I have a long way to go before even start to think in that kind of stuff, but seeing the laboral market in chile not having such interesting job (there are few jobs for engineers to do actual engineering stuff imo) I find an appealing possibility to get into academia instead.
So it seems interesting to ask if anyone here has experience in academia and if is in general a good idea.
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In general, academia has a culture more aligned with autistic personalities. It’s a good bet if you find it interesting.
Just be aware that like many industries, it can exploit people who are the most passionate and don’t know how to advocate for themselves
Dude engineering doesn’t specifically say autists only…but it’s only autists. You’ll be fine
I have already realized that, outside of Industrial Engineering, the faculty is very autistic indeed.
I got my PhD in engineering just fine. Had to push myself to make a few connections and meet regularly with my advisor, etc., but doing research was really well-suited to my hyper-focus tendencies.
However the opportunities I had tutoring/teaching did not appeal to me at all. I pulled it off, and I enjoyed sharing my knowledge and being the “expert” in a room full of freshman students, but I would be highly stressed all morning in anticipation, and then out of commission for the rest of the day.
So, I opted to move into industry mainly to remove the expectation of teaching regular courses and the dependency on networking to successfully claim grant funding and collaborate with other academics. (Also money)
Several autistic-spectrum friends also left academia but stayed in research in some form, and are doing really well. A couple stayed in academia. One is doing great, and the other basically destroyed his marriage due to the stress.
Probably depends a lot on the specific responsibilities of your chosen academic field as well as your individual point on the spectrum.
I worked in academia for 10 years. I do not recommend it.
Egos and austism, that is academia
Depends where you go but office politics can be rife. It can be one of the least meritocratic places to put your skills into use.
