Frustrated with Job searching

[Xenocity]

I know most people in their 20s and 30s are having trouble finding stable work post graduation or post layoff.

I have been looking for career work since mid 2012, having plenty of interviews.
I completed college for good last August, when I graduated with my Masters in IT Management with a 3.58GPA.
I also graduated with my double bachelors at the end of 2012 in Management information Systems and Marketing.

I've also completed 3 internships(Couldn't land one after 2011 due to the rapid rise in requirements) and a holiday retail stint at KB Toys.

I have a accounts/resumes posted on many of the major job sites and regularly apply.

I'm just horribly frustrated in part due to all the requirements for internships and entry level jobs these days (typically 3-5+ industry experience).

I have already talked to professionals while at college and my doctor but they didn't know of anything in the Michigan and the Great Lakes region outside of the Michigan Rehabilitation Services (option of last resort).
I am also on Benders list (they haven't found me any jobs yet) and other industry recruiters.
I have also been talking to Specialisterne, but I cannot afford to move out to the East Coast without a job guarantee.

I was wondering anyone on here has any advice or knowledge of something useful that can be of good use to someone with Asperger's Syndrome to help me get hired (I have read the pinned thread but already know that stuff).

 

[Beverly]

If you've read the pinned thread there really isn't much else Asper specific as far as doing interviews and filling out applications goes.

Have you considered telecommuting? Usually that's freelance and doesn't offer benefits and, leaves you responsible for deducting taxes from each check but, some of the opening don't require as much experience. It's also something you could do from where you are to help you earn enough to move to an area with more job opportunities for you.

Here's one site that focuses on listing IT telecommuting positions. I'm sure there are more but, maybe this one will at least give you an idea of what might be available. It also lists other IT jobs that require you to go to the location for work. US National Telecommuting & Professional Part-Time Jobs

 

[Xenocity]

If you've read the pinned thread there really isn't much else Asper specific as far as doing interviews and filling out applications goes.

Have you considered telecommuting? Usually that's freelance and doesn't offer benefits and, leaves you responsible for deducting taxes from each check but, some of the opening don't require as much experience. It's also something you could do from where you are to help you earn enough to move to an area with more job opportunities for you.

Here's one site that focuses on listing IT telecommuting positions. I'm sure there are more but, maybe this one will at least give you an idea of what might be available. It also lists other IT jobs that require you to go to the location for work. US National Telecommuting & Professional Part-Time Jobs

Thanks, I'll look into it.
Yeah, though I'd rather work in an office to get out of home (I won't work well if I stay at home, too many distractions).

I figured I'd exhausted everything, essentially.
I've also been thinking about emailing by Uncle to see if he can help me, since he thinks I'm a good fit for his line of work (international foreign aid/policy).

 

[hiraeth]

Ooooh Xenocity I'm really interested in foreign policy.... what exactly does your uncle do?

 

[Xenocity]

Ooooh Xenocity I'm really interested in foreign policy.... what exactly does your uncle do?

He works for certain UK based NGO, which distributes foreign aid and helps with economic development.
He is currently stationed in Southern Africa, I do believe as a director of said agency in that African country.
(obviously I'm not giving out specifics).

 

[hiraeth]

He works for certain UK based NGO, which distributes foreign aid and helps with economic development.
He is currently stationed in Southern Africa, I do believe as a director of said agency in that African country.
(obviously I'm not giving out specifics).

I'm interested because it looks like we have a similar background (technology stuff).... and my eventual goal is to work in international affairs in some capacity, but I have no idea where to start except all the way back at a new bachelor's degree and that's just too much risk and investment I won't be able to afford for a long time. In what ways do you find that your background suits or is transferrable to that kind of work?

 

[Mia]

My suggestion is that you apply to work for your federal government, or state government. It's a good way to begin, and if you're good at writing exams (like my spouse) you'll move up quickly. One of the important things about working for such a large entity is that its quite stable, you don't have to worry about layoffs, industry changes. Its one of those permanent and 'for life' jobs, that usually doesn't pay nearly as well as the private sector but is more stable.

People with AS tend to do quite well in these kinds of jobs, they aren't discriminated against in any fashion, and they usually have access to many services that fit them. Very often there are internal job offers that 'insiders' are given first access to, so that if you don't like what your doing you can move on to somewhere else within the govt.

You can also be posted in countries that you might want to live in temporarily, or permanently depending on what you do. A friend has worked and lived everywhere for years through her govt job, and often takes one year stints in countries she wants to live in. It's worked well for her as it has for my spouse. So if you are good at taking exams, it might work well for you to apply.

 

[Xenocity]

I'm interested because it looks like we have a similar background (technology stuff).... and my eventual goal is to work in international affairs in some capacity, but I have no idea where to start except all the way back at a new bachelor's degree and that's just too much risk and investment I won't be able to afford for a long time. In what ways do you find that your background suits or is transferrable to that kind of work?

I've somewhere along the line picked up on and became educated in international affairs.
Though I could use my technology background along with marketing to better communicate with both the people and who ever I am working for.
Though landing the job is a quite different story and I have been meaning to hit my uncle up about it, since I know he knows quite a few people across different organizations.
Though I'd be quite happy just to do work with minimal traveling.

My suggestion is that you apply to work for your federal government, or state government. It's a good way to begin, and if you're good at writing exams (like my spouse) you'll move up quickly. One of the important things about working for such a large entity is that its quite stable, you don't have to worry about layoffs, industry changes. Its one of those permanent and 'for life' jobs, that usually doesn't pay nearly as well as the private sector but is more stable.

People with AS tend to do quite well in these kinds of jobs, they aren't discriminated against in any fashion, and they usually have access to many services that fit them. Very often there are internal job offers that 'insiders' are given first access to, so that if you don't like what your doing you can move on to somewhere else within the govt.

You can also be posted in countries that you might want to live in temporarily, or permanently depending on what you do. A friend has worked and lived everywhere for years through her govt job, and often takes one year stints in countries she wants to live in. It's worked well for her as it has for my spouse. So if you are good at taking exams, it might work well for you to apply.

I've already taken and failed the exam to get into the U.S. State Department Foreign Service Exam.
I cannot retake it until October, I believe (you have to wait a year before you can retest).

Though they do not have any entry level openings that I am aware of, though it has been a while since I looked on USA Jobs (which I have my resume posted).

I've also applied to the State of Michigan, but nothing came of that either...

This lack of true entry level openings is holding a lot of us back from getting started.

---

With that said I have thought about starting my own company, producing mobile apps and stuff for people who struggle at socialization.
I just don't know how to get it going....

 

[hiraeth]

Most people take the FSOT multiple times before they pass and move onto the next round. I'd encourage you to keep trying! But as a long term goal; I'm aware that you need some kind of income asap.

Yeah I feel like I'd never be successful as an entrepreneur because I'm really bad at networking... but if I had someone to work on a project with me, and they were slightly better at it, then it could turn out well.

 

[Mia]

Sometimes things come up at entry level with the government. Keep an eye on the website daily. Know that when my spouse sent in his resume originally it was a paper one, every six months for three to four years. It eventually resulted in an entry level job working part time, terrible hours, for several years with no benefits at the entry level of part time worker. Once in the system, he had access to competitions, jobs that came up internally, recall that he applied on many until something came up and he was employed full time. From there he moved on and eventually up.

 

[Xenocity]

Most people take the FSOT multiple times before they pass and move onto the next round. I'd encourage you to keep trying! But as a long term goal; I'm aware that you need some kind of income asap.

Yeah I feel like I'd never be successful as an entrepreneur because I'm really bad at networking... but if I had someone to work on a project with me, and they were slightly better at it, then it could turn out well.

The grammar/English part sunk my ship.

 

[ChrisC1983]

just my 2 cents (i'm in the US)...... when i was looking for my first job, almost everything required multiple years of experience.... i don't mean high paying career type of jobs. i mean things like cashier, stock boy, and parking lot attendant... needless to say that alone pretty much killed any hope i had since i was about 18 and had no experience. it took almost 2 years to find a job as a stock boy working nightshift.. not that i specifically wanted that, but it was the only place that actually called me back (i had a lot of interviews previously.. many of them basically went as such......... i went there, walked in the door and they said "we have nothing for you" after confirming nothing but my name.... and no, i had never been in jail or arrested or anything like that)
so, almost 1 year into my nightshift job (which was fine.. it was close by and quiet. i did keep falling asleep on the way home and often missed my stop but i was able to get to work without an issue most of the time. the stop was outfront of a bar, so the last bus of the night would drive by me a lot probably assuming i was drunk) i had an accident and fell. in itself, nothing serious...... but it ended up rupturing a cyst at my tailbone. and, long story short, that was a 4 year ordeal and multiple surgeries to fix it (and the 1st botched surgery... no, no lawyer cared and the dr went off scott free because they altered paperwork. and to this day i would happily go to jail over him... it looks like i had a tail removed)
so, since then i have remained jobless and broke with no real help. i can't get an official diagnosis which would "force" an employer to hire me. i've been working for my aunt who pretty much keeps me working a full time job with 0 pay. literally, i bought a TV for 200, game system for 150, then some clothing and such as needed for work.. in the past almost 3 years time. i did manage to sneak about 1000 in that time as well. but all it equates to is pennies an hour, not even a respectable sweatshop wage. and because i have nowhere to go and no means to get there if i did (had to sell my car that i saved up for before when i was working.. because i had no time to drive it so her daughter drove it and made a mess of it)

yeah i'll cut it off there, the whole thing always just gets me far too angry

but what i was trying to get at is, it sounds like you have a decent background atleast. granted the situation is a bit sucky but with the resume background something should come along. you may need to cave and do something relatively insulting to your education just to build experience but something should come. i do honestly wish you luck.... i know many in my position would be spiteful and want the world to die (and for different reasons, i do) but i don't want to see anybody in the situation i'm in when they don't deserve it. and it doesn't sound like you deserve it one bit

i'm seriously considering saving just enough to get a car and travel around helping people just to see what comes of it. i figure either my belief in karma will be proven true and something good will come of it.. or at the very least when i slip up and help the wrong person that ends up killing me, i would have helped enough others along the line to feel like i had meaning

 

[Xenocity]

just my 2 cents (i'm in the US)...... when i was looking for my first job, almost everything required multiple years of experience.... i don't mean high paying career type of jobs. i mean things like cashier, stock boy, and parking lot attendant... needless to say that alone pretty much killed any hope i had since i was about 18 and had no experience. it took almost 2 years to find a job as a stock boy working nightshift.. not that i specifically wanted that, but it was the only place that actually called me back (i had a lot of interviews previously.. many of them basically went as such......... i went there, walked in the door and they said "we have nothing for you" after confirming nothing but my name.... and no, i had never been in jail or arrested or anything like that)
so, almost 1 year into my nightshift job (which was fine.. it was close by and quiet. i did keep falling asleep on the way home and often missed my stop but i was able to get to work without an issue most of the time. the stop was outfront of a bar, so the last bus of the night would drive by me a lot probably assuming i was drunk) i had an accident and fell. in itself, nothing serious...... but it ended up rupturing a cyst at my tailbone. and, long story short, that was a 4 year ordeal and multiple surgeries to fix it (and the 1st botched surgery... no, no lawyer cared and the dr went off scott free because they altered paperwork. and to this day i would happily go to jail over him... it looks like i had a tail removed)
so, since then i have remained jobless and broke with no real help. i can't get an official diagnosis which would "force" an employer to hire me. i've been working for my aunt who pretty much keeps me working a full time job with 0 pay. literally, i bought a TV for 200, game system for 150, then some clothing and such as needed for work.. in the past almost 3 years time. i did manage to sneak about 1000 in that time as well. but all it equates to is pennies an hour, not even a respectable sweatshop wage. and because i have nowhere to go and no means to get there if i did (had to sell my car that i saved up for before when i was working.. because i had no time to drive it so her daughter drove it and made a mess of it)

yeah i'll cut it off there, the whole thing always just gets me far too angry

but what i was trying to get at is, it sounds like you have a decent background atleast. granted the situation is a bit sucky but with the resume background something should come along. you may need to cave and do something relatively insulting to your education just to build experience but something should come. i do honestly wish you luck.... i know many in my position would be spiteful and want the world to die (and for different reasons, i do) but i don't want to see anybody in the situation i'm in when they don't deserve it. and it doesn't sound like you deserve it one bit

i'm seriously considering saving just enough to get a car and travel around helping people just to see what comes of it. i figure either my belief in karma will be proven true and something good will come of it.. or at the very least when i slip up and help the wrong person that ends up killing me, i would have helped enough others along the line to feel like i had meaning

That sucks what happened, though medical staff is good at covering it's tracks.
Hopefully something good will come your way.

It's kind of hard to taking an insulting job, when I couldn't even get hired at a local pizza place (never heard back), or even the local Meijer despite putting in multiple applications of the year.
Hell even Circuit City had a three tier interviewing process, where I was told I'd be on to bigger and better things, which would count against me at stuff like retail. I never did get hired because the head manager wasn't interested and could hide behind business trips (back in 2007).
It's also kind of hard to get low jobs when you're competing against older people who are willing to compete tooth and nail for it, same as internships.
I do plan on emailing my uncle to see what he can do to help me.

I do have an long shot option to move to Philly for a 5 week program with SAP in hopes of getting hired at the end.
Though it would be all out of pocket.
I'd literally have to ask family to fund it and help me move, which right now is a very bad time for both.
It would cost me between $1,200 - $1,500+ (depending on where I live and whether or not I can find a car to take).
Though I don't know if I could actually handle it, especially if something happens.
I have to make up mind in the next few weeks.

There is a good chance I'll stay here in Michigan unless something happens.

 

[ChrisC1983]

one of my biggest problems actually was with circuit city (when they were still around).. i filled out an application, got a call back but the call dropped before we were finished talking (cell phone) so i called right back... but nobody picked up. i waited a little, tried again.. called the next day, and for a few days i tried. eventually i got through about 4 days later i got somebody who said their phones were down all that time and wanted me to come in within the hour (mind you, i had no car.. so i barely made it by bus) and when i walked in, they said they had no positions for me......... so they knew they had no intention on hiring me. as to what reason.. maybe it was just to be a douche for me trying to get ahold of them, or i could say it's a sexist/racist thing but i like to think the manager themselves are just an asshole and not racist/sexist or such. i was dressed well.. white dress shirt, tan dress pants and black dress shoes (i bought a couple outfits for interviews before) and i was clean shaven and had a standard short boys haircut.... and at that time i had some relative experience doing freelance computer repair work as well as building and debugging.

i'm not a longshot person... it could work, you never know. but that is a big gamble in my eyes. although they say necessity is the mother of invention.. and i know the job market is uniquely sucky in MI. my one and only ex lived there... not that she really wanted to or tried to work but i did notice it was a pain to find a job there too; of any caliper.


if the stuff with your uncle didn't pan out, what about some type of self employment? even partial freelance work. thats what i do at the moment.. although it's highly mismanaged by family so i work full time hours for 0 pay (between what i bought myself and was able to effectively "steal" is about 1500 in the last almost 3yr timespan..... a double shift at mcdonalds for 1 month would have gotten me more money but i can't handle that amount of people or close quarters)

 

[Xenocity]

one of my biggest problems actually was with circuit city (when they were still around).. i filled out an application, got a call back but the call dropped before we were finished talking (cell phone) so i called right back... but nobody picked up. i waited a little, tried again.. called the next day, and for a few days i tried. eventually i got through about 4 days later i got somebody who said their phones were down all that time and wanted me to come in within the hour (mind you, i had no car.. so i barely made it by bus) and when i walked in, they said they had no positions for me......... so they knew they had no intention on hiring me. as to what reason.. maybe it was just to be a douche for me trying to get ahold of them, or i could say it's a sexist/racist thing but i like to think the manager themselves are just an asshole and not racist/sexist or such. i was dressed well.. white dress shirt, tan dress pants and black dress shoes (i bought a couple outfits for interviews before) and i was clean shaven and had a standard short boys haircut.... and at that time i had some relative experience doing freelance computer repair work as well as building and debugging.

i'm not a longshot person... it could work, you never know. but that is a big gamble in my eyes. although they say necessity is the mother of invention.. and i know the job market is uniquely sucky in MI. my one and only ex lived there... not that she really wanted to or tried to work but i did notice it was a pain to find a job there too; of any caliper.


if the stuff with your uncle didn't pan out, what about some type of self employment? even partial freelance work. thats what i do at the moment.. although it's highly mismanaged by family so i work full time hours for 0 pay (between what i bought myself and was able to effectively "steal" is about 1500 in the last almost 3yr timespan..... a double shift at mcdonalds for 1 month would have gotten me more money but i can't handle that amount of people or close quarters)

I don't know, if I'll decide to go. I'm not sure I can handled it, for many reasons. I mean after all the medical stuff I went through for the past 5 years including all the medication, nearly knocked me out cold. I mean it literally as taken my 5 full years to recover to this point, which I'm not sure if it is the new normal or if I am still recovering. I don't feel that my strength has fully return. If something did happen to me, I don't know what I'd end up doing.

I need to make a decision soon, since the program starts in mid August.

As for coding, it is sadly a weak spot for me. outside of HTML, I was never able to learn coding (or maybe it was the people teaching me). I also suck at repairing things with small parts due to my lack of fine motor skills and regularly shaking hands.
I'm the kind of person who understands technology and how to apply it to a business and/or a problem. I also am big on UI and UX design.

I have been thinking about opening my own company, if I could figure out how to get start up capital.
I would love to develop mobile apps that are made to help people who are have ASDs and struggle at socializing.
I mean I feel that even smart watches could be used to make lives easier for people with ASDs with the right software/apps.

 

[ChrisC1983]

i share in the feeling.. i don't have the same educational background (we didn't have money for school, and honestly i kind of lost everything when i was 13 and dad had a bipolar breakdown and tried to kill the family... and my family really isn't very supportive. it's all double sided... one of those "oh you got a B+? well if you weren't a lazy idiot you would have had an A+"..... yes, i got that when i was growing up)
but i did have surgical problems that kept me basically housebound for 4 years and i only had 1 crap starter job before those surgeries... so, resume wise.. i'm 31 with no work experience, education, or otherwise unique skills....... and the medical problems cause HUGE depression which can be impossible to fight through

have you had any luck with jobs such as the manager of Geek Squad at Best Buy? i know it's a bit under your skills (trust me, it's under everybodies.. 1 CD and a 20 minute training session and you can do everything they can) but it's still somewhat related and you may find somebody able to do the proper coding for the mobile app idea

it's certainly not an easy thing to accomplish. and with the way the system works today... it's just terrible

 

[Xenocity]

i share in the feeling.. i don't have the same educational background (we didn't have money for school, and honestly i kind of lost everything when i was 13 and dad had a bipolar breakdown and tried to kill the family... and my family really isn't very supportive. it's all double sided... one of those "oh you got a B+? well if you weren't a lazy idiot you would have had an A+"..... yes, i got that when i was growing up)
but i did have surgical problems that kept me basically housebound for 4 years and i only had 1 crap starter job before those surgeries... so, resume wise.. i'm 31 with no work experience, education, or otherwise unique skills....... and the medical problems cause HUGE depression which can be impossible to fight through

have you had any luck with jobs such as the manager of Geek Squad at Best Buy? i know it's a bit under your skills (trust me, it's under everybodies.. 1 CD and a 20 minute training session and you can do everything they can) but it's still somewhat related and you may find somebody able to do the proper coding for the mobile app idea

it's certainly not an easy thing to accomplish. and with the way the system works today... it's just terrible

Funny my mother had a complete bipolar breakdown when I was 16, and literally walked out of her classroom and didn't go back. She never did fully recover in part due to find out ~10 years later she was lithium resistant, which is rare with the severest form of bipolar. She then later that year, lost the house later that year. Though we did move down the road to a place that was actually in better condition than the house.

Though most of my life I have been poor due living with my mother who was always unstable and my dad was regularly being laid off for the first part of my childhood. He eventually settled into a company that kept him until they were forced to close due to the credit crunch in 2008, ending his almost 15 year job. He Since then he had two jobs that have prevented him from making more than $60,000 (he used to make over $100,000). Though due to life issues and my step mom being bad with money, money was short frequently.

I do have a an associate degree in Business Administration, a double major in Marketing and Management Information System, and my Master's in IT Management which I graduated with in last August with a 3.58 GPA getting me into Beta Gamma Sigma (The international business honor society).

I would have done more in college, but midway through my college experience (mid 2010), I had a near full breakdown (would have been a full nervous and emotional breakdown, if i didn't get help) which did a huge number on me. Though it did get me the diagnosis of severe anxiety disorder, OCD, severe depression, etc... on top of Asperger Syndrome, which is on top of my undiagnosable neurological and muscular stuff (born with all of it, but I don't need special accommodations). It has literally taken me 5 years and all that medication, I switched to the generic of Cymbalta last December which has helped me a lot. I did miss out on a lot over the past 5 years for due to it all. Though there was a lack of available internships and jobs.
If I would have gotten help early on in life, I would have done better in high school and college.

The reason why most people our age are underemployed (I'm 30) and/or unemployed is due to a lack of entry level work and internship. We literally competing with those who are older than ourselves in most markets, who have more experience and are willing to work for less.
Also how does one get an internship now days in most markets when you need at least 2+ years of industry experience, necessary degree(s), and possible certifications?
Many internships here in Michigan, require a masters degree and the necessary amount of industry work experience.
Nearly all entry level jobs require 3-5+ years of industry experience, necessary certifications (you need to be employed for X amount of time in the industry to get them) and other asinine requirements.
How does one get into entry level jobs?

Believe it or not, I have repeatedly applied at Best Buy over the past few years never hearing back (same with other retailers).

 

[ChrisC1983]

it does sound similar to my own situation.... but when my father had a breakdown it was at the house, and he tried killing the family (he doesn't remember any of it.. and i make sure to not remind him)...... i'm well aware it wasn't really him at the time but, at 13, it doesn't stop it from being a traumatic experience. he's technically "manic depressive bipolar with homicidal tendencies" i believe they called it..... he was also the only one really working at the time. it was myself, my parents, and dads parents. grandpa had a part time job at Chrysler but it was just janitorial work, and my mother worked off and on for little stuff like afterschool programs or a convenient store...... dad did furniture refinishing and had an accident when i was 12 (give or take, it's all within about a 1yr span) where he almost lost his arm (a big stain glass window fell on him gashing his head and almost fully severing his arm) so he was out of work anyway when he had the breakdown (around the same time grandpa died) so we didn't have much money to begin with. thankfully grandma always put money aside so atleast we didn't become homeless but there was no way i was going to afford school. and i'm still undiagnosed (i would be HFA) but i have had psychs agree i have anxiety problems and some bad depression.

the 4 years of surgical stuff i mentioned was separate... at my first (and only) job at home depot doing nightshift stocking i tripped over a pallet while wrapping it.. was in a LOT of pain and went to the bathroom to check why and seen a LOT of blood. found out it was a cyst that popped (didn't realize it was there before) and the doctor screwed the 1st surgery and made it about 4-5x larger than i was told it would be. so after that, it was about 4 years and 3-4 more surgeries to heal up (finally a "wound vac" was a big help... it's just what it sounds like, a vacuum that hooks up to a giant sponge inside the wound and you carry it around with you so it runs 24/7) and you already know the type of crippling depression that can come from uncurable physical pain.. it's horrible

i hate saying it....... i'm on it and i hate it, it's just outright degrading in my eyes and you get "stuck" in cases like mine. but (if you don't want to, i fully understand) have you considered SSI or SSDI?
i know, it sucks, it's not a lot of money and if you do manage to get a job it will screw everything up for a while (they take a % of your pay if you stay on it, unless you get a job that somebody with your credentials deserve.. then they'll kick you off entirely and it may be impossible to get back on without a LOT more work if you do happen to lose that job)....... but, it is some money for now. you could still apply for work but atleast during then you can pay bills and buy food. i don't like telling anybody to intentionally go on it unless it's a true necessity.. i'm not sure how the rest of your life is managing but it looks like the options are getting pretty low and you've certainly tried quite a lot. i ended up blowing through all my savings (i actually had about 10K saved from that 1yr of work.. i dont buy much for myself. spent more on my family than anything) and a few thousand in my 401K and still tried for almost a year after the surgeries were done and i could walk enough to take busses before i finally caved in and tried SSDI......... mind you my family (well, moms side anyway) was telling me to jump on the bandwagon since the day i fell at work. they all live on SSDI for the drug/alcohol/pregnant teen reasons and yet i felt bad about it eventhough i had a 2 week job at stop and shop that i mentally couldn't handle. it was only a cashier job, but about 2hr's into it i would be shaking and by the end of the day i'd need to sit in my car (had a car at that time) for 20 minutes just to stop crying and relax enough to drive home
and here, stop and shop is pretty damn empty... you might get 2 people in line at the same time but no more than that. and most of the people are nice enough... or atleast not mean, which to me is nice.

on my own, i'm fantastic... the work i'm doing now for my aunt and her boyfriend (the stuff i dont get paid for and takes up my entire life).... in the last few years we've sold over a quarter of a million dollars........ dont get me wrong, a good portion of that is business cost (buying/selling antiques.. your goal is a 2x profit, sometimes you take a loss, sometimes you get a 10+ fold profit. it's like gambling but with knowledge and luck) so average about half of that amount was actual profit
my aunt has been on multiple vacations around the country and to other countries and she has a new car. i had to sell my 2008 jeep liberty for what i owed on it (which wasn't easy after my cousin destroyed it and my insurance kept blaming me for rear bumper damage... it was worth about 13000-15000 cleaned up with a new bumper... i struggled to get 8500, and i owed almost 8600) so now we have a 1200 van for work and can't afford to fix it because everybody else gets money
we had a store for about a year.... and, ofcourse, my cousin (aunts daughter) worked there...... she generally broke 300 bucks worth of stuff per week, i had multiple customers tell me she was rude to them, and she was paid 100/day (usually 2-3 days per week) and every week my aunt complains that i dont work enough and hutchie (her boyfriend) doesn't have enough money
he throws all the money he gets at his kids.. specifically 1 of them, he has 2. the 1, richie, moved here from FL saying he would be here a few months until he got a job and could move. so he pays 50/wk with no utility costs... thats less money than the YMCA and he has an entire apartment... so he had a few jobs, kept quitting because he refuses to work for less than 25/hr.... he had a pizza delivery job in marblehead (very expensive area) and averaged 400+ per weekend in tips (not counting the standard 8/hr pay, he didn't want to work week days.. just played video games and took percocet for fun)..... then the pizza joint manager liked him, so he opened another pizza place and let richie manage the place....... now he was getting 60K/yr (mind you he wasn't even working the delivery job for more than a few months) and richie decided that was too much work.. so he quit
now he's got a workshop that his father pays for (technically also me since his fathers money is all from the business.. the one i dont get paid for) and he uses my fathers tools (which he's broken some of them already) and whines about how hard he works....... mind you the workshop is in the same building our selling space is (co-op antique store) so we know he doesn't even drag his ass in till atleast 12 and usually 2ish.. people have caught him sleeping in his car in the parking lot.. there's a internet magazine guy in the building that he smokes weed with when he should be working


i grew up with karma instead of a religion. basically, do good and good will come. but all i see is people being worthless douchebags and they're better off than i am and still whine about it.



sorry, i ran off on a tangent there..... i know i'm at my breaking point but i can logic myself out of anything that would harm others or myself (short of maybe hitting/breaking an object of no specific importance.. like something already going into the trash)

last time i was at this point (my father loves to tell people this story, he only caught the end of it himself) i was in my late teens... i ripped off a 1" square iron bar on the fence (dead end hill, it was to stop kids from jumping through the fence all the time) and bent it into a curled U shape...... something like a table base. it formed a U at the top, then the 2 ends created another U shape on each side as legs (mind you, it was straight when i ripped it off)
i guess one of the neighbors called my father and told him to stay inside. i dont know what i was so mad about specifically.. probably just my overall life as i am now.. but later when i calmed down and went to bed my father took the piece to his workshop (garage, we had a house at that time.. well.. sorta... my aunt and her other boyfriend conned my father into the last of his life savings, then made sure dad had no legal right to the house as far as the value. we went from a 3bdrm apartment to a 1bdrm apartment in the house we thought we owned but thats another rant)..... anyway, he tried bending the bar and he couldn't... use a vice and blowtorch and still was barely able to make it do anything

which is also why i scare myself when i get to a certain level of anger. i used to go outside and take naps on benches just to relax. i've never had any real privacy in my house at any age. i actually had more privacy sleeping on a bus stop bench than in my own house. which is possibly the only thing i like about being in a city... there's enough drunk and homeless people that most people will leave you alone if you're asleep somewhere

 

[Xenocity]

I don't plan to get disability in any form unless I have too.

I have been trying to find out away to become part of autism research, but so far my search has yielded nothing as of yet.
I'd love to use my understanding of technology to gain much needed information for those adults who suffer from ASDs (myself included). Right now there is a lack of research and information on that group in practically every country, while all of it is focused on children. There is no reason for this to exist in the era of mobile technology.

I'll figure something out in time hopefully...!

I don't think I'll be going to the thing in PA, unless my dad is available during that time. Though due to him being on vacation with my step mom through the second week of August and having to immediately fly out of town to go back to his out of town job site, I don't think he can arrange this schedule (I talked to him last Sunday before they called me on Tuesday).
I know everyone else is super busy...
It would just make it easier/better/less fraught with problems to transition if I had someone I knew with me for the first week or so.

I would have been the first person they had coming from as far away.

 

[ChrisC1983]

if you do figure something out let me know..... there's far too little information on adult autism. i started writing about my own experiences.... i have no idea if it would ever get published or anything but whenever i feel it's done i'm going to atleast try to throw it on the amazon kindle thing or something so it might help somebody. granted i can only go by my own experiences and what i've observed... but it's a lot better than nothing at all. i know just finding this site alone has helped me a lot since it kicked out a lot of that "wtf is wrong with me.. it must just be me" feeling. granted i don't think anybody is in my state, and a lot of people here and on other places seem to be UK based... but the experiences are all similar enough and it's made me change how i view others (to a point)
all autism really is, to me, is a whole lot of "quirks" built up into problems. everybody has some of the quirks, and fixing those quirks are very similar whether you're NT or ASD. but there are some key quirks which separate NT and ASD people due to their severity (like social issues)

i've always considered a type of "dear abby" newspaper column (though i dont know if people still read newspapers anymore)........ but for ASD problems. but i don't have the professional background for any newspaper to take me serious and it's probably against the law to just pay for an ad in a paper (or where ever) like that. you mentioned you're good with HTML.. what if you made a site for something like that and just had a donation link?

i'm just trying to think outside the box. i know, for me, i can't be stagnant.. i just implode. i need to always be doing something... even just helping people. it makes me feel productive like i could have some sort of impact on somebodies life in a positive way. i have this whole "hero syndrome" issue (i'm sure there's some kind of proper term for it........ ok i did a quick google, technically that is a term but i don't want to create the problems lol)...... basically, for me, i want to know that when i die i was able to accomplish something purposeful and meaningful in my life that altered somebody elses life in a positive way which they could pass on to others. i don't care if i never get rich from it, i don't want to be a celebrity over it, i don't even need people to really acknowledge it.. just so long as i can tell i did something live alteringly good for somebody. even if that means dieing in a burning building but i manage to save a strangers child.. somebody i never met in my life. as horrible and painful of a death it is, i would still be happy knowing i accomplished something of true meaning while alive