Do you know that in the UK 85% of adults with Asperger Syndrome are unemployed. This might be due to their inability to socialise and communicate, not encouraged by their parents or discriminated from job interviews. The reason I brought this up because Ill be leaving school soon as I’m finding A-levels more difficult than most sixth form students. I be getting a fulltime job than going to college in September. I just wondered what I should expect.
Where did you get that statistic?
Is there a similar stat for the USA, which is a culturally similar country?
It was alleged by a Danish or Scandinavian or German AS Web site that 95% of Aspies were unemployed or underemployed. Or do you mean underemployed when you say unemployed?
I got that statistic from my mother. She is a family resource worker and works with a lot of unemployed people.
I think the whole AS/NT division here is extremely negative and unhelpful. People are all different and have differing levels of skills and abilities, likes and dislikes, regardless of neurotype. Few people in employment are given a free rein over their working life and it is, to be frank, arrogant to suggest that all NTs are alike in their capacity to do a job of work and that people who are AS have a special or unique case in terms of discrimination. No-one's life is free from compromise.
Well said Marcia
I think the whole AS/NT division here is extremely negative and unhelpful. People are all different and have differing levels of skills and abilities, likes and dislikes, regardless of neurotype. Few people in employment are given a free rein over their working life and it is, to be frank, arrogant to suggest that all NTs are alike in their capacity to do a job of work and that people who are AS have a special or unique case in terms of discrimination. No-one's life is free from compromise.
I'm not trying to suggest my theory is correct and that Michael1 is wrong. For all intents and purposes, his theory is correct. And he's right to say that my ideas here lack credence, because I don't have the official diagnosis.
I'm not sure that I understand. You think your ideas are invalid because you don't have the piece of paper that indicates an official diagnosis?
There was indeed a time--quite recently when you look at the big picture--when the AS label was not in use and those who were different or had social difficulties would have had no choice but to work fulltime anyway, most likely in an environment that didn't suit the person, either. I dare say my "different" uncle at 75 years old went through all that without knowledge that he had AS, although he had an extroverted personality which helped him a lot in his field, as it was socially oriented. I'm not the same as him in that regard, so logic dictates I look for a job with less intensive social interaction... all of my previous jobs have been customer oriented and not to my liking, even though I stuck with them for a while.
There is no logic in that at all. If your "different" uncle had no reason to think there was anything wrong with him, he would just have got on with his life, albeit with more difficulty than other people might have. If you are using your self-diagnosis as an excuse for your lack of effort (and that is how it reads), I think your uncle might have got the better deal overall 
Choosing an appropriate job is essential, but ruling any out because of preconceptions is foolish.
I'll admit I don't like the undercurrent of hostility I see in this thread. There are other reasons besides social difficulties and problems with real world interaction that are behind my lack of a fulltime job. I'd not go into all of this because they are my personal problems and not for other people online to "judge" whether the reasons are acceptable or not. For the record, my family and friends are not happy about my inadequacy and I have faced consequences for my status that I would not otherwise see if I was gainfully employed.
If you're not prepared to divulge your problems so that people might understand, (and maybe even empathise, although don't hold your breath ), it's hollow to try and use them as another excuse for your lack of motivation. Ultimately your friends and family have their own lives; I'm guilty of worrying what people think of me at times as well, but if you're not doing anything to be ashamed of, you have nothing to fear from them unless they are prejudiced and stupid.
I think the main reason that many autistics are unemployed is becaused of people's intolerance of us. Though there are definitely autistics who genuinely can't work, so many of us can, and it's not to do with our abilities that determines most of us being unemployed.
I think there's a tendency on the part of just about everyone - those on the autism spectrum as well, to want to be around people who think in like-minded ways.
I think where there's a definite impasse though is that those on the autism spectrum sometimes think in very literal ways and sometimes concentrate quite a bit on the work itself, but on the rare occasion I've been able to get NT's to talk about these matter, to them the "work environment" is more important. They are very, very social creatures and apparently, if I understand it correctly, they work in order to have social interactions (meeting and so on) and, as would be the more logical conclusion, have the meetings in order to get work done.
Thank you Tigger. I for one am not making assumptions about anyone. I feel for anyone, AS or NT, who is unemployed and has difficulty getting employment. What I am trying to say - obviously badly as everyone seems to be taking it personally - is that encouragement is what is needed for the young man who started this post.
A few years ago my husband was a badly stressed, poorly performing manager. His lack of people skills and organisation meant that he was doing his job poorly. Because he was a nice bloke he had somehow got promoted and because of his family expectations (had to have some kind of professional job) he stuck it out. We did not know about AS but I could see it was not OK and he was being treated for depression. I managed to persuade him to leave and we moved away. He has retrained as an electrician - in a foreign language as well! -and has never been happier. He doesn't earn so much but he works mostly alone, is very focused and is much happier. His nephew (his sister's son) was diagnosed AS and my husband suddenly realised what all his difficulties had been about. Most people who are AS are intelligent - if they can harness their skills and intelligence, and maybe go on a different route from that which others may have planned for them there is hope for employment.
I'm not saying it is easy, but disabled should not have to mean unemployed or unemployable. I still stand by what I say that the disabled person also has to make allowances and compromises. I am not referring to any particular individuals or judging them - just making a general comment.
I am currently unemployed have been looking for about 9 months, although I have picked up some small jobs here and there. My past experience has shown that I do better in small progressive high tech companies.
I have worked in a non-profit organization twice and found the politics as well as the general work dynamics very confusing. I could only really hold it together for about 18 months at those places, though I lasted 2 yrs.
Computer and engineering companies usually have a good environment for me to work in, and I can communicate via email or phone. I am fine with the phone.
Before interviews I practice my outsider interactions by volunteering places, going to events and other things that are not so comfortable for me.
If it were up to me I would work from home and never have to see anyone unprepared.
I would re-iterate that none of that which I have written is in any way personal to any poster. I'm sure that many of you have had unpleasant experiences and suffered from discrimination. However, I think that we should try not to frighten off the original poster (seems to have disappeared so maybe we've already done so!) who was asking what to expect and I would like to think that at least someone could offer him some positive thoughts. People who start out with negative feelings become discouraged much more quickly and often portray themselves in a negative way. If the object of this site is to put a more positive slant on AS then I think it behoves the contributors to try to give a little hope and positive thinking to those setting out in life.
I certainly know what executive dysfunction means as I am married to a very intelligent person who often seems to lack all common sense and can't prioritise. It is maddening and I can see it could be a handicap in the workplace. That said, he is a great worker when he gets on with it and I'm sure that when people finally find their niche those with AS can be a great asset.
I am dyslexic too. I don't tell my employers about any of it. In the past, it has only made things worse. I try to check out the office environment, and set up my own stuff to limit sensory overload. If it doesn't work, I ask for accommodation but I just say stuff like allergies, needing to hear myself think, stuff like that...
In the past, when I have explained my disability some of my co-workers actually did things that made it worse and one boss WHO was a lawyer in a social service agency actually said to me "You don't have a disability." To which I replied well the DRS says I do and I also have disability plates on the car. At that point I was also in a wheelchair. It amazes me that other people think they know whats inside another person. I prefer working with high tech companies and programmers because it seems many of them are more like me so my stuff seems totally normal.
Doing job interviews and working is pretty difficult because I have to be what I refer to as being "on." I do marketing and I am good at it, but most marketing people are naturally extroverted and outgoing, whereas I am not. I can do it for a while relatively successfully but I must be in practice and I need serious down time.
I do better with plans, writing reports, doing presentations and trade show than the daily grind of being a "team player" and interacting on a casual basis with my co-workers.
Most people don't realize this. I hate most parties unless I have a goal of working them, so at a trade show I can appear to be totally normal as long as I have a hotel room of my own to escape to.
I enjoy watching people interact but its also research. I tend to practice interactions in non-critical settings. Some of my friends find this amusing, but some just nod because they do it too.