To accept never having a job

[11122aa]

Hi. I've posted a few threads before but is it normal to accept you never have a job Due medical Reasons. I'm at uni doing law but a I'm finding the course hard and b I know I'll never get a job afterwards as I have autisum and dyspraxia and also mental health issues. I'd never cope with a full time job and I can't imagine I'm a suitable candidate for a part time shop job..

Surely there are very, very few people who can get through a degree but are unable to do any type of job. confused
National autistic society recently put out these stats on autistic adults
only 16% are in full-time paid work. Only 32% are in some kind of paid work (full and part-time combined), compared to 47% of disabled people and 80% of non-disabled people*
over three quarters (77%) who are unemployed say they want to work
four in ten say they've never worked.

So it can be very hard to be employed, I was for the most part unemployed from leaving university for about 6years, but I've managed to recently make a career freelancing (as a computer dev) which means I can work when I want (at night!) didn't have to go through an interview process which is very scary and don't have to deal with th office environment, which makes it less stressful.

Op I suggest looking into if any of your hobbies can earn you any money, one of my autistic friends sells her cross stitch on easy, working at home jobs/self employed (so much less stressful!) and reaching out to some autistic charities some of them put adverts out every so often specifically advertising jobs at companies that are autism friendly or ask your university if they know of any.

KoalaDownUnder please learn a bit more about autism before you say that. It's largely possible to do a degree with barely any social interaction if you have that kind of course. Reading and learning alone in the library (which is quieter than any office), doing everything alone so no need to interact with anyone, autism support service at uni. If you understand the subject matter you never need go to a tutorial and lectures have so many people in you can blend in. Then try finding an employer where you can work in silence, control the environment (work from home instead of under the office air con!) and not interact with people. Most people get frustrated with an austic person's seeming inability to process simple step by step tasks when seemingly being really intelligent. I am incredibly lucky to have the employer I do and think it's pretty unique. Only 19% of autistic people are in paid employment in the UK but many more than this could do a degree under the right conditions.

Wow I've just read the thread and seen that loads of people think academically able = capable in the workplace!!!! I really hope none of you end up my manager!!!!

I find it hard to think that you can graduate but not work yes.

I do understand that for some people, work will be impossible.

Think about what it is that means you can meet the requirements of your course and then think about jobs and careers which give those same things. It could be:

longer-term deadlines to take into account times you aren't productive.

A solitary or mostly solitary environment

Non customer facing (autism is likely to make that hard)

Something with computers (a great dyspraxia mitigator)

You have to change your thinking.

I have autism. I asked to go part time at work, and this is now agreed. The equalities act applies, and the autism act.

The figures from NAS are not the full picture. So many adults with autism are undiagnosed. I only got mine after making a fuss.

It's largely possible to do a degree with barely any social interaction if you have that kind of course.

So? I'm not saying it isn't.

I'm saying there are other ways of earning an income if you cannot do a job that requires interacting with people.

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with the person who said you might look at this differently if there was no welfare state.

National autistic society recently put out these stats on autistic adults
only 16% are in full-time paid work. Only 32% are in some kind of paid work (full and part-time combined), compared to 47% of disabled people and 80% of non-disabled people
over three quarters (77%) who are unemployed say they want to work
four in ten say they've never worked.*

Bear in mind that this is research based on adults who were likely diagnosed as children some years ago - when only the severely affected children were likely to have been diagnosed. There are many undiagnosed adults who are working. Or adults who weren't diagnosed until adulthood. I've worked with several people who are likely on the spectrum, but undiagnosed.

Op, I think I've seen your posts before - you really need some outside advice. Could you contact somewhere like the national Austistic society? I think you said previously the student services weren't much help?

user1471548941

You both have autism and a job (manager) completely negating the point you were making.

Why would you do a degree if you don't think you can get a job from it? When it was free or maybe even 3k a year then I can see why people did it anyway but now? It will put you in an awful amount of debt that the government will have to pay because you will never be able to.

I don't mean to sound harsh but uni is not for fun anymore. That said, you got into uni so you should be able to hold down a job.

You need to think about being self employed, there are still jobs you can do. Gardener, dog walker, home help etc. Think about what activities you enjoy doing, what you can mentally cope with, I'm sure you'll find in your local community there will be a need for your services. Ok you might not earn mega amount but enough to pay the bill's.

If you can do a degree I'm law then yes you can get a job. Have you considered working from home for a legal advice line

It's really good that you are doing a degree in something practical and I guess you enjoy because you are doing it.

My ten year old has ASD and I frequently think he would make a great barrister because of it and they way it makes him see the world.

celebrate the victories as they come. I can understand how you might struggle in the work place with ASD. Focus on the degree for now and forget about work. Take it a step at a time

I felt like I would never be able to hold down a job while at university, OP. I was undiagnosed (though ASD had been mentioned once but never explored) and really struggling with exams being mostly oral, the lecture halls with 400 students and a completely disorganised uni website. I underperformed significantly compared to school.

So far, because of the degree (medicine) I did, the job finding process has been quite structured as it's still technically training (I assume law has similar things for becoming a barrister or solicitor?). Even then I've had a lot of anxiety around interviews and finding a job and fitting in etc. Being crap at interview meant I ended up doing more of them than others which didn't help my anxiety levels.
Law, like medicine is quite a wide ranging degree. There are all sorts of jobs you can do with that degree both inside the 'normal training route' and outwith it.

I'm not sure I've found exactly the right version of my job, but there are a lot of options to tweak it to make it right. I'm coming to the end of my training and now I'm terrified of finding a job that works for me. I'm loathe to start interviews again. But I'll have to do something.

There's a thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnetters_with_sn/2798366-Asd-and-jobs-you-do about the jobs people with ASD do.

I haven't read te full thread, and I don't l know the OP's or PPs' personal circumstances, but I thought this article might be of interest. I thought of it as soon as I read your OP. Don't hold yourself back!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/31/autism-employment-campaigner-jonathan-andrews

If you are coping ok with your studies, could you write and get published? It would give you some income and if you are successful, enough to live on. It's worth a try at least.

Hi op thanks for starting this thread it's quite informative

I'm mum to 2 kids, DD 14 is like you but so sensory with Misophonia and misokinesia she cannot attend a normal school but goes to interhigh

DS is dispraxic and their dad is an obvious missed Aspie with anxiety

DH has always worked so it can be done, works as a specialist type number cruncher, if I told you more it would put me but rules are his thing!

With DD we know she will have to develop her own career from home, she can even do her degree from home if necessary but she has been brought up with the expectation that she will have a career

Self belief plays a huge part, we have never told her that she can't but encourage her to research what she can do

Right now you need some careers advice and honesty with yourself, perhaps even some counselling

look at what you've already achieved and aim where you feel you can go, break it down into small steps and start walking

SansComic not at all. I have both autism and a job but I didn't used to. I bounced through 6 jobs in a year as I couldn't handle the environments before settling with my current, supportive employer. So my message to the OP was not to give up and that there are people out there who are accepting and jobs that are manageable.

My point that it's possible to be both academically capable and not have the skills to cope with a workplace due to autism is entirely separate and aimed at those posters who don't seem to understand that.

Everyone with autism has it differently and we don't know enough about the OP to know where she fits.

My Law degree involved a lot of socialisation: moot court, presenting bail etc. applications in magistrates courts etc. I thought that was all standard stuff.

I felt like you when I was at university. You could do a job you have already achieved so much. The difficult thing is getting a job as the interview process is challenging.

This is changing though. Some tech companies have changed their recruitment processes to from interviews to doing a task as so not to disadvantage people with autism. Scope has a graduate scheme which helps disabled graduates find a job. As awareness is growing there are more options. But I fully understand why you feel the way you do. All the NT people on here who say if you can do a degree you can do a job are being dismissive of how hard it is. You need to remember how far you have come and that it is possible to achieve things you didn't think you could do.

Op. I also think you should try to be more optimistic.

Firstly a law degree is tough, my daughter is doing one. If you can do that, then there is a huge amount you can achieve.

So the question is finding the right job, the right field for you. You don't have to be a solicitor, law is an excellent foundation degree.

What do you excel at? Someone suggested researcher, could you do that? What do you enjoy, and what things do you not like doing, is it people interaction?

Could you get some specialist careers advice? I remember reading on a 'working from home' thread about a poster who did some kind of legal paperwork type job entirely from home. Would something like that work for you? You could work part-time if necessary to give yourself more time to complete the work without being put under pressure. Or could you stay on at uni and do research? It sounds like you lack confidence, but not that work is unachievable with a bit of research to find the right kind of job. Good luck to you.

I think it's so sad you've already given up on your chances.
I volunteer in the citizens advice with a few law students. It's a great way to gain experience and social and interview skills.
Might give you an opportunity to try it without the stress of taking an actual job yet as its voluntary.
They support you so much too and you learn a lot about your own rights.
best of luck to you!

I agree, if you can do so well as having a degree (which is great), there's no reason why you can't get A job. Of course it might be hard to find and will take longer, but there are jobs around here where you work from home.

There are so consultancies specialising in remote work, there are even companies offering virtual staff. It is worth exploring your options, more and more people work from home (not enough if you ask me). Having a job doesn't have to mean sitting in an open-plan office or dealing with customers all day.

Good luck.

I wouldn't be trusted to do anything like caring.. I'm too unreliable. To really do much at home. I've looked. Online for. Work from. Home. Jobs and non are first job after. Graduation jobs. I'm will be in the no man's land of a degree but not employable.

1122aa but have you thought about paid work you could do which does not involve you being employed, which is self employed?

If you are good at writing, (you must have some skill to be able to cope with your course) you could try writing a book or articles or blog and make a push to get them published / make money from advertising. This type of work, if good, speaks for itself. You would be freelance so the normal interview and recruitment process does not apply.

I know it might be a long shot but there is a huge difference between trying this and thinking you will never get paid work. You have absolutely nothing to lose by trying.