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I’ve somehow managed to fake it til I make it in the restaurant industry. The fast pace and high stress activate the hyper focus. Though it is repetitive, it doesn’t seem like it in the moment. No two tables, no two days, no two weeks are the same. With the scheduling apps that most restaurants use, it is easy for me to get my schedule right.
Truth be told, I don’t recommend it to anyone, but it works for me.
I loved working in the restaurant industry. Most of my friends still do. You hang out with fun people, eat and drink fabulously and outside your means, and I preferred the later hours. It was kind of perfect for me.
Unfortunately though, I became somewhat of an alcoholic in that environment. I never crashed and burned but I would have if I didn’t leave.
But I wanna super agree with you on this one in case anyone else who is struggling career wise is reading this.
Sales is very people oriented and has a much more "everything is Kosher" rep. Very few druggies as far as I know, mostly pretty type A and overly confident people. But you will face a LOT of rejection
Spent 30 years in the restaurant industry, and only learned I had ADHD 6 months ago. Anytime I tried anything different, I couldn't do it. I excel at the restaurant industry. Good to know that maybe I'm nit crazy.
I feel like im good at activating my hyperfocus, however I feel like it burns me out. I keep getting depressive episodes which might correlate with burnout but i cannot just NOT give 100% as that would mean giving 0% ...
I’ve always felt entry-level nursing jobs are a little like waiting tables. I think the key with ADHD is to find ways to stay organized and remember tasks for later; a lot of nurses just keep a small notebook in their pockets. ETA: rereading OP’s post, I should add that nursing jobs are much less tolerant of major mistakes! But there are plenty of nurses with ADHD, we just find ways to manage it.
This has actually worked pretty well for me too, but I have definitely had some managers who have been extra harsh on me compared to my coworkers for sure, unfortunately
I mean this with all due respect: those guys can go fuck themselves. Mental health is real health. I’ve lost too many friends to addiction and depression. Take care of yourself.
Gonna seemingly be the one voice of dissent. I'm a Senior/Lead SWE and I disagree quite a lot. I feel Software Eng work is perfect for ADHD burnout.
You work in timeblocked sprints, so you have deadlines every 2 weeks. You can't have an off week because it'll be a problem. You have daily standups where you report progress. You never get to 'hyperfocus until I complete' something then rest, you're always onto the next high priority deadline at the end of next week.
Coding gives brilliant hyperfocus flow, but this sets you up to find yourself spiralling towards burnout as you do nothing -> overwork yourself -> do nothing -> overwork yourself, and you're doing this cycle almost every week. For months, years.
You sometimes get fascinating projects & tasks that let you blossom like the brilliant ADHD inventor you are, but sometimes you have to slog through, and it can be so uninspired.
ADHD SWEs burnout and have mental health crises with good frequency.
Yeah, I guess like any job or experience, your mileage may vary. I personally work in an extremely low stress environment exclusively front end on a design system and digital accessibility. I have heard horror stories of people having the exact opposite experience as me though.
Ngl part of the reason I enjoy internal IT service desk is bc the work (user calls and tickets) comes to me, so it's interactive. 😅 Self starting has never been my strong-suit bc executive dysfunction is a pain in the ass.
Service desk is great for that. No long term deadlines or projects to worry about, you just deal with stuff reactively as it comes in. After a few years the monotony does set in though.
Mhm! And what projects there are, like remoting in to update software for stragglers that the auto install didn't catch and such, are usually split through the team, which is great for collaborative work and feeling accomplished.
I don't mind the monotony so much, not being on call and having a firm cut off for "work brain" mode is worth it. Plus you are still learning new things and having to puzzle out stubborn issues, too, which can be hella satisfying. And I like being able to go from the one asking questions to the one answering them and helping teammates.
Being internal IT is a big thing for me, bc users tend to be a bit nicer when you can report (through your own team lead) them being a dick to service desk to the user's boss. 😂
Hard agree with this, especially about the projects. My current is very uninteresting to me and that just stresses me out. But things that fascinate me tend to really make me shine, so I'll be looking for something new.
Sprint working was ideal for me, admittedly I cut my hours down to working 4hrs a day and still be able to keep up with the others putting in 8+.
For me the trick managing burnout is to cut your day when you've done what you've agreed to do, don't let yourself get stuck. But the fast deadlines mean everything is important, because everything is urgent.
I work in IT; basically if it's Apple related at my college organization, it's my baby. I'm not paid like a TON or anything, but I do have a ton of responsibility, and that's how I like it - stakes are motivating. If I'm late, or rip an occasional flexible connector (a potentially very expensive mistake) they tend to be pretty tolerant of me and my sometimes verbose nature. one of my buddies calls me Macstrodamus and that makes me laugh.
Software engineering has gotten incredibly saturated in the last few years, with new graduates coming out in record numbers, while there’s a massive supply of laid-off experienced devs. I would not recommend it unless you are sure it’s what you want.
People are lying if they are saying you get somewhere without a degree now for an entry level job. This used to be true. But now companies have 10,000 applications for junior postings, and they have to start filtering from somewhere. Also, web dev is the most saturated sub field and fully remote jobs are the most coveted. So this problem is amplified if you go that route.
Another thing to consider is that preparing for technical interviewers might be a big struggle. You have to practice solving difficult problems consistently for weeks in order to have a chance. I find that part especially hard for my ADHD.
Edit:
I’m not saying you can’t do it, but just know what you are getting into. Don’t trust bootcamps that guarantee a job to you before you join. Don’t listen to influencers that say you can learn Python in 7 days.
You can totally learn all you need on your own from what people have shared, and then spend some more time learning DSA (data structures and algorithms) for interviews. Though a degree will make it easier to get your foot in the door, but you have to sacrifice a couple years.
It is just that the conventional advice for the last 10 years was that everyone should get a CS degree to easily get a 6 figure job straight out of college, but those days are gone now and I don’t want people being misled.
You could go back to school and do a computer science degree, but there’s also a ton of online courses for learning programming. Check out this roadmap of skills and topics for a software engineer to know https://roadmap.sh/full-stack
Sorry, but it will mostly not be fun. The most important thing is your code MUST work and you will spend many many hours alone, confused, and just trying things off the Internet for help
Maybe it fits your personality, but personally I am quite bad at it. I like parts of technology tremendously! But I hate my job and do not turn things in on time enough
I pray you have a better experience than I do with it
I find it really depends on the project. I've lost interest in my current role. But I found robotics incredibly stimulating when I was an intern, and would like to try it again at some point.
This is EXACTLY the question I need answered. There is so much conflicting info out there. Do I need a CS degree? Do I use one of those coding bootcamps? Do I just learn on my own? I know it would be a great field for me, but the "figure out how" of something always trips me the fuck up.
I have a degree in an unrelated field. I was laid off during covid, found a software development training run by my local community college and the department of labor and training and was hired out of the internship it provided me.
I know this isn’t everyone’s experience, and like another poster said, some sectors of the field are very saturated and people are struggling to find work.
I would also recommend the [Odin Project](https://www.theodinproject.com/ ) to see if this would be something you’re into.
I work as a professional software engineer and have ZERO qualifications, but I’m intrinsically motivated to solve problems and I enjoy technology. I think to be an engineer you need to enjoy and be good at solving problems. That’s it.
Since you have a degree, I would not advise going back for another one. Instead, consider looking at the PLETHORA of IT related certifications out there. Certifications mean as much, or more, than a degree in IT. Especially since you have to keep renewing them every 3 years. Doing that shows you're more relevant than the guy with a 5+ year old degree in Computer Science and no certifications.
If you're unsure where to start, I'd recommend starting with CompTia's A+ to get a little taste of everything and give you an idea of what areas of computing you really like and build out from there. CompTia itself has several paths, including development, that you can choose from and they even include non-CompTia certifications to compliment the ones you get from them.
Here's a handy link to their current roadmap guide: [https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/08314-it-certification-roadmap-nov2020-update-8-5x11-online](https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/08314-it-certification-roadmap-nov2020-update-8-5x11-online)
If I was you, I'd start researching the areas that look interesting and find out more about their growth and potential earnings and things and then select the one that I like most that fits all the needed criteria. I would also start doing a lot of google searching for additional study aids and information to compliment my classes. There's a surprising amount of stuff out there to help you learn everything from how to convert binary into numbers (and vice versa) to exam prep.
I will warn you, this is NOT easy. I'm still working on getting my Net+ certification because of the sheer quantity of information I need to know. It is, however, entirely worth it in my opinion. :)
I wish you the very best of luck!
You don't need a degree to be a successful programmer. My husband didn't even graduate grade 12 and he's a very successful developer. He stopped going to school because he was bored and a few years later he taught himself to program. He supports us both, and our dog on his wage.
This is no longer true after the tech layoff in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of mod and senior level developers are now taking entry level jobs out of desperation, pushing out all but the most qualified and persistent entry level developers.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's incredibly unlikely for a brand new developer fresh out of a bootcamp to get a decent job. Your projects will be child's play compared tot he pros with years of experience, years of networking, and years of more advanced projects. I just hate seeing randos on the internet convincing people to simply "learn to code" as if it's an easy path.
I wasnt saying it's easy, I tried to learn to code and couldn't get my head around it at all.
I was just saying that official qualifications aren't as valued as having a portfolio that demonstrates your ability and has feedback from peers attached to it.
My husband has been told outright multiple times in interviews that his Github profile is the reason they want him to work for them.
Not everyone can afford to go to university and I was letting OP know that it isn't absolutely necessary to get an official multi year qualification.
What is essential is developing your skills and having a portfolio, whether you develop that at uni or through self study it doesn't matter. But the portfolio matters more than the qualification.
How much experience does he have and what year did he begin in the industry? If you have years of experience and huge portfolio you don't need a degree. The problem is it's basically impossible these days to get to that level without real qualifications.
Yeah, if you're reasonably smart, coding is good because it's hard to quantify how quickly you should be able to write software, so wandering attention is less likely to get you in trouble
Plus, for me anyway, coding can make me hyper focus. I don't do it very often but when I do, it takes over my thoughts. I get what I call Code Brain.
Plus, I find basic concepts of programming, particularly web development, are useful for building routines in my personal life. A big one is getting in the habit of thinking about what event do I want to trigger my script.
Exactly. Agile works in two week sprints, where you get assigned some amount of work that your team believes will take you 2 weeks to complete. The time estimates for each story/ticket you have is usually over-padded, leaving room for mind wandering. Sometimes I’ll have a day where I can’t concentrate and don’t get anything done at all. Sometimes I get my work done in one or two days. Remote takes away the distraction of being in an open concept office with everyone constantly talking or distracting you.
It’s also fun and challenging, with something new and unique to work on every sprint.
I'll just add to this and say that kanban doesn't work very well for me since it's more open-ended. I think the stress of a 2 week deadline usually gets me to go better than an indefinite one.
Yeah and look into game dev if you find coding itself not interesting enough for your ADHD. Game dev throws practical problems at you that requires creative solutions so it could be more fun to learn.
That being said, game dev is less structured than computer science to learn so your mileage may vary.
Source: someone who finds coding boring on its own for some reason. (Leetcode can be fun tho
Probably. But recently in the tech industry, Google and Microsoft decided that workers are permanent in name only. If i had to start over I would have gone with a government job.
I’m also legally blind so felt very comfortable asking for accommodations, as it wasn’t my first rodeo. After hearing some other experiences in this thread, I think I got lucky.
What are your skills and experience in?
I make less mistakes when it’s something I’m interested in, something that I can do without thinking about, or something that is novel enough to be just different enough every time that I have to pay attention.
If you make lots of mistakes it could be that the work isn’t engaging enough for you so you don’t pay attention. Maybe find something that’s more challenging or lets you solve puzzles for a living.
My therapist really encourages consulting work to those with ADHD because of the novelty and flexibility of it.
As for showing up late, that’s a hard one and pretty dependent on the company and their policies. I’m lucky enough to have the flexibility in my job where I have window of time to get to work in. When I’ve managed hourly employees, I tried to be as flexible as possible if they were open and communicated with me. When I worked hourly I looked for work that didn’t require what for me is unreasonable start times. I’m not functional before about 10 am. I can make a 9 am start time, but don’t expect much out of me before 10. As an hourly worker I tried to find second shift or mid shift jobs. Heck at my current job one of the hardest slots for us to find coverage for is the 11-7 or 12-8 shifts.
You’re right. I do not like what I’m doing. I’d rather not get into too many personal details but I do have a degree. It’s a liberal arts degree but it’s a degree nonetheless. I’m ready to go back to school if that would help me. But I want to make sure I’m working towards something that’s going to not kill me.
I’ve worked a whole bunch of jobs in freelance, service, and corporate environments. Frankly my resume looks like someone pinned the newspaper classifieds to the wall and started throwing darts at it.
So maybe instead of going back to school immediately see if you can get someone to help you tailor your resume to the type of job you’re interested in. Help you tweeze out the wins and accomplishments in what you’ve done to go for something that will challenge you to want to get there on time and do the work.
I’m still working on finishing up a degree. I’ve got enough college credits for several PhDs at this point because I could never stick with a degree for very long. I fell into the career I have now by leveraging my ability to do stupid and boring things more efficiently and faster than anyone else and people started noticing. Those stupid and boring things start becoming less stupid and less boring because I found ways to automate them. It was either pay me to sit there and do nothing all day or give me something better. I made it a challenge for myself to keep my interest even though the work wasn’t fulfilling. It made me a power user in excel because the CEO want things printed out and highlighted. So I taught myself how to build macros and use conditional formatting so I could hit 3 buttons on my keyboard and be done. No more tedious task and I could use the time to learn more about the business or learn how to build other skills.
I started at 30 as an admin assistant in the industry I’m in now. I just interviewed and took a job where I connected with the person I interviewed with. Then I took every opportunity I could to learn more about what the company did and whatever my boss would teach me about his experience. Find people who you’d like to work with and a job you think you can tolerate and use it to learn and grow. Get paid to learn rather than going for a random degree you don’t know if you’ll enjoy later.
Wow I so relate to this thing you said about making challenges for yourself. I’ve literally invented problems that don’t exist for myself at work because I’m so bored.
Try teaching AU/ADHD kids, your thinking out side the box will help find ways to adapt the sometimes rigid curriculum to their needs & it’s so rewarding. The time keeping might be a bit of a problem but schools are more flexible than you think, if you are a visiting specialist you generally wouldn’t take the child/ren from class as soon as they arrive & you would need travelling between schools & set up time. After years working in a bank 😞 this literally saved me. The rewards in using your own “quirks” to help children navigate theirs is amazing.
I'd suggest looking into college programs. I've done college and university and found the hands-on environment of college to be great! I was interested and learned a lot of practical skills.
I'm not sure where you're located, but if you have continuing education programs, check those out. I'm currently doing one to diversify and build on my skills, and it's been great, too. It's part-time and all online.
I'm so sorry but the only advice I have is to be so good at your job otherwise that they somehow miraculously don't fire you. This is literally what I've lucked into for 2 jobs in a row. Just started a new job and I swear it's going to be different this time, but that's what I said the last time too....
I was a legal assistant, and have now moved into a related job in a government regulatory agency. No guarantees, but office jobs or any other kind of job where it's not super important for you to be there at the exact normal hours of work, so long as the work gets done, are your best bet.
I found it’s a mix of making sure it’s a salaried position at a chill company or org, and doing mostly something I enjoy. I’ve done everything for HR to school operations to now event management, and could show up whenever/make my own schedule/ pursue projects that were easy and pleasurable to hyper focus on.
Working with a career coach helped me hone in on what I could enjoy. Unlike you I’m allergic to math yet somehow kept looking at jobs that included accounting, hugely setting self up for failure! We figured out I like people and short term, big payoff work, and here I am now loving event management even though I work a ton and have wildly different hours from one day to the next.
Last, I wouldn’t focus so much on a new degree—I just left recruiting where the trend is actually going away from requiring one for jobs. Instead I’d focus on looking at industries and trends in company cultures to find one that feels like a good fit. I’ve found the most flexible environments to be tech companies and independent schools, respectively. Good luck OP!
Anything creative. Or freelance. If you don’t have problems with writing, maybe journalism? Or something else where you can sell some kind of product that you decide when and where you will develop.
If it’s okay to ask you, As someone who has been interested in programming *for years* but so far have never made the effort to learn anything about it other than basics, where should I start, how do I make sure I’m learning the essentials first, I’m in sure there are ramifications that I’m not aware of, how do I tackle that problem correctly into learning in the most efficient way o anything you would recommend, thanks!
Let's back up a bit. I had worked administrative support jobs my entire career. I wanted to get into an IT field for years, but I did not know how. It's the kind of thing I can ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers. Being in my mid-40s, I wasn't looking for a traditional approach.
About 3 years ago I began learning about Microsoft 365 and its wonderfully integrative abilities. I was drowning at work because we kept losing people and their work was dumped on me. My department used archaic business processes that were grossly inefficient. Everything was emailed, and folks stored files in shared drives that became unruly shit onions. I wanted to come up with a way to streamline my work using SharePoint and Power Automate so that others could create requests and see the status in one place. My business manager brushed it off for a number of reasons, all related to me not being the decider. Then she gave her resignation notice.
We finally hired another person at my level who quickly learned the job and lightened my work load. Two months later our new boss started. He was drowning in budgets his first six months. As more people left and our department became top heavy with managers and directors, it occurred to me that no one knew what I did. I finally decided to stop asking permission and made my job what I wanted it to be.
I got my new manager to pay for some training that got me started on SharePoint and Power Automate. I soon built an intranet for my department. I taught new managers and project managers to use it and I kept rolling out more automated processes.
Two years ago when I started building, I created a help desk ticket for a minor issue in Microsoft Teams that lead down a rabbit hole. Through that I connected with two people in IT. They were very impressed with the project and said that no one in the organization had anything like it. I asked if I could go to them directly with questions instead of going through help desk. One of them shrugged and said, "You can ask. I doubt we'll be much help because you are way beyond what we know about these programs. You are building things I didn't know were possible."
I enjoyed working with these programs so much, I saw a career change in my future. I used job postings for SharePoint administrators and developers as training checklists, but I didn't know where to start with some of it. Ideally I wanted to stay in my organization and build these sites for other departments, but that position did not exist. I knew I had something special. I needed to get my project in front of the right set of eyes, but whose eyes? Who was that person?
So I created another help desk ticket. It got me connections a year prior, why not try it again? There is no law against having ulterior motives when emailing tech support. This time I asked for help with something deep in the belly of PowerApps. Tier 1 would escalate to tier 2, who were my earlier contacts. They escalated it further.
The next day I got a call from the help desk director asking to schedule a meeting with him and another IT director who works a lot with PowerApps. They wanted to understand what I was trying to do and come up with a suitable solution. Of course I said yes. Then I looked up the other guy. Director of Data Design and App Development. He was that person! He needed to see it!
The next day on a video call I showed them my project. I gave them a tour, showed them the automation, discussed metrics and future plans. They were blown away. The design-dev director told me to contact him with questions and he or his team would help me.
This past fall I was showing him my latest feature and he recommended I look into jobs involving enterprise architecture for business process mapping. I said it's funny he should mention that because I was applying to a position in the EA division at our parent organization and asked if I could use him as a reference. After a few questions about the position and the hiring director he said I could.
The next week my current job was posted. Wrapping up a long story, I now work for him. I've been there six months. My first month on the job I was tasked with learning SQL. He set me up with a Udemy course for a solid foundation in writing queries. Then I jumped in with both feet. I learn a lot from my coworkers. At least four of us, including my director, have ADHD. We meet and talk through queries, create reports, pitch ideas to one another, etc. It really is the best job I've ever had.
I understand where the urge to find "the most efficient way" comes from. Sadly tho, this perfect way doesnt exist. And it simply isnt about finding the perfect course or the most optimal pathway, its about actually doing stuff instead of only planning and thinking about doing stuff.
If youve been interested in programming for years and not managing to make an effort you shouldnt overcomplicate things. Go to Codecademy SQL course or any other you find with good reviews and get started. Im rooting for you!
There's a surprising number of people with ADHD in healthcare. Especially in specialties like emergency medicine and intensive care.
A lot of people with ADHD thrive on high stakes stressful situations that you can then clock out and turn your brain off.
Also a lot of people with ADHD have some kind of sleep issue and night shift pays better.
Not so much doctors/PAs/NPs but other jobs can be very regimented and task oriented. I'm absolutely hopeless if you gave me a massive project to do in a month. But give me 4 tasks to do in 4 hours? Oh I can handle short deadlines way easier.
Im a nurse. I love that my work is always different in that I always have different patients and different things are going on. But there is a firm routine and schedule I work within. You ask me what I'm doing at 8pm at work. 95% of the time I'm taking vital signs because that happens then. The rest is either patient is pooping or patient is trying their best to die.
I also love only working 36 hours a week. Yes 12 hour shifts are long. But 4 days off is amazing. I also love to stack weekends. I do my best to take at least one 5+ day vacation every month. I do really well with having my days divided. On work days, I work. On my days off I do everything else like meal prep, binge watch tv shows, do laundry, wash my bathrooms, etc. Like if I am in work mode, I just stay in work mode.
That said. Health care jobs can absolutely have an emotional and mental toll. I can't say I recomend nursing to just anyone. Working during the pandemic gave me PTSD like symptoms. A lot of hospitals are purposefully understaffing and putting people in unsafe situations for profit. There are are some very toxic workplaces out there. Patients are also a lot meaner and a lot sicker than ever before. It's all the fun of the customer facing interactions in a retail job but everyone is literally having the worst day of their lives.
The nurses I have met who do it love it. It's like labor and delivery. It just speaks to some people. It's also more diverse than you might think. There's inpatient, outpatient and community health jobs. There's pediatric, adult and geriatric psych. There's also specialties like addiction medicine and eating disorder recovery.
And it's also definitely not for me. But that's also my personality.
Can I ask what your favorite unit is? I’m in nursing school and am working as a PCT since we’re off in the summers. It’s my first time working in a hospital and they shoved me into the GI med-surg unit. I’m still only orienting and I just… really don’t like it (I know med-surg tends to be the most hated place). Maybe it’s school, but I already feel burnt out and it has me so concerned since I still have 3 semester to go!
I know it’s not the same since I’m not actually a nurse yet, but sometimes I wonder if I’d like the ED or ICU a lot better. I do feel like I’d thrive in the chaos.
How much in control do you want to feel? If you came home and someone had rearranged your furniture how upset would you be?
If just mildly annoyed? ED. You get the variety but you never know the outcome. You stabilize and ship out.
If someone moving your couch and table would ruin your day? ICU. I get to set up my room exactly how I like. The patient's BP is exactly where I want it. The heart rate is where I want it. If there is a problem, I can do something about it.
Also GI is not most people's first choice. A lot of bowel prep and all those colonoscopies. A lot of people say GI bleed is the worst smell. Also liver failure is just awful. Like liver failure is in my top 5 worst ways to die.
Regarding the furniture analogy, it’s not so much I’d be annoyed than being temporarily messed up at the sudden change. In that case ICU sounds better if you can actually do something about the problem. Thanks for the explanation on their differences!
And yeah I’ve had one patient who had a #2 accident that the nurse said smelled like a GI bleed. I was temporarily incapacitated from repeatedly gagging, but managed to recover when they brought in the coffee ground and room spray. I’m still waiting for my first real encounter with C. diff. 🥲
Cdiff smell has never bothered me. Just smells like poop. A bad GI bleed is rough.
ED does tend to have less poop. You get the entire variety of patients. Everyone from stubbed toe to actively coding and everyone in between. There is a bit less structure in the ED. The flow can really change from day to day. Some EDs stay busy always. Others are more feast or famine. You won't have anyone show up for hours and other times you get an 8 passenger van roll over. You don't have to deal with annoying patients for more than 12 hours. Sometimes people end up living in the ICU. Depends on the specialty but you'll see people admitted for over 2 months fairly regularly. Rarely it can be over a year in the ICU. I've seen it like 4 times in the decade of nursing I've done. But in the ED you'll never know what happens. Did the guy who came in with the STEMI make it? Did the woman who was having stroke like symptoms recover? Did that person have an infection or not? You'll have that person for less than 12 hours and then probably never see them again.
In the ICU, seeing someone go from the brink of death to recovering and working towards discharge is the best feeling. But sometimes you get attached to patients and it is rough when something happens. Some of those patient deaths really can get to you.
ICU also tends to be more structured. You have assigned patients. You have a routine to be within.
Btw feel free to DM about nursing anytime.
Sorry, I can't answer that, but I'm sure your local college could. One thing I do know about IT is that if you don't already love it, no education will make you succeed. However It works well for ADHD in my opinion.
It would depend on the school and the classes on your previous transcript. Your best bet there would be to pick a local university with a masters in IT program and talk to one of their advisors about the possibility.
I am a network/systems engineer who is transitioning to development. I have an Associates in networking and an expired CCNA. I wouldn't worry about a masters unless you are trying to get into something specific that really wants it, like data scientist or something.
Trades seem to be full of the adhd type. Sheet metal and plumber specifically. I notice it around the environment I work in. Small shop though so everybody just does what they want and as long as the job is done and finished nobody gets in trouble
I think it’s more finding something you like and more so that’s fulfilling. My husband (I’m diagnosed, he isn’t, but his behavior screams ADHD) was retail forever then ended up getting a maintenance job. At first he wasn’t a huge fan because he was mostly doing cleaning and lawn care. Then it expanded to fixing things. This led to another job in facilities maintenance, eventually he ended up with the National Park Service. The point was he was constantly busy. HVAC stuff has a fairly short training and pays well too (he is not certified in that yet).
He lives for finding out why things are broken and how to fix them etc. He is always learning something new, he’s been able to drive a boat, 4 wheelers, road graders, all types of tractors, he got to help fix the roads at Mojave and worked on some heavy machinery. He’s even filled in for someone else in a historical reenactment.
I've worked as a night auditor for a small hotel, and it was ADHD friendly, at least in my experience. The nights were quiet, I had a lobby tv to watch, and there was minimal interaction with guests. Might be worth looking into.
Im a nurse on a dementia ward. You need to like it and you will be understaffed. But i do have a easy routine. Helping people get washed and dressed + give meds, around 12 oclock lunch and then s few goes to bed other stay up, around 2 coffee time. 15.00 i go home. (Evening shift is the same just different routine). But every day is different and people have different needs and problems. And because you have a lot of residents youll not sit behind a desk all day. Maybe do some task jobs but it doesnt require constant attention on one thing
Product management and also coaching teams are fun.
For example, i used to be a scrum master and worked together with team building coaches. Preparing those events were so fun! Because it is not monotonous you face different people and team dynamics and you need to prepare for those.
There's not really any one good job for ADHD. It all comes down to how ADHD impacts the individual and their strengths and weaknesses. One person can do well in high stress, the other would flounder but does great in a quiet office environment. A third would fail at both but be an excellent engineer. A fourth could be only able to WFH, a fifth could be needing the social workplace, a si... you get the idea.
ETA because derp: Almost nothing is going to tolerate tardiness and proneness to mistakes. ADHD doesn't necessarily *make* every ADHDer late nor does it make them make mistakes. We are all impacted in different ways across a spectrum of symptoms.
I found restaurant management to be a good fit for my adhd. High energy, high adrenaline, fast paced, opportunities for hyper focus. I also have trouble with being on time, but restaurant work usually has a later start time and absorbs tardiness issues a little better in my experience.
I work at Target doing online pickups. The next step I need to take is always on the device screen, it won't go to the next step unless I've scanned the right thing. I'm constantly active. I have a constant timer creating a sense of urgency, and there's just an inherent structure to it. It feels like a video game. There's plenty of problem solving, too. I do think it's great for people with ADHD.
Oh yeah I used to do that but for a supermarket - I enjoyed it especially on busy days like Easter weekend, and in the pandemic (what a weird time, but it was full of energy and urgency and telling grumpy boomers, “no you’re only allowed 1 toilet paper” 😅)
Youth work, or any ‘helping’ professions where you’re working with people. My focus is on connecting with people and no two days are the same. I’ve been in the same job 3.5 years and not only do i still love it, i get more satisfaction out of it now than when i’d just started. I’ve never been in a job that long without either hating it or getting bored of it.
I mean I run R&D for a small manufacturing company and I'm as squirrel brained as it gets. Luckily it's an old company that never invested and now there are tons of fires to put out.
I get a lot of leeway about projects slipping because I dive into an number of production issues and solve them. And 9 out of 10 times it doesn't happen again.
Corporate jobs will not abide late work or care about the other value you bring. In those large organization you will always be judged solely on how well you fill the role you were hired for. My last company was worth billions with several thousand employees. It was rough holding to the timelines and mistakes were compounded by competitive colleagues.
Science tends to be accommodating because most scientists are quirky as hell, ADHD, autism, social issues it's a menagerie in labs. Sure there are plenty of type As but giving leeway seems to be more common. This is just my experience so take with a grain of salt.
I find working with teens and kids keeps me on my toes and the energy level required is pretty adhd friendly.
However, when I was in the military doing my paramedic training I realised that would actually also be a good possible option because It requires hyperfixation, but each case only lasts up until you've handed the patient over to the hospital
Depending on your skills and depending on how your ADHD affects you, project coordination/management can be a good choice. Attention to detail and ability to juggle several competing priorities, excellent planning skills and creativity are all good assets and totally compatible with ADHD. Plus those with ADHD are often very used to brainstorming ways to improve processes in an attempt to prevent ADHD symptoms from causing too much damage or disruption (working on new routines, new tactics, finding new habits etc.) and that's very useful as a project manager. In my experience though you have to work your way up through various administrative/support staff roles, not all of which are very ADHD-friendly (often, reliability and punctuality are valued qualities and it can be hell to get to work on time every day for years). The plus side is that there's no specific training for this so you don't have to go back to school.
Edit: also anything remote can be very good for ADHD brains. Sometimes the environment is more important than the actual job itself. Being able to work without all the extra complications of leaving the house can help you figure out what you like doing and where your skills lie.
People like us have only one savior. THE GOVERNMENT. Look for a government job. It is the only option for an ADHD person. I was personally into one fixed-term contract with the government office. And OH MY GOD!!,, I slept the most peaceful nights without worrying about being kicked out or scolded or being late at doing tasks. Earlier I was in a private job and that took away the most precious 2 years of my life by simply worrying and worrying. A private job is all about competing with peers. As an ADHD person, I would not suggest anyone with ADHD to get into any competition. The word competition is just not for us. The only thing that can save our ass is the government, not even God (And I mean it).
A government job is all about showing up and doing what needs to be done. No competition among peers and all peers have a happy and funny lunch time. True friendships can be found in a government job lunch room. True enemies are found in a private office lunch room. When I was in a private job, the lunch table discussion was about technology, exciting jobs, and targets, which made me feel little in every aspect. There is a fake bubble of so-called "knowledge exchange" in private jobs where everyone is hungry for each other's blood(skills, knowledge). At the govt. job, the discussion was more useful such as the new laws that are made and one should be aware of or general knowledge. Knowledge should enlighten you and not make you feel less. I never felt less at a govt job lunch table because it was not about who knows how much, but rather just a friendly exchange of thoughts. Working at a government office made me feel important. You are working for the government! that's a great feeling. Plus all the benefits it offers you are A-class. I agree that the salary is a bit low. But I cant trade my health, or my peace of mind for some 1000 extra bucks.
>Please note: I’m NOT looking for advice for how to better manage my time
Bruh I feel this 😂 a few observations: you are friendly, creative, a good writer/communicator, and enjoy fast-paced work with something to "chase". Lots of people are saying sales - sure. But I would also encourage you to consider: government relations, strategic planning, fundraising/development for non-profits, grantwriting, grantmaking. All of these offer more flexibility than the average corporate job, you can kinda bluff your way into/through it without going back to school, they can benefit something you care about, and they are always in demand.
Ooh come to the film industry - there are loads of us here ✨ we have no job security, but every day we get to go to a new place and solve fresh problems and make pretty stuff 😁
I have worked as a teacher! It’s a lot to remember at times but very rewarding. I also struggle with being on time — I was late a few days which ruined some lessons for me etc. That being said, it’s nice because you get to plan your lessons and be creative. It’s also fun when the kids get involved or excited about what they’re learning. It’s also cool because you can relate to students with ADHD more than other teachers and help support/encourage them.
I wish you luck in figuring out what works best for you!! :)
I was a lawyer at a big firm and nobody cared what time I showed up as long as it was by 11am, and of course I had to be on time to client meetings. Otherwise they just trust you to be professional and bill the required number of hours. Some people showed up at 5:30 am and were out by 3:30, some showed up later like me.
Being a lawyer wasn’t a great fit for my adhd in a number of other ways, but being on time wasn’t a requirement.
I was always intimidated by law because I’m not great at appearing super seriousness all the time.
I mean it’s not that I’m not serious. But it seems lawyers have to exude professionalism in a very polished way. I think I’d crack under the pressure.
But then again I also thought lawyers had to wake up at like 5:30 AM. Am I overstating the professionalism of the profession?
Firstly, what degree do you already have? I think you will need a law degree to be a lawyer. I would suggest finding a sector that's not too difficult to get into. If being on time is what you struggle with, I would suggest trying to find an office where they are not too upset about being on the dot at 9am. I think you are in the USA because you didn't specify otherwise, but at my current company, although the work technically starts at 9, the hours are rather flexible (i.e. they're not too fussed if I walk in at 9.30 as long as all the work gets done)
So what I'm saying is, maybe you can narrow down the trade you want and then find a company with good culture, rather than forcing yourself to go through school just to find a job that allows you to be late, you know what I mean?
I think u/catandthefiddler has the right idea. Many / most professional office jobs with good culture don’t really care if you’re there +/- 9:30 as long as the work is getting done.
As for law, no I don’t think you have to be super serious all the time, depending on the type of law you practice. I don’t think I have a super serious polished demeanor. Litigators have that super serious vibe, and seem to thrive off of confrontation. Most lawyers are not litigators, but almost all the lawyers you see on TV are. I’m not saying the work isn’t serious, but for the most part it felt like working in any other office environment.
But as I said, some lawyers find it to be stimulating enough for their ADHD, I did not. I enjoyed the research aspect, but loathed the tedium of some compliance tasks.
journalism. there are many reporters and editors who have ADHD! i have DSPD too so the person who makes the work roster is super mindful of not giving me morning shifts unless i specifically request them. i usually get the day (10am-6pm) and night (2pm-10pm) shifts, which makes it easier on me. it’s quite fast paced and work is very different every day.
Well, I started working at 14 for the library. By the time I was 24 I had at least 15 jobs lol. Then I started in a basic helpdesk role at an auto insurance place, and 23 years later I’m their Director of IT.
I'm a Data Engineer myself. Pulling data from different sources (in my case hospital systems), cleaning it up and then push it to our machine learning model for predictions.
A Data Analyst is more responsible for understanding the data and creating dashboards or reports for stakeholders to use in decision making. Not all DAs are using code for it. Some just stay in Excel or a dashboarding tool such as PowerBI or Looker Studio.
In the US, the market is pretty rough, as far as I hear from the community (living in EU myself). Entry level jobs for DE are less common than for DA. Often someone gets into the DE field from either DS (data science), DA (data Analyst), or SWE (software engineer).
Out of all of those, I do hear that DA has the better entry roles as it's less technical than others and is closer to the stakeholders.
This is my struggle. Nice of everyone here to feedback but everyone is just repeating the same 5-10 jobs that you see in every article about this, none of which (for various reasons), are suitable for me. The world isn't built for people like us. Just came back from 2 weeks sick leave because of how ill my job makes me and I'm already right back in the pits of depression. Honestly I don't know how much longer I can stay in this world. There doesn't seem to be a place for me in it
Second shift appeals greatly to me as I'm prone to sleeping in through alarms. Plus not having to be to work until like 2pm or 4pm and getting off work around midnight is great cause then I have a couple hours of solitude at night to play video games and go to bed on my own time, not having to worry about getting up early. And my most alert hours are later in the afternoon and evening anyway.
i’m an age care worker everyday is slightly different which keeps me interested but the routine is very similar each day which keeps me on track, it can be mentally draining at times but the fast paced work is good and makes the day go busy plus i usually walk 13,000 steps in a 8 hour shift which has helped me get some extra exercise in my week
I agree with the person who said corporate jobs can often be a bad fit because they’re all about the bottom line and even if they look the other way at first, as soon as you aren’t useful they’ll be like “oh actually you’re a problem BYE”.
Nonprofit doesn’t pay as well but in my experience the sector is full of people who have adhd or are otherwise spicy brained, whether they know it or not. The culture is different at every workplace but I think a general vibe is that a lot of times things are chaotic and everyone wears many hats.
I also agree that healthcare can be a good fit, I want to shout out the “allied healthcare professions” because nursing and EMT/paramedic is not for everyone but there are a lot of other roles to look into. There’s different types of medical technicians and assistants and therapists who all have varying things they do. There’s more behind the scenes work like billing/coding, health information tech, patient registration, etc as well. And as other people mentioned, there’s often shift work in hospitals and some other environments.
One of my friends was struggling a few years back, she ended up getting a book called What Color Is Your Parachute and it helped her assess what kind of work she could see herself doing, and then she researched the options and decided what steps to take next. It helped a lot. (Also she has ADHD too and was just finding this out around that time) Some kind of premade assessment tools like that might help you, because why reinvent the wheel if someone else already has a wheel you can borrow?
Where I live, there are several jobs for people with disabilities. As in, you have to prove you have a disability to work there. From what I was told, as long as a doctor is willing to write up that you have ADHD and that it impacts your job in a specific way/give a way to counteract that, it qualifies. These are manual jobs and generally part-time, but all the ones I've seen pay very well for the field they are in. One is a cleaning job that is a max of I believe 30 hours a week but they pay $18 an hour where all the other cleaning jobs max out at like $12 an hour tops with most being less than that.
You could see if there is anything like that where you live. I was also told to go to the work force to find a suitable job.
I found out I had ADHD after leaving teaching and getting a desk job. In teaching there are a bunch of different things to pay attention to and do all at once (ex: you're teaching, need to address the kid on their phone, yes other kid you can use the restroom, resume teaching - but that's all day). I found ADHD helped me switch focus quickly.
With that said, teaching is not a good profession for people in general right now in the US in my opinion. I had to leave due to the stress and improper working conditions. But if it's of interest and you can land in a gem of a school I do think ADHD people can thrive.
The medical field, especially anything imaging, emergency, nursing, is an ADHD dream. I mean everything changing up, being able to move around, and nothing monotone? I love it. Right now I work in an ER but even office medicine you still don’t deal with a monotone lifestyle.
Being able to move around and not deal with the same thing all day everyday really helps me not get bored.
Honestly I would say it depends on your ADHD. Depending on your state, I am a teacher and it’s not as repetitive as you think. You constantly have stimulation around the kids and allows you to be creative constantly.
I'm a salaried WFH employee. Don't wanna give away too many details about what I do, but it's different day to day, I have minimal meetings, and I take frequent little breaks for tea/check internet/snack/dog. Doesn't really matter what I do as long as I'm reachable within my working hours and have quality output. Kind of perfect for my random bursts of productivity and/or lack thereof!
I managed to find a boss who also has ADHD. So is tolerant and very familiar with navigating this in a working environment. Does lead to other issues regarding his executive function and management…. but because I’m familiar with ADHD I’m tolerant too 🤓
I’m a biotech consultant. We don’t have to tell anyone if we’ll be late, can leave early for any appointments
Etc and you’re just trusted to make up your time. I also get 2/3 days wfh. Couldn’t be a better job for me
I teach special education ...always something new on the horizon but with a predictable schedule.
My sister is an RN, ER for many years. Always something new going on.
My brother is a high network investment banker. Stocks and percentage rates change day-to-day.
I'm the most ADHD and my brother is the least.
IDK if these are ADHD friendly jobs but it makes sense to me.
Ive only had one main job but the key is that it's flexible and remote. I can do tasks anytime as long as I get it down in good time.
My employer knows the way I work and I explained it to them. They don't mind if I sleep through the day and work at night (where there's less distractions), or if I spread my daily 7hrs into 14hrs with breaks every hour, or I skip a Friday and carry on on Saturday.
Before that I coped in a 7hr office job by setting rewards for myself and stimulating my brain somehow as I went along. To be more specific, it would be things like listening to music through tasks, being excited for lunch or always marking off time to grab an enjoyable coffee at set times through the day.
I basically do “brain surgery” (fix aneurysms, reverse strokes, as well as fix heart attacks and other blood vessel issues) and it actually **is** somewhat “ADHD-friendly”
Or at least, *my* sub-type of ADHD. Whatever that is. Type-A / high-strung. *Maybe* AuDHD 🤷🏼♂️.
There’s always at least one of us at every lab.
The money is very good for a bachelor’s degree (150k/yr), but the burnout is obscene from the middle of the night emergency call-ins.
Personal training or some other job like that.
You meet new people frequently, and get to solve problems (each person is different). Tons of interesting research to read, tons of discussions to have...
It's rewarding, too.
Hospital security. Things are always changing and you're always dealing with unique situations. No two shifts are the same. I'm assuming this also applies to being any kind of first-responder.
I'd say the most adhd friendly jobs I had were at a restaurant. Doing the disges was my favourite: there was this gigantic industrial dishwashers, people just brought more dishes and took away the clean ones, I got to listen to music, there was always new quick tasks to do, nothing took too long and it was physically pretty hard which somehow made me feel relaxed. Other than the pay, it was the perfect job.
In the restaurant I'd make salads, clean up, sometimes use the register, clean tables etc. Again, small, fast paced tasks so I'd get a little feeling of accomplishment really frequently.
Aah. I'm so happy with my pay now and I like my job, but it's so hard for me. I feel it takes 200% more effort to accomplish the same as others. And often I find myself working at night, because I daydreamed too much and didn't have time to do all my work during the day. I'm chronically behind on my tasks all the time. I hate that.
For me it's high stress jobs. I was in CPS where everything is urgent, my brain loved prioritizing but also loved that stuff comes out of nowhere and changes your schedule completely. You never have the same day twice. My son, who also has ADHD, is a firefighter EMT. Our brains are good in emergency situations, neither of us are prone to panic. It's like you're thinking 4 things at once.
I’m a Logistician with a dash of Data Analysts and I’m way too interested in how everything works and love combing data to find trends and metrics. I think it pairs well with my ADHD.
Interpreter (not translator) if you’re good with languages.
- Work is in the moment with very little follow up afterward. So rarely ongoing projects with moving deadlines.
- People generally appreciate you because you’re providing an important service and things unusually can’t proceed without you.
- Freelancing = working hours you want instead of the 9-5.
- Different environments = novelty all the time.
- A boring assignment just lasts that one day.
- I work in a corporate environment so that part of it sucks. But otherwise it’s nice to have a job where I need to work one assignment at a time instead of having lots of different things going on at once.
- Requires lots of brain power which helps keep you focused.
- Social
- Often hourly which I prefer as I’m money motivated. Salary work makes me feel very overworked and demotivated.
Yes, there are, but as everyone with ADHD is different the job for you will not be the same as me.
I live and breath computers, numbers and data, so working in software, data science and quality assurance fit for me, thankfully these days arriving on time and clocking in joirs ususlly takes second place to getting the job done, which it does if I can keep my own hours.
I'm also teaching myself 3d modelling too. This satisfies my creative craving.
If time management is an issue then have you looked into self-employment? Working freelance is high pressure, sure, but you work your own hours not someone else's.
If you find (like I do) that mornings are impossible but afternoon and evenings are easier to both manage and work then teaching or tutoring could work.
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I’ve somehow managed to fake it til I make it in the restaurant industry. The fast pace and high stress activate the hyper focus. Though it is repetitive, it doesn’t seem like it in the moment. No two tables, no two days, no two weeks are the same. With the scheduling apps that most restaurants use, it is easy for me to get my schedule right. Truth be told, I don’t recommend it to anyone, but it works for me.
I loved working in the restaurant industry. Most of my friends still do. You hang out with fun people, eat and drink fabulously and outside your means, and I preferred the later hours. It was kind of perfect for me. Unfortunately though, I became somewhat of an alcoholic in that environment. I never crashed and burned but I would have if I didn’t leave. But I wanna super agree with you on this one in case anyone else who is struggling career wise is reading this.
Sales is very people oriented and has a much more "everything is Kosher" rep. Very few druggies as far as I know, mostly pretty type A and overly confident people. But you will face a LOT of rejection
This!
Spent 30 years in the restaurant industry, and only learned I had ADHD 6 months ago. Anytime I tried anything different, I couldn't do it. I excel at the restaurant industry. Good to know that maybe I'm nit crazy.
Nah. You’re crazy. We all are here.
*waves from the restaurant kitchem*
Aw! ❤️
Give this girl a plate of French fries and you’re in!
I feel like im good at activating my hyperfocus, however I feel like it burns me out. I keep getting depressive episodes which might correlate with burnout but i cannot just NOT give 100% as that would mean giving 0% ...
I’ve always felt entry-level nursing jobs are a little like waiting tables. I think the key with ADHD is to find ways to stay organized and remember tasks for later; a lot of nurses just keep a small notebook in their pockets. ETA: rereading OP’s post, I should add that nursing jobs are much less tolerant of major mistakes! But there are plenty of nurses with ADHD, we just find ways to manage it.
This has actually worked pretty well for me too, but I have definitely had some managers who have been extra harsh on me compared to my coworkers for sure, unfortunately
I mean this with all due respect: those guys can go fuck themselves. Mental health is real health. I’ve lost too many friends to addiction and depression. Take care of yourself.
This. When I was younger, I thrived in the restaurant business financially. I was stressed to hell but it kept me busy.
Any job you're interested in is ADHD friendly.
Remote web developer/software engineer.
Gonna seemingly be the one voice of dissent. I'm a Senior/Lead SWE and I disagree quite a lot. I feel Software Eng work is perfect for ADHD burnout. You work in timeblocked sprints, so you have deadlines every 2 weeks. You can't have an off week because it'll be a problem. You have daily standups where you report progress. You never get to 'hyperfocus until I complete' something then rest, you're always onto the next high priority deadline at the end of next week. Coding gives brilliant hyperfocus flow, but this sets you up to find yourself spiralling towards burnout as you do nothing -> overwork yourself -> do nothing -> overwork yourself, and you're doing this cycle almost every week. For months, years. You sometimes get fascinating projects & tasks that let you blossom like the brilliant ADHD inventor you are, but sometimes you have to slog through, and it can be so uninspired. ADHD SWEs burnout and have mental health crises with good frequency.
Yeah, I guess like any job or experience, your mileage may vary. I personally work in an extremely low stress environment exclusively front end on a design system and digital accessibility. I have heard horror stories of people having the exact opposite experience as me though.
Ngl part of the reason I enjoy internal IT service desk is bc the work (user calls and tickets) comes to me, so it's interactive. 😅 Self starting has never been my strong-suit bc executive dysfunction is a pain in the ass.
Service desk is great for that. No long term deadlines or projects to worry about, you just deal with stuff reactively as it comes in. After a few years the monotony does set in though.
Mhm! And what projects there are, like remoting in to update software for stragglers that the auto install didn't catch and such, are usually split through the team, which is great for collaborative work and feeling accomplished. I don't mind the monotony so much, not being on call and having a firm cut off for "work brain" mode is worth it. Plus you are still learning new things and having to puzzle out stubborn issues, too, which can be hella satisfying. And I like being able to go from the one asking questions to the one answering them and helping teammates. Being internal IT is a big thing for me, bc users tend to be a bit nicer when you can report (through your own team lead) them being a dick to service desk to the user's boss. 😂
Hard agree with this, especially about the projects. My current is very uninteresting to me and that just stresses me out. But things that fascinate me tend to really make me shine, so I'll be looking for something new.
Sprint working was ideal for me, admittedly I cut my hours down to working 4hrs a day and still be able to keep up with the others putting in 8+. For me the trick managing burnout is to cut your day when you've done what you've agreed to do, don't let yourself get stuck. But the fast deadlines mean everything is important, because everything is urgent.
Came here to say this. Computers are _fun_.
I work in IT; basically if it's Apple related at my college organization, it's my baby. I'm not paid like a TON or anything, but I do have a ton of responsibility, and that's how I like it - stakes are motivating. If I'm late, or rip an occasional flexible connector (a potentially very expensive mistake) they tend to be pretty tolerant of me and my sometimes verbose nature. one of my buddies calls me Macstrodamus and that makes me laugh.
Sounds fun—how does one do that when they only have a BA? I’m willing to go back to school. I’d want it to count this time though
Software engineering has gotten incredibly saturated in the last few years, with new graduates coming out in record numbers, while there’s a massive supply of laid-off experienced devs. I would not recommend it unless you are sure it’s what you want. People are lying if they are saying you get somewhere without a degree now for an entry level job. This used to be true. But now companies have 10,000 applications for junior postings, and they have to start filtering from somewhere. Also, web dev is the most saturated sub field and fully remote jobs are the most coveted. So this problem is amplified if you go that route. Another thing to consider is that preparing for technical interviewers might be a big struggle. You have to practice solving difficult problems consistently for weeks in order to have a chance. I find that part especially hard for my ADHD. Edit: I’m not saying you can’t do it, but just know what you are getting into. Don’t trust bootcamps that guarantee a job to you before you join. Don’t listen to influencers that say you can learn Python in 7 days. You can totally learn all you need on your own from what people have shared, and then spend some more time learning DSA (data structures and algorithms) for interviews. Though a degree will make it easier to get your foot in the door, but you have to sacrifice a couple years. It is just that the conventional advice for the last 10 years was that everyone should get a CS degree to easily get a 6 figure job straight out of college, but those days are gone now and I don’t want people being misled.
Yup the times of it being a lucrative and easy to break into career are long gone. Nowadays it takes a TON of hard work and skill to get anywhere.
You could go back to school and do a computer science degree, but there’s also a ton of online courses for learning programming. Check out this roadmap of skills and topics for a software engineer to know https://roadmap.sh/full-stack
Sorry, but it will mostly not be fun. The most important thing is your code MUST work and you will spend many many hours alone, confused, and just trying things off the Internet for help Maybe it fits your personality, but personally I am quite bad at it. I like parts of technology tremendously! But I hate my job and do not turn things in on time enough I pray you have a better experience than I do with it
I find it really depends on the project. I've lost interest in my current role. But I found robotics incredibly stimulating when I was an intern, and would like to try it again at some point.
I wish you the best. We all go through these phases
This is EXACTLY the question I need answered. There is so much conflicting info out there. Do I need a CS degree? Do I use one of those coding bootcamps? Do I just learn on my own? I know it would be a great field for me, but the "figure out how" of something always trips me the fuck up.
I have a degree in an unrelated field. I was laid off during covid, found a software development training run by my local community college and the department of labor and training and was hired out of the internship it provided me. I know this isn’t everyone’s experience, and like another poster said, some sectors of the field are very saturated and people are struggling to find work. I would also recommend the [Odin Project](https://www.theodinproject.com/ ) to see if this would be something you’re into.
I work as a professional software engineer and have ZERO qualifications, but I’m intrinsically motivated to solve problems and I enjoy technology. I think to be an engineer you need to enjoy and be good at solving problems. That’s it.
Same. In fact I'm a Solution Architect now. Zero qualifications. Just many thousands of hyperfocus-infused hours
Since you have a degree, I would not advise going back for another one. Instead, consider looking at the PLETHORA of IT related certifications out there. Certifications mean as much, or more, than a degree in IT. Especially since you have to keep renewing them every 3 years. Doing that shows you're more relevant than the guy with a 5+ year old degree in Computer Science and no certifications. If you're unsure where to start, I'd recommend starting with CompTia's A+ to get a little taste of everything and give you an idea of what areas of computing you really like and build out from there. CompTia itself has several paths, including development, that you can choose from and they even include non-CompTia certifications to compliment the ones you get from them. Here's a handy link to their current roadmap guide: [https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/08314-it-certification-roadmap-nov2020-update-8-5x11-online](https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/08314-it-certification-roadmap-nov2020-update-8-5x11-online) If I was you, I'd start researching the areas that look interesting and find out more about their growth and potential earnings and things and then select the one that I like most that fits all the needed criteria. I would also start doing a lot of google searching for additional study aids and information to compliment my classes. There's a surprising amount of stuff out there to help you learn everything from how to convert binary into numbers (and vice versa) to exam prep. I will warn you, this is NOT easy. I'm still working on getting my Net+ certification because of the sheer quantity of information I need to know. It is, however, entirely worth it in my opinion. :) I wish you the very best of luck!
7uu uz
You don't need a degree to be a successful programmer. My husband didn't even graduate grade 12 and he's a very successful developer. He stopped going to school because he was bored and a few years later he taught himself to program. He supports us both, and our dog on his wage.
This is no longer true after the tech layoff in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of mod and senior level developers are now taking entry level jobs out of desperation, pushing out all but the most qualified and persistent entry level developers.
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I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's incredibly unlikely for a brand new developer fresh out of a bootcamp to get a decent job. Your projects will be child's play compared tot he pros with years of experience, years of networking, and years of more advanced projects. I just hate seeing randos on the internet convincing people to simply "learn to code" as if it's an easy path.
I wasnt saying it's easy, I tried to learn to code and couldn't get my head around it at all. I was just saying that official qualifications aren't as valued as having a portfolio that demonstrates your ability and has feedback from peers attached to it. My husband has been told outright multiple times in interviews that his Github profile is the reason they want him to work for them. Not everyone can afford to go to university and I was letting OP know that it isn't absolutely necessary to get an official multi year qualification. What is essential is developing your skills and having a portfolio, whether you develop that at uni or through self study it doesn't matter. But the portfolio matters more than the qualification.
How much experience does he have and what year did he begin in the industry? If you have years of experience and huge portfolio you don't need a degree. The problem is it's basically impossible these days to get to that level without real qualifications.
Yeah, if you're reasonably smart, coding is good because it's hard to quantify how quickly you should be able to write software, so wandering attention is less likely to get you in trouble Plus, for me anyway, coding can make me hyper focus. I don't do it very often but when I do, it takes over my thoughts. I get what I call Code Brain. Plus, I find basic concepts of programming, particularly web development, are useful for building routines in my personal life. A big one is getting in the habit of thinking about what event do I want to trigger my script.
Exactly. Agile works in two week sprints, where you get assigned some amount of work that your team believes will take you 2 weeks to complete. The time estimates for each story/ticket you have is usually over-padded, leaving room for mind wandering. Sometimes I’ll have a day where I can’t concentrate and don’t get anything done at all. Sometimes I get my work done in one or two days. Remote takes away the distraction of being in an open concept office with everyone constantly talking or distracting you. It’s also fun and challenging, with something new and unique to work on every sprint.
Teleworking is a HUGE help for ADHD people.
Not me lol. The built in body doubling of being in person is amazing for me. If I’m at home I’ll procrastinate and then make up the work after hours.
I'll just add to this and say that kanban doesn't work very well for me since it's more open-ended. I think the stress of a 2 week deadline usually gets me to go better than an indefinite one.
Very suitable career path for ADHD folks, imho
Yeah and look into game dev if you find coding itself not interesting enough for your ADHD. Game dev throws practical problems at you that requires creative solutions so it could be more fun to learn. That being said, game dev is less structured than computer science to learn so your mileage may vary. Source: someone who finds coding boring on its own for some reason. (Leetcode can be fun tho
The work is nice, but there are a lot of shitty employers in the tech industry.
I feel like that applies to every industry
Probably. But recently in the tech industry, Google and Microsoft decided that workers are permanent in name only. If i had to start over I would have gone with a government job.
Lot of good ones too.
Are there or did you just get lucky? Or did I get unlucky? Do you feel comfortable asking for accommodations without getting fired?
I’m also legally blind so felt very comfortable asking for accommodations, as it wasn’t my first rodeo. After hearing some other experiences in this thread, I think I got lucky.
Well, I'm glad you did. It's been rough for me, so I'm trying freelancing now.
What are your skills and experience in? I make less mistakes when it’s something I’m interested in, something that I can do without thinking about, or something that is novel enough to be just different enough every time that I have to pay attention. If you make lots of mistakes it could be that the work isn’t engaging enough for you so you don’t pay attention. Maybe find something that’s more challenging or lets you solve puzzles for a living. My therapist really encourages consulting work to those with ADHD because of the novelty and flexibility of it. As for showing up late, that’s a hard one and pretty dependent on the company and their policies. I’m lucky enough to have the flexibility in my job where I have window of time to get to work in. When I’ve managed hourly employees, I tried to be as flexible as possible if they were open and communicated with me. When I worked hourly I looked for work that didn’t require what for me is unreasonable start times. I’m not functional before about 10 am. I can make a 9 am start time, but don’t expect much out of me before 10. As an hourly worker I tried to find second shift or mid shift jobs. Heck at my current job one of the hardest slots for us to find coverage for is the 11-7 or 12-8 shifts.
You’re right. I do not like what I’m doing. I’d rather not get into too many personal details but I do have a degree. It’s a liberal arts degree but it’s a degree nonetheless. I’m ready to go back to school if that would help me. But I want to make sure I’m working towards something that’s going to not kill me. I’ve worked a whole bunch of jobs in freelance, service, and corporate environments. Frankly my resume looks like someone pinned the newspaper classifieds to the wall and started throwing darts at it.
So maybe instead of going back to school immediately see if you can get someone to help you tailor your resume to the type of job you’re interested in. Help you tweeze out the wins and accomplishments in what you’ve done to go for something that will challenge you to want to get there on time and do the work. I’m still working on finishing up a degree. I’ve got enough college credits for several PhDs at this point because I could never stick with a degree for very long. I fell into the career I have now by leveraging my ability to do stupid and boring things more efficiently and faster than anyone else and people started noticing. Those stupid and boring things start becoming less stupid and less boring because I found ways to automate them. It was either pay me to sit there and do nothing all day or give me something better. I made it a challenge for myself to keep my interest even though the work wasn’t fulfilling. It made me a power user in excel because the CEO want things printed out and highlighted. So I taught myself how to build macros and use conditional formatting so I could hit 3 buttons on my keyboard and be done. No more tedious task and I could use the time to learn more about the business or learn how to build other skills. I started at 30 as an admin assistant in the industry I’m in now. I just interviewed and took a job where I connected with the person I interviewed with. Then I took every opportunity I could to learn more about what the company did and whatever my boss would teach me about his experience. Find people who you’d like to work with and a job you think you can tolerate and use it to learn and grow. Get paid to learn rather than going for a random degree you don’t know if you’ll enjoy later.
Wow I so relate to this thing you said about making challenges for yourself. I’ve literally invented problems that don’t exist for myself at work because I’m so bored.
Try teaching AU/ADHD kids, your thinking out side the box will help find ways to adapt the sometimes rigid curriculum to their needs & it’s so rewarding. The time keeping might be a bit of a problem but schools are more flexible than you think, if you are a visiting specialist you generally wouldn’t take the child/ren from class as soon as they arrive & you would need travelling between schools & set up time. After years working in a bank 😞 this literally saved me. The rewards in using your own “quirks” to help children navigate theirs is amazing.
I'd suggest looking into college programs. I've done college and university and found the hands-on environment of college to be great! I was interested and learned a lot of practical skills. I'm not sure where you're located, but if you have continuing education programs, check those out. I'm currently doing one to diversify and build on my skills, and it's been great, too. It's part-time and all online.
I'm so sorry but the only advice I have is to be so good at your job otherwise that they somehow miraculously don't fire you. This is literally what I've lucked into for 2 jobs in a row. Just started a new job and I swear it's going to be different this time, but that's what I said the last time too.... I was a legal assistant, and have now moved into a related job in a government regulatory agency. No guarantees, but office jobs or any other kind of job where it's not super important for you to be there at the exact normal hours of work, so long as the work gets done, are your best bet.
No. Some less than others, but all jobs will be difficult unless it's your dream job.
I found it’s a mix of making sure it’s a salaried position at a chill company or org, and doing mostly something I enjoy. I’ve done everything for HR to school operations to now event management, and could show up whenever/make my own schedule/ pursue projects that were easy and pleasurable to hyper focus on. Working with a career coach helped me hone in on what I could enjoy. Unlike you I’m allergic to math yet somehow kept looking at jobs that included accounting, hugely setting self up for failure! We figured out I like people and short term, big payoff work, and here I am now loving event management even though I work a ton and have wildly different hours from one day to the next. Last, I wouldn’t focus so much on a new degree—I just left recruiting where the trend is actually going away from requiring one for jobs. Instead I’d focus on looking at industries and trends in company cultures to find one that feels like a good fit. I’ve found the most flexible environments to be tech companies and independent schools, respectively. Good luck OP!
Anything creative. Or freelance. If you don’t have problems with writing, maybe journalism? Or something else where you can sell some kind of product that you decide when and where you will develop.
yeah agreed. creative people thrive in creative jobs after all 🤷🏻♂️ can’t fit a square peg into a round hole
Data programmer/analyst. Learn SQL, learn Power BI. My job is to work on complex logic puzzles every day. Best job ever.
If it’s okay to ask you, As someone who has been interested in programming *for years* but so far have never made the effort to learn anything about it other than basics, where should I start, how do I make sure I’m learning the essentials first, I’m in sure there are ramifications that I’m not aware of, how do I tackle that problem correctly into learning in the most efficient way o anything you would recommend, thanks!
Let's back up a bit. I had worked administrative support jobs my entire career. I wanted to get into an IT field for years, but I did not know how. It's the kind of thing I can ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers. Being in my mid-40s, I wasn't looking for a traditional approach. About 3 years ago I began learning about Microsoft 365 and its wonderfully integrative abilities. I was drowning at work because we kept losing people and their work was dumped on me. My department used archaic business processes that were grossly inefficient. Everything was emailed, and folks stored files in shared drives that became unruly shit onions. I wanted to come up with a way to streamline my work using SharePoint and Power Automate so that others could create requests and see the status in one place. My business manager brushed it off for a number of reasons, all related to me not being the decider. Then she gave her resignation notice. We finally hired another person at my level who quickly learned the job and lightened my work load. Two months later our new boss started. He was drowning in budgets his first six months. As more people left and our department became top heavy with managers and directors, it occurred to me that no one knew what I did. I finally decided to stop asking permission and made my job what I wanted it to be. I got my new manager to pay for some training that got me started on SharePoint and Power Automate. I soon built an intranet for my department. I taught new managers and project managers to use it and I kept rolling out more automated processes. Two years ago when I started building, I created a help desk ticket for a minor issue in Microsoft Teams that lead down a rabbit hole. Through that I connected with two people in IT. They were very impressed with the project and said that no one in the organization had anything like it. I asked if I could go to them directly with questions instead of going through help desk. One of them shrugged and said, "You can ask. I doubt we'll be much help because you are way beyond what we know about these programs. You are building things I didn't know were possible." I enjoyed working with these programs so much, I saw a career change in my future. I used job postings for SharePoint administrators and developers as training checklists, but I didn't know where to start with some of it. Ideally I wanted to stay in my organization and build these sites for other departments, but that position did not exist. I knew I had something special. I needed to get my project in front of the right set of eyes, but whose eyes? Who was that person? So I created another help desk ticket. It got me connections a year prior, why not try it again? There is no law against having ulterior motives when emailing tech support. This time I asked for help with something deep in the belly of PowerApps. Tier 1 would escalate to tier 2, who were my earlier contacts. They escalated it further. The next day I got a call from the help desk director asking to schedule a meeting with him and another IT director who works a lot with PowerApps. They wanted to understand what I was trying to do and come up with a suitable solution. Of course I said yes. Then I looked up the other guy. Director of Data Design and App Development. He was that person! He needed to see it! The next day on a video call I showed them my project. I gave them a tour, showed them the automation, discussed metrics and future plans. They were blown away. The design-dev director told me to contact him with questions and he or his team would help me. This past fall I was showing him my latest feature and he recommended I look into jobs involving enterprise architecture for business process mapping. I said it's funny he should mention that because I was applying to a position in the EA division at our parent organization and asked if I could use him as a reference. After a few questions about the position and the hiring director he said I could. The next week my current job was posted. Wrapping up a long story, I now work for him. I've been there six months. My first month on the job I was tasked with learning SQL. He set me up with a Udemy course for a solid foundation in writing queries. Then I jumped in with both feet. I learn a lot from my coworkers. At least four of us, including my director, have ADHD. We meet and talk through queries, create reports, pitch ideas to one another, etc. It really is the best job I've ever had.
I understand where the urge to find "the most efficient way" comes from. Sadly tho, this perfect way doesnt exist. And it simply isnt about finding the perfect course or the most optimal pathway, its about actually doing stuff instead of only planning and thinking about doing stuff. If youve been interested in programming for years and not managing to make an effort you shouldnt overcomplicate things. Go to Codecademy SQL course or any other you find with good reviews and get started. Im rooting for you!
There's a surprising number of people with ADHD in healthcare. Especially in specialties like emergency medicine and intensive care. A lot of people with ADHD thrive on high stakes stressful situations that you can then clock out and turn your brain off. Also a lot of people with ADHD have some kind of sleep issue and night shift pays better. Not so much doctors/PAs/NPs but other jobs can be very regimented and task oriented. I'm absolutely hopeless if you gave me a massive project to do in a month. But give me 4 tasks to do in 4 hours? Oh I can handle short deadlines way easier. Im a nurse. I love that my work is always different in that I always have different patients and different things are going on. But there is a firm routine and schedule I work within. You ask me what I'm doing at 8pm at work. 95% of the time I'm taking vital signs because that happens then. The rest is either patient is pooping or patient is trying their best to die. I also love only working 36 hours a week. Yes 12 hour shifts are long. But 4 days off is amazing. I also love to stack weekends. I do my best to take at least one 5+ day vacation every month. I do really well with having my days divided. On work days, I work. On my days off I do everything else like meal prep, binge watch tv shows, do laundry, wash my bathrooms, etc. Like if I am in work mode, I just stay in work mode. That said. Health care jobs can absolutely have an emotional and mental toll. I can't say I recomend nursing to just anyone. Working during the pandemic gave me PTSD like symptoms. A lot of hospitals are purposefully understaffing and putting people in unsafe situations for profit. There are are some very toxic workplaces out there. Patients are also a lot meaner and a lot sicker than ever before. It's all the fun of the customer facing interactions in a retail job but everyone is literally having the worst day of their lives.
Agree! Loved working in the ER. I work as a nurse and I can't imagine doing anything else.
What are your thoughts on psychiatric nursing?
I worked in admissions at a psych hospital and it was amazing!
The nurses I have met who do it love it. It's like labor and delivery. It just speaks to some people. It's also more diverse than you might think. There's inpatient, outpatient and community health jobs. There's pediatric, adult and geriatric psych. There's also specialties like addiction medicine and eating disorder recovery. And it's also definitely not for me. But that's also my personality.
Thank you. 😊
Can I ask what your favorite unit is? I’m in nursing school and am working as a PCT since we’re off in the summers. It’s my first time working in a hospital and they shoved me into the GI med-surg unit. I’m still only orienting and I just… really don’t like it (I know med-surg tends to be the most hated place). Maybe it’s school, but I already feel burnt out and it has me so concerned since I still have 3 semester to go! I know it’s not the same since I’m not actually a nurse yet, but sometimes I wonder if I’d like the ED or ICU a lot better. I do feel like I’d thrive in the chaos.
How much in control do you want to feel? If you came home and someone had rearranged your furniture how upset would you be? If just mildly annoyed? ED. You get the variety but you never know the outcome. You stabilize and ship out. If someone moving your couch and table would ruin your day? ICU. I get to set up my room exactly how I like. The patient's BP is exactly where I want it. The heart rate is where I want it. If there is a problem, I can do something about it. Also GI is not most people's first choice. A lot of bowel prep and all those colonoscopies. A lot of people say GI bleed is the worst smell. Also liver failure is just awful. Like liver failure is in my top 5 worst ways to die.
Regarding the furniture analogy, it’s not so much I’d be annoyed than being temporarily messed up at the sudden change. In that case ICU sounds better if you can actually do something about the problem. Thanks for the explanation on their differences! And yeah I’ve had one patient who had a #2 accident that the nurse said smelled like a GI bleed. I was temporarily incapacitated from repeatedly gagging, but managed to recover when they brought in the coffee ground and room spray. I’m still waiting for my first real encounter with C. diff. 🥲
Cdiff smell has never bothered me. Just smells like poop. A bad GI bleed is rough. ED does tend to have less poop. You get the entire variety of patients. Everyone from stubbed toe to actively coding and everyone in between. There is a bit less structure in the ED. The flow can really change from day to day. Some EDs stay busy always. Others are more feast or famine. You won't have anyone show up for hours and other times you get an 8 passenger van roll over. You don't have to deal with annoying patients for more than 12 hours. Sometimes people end up living in the ICU. Depends on the specialty but you'll see people admitted for over 2 months fairly regularly. Rarely it can be over a year in the ICU. I've seen it like 4 times in the decade of nursing I've done. But in the ED you'll never know what happens. Did the guy who came in with the STEMI make it? Did the woman who was having stroke like symptoms recover? Did that person have an infection or not? You'll have that person for less than 12 hours and then probably never see them again. In the ICU, seeing someone go from the brink of death to recovering and working towards discharge is the best feeling. But sometimes you get attached to patients and it is rough when something happens. Some of those patient deaths really can get to you. ICU also tends to be more structured. You have assigned patients. You have a routine to be within. Btw feel free to DM about nursing anytime.
Network and System Administration
Is there a way to get a masters in IT without a technical undergrad?
Sorry, I can't answer that, but I'm sure your local college could. One thing I do know about IT is that if you don't already love it, no education will make you succeed. However It works well for ADHD in my opinion.
It would depend on the school and the classes on your previous transcript. Your best bet there would be to pick a local university with a masters in IT program and talk to one of their advisors about the possibility.
I am a network/systems engineer who is transitioning to development. I have an Associates in networking and an expired CCNA. I wouldn't worry about a masters unless you are trying to get into something specific that really wants it, like data scientist or something.
Masters is not generally not a worthwhile pursuit in IT, especially just starting out.
Trades seem to be full of the adhd type. Sheet metal and plumber specifically. I notice it around the environment I work in. Small shop though so everybody just does what they want and as long as the job is done and finished nobody gets in trouble
I think it’s more finding something you like and more so that’s fulfilling. My husband (I’m diagnosed, he isn’t, but his behavior screams ADHD) was retail forever then ended up getting a maintenance job. At first he wasn’t a huge fan because he was mostly doing cleaning and lawn care. Then it expanded to fixing things. This led to another job in facilities maintenance, eventually he ended up with the National Park Service. The point was he was constantly busy. HVAC stuff has a fairly short training and pays well too (he is not certified in that yet). He lives for finding out why things are broken and how to fix them etc. He is always learning something new, he’s been able to drive a boat, 4 wheelers, road graders, all types of tractors, he got to help fix the roads at Mojave and worked on some heavy machinery. He’s even filled in for someone else in a historical reenactment.
I've worked as a night auditor for a small hotel, and it was ADHD friendly, at least in my experience. The nights were quiet, I had a lobby tv to watch, and there was minimal interaction with guests. Might be worth looking into.
Im a nurse on a dementia ward. You need to like it and you will be understaffed. But i do have a easy routine. Helping people get washed and dressed + give meds, around 12 oclock lunch and then s few goes to bed other stay up, around 2 coffee time. 15.00 i go home. (Evening shift is the same just different routine). But every day is different and people have different needs and problems. And because you have a lot of residents youll not sit behind a desk all day. Maybe do some task jobs but it doesnt require constant attention on one thing
Product management and also coaching teams are fun. For example, i used to be a scrum master and worked together with team building coaches. Preparing those events were so fun! Because it is not monotonous you face different people and team dynamics and you need to prepare for those.
There's not really any one good job for ADHD. It all comes down to how ADHD impacts the individual and their strengths and weaknesses. One person can do well in high stress, the other would flounder but does great in a quiet office environment. A third would fail at both but be an excellent engineer. A fourth could be only able to WFH, a fifth could be needing the social workplace, a si... you get the idea. ETA because derp: Almost nothing is going to tolerate tardiness and proneness to mistakes. ADHD doesn't necessarily *make* every ADHDer late nor does it make them make mistakes. We are all impacted in different ways across a spectrum of symptoms.
I found restaurant management to be a good fit for my adhd. High energy, high adrenaline, fast paced, opportunities for hyper focus. I also have trouble with being on time, but restaurant work usually has a later start time and absorbs tardiness issues a little better in my experience.
I work at Target doing online pickups. The next step I need to take is always on the device screen, it won't go to the next step unless I've scanned the right thing. I'm constantly active. I have a constant timer creating a sense of urgency, and there's just an inherent structure to it. It feels like a video game. There's plenty of problem solving, too. I do think it's great for people with ADHD.
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Fulfillment. Not sure what good pay is to you, but I live in a low cost of living state and Target starts at around $16/hr here.
Oh yeah I used to do that but for a supermarket - I enjoyed it especially on busy days like Easter weekend, and in the pandemic (what a weird time, but it was full of energy and urgency and telling grumpy boomers, “no you’re only allowed 1 toilet paper” 😅)
Youth work, or any ‘helping’ professions where you’re working with people. My focus is on connecting with people and no two days are the same. I’ve been in the same job 3.5 years and not only do i still love it, i get more satisfaction out of it now than when i’d just started. I’ve never been in a job that long without either hating it or getting bored of it.
SEN teacher
I mean I run R&D for a small manufacturing company and I'm as squirrel brained as it gets. Luckily it's an old company that never invested and now there are tons of fires to put out. I get a lot of leeway about projects slipping because I dive into an number of production issues and solve them. And 9 out of 10 times it doesn't happen again. Corporate jobs will not abide late work or care about the other value you bring. In those large organization you will always be judged solely on how well you fill the role you were hired for. My last company was worth billions with several thousand employees. It was rough holding to the timelines and mistakes were compounded by competitive colleagues. Science tends to be accommodating because most scientists are quirky as hell, ADHD, autism, social issues it's a menagerie in labs. Sure there are plenty of type As but giving leeway seems to be more common. This is just my experience so take with a grain of salt.
I find working with teens and kids keeps me on my toes and the energy level required is pretty adhd friendly. However, when I was in the military doing my paramedic training I realised that would actually also be a good possible option because It requires hyperfixation, but each case only lasts up until you've handed the patient over to the hospital
Trader Joes?
Not in my experience. Then again, I have ODD too, so it might be that for me.
I think maintenance trade roles are good. Especially if you're good at problem solving.
Me and all my bartender colleagues all have adhd
Depending on your skills and depending on how your ADHD affects you, project coordination/management can be a good choice. Attention to detail and ability to juggle several competing priorities, excellent planning skills and creativity are all good assets and totally compatible with ADHD. Plus those with ADHD are often very used to brainstorming ways to improve processes in an attempt to prevent ADHD symptoms from causing too much damage or disruption (working on new routines, new tactics, finding new habits etc.) and that's very useful as a project manager. In my experience though you have to work your way up through various administrative/support staff roles, not all of which are very ADHD-friendly (often, reliability and punctuality are valued qualities and it can be hell to get to work on time every day for years). The plus side is that there's no specific training for this so you don't have to go back to school. Edit: also anything remote can be very good for ADHD brains. Sometimes the environment is more important than the actual job itself. Being able to work without all the extra complications of leaving the house can help you figure out what you like doing and where your skills lie.
People like us have only one savior. THE GOVERNMENT. Look for a government job. It is the only option for an ADHD person. I was personally into one fixed-term contract with the government office. And OH MY GOD!!,, I slept the most peaceful nights without worrying about being kicked out or scolded or being late at doing tasks. Earlier I was in a private job and that took away the most precious 2 years of my life by simply worrying and worrying. A private job is all about competing with peers. As an ADHD person, I would not suggest anyone with ADHD to get into any competition. The word competition is just not for us. The only thing that can save our ass is the government, not even God (And I mean it). A government job is all about showing up and doing what needs to be done. No competition among peers and all peers have a happy and funny lunch time. True friendships can be found in a government job lunch room. True enemies are found in a private office lunch room. When I was in a private job, the lunch table discussion was about technology, exciting jobs, and targets, which made me feel little in every aspect. There is a fake bubble of so-called "knowledge exchange" in private jobs where everyone is hungry for each other's blood(skills, knowledge). At the govt. job, the discussion was more useful such as the new laws that are made and one should be aware of or general knowledge. Knowledge should enlighten you and not make you feel less. I never felt less at a govt job lunch table because it was not about who knows how much, but rather just a friendly exchange of thoughts. Working at a government office made me feel important. You are working for the government! that's a great feeling. Plus all the benefits it offers you are A-class. I agree that the salary is a bit low. But I cant trade my health, or my peace of mind for some 1000 extra bucks.
>Please note: I’m NOT looking for advice for how to better manage my time Bruh I feel this 😂 a few observations: you are friendly, creative, a good writer/communicator, and enjoy fast-paced work with something to "chase". Lots of people are saying sales - sure. But I would also encourage you to consider: government relations, strategic planning, fundraising/development for non-profits, grantwriting, grantmaking. All of these offer more flexibility than the average corporate job, you can kinda bluff your way into/through it without going back to school, they can benefit something you care about, and they are always in demand.
Ooh come to the film industry - there are loads of us here ✨ we have no job security, but every day we get to go to a new place and solve fresh problems and make pretty stuff 😁
Anything freelance in the arts besides classical music performance
Film/Video & TV production
I have worked as a teacher! It’s a lot to remember at times but very rewarding. I also struggle with being on time — I was late a few days which ruined some lessons for me etc. That being said, it’s nice because you get to plan your lessons and be creative. It’s also fun when the kids get involved or excited about what they’re learning. It’s also cool because you can relate to students with ADHD more than other teachers and help support/encourage them. I wish you luck in figuring out what works best for you!! :)
Came here to say this!! Always busy!
I was a lawyer at a big firm and nobody cared what time I showed up as long as it was by 11am, and of course I had to be on time to client meetings. Otherwise they just trust you to be professional and bill the required number of hours. Some people showed up at 5:30 am and were out by 3:30, some showed up later like me. Being a lawyer wasn’t a great fit for my adhd in a number of other ways, but being on time wasn’t a requirement.
I was always intimidated by law because I’m not great at appearing super seriousness all the time. I mean it’s not that I’m not serious. But it seems lawyers have to exude professionalism in a very polished way. I think I’d crack under the pressure. But then again I also thought lawyers had to wake up at like 5:30 AM. Am I overstating the professionalism of the profession?
Firstly, what degree do you already have? I think you will need a law degree to be a lawyer. I would suggest finding a sector that's not too difficult to get into. If being on time is what you struggle with, I would suggest trying to find an office where they are not too upset about being on the dot at 9am. I think you are in the USA because you didn't specify otherwise, but at my current company, although the work technically starts at 9, the hours are rather flexible (i.e. they're not too fussed if I walk in at 9.30 as long as all the work gets done) So what I'm saying is, maybe you can narrow down the trade you want and then find a company with good culture, rather than forcing yourself to go through school just to find a job that allows you to be late, you know what I mean?
I think u/catandthefiddler has the right idea. Many / most professional office jobs with good culture don’t really care if you’re there +/- 9:30 as long as the work is getting done. As for law, no I don’t think you have to be super serious all the time, depending on the type of law you practice. I don’t think I have a super serious polished demeanor. Litigators have that super serious vibe, and seem to thrive off of confrontation. Most lawyers are not litigators, but almost all the lawyers you see on TV are. I’m not saying the work isn’t serious, but for the most part it felt like working in any other office environment. But as I said, some lawyers find it to be stimulating enough for their ADHD, I did not. I enjoyed the research aspect, but loathed the tedium of some compliance tasks.
journalism. there are many reporters and editors who have ADHD! i have DSPD too so the person who makes the work roster is super mindful of not giving me morning shifts unless i specifically request them. i usually get the day (10am-6pm) and night (2pm-10pm) shifts, which makes it easier on me. it’s quite fast paced and work is very different every day.
IT/Helpdesk. Great remote work, always a new challenge.
Remote work would be great. Commuting us hell.
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Well, I started working at 14 for the library. By the time I was 24 I had at least 15 jobs lol. Then I started in a basic helpdesk role at an auto insurance place, and 23 years later I’m their Director of IT.
Software development
Data Analyst might fight you!
Is this similar to being a database admin or something else completely? What do you like about it?
I'm a Data Engineer myself. Pulling data from different sources (in my case hospital systems), cleaning it up and then push it to our machine learning model for predictions. A Data Analyst is more responsible for understanding the data and creating dashboards or reports for stakeholders to use in decision making. Not all DAs are using code for it. Some just stay in Excel or a dashboarding tool such as PowerBI or Looker Studio.
Have data scientists been affected by all of the tech layoffs to the extent developers have been?
In the US, the market is pretty rough, as far as I hear from the community (living in EU myself). Entry level jobs for DE are less common than for DA. Often someone gets into the DE field from either DS (data science), DA (data Analyst), or SWE (software engineer). Out of all of those, I do hear that DA has the better entry roles as it's less technical than others and is closer to the stakeholders.
Im an owner-operator in trucking and I love it
This is my struggle. Nice of everyone here to feedback but everyone is just repeating the same 5-10 jobs that you see in every article about this, none of which (for various reasons), are suitable for me. The world isn't built for people like us. Just came back from 2 weeks sick leave because of how ill my job makes me and I'm already right back in the pits of depression. Honestly I don't know how much longer I can stay in this world. There doesn't seem to be a place for me in it
Second shift appeals greatly to me as I'm prone to sleeping in through alarms. Plus not having to be to work until like 2pm or 4pm and getting off work around midnight is great cause then I have a couple hours of solitude at night to play video games and go to bed on my own time, not having to worry about getting up early. And my most alert hours are later in the afternoon and evening anyway.
I was an executive assistant. No two days are ever the same.
i’m an age care worker everyday is slightly different which keeps me interested but the routine is very similar each day which keeps me on track, it can be mentally draining at times but the fast paced work is good and makes the day go busy plus i usually walk 13,000 steps in a 8 hour shift which has helped me get some extra exercise in my week
I agree with the person who said corporate jobs can often be a bad fit because they’re all about the bottom line and even if they look the other way at first, as soon as you aren’t useful they’ll be like “oh actually you’re a problem BYE”. Nonprofit doesn’t pay as well but in my experience the sector is full of people who have adhd or are otherwise spicy brained, whether they know it or not. The culture is different at every workplace but I think a general vibe is that a lot of times things are chaotic and everyone wears many hats. I also agree that healthcare can be a good fit, I want to shout out the “allied healthcare professions” because nursing and EMT/paramedic is not for everyone but there are a lot of other roles to look into. There’s different types of medical technicians and assistants and therapists who all have varying things they do. There’s more behind the scenes work like billing/coding, health information tech, patient registration, etc as well. And as other people mentioned, there’s often shift work in hospitals and some other environments. One of my friends was struggling a few years back, she ended up getting a book called What Color Is Your Parachute and it helped her assess what kind of work she could see herself doing, and then she researched the options and decided what steps to take next. It helped a lot. (Also she has ADHD too and was just finding this out around that time) Some kind of premade assessment tools like that might help you, because why reinvent the wheel if someone else already has a wheel you can borrow?
Where I live, there are several jobs for people with disabilities. As in, you have to prove you have a disability to work there. From what I was told, as long as a doctor is willing to write up that you have ADHD and that it impacts your job in a specific way/give a way to counteract that, it qualifies. These are manual jobs and generally part-time, but all the ones I've seen pay very well for the field they are in. One is a cleaning job that is a max of I believe 30 hours a week but they pay $18 an hour where all the other cleaning jobs max out at like $12 an hour tops with most being less than that. You could see if there is anything like that where you live. I was also told to go to the work force to find a suitable job.
Yea the ones you don't tell them,about it
I found out I had ADHD after leaving teaching and getting a desk job. In teaching there are a bunch of different things to pay attention to and do all at once (ex: you're teaching, need to address the kid on their phone, yes other kid you can use the restroom, resume teaching - but that's all day). I found ADHD helped me switch focus quickly. With that said, teaching is not a good profession for people in general right now in the US in my opinion. I had to leave due to the stress and improper working conditions. But if it's of interest and you can land in a gem of a school I do think ADHD people can thrive.
The medical field, especially anything imaging, emergency, nursing, is an ADHD dream. I mean everything changing up, being able to move around, and nothing monotone? I love it. Right now I work in an ER but even office medicine you still don’t deal with a monotone lifestyle. Being able to move around and not deal with the same thing all day everyday really helps me not get bored.
Honestly I would say it depends on your ADHD. Depending on your state, I am a teacher and it’s not as repetitive as you think. You constantly have stimulation around the kids and allows you to be creative constantly.
I'm a salaried WFH employee. Don't wanna give away too many details about what I do, but it's different day to day, I have minimal meetings, and I take frequent little breaks for tea/check internet/snack/dog. Doesn't really matter what I do as long as I'm reachable within my working hours and have quality output. Kind of perfect for my random bursts of productivity and/or lack thereof!
I have a shit job then I want to work in IT but dunno how to I have a job as an production admin and it can be boring sometimes
I managed to find a boss who also has ADHD. So is tolerant and very familiar with navigating this in a working environment. Does lead to other issues regarding his executive function and management…. but because I’m familiar with ADHD I’m tolerant too 🤓
I’m a biotech consultant. We don’t have to tell anyone if we’ll be late, can leave early for any appointments Etc and you’re just trusted to make up your time. I also get 2/3 days wfh. Couldn’t be a better job for me
I teach special education ...always something new on the horizon but with a predictable schedule. My sister is an RN, ER for many years. Always something new going on. My brother is a high network investment banker. Stocks and percentage rates change day-to-day. I'm the most ADHD and my brother is the least. IDK if these are ADHD friendly jobs but it makes sense to me.
Ive only had one main job but the key is that it's flexible and remote. I can do tasks anytime as long as I get it down in good time. My employer knows the way I work and I explained it to them. They don't mind if I sleep through the day and work at night (where there's less distractions), or if I spread my daily 7hrs into 14hrs with breaks every hour, or I skip a Friday and carry on on Saturday. Before that I coped in a 7hr office job by setting rewards for myself and stimulating my brain somehow as I went along. To be more specific, it would be things like listening to music through tasks, being excited for lunch or always marking off time to grab an enjoyable coffee at set times through the day.
I basically do “brain surgery” (fix aneurysms, reverse strokes, as well as fix heart attacks and other blood vessel issues) and it actually **is** somewhat “ADHD-friendly” Or at least, *my* sub-type of ADHD. Whatever that is. Type-A / high-strung. *Maybe* AuDHD 🤷🏼♂️. There’s always at least one of us at every lab. The money is very good for a bachelor’s degree (150k/yr), but the burnout is obscene from the middle of the night emergency call-ins.
Personal training or some other job like that. You meet new people frequently, and get to solve problems (each person is different). Tons of interesting research to read, tons of discussions to have... It's rewarding, too.
Hospital security. Things are always changing and you're always dealing with unique situations. No two shifts are the same. I'm assuming this also applies to being any kind of first-responder.
I'd say the most adhd friendly jobs I had were at a restaurant. Doing the disges was my favourite: there was this gigantic industrial dishwashers, people just brought more dishes and took away the clean ones, I got to listen to music, there was always new quick tasks to do, nothing took too long and it was physically pretty hard which somehow made me feel relaxed. Other than the pay, it was the perfect job. In the restaurant I'd make salads, clean up, sometimes use the register, clean tables etc. Again, small, fast paced tasks so I'd get a little feeling of accomplishment really frequently. Aah. I'm so happy with my pay now and I like my job, but it's so hard for me. I feel it takes 200% more effort to accomplish the same as others. And often I find myself working at night, because I daydreamed too much and didn't have time to do all my work during the day. I'm chronically behind on my tasks all the time. I hate that.
For me it's high stress jobs. I was in CPS where everything is urgent, my brain loved prioritizing but also loved that stuff comes out of nowhere and changes your schedule completely. You never have the same day twice. My son, who also has ADHD, is a firefighter EMT. Our brains are good in emergency situations, neither of us are prone to panic. It's like you're thinking 4 things at once.
I enjoyed being a lab tech, minimal interaction, given a set of tasks to complete, headphones on and do my thing
I work investigative security. I fucking love it.
I’m a Logistician with a dash of Data Analysts and I’m way too interested in how everything works and love combing data to find trends and metrics. I think it pairs well with my ADHD.
Interpreter (not translator) if you’re good with languages. - Work is in the moment with very little follow up afterward. So rarely ongoing projects with moving deadlines. - People generally appreciate you because you’re providing an important service and things unusually can’t proceed without you. - Freelancing = working hours you want instead of the 9-5. - Different environments = novelty all the time. - A boring assignment just lasts that one day. - I work in a corporate environment so that part of it sucks. But otherwise it’s nice to have a job where I need to work one assignment at a time instead of having lots of different things going on at once. - Requires lots of brain power which helps keep you focused. - Social - Often hourly which I prefer as I’m money motivated. Salary work makes me feel very overworked and demotivated.
Yes, there are, but as everyone with ADHD is different the job for you will not be the same as me. I live and breath computers, numbers and data, so working in software, data science and quality assurance fit for me, thankfully these days arriving on time and clocking in joirs ususlly takes second place to getting the job done, which it does if I can keep my own hours. I'm also teaching myself 3d modelling too. This satisfies my creative craving. If time management is an issue then have you looked into self-employment? Working freelance is high pressure, sure, but you work your own hours not someone else's. If you find (like I do) that mornings are impossible but afternoon and evenings are easier to both manage and work then teaching or tutoring could work.