5 years and over 300 applications: For those with autism, landing a tech job 'like winning the lottery'
CHICAGO - Justin Pierce fought long and hard for a seat in this gleaming downtown office building.
Pierce, who has Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, laid out the numbers: 328 applications, 135 rejection letters and 14 interviews, resulting finally - after almost five years - in his first professional job offer, as part of a technology team at the Chicago office of EY, a professional services firm formerly known as Ernst & Young.
"It was like winning the lottery or finally getting your Cinderella story happy ending," said Pierce, 31.
The unemployment rate is estimated at 66% or more for people with autism - a developmental disability that affects communication and social interaction -
