[poutinepapi]

Right mate, so I'm not autistic, but I've been a software engineer for a little bit over a decade, so I can at least help with that.

So, in general, the "harder" the technical work, the less you talk to people. So if you want to avoid the MBAs, suits, bean-counters and other assorted ghouls, look for the "hardest" technical work.

The simplest way, anything that involves complex mathematics like cryptography, finance, big data, etc...

Another good candidate is moving to work on bare metal, so that means working as close as possible to the computer's physical hardware. I'd recommend looking into Rust if that interests you, it's a relatively gentle introduction to bare metal.

In the past I would have recommended AI and Cybersecurity as also good spaces, but unfortunately Wall Street's interest in both fields has made them chockfull of scam artists, under-trained and over-paid technical personnel, and even more over-over-paid executives.

This goes 4 times over for the games industry which is basically untenable as is and would not recommend to anyone at the moment, with the exception of hardcore graphics programming, which is pretty technical and also can be widely applied to several uses like cinema or scientific simulation.

As for the autism bit, well mate, I'd consider where you are currently living. Are you living in a country where your status as someone who is neurodivergent is respected or not?

If you are, then try to connect with resources that might help you.

If you're not living in a country that is friendly towards neurodivergent people, then I can recommend migration. I myself migrated to Canada and I'm perfectly content, although unemployed at the moment.

Canada has an express entry option for professions that are in demand and software engineering is definitely one of them. And I'm pleased and proud to say that Canada does offer both legal protection and actual help to the neurodivergent(although it's not perfect, and mostly good in cities). So please, take us into consideration.

I hope this helps, keep your chin up

[big_question]

Thanks! I've considered moving closer to hardware. Rust is a potential option, but jobs are scarce it seems. Lots of good ideas, thanks!

I live in a good country with a decent social support system. Technically I could live on disability, but would rather do some work.

[magne]

I’ve been working in the Hardware space for about 10 years now in consumer electronics as a firmware engineer and I find that at least 30% of my time is spent interacting and in meetings with cross functional teams. Just due to the nature of electronics requiring many different disciplines such as Product Design, electrical engineers, software, QA, UXR, PMs etc it can actually be hard to get away without having meetings at all in order to ship a large project. I also find that there’s a heavy culture in the HW space to give presentations and learnings regularly. Not trying to dissuade you from hardware because I’m sure there are HW positions that arent like I mentioned but just something that might be helpful when considering.

[getwiththeprog]

I think you may find that jobs are not advertised as other jobs. It is such a specialised and important area that if you reach out you will find what you are looking for.

Being upfront like you are doing is going to get you where you want to be.

Maybe talk to your current HR department and manager and put your foot down. A little stress now for lots less later. If you need to move, big gov agencies can have set (fixed - no need for more meetings) work and decent conditions.

[mattfields]

Gotta love you supportive people. This is what makes HN a great community.