If you enjoy/cope with your job, what do you do?

[AwkwardPaws27]

I suspect that I have autism, although not currently pursuing diagnosis as a) there's v little support for adults, b) waiting lists are so long and c) I'm pregnant and don't want my capacity to parent being questioned because of it.

I work for the civil service and am training to be an accountant. I'm failing miserably. My concentration span has vanished, I can't seem to absorb new information and I'm very behind on my exams. The only plus sides are that I'm working from home and have good maternity pay.

I'm not sure its the career for me. I can't seem to wrap my head around massive spreadsheets and make sense of them.

I did it in my old job for KPIs but somehow this is different and I'm burning out.

Previous failed attempts at careers;

• mental health nursing: decision paralysis and severe anxiety meant I failed my final placement twice and therefore the whole degree

• veterinary receptionist: ok for a couple of years, stepped up to reception manager and burnt out. Couldn't cope with the daily abuse.

• college exams admin: liked the scheduling but froze up when something went wrong during an exam & had to make quick decisions. I need more time to respond really.

• library assistant: no opportunity to progress unless I did a masters and employer wasn't supportive and didn't really feel I'd get the necessary support there to chartering.

• executive assistant at a museum: no opportunity to progress. No flexibility to work from home at all.

• now. Love WFH but finance just isn't "clicking" for me. I used to be so good at passing exams but now feel thick as shit.

I have a BSc Hons (1st class) in biomedicine (did it in the evenings around work).

What else can I do that would be WFH, & somehow helping people or feeling purposeful without too much opportunity for the general public to yell at me?

I’m a project manager for an investment bank. I find it interesting, my boss rocks and is very understanding- I have a lot of rope to do things my own way plus some reasonable adjustments like flexi time.

I love my job and have been promoted a few times. The key for me was getting a diagnosis and really using it to understand how my brain works/strengths/weaknesses. Then I started to work with myself instead of against.

I was thinking yesterday of starting s similar theead

I used to teach but far too much going on st all times for me. If it had been half the lessons and time between I would have loved it.

Funily enough mental health nursing and library assistant from your list are the 2 I keep coming back too. I really wanted to train as a psychologist but now dont live close to a uni to apply abd wouldn't manage 3 years full time I dont think ,(same thing stopping me applying for mhn)

I love library assistant idea but again problem long term low wage.

I feel Ive stagnated as dont know what I can do/cope with yet theoretically am clever etc . Im in a 0 hours community job currently which is rewarding but pays hardly anything and I need a proper income. This is the thing I get anxious about and cant work out .

Another a project manager, although I'm generally used in the team to put together different data and institutional information to find patterns and look for improvements we can make. I love this role which my boss has helped shape to suit my skillset (it helps that the team needs this).

I also have background in biomedicine, OP. It's quite a wide field - did you have a particular area of interest? Would research be of interest if you prefer WFH? I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the lab environment - very different from the office - might that suit as a WFH alternative?

As an aside, is it fairly common with ND to not stay in one role for long? The three years in my current team are the longest I've ever managed in one job.

I only started feeling ok when I started working below my qualification level and went down to part time. I’m just not able to deal with people’s drama and workplace politics so this way I get to go to work, do my job and leave with plenty of time for recovery in between. I am incredibly fortunate that I was able to get a second job in the family business otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to afford to do it, but I just couldn’t cope with full time work at my qualification level.

Medical writing is a good career that pays well and can be done entirely from home. There's different types - marketing, education, publications etc. If you can write well and understand scientific data (which I imagine you can with your degree) then it's an option.

I have autism (nhs diagnosis) and I run customer support for a specialist piece of academic scientific software. I work from home 100%. I do have to speak to people on the phone but they are almost always professional academic scientists so I don't get the kind of abuse that might be expected doing this kind of job for a more consumer/general public audience. I genuinely enjoy the problem solving and most of the time its a case of working out what the user has done wrong to cause whatever problem they are having. Occasionally I identify patterns in things going wrong regularly and I make suggestions for the developer to make a system change to make the process more foolproof. Occasionally whatever is going wrong is down to some fault in the software and I run tests to diagnose what that is and pass the info to the developer to make a fix.

I genuinely enjoy my job and am very good at it but the path to get here was bumpy. Like you @AwkwardPaws27 I had numerous disparate failed career attempts before this which went wrong for various reasons relating to my (at the time undiagnosed) autism. The most recent of which had involved using this very same bit of software as a customer and there were all sorts of aspects of that work that I was terrible at but I got enough experience of using the software that I was well placed to apply for this job when it happened to become available just as I was getting to the point of realising I couldn't continue where I was for much longer.

I feel Ive stagnated as dont know what I can do/cope with yet theoretically am clever etc

I really relate to this. I've cried in the toilets through mind numbing boredom, then burnt out when finally given more responsibility...

I also have background in biomedicine, OP. It's quite a wide field - did you have a particular area of interest? Would research be of interest if you prefer WFH?

I was appalling at lab practicals. Everything seemed to go wrong. I think I go a bit of sensory overload but I really struggled to get any experiment to work.
I found my microbiology and anatomy modules far more interesting. I'd quite happily spend the weekend curled up with a popular science book on medical history, or reading up on specific diseases.

I only started feeling ok when I started working below my qualification level and went down to part time

I would love this but unfortunately I'm already enough of a burden and feel constant guilt for not contributing enough to the pot.

Medical writing is a good career that pays well and can be done entirely from home

I've seem this mentioned on other job threads but posters have usually said you need at least an MSc and preferably a PhD. Any ideas how to get into it with just a BSc?

I have autism (nhs diagnosis) and I run customer support for a specialist piece of academic scientific software. I work from home 100%

That really sounds like you've found your niche. One part of the library assistant work I enjoyed was showing people how to access journal articles and use referencing software (I worked in an NHS medical library). I tried to move into academic libraries but they only wanted people with academic library experience.

Try looking at university library jobs? Kinda bridging the gap?

I'm in the opposite position atm - my job is customer service based, I could do it in my sleep and I'm at the point where I'm totally bored.

@WeirdlyKind

Try looking at university library jobs? Kinda bridging the gap?

I'm in the opposite position atm - my job is customer service based, I could do it in my sleep and I'm at the point where I'm totally bored.

I applied for dozens while working in the NHS library, they wouldn't consider me as I didn't have university library experience.

I also don't want to go back to commuting 2.5-3 hours a day.

I suspect that I have autism, although not currently pursuing diagnosis as a) there's v little support for adults, b) waiting lists are so long and c) I'm pregnant and don't want my capacity to parent being questioned because of it.

Whilst you are right that there is virtually no actual support for adults out there, I have still found it beneficial to have a diagnosis because it makes it easier to advocate for your needs. "I have autism and I need this adjustment to manage x situation successfully" is better understood than "I can't cope with x situation".

Yes the waiting lists are long, but you get to the head of the queue eventually. By the time you get to having a diagnosis you will have been successfully parenting for at least a year, no it won't be used as a way of casting doubt on your ability to be a great parent. Loads of people with autism make excellent parents. However I reckon it would be a good idea to get yourself on the diagnosis pathway sooner rather than later. If you do have autism then the chances are that your child may also - and if that is the case then the sooner your child gets a diagnosis, the more successfully you'll be able to access any additional help and support that your child might need. Having your own diagnosis in place before your child is 2 or 3 years old will help massively if any early intervention support turns out to be something that will be beneficial for your child.

Yes, this is me totally. I suspect I have ADHD and/or ASD.

I've done lower level jobs and quickly get bored out of my brain. I've also done more demanding jobs and burnt out in no time. It's very frustrating. I know I am capable of great things but frequently get overwhelmed. As a consequences, I've had a fair few jobs and the assumption is that I am flakey.

I think this is what works for me:-
Autonomy
Manage own workload
Working independently rather than as a team
Lots of quiet time
Minimal interruptions
Minimal task switching

My brain seems to find it hard to keep up when loads of information is being thrown at me. I find it very hard to absorb information if I can't write it down. For this reason, I'm almost certain that people assume I'm a bit slow and treat me like I'm a bit stupid. It is so so frustrating but I am 100% sure that my processing speed is just a bit slower than normal.

Like a PP, you need to work out what works best for you and find a job to fit that (rather than the other way around). I'm trying to do this at the moment. It's not easy!

You definitely don't need an MSc or a PhD to get into medical writing, I'm fairly senior and only have a BSc. Start as a junior writer or editorial assistant and work your way up! There are lots of jobs advertised online for writers. It's worth learning a bit about the different types of medical writing, my preference is marketing and HCP education (more creativity) but there's also those who specialise in publications, or regulatory (more pure science).

I think you just have to stick with something.

At the lower levels its often very demanding as higher volume work, but as you progress th job becomes a lot more ' do it in your sleep' but still interesting. Its getting to the right level without burning out that is key.

If you pick something where the bulk of what you do is something you love then the other things become more bearable.

Following, I have autism and currently work in financial services but really struggle with some things.

I hate multitasking constantly and not being able to predict my workload (e.g., last minute unexpected changes to projects)

Also the ‘social’ side of working in a corporate environment - it’s like everyone else already knows social etiquette (including younger less qualified employees) whereas I’m constantly second guessing how I come across to others
I worry about seeming too casual/unprofessional at times or overly formal at times 🤷‍♀️

I am am Occupational Therapist and work with people with physical injury or disability. I work part time over 3 or 4 days and like it mostly. I did want to work in acute mental health but ended up in this role. It is rewarding but the pressure on meeting targets etc is high.

I'm absolutely at a loss as to what I can do for a job. I tried posting in the retraining board but so far I'm just being told to work through my negative mindset, I think maybe I didn't word my post well, I was just listing all the things I struggle with.

Basically, if I can work from home without having to interact with people then I'm up for anything, however, that doesn't seem to be something that exists. I previously worked in accountancy which was really easy but the social side of the office made me so ill I ended up signed off for a long time.

I haven't worked for just over 17 years(SAHM), minimal work experience before that, a handful of GCSE's and just totally lost, I have no idea what I can cope with, just very certain I will not cope with anything involving people, which is most jobs.

I'm in the same boat. Just started reapplying for jobs because the lack of structure working for myself is not serving me well at all. Since having DC 14.5 years ago gone for roles I am overqualified and underpaid for because they were the only flexible ones available and because I'd lost quite a lot of confidence but then I have an initial burst of enthusiasm, am super productive and then get bored very quickly and find I am less and less motivated. But I don't think anything super stressful would work either - feel I'm balanced on a knife edge.

I work for our Local Authority with children with SEND, mainly Autism. It’s the best job in the world and I just ‘get’ the children.

I write grant applications on lots of different subjects. It’s not without workplace struggles but overall it satisfies my need for both novelty - different topics I can find some interest in - and sameness. It is flexible and there is autonomy. It makes a vaguely positive societal contribution. This field does not currently have enough qualified and experienced people.