AaronMar 25, 2024

Requirements to put in a job description to discourage or filter out autistic people:

* Comfortable with ambiguity
* Strong people skills
* Good culture fit
* Multitasking
* A fast-paced dynamic environment
* Bachelor's degree or better

I see these things and think you don't want my >30 years of programming and machine learning experience, or my problem-solving skills and comprehensive knowledge that had people mistaking me for one of the team's PhDs, or my solutions that have proven patent-worthy. Your loss.

#ActuallyAutistic
@actuallyautistic
@neurodivergence

Show threadAaronMar 25, 2024
@actuallyautistic @neurodivergence The degree requirement, in particular, is one I want to highlight. I was a National Merit Scholar, with a free ride to a major, respected university. But I lost my scholarship and ended up homeless for a time because of my (as yet undiagnosed) disability. By the time I got back on my feet, college was no longer an option. But guess what? I kept actively learning on my own, and even pursued my own research agenda in machine learning and NLP. So I don't have the piece of paper you want to see, but I'm a stronger candidate than a lot of folks who *do* have that piece of paper. You'll never know that, because your job description is implicitly ableist in excluding neurodivergent folks who were not a good fit for university -- thanks to ableism there, as well.
Show threadAaronMar 25, 2024
@actuallyautistic @neurodivergence My fellow neurodivergent folks, tell me the ableist requirements you've seen in job descriptions. Let's give folks some insight into the stuff that contributes to systemic ableism in the workplace. I know there are way more examples than the few I've already listed.
Show threadEveryday.Human DerekMar 25, 2024

@hosford42 @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence

I have a strange work history. I started teaching computer to nurses in the 90s at 12. I went and progressed really well until I hit burnout a couple times. I was the bootstrap kid. I mean why give up just if life deals you shit I thought.

I had good mentors.

I can still remember all thier advice. It was a privledged life I learned.

Now I realize my internalized ableism broke me down over time. So that’s from another perspective.

Show threadAaronMar 25, 2024
@EVDHmn @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence So often we follow unusual life trajectories due to our cognitive differences. The degree requirement, as an actual hard requirement, puts a straight jacket on that, excluding anyone who isn't ordinary. But often it is our extraordinary paths that give us unique and valuable perspectives. I think it's fine to require a degree *or equivalent experience*, but excluding alternative sources of education (e.g. autodidacts) is ableist and harms the prospective employer, too.
Show threadEveryday.Human DerekMar 25, 2024
@hosford42 @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence
I got excused from most of those requirements except for a couple hospitals. I never didn’t get a job I wanted. Now I want a job, but still recovering burnout is tough, now it feels silly, all that talent it simply allowed me to survive bottom line. I don’t even know how I did it.
Show threadAaronMar 25, 2024

@EVDHmn @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence

> ...it feels silly, all that talent it simply allowed me to survive bottom line. I don’t even know how I did it.

This really hits home. I'm only just now reaching a place where the positions I'm looking at actually match my abilities. It took so long to gather the experience necessary to prove my abilities to people, but now I'm finding that the challenge has only shifted to dealing with stress and burnout and misunderstandings that threaten my mental health and job security.

Show threadLoops 🍑  

@hosford42
> it took so long to gather the experience necessary to prove my abilities to people

As someone struggling with rejection for ‘inexperience’ I felt this too hard. I could prove it, if given half a chance. Just because I can’t show it doesn’t mean I don’t know it 😅

@EVDHmn @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence

Mar 26, 2024 at 8:36amWeb