Those of you who have seen some of my past posts may have noted that employment has been a massive struggle for me despite lots of academic success. From 2009-2017, I never had a job that lasted more than a year. My most recent "traditional" job, lunch room aide, lasted only from October to December. I had trouble adapting and taking on more supervisory roles when the two lead lunch room supervisors were sick/absent, and eventually blew up when I had the assistance of only one sub and couldn't handle the manipulation of all the kids in the lunch room.
Well, I think after all this time, I may have finally found my niche. I decided to focus on one-on-one tutoring (I'd had some success as a substitute teacher aide for a single student last school year before someone was hired full-time for that position), as well as cleaning people's homes (my husband says I'm a good housekeeper, and I'd had jobs before as a direct support professional where keeping up the home of individuals with disabilities was part of the line of work). The tutoring started in October or November -- I help a first grader at his home to help out his parents, who have some physical disabilities -- and it has gone really well; his parents say he's improved a lot under my teaching. The house-cleaning I started a couple of weeks ago, and the two homes I've started at gave me very positive feedback on my initial cleanings.
The interesting thing about these jobs is that they are both in people's homes. I'm only under the direction of what they want me to do, not trying to deal with the public and dozens of others, or any corporate expectations. This is much easier for me to deal with; there aren't 20 or more social cues to read at any time, or constant change to have to adapt to, other than what they tell me is needed.
Maybe this is what I should have been doing all along.
Well, I think after all this time, I may have finally found my niche. I decided to focus on one-on-one tutoring (I'd had some success as a substitute teacher aide for a single student last school year before someone was hired full-time for that position), as well as cleaning people's homes (my husband says I'm a good housekeeper, and I'd had jobs before as a direct support professional where keeping up the home of individuals with disabilities was part of the line of work). The tutoring started in October or November -- I help a first grader at his home to help out his parents, who have some physical disabilities -- and it has gone really well; his parents say he's improved a lot under my teaching. The house-cleaning I started a couple of weeks ago, and the two homes I've started at gave me very positive feedback on my initial cleanings.
The interesting thing about these jobs is that they are both in people's homes. I'm only under the direction of what they want me to do, not trying to deal with the public and dozens of others, or any corporate expectations. This is much easier for me to deal with; there aren't 20 or more social cues to read at any time, or constant change to have to adapt to, other than what they tell me is needed.
Maybe this is what I should have been doing all along.