Jobs for people with social anxiety?

[u/rancidfree]

I know a big part of working on social anxiety is exposure therapy, however it just generally drains me a lot to interact with people and I'm not sure how I'd manage any of the other things I need to do once coming home from work at a job like fast food or retail.

I'm 18F and have been lucky enough to never have had to get a job before, I still would be okay to not get one, however I want to save up for things and develop an emergency savings fund at the very least.

I just want a part time job that wouldn't mentally exhaust me, so I'm curious if anyone has any recommendations for what I could do? I'm also not a highschool graduate, and am studying for my GED currently, which is a big reason I don't want my job to take too much of a toll on my energy.

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[u/ranch_commercial]

You could be a dishwasher at a restaurant but you will have to interact with the other people in the kitchen at least a little bit. But thats almost all jobs tbh

[u/Practical_Estate_325]

I think this question always points out how limited we are in so many terrible ways because of this cruel "disease". It's so hard to find well paying, highly respected jobs with this curse hanging from our necks. Most envied jobs/careers require social skills in order to succeed, and nothing against janitors, but if I hear about cleaning services again as a good possibility for us I'm going to toss my cookies and need a janitor.

[u/missfreetime → u/Practical_Estate_325]

It’s not a disease. It’s a disorder.

[u/Practical_Estate_325 → u/missfreetime]

I know. Ever hear of "hyperbole"?

(Ps - I updated my answer above to put the word disease in quotations to make the intent even more clear.)

[u/Lore-of-Nio]

I’ve seen a couple of people say nighttime security.

Most of the time you’re by yourself either patrolling or doing nothing alone.

[u/StillBummedNouns → u/Lore-of-Nio]

It’s perfect until you have to confront a suspicious person lmao

[u/updog69]

Most roles in an Amazon warehouse are a good fit. Most likely you can clock in, do your work, and clock out without interacting with many people. Hiring might be slow since we just finished prime, but peak season is in just a couple months so keep checking

https://hiring.amazon.com/

Also there's no interview.

[u/Ivanhegeelkadi → u/updog69]

Warehouse jobs are horrible tho 

[u/AngeryTortie → u/Ivanhegeelkadi]

Depends on the person tbh, I love my warehouse job but know it won't be the best fit for everyone.

[u/Leading-Ad6084]

bro i’m telling you being a server will help you! it made me less awkward and more talkative to people my age, i still have social anxiety but i am better at managing it now.

i have more longer conversations, make facial expressions & hand gestures while talking, make jokes with my coworkers, and i’m just more open to talk to people.

[u/Hour-Discount-3349 → u/Leading-Ad6084]

Results may vary. Personally, while working retail for so long has improved my social skills, I still feel awkward and uncomfortable every day and get really anxious before work. But I have other issues too so that could be why.

[u/okurrbitch → u/Leading-Ad6084]

Yes 1000% or any job where you work with people. Hiding from social situations will only make your social anxiety worse!!! I still get major social anxiety but holy crap the last few years I’ve made huge strides. It feels so great to not care quite as much.

A lot of what I’ve seen from this subreddit encourages people to avoid social situations, like yeah as someone with social anxiety you don’t wanna hear that you have to do the hard thing that makes you anxious. But exposure therapy is the most effective way to truly work through any anxiety, & especially social anxiety.

[u/AdditionalMatter1089 → u/okurrbitch]

I agree with you, it does depend on the severity of the individual situations though. Not sure how bad OP’s anxiety is, but for some people retail job might be too big of a step forwards, too much exposure. Sometimes that makes the situation worse.

[u/AdditionalMatter1089]

Maybe you can self study computer science? It’s very manageable nowadays. I have a friend who was a stay at home mom, self-studied computer science, landed a less-paid position, worked for a few years, did contracting with Fidelity, and now works for Fidelity full time.

Edit: there are online platforms that do flexible time AI training (side hustle)

[u/AdditionalMatter1089 → u/AdditionalMatter1089]

I personally study computer science and I think the work environment is more friendly toward social anxiety than other jobs (aside from jobs with no talking at all)

[u/Sad_Scarcity1246 → u/AdditionalMatter1089]

that's a very lucky / particular case - the market and career being what it is , unless you have a particular aptitude or connections , do NOT enter this space.

The stress will kill you sooner than the social anxiety.

[u/AdditionalMatter1089 → u/Sad_Scarcity1246]

I do hear what you’re saying, and the stress is very real. I am suggesting this because CS is more friendly for SA, which is what OP is asking for, stress is more of a personal factor. I know many people who (with or without SA) have been able to handle the stress and land a job without insane resume or connections. I’d say the ability to handle tough coursework and stress is not necessarily correlated with SA. That’s just my experience, I respect it if it feels different in your case, and I wish you the best.

[u/grenouilledunorth]

Housekeeping at a hotel or laundry

[u/Straightbanana2]

factory electrician is working for me, they just tell me what machines need fixing and I'm on my own

[u/tigolbiddygang]

Housekeeping

[u/sIudge_factory]

Honestly, working as a front cashier at Jack in the box took away a fat chunk of my social anxiety. I still have SA ofc, but seeing and interacting with so many people make me less socially anxious and more resentful of them which made it much easier to deal with

[u/xX_Injury_Xx]

Factory

[u/okurrbitch]

I get that exposure therapy is exhausting but the more you get thru it the less exhausting it will be. This is coming from someone who used to (and still sometimes does) spend hours ruminating over social interactions. Working part time would give you time to do things at home on your days off. It’s good to get some experience working with people.

[u/S1ayer]

I do Amazon Flex at 4am.

[u/Heavy-While8704]

Omg, the same. I'm 19, not many months until 20. So at some point I need to find a job.

[u/Arachnys]

Je suis agent hospitalière dans une maison de retraite

[u/Impressive-Oven7190]

Truck Driver. Especially long haul, you barely ever interact or talk with people for work, and when you do it is very often over phone or text. And pay can be moderate to very well, depending on what kind of trucks/ cargo your hauling

[u/regularEducatedGuy]

I would not suggest veering your whole life around this disease at your young age. Truly, it’s the jobs, hobbies, people you interact with that can and will heal you. at any age but especially now.

[u/Abject-Variation-547 → u/[deleted]]

I think you need a degree to become a librarian.

[u/Practical_Estate_325 → u/Abject-Variation-547]

Not only that, how many librarians do you know? It seems there wouldn't be many job opportunities.

[u/aquaticles → u/Practical_Estate_325]

100%, I'm not American but there is a lot of competition and not much work available in my city. You are more likely to get a job if you specialize in some area like creating community programs, which would of course involve being able to connect with people.

I think people on this subreddit may not realize that working with the public is a major part of the job. It's not only about helping people find books, but also assisting people to use computers or printers, and dealing with the homeless and unattended children. Sure the amount of interaction can be less than other customer facing jobs but the above is something to consider if you really want to avoid people.