What are the best professions for somebody with lousy people skills, maybe some kind of affective disorder?

Question

He really loves people & wants to be of "service to humanity" but there's some kind of major disconnect between how he feels & thinks he's presenting himself, & how other people perceive him Like he may feel calm & focused during a certain task, but other people see him as frantic & distracted, or he may be talking about something he deeply believes, but people perceive that he's insincere & has some hidden agenda or hidden motives. He was actually fired from one job because coworkers "didn't like his affect" & from another one where he was written up for "violating unspoken, unwritten protocols." "How am I supposed to know what the protocols are if nobody talks about them & they're not written down?" he asked, and his supervisor said "People just understand these things." But he doesn't seem to have gotten the Handbook on Tacit Agreements when he came of age. Is it too late to get a copy? If not, what's an occupation where he won't have to relate to other people?

I'm really not satisfied with either of these first two answers. The guy has been in counseling for years, and gets along so beautifully w/ his therapists that they have a hard time believing that he doesn't get along with other people just as well. He is just tired of trying to fix it and wants to train for something where other people won't have to relate to him while he's still young and flexible enough to learn a new trade.

As for the teamwork that they other answerer describes in computer gaming creation, that's exactly what he cannot seem to get the hang of, is teamwork.

Maybe he should be a counselor himself? At least he'd only have to deal with one person at a time....and have minimal supervision and interference?

Yeah, third answerer, it kinda sounds like a lame excuse for just firing the guy to me, too. But he's been fired 4 or 5 times with the same kind of "excuses." So he's thinkin there's more to it.

Answer 1

It sounds to me like he should go into therapy to figure out why might people be perceiving him differently than how he thinks he's presenting himself to the world. I don't think he should quit interaction with people altogether and do work where he is quiet all the time. That would not do anything to improve his self-image, self-esteem, and people skills.
It sounds like he might have autism, because he says that others understand things that he doesn't?? you can't diagnose autism so easily, but it seems like he has some of the traits perhaps?
If so, there are social skills courses, classes, and therapists out there who specialize in treating the condition, as well as support groups. THere is help, but he should not avoid people altogether, that's not the solution

Answer 2

Theres no hidden handbook. he was fired just cause they didnt like him. It happened to me as well. Im currently going to my Computer Science major and I want to do game programming. This job sounds like it would be prefect for him cause they work as a team in order to accomplish a goal. they spend alot of time at a computer working on the program to make the games work and move. its a family atmosphere cause they work with each other for years before they complete a game. Look into the gaming industry. is a multi-million dollar industry. good luck with the job hunt

Answer 3

they just want him fired