Aspies For Freedom

hi Caroline

I'm new around hear and stumbling around what seems to be a extensive site but felt perhaps a few details about my work experience might give you food for thought. I'm 54 years old and have had over 30 jobs, Not knowing I was AS until a few months ago probably had something to do with it!
To be honest every one was boring but time tends to put a rosy glow on some of them. I now have a reasonably responsible job but I can begin to see how much I have to fake it to get through which is very stressful. I have to make decisions and tell others what to do (and appear confident) even when I don't feel it which is quite often! I find dealing with the people in my department tough.
I am happiest when I have a big spreadsheet to sort out alone or some lone proof-reading to do and I'm much happier corresponding by email than face-to-face. So overall I'd say that a job working alone would be ideal for me but somehow I seem to have the opposite!

Most of my jobs have drawn heavily on the NT side of my personality, but the favorite job of my Aspie side was being a projectionist at a drive-in movie and at a regular theater.

I loved being in the dark projection booth, by myself, making the movie happen, watching the film and the people but not having to interact in any way. I also did a lot of writing and drawing between reel changes and such.

I happen to know that normally you get the warehouse job and then the fork truck licence, your company normally pay for the training. Once you have it, it becomes easier to get jobs in warehouses - the same old story huh!

I like the sound of being a projectionist!

I haven't yet had to work, but I fear the time is approaching, and I must emerge from the dark cave that is my room. My goal is to get a job in a warehouse far away from the public, and ...possibly do what a supervisor says...I mean there's gotta be something I can hide in, Heh just noticed Micahel 1 also wants to work in a warehosue . Cheers.

So true!!!  One former supervisor treated me with respect and years later, I am still happy to do favors for him, even when he doesn't know I did.  On the other hand, one jerk of a boss sneered at how I spelled a label on something in my storage area. Saying "I need to get my people a dictionary". From that day on, I made sure all my memos to him contained words he would have to look up

As to the question, I am happy working with big computers and doing programming or research concerning them. The computer is  more logical and predictable than humans. That is comforting. The other ingredient is a good boss that respects my abilities and doesn't micromanage.

Well, I can't speak for how common it is or isn't, but I identified :-)

I've had loads of jobs in retail where I had to deal with customers. I hated every minute of all the jobs, and several of the jobs actually made me ill because of the stress. They wouldn't have been stressful jobs for most people, but talking to customers all day is a nightmare for me.

Now I am trying to set myself up as a self-employed artist/illustrator. I get to lock myself in a room alone and indulge in my obsessions, which is bliss. I also volunteer at a charity bookshop a few days a week, I don't like dealing with the customers so I get to spend hours alphabetising and categorising books. Sounds boring but I enjoy it because I can get lost in my own little world, just me and the books.