Jobs That Are NOT For Adults With Autism

I made a blog article on jobs that would work for adults with autism. However, I think we should cover the jobs that you should avoid if you are on the autism spectrum. This is just my 2 cents. Everyone is different.


~Image is from Pixabay.com

It's rough for people with autism to find steady employment. It's important that you avoid these jobs. Most people with autism have poor short term memory. I am one of these people. I have issues with high demand jobs that call for you to remember a lot of things.  I don't know about you, I cannot handle several tasks at the same time. I am a one at a time person. Do this then move on to the next task when I am done.

Retail/Fast-food

People on the autism spectrum should avoid retail/fast-food jobs. In fast-food, chances are you will be given several tasks at once. That would be too demanding on me because I need time to process, adjust, etc.  Same with retail like grocery stores. You may be given several tasks to do at one time. You will have to deal with a changing schedule. Some places re-arrange the store etc. You have to deal with the public and be socially active. Most of us get social burn out.  I would not be able to handle being a cashier due to the pace, and possibly having to deal with rude customers who act like you run the store. I would avoid stocking shelves because of some places re-arranging their store. Having difficulty remembering where everything is. Having to answer to customers if they ask you questions.

Server

When you are a server, you have to wait like 5 different tables. I feel this would be too much for someone on the autism spectrum. Due to the high demand. Especially when the restaurant gets busy, understaffed, etc. We need to recharge when needed but may not have the option to do this.


Call Centers

There are times when the lines get busy. It would be hard for some of us to keep up with all of the calls coming in. My grandma told me she tried something like this and ended up breaking down because of all the calls. I would think that would give her an understanding of why I cannot deal with jobs that require you to deal with the public.


Some other jobs I recommend you do not get are

• Dispatcher- too many things to keep up with.
• air traffic controller- I would imagine the stress of this eating you up.
• ticket agent- dealing with the public.
• anything that calls for you to remember a lot of things
• anything that requires you to work under pressure
• anything that calls for you to work at a fast paced
• anything that requires you to handle fast-paced settings
• anything that requires you to work under stress.
• anything that requires you to learn the job in a short amount of time
• anything that gives you tasks verbally.

What people need to understand that this is not saying we are too good for retail or fast-food. This is saying these jobs would overload us and we need jobs that the right support. It's like being a repairman, you need the right tools so you can fix whatever you are tasked to fix. People need to understand that we are different from outsiders. There is no point in going for these jobs and we don't survive long.