Source: SharinAlex, CC 4.0

I’ve had -advising clients that turn off most people, often because they’re too intense, are on the spectrum, or whose appearance isn't conventionally attractive. Such people might want to consider one or more of these career directions.

Working with special-needs people. Often, special-needs children and adults are more accepting of adults with non-standard interaction styles. So might you want to work with, for example, older adults who have physical or mental limitations? With children with developmental disabilities or even autism? If so, you probably should visit a facility serving such people. Job shadowing is wise in exploring any potential career but is particularly important here.

Running an online business. Among other factors, the ever-worsening traffic is causing ever more brick-and-mortar stores, indeed entire malls, to close and an ever-larger percentage of shopping to occur online. Of course, you don’t want to compete in bailiwicks dominated by the giants (e. ., Amazon and Wal-Mart), but microniches may be viable, for example (and I haven't vetted these ideas): brownies, talking parrots, tutors for people with autism, custom shoes, netsuke sculpture, custom bookbinding, or personalized doormats.

Working with data. Might you want to train in, for example, accounting, coding, database , or if you’re ambitious, data science, which is among the careers most likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future?

Working hands-on. Have you, even just as a child, shown a facility for building or fixing things with your hands? There are myriad careers for hands-on people, for example, jeweler, iPhone repairer, robotics technician, cabinetmaker, pastry chef, and nurse and physician (especially surgeon) who specializes in invasive procedures.

Working with animals. While many jobs in this field are volunteer (e.g., at shelters) or low-pay (e.g., vet-tech), even if a decent income is a requirement, there may be opportunities, for example, administrative assistant in a shelter, or accountant at a pet food manufacturer. While those won’t have you interacting a lot with animals, such places of employment can be a good fit for people who aren’t people-people because they tend to be pet-friendly, allowing employees to bring their to work and because, compared with the average workplace, you’re more likely to find kindred spirits. Of course, before accepting any job, it's wise to visit the workplace to assess the fit.

The takeaway

Of course, central to choosing a career is not just skirting your limitations including interpersonal ones, but whether a career suits your aptitudes, skills, and preferences. But perhaps at least one of the careers described here are at least worth a Google-search.

I read this aloud on YouTube.

This is part of a series on suggested careers.