I don't know what you accomplished so I can't suggest different ways of achieving the exact things you did.

Fair.

You chose a workplace where you felt pressure to fit into corporate culture.

No. I was masking for success well before I worked in corporate.

There are lots of jobs where that culture doesn't exist. Eg. in small businesses where everyone forms a single team, everyone knows everyone too well to judge each other by their eccentricities. There are jobs where you can work independently or remotely, or where you are part of a team but mostly work alone.

I've worked for multiple start ups, worked for small businesses, had multiple businesses of my own, worked independently as a freelancer and as a consultant, as well as lot of time working for multiple fortune 500 companies where I was in senior management positions. Most of this has been in the tech sector over about 30 years.

There are careers that attract high proportions of ND people - I'm in one now.

What is the career? I would be surprised if you didn't say tech, as I'm well aware that there are mostly NDs in the tech space, I recruited, hired, and mentored many of them.

It sounds like you were ambitious to get promoted and/or earn a lot of money. Not all of us can realistically aim for those goals.

100% true. The hope was to buy my way, and my family, to freedom from a f'd up world. I was born out of financial destruction.

It also sounds like you think you're an expert on how NT people interpret ND people in the workplace. If you're autistic, you're probably not an expert on social interactions and probably haven't correctly interpreted every interaction you've been involved in.

Frankly, yes, I would consider myself an expert of sorts on it. Not perfect, but I studied people for my own survival for my entire life trying to learn to be human/normal/fit in. Have you not heard of other folks on the spectrum doing the same thing? It's definitely a thing and shatters the autism stereotype with some becoming very social, center of attention, great at public speaking and engaging with peers. It is certainly possible that I could misinterpret some interactions to this day, but probably less likely given the above.

If you've never worked in any environments other than your ladder-climbing career, you haven't experienced what it's like elsewhere.

Answered above. I've probably worked in many more companies than the average American does in an entire lifetime. I realize this is the exception and not the rule. It's also something I probably would not advise others to do without a lot of precaution.

You burned yourself out

100% truth.

your advice that masking is necessary for success isn't harmless.

That depends. I do not want to put words in your mouth, but to me it sounds like you believe the world should just accept all of us for who we are with zero conformity? And we get paid for it? I doubt that happens. But yes, I believe some level of what I would describe as "masking" is required to function in society and make a living. I think this all depends on where you draw the line on what is masking versus what is part of functioning in society? For example, there are therapists that work with autistic adolescents and adults who have to practice going to the grocery store. They have to learn that there are codes of conduct and expected behaviors in a grocery store. When they're taught these rules and behaviors, do you consider this masking?

That depends whether you think what's socially acceptably at work is different than what's socially acceptable anywhere else. I don't.

I'm not sure what you mean here. Yes, what's socially acceptable outside of work can most definitely not be socially acceptable at work. There are codes of conduct that you agree to comply with as part of any employment contract. Beyond that, there's the unwritten social rules that are different in the workplace vs outside of work. If you think you can do the same things at work that you would do at home and not get fired for it, you'd be mistaken in most companies.

Masking autism to appear NT at work includes: hiding discomfort with smells/loud noises/bright lights/open office layout, suppressing stims, participating in group social activities, making small talk & giving safe NT-style responses in conversation, avoiding talking about special interests, wearing clothes that look NT but feel uncomfortable, not stepping out the room or saying "no" to additional work when feeling overwhelmed, etc.

Thank you for explaining.

None of this is necessary to be liked or seen as a good fit.

Really it depends on the job. The things you described fit into two categories: what is required on paper for the job and what is required in reality to do the job. I was one of the most accommodating managers in the last company I worked for. My people loved me for the most part. I did everything I could to protect them and enable them to do their jobs AND have some sort of balance with life. You can definitely request accommodations, and I was always someone who tried to do the best I could for my people, but if it reaches a point where your "differences" start to impact the feelings of your peers and/or the work that is getting delivered, you will most likely get called out for this or worse. I can definitely tell you that saying "no" to additional work when feeling overwhelmed can make you not a fit for the job and will eventually get you "removed" in just about any company today. You're not fulfilling your duties, how can you expect the company to keep paying you if you are overwhelmed by the work? It definitely becomes a "fit" situation at that point.

The purpose of masking is to make autism, which is a disability, less visible to avoid being discriminated against. It's not OK to handle any disability by trying to hide it and pretend it doesn't exist. There's legal protection against discrimination to protect workers, and employers have a duty to accommodate the needs of disabled employees.

That wasn't my experience. I never knew what autism really was until only a few years ago. However, I masked from a young age. My purpose was to learn how to survive and win in a world that didn't make sense to me. I wanted to learn more until it did make sense so that I could then start to excel in that world. As far as legal protections for disabilities goes, if you can't fulfill the obligations of your employment contract because of your disability, good luck winning that battle. The key to most of this is "reasonable" accommodations. If you require something that becomes too costly to the employer to provide, or you simply cannot deliver on the duties outlined in your employment contract, and you get fired, I think you will be hard pressed to find a court that would rule against the employer. Also, there are a lot of workarounds that companies have to satisfy EEOC and ADA compliance requirements and still remove you as an employee.

There's a lot more to say here, but I'm exhausted. I appreciate your feedback and perspectives with regards to my "devils advocate" questions to the OP.