There is good news and bad news in the job market. The bad news- with between 30 and 60 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, it's harder than ever to find a job, especially for autistics whose social skills are mere coping skills. But here's the good news- for the professional specialist, search engines like Dice, Monster, and Craigslist have become excellent places to find jobs to apply to. Initial application is now almost entirely electronic- no paper, no "putting yourself out there" in person.
One huge new behavior from HR departments is the electronic pre-screening, by either e-mail or website. Be prepared to actually spend MORE hours on a job search- I saw questionnaires ranging from 30 to 400 questions, covering technical skills, personality profiling, even a little bit of classic IQ testing.
Naturally, the more questions they ask you, the more likely even High Functioning Autism will be uncovered- so it's wise to self-disclose if you should get an interview after such screening.
Be prepared for long periods of unemployment, and be flexible when you get employment. My new job is a 1099 contract (self-employment) with invoicing my hours fo the first 3 months- with an option to become W2 FTE.
I'm Outside the Autistic Asylum!
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Introduction to Wonko the Sane and Outside the Asylum, which this blog is named after.
