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Do any of these support groups have career counseling components or services? Does an Aspergers/Autism diagnosis grant you access to some social services?
I am living proof against your claim. I have a BS in Computer Science and an Associate in Arts and an Associates in Science and graduated with a 3.04 GPA (which was my lowest GPA overall (not that I didn't have lower in a semester or two) as I had over a 3.5 and may have been closer to 3.7 in Jr. College and was over a 4.0 in High School.) so I was neither a partier nor a 16-hour study guy. What might have gotten me was my previous total lack of work experience, but I feared (and I think, looking back, rightly so, that working while in school was have a downward pull on my grades, and working while in university was harder as I was at home sometimes and away sometimes and few employers during the 2010-2013 years would have allowed for such flexibility anyway.) I also had DORS help me. They were at as much of a loss as I was. This summer, over 4 years after graduating college, I finally got something, a call center job, which I couldn't keep because I couldn't adapt with the software and get the phones down fast enough (interestingly, on Indeed.com reviews, even some NT people complained about similar issues), so was let go but later reoffered something due to how good I was with the computers and so got a two month temp job answering emails but was laid off (when the thing ended and because staying on would have meant doing the phones) at the end of 2017. I also don't have debt but don't have a job either.
I lucked out in that Illinois lets me get Medicaid (which I needed even when I did have the job as they did not offer insurance.) though loads of those guys shouldn't have jobs (though a few are decent) as that bureaucracy is the 9th Circle of Hell to deal with.
As for a trade, no, haven't tried that. Due to having executive disfunction, something common to people with Aspergers, that might get in the way of doing all but self-employed trades and even so, those types would involve lots of interaction with people.
You need to secure a job a step or two above help desk or direct support. Either level 3 support or server/network works well for people in "our" position. Less contact with people and more "alone" time with the computers/network.
You need to secure a job a step or two above help desk or direct support. Either level 3 support or server/network works well for people in "our" position. Less contact with people and more "alone" time with the computers/network.
Like others mentioned, your degree probably isn't in the highest demand.
It breaks my heart, too, to see that the things I love in life may not ever be worth getting a degree in because the job market for those jobs is disappearing, not in high demand, or will never make the money back that you spent on the degreee.
My advice, don't give up the search on your own while your job coach continues to search, too. If you are looking and your job coach is looking then that will be two people keeping their eyes peeled. If you have to, do go with jobs that might be retail stores, fast food chains, or anything to keep yourself afloat while searching for a career in your field if you desire to keep a search up in your field.
Consider some certificates you might want to get that will allow you to get into an in demand career for a fraction of the cost (most of these are now online). Most of these programs can be finished in 6 months - 2 years depending on the cert and the amount of time you put into it. Of course you may need to wait until you start working again to save up, but it's something worth considering. Also, make sure the certification you go for is valid in your state. There are so many good cert programs out there.
I think it's a false idea that millenials are making huge salaries right out of college in their 20's. In fact, most college grads that I know are suffering with student debt and taking any job they can including flipping burgers or working in a cafe just to make their payments because they haven't been able to get their foot in their field of expertise. I've known people in actual careers with Master's degrees working a waiter shift on their time off just to pay off their student loans because their job did not pay enough. There have been universities sued for making false claims about programs and their hiring rates within 1 month, 6 months or 1 year after graduation and claims of high salaries that were unrealistic. It's a crazy world we live in. It doesn't seem to matter your age in the workforce these days, it isn't easiest to get into. My husband got a bachelor's degree and could not get into his field of expertise for 4 years. Was he frustrated? Of course! He was told, "Oh, you'll be able to get such a good paying job right out of college!" Yeah, that didn't happen...We had to move for him to get a job in that field.
It is not too late to get a career job. I've known people that have wanted to be nurse's their entire lives, but it wasn't doable for them to go to school for it because of being a single parent, or some other life situation that greatly limited them and they had to wait until like their late 30's and mid-40's to go back to school and take the nursing program. No, it is not too late for you to keep going and change up your game in your career field.
If you have to, even install apps in your phone if you have an updated one that will run a fair amount of apps that you may be able to work with for some cash. Without a car, it limits you on some of them, but not all of them. So look around and see what is needed for those. Having a source of passive income, too, isn't a bad thing.
Look into resources you may need if you are in any way suffering financially - do check into nutrition assistance/food stamps. Definitely look into state Medicaid (most medicaid programs, it is an almost automatic acceptance if you have a disability) - you can often apply for this online by finding your state office. Just look up online "medicaid for (then put your state here). If you don't claim disability, you may want to look into that at this point, but keep in mind it can take a long time to get approved or accepted to receive disability compensation. If you've already looked into all these resources then great, you know where you are with them and if you qualify.
Try to keep your head up, try to push the frustration aside, and keep searching for opportunities. You might want to try going into a career center or a college that will allow you to come in for resume help and some places will even do mock interviews to help you practice. No matter how good you are at resume writing or how good you are interviews, it is a good tool to use - especially if it's free! Make some new friends so you have some new references to use on jobs. Write a letter of interest as well, this can help to attach to your resume. You never know what might come your way. Constantly be putting applications in places - like 10+ applications/resumes a day. Really, finding a job is a full-time job in itself.
I hope you find something great soon! Don't give up!
No, a college degree has value no matter what your major. Have you thought about applying for Government jobs? They usually pay well and sometimes all that is required is a degree, the particular field of study isn't all that relevant. At least in California governmental agencies are far more likely to make accommodations for disabilities than many private employers are. How about this one, Television specialist for CalTrans?
If there's nothing on that site that you want to apply for here is a website with listings for City and County jobs in California: https://www.calopps.org/
Like others mentioned, your degree probably isn't in the highest demand.
It breaks my heart, too, to see that the things I love in life may not ever be worth getting a degree in because the job market for those jobs is disappearing, not in high demand, or will never make the money back that you spent on the degreee.
My advice, don't give up the search on your own while your job coach continues to search, too. If you are looking and your job coach is looking then that will be two people keeping their eyes peeled. If you have to, do go with jobs that might be retail stores, fast food chains, or anything to keep yourself afloat while searching for a career in your field if you desire to keep a search up in your field.
Consider some certificates you might want to get that will allow you to get into an in demand career for a fraction of the cost (most of these are now online). Most of these programs can be finished in 6 months - 2 years depending on the cert and the amount of time you put into it. Of course you may need to wait until you start working again to save up, but it's something worth considering. Also, make sure the certification you go for is valid in your state. There are so many good cert programs out there.
I think it's a false idea that millenials are making huge salaries right out of college in their 20's. In fact, most college grads that I know are suffering with student debt and taking any job they can including flipping burgers or working in a cafe just to make their payments because they haven't been able to get their foot in their field of expertise. I've known people in actual careers with Master's degrees working a waiter shift on their time off just to pay off their student loans because their job did not pay enough. There have been universities sued for making false claims about programs and their hiring rates within 1 month, 6 months or 1 year after graduation and claims of high salaries that were unrealistic. It's a crazy world we live in. It doesn't seem to matter your age in the workforce these days, it isn't easiest to get into. My husband got a bachelor's degree and could not get into his field of expertise for 4 years. Was he frustrated? Of course! He was told, "Oh, you'll be able to get such a good paying job right out of college!" Yeah, that didn't happen...We had to move for him to get a job in that field.
It is not too late to get a career job. I've known people that have wanted to be nurse's their entire lives, but it wasn't doable for them to go to school for it because of being a single parent, or some other life situation that greatly limited them and they had to wait until like their late 30's and mid-40's to go back to school and take the nursing program. No, it is not too late for you to keep going and change up your game in your career field.
If you have to, even install apps in your phone if you have an updated one that will run a fair amount of apps that you may be able to work with for some cash. Without a car, it limits you on some of them, but not all of them. So look around and see what is needed for those. Having a source of passive income, too, isn't a bad thing.
Look into resources you may need if you are in any way suffering financially - do check into nutrition assistance/food stamps. Definitely look into state Medicaid (most medicaid programs, it is an almost automatic acceptance if you have a disability) - you can often apply for this online by finding your state office. Just look up online "medicaid for (then put your state here). If you don't claim disability, you may want to look into that at this point, but keep in mind it can take a long time to get approved or accepted to receive disability compensation. If you've already looked into all these resources then great, you know where you are with them and if you qualify.
Try to keep your head up, try to push the frustration aside, and keep searching for opportunities. You might want to try going into a career center or a college that will allow you to come in for resume help and some places will even do mock interviews to help you practice. No matter how good you are at resume writing or how good you are interviews, it is a good tool to use - especially if it's free! Make some new friends so you have some new references to use on jobs. Write a letter of interest as well, this can help to attach to your resume. You never know what might come your way. Constantly be putting applications in places - like 10+ applications/resumes a day. Really, finding a job is a full-time job in itself.
I hope you find something great soon! Don't give up!
I like your post and your attitude. I won't give up
No, a college degree has value no matter what your major. Have you thought about applying for Government jobs? They usually pay well and sometimes all that is required is a degree, the particular field of study isn't all that relevant. At least in California governmental agencies are far more likely to make accommodations for disabilities than many private employers are. How about this one, Television specialist for CalTrans?
If there's nothing on that site that you want to apply for here is a website with listings for City and County jobs in California: https://www.calopps.org/
That's what I thought that working for the government would be better for me than the private sector. Currently I'm living in Seattle,Washington and not California anymore. Someone from my aspergers group works for King county metro.
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