What kinds of jobs do people with SA have?

[Zoogirl84]

Yeesh. I was just curious of what other people's jobs were... I never said I wanted a job with zero people interaction because I know that's improbable. I just want to start small-ish. I know some people say just dive into full submersion and all but I have done well with smaller steps myself...

 

[planetweirdo]

I speak from experience. Someone who has gone through agoraphobia, social PHOBIA (not anxiety). I have cried in the bathrooms, I have cried in front of people, I have ran out of classrooms with all eyes on me, I have blundered, made embarrassing mistakes in front of people, stuttered, shaken (lots), have had lots of people gossip about me, I can go on and on.

You are not going to progress until you push yourself and allow yourself to endure the feelings of crisis, shame, hysterics that is part of having social phobia. Irrational as social phobia may be, I understand the intensity of the feelings. Progression will not start until you allow yourself to (excuse my language but) eat shit.

You seem like a very strong person. A lot stronger than I am. :thumbup:

 

[dannyboy65]

Well, currently throughout winter I am a college student but during the summer I worked at subway, which was really hard. Due to the fact of making food right in front of strangers. Before that though I was a ride attendant at an amusement park. It was easy and not a hard job. You didn't have to talk to customers the only thing that bugged me was how repetitive it was. I would stand beside a ride for 9 hours and that's all the day consisted of was standing in one spot all day.

 

[Predacon]

I tried it out on another site doing a "practice run" and it looks like I totally suck at it. Figures. :/ I don't think there are any "online jobs" I can do, or aren't scams.
I don't know what kind of job to look for... I even looked at a library job which sounded great except when I read the line "Skill in customer relations including dealing with difficult patrons and volatile situations." No way. And physical aspect of having to push a 200 lb cart or lift 50 lbs...no go with the pregnancy. Without an animal job I dunno what I can do...

I can only wonder what a volatile situation in a Library is

 

[OceanMist]

Being newly without a job, and due to finding out recently that my husband and I are expecting, I can no longer work in the animal care field as it is too physical and dangerous. So I have to find something completely different. Hoping for something not too stressful or physical, but having bad SA almost every job is stressful to me. So it got me wondering, what kind of jobs do other people with SA have? I just can't hold down retail or restaurant jobs, the anxiety is too much for me. Once I actually worked at Walmart as a cashier...in December. What a horrible idea that was! I barely lasted a month.

So tell me what you all do for a living

The cold hard truth that everyone with SA must learn is that you probably are going to have to work around people. In today's fast paced, high population world, there really isn't much of a way around it unless you are either extremely crafty or insanely lucky and find something that has no communication involved.

Someone in a desperate position can't turn down any job in today's world unless the job is worth being homeless over. The only job I would never work is outgoing sales telemarketing, i'd rather be homeless than do that job.

But you even mention turning down Wal-mart.....any position at Wal-mart is something you should take if you have the chance to work there.

Don't try to avoid people.....if you do, you'll never get a job. The economy today doesn't allow much pickiness for someone in your position.

You may have to do something you don't like. In my opinion almost no jobs are "good" they are just jobs that pay bills. So i say take what you can get.

A job should just be manageable imo. Something bearable.

 

[dottie]

You seem like a very strong person. A lot stronger than I am. :thumbup:

:idontknow: Not really, I am a major wuss.

 

[Zav]

I'm schooling for aviation, but right now I "throw bags", among other things, at an airline. The only people I really interact with are coworkers...No customer service stuff required really, so I don't mind it.

 

[nicole1]

Do whatever you are most compatible with.
University of Wisconsin - Madison - Zoology Department

Blogging is a good option. I worked for this place and discovered that there is a market for "momblogs". You can blog about your experiences switching and searching for a new career as a new mom. There is a lot of advice out there for people who want to learn how to start and maintain an attractive blog.

 

[Zoogirl84]

Do whatever you are most compatible with.
University of Wisconsin - Madison - Zoology Department

Blogging is a good option. I worked for this place and discovered that there is a market for "momblogs". You can blog about your experiences switching and searching for a new career as a new mom. There is a lot of advice out there for people who want to learn how to start and maintain an attractive blog.

That sounds interesting! I didn't really know you could get paid for blogging... Thanks for sharing!

 

[Tuukka40]

I am a waiter/server...Not a very enjoyable job for someone with SA, to say the least. But, I have a strong background in customer service (sort of) and I have learned to get into character when dealing with people in a employee/customer relationship.
Although, I get pretty anxious when I get a table of kids my age, as I feel like they are most likely to be judgmental.
On top of that, if you have ever worked in a restaurant, it's kind of like being in a mini high school. Everyone is kind of friends, some best friends, some enemies, lots of drama, etc. That is by far my least favorite part about the job. I would rather have my job be just a job, and not be judged for being quiet and not wanting to hang out outside of work.

However, I can't see myself quitting. I'm in school right now and I would estimate I get paid about double being a server compared to any other job that I currently qualify for.

 

[w*n*c*a*m]

Well, I'm working as a carer in a nursing home. I can do the caring work and stuff but I suck in communication. My speech is very limited like greeting them, responding to questions and giving instructions. Most of the time I'm quiet and it definitely is weird coz I'm working with people. Thankfully, most of my clients are demented and they don't seem to mind that I'm quiet. My real concern is my coworkers because it's uncomfortable working with them and not speaking at all. I know they find me weird coz I'm too quiet. They try to chat with me but I don't know how to respond except to give lame answers like "yeaaah" or I just simply smile. They stopped trying afterwards coz you know it's difficult to have conversation with a living dummy.

I'm seriously looking forward to changing careers. I'll study laboratory technology next year. I know I shouldn't avoid people but I prefer working with objects and being with myself most of the time than having to be forced doing something that I'm really bad at. It's not just for me but for my clients too. They don't deserve me who is too anxious to really care for them well.

Anyone who works in the lab? I read reviews and they say it's boring - which only encourages me to pursue it. lol

 

[Richey]

I am a great worker, very hard worker, however my conversational skills are naff.

This is why I never progress at a job, because I am too cold at communication skills.

I am actually funny, but my whole problem is that I don't participate in politics, which a great seems to get people further.

 

[Zoogirl84]

Thank you all for sharing! I have a job interview on Thursday for a kennel assistant job at a small animal hospital. Naturally I'm nervous for the interview, but even moreso if I'm going to be happy there and can hold it for long, at least a year... I've worked with both people doctors and animal doctors and both can be huge ****s... :/

 

[MollyBeGood]

I don't think there is any perfect job for someone with SA except maybe an artist who works alone. I really think that is all I can do with myself and be ok in the world. I have some talent so it is my only hope at this point. I do love to be alone and I do not like to be told what to do or be around people so it is a perfect profession for me.
I have tried lots of things, and done lots of work so this is not for lack of trying that I have come to this conclusion.

 

[nicole1]

Thank you all for sharing! I have a job interview on Thursday for a kennel assistant job at a small animal hospital. Naturally I'm nervous for the interview, but even moreso if I'm going to be happy there and can hold it for long, at least a year... I've worked with both people doctors and animal doctors and both can be huge ****s... :/

I wish you the best of luck. This is the tough part but once you get through it, you will be happy you made it.

 

[Zoogirl84]

Ugh didn't get the vet clinic job. It is so hard finding a job that works okay with pregnancy and when all I have on my resume is animal related jobs... I have no longer idea what to do now.

 

[R3K]

I think in ur last thread about leaving ur other job I was trying to convince you to tough it out and whatnot... now that ur pregnant, the situation's a little more complex xD...

every damn career or money-making path in this world requires certifications, degrees and connections. all this sh|t is hard as hell to come by for social phobics. i'm a server/busser at a semi-sitdown seafood restaurant... which is a job I know you're abhorrent of, so i'm not much help to u in this thread :idontknow:...

you could try being a babysitter or nanny though, my roommate and his wife go through babysitters like crazy, so there has to be a lot of demand for them, idk...

 

[Earthcircle]

I tried it out on another site doing a "practice run" and it looks like I totally suck at it. Figures. :/ I don't think there are any "online jobs" I can do, or aren't scams.
I don't know what kind of job to look for... I even looked at a library job which sounded great except when I read the line "Skill in customer relations including dealing with difficult patrons and volatile situations." No way. And physical aspect of having to push a 200 lb cart or lift 50 lbs...no go with the pregnancy. Without an animal job I dunno what I can do...

I worked in several libraries back in the 1980s and 90s. I wouldn't worry about difficult patrons, because they are rare. People tend to sober up and be respectful in libraries.

 

[MotherWolff]

Being newly without a job, and due to finding out recently that my husband and I are expecting, I can no longer work in the animal care field as it is too physical and dangerous. So I have to find something completely different. Hoping for something not too stressful or physical, but having bad SA almost every job is stressful to me. So it got me wondering, what kind of jobs do other people with SA have? I just can't hold down retail or restaurant jobs, the anxiety is too much for me. Once I actually worked at Walmart as a cashier...in December. What a horrible idea that was! I barely lasted a month.

So tell me what you all do for a living

I also am unemployed. But based on how I feel with SAD, I believe a more suitable job for me, you, and everyone else with SAD would be something that requires little to no socializing at all. Like office work or something.

Please Zoogirl84, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but that does sound boring as hell, imo. I want to do something BIG for the rest of my life. I want to do something that calls for me to step out of my comfort zone, BIG TIME. I already know the three things I gotta do in life that I am so passionate about.

Anyways, I think animal doctors or veternarians or anyone that works with animals are "zoo" awesome!(Get it? Instead of saying, "so" I said "zoo." Its like a pun or something. A play on words. Err....nevermind.mg.

Good luck though, on finding a job. Be sure its a job you will be happy with. I think that is the most important thing of all: happiness....true happiness.

 

[lucifersam]

"Customer service" is a huge HR buzzword, that's going to be present on just about any job description. As it seems you have already realized, there's no such thing a job that doesn't involve interacting with other people. Something like a librarian should be easy to do. I even worked as a cashier for a while, where I was often the only cashier at the registers.

For me at least, it ended up feeling more like a business interaction than a social interaction. Scan the items, count the money, "Thank you, come again." Very robotic - you go on autopilot after a while. Not much of a chance to mess anything up. They just want to pay and get out of there, and you want them to do the same.

Another job I did that didn't work out was at a call center. That's a completely different context where people are already pissed off about something, which is the reason they are calling. You've got to talk to them extensively about lots of different things, and they are generally trying to get something out of you, and some of them won't leave until they do. Some call centers do provide a script to follow, but the nature of my work didn't allow for a script, so there wasn't that sense of disconnection, of the words to say being planned in advance.

It's all about the context of the interactions.