I'm a Manager in a large tech company and wanted to weigh in here. I agree that stuttering makes the small talk very tough and awkward. Hands down. Please remember that other people have it tough too - we employ many professionals born overseas and English isn't their first language - they struggle too with not only the language but navigating the north american 'water cooler' culture. The best thing is to keep trying to build networks/meeting people no matter your situation. Speak up too - you have valid points that are worth waiting for to hear. The only other stutterer in my university classes rose the ranks quickly and became the CEO of his company by the time he turned 35 - there was a big write-up recently on him in our national professional magazine. I asked him once while in uni how he was able to still be social and talkative with a stutter (I mostly hid in my classes) and he said that he vowed years ago to never let his stutter get in his way and he'd try to use humour as much as he could. His grades weren't spectacular and yet he is now super successful - if he can do it, we all can.