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Is being underemployed or struggling to get into a career that pays enough to support oneself, common for people on the autism spectrum?

Mary Terry said:
Many people cannot do what you did, Ronald. Some people absolutely need supplemental income due to their disability. They aren't compelled to apply for SSDI or to publicly admit they have a disability, but doing so can greatly improve the quality of their lives.
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This is very true for me. Growing up in Australia is a bit different though, our welfare isn't dependent on how much money we've previously paid in to a fund or anything like that. Growing up knowing that I had that safety net to fall back on when I needed allowed me to push myself further than I would have otherwise.

I burnt out several times in my life and ended up on the dole for a while, but that gave me the respite I needed to recover and I could get back out there again. I was quite successful for a lengthy period of time but I didn't understand anything about burn out. Icarus theorem - I flew too close to the sun and the wax melted.
 
Outdated said:
I was quite successful for a lengthy period of time but I didn't understand anything about burn out. Icarus theorem - I flew too close to the sun and the wax melted.
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Well stated. I think that's essentially what happened to me as well. When I chose to become self-employed not being able to find any work during the Great Recession. At that point I was certainly burned out over the prospects of working for another party.
 
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My transverse myelitis could have given me a physical disability standing for long periods since 11 years old I have always persevered. I have always had a strong will to do things myself even living on a farm did what had to be done
When in hospital with stroke refused use of wheel chair from first day walker was my all I would use Wife and I spent hours walking up and down corridors Having been second time in life where I had to walk again I knew I could do it again. Either way To do my job I had to stand in front of a fume hood for hours backaches as my bent legs forced me to bend forward slightly. Any excuse to leave the lab, making ink kept me out of the lab no issues with heavy pails of pigments. Lasted twenty one years No way was I going to accept a limit on the quality of my life by others imposing limits on my life I already had to deal with no promotions Took lots of night school Trying to overcome this this limit imposed on me by managers do to my lack of social skills . All I can say determination is my best friend. Even now walking is painful does not deter my from doing it as not doing it would be to restrictive on living my life the way I want too.
 
Labels and limits tend to be counter productive, I was lucky in never having been labelled, allowing others to determine my limits Either way I pushed my limits and am currently still doing so, makes life worth living.
 
paloftoon said:
I was able to get respectable jobs because my family helped me get the college education I needed. From there, I was able to get work experience to be employable at least. There are programs that are aimed at hiring people on spectrum, but many are geared for college bound or people who have college bound degrees. You could be considered for a job through these kind of outlets without a degree if you can show you're somewhat of a coding genius, but otherwise the market can be tough.

There are resources where people will try to get you a job if you aren't college bound, but those are different than the programs I've seen. So, try to look for anything like that that can help you get your foot in the door.

OP, Your salary is livable even without your family. Depending on where you live, you might have to take in roommates and understand how to manage property/a home and your taxes. Pay for an accountant or go to H&R Block or similar if you aren't sure how to do your taxes if you don't have your family to help you out or know how to do it on your own. OP, if you are flexible in where you live and in moving to save, this can help a lot for survival and opportunity as well.

If you wish to try to get into the corporate field more, you can try to look for jobs that are secretary type jobs if you think you're good with people and answering the phone. Since it's more of a desk job, it might give you more room to study a little on the side. Maybe. .. But maybe you could be tired out from the day's work. It's a tough balance.
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yeah its just i live in California, which is known for being expensive to live, "look for jobs that are secretary type jobs if you think you're good with people and answering the phone.", yeah, can you get a job like that without a college education?
 
Steelbookcollector217 said:
yeah its just i live in California, which is known for being expensive to live, "look for jobs that are secretary type jobs if you think you're good with people and answering the phone.", yeah, can you get a job like that without a college education?
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Can you be an executive assistant without a degree?
Yes, it is possible to get a secretary job without anything besides a high school education. It depends on the company. California might be a harder market unless you can move to a rural area where it might be harder for people to get people they want to employ and people who want to work that job.
 
i do have a psychologist, i speak with him a few times a year, i was diagnosed with autism by him, the next time i speak with him, i know i'm going to ask him if i am eligible for any time of SSI assistance
 
Judge said:
There must be more to that very low number posted.

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/projections/tables/beneficiaries.pdf
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Mary Terry said:
Agree. $100 per month is definitely not the norm in the US. It's usually more like $1500 per month for social security disability income.
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From the post that everyone is referring to, it sounds like he had a part-time job AND SSI. SSI benefits go down as earned pay goes up, after factoring in dependents. SSDI is not so adjusted, but (I think) if you become steadily employed before retirement age, you can lose SSDI until the usual retirement age. My part-time paper carrier job did not affect my SSDI, but it, my pay and the number of kids left at home affected my wife's SSI.

Now, we just have my ward daughter at home. Since her benefits pay for her expenses, she is not considered a dependent for tax & SSI purposes.

@Steelbookcollector217, see...
Finding Support Resources in the USA...
 
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  1. I grew up with a high COLI [cost of living index] in southern California.
  2. My oldest (a daughter) was born in Olympia, Washington.
  3. We now live in northern Wisconsin, where the COLI is much lower.
Major home repairs are our only intimidating expenses now.
(Our savings have usually been adequate for more routine home & car expenses.)
 
Judge said:
I didn't know about my autism until much later in life at the age of 55. Now retired.

However I would say without a doubt that it presented difficulty with job interviews particularly in bad economic periods that ebbed and flowed.

As a college graduate I had to take a job (insurance rater) that paid $800 a month, $600 after taxes with the hope of being promoted to a higher paying position in the corporation. My efforts paid off, but I sure had to pay my dues to achieve it. Took a bit longer to establish a credit record, but once I was offered a gasoline card, I took it knowing that my credit rating would get much better.

For me doing a job was infinitely better than interviewing for one. :(
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what did you do for work, and do you get any decent retirement benefits, pension of any sort? what is your source of income now? i sometimes worry i might have to worry much more years than the average person does
 
If you are going to be on a system like SSDI, the best thing you can do is move to an area with a lower COLI. The tradeoff is that lower COLI usually means a lesser job market. Most better job markets have higher COLIs. (That is not a big deal when you fully retire.)
 
Steelbookcollector217 said:
what did you do for work, and do you get any decent retirement benefits, pension of any sort? what is your source of income now? i sometimes worry i might have to worry much more years than the average person does
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-TMI. In this day and age that involves personal data best not disclosed. Though I will say that I started seriously addressing such concerns in my mid-twenties working in finance.

Yes, you are right to be concerned.
 
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Judge said:
-TMI. In this day and age that involves personal data best not disclosed. Though I will say that I started seriously addressing such concerns in my mid-twenties working in finance.

Yes, you are right to be concerned.
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I began saving for retirement when I was 21 years old. I had a low paying job as a University department secretary, opted to have a tiny amount deducted from my paychecks, which the employer matched, to participate in the group retirement fund (it was basically an insurance annuity contract for employees of higher education institutions. Long story short, I paid about $97 total out of my pocket over a two-year period which now worth over $200,000. I've never touched the money, just let it grow for nearly 50 years now. So, heck yes, everyone should start saving for retirement as early as possible. I think I have to start withdrawing that money and from all other retirement funds I possess by age 73 to avoid IRS penalties.

Start early, folks!
 
Mary Terry said:
I had a low paying job as a University department secretary, opted to have a tiny amount deducted from my paychecks, which the employer matched, to participate in the group retirement fund (it was basically an insurance annuity contract for employees of higher education institutions.
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Here that's now a compulsory thing - superannuation. The employees don't have to contribute though, but they can if they want to. Whatever wage you're paid the employer also has to deposit another additional 9% of that sum in to your superannuation account.

We axed the old age pension here, I'm still not convinced that was a good idea. You can under special circumstances have emergency access to those funds but if you do that you're taxed at an astronomical rate. The account is supposed to remain untouched until official retirement age, at which time that money's tax free.

Currently here I think the official retirement age is 66 for men and 63 for women.
 
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