Autism

Work in IT some time. If everything is working, you're "not doing your job." When something goes wrong, "you're not doing your job." Thus is the life of an on-call worker.

Teaching isn't a bullshit job but I still left because of some of the things you described - having to justify your existence as part of the job instead of just doing the work. I'm basically a handyman now, move and fix stuff for a building that houses various charities and community groups. As satisfying as it was to help a kid grasp a concept they'd been struggling with, replacing a plug socket or fixing a broken toilet is just as satisfying and I don't need to worry about my work being undone over the summer break.

I found this out after I spent several years working in multiple group homes. I liked that I was physically moving all day but, there was no "finish line" there was no "obvious change" or anything to feel accomplished by. Then I worked a desk job where I got assigned a queue and had to work through it and as soon as you'd get toward the end, it would refill.

After that I went for a more manual labor job. I started doing utility locating which was cool because you were one of the first steps for a lot of big jobs. I worked on lot of cool buildings that were built, roads that were moved or replaced, and all kinds of crazy stuff. That led me into water and sewer which I love.

What I love about water and sewer is every day is a little different but, without you there's no clean drinking water and there's poop everywhere. You know your worth, you know what you're doing matters, when your part of a water main break repair you know you actually helped people. It's super rewarding.

Edit to add, it can also be hard on the body and sometimes your coworkers suck but overall it's been my favorite work so far.

I was a professional musician most of my adult life. I retired out of that and took a job in a lab testing metals for automotive and aerospace companies.

I remember talking to my therapist when I first started and happened to mention that much of the work is predictable and repetitive. And he said, “Isn’t that a blessing!” And for a minute I was taken aback at that because I don’t think of myself in that way. Being a musician was chaotic, with wild hours and days on the road and exciting nights and you never knew what to expect from one week to the next because gigs just pop up out of the blue. I loved that lifestyle.

But if I’m being honest, I’ve been at this lab job eight years now doing the same thing and I gotta admit I’m kinda happy in my little element. I’m good at it, I’m respected by my coworkers, I’m not micromanaged and I’m free to just do my job however I see fit. And like you said, there’s an objective metric to how good a job I’m doing. It’s the longest I’ve held down a “real” job and I don’t see myself leaving.

I am in a similar boat. Or I should say, I wish I was in your boat, so to speak. I'm a highly experienced engineer. The compensation is adequate. Only one problem, I hate design engineering. I have a real contempt for the entire field. Part of the job is calculating estimates that meet the profit expectations of the boss but also affordable for the client, all of which are neuro-fucking-typical and have no perspective at all. Then the projects involve tasks that take weeks, or months, or even years. I heavily rely on people responding to emails or messages and the management are all dinosaurs who don't view email as legitimate communication. If I didn't stand in front of their desk or literally call these rubes and allow them to audibly molest my time with their awkward nonsensical mundanity, then I basically didn't try at all. I can't just turn in a timesheet after doing work; I have to justify every second of my day toward a specific task and then track that task completion for the assholes upstairs that don't generate revenue at all. The HR manager listens to the Harry fucking Potter 2 theme music on repeat ALL FUCKING DAY and the last time I complained to HR about anything it nearly ruined my career.

But, for a number of years I worked in inspections and investigations. The compensation is garbage but the work is bliss. I want to light this office on fire and flee back to that, but it would mean a total upheaval of my family's life. We would need to move, I would lose my garage, go back to fighting for parking or getting hit on my bike by shitty drivers. No more vacations, no toys, and Walmart fucking groceries.

I know what I want, but I don't know how to get there. I'm hoping my partner can get a more lucrative position so I can change jobs without significant effect. I'm not sure.

But that's where I am. No measurable metrics and playing the fucking social game. I hate it. It helps to imagine that we were all cavemen and the neurotypicals are sitting idly while I watch a sabertooth sneak up on them. But instead of alerting them and keeping them alive so they can inevitably destroy our language, society, culture, economy, traffic, planet, etc. I just watch as they get torn limb from limb while screaming in agony. 😊 Our society just got a little less dumb.

If you're saying your current job at fast food is rewarding, check back in a year with us. Or whenever you quit. Tyrannical managers, unrealistic metrics, no compassion for employees, all drain you quick at fast food. No vacation time, no sick time, yet you have to be ready to pick up a shift within hours.

Maybe you've got a good boss. I hope it works out. I work a desk job in IT and whole I don't see physical results, I'm much happier than working in the service industry. I couldn't make it work there.

I deal with a combination of ASD/ADHD. I'm in the middle of a career transition right now. My background is in engineering. I hold bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering. And I have simply never been able to make an office job work. And I have tried again and again. I'll get through the first few months where things are new and exciting. But once that period passes, focus and executive function slowly become exponentially more difficult, and things never recover. I've burned through five office jobs this way, never lasting more than two years.

I had two office jobs right out of school, both ended in about two years. At that point, I decided I was done with office jobs forever and transitioned into teaching undergraduate civil and mechanical engineering. This was a natural path, as I had many years experience already doing private tutoring. And teaching really worked for me; it's everything an office job isn't. You have a regular schedule with real deadlines. You have very clear responsibilities (teach these students this body of knowledge.) When giving a lecture, you get instant feedback from your students as you can see in real time how well they're grasping a subject. And you get the satisfaction of knowing you're doing some actual real good in the world. I loved university teaching.

Well, I decided since I was going to stay in academia, that I better go get a PhD, right? Big mistake. Seven years later, I left a PhD program with no PhD. I had the background, the skills, and the knowledge, but the same focus and executive functioning issues killed me. I could do the classes just fine (had a 3.9 GPA in doctoral-level engineering coursework.) I did great on the courses, teaching, and lab work, but the lit review and research planning killed me. I tried a few more office positions while I was working on the PhD, but those only lasted a few months each.

After that program, I tried to find another university teaching job, but that proved impossible. Most places don't want to hire you for an engineering instructor position if you've failed to complete a PhD. And most states that do hire lecturers with just a master's are in states whose government wants me dead.

Well, after that program, I landed on my feet. Decided to give office work another go. Told myself that without the flailing doctoral program, maybe I could focus and do well. Got a great-paying job in a nearby city, started it in August, and moved there in December. And...I burned out after 9 months.

I finally got some professional help, got a combination ASD/ADHD diagnosis from two different clinicians. And it's explained a lot. But it doesn't really help with my core problem. I have tried and failed at five engineering office jobs. And these are positions that I started in good faith, fully wanting and intending to succeed at them. My heart's been broken again and again. I'm just done. I can't do this anymore.

At this point, I think I'm going to walk away from engineering. I love civil and structural engineering as a discipline and field of study. It's something that truly captivates me, and something I'm passionate about. I entered this field with the dream of being some great engineer designing towering bridges and skyscrapers. But I don't think that's ever going to really happen. I've had five engineering jobs, and I still don't have my PE license. I'm sure I could pass the exam for it just fine, but you need positive references documenting a certain number of years of work experience. I just can't get the references for it. I never leave an engineering office job with good references.

I'm just tired. And I'm coming to terms that I may simply be neurologically ill-suited for the career I dedicated my life to. I could pick another area of engineering, maybe something more field-based or engineering sales, but those are hard to find with my background. And starting in a new engineering field/position type would involve essentially starting from scratch.

If I'm going to start on something completely different, I think I would just lean into something completely different. And that's what I've chosen to do. I'm exploring a mid-career transition into K12 teaching. I recently obtained my substitute teacher's license, and in this coming school year I'll be doing a combination of private tutoring and K12 substitute teaching. It's not the craziest move, as I've taught at the university level, have tutored at the K12 level, and do also hold a master's in education. Every office job I've tried, I've failed. Every education job, I've excelled at. But still, it's a big move.

University teaching worked well for me, and I'm hoping K12 will as well. But at this point, I think I'm done with office jobs. I can't keep doing this to myself. I've tried virtually every adjustment or accommodation you can think of, but none of it has ever helped. And frankly, I'm tired of trying.

I've only ever had 1 job where the job itself wasn't bullshit; but the office politics and people in charge were. Loved being an installation tech; simple work that was routine while also being new every single job and occasionally required actual thought and problem solving. Sucked workkng outside in the heat, but it usually wasn't too long out there with the exception of some rich bastard in a mansion wanting the cable ran to one side of their massive home when the only viable place for the dish was the opposite side or wanted it ran through the crawl space instead of just through the wall. Plus I tan up really good so it justt made me look sexier 😎

The owners and most of the managers were MAGA pricks, tho.

"Discover What You're Best At" by Linda Gale.

The book comes in two sections. The first is a set of self tests that determine what actual skills you already have. The next is a list of all sorts of jobs that use those skills. For example, a hair stylist, a paramedic, and a product demonstrator all need good social skills and good dexterity. Three totally different jobs using the same skill set.

I'm having the exact same experience right now. I had to quit my last job in consulting due to severe health issues due to untreated narcolepsy. I'm now working part time at a coffee shop and it's amazing how rewarding work can be when 1. You actually get training because a consistent quality product is important when you're literally feeding people and 2. As you said the work is easily quantifiable and rewarded so the whole job isn't BSing your bosses and clients into giving you more money, which I've always struggled with... like morally. I don't know about you, but for me, the perfect job would be part time entry level unskilled job and part time career job (or self employment). I think that would be most fulfilling.

I work at a service deli and despite having all the things you are talking about, toxic coworkers still force me to have to manage the narrative with my absentee manager.

I can relate to this. I have my dream career but I'm the one person with my job so I don't have a useful job description or metrics. I'm dyyyyyying for concrete evidence that I am doing a good job. Not because I need to prove it, but because I need it to be satisfied.

There were times in my life when I could say "Boss man is happy, I'm happy" but now that I am depended on for a level of expertise my bosses don't have I'm struggling with believing them when they tell me they are happy with my work.

Personally I don't consider a fast food job as a bullshit job because it is a job with concrete impact. For me bullshit jobs are more for jobs that are non productive or not strictly required to support productive work. An example would be someone who tracks KPI and reports on them but they aren't directly used to make business decisions, just to sound nice to the higher ups.

I make that distinction because even though I long for the simplicity of being a line cook or supermarket cashier, I would not go back voluntarily. The nonsense hits different when you are kept in poverty with poverty wages and you can't call in sick. The power dynamics are so different so I don't need to panic about a misunderstanding meaning I lose my job.

(All this is why I am an anarchist: there is so much bullshit hierarchy that is the root of injustice. There is no unskilled labour, and any job worth doing deserves respect.)

Everywhere I have worked there has been some type of output that showed accomplishment. I do have to say though that like my boss seemed to have to spend so much time cheerleading what we do and I found that exhausting. I mean its fine to present something but lets just get it done. Ugh the constantly changing priorities and lack of specifics on what they wanted was also exhausting.