What is a suitable job?

Today’s post is one that I really need people’s help with so please do have a read, think about some helpful advice and leave a message or drop me a line. All help and advice is much appreciated and warmly welcomed.

My post is all about work and more specifically suitable employment. When I read up about autism on blogs and websites a common topic to pop up is suitable employment for someone on the autism spectrum. In my searches it would be more particularly for someone with what used to be called Asperger Syndrome. (On a side note I think it should still be differentiated but that is just my opinion.) It is a very difficult question to answer as everyone on the spectrum is different with different skills and different requirements much in the same way as the rest of society. Generally the answers seem to fall into one of two categories. Firstly people assume that Aspies must be good at computer technology and a career in computer programming is advised. Secondly people assume that people on the spectrum must have needs that would be too great to manage so a suggestion of a relatively menial job gets mentioned like collecting supermarket shopping trollies. Both are important and respectable jobs but neither is for me and it is me that needs advice.

I grew up as computers as we know them now were being developed. They were barely coming into schools while I was there and I certainly didn’t have one at home. As such computers have pretty much passed me by and I can only do the basics with them. Even setting up and organising this WordPress site was massively difficult and stressful to me and as you can see I keep it very minimal as I can’t manage anything else as I don’t understand any of it.

Also I don’t like anything too boring or repetitive. I fully appreciate people who do those jobs and I am very grateful to them but the roles are not for me and I know I wouldn’t last in such a role. I need something that will occupy my mind and be sufficiently different each day without changing too much as I struggle with too much change.

I have had many jobs in the past ranging from office jobs to mobile outdoors jobs with the latter certainly being preferential. Unfortunately I never last in any job more than about two years. I hate that and wish I could find something suitable which is more long term. I have discovered that I am probably best off if I am working for myself. My most recent occupation has been as a driving instructor but I have found it increasingly stressful trying to teach people who have less and less commonsense. I find it very difficult to quickly come up with ways to adapt teaching to different people and different situations. I also have another big issue which I have mentioned on here before. I hate people in general. I do not like being around people and I do not like interacting with people. I have often wanted the world to stop spinning so that I could get off and find somewhere else to live but sadly I can’t. It should also be noted that I have very poor Executive Functioning which doesn’t really help with long term employability or indeed many different jobs. Advice is hard to find as Job Centres only offer access to jobs that are actively available and don’t offer real individual advice particularly not to someone like me who technically still has a job. Likewise job agencies just seem to want their jobs filled so they are earning their commission and don’t want to spend too long holding your hand trying to find what is best for you long term. I have completed some online career questionnaires but by the time I take out what I can’t do, what is completely unsuitable to me and what is completely unrealistic to who I am I am and where I live, nothing much is left.

So what do I like? I like the independence of working for myself so that I can decide what days and hours I work. That is especially important to me as I have many times when I struggle to do anything at all in a day. I really don’t like being stuck too much indoors. I like being outdoors in the fresh air and sunlight. I like something that is sufficiently different day to day but not so different as I would find it too challenging. I have always dreamed of having a smallholding but cannot see how I can realistically get into it unless I win the lottery first. I have thought about freelance gardening but again I would struggle with all the different clients and their individual whims.

What do I not like? Things that are boring and monotonous. Having a boss breathing down your neck all day long. Never seeing the light of day. Being around other people. Having to work set hours on set days almost every week of the year. I want to enjoy seeing my children grow up and I want to be around them as much as I possibly can so I want any work to fit in around them and not the other way round. In reality the list of what I don’t like is probably very, very long but as usual I can’t readily think of specifics. This is fairly typical as to how my brain works or rather fails to work. I also do not want to disturb my family’s life so whatever it is needs to be accessible where I live which is on the very edge of a small rural town. I do not want to spending hours travelling to and from work so preferably would like to work from home. I also have an in built problem of returning to anything previously done in my life so I need something new and completely different. Most of my previous work was office or shop based anyway so I have already indicated that I want to be away from all of that.

I think what I have mentioned probably makes it very difficult to offer me advice but I really do need that advice. I need to get kickstarted back into proper gainful employment and soon. I am more than happy to answer questions so that advice can be narrowed down so please feel free to ask me anything. I really will be most grateful if anyone can find me something that is just right for me. So now it’s over to you.