My long-lasting unemployment is caused by a combination of factors that all tie in like gears grinding me down whilst at the same time exaggerating the problem.
As described in the Poverty & low income segment, one of the troubles I face is that earning money whilst still having a WAJONG is not rewarding at all and forces me either in a full-time job or nothing choice. With my handicaps, a full-time job where the boss stipulates my working hours is asking for trouble. However, this does not tell the entire story of my unemployment.
No diploma
Technically, according to the Dutch government's criteria, I am considered uneducated. I do not possess an MBO level 2 diploma. In a diploma-heavy country like the Netherlands, having no diploma is often a serious liability, and my situation is not any different. I would like to study, but any study that I would do takes at least 4 to 6 years, so there is that. Furthermore, after being away from the classroom for so long, I have a genuine fear that returning will be difficult.
This might not sound bad, but for me, it's a serious liability and an energy sink that I cannot spend on my studies. Also, my handicaps press too much on me that I collapse under my own mental weight, resulting in a burnout. And then we haven't discussed that you are required to do all of these kinds of extra-curriculum activities where finding and completing one determines if you get a diploma or not (I look at you internship!). There is too much instability that I cannot handle on my own and there is no reliable help for me either because Dutch education systems are not designed for people with autism.
What's more, because I'm getting close to turning 30, a bunch of study option compensations are suddenly not available for me because Dutch law has decided that once you have passed 30, you are supposed to work and not to study. I try to find merit in this, but I cannot help myself to find this system utterly backward and even indirectly discriminating. On the topic of study compensation, my financial stability has taken a serious hit in the past few years, evaporating all my buffers so that I cannot enter a study safely without a job guarantee. And we all know that job guarantees are nowadays non-existent in the Netherlands.
All of this prevents me from acquiring a diploma.
No work experience
In direct relation to having no diploma, comes a lack of work experience. Employers do not want someone without work experience. Though there are entry-level jobs, they are so far below my skill set that I'm already getting unhappy when I think of them. I was raised with the thought that you should do what you're good at. I want to be in a job where I feel I can make a difference by utilizing my strengths. The thing is, that is being a general adviser to the board of directors, where I can utilize my liaison and optimizing strengths.
However, such positions are only offered to those that have a decade-long work experience under their belt at that company. And let's be honest, it doesn't make sense to utilize your weaknesses. So the only way forward for me is entrepreneurship, where all of this doesn't matter.
Stigma
Despite numerous attempts to put people with autism in positive daylight to sway employers, statistics on the employment of people with autism show so little difference that even business cycles have a bigger impact on employability. To be frank, I can understand the hiring managers partially. The work environments that you typically land in are quite hostile for people with autism. Take, for example, the office garden work environments, or the company culture, or terms and conditions that require output as well as consistency.
People with autism rarely fit into that, and it doesn't help that about 95% of all jobs offered by employers are unsuitable for people with autism, including me. I'm still not giving the chance to try because there are still so many negative connotations around autism and employability that it makes me start with a 3 compared to others.
My handicaps
In particular, my autism and anxiety disorder would be a problem for me. As I have no control over my energy levels and I cannot quickly recover mental energy, employing me is hard. I would, for example, require that I be able to take naps during my work. Which employer would allow you to do that?
My character
As my life has always been about fighting, I take a very strong stance right from the get-go. This also means that I don't see my bosses as superiors, but at best nice colleagues and at worst incompetent bastards in a position they don't deserve. When people have a dispute with me, it will escalate. I will not back down if good reasons and facts are given, and even then, a solution has to be worked out where both parties are satisfied. Usually, at that point, I am at a face with each other that has a stark contrast equal to day and night, and that is so incompatible that it means I will be cut off.
Simply because in the Netherlands, it's better to play nice than to have values. Technically, a lot of people with autism cannot deal with authority, and although I think that's also true for me, I'm heavily debating if it's because of autism or because of my character. However, being an entrepreneur for so long, having to take leadership and be proactive waned your ability to be obedient and do what has been instructed. I believe the opposite is also true.
Though I still apply for jobs I never get a response back. I have to carve out my own income and the only way to do that is through entrepreneurship. However, I need a lot of help to get my entrepreneurship career off the ground. Surrounding myself with a full-time business coach would be the solution I seek.
I have kinda given up that I will ever be an employee. Too much has happened, too long I've been going in one direction that there is no way back. I might enjoy the freedom to do whatever I want but it comes at a massive price called instability. Up to this very day, I am still not sure if the price I had to pay and continue to pay is worth it. But since I have no other choice, I will keep on going because I want to make something of my life.