork etc. Can be done at home or in an office, flexible hours, pay isn't bad either
I've been looking into transcription and I'd love to hear what it's like for you. How many hours do you work and what do you typically work on? Many autistic people also have some auditory processing issues, is this a problem for you, and if so how does it affect your work?
Been trying to get into transcription but not matter where I look they're not hiring. Any suggestions on where to look? 😭
@@naomiparsons462 I worked 37.5 hours when I did this. First did legal, then a job in a hospital office which then moved to remote work from home. Audio processing was no issue other than the usual challenges that came from dictation, as variable quality of the actual recordings. It becomes quite routine as you get used to the people who are dictating letters. The documents are in templates too, so it's literally typing what is said. Some interpretation of instructions required but they're straight forward directions like please bullet point this, please number this, please copy this text from previous letter etc.
Worst part of it for me was the screen brightness as I wasn't used to being at a screen for hours at a time. Blue light glasses, turning down the brightness and regular walking breaks away from the screen helped
@@lizziehepworth4500 I worked in legal to begin with but full secretarial work was too peopley. Then I moved to my local hospital. The job is unionised and pays well. Some part time and some full time work available. Look under the job titles medical word processor, transcriptionist, stenographer (although this one is more hand writing than actual typing)
@@lizziehepworth4500Yeah I had that same experience actually, I looked at three different websites where you had to sign up and fill out all of these things BEFORE they tell you that they're not currently taking on any new transcribers... Like 😓 so yeah, I kinda gave up on that lol
I’m a walking tour guide! 😅 my guests often ask me “how do you know so much?” And I laugh to myself because being allowed, nay, encouraged to info dump my special interest is EASY for me! I love it!
My transition from being a waiter to office job has been so amazing for my mental health. I worked as a waiter before I found out I was autistic, and I never understood why I would wake up with a sense of dread, feel completely stressed even though I didn’t need to be.
I remember that feeling so well from nearly five years working at Wal Mart. It was only a short walk from where I lived (which was the appeal for my agoraphobic self) but .. ugh. I still have nightmares about that place a decade later.
Congratulations on the new job!! ❤
:~) what kind of office job?
I shelve books at a used book store. It makes me happy. Quiet for the most part, I love alphabetizing and when a customer needs help they are really chill.
That is one of my favourite things about working in a library! It is also why I have a massive collection of my own books as I love organising them.
Is that fulltime, daytime hours? That seems like a cool job :0
@@nameless1763 Library work is probably full time but my job is only part time. It really all depends on the employer but I feel like book stores/libraries are fairly autism friendly places to work in general.
There's a company in my city that specifically hires autistic people for work that tends to align with autistic strengths.
How cool, what type of company/jobs is that?
Omg thats so amazing!! I wish more companies did stuff like that
@@abmrose I think they mostly digitize documents, but they also have been working with the police service to review body cam footage (I think to find and censor identifying information).
@@SnoozleTheWaterWizard The owner's son is autistic, which I think was the reason he created the company. I considered applying, but they're located in the downtown area that I want to avoid for a number of reasons.
@@abmroseI wanna come!
Accountant/bookkeeper works for me. I mostly sit at a computer by myself, take a bunch of nonsense, and make it correct. I work for someone else and have low client interaction
I've done some bookkeeping, but have so much anxiety about making a mistake (even just typos). Otherwise, I quite like it.
@@emisformaker make systems so you can pick the mistakes up later. Then trust the system you have built.
Helped a lot for me with checking on myself and not worrying much in the moment. Bookkeeping has many possibilities for this.
I'm training currently to be a bookkeeper or accountant, previously was a technical writer and technical editor. Tech Editing was a job I loved so much but it's not valued by many.
@@emisformaker Most bookkeeping work checks itself, like tying to a bank balance. Accounting work is trickier, but after a while, you get a feel for when something looks weird, and you can compare to the previous period and investigate differences. But yeah things like payroll are stressful because you don't want to mess that up and all you can do is triple+ check it.
I have an autistic friend who is thriving as a massage therapist for seniors! It's her first long term profession, and I'm very happy for her.
I am a therapist. There are a lot of us which surprised me a bit. I can work from home and I have an amazing neurodivergent boss. Despite being highly qualified, I struggled to find and keep a job. I want to encourage all the other neurodivergent people to not give up. We all deserve to find careers we love (if that's what we desire) and people who appreciate us.
I really wish there was more opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities. I never finished high school (grades 9-12), and nearly all of these jobs involve college/uni degrees. There's so many fields that I'd love to work in that I'd be completely unable to ever qualify for.
Same
Do you live in the US? If so, check your state to see if they have a program that specifically hires disabled folks
Have you looked into equivalency exams? If you're in the US, each state has their own acronym for them but I have a feeling you pass quite easily and I know there are online prep courses so you can practice at home and then go take the exam.
I'm autistic, and I work at a local history museum! I work in collections, so I spend most of my time organizing, doing inventory, re-homing, and doing condition reports on artifacts and archives. I do a lot of research, too. In the springtime, I give class tours to students aged 5-10. I usually work on my own in my office and can listen to audiobooks or music while I work.
What degree do i need for this kind of job?
@@lumii903 it depends on the institution and the position. Some will require a masters degree in museum studies or a related field. My boss is working on his History PhD. On staff we have a variety of bachelors degrees and a couple masters ranging from visual art to engineering to business to education.
i would love everything about this other than giving tours lol
A few of the problems for me. 1. I am autistic but with ADHD, so barely any jobs satisfy both and at the specific times I would need them to.
2. The job search and interview process.
3. Most places don't let you make your own schedule and I REALLY need that, ultimately being able to come and go as I please and take breaks whenever I want.
Selling ebay was the only thing I ever did that satisfied all that.
What do you sell on ebay? Curious how that works 👀
What I’m struggling with is that any jobs I might feel more comfortable in, do not pay nearly enough.
I find my job hard, I need to mask the majority of the time and I’m close to burnout at times… but it pays good money.
Im a doctor and while my patients are really happy with how empathetic i am, it leaves me burnt out at the end of the day. Limiting the number of patients i see has helped me get more control in my daily life.
Just wanted to say I appreciate all the work you do especially as a doctor who shows their patients that they care and are invested emotionally.
Hello, I am 13, almost 14 and I rlly want to become a doctor (I am completely sure of my choice, I have done research about it asked ppl, so this isn't a choice made out of the blue ) could you please tell me more about your career and lifestyle, I would really appreciate to know about the experience of an autistic doctor since I am autistic myself.
Sorry if I bothered you, have a wonderful day/night/weekend :>
😅 almost all these require so much education and not only is it super expensive in America, but I’ve got ADHD too which makes school work so hard
Some do, some don't. A big reason why I went self-employed was because I dropped out of education at 17! The struggle is real 😂
8:24 i actually would NOT recommend being a teacher. Not just for autistic people, but for anyone. Teachers face a lot of abuse from both their bosses and their students. Ive heard so many stories of female teachers especially being s3xually harrassed by their male students. Other stories involve just straight up assualt.
I even had this happened to a teacher of mine. She was my summer school teacher and yeah. A couple of boys were saying sexual stuff and I helped told them off for it. I actually got a thanks from her!
I went to an all girls school and the young attractive male teachers all had teenage girls hitting on them, which never got taken seriously. I think it probably happens even more to male teachers because males are socialised to pretend to enjoy or at least not be upset by any expression of sexual interest from females, even unwanted sexual grabbing and pinching is supposed to be laughed off when an older woman does it. So when teenage girls hit on male teachers all the teachers probably think about is that if they say anything to the headteacher they are likely to be suspected to have encouraged it cos of gender stereotypes about it always being men who are sexually inappropriate.
But from what I saw, and still see in the media where female celebrities openly sexually objectify men and even underage boys like they did Justin Bieber several times on TV in old clips, in a way that would get called immediately if vice versa, the belief that most sexual harassment is done by men just comes from fact that men don't get taught to formally complain when they are sexually harassed, or talk about it like that is what happened.
I also volunteered for a charity boss in her 50s or 60s who was open about flirting with the young men who would work or volunteer there especially if they were black, she had a thing for young black men and would openly joke about this fact and everyone just found it cute and funny cos it was assumed at that time and I think often still is that all men are sexually open and perfectly fine with public sexual attention at work from bosses they are not interested in.
Sexual harassment is something all autistic people need to be taught to recognise and arguably all men too whether autistic or not cos every guy I have seen on the receiving end has acted as if he had to play along with the "all men are sluts and cannot feel humiliated or objectified by sexual attention like women can" societal belief in order to be socially acceptable.
@@Vex-Trixztraeven as a student I realised this from a young age 💔 it happens all the time
@@compulsiverambler1352I don’t think it happens more often to male teachers overall, but rather that it’s more common for male-targeted sexual harassment to be unreported bc of what you said on gender expectations. Either case, we need to be vigilant to prevent these kinds of unwanted commentary/touch regardless of gender of recipient or initiator/aggressor.
Huh I was a teacher (all levels then taught at a uni for masters levels). I love teaching BUT at the uni I received the worst conditions. Low pay (was a casual) and abuse from students. No respect for your hours and it Was a highway to autistic burnout. When I was teaching to middle and high schoolers, I was just tired all the time. Conditions were really tough because there weren’t enough maths teachers so I got loaded so many classes. I still love teaching but idk if I can ever find fair conditions where you are not overworked or harassed.
Recently I had to get a passport and the person who helped me with the paperwork and photo had an autism button on. I realized it was probably a good job for an autistic person. I’m a developer by day and artist by night. On the IT side, a good option for people who need a lot of independence might be pen testing. I bets that’s perfect for people with autism. In psychology, don’t forget there are research psychologists. For when you’re interested in people but don’t want to deal with them. 🎉
What really bothers me about jobs it’s that in almost any of them I can keep up with the load of work. I’m great at graphic design and video editing, but I can’t deal with the daily demands of that kind of jobs, they always lead me to burnout. That’s been the most troubling part, I know I won’t be able to work in what I love because of that
Same - the work is the easiest part. It's all the nonsense surrounding it that makes it exhausting. It's really frustrating.
Did you see that I'm currently looking for a video editor? I have a link in the video description 😊
@@imautisticnowwhat yes, thank you! I’d love to apply
I have a dyspraxia diagnosis and work as an artist. I am able to paint very fine details but other than that I am extremely clumsy and awkward with my body
As a vet student, my professor has joked that you could basically smell the autism in the air in the vet school and vet hospital. There's just so much of us here!
IT infrastructure and network engineering. Highly recommend, especially if you can get on the projects side or night shift with a NOC/SOC. 👍
Hey Lexi! So nice to see you here, I love your videos ☺️
@TheLexikitty Does that require a degree, or is it something you could self teach?
Hi I'm currently looking into IT right now and have a few questions if you don't mind-
How difficult is it to get in infrastructure and engineering? I heard net+ was very difficult, and yes it does get easier as you move up because you learn more on each job, but I just opened packet tracer and it's like I felt like a dumb ant or something. How could I get into it if I can't even grasp the basics of packet tracer?
Say I do get into it, what is it to be on the "projects side"? And also, I heard that NOC / SOC is highly stressful. Is that why you recommend night shift?
@@chespinmcgreen3682 What makes me successful in IT is obsessive personal interest in it. Since the 1980s I've gone down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, and I don't get tired of it. Building up understanding through years of poking at it made college fairly easy, and work very productive. It's not a struggle to choke down the study like it is for many people. It's what I do on my own time, too. If you are fortunate enough to love something that people will pay you to do, I think it's the best anyone can hope for. I don't envy those of us that have to get a job they don't care about. Those are the hardest jobs.
I did 30+ years as a network engineer, worked well for me most of the time. Until I ended up on a project job that was incredibly demanding and stressful. I helped finish the project but was so burned out at the end of it that I couldn't face going back into IT. So after a few months I tried being a postman for a while. That worked well for 10+ years but the last year has been horrendous with bullying from both colleagues and management. They don't see it like that of course... I was diagnosed 2 years ago as "likely" having AuDHD. This has helped in some ways as I've been able to sort through my reactions to certain environments and avoid them.
I really like working on my own most of the day, but the time at the DC in the morning has turned from tolerable to terrible. My managers recently demoted me for showing signs of autism, even though I'd informed them beforehand. 🙄
It shows that with the right managers and colleagues it can be a good job. Just down to the people I guess.
Something to mention in regards to trades and heavy industries is that social etiquette requirements are usually more flexible and less demanding... but that doesn't explicitly mean more inviting or accommodating. You could be left to be the inoffensive wierd/awkward person but bullying and harsh behaviors is often pretty accepted in the industry and "old school" attitudes are pretty common so if you do end up needing any extra accommodations you might not even be taken seriously
I'm in my early 20s in Germany and I feel like there's absolutely nothing for me here. Germany is ableist when it comes to autism, its not a very well-known thing here and its generally looked down upon. Not many psychiatrists are actually qualified to diagnose autism, due to their lack of knowledge, which makes it expensive to even get a diagnose in first place. 99% of autistic people in Germany are unemployed. Another problem here is that most of the jobs they offer here are catered towards allistics (which is no surprise) and finding those very niche jobs is impossible. I've tried looking into animal care, art and laboratory jobs but those are basically non-existent and also require good education (which if you don't have you're kind of screwed either way.). If you're autistic and live in Germany, you're doomed, especially if you don't have any financial support from parents or anyone else. People may think Germany is a good place to find work, but it's an absolute nightmare for disabled people.
Forgot to mention that i'd REALLY like to earn my own money, but with the difficulties of finding a job, it's not going to be possible. I've been dependent on my parents (who also don't earn that much money) pretty much for my entire life.
If you get an education as lab technician, you will always have a job. It usually takes 2years + 1 year of actual work internships. Try looking into it, is is quite a good job for autistics.
@@maggie2811 I would but there's nothing like that in my area. And I mean I've looked over the span of 3 years, it's always the same jobs. I don't have the money to move to a different province to live on my own. I also don't meet the requirements, I've had a 5 (or F) in math at my final test before graduation. Finding a job with my grades in that field is impossible, even if I am interested in science.
Yeah, Germany kind of doesn't have a good track record with their treatment of people with disabilities and some other factors I wont get into.
@@jason19twofour Indeed, which scares me to some extend. I am very afraid of my and other disabled people's future in this country.
from what ive seen online, autism is never talked about in germany...
I was a bicycle tour guide in Prague, Czech Republic, and I got to lead people on bikes and then stop and info dump for a few minutes before moving on or sending them to look at something while I watched the bikes. I loved it, and kept learning and exploring the city for things that could never fit into my tours. big cons are the traffic could be hectic, and some people just get on a bike and decide to be an idiot. walking would be calmer, but people would walk next to you and ask more questions, plus there's a cartel for most of the walking tour companies and I stayed out of that. its a give and take. I loved that job
I'm an immunologist and I do really struggle working full time in general but man... the amount your manager can make or break a job is really scary. I had a bad manager who was very ableist and she made me so incredibly miserable. Job switching isn't easy it took me a year or so to find another job and I'm having difficulties with a colleague in my new job. Hopefully I'll figure out something that works better for me in the future
I had a similar experience. My last manager was awful and I would have panic attacks about going to work. Now I have a new job and the manager is also autistic and ADHD like me, and it is so nice to have someone be so understanding. I feel like I hit the jackpot with my new manager.
I am currently a library receptionist. I hate how much I need to interact with people. There is so much pressure to always be ready, especially as I am the only one who works at the library every day. I am trying to hold in there to become a librarian, as I think that will really suit me.
In the NHS the librarians do a lot of literature reviews, and it seems really ideal as I love researching. Yes, you still see people, but it is a lot more spaced out, and I am not fending back the people in the morning at the entrance telling them to wait until I have finished preparing (sanitising computers, preparing the water, tidying rooms etc.) before they can come in. At my workplace the librarians also get to work from home a lot more, and can keep working when ill because they can just work from job. In comparison, when I get ill, to prevent it spreading I have to take time off, even if it isn't too bad. Plus, I often get sick because librarians just disregard the rules and come in badly ill anyway.
I have just applied to a Masters so I can eventually become a librarian, but, because I am working full-time it will take 3 years to complete. On the bright side, I will have a paid study day once a week once I start (provided the university agrees to having me).
Their pay is also substantially more than mine. It is over £10,000 more a year, which (after tax) is £700 more a month! I could actually afford to move out of my mum's place with that extra money. Right now, I commute 2 hours each way to work because I can't afford to move closer.
I work in a Warehouse, I work in the Labels room . I put lot numbers on the Labels, I put labels on boxes, bags, pails, jars. I love it, I'm good at it. I know what is expected of me, I'm given my project and start. I'm in a quiet room, I get to listen to my music or listen to videos on TH-cam. I get to use my hands all day. I'm a bit of a perfectionist which is good for this type of job, getting the Labels on straight, no bubbles under the Labels no wrinkled labels.
I work in sales as an autistic person and it’s brutal. It’s a big part of what drove me to alcoholism and I’m looking to pivot out of this hell
I am a nurse. And I love what I'm doing. It's just like you said, most of the conversations are about what the people are in hospital for. I avoid to talk a lot to the other nurses or to the doctors. Theres a lot of bullying ongoing and I hate to be with them. The most difficult thing to stand are all the noises from ICU, people talking without any brake, 2 telefons ringing all the time, the patients bell ringing, and everytime there ist the one that has got to be shouting out that hes angry about little things. To be focussed on your things, your documentation, to even hear the doctors orders they are giving you passing by is nearly impossible. So to enter the patients room is like an escape. I love to talk to them, to be able to help them with my knowledge and perhaps with my kindness. There is such a leck of kindness in this world, that's what I can do.
I wasn't diagnosed till I was 40 years old. I spent my 20s working retail and it broke me so bad. I had a complete mental breakdown. I dropped out of high school even though I was on the honor roll because I just couldn't take the bullying. I never pursued college because of the fear of bullying and fear of failing. Everyone told me I was lazy. The only job I have ever been good at or able to tolerate is being a Dominatrix. I choose the price, the time, and what I am willing to do. I know this will get lots of hate but maybe someone will relate. I wish all of us fulfilling lives where we can thrive and support ourselves.
no hate from* me. you have found something that works-that’s amazing.
I'm an elementary teacher and although I am motivated and find a lot of meaning in teaching, the pressure and chaos of it lead to my worst burnout to date. I can't really recommend it if you're autistic.
There is an overwhelming amount of various tasks to be done, so you have to half-ass a lot of it, and still work way beyond the hours you're supposed to. You need to have every lesson planned out in advance, but you can never trust that things will go according to that plan. You work with 20+ children and a million different factors influence how they feel, and what they are willing and able to do. You have to be on top of multiple things at once or things will escalate into chaos. You have to listen, calm, coerce, soothe, motivate, demand, mediate and psychoanalyze. Every class has multiple children with problem behavior or other issues that will disrupt and hurt them and people around them, and that you need to follow up on and try to get ahead of constantly. Not to mention parents and their expectations and accusations.
I work in libraries right now, but if I had the money I would in a heart beat start down the path of being a medieval history lecturer again. I had started studying a MA in Medieval Studies during covid, and had a nervous breakdown. I am happy with my current job, but studying history is my greatest love. I was particularly excited to research medieval environmental history as it is still a fairly new area. I really wanted to evaluate the Hundred Years War and see how the Little Ice Age affected warfare for my PhD. Several teachers suggested I also study archaeology to further my understanding in preparation, and I found a really ideal university which specialises in environmental archaeology. I have also looked into universities to restart my Medieval Studies MA with, and found a good course, which just happens to have its library located next to my workplace. Eventually, I want to get back on that path, but I need to get financially stable enough first.
my problem is consistency. some days i’m incredibly productive, talkative, focused, etc. and other days i can barely get out of bed. i never know how i’m going to be day-to-day and it makes holding down a job impossible. that plus the weird social dynamics in workplaces are a huge problem for me
This is me all over.
I really struggle with workplace politics
Same problem here!
I share this problem. I found the solution in working 3 days 6 hours each day and just stay in work mode. Not do much else. After that i can focus 4 days on other stuff and do my household chores. I work in costumer service by phone, with lots of putting through to second line if its complicated. I only answer or solve easy problems. I am also a hamster breeder, that is were my passion and hyperfocus is on. Sadly i can never make enough money of the selling hamsters, so got to have a job next to it. Right now i'm happy about my situation. I can work from home and also at the office. Most of the times i choose home. I am alone a lot.
I did a deep dive into available job sectors fairly recently and basically came to realization its not the job, its the work environment. A lot of job sectors have reliably horrible work environments so I dismiss them altogether. Data entry is my jam, but it does feel difficult to find real gigs.
my nightmare is my coworker who won't shut up, bores me to death, has to say every thought she has 😂 and the boss can be an a$$hole
my autistic strength in the workplace: does not spend time gossiping / socializing in the breakroom
Superpower!
I have Asperger's Syndrome, and one job I've been really successful at because of it is being a baseball mascot performer. Yes, there are often big crowds and so much happening at times, but it usually doesn't bother me. When I put on that kangaroo costume, I seem to become someone completely different, more outgoing and fun-loving. And my biggest strength as this mascot is how I'm especially good with the kids!
Curious how many artistic jobs will be on here, personally, I think creative jobs are best for people similar to me, who prefer making their own schedule and mot depending too much on others.
Edit: Personally, I plan on being a tattoo artist! Which although I get the social skills isn't for everyone, it's somewhat in demand, and a job where I get to make unique art that holds meaning for a lot of people!
I think it depends, as with any group of individuals; personally, I'm a game designer!
Edit: To add, though, especially for more commercial (client-based) group oriented creative fields, the challenge I've had is translating my deep intuitive understanding of my craft into a convincing argument about why we should do something. As with a lot of peeps, my field of interest is so intense - though not necessarily due to specific academic knowledge - that I can get into a flow state making something because all that knowledge has been intensely internalized.
I spent fifteen years as a graphic designer and mostly loved it - I often worked for myself, chose my own hours. I loved the creative side of it so much, but would struggle when the workload got too big, which it often would as I would find it impossible to turn work down. Very rewarding when you see something you’ve done in print 😊
I was planning on being a tattoo artist but the self promotion was a dead turn off. This was well before tiktok or even insta so I suppose it would be easier nowadays. Or not if you don't get social media like me😅
@@SRE3007 Granted it does, but depending on where you start and how far you go, you hire someone to market for you or you work with a studio that will do it for you. And at a certain point, the quality of your work becomes your marketing - it's a very work of mouth business, if only because it's such a permanent thing that's hard to vet otherwise.
@@SRE3007 it appears like it most to be mostly word of mouth and relying on studio's, I would've just made awful photo shop posters back then I won't lie 😅 but modernly, I'd probably go with an Instagram portfolio, I've honestly probably consumed almost all available tattoo content that I can find online that isn't trash TV shows lol
I’m working as a caregiver for elderly people and I absolutely love it. Giving them support is so rewarding for me, and I do much better one on one at a time than many different people or in a group.
Come to think of it, I do like hanging out with elderly people...
Im happy to come across your post as I've been thinking about getting into caregiving alot lately. It sounds like its working out for you. I've got a few questions. Are you in the US? What does an average day as a caregiver consist of regarding the tasks? What did it take to get into caregiving for you?
The HVAC trade has been such a godsend! Complex systems in service of human comfort. It tickles my troubleshooting impulses and my desire to serve people.
You keep saying "not a hairdresser" but I was a successful Cosmetologist for 17 years. Although I worked with the public, as an AuDHD it was actually perfect for me. I loved that I always knew I was doing the same type of services but I also loved that I didn't always know what I was doing (I worked in a lot of walk-in salons). I loved that I could meet different people everyday but also that I had a ton of regular clients. I loved that I could talk about my passion while also helping people feel better about themselves. I also loved that even tho I worked with other stylists, I always could zone out in my personal work. I loved Monday morning when I was a manager because I could go in and do paper work: payroll, scheduling, daily and weekly stats, ordering and I think I was the only one who loved doing inventory of the whole salon.
Formulating colors was very exciting too. Hair was my passion since I was 4. I've been retired now for 11 years and I miss the creativity, working behind the chair was my playground. 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks for sharing! My 6 year old was just diagnosed and is dead set on being a hairstylist. I know that might change but I'm glad to hear from someone who loved it!
I think that audhd recommended things in general can vary somewhat from those for purely autistic or purely adhd (but even that is variable). Because it’s all a spectrum and we have different experiences. Thank you for sharing your own experiences so ppl can know that it may not be something to completely write off on
@@cameronschyuder9034 I can agree with that. I've always said I'm a walking contradiction and this career gave me that flexibility I needed to prosper. Something I left out is that while working, if someone wasn't in a talkative mood it gave me a chance to just work and refuel my energy for actually engaging in conversation.
I really want to do something with historical clothes and textile history. It's my main special interest and I could go on for hours on end.
Omg omg omg pls info dump at me in the comments I never find anyone with the same interests as me
My grandfather designed machines for a textile company. In retrospect I think he may have been autistic -he was a extremely hard of hearing from the work, and some things I thought were due to that was autism, I think. His son/my father almost certainly was.
same, i love fiber and textiles! i even looked at becoming a textile engineer, but most of the jobs would require moving to asia :/
Maybe we can all work together and help those who don't have jobs get somewhere ♡
I mean I have been unemployed my whole adult life due to life circumstances but I am a game developer and one day will get around to releasing an actual game... you know , when life stops throwing me under the bus regularly.
Also I have been thinking about volunteering at my local animal shelter since novak (my cat) passed earlier this month ❤
Game developer!! That's amazing. I hope you catch a break soon and can focus on what you love 💛 That's a lovely idea regarding the animal shelter. RPI Novak 💔
@@imautisticnowwhat
Game development is an amazing thing but I'd love to just be a world builder or someone who does the environmental storytelling in a game ...
But as i do everything myself ( coding , world building , ui, 2d art 3d modeling, audio, the game design documents ... basically everything that goes into a game I do myself) I have alot of unfinished games so unless i kick the perfectionist side of me i dont think ill ever fully publish a game 😂
But thank you ♡
I've recently got into making stuff out of resin (I made a necklace with some of my furbabys ashes so he's always with me) so I've been super into that at the moment but I am also drawing a game up about novys life at the same time... who knows maybe I'll actually finish the project if its for him ♡
Yeah I think my local shelters could use some extra help and I am alone 24/7 now so I defo need the company and something to do ... I wanna look into it and see what's available and stuff like that but I think it would be nice to do something ♡
He is at peace now ♡ and home thanks to this amazing community ♡
So sorry to hear about your kitty. ❤️😢 Cats are the best, and losing them is so hard.
@@jimwilliams3816 thank you, he was my best friend for 10 years so it's been really hard but the community has been amazing and really helped me ♡
My condolences ❤ I lost two kitties this year.
I highly recommend volunteering anywhere. It's great experience. I was unemployed my entire adult life too, up until this past year. 😅 I started volunteering a year ago in an organization that aligns with my degree.
I did try volunteering at the animal shelter, but never went back after the orientation due to anxiety. 😅 I hope you have better luck with the animal shelter than I did. The kitties out there need some love. ❤
Volunteering a couple times a week is a great way to get that socialization quota in. Lol.
My husband is autistic and he is a very good engineer. Autism seems to be a common trait in many engineers.
32:06 You could be a research psychologist, though. There are non social, office based or research based, behind the scenes versions of nearly every job.
That's what I do. I have a B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. in Psychology, and I do research in auditory motion perception. I conduct research, run experiments, analyze data, write papers, write matlab code (computer programming), present my research at conferences, etc.
It's a little bit of everything, and I get paid to info dump about auditory motion perception :D
@@EmiE91 That sounds so cool! Pardon the pun.
@@kjadan101I love the pun!
I worked as a research assistant, now as a researcher and occupational therapist. We have 3 autistic people in our team, we do everything.. It is a qualitative research, exceptionally large, about autism. Every member of the team specialise in a different task (I was interviewing and guiding the focus groups, and presenting the findings at conferences)
It a diverse field, you can find a job that best fits your skills
Im kinda high support, and late in life diagnosed... i know i need welfare and im most likely getting it in my country, in my country that lasts for life, but i dont want it for life.. i want to used that to pay for education in my special interest and then hopefully get a job. Sound technitian.. here i hopefully come in about 5 years ❤
I will say that if you can get a job as a sound tech it has been my experience as a stage hand that theatre and concert workers are way more accepting of our autistic quirks than most other people. The job seems to me to attract a neurodiverse crowd.
I have worked in film, tv, theatre, and audio and I've never heard of a sound technician being required to have any specific education. Some short term classes might help boost skills, but I think usually you just start as a production assistant and let the production manager know you want to focus on the sound department and are eager to learn, and you gradually move up into roles with more responsibility from there. In most production jobs as long as you get your work done and let your colleagues know what your goals are they will usually be happy to teach you things along the way and give you advice. I hope this helps!
The main problem is that you could have a lonely position in the middle of the desert and still being a talkative and extremely social teamplayer would be an absolute MUST HAVE for you to be even considered for the job...
And the second problem is that every single job that would have been interesting and sounded like it was right for me would have required me to go to a university which is impossible if you don't have parents who can pay for you as long as necessary. Working on the side would have just led to sacrificing sleep and any minute of spare time (and with spare time I mean every time outside of the university courses, including time required for learning or other study preparations) and it still wouldn't have been enough work time to get paid enough to support myself for even a month, let alone several years.
At first I still had the childish idea that I could put money aside and then study full time and support myself with my savings. But it's been 17 years since then and I only have enough savings for about a year.
I got autistic burnout in the IT field, now I drive a transit bus.
I really wanted to get a psychology AND medical PhD along with a lawyer’s degree but with these statistics I’m really struggling with finding a good accommodating position for them when I’m older with the constant stereotypes for autistic people. But I find that some of these options are really helpful for me and I’m already only a few minutes into the video!! Thank you!!! Also the fact you mentioned a diagnosis could help with employment in the first category, that really is quite the relief. Thank you so much for making this video in such detail!!!! 💚
I started off by doing a PhD in nutrition and then taught Nutritional Biochemistry at a university for a time. Then I re-trained and became a massage therapist. That was a wonderful job because it was one on one with clients... But then I developed psoriatic arthritis and had to give up massage, and now I am a massage therapy instructor. Which is the best job ever because I get to info dump on stuff that I am really interested in (anatomy & physiology). And where I am (Canada) massage is classed as healthcare...
I am also a nutritional counsellor. Again, one on one with clients and I can also get to info dump about stuff that interests me (nutrition).
I loved massage as well. I developed a special interest in trigger point therapy and that helped my career a lot. I also loved that I could be social with talkative clients without making eye contact, or if I really needed quiet I could be terse with a relaxing voice, and they would take that as a cue to focus on the massage without getting offended haha. It's a really great job for light and sound sensitivity as well.
I can’t even finish high school so I don’t know what I’m going to do anymore lol
Work in a repetitive job where you can wear headphones (gardening, warehouse, merchandising cleaning etc) while keeping up with a social interest (music, podcasts etc). In your downtime, do informal education.
Find (or have a carer/support worker find) a syllabus (textbook, teacher site, university course reading list, MOOC) because learning builds from foundations up, so you need to do things in a logical order. Then you can use that order to find learning materials or spaces that work for you.
You could be just following a special interest, or you could take yourself through a school curriculum at your own pace and without the social and sensory demands of a classroom.
It’s possible, given time and determination, to teach yourself enough to do high school diploma equivalents and/or get yourself accepted into (some, but more C than you think) tertiary institutions on the basis of informal learning.
If the latter is your aim, I would start a blog, vlog, website or other public space to share knowledge and document your learning important thing is to be systematic, even if what you’re doing is teaching middle school algebra to your cat.
Look up things like learning styles (detailed versions, assumed at teachers) to find what works for you.
Create your own subject specific dictionaries for words and phrases.
If you intend to transfer to formal education: Once you think you’ve learned something new, spend some time writing (online or privately) about it, even if this isn’t your preferred style, because that’s how our society tests knowledge. There are organisations to help if literacy or language are an issue - your local library is a good place to help you find them.
You CAN do this. Until the late C20th, libraries. and night schools supported informal education. Now it’s mostly online, but it is there.
I am going through a burnout as a working from home software engineer. One thing I was really struggling with working from home especially and employment in general is all the implicit rules on production output and expectations from management. It doesn't help that I masked heavily at my work and I can be extremely people pleasing and non-confrontational, and since I am a high achiever I keep getting more work. Working from home kind of made it worse in some parts, because of how all of my life became blurred together, and I was unable to set boundaries. My job would exhaust me and I would have no transition from it and spend my evenings and week-ends in some sort of limbo or shutdown. Putting some boundaries would have been easier in the workplace, but then it was a sensory and social hell so I guess I just couldn't win.
More than the amount of work it is the long hours that are draining me mentally. Doing a really intense cognitive work and putting a lot of pressure on myself, it was just too much. I wish I could have worked half the amount of time I was working every week, on the long term I am sure I would have actually achieved more. I just can't work at low intensity like others do. I can also recognise myself in the idea of the job kind of sucked the life out of my special interest for programmation (although my interest is not dead and I will get back into it when I am ready).
More than the job title itself the environment is equally as important, I wish I had learnt that sooner. I am now leaning more towards self employment, but also working on unmasking and learning to be communicating my needs and boundary should help me.
Hi, Software Tester here. I've had a similar experience with long working hours and being too intense about my standards. I was ill for a years, bit the I switched to a 25 hour work week, so that I have enough time to rest every day. Its been difficult to find employment with "only" 25 hours a week, but It found my dream employer who is completely fine with that, respects my skills and my boundaries. So I want to encourage you and give you hope, that working less hours in a job you like can really make a difference.
I really relate to that. I took a high pressure job doing something I really liked, and I was impressed that I could handle it, as I didn’t think I could. But I kept feeling like it was changing me in bad ways I didn’t understand, and has a vague feeling that it might end up costing me my mental health, my marriage and the rest of my life. Which is what has happened, though there were other factors too.
They closed the local office and I moved to in home work, but as you say, everything blurred. I had worked at home wheh I was self employed, and this was an issue then too, but I had more control over my workflow. And starting with COVID, both my wife and I started working at home, which worked out really badly. We both need quiet, and we also both make a fair bit of noise when we work, so... 😓
@@emmynoether9540how did you find an employer that supports you in doing this? I’m in exactly the same boat here, 40 hours a week of cognitive labor is just not sustainable for my mental health, but I don’t really know how to pivot to any other jobs, so I wish I could just reduce expected working hours…
I relate to your experience a lot. Working from home has been a mixed bag for me, too. On the one hand, it made me realize how much I was masking in the office, and I was actually able to relax. But our company’s grown a lot in the past few years (I work for an insurance broker), and my department has grown, but in my opinion, not enough to keep up with the surge in new business. I feel bad complaining, because I actually get paid well, get regular raises, and generally have a lot of benefits that I know many employers lack. I’m also embarrassed because I can’t seem to work as fast as my colleagues. I take longer to process and I can’t help it-I get stuck on small details. It sometimes is a benefit, because I catch things that other people miss, but mostly it stresses me out because I can’t work at my own pace. I feel like for every 1 thing I cross off my to-do list, 5 more things get added. I’m in a constant cycle of burnout and I know I will probably eventually have to quit, but I’m scared to leave this job because it’s very secure.
A perfect video to watch right before choosing collage :D
I am listening to this while doing stuff for my job as a webshop manager for an animal rights charity. I have been an activist for them for over six years, and I have been dreaming of working for them pretty much ever since, although for a long time my self-confidence was too low to apply. It was actually through a more outgoing friend (and some coincidence) that I got this job. And I absolutely LOVE IT! Not only am I doing stuff for an organisation that I am 100% behind, with likeminded people with an activist mentality, my colleagues are all so nice and understanding of my autism!
This is really cool! Appreciate it, especially as someone who has nOt found a job yet 😅
I'll put this in: When I worked as a bank teller I did really great with the customer service aspect. My supervisors always said how much the customers loved me. However, the bank regularly put me in positions where I couldn't help the customer which really weighed on me. If I ever needed to put a call in for a customer (which 95% of the time they could do on their own phone on their own time), I'd be on hold for a long time and the stress and awkwardness weighed on me. If a customer wanted something that literally could not be done, I'd always feel like I was the one who personally wronged them (they'd treat me that way, too). In fact, being yelled at by customers was the first time I ever felt a shot of adrenaline in my life. The branch manager said he had a "kill them with kindness" approach which was easy for him to say, never having to deal with them. There was even less help and more pressure from corporate. They also wanted me to sell credit cards and the like to customers which I could not do.
This is how I feel in Retail, I love customer satisfaction, but hate that everyone else doesn't seem to care about the customer's needs
Edit to add: I also am not comfortable with cramming product down a client's throat, but I'm a very good salesman when it comes to giving customers what they need, or what would suit them best
I volunteer at a museum related to my special interest and it's so rewarding cause people literally ASK YOU to tell them things. They come there WANTING to be infodumped to. I love it. Plus when there's no one coming in I get to hang out and cuddle with military jet airplanes!!!
This long list just shows that any one can work at a job that they enjoy with the right understanding.
I work within the Civil Service & it’s great for me. Generally, there’s a lot of policy and procedures, which can require black and white thinking. Also there’s options to Work from Home, which was a game changer to stop burnout. 😊
I'm autistic and I work as an investigator. I like pouring over details like that and I'm basically in charge of myself when I'm out and about, my main interaction is handing my work off to my supervisor
As a librarian and who has worked in various libraries in various roles I fell I have to say that libraries, especially public libraries are not always the best for autistic people or nuerodiverse people. It is very customer service driven. It can be very busy and very changeable. No two days are the same that some could find difficult. There can be quite elements such as resheliving but these are often part of of a job not a job by it's self. Archives, records management and museums might be a better fit. Records/information management, both resources and physical, is something of a growth area as more and more companies of all sizes have realized they need to properly organize all their information. Naming conventions, people, naming conventions.
Anyway
If you have any questions about library work I'm happy to share my experience. I'm Australian and my experience is in Australia.
I said this in a previous verious of this video and was pretty much destroyed 😂 public libraries in Australia are NOT good for autistic people, especially if it's customer service facing which most of it is. Volunteering on the other hand was excellent because where I am the volunteers do the shelving and don't help customers.
death care has always been my autism-safe career route since it combines my interest in death and not actually interacting with alive people so much (although i have not been able to find much yet, since i only know of three crematories in my direct area. we will see since i havent finished school yet). very happy to see it on the list!
EDIT: art is my special interest that people always expect me to get ahead in career-wise but i am terrified to lose the interest if i have to do it whether i like it or not, whoops
If you live in a larger metro area in the US, try working for an SCI care center as an embalmer. SCI have separate funeral directors and embalmers, so if you worked for them as an embalmer, that’s the main thing you would be doing every day. Plus benefits, PTO, etc.
Merchandising gave me a super flexible schedule, clear guidelines, no co-workers or micromanaging….it was great! 4:50
I am staying with a relative as I was kicked out. I am currently looking for a job so I can move out and stop being a burden to my family. Thanks for the video
good luck
I know this is random, and I just started watching the video (currently at 1:52) but burnt orange looks stunning on you!! It brings out a glow in your skin and makes your eyes look so colorful! I love your blouse with the cute little foxes too! 🦊
This is a video I really needed!! Retail is the best paying rn but its awful for my mental health
I have a really stimulating and people-heavy job. I'm a respiratory therapist at a community hospital. One of the scariest things about realizing/finding out that I'm autistic was learning that a lot of autistic people can't stay in stimulating jobs like this long-term. I really hope this doesn't happen to me. I struggle with it but I also love it. I was going to start working with a specialized occupational therapist this month but my car flooded and there went that money.
Don't let that define you honestly if you like it there is no reason why you would start hating it.
@@jeanbob1481it’s not that they’ll hate it but that their body/mind cannot take the stress anymore (if they are hypersensitive; am guessing this is less of a problem for hyposensitive folks). This is how burnout starts - continuous exposure to a stressful environment with little reprieve. It’s likely they’ll still love the job but will need to put their health first. OP ought to make changes before burnout happens, such as asking for accommodations or working a night shift or giving themselves more time to just zonk out and nap/sleep after a long day at work (non-exhaustive list), if they want to comfortably keep the job long-term
I think fields that work with the natural environment to learn about it and/or protect it can be great for Autistic people. I'm a habitat biologist and I've worked in related positions for over 14 years now. Being out in nature is very soothing for me and people who work in this field tend to be fairly laid back and I think a lot are Neurodivergent. And this work also is making the world a bit better which feels good. Plus, people in this field really appreciate people who have lots of knowledge about the natural world. In my line of work, these positions are referred to as "subject matter experts" which is basically someone who brings a wealth of knowledge to the team and is valued for that knowledge. Always seemed like a great fit for Autistic people. At least it works well for me :)