u/Rhubarb_Dense

I was diagnosed with autism as an adult and I'm trying to figure out whether my current struggles are caused by my workplace, my profession, or just the way I'm wired.

I'm a test engineer working with IEC 62368 product safety. I genuinely enjoy the technical side of the job: troubleshooting, measurements, standards, and solving engineering problems. That's never been the issue.

What I struggle with is everything around it. The social side of work drains me much more than the technical work itself, and when I get overwhelmed my mental health takes a hit. The lack of structure compared to what I'm used to from working in production is also a problem. I've had periods of high sick leave because of it.

Now my company is being acquired, and I'm wondering whether I should stay in engineering, look for a different engineering role, or accept that maybe this career isn't a good fit for me.

I'd really like to hear from autistic engineers who have been through something similar.

Did you stay in engineering?
Did you change companies, roles, or industries?
What made work sustainable for you?

Thanks.

Hello peoples, this is my fist post here.

I recently found out that I'm autistic after being told I've got borderline personality disorder for the past 20 years. I've met a lot of doctors at different hospitals, I've done dialectical behavior therapy and mentalization based treatment programs. I was even in the forensic unit for a while after punching a cop in the face (he was a jerk). They have all told me that I've got BPD, apparently they were wrong.

I understand that they didn't do this to me out of malice, but it kinda feels like I've been gaslighted by the medical community for the past two decades.

Does anyone of you have similar experiences?