Navigating Jobs for Neurodiverse Individuals

woman gazing out to sea, sat on rock at sunset

Jobs are quite a finicky thing within the neurodiverse group – they usually involve tasks or scenarios which disagree with the executive function, logical processes and morals of the person.

To address this I will go over 4 options and the pros and cons as I see them.

Unemployment/Disability Benefit

Pros:

Lots of freetime to pursue interests
Not under the command of anyone but the government who aren’t looking over your shoulder all of the time.
Regardless of how much or little effort you put into life the income is the same and is stable (for the most part).
You know how much you get and when, making budgeting simpler

Cons:

Might feel degrading/stigmatised/guilty for not “being like other people”
Lack of inherent structure to the day
Money can be very tight
Financially stagnant/no room for progression
Finances are completely out of your control and can be taken away quickly

Employment, typical 9-5 or Part-time.

Pros:

Certainty, you get regular pay.
You can specialise in a certain job position/sector.
A chance to progress and climb the ladder.
Far more income than benefits.
A chance to improve connections.
Skill building.
Look like a “real member of society”

Cons:

Under the thumb of the boss
You are restricted in freedoms, even eating is limited to a window.
Can be long hours in something you dislike or detest.
If you take time off you could lose the job.
You may need lots of qualifications to get a “good” job.

Forgive me if my anti-job bias comes through in the above summary, this is, after all, an anecdotal telling.

Self-Employment. You’re the boss.

Pros:

You’re the boss.
You can do whatever you like.
It can be passive, you don’t have to trade your time for money.
You (usually) don’t need qualifications to start.

Cons:

it might not work out
It takes a lot of initial import to start
It can be very stressful depending on the sector.
There aren’t really any specific guidelines, the nature of self-employment is forging a new path. This essentially means uncertainty.

Go off grid (not like Ted Kaczynski)

Pros:

you don’t have to pander to capitalism
You are free from modern society; this is particularly appealing to introverts. Or perhaps misanthropes.
There is a sense of accomplishment with being self-sufficient.
You don’t need to earn any money whatsoever to live.

Cons:

getting the abode in the first place.
Being self-sufficient enough to survive completely alone.
If you do not have an NHS Service or you are in the wilderness, bear in mind illness and injury.
You are essentially homeless but with the home
Lack of amenities such as broadband, running water, electrical power-perhaps use of a generator.
You will be that weird guy in the movies that warns travellers not to continue.
Final con: people stumbling upon your abode may not be friendly.

The next port of call – Ikigai:

This is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives you a sense of fulfilment in life based on blending profession vocation mission and passion.
it’s quite self-explanatory when you see the chart so I’m not going to go much further into that but have a look for yourself.
Now bear in mind the ikigai that you see on the Internet is the westernised version of the original Japanese concept. It is still very relevant though, so we shall use it here. Because I used it to progress in my life.

I should add a note here because I was going to discuss the Myers-Briggs 16 personality types. And why there is no harm in doing so, I found very little value in it because it just told me (mostly) what I already knew.

For transparency, my Ikigai:

What I’m good at: Problem solving

What I can be paid for: Practising medicine

What I love: Science

What the world needs: Healthcare professionals

Choice – Medical Doctor.

There is a fifth option, and that option is gambling there is a fifth option, and that option is gambling:

The casino, the betting shop and the lottery.

I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of this option because they’re fairly self-explanatory. I will say though:- no matter how much I consider the mathematical probabilities of winning, or beating the system/house odds, I still find myself drawn to this ticket to financial freedom.
The irony is, the poorer you are, the less logical it is to play the lottery, or to gamble your money. This is because when you do so you are putting your grocery money, your petrol money, your rent money up against a system that is designed to take that money off of you.
So why do people play the odds? People play the odds out of desperation. People who can’t afford to lose the money will still use that money to play the odds because the win which will project them out of poverty blinds them to the loss of the ticket money. It therefore seems quite logical to buy your ticket for such a low price to get back something that will change your life and then some.

Can you play the lottery I’ll gamble without it being a problem?

Yes and no. No because just like having one cigarette it is never just one cigarette gambling is addictive and can trap you in a cycle you may not even realise you are in.
Yes because you can play for entertainment; I think that if you play with the mindset of trying to win you are set up for an itch and it’s one you can’t scratch. That is the nature of gambling you keep playing until you win. If you don’t win this time well you’ve got to get your money back so if you pay the next time you’re more likely to win so there goes to cycle.
When you play the lottery specifically you should bear in mind that with the national lottery UK £30 million per week goes to charity so when you play if you think of it more as A charitable donation with the very small but real odds of winning a prize potentially a life altering prize then that is much more healthy than playing to win – it is also an acceptable way of thinking about it as a form of entertainment, but we careful as an addiction could easily be covered up with the excuse of “entertainment”.
For the record I still play the lottery, I used to play it quite a lot, too much – I would play about a quarter of my income (which was only benefits anyway, but still unhealthy). Nowadays I only play when I can afford it and when I know that I’m not playing to win.

Conclusion, so what am I doing?:

I’ve decided to go into medicine as it is a very interesting, rewarding and stable career. Alongside this I want to start my own business, perhaps this website?
I think that for anyone interested in self-employment it is necessary to have a stable income to allow yourself the best possible chance of making the business successful.
I really favour work life balance, Medicine is notorious for being quite hectic. However, there are certain specialties and the option to work part time which give you better work life balance. One speciality for example would be General Practice.
I’m not sure of the end goal just yet, but I am quite interested in the prospect of part-time medicine and a passive income that does not require me to trade my time for a wage.

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