Autism is one of many developmental disorders that creates neurodiversity in humans. While the official diagnostic manual, DSM IV, briefly created different types of autistic disorders, all of those types (including Asperger’s Syndrome) are now only referred to under the umbrella term of autism in the DSM V. Many autistic people live and work on their own without support, and the symptoms of autism can vary widely. People largely think about autism in terms of its negative traits. Autistic people and people without autism have trouble communicating with one another, and autistic people can be rigid, have meltdowns due to overstimulation of sensory input, and experience prolonged burnout. Unfortunately, the focus on negative beliefs and stereotypes that people have about the disorder translates into poorer outcomes.
Autistic people face substantially higher unemployment rates and switch jobs more than neurotypicals. Experts suggest that employment issues for autistic people are not about ability but the differences in communication styles, unknown expectations, unaccommodated sensory triggers (like open-plan offices), difficulty in understanding office politics, and a lack of challenge in their roles to keep them interested. Autistic people then find it harder to obtain and maintain employment. As an autistic person, you know the many strengths of your autism. Hyperfocus, expert-level knowledge without a degree in your special interests, logical reasoning, objective decision making, creative problem solving, a high sense of loyalty, and strict rule adherence are just a few of the many positive autistic traits employers value. These jobs enable you to utilize the many positive attributes of your autism to build a successful career.
1. Database Administrator
Salary Range: The salary range for database administrators is from about $54,000 to over $155,000, with a median of almost $99,000.
Job Growth: 8 percent (average)
Use your strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills as a database administrator. In this role, you create and merge databases, develop standard operating procedures for database use, and provide maintenance on databases. You filter requests from your employer or clients to provide information from the database or create a new feature. You do not need a four-year degree in computer science, so long as you know the information. As a database administrator, you typically can work from anywhere. Remote work gives you the ability to manage your external environment while using your tech skills.
Transferable Skills:
- Problem-solving skills
- Logical thinking
- Critical thinking skills
- Technical skills
2. Front-end Web Developer
Salary Range: The salary range for web developers and digital designers is between approximately $40,000 to over $146,000, with a median of just over $77,000.
Job Growth: 13 percent (above average)
Web developers focus on front-end applications that create websites and provide eye-catching style. As an autistic person, you can enjoy a remote work environment to control stimuli. You can also implement your technical skills, use your creativity, and hyperfocus on a hands-on project. While contact with a client would be necessary during intake, the rest of your contacts can occur through email or other means. Use your strong creative skills and out-of-the-box thinking to design websites. To get started, you just need to put together a portfolio.
Transferable Skills:
- HTML, CSS, and Javascript skills
- WordPress skills
- Digital layout skills
- Detail orientation
- Hyper focus
- Special interest
3. Police Officer
Salary Range: The salaries for police officers range from lower than $39,000 to over $113,000, with a median of $67,290. Geographical location and seniority determine much of the discrepancy.
Job Growth: 7 percent (average)
Like many autistic people, you probably have a strong sense of justice. A career as a police officer is an excellent way to put that passion into a paid job. Patrol neighborhoods to keep people safe. Issue citations and make arrests when people break the law. Use your first-hand knowledge with disabilities to diffuse situations and communicate with people who struggle to respond to police. Take the evidence that you collect and your experience to provide court testimony. Police officers spend a mix of time in the precinct doing paperwork, which requires your attention to detail, and time in the field.
Transferable Skills:
- Commitment to justice
- Logical thinking
- Objectivity in a crisis
- Rule following
- Detail Orientation
4. Podcast Host
Salary Range: The salary range for announcers in general is between just over $19,500 to over $114,000, with a median of $36,770.
Job Growth: 15 percent (above average)
As an autistic person, you can turn your habit of info-dumping your special interests into a paying gig as a podcast host. Not only can you make money from it, but you can connect with people who have the same interest as you. Look for open jobs to apply for or be an entrepreneur and start your own podcast. In addition to hosting, you also need to research your stories and develop scripts to read during your podcast. Interviewing guests from a script instead of extemporaneous speech is an asset for autistic hosts.
Transferable Skills:
- Research skills
- Attention to detail
- Special interests
- Hyper focus
5. Forex Trader
Salary Range: The salary range for financial traders goes from almost $37,000 to more than $200,000, with a median of $64,770.
Job Growth: 4 percent (below average)
A job as a Forex (foreign exchange) trader is a great job for an autistic person if you want to work independently, remotely, and while using many of your autistic traits to your advantage. This job utilizes your ability to research, distill, and memorize information. Track currency prices, world events, and economic trends to predict changes in the currency market. Since you typically work for yourself, it is up to you how much you make, what you invest, and your environmental stressors. You do not need any particular education or certification to start.
Transferable Skills:
- Hyper focus
- Tech skills
- Special interests
- Analytical skills
- Logical thinking skills
- Memorization skills
6. Animal Groomer
Salary Range: The salary range for animal care workers, under which grooming falls, is between less than $19,000 and over $40,000, with a median of $26,080.
Job Growth: 33 percent (above average)
Parlay your love for animals and autistic traits for care into a career communicating with pets. Animal care reduces anxiety, a typical symptom for people on the autism spectrum. In this role, you can expect to clean cats and dogs, trim their nails, style their hair, and make sure the animal is in a relaxed state throughout the process. This role requires little interaction with people, and you work independently. No educational requirements accompany this position, but you do need some training to start.
Transferable Skills:
- Attention to detail
- Special interest with animals
- Dependability
- Visual thinking for design
- Repetitive movements
7. Veterinarian Technician
Salary Range: The salary range for veterinarian technologists and technicians is from under $25,500 to over $52,000, with a median earning of $36,260.
Job Growth: 15 percent (above average)
Take your special interest in animals further by combining it with your analytical skills to start a career as a veterinarian technician. As a vet tech, you will prepare animals to receive treatments, assist the veterinarian during procedures, explain procedures to the owners, and handle the paperwork. Make sure that the files match treatments and that each animal’s medical history is up to date. You can learn to be a vet tech through on-the-job training or a two-year associate degree.
Transferable Skills
- Analytical skills
- Creative problem solving
- Memorization skills
- Attention to detail
- Punctuality
8. Animator
Salary Range: The salary range for animators is between $42,390 and $142,750, with median earnings at $77,700.
Job Growth: 16 percent (above average)
Leverage your strong visual thinking skills and artistic skills for a career as an animator. As an animator, you will use graphic design software to bring stories to life. You will take a script or written description and turn it into a visual creation. You could make individual components or design entire scenes. While animators consult with others on a team, you do the work independently. You often have remote options with this role as well.
Transferable Skills
- Visual thinking skills
- Creative problem solving
- Original thinking
- Technology skills
- Design skills
9. Technical Writer
Salary Range: The salary range for a technical writer is between $45,510 and over $119,040, with median earnings at $74,650.
Job Growth: 12 percent (above average)
As an autistic person, you likely have excellent written communication skills and a strong ability to adhere to grammatical and stylistic rules. These traits position you well for a career as a technical writer. You can even use your career to write about your special interests. Technical writers detail complex, industry-specific information in an easy-to-read format. You could create manuals, design infographics, edit technical information, and detail product information. Working from home, a reality for many technical writers, means that you can control your sensory environment.
Transferable Skills
- Writing skills
- High level of technical knowledge
- Adherence to rules
- Dependability
- Logical thinking
10. Set Designer
Salary Range: The salary range for a set designer is from $30,180 to $106,230, with a median earning of $58,180.
Job Growth: 5 percent to 10 percent (average to above average)
As a set designer, you get to use your autistic traits of creative problem-solving skills and hands-on production that feel good for positive sensory stimulation. Read material to determine the sets that you need to design and build. Work within budgetary constraints to creatively find materials. Implement special effects into designs. While you may work with a team to build sets, the design part is primarily independent. Get experience working on set design for local theater or college productions.
Transferable Skills
- Repetitive movements
- Creative problem solving
- Design skills
- Sensory-seeking
- Building skills
11. Photographer
Salary Range: The hourly salary range for photographers is between $10.78 per hour to over $41.76 per hour, with a median hourly wage of $19.58.
Job Growth: 17 percent (above average)
Use your autistic creativity and attention to detail for a photography career. Take pictures to commemorate weddings, birthdays, and other special events. Create digital products and printouts for people to capture their memories. Research the best photography equipment for your expertise. Use your creative skills to alter photographs and create inspiring designs. As a photographer, you will set your own hours and work independently. Get a job with a photography company or work for yourself.
Transferable Skills
- Visual thinking skills
- Design skills
- Attention to detail
- Special interest
12. Human Resources Specialist
Salary Range: The salary range for a human resources specialist runs from less than $37,710 to over $109,350, with a median of $63,490.
Job Growth 10 percent (average)
Indirectly advocate for others at your job as a human resources specialist. Implement the knowledge you have on discriminatory hiring practices into companies’ policies. Human resources specialists run the hiring and onboarding process and serve as the point of contact to deal with disputes. In this job, you can expect to advertise for jobs, handle the application process, interview prospective employees, ensure the company adheres to standard hiring procedures, complete paperwork, and provide onboarding training. You can start by working as an assistant in human resources to get experience if it is a new field for you.
Transferable Skills
- Knowledge of employment law
- Attention to detail
- Logical thinking
- Punctuality
13. Laboratory Technician
Salary Range: The salary range for laboratory technologists and technicians is from under $31,450 to over $83,700, with a median of $54,180.
Job Growth: 11 percent (above average)
Laboratory technicians follow strict instructions to run tests or help gather data. These technicians work in clinical settings or research settings, and the job duties vary depending on the setting. Clinical laboratory technicians help run tests, such as blood tests, and fill out paperwork on the results. You assist others in the lab and set up and clean up equipment. Research laboratory technicians follow strict experimental protocols to help administer research and log results. A job as a laboratory technician usually requires a two-year degree or on-the-job training.
Transferable Skills
- Attention to detail
- Rule adherence
- Curiosity for discovery
- Creative problem-solving skills
- Special interests
14. Real Estate Analyst
Salary Range: General financial analysts can make a salary between $48,760 a year to $159,560 a year, with a median of $83,660.
Job Growth: 6 percent (average growth)
In your job as a real estate analyst, you can use your analytical skills and hyperfocus for a career in real estate. Spend time researching and analyzing market trends. Find house prices and use your strong math skills to predict emerging trends. While this work does not involve real estate sales, it does help real estate companies provide information to clients and to determine their portfolios. This is a great way to have a career in real estate if you lack strong people skills.
Transferable Skills
- Attention to detail
- Analytical skills
- Adherence to rules
- Research skills
15. Bakers
Salary Range: The salary range for a job as a baker is between $21,070 and $43,310, with a median of $29,400.
Job Growth: 10 percent (average growth)
A career in baking is a delicious way to utilize your autistic traits of visual thinking, logical reasoning and math skills, and rule-following. Rely on strict recipes to create cakes, savory baking goods, pies, and other items. Work for restaurants, specialty shops, hotels, grocery stores, or start your own baking business. Use your visual thinking skills to create elaborate designs and develop new recipes. Even if you work at a large establishment, the work you do is primarily independent.
Transferable Skills
- Visual thinking skills
- Analytical skills
- Hyper focus
- Punctuality
- Adherence to rules
16. Commercial Diver
Salary Range: The salary range for a commercial diver is between $36,200 and $110,130, with a median of $54,800.
Job Growth: 15 percent (above average)
Try out your skills at hyper-focusing and creative problem solving with a job as a commercial diver. This role requires that you spend long hours under the water operating mechanical equipment to repair or build equipment underwater. The way that sound waves vibrate underwater helps reduce the amount of sound that you actually hear, which is a great compromise for those sensitive to sound but interested in a mechanical career. Due to the risky nature of this job, companies do require training.
Transferable Skills:
- Hyper focus
- Creative problem solving
- Attention to detail
- Memorization skills
- Dependability
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are some successful people who have autism?
While some speculate as to the autistic status of many famous and historical figures, these are some of the ones that have a diagnosis.
- Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is one of the richest people on Earth.
- Sir Anthony Hopkins is an Academy Award winning actor.
- Michael Burry is hedge fund manager and inspiration for the movie, The Big Short.
- The famous poet and artist Morgan Harpers Nichols has an autism diagnosis.
What are the best work from home jobs for people with autism
Working from home is ideal for many autistic people, as it allows you to have full control over your sensory environment. Here are some career suggests for working at home:
- Writer;
- Music producer;
- Artist;
- Transcriptionist; and,
- Data analyst.
What are the worst jobs for people with autism?
Jobs that are not as conducive to success for autistic people are primarily ones that trigger sensory issues or require a high level of communication or people skills. While no job is impossible for an autistic person, these are some that might be more difficult.
- Lobbying requires a high degree of networking and communication skills.
- Construction work involves loud, persistent sounds.
- Customer service typically involves physical demands, high communication skills, and interpersonal skills.
What are some entry-level jobs for autistic adults?
To get started in your career as an autistic person, here are some great entry-level job ideas:
- Library assistant;
- Legal assistant;
- Data entry assistant;
- Mechanic; and,
- File clerk.
Final Thoughts
If there is a career that you want to pursue, do not think that your autism will hold you back. Autistic people can have a career in any industry. Remember that the American Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for people with autism throughout the hiring process, such as in interviews. If a career you want involves a university degree, you can accomplish this goal, as well. Universities must make accommodations to level the playing field for people with autism. When searching for a career opportunity, reach out to human resources if you have concerns about accommodations. Some companies, especially tech companies, have programs specifically to hire autistic people. Since autistic people experience different issues navigating careers than their neurotypical counterparts, you can concentrate on jobs that need your autistic strengths for greater success. Leverage your special interests to find a job that brings you joy.
