Have a master's degree--still having trouble finding and keeping job
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I was diagnosed with ASD as an adult.
I currently hold a master's in Education, and I've tried working as a teacher, but there were so many unwritten rules that I couldn't really navigate. For example, I didn't think I was ever assigned a mentor teacher, because my principal didn't call her that. I refused to ask questions because I thought I was bugging people or drawing attention to my own incompetence, I had a lot of trouble relating to the kids, etc.
Obviously, teaching isn't something I'm cut out for given my disorder. I'm in my 30's, though, and I would like to find an area of competency that will help me support myself and pay off my student loans.
I signed up for help through the vocational rehabilitation center, but I still have this nagging fear that they won't find a good match for me.
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Seeking--Sanity knd39079
Posted
Try, try, try again. Also ask questions, if not for you, but for the person next to you who may want to ask but is too scared to do so. So if you have issues with children, don't teach them. You could just as easily teach adults at a college. Do not let your disorder run your life. It isn't a curse, it's a gift. You just need to work out what things you do better than mr and mrs normal and what you do worse. Then create a set of rules to deal with those situations.
I have Aspergers. I have part of a degree. Have an inability to hold down a job for more than maybe 9 months before getting bored and leaving. I have worked in IT (partial degree was in Network Engineering), have worked in a supermarket, have worked in warehouses (and can drive 4 different forklifts), i was also a roadie for many years. I am not an office person. I have to find things interesting in my job continually or I dump it and move on to something else. I can and will seek out interesting things to do and learn while working. I have been seeking a job for a creative thinker for years, but still haven't found it. Maybe one day.
The main thing you need to do is stay positive. Lose the nagging fear. If in the end teaching doesn't cut it for you, re-train. Their is no point making yourself unhappy by trying to conform when you can't.