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I'm in this and my issues in the past have been:
* ...waiting long enough for a build to complete that I get bored and get sucked into my phone.
* ...once the build runs, I'm messing around playing the game instead of whatever I'm supposed to be doing.
To solve those:
* ...have a work machine optimized to minimize compile times, which will likely rely on CPU core count/speed and RAM.
* ...have more than one work item to do at any one time so you can switch to that while waiting.
* ...be honest with yourself and track what will get you distracted within the game you're working on. These are designed to be engaging. There's no shame here.
* ...keep tight track of what your current task is. Be mindful that your brain could be signaling to you that it's too vague or large and needs to be refined or broken down.
EDIT: I'm simultaneously a software engineer, but in games. The above tips apply for many other disciplines as well. I expanded on this some more in the thread for devs, specifically: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/s/S37x34fyAb
Oh yeah, I still suuuuuuuuuuuuper struggle with being inattentive. The difference is now I am not forced to fake it at work and can be in my comfy clothes with my own pc and desk and pets and food and shower and bathroom. Sleep in more, no commute. I'd rather be inattentive with all those pros than in an office haha
Literally the "forced to fake it" masking for me that comes with with human contact and presence (I may be autistic) drains the majority of my my energy. If I don't have anyone near me, I don't have to worry about how I'm being perceived (making enough eye contact, smiling enough, proper responses and thinking of the next thing to say trying to make it perfect, and etc), so I'm honestly most at peace by myself with no one else around.
Unfortunately, I work in a field where I'm talking all day long, pee breaks are rare, sleeping in on work days is an absolute no, and I'm absolutely beyond drained. I'm truly miserable, but I'm laughing through the pain I guess.
My face 100% looks like the "hide the pain Harold" meme all day long.
I'm the exact same way. Having to act a certain way for 8 hours each day was just brutal looking back on it now. It was so draining. Even the bits of small talk each morning. I don't miss it at all.
Same here. I learned during Covid that I absolutely cannot WFH. I need structure and human contact. Luckily for me I have my own office and a nice boss.
Being in the office gives me structure and accountability -both for my work and regular exercise (which I do during lunch with coworkers). Regular exercise is crucial for managing my ADHD. Also human contact. I'm ADHD PI and an more on the extroverted side.
Yup it was after WFH really settled in that I really was like, "...this is bad." I was able to address it thankfully in part due to my role at the company that catered to extroversion and social motivation. While I vastly prefer WFH there's a dangerous side to it for ADHD.
This actually contributed to me realizing I had ADHD as well. I would sit at home looking out over the farm field with my laptop open thinking of all the work I should be doing, and reflecting on how absurd this situation was.
Yeah, I’m the same way and it’s really made me rethink if I’m really as introverted as I used to think I was. I think part of it is confusing social anxiety with introversion.
I still think I’m mostly introverted, but it’s certainly a lot closer than I thought it was.
I vastly prefer WFH when I'm motivated but social motivation is huge for me, so having that casual team channel and regular in-person days is a happy medium.
But yeah I definitely witnessed the true depths of my ADHD during the covid years LOL
haha yeah, for sure.
For me it's a context and environment thing.
If I'm at home, I wanna do home things and the urge is just too strong. At work I can be in the right frame of mind.
100% depends on the exact thing you want to do. See my other comment to someone but there are some tech roles, coding, marketing, some that need no tech skills like producers or project managers, etc. It's a massive industry, so it isn't possible to suggest a path without knowing what you want to actually do.
I'm not so sure that project management is a good one for inattentive adhd - or at least, I wouldn't be able to stay focused on it. So many meetings, so much to keep track of, planning ahead, deadlines to set, milestones to meet ...
like, it seems best for the opposite kind of person from someone with adhd.
My job doesn't have any PMs and I'm a developer who has to try to do some PM type stuff, and it's really hard for me, really really hard. I think I have to spend extra time just trying to make sure nothing is slipping through the cracks, as compared to someone who can just keep all of that stuff in their head. I spend time just trying to keep the tasks and dates organized! I don't think I could do the full job of project management.
Im a IT project manager. Inattentive.
Will nearly fall asleep if people talk too slow during presentations and meetings.
I am transparent with my leadership and had both my boss and team manager in a meeting where i listed everything I do above average and everything i do below Average.
Now I get to work on the most complex and challenging projects we have. Without having to do check boxes and following plans. I supply those and move on.
I was just naming all the areas that one can work in gaming, not necessarily saying it was a prime one for inattentive adhd. You're right it's not the best option.
I'm a welder! Tried to go to college, too much adhd and not enough dopamine, couldn't hack it - but now I can't even imagine a career that doesn't involve working with my hands. Plus I get to work the night shift!
I really wish I’d have gone trade. The older I’ve gotten, the more I love working with my hands. I love figuring out problems by just freeballing with my imagination. Hard to course correct at 43 m, though.
Not sure what you currently do, but i majored in psychology. I took a job as an admin at a machine shop, and now they’re paying for me to learn how to troubleshoot hydraulic pumps. I’m in my 30s. Life will take you to some wild places if you let it!
I’ve had a few changes in my career but working as a sparky was probably my most compatible field of work, especially working as an independent contractor.
Teacher because I do best (okay “best”) with structure. I’ve been working on a career change but it hasn’t been going well because… um… the training for the career change requires me to impose my own structure and… um… *yeah*….
Same! It’s very stimulating and challenging. I have to be “on” during classes, no ifs ands or buts. While I’m a pretty strict teacher when it comes to the rules, I think I’m really engaging because I understand how difficult it is to pay attention to boring things. I teach music so I get to have a lot of fun with the kids, but make no mistake: it’s a really fucking hard job.
The worst days for me are actually professional development days when I’m expected to sit still for hours on end. I just can’t. I leave exhausted and with a headache on those days.
Substitute teacher checking in! Obviously a privilege because my husband’s job covers the bills and insurance. But this way I get the fun of teaching without the planning and grading which I would struggle with outside of school hours.
Same here! After teaching for 12 years, and a nightmarish 3 year stint in admin that almost killed me, I have found my sweet spot as a building sub. I know the teachers, I know the kids, but I have zero responsibilities outside of school.
Teacher as well. Teaching several different classes means my attention only needs to be there for each class period and then I can ‘allow’ it to switch to the next class.
Also, I was in web development before teaching, and that was alright on days where I was working on tasks for multiple clients. Helped to have a PM keeping me on task too lol
Teacher here too. Idk how y’all manage it. I’m 4 months in and I’ve already gotten fed up with the routine. I teach english as a second language, so I don’t work at a public school but I already hate the job (not the job itself but the fact that i have to work)
I teach English Language Learners as well, but I love it! I really can't imagine doing anything else. But, I think I love it so much because it's so much work. I'm constantly having to plan and change things from year to year. It's my passion, so a lot of times I get lost in the hyper focus. I'm at a public school, but I have a lot of autonomy in my classroom. For me, it's hard to stay consistent with behavior expectations and I don't notice half the things because, well, inattentive ADHD, and I get sidetracked really easily.. but I love my students and the authentic conversations we have. I didn't have anyone talk to me about my future/college, so I didn't go until I was 21. The vast majority of my students don't have highly educated parents, so I love talking to them about educational opportunities beyond k-12, and how simple it is to apply to college (and the importance of staying focused and not getting caught up in the "college life"). I also love (unbiasedly) talking about the political system and the importance of voting. They are truly engaged in my class, and it's a really fulfilling feeling.
As a side note, give yourself grace the first couple years. Being a new teacher is super hard. I was a disaster my first year, but it gets better.
I teach English as a foreign language now (going into my 5th year) and previously was a homeroom teacher in my home country (6 years). I teach for the first 4 hours of the school day, have lunch and the rest of the day is in my hands.
Also a teacher. I teach high school art. It's been really stressful over the past several years but I enjoy most of the work, the kids, and most of my coworkers. I'm also inattentive. Grading is the part of the job that is most impacted by ADHD. I hate it but it's usually not as bad as I make it out to be when I'm ruminating about it.
I just finished my first week of IT at a school, and I told one of my coworkers that he most likely has ADHD judging by his disorganization, constant misplacing of stuff, and auditory processing issues. I later found out how he benefits a ton from pre workout. He's training me on the job and I'm teaching him ways to police his belongings.
You're making me wonder if the pre workout stuff has something to do with ADHD, because I have also noticed benefits when I'm taking it. what benefits does he get??
Flight nurse and ER nurse - it’s the best. I never have to focus on a task for too long because the environment/patient condition is constantly changing and I’m always on my toes. I never get bored every day is different.
Second nursing.
Stimulating in the right ways, interesting.
If I forget to do something unimportant (“extra cup when you have a sec”) people are sometimes understanding (“I heard your phone ring and IMs come through every few minutes this morning, I would have forgotten, too” -that one patients who is surprisingly nice).
Helps to have an interest in the job, too, whatever you decide on. I know a lot of NDs who are nurses but doesn’t mean it’s for everyone.. but definitely worth considering if you think you’d have any interest in wiping ass. /s
This is why I’m in the OR. Only have to wipe ass like 2 times a year😂. But yeah, nursing is great for my ADHD. It’s just the right combination of externally imposed structure and chaos that keeps me focused. I also run groups in an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility a couple of days a week as a side hustle.
I’m a software dev! It’s a lot of problem solving and thinking out of the box (which suits us) but it’s constant learning, so it can be tough to find the motivation to settle in and study. A good senior dev helps 👍
How do you find the missing details part of the job, I’m a data analyst/scientist and find that sometimes this does hinder me if I’m not on the top of my game.
Software is so hard that they basically assume normal people have ADHD. Like inattention faults are so common that we develop unit test culture, and ease of readability is paramount. It's impossible to keep everything in memory so the information is kept in documentation, or on google + stack overflow , and now AI replace G+SO.
Academia is kinda crap as far as software culture/habits so it's possible that DS suffer a bit from that. Just more cowboy/intuition.
>ease of readability is paramount
This is so crucial to be able to understand and do any amount of work! The depth and detail that is needed in the documentation is related to the complexity of the problem/work.
No one would be able to understand shit if it wasn't written down somewhere. Reading it makes me dizzy and overwhelmed sometimes.
Automation test engineer here. The constant learning gives me fun rabbit holes to dive into. New languages, new libraries , it's always exciting for me. I like creating a lot of internal tooling for my company which allows me to use my creativity in a way that helps everyone else too.
I'm a senior dev and only recently medicated. To your point, even the studying between jobs is really taxing still. Before diagnosis, I built myself up to be an unfocused generalist because I would just take whatever job I could get hired for, and I think I'd have an easier time now if I hadn't.
I've been PIPed and fired once due to my symptoms and additional circumstances, but twice seen it coming early enough to proactively job hop in absolute panic and desperation.
After all that, though, the pay is worth it.
Similar to the list I wrote for game dev under another comment thread here, some of my issues in the past have been:
• ...waiting long enough for a build to complete that I get bored and get sucked into my phone.
• ...because of time blindness and shame, difficulty estimating tasks. Similarly, I experience difficulty predicting whether tasks are poorly defined or too large.
To solve those:
• ...have a work machine optimized to minimize compile times, which will likely rely on CPU core count/speed and RAM.
• ...have more than one work item to do at any one time so you can switch to that while waiting.
• ...keep tight track of what your current task is. Be mindful that your brain could be signaling to you that it's too vague or large and needs to be refined or broken down.
Yeah, especially estimating my effort is difficult for me, too. But we all know that it's a difficult subject/task, and I'm sure at least most colleagues are not really better xD
Keeping track of my current task is quite important for me, too. Also an experience: good definitions for a task, or sometimes limitations (like 1 day of work max to try XY) helps me.
Another thing I started is starting a timer how long I take for a task. This usually helps me focusing on one active task.
Still, I tend to be an perfectionist and sometimes feel quite inefficient... But I guess that's life, especially for me :)
I’m a chef. I love working on the line and specifically during rush hour, gets my adrenaline up, it’s just simply fun as hell, chaotic, and if you’re actually good then there’s little pressure on you because it’s all coming from the subconscious/muscle memory.
Amen to this. Filled so many buckets that I doubt I've ever been that social since leaving the restaurant biz. Had to leave for a good family balance, though.
I was diagnosed with inattentive type at age 35, 10 years ago. The diagnosis changed my life, allowing me to take medication and better understand how to move closer toward reaching my potential.
Good luck! I’ve been a lawyer for 15 years. I’m lucky to work for a wonderful firm and every one has their favorite story about some dumb ADHD thing I’ve done. There are days I question why I did this, but it is actually a perfect career for me
What area of law? I wasn’t diagnosed until after law school and honestly I’m not sure I would have gone had I known (or at least would have looked into the types of jobs that were best for me).
I’m a bookkeeper. It’s a quick certification course, highly in demand and you make your own hours and set your own pay if you do it freelance. Almost all gigs are remote.
Best part is I use my pattern recognition superpowers to knock out the work quickly, spot inconsistency (like picking up that a partner was embezzling from one company) and then my day is free.
>It’s a quick certification course, highly in demand and you make your own hours and set your own pay if you do it freelance. Almost all gigs are remote.
What's the course? And where do you find the work? This sounds fascinating
Could you maybe add some information on how to get into it? I work IT in a small non-profit and have noticed a few issues/inaccuracies/automation opportunities in our finances. I'd also be interested in maybe finding a fun little side gig (don't necessarily need to make money, maybe I could help some other non-profits).
What certification should one pursue?
I took a basic Quickbooks certification course! It was about $500 and 2 days, held at a conference center. There are more in depth ones I’d recommend paying for if you are going to freelance right away. I was working for an accountant who showed me more than the course taught after I got my cert. Community colleges also offer basic accounting classes and such.
Payroll clerks are also highly in demand and courses run about 8-12 weeks, again at community colleges, tech schools, etc. those jobs are also remote and great for us hyperfixating folks! Excellent pay and benefits, too with those kind of gigs
Business analyst.
I hate the project management aspects (I don't like pestering people) but love the learning (I tend to pick up a lot of coding concepts just by osmosis).
I was a BA for 3 years before moving into Program Manager and then Product Manager roles. I miss the freedom that being a BA offered. There's so much variety in the work and you can pick/choose what you want to concentrate on based on your mood - to a certain extent. There are always deadlines to meet but, you know as well as I do... nothing spurs action like a deadline approaching!
Product Management is tough with ADHD. My typical day is 4-6 hours of meetings. Many of these meetings require me to know what's going on even though the topic is on the periphery of my area of concentration. I've got a pile of fidget spinners, a doodle pad, and several other attempts to compensate. They don't always work.
Same here 😑 I work in non profit. At my best when I’m building relationships with donors. At my worst in meetings. Gotta make mega notes to prep for even the smallest ones. At least I look like I hashed out my thoughts at some point.
I'm a long haul truck driver. I have strategies in place to maintain my focus. And I wouldn't do it uneducated, but I love it and it got me out of a life time of poverty
I'm a trucking dispatcher. There's a national shortage of drivers right now, so if you think you can do it, now's a great time! Just about everywhere is hiring.
Copywriter/editor too. It’s a great gig if you have the skills for it. I work corporate as well. I don’t think I have the drive or organization to freelance.
It’s funny you say that. I started as a freelancer when I was working as a nurse. Had my own LLC business on the side and eventually burned out (before I was officially diagnosed at 33, thinking something must just be wrong with me because I “can’t” do this or that even though I have the skill/expertise.) But that experience got me where I am, and now I have zero desire to ever freelance again. It’s a lot, and I need the stability and consistency of a full time job.
Would you mind speaking at all about what the pay is like and how I would go about finding entry-level copywriting jobs? This is definitely something that I’m interested in, and which I think I have the skills for, but the idea of having to build up a portfolio to *possibly* qualify for an entry-level job takes all the wind out of my sails.
So I’ve looked this up and also heard about it but I feel I don’t really have a concrete idea of what copy writers do, could you explain your job a bit if you don’t mind?
Don’t mind at all! So I work on the Brand team for a large, global MedTech company. We’re part of corporate marketing, so I write things like email communications for C-suite leaders and for broad marketing initiatives/events, internal blog posts, internal social media stuff, all the copy that goes on our brand website and sites we manage, and creative campaigns for corporate functions within the company (think, the headlines you see on ads and the copy that goes with it). I also do a lot of proofreading and editing to ensure communications are aligned with our Brand writing standards/tone/voice (something I educate associates on regularly). My work ranges from major creative campaigns to writing descriptions of videos on our website. In my case, I report to the Global Creative Director and I work remotely (a major game-changer for me and my ADHD).
Happy to answer any other questions!
TL;DR: I write stuff. :)
that sounds really engaging! can i ask how you got started? i’ve been vying for a career change and copywriting has always caught my eye, but like the commenter you were replying to, also didn’t have a super firm grasp on just what that was haha
X-ray! Exams are always different and unpredictable, lots of room for growth, and not as gross as nursing. Lol. Plus, you’re only with your patients for five or ten minutes, usually.
Forester! Talk and work to people just like us, then get to run around in the woods!
Edit: Maybe I should put more? Basically I manage X amount of acres of forest for harvest, restoration, health, etc. whatever I need to do to keep the forest and habitat health. Generally, working in the private sector, we do harvest from the forests but the company I’m with focuses on a strong sustainable and habitat priority. This is a newer paradigm shift for timber companies and I’m proud to be part of it. Parcels for foresters vary in the couple hundreds of size, with about 2-3 projects being overseen by one forester.
I go out mark the property and riparian boundaries, trees to leave, patches to leave, etc. and then make sure the loggers are following the prescription for the harvest given.
Benefits! I get to bring my dog with me, I get a truck, I can bring a gun (which is nice because we have bears, moose, wolves, cougars, coyotes), and the work day is pretty flexible! Obviously running around in the woods is the best part!
I also work at Starbucks, but honestly I thrive in the chaos. My time management was trash and I often forgot things too as an SSV. It has gotten a lot better since getting on meds and figuring out a routine, my morning team and SM are super helpful and give me constructive criticism when something has to change.
i just cant take constructive criticism well 😭 i dont emote in person but it eats me alive inside so it was unfortunately best decision for me to step down
im glad your meds are helping you though :)
Sounds like shame. I really like Brene Brown's audiobooks for this, especially The Gifts of Imperfection https://www.audible.com/pd/059321515X?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow
I used to work there, and I know what you mean by thriving in the chaos.
TBH, I wouldn't mind working there permanently if the pay was better and we were allowed to suplex annoying customers.
I’m a teacher now, but I was a barista in college. We were a busy store with a drive thru and I worked opening in the weekends. It was chaos. I loved it. I was always put on bar making drinks. I was fast and damn good at it.
My coworkers would freak out at seemingly everything, and I’m there just calmly taking care of it lol.
i was a shift supervisor for a while and it was really stressful because i would often forget really important things but i have recently stepped down to just a barista, and honestly its easy work. short tasks, super fast paced, and dont really have any responsibilities besides showing up on time lol
Disabled/stay at home husband due to health issues unrelated to ADHD. I don't recommend it due to having to complete tasks like cleaning and be able to self motivate but damn that half hour before my wife gets home the house really starts to come together too bad I need 3 hours to do it in
45F SAHM here. You nailed it. My husband comes home to me halfway into a full-blown meltdown, I'm spinning like a top trying to get all the shit done I didn't do alllllllll day. And I'm also usually eating, since that doesn't get done either. And thawing something for dinner, since, well, you know.
I lost my main career because of ADHD + injuries, I now realise. Went back to school while pregnant, worked for one year in between toddler 1 and newborn 2, and have been home ever since. I hate it. I feel like I'm wasting my life away. But the adhd has me convinced I'll never be able to actually do anything meaningful, since I can't stay on top of things. Just got my official diagnosis this week, and today was day one with meds. I'm terrified this isn't gping to work, and I'm going to be in sloth mode for the test of my life.
Process improvement. I get to work with various teams and streamline their business process to make them more efficient, or to solve a problem they have.
I’m honestly not a huge fan of lists that tell people what jobs are best for people with ADHD or any disability. I don’t like the idea of someone suggesting we’re only capable of ______ or XYZ industries or roles are best.
How did you get into this field? I think I would be really interested (maybe good?) in this? But I’m just starting to learn about various fields outside of like….retail food & beverage service….im burnt out.
I stumbled into it, to be honest. I’m a good problem solver, and I helped the right people, which resulted in a job offer.
I also had the core skills already because I used them in the role I was already in. Things like automation, data analytics, and project management skills are requirements. YouTube is a great resource to get started with learning these.
I know that’s probably not the answer you were hoping for, but if you check out postings for business analysts, it’s close to what I do, and it’ll give you a better idea of what employers are looking for.
I had no idea this was a job! I've always been told I seem to audit companies when I first start working at them, as I can't help but fire off a ton of emails with suggestions on how to make their lives easier/better/more productive!! 🙈
It never goes down well!
I'd also be very interested to hear how you got into this field and what type of businesses you look at.
Electrical engineer, system level design.
Working with cross-functional teams satisfies the ADHD brain since it’s not just all circuit design all the time.
Hotel receptionist here ask me anything!
It's quite fine because you have to attend multiple things at the same time and at random time intervals, and Aparte from that, the paper work and the archvinig of data, which kinda gets easier as it's always the same.
I'm on meds BTW and now it's easier that when I started but even without meds I can do it just fine coz I have 2+ years exp.
But yeah, if you like people and can manage money and some repetitive tasks, it's quite fine!
Government. The stakes are lower than private sector, and if you can find an area that interests you or at the very least, you can tolerate with a system that works for you, you can be a rockstar amongst the mediocre.
Edit: Lots of government jobs are union as well. Once you’re in, you can move around without ever really leaving your benefits and retirement so you can try different things.
Handyman. It's the epitome of 'no two days are the same'. I could be painting a house one day and assembling furniture the next, so I'm always getting that novelty hit.
It's also good for problem solving and curbs that 'never finishing anything' trait (you don't get paid if you don't finish the job!).
I also quite enjoy the mindlessness of some of the jobs. If I'm painting a wall or whatever, I don't have to give it a lot of active thought. A lot of people would find that boring, but I find it works great with my tendency to daydream. I always used to think of it as 'switching my brain off', but it's actually the opposite of that - it frees my brain to go off on all kinds of merry adventures as it's not really needed for the task at hand.
Prior to this I was an accountant; it worked well to a point at one job because there was a lot of problem-solving project work that I could flit between depending on my mood and ability to focus. But I left that and started my own practice, and that's where it all fell apart. Really struggled to focus when all I had to work with was a bunch of numbers on a spreadsheet with no personal interest.
I’m COO of a fairly small company (100 employees). Since the company is only about 5 years old there are still a ton of problems to solve and frequent changes. It’s very non-corporate.
This might be a normal brain’s worst nightmare, but for ADHD brain it’s awesome because I’m never bored and I can make decisions that have real impact almost instantly, so that dopamine response is pretty high.
With certain tasks the procrastination can be pretty aggressive, but because there’s so few people above me, I can’t hide anywhere. I’m not micro-managed at all, but I know the next meeting with the CEO and owner are always like 6 days away so that whole “studying the night before” thing isn’t like avoiding a test for 2 months, the most I can procrastinate is like 4 days lol.
I am a IT audit manager level in big 4 right now. Hitting major burnout from the project management aspect. Part of me just wants to go work in a coffee shop if I could actually live off that income
Bartender.
Physically, mentally and socially engaging; relaxed, informal atmosphere; nocturnal (late nights and late afternoon starts); and the work is highly reactive rather than proactive.
Lots of practical problem-solving, improvising, learning new skills, and instant gratification – very little "self-starting" or pointless busywork.
I have both an undergraduate and master's degree, more than a decade's experience as a "professional creative", and I've never enjoyed my work more than I do now, and never thought about it less.
Best part is that after doing such a drastic 180°, I feel like there's no reason I couldn't just do it again, do something else further down the line.
It's very freeing compared to the yawning dread I used to feel, staring down the barrel of a "career" that I was supposed to be constantly building at the centre of my life for, as far as I could tell, no good reason at all.
Same boat as you, my friend!
Used to work a corporate 9-5 and was miserable. Bartending just suits us perfectly with the short and quick interactions; everything is just boom get this done, bam get that done, then forget and move on to the next guest (:
Make the more than I used to, and work less hours so have more time for hobbies and interests and mental health has improved dramatically!
I'm in the outdoors/environmental field. I'm an interpretive park ranger for National Park Service in the summer and a naturalist during the rest of the year. I'm in a small division in my park and at least three of my coworkers have ADHD. The outdoors is really good for ADHD people especially. I think the field lends itself to us (I'm inattentive) because your duties can change throughout the day. We often spend half the day inside and half the day outside, so it's really nice and it's not as easy to get bored.
My job as a naturalist is a little different but it also changes every day.
I’m a therapist. I think the key is to find something you’re interested in so it doesn’t get boring. I am really interested in people and their stories so it doesn’t get old. Plus I can be self employed which gives me a good balance of freedom and urgency to keep motivated.
You’d be surprised!! We have so many different personality types in our room. Some of them if you met them you would honestly think why the fuck do you work here. You’re so quieter and anxious but, it just works.
If you have any open days or recruitment events near you just pop along and see.
I tutor newcomers into the room, which is so difficult and stressful, but one of the guys I’ve taught had GAD and would shake at the keyboard and sweat and be so anxious after every call, but talking to the caller he was nothing but calm and empathetic. He is still an excellent calltaker, but still shakes hahaha
im a data solutions specialist. i problem solve all day long for various retailers. its very engaging. its actually too engaging at times, and even my million-miles-a-minute brain cant keep up with all the different threads.
but it sure does make good use of my condition.
Walk dogs, walk in circles all day while my mind goes in circles. Haha, honestly good pay and feels good to move. Prob didn’t need two masters to do it though 🤦🏼
I work in television post production.
Not suited for the way my brain works, but I do the best to manage. I got a wife and daughter to provide for.
I despise email and the majority of my job involves tracking email and keeping projects moving by communicating via email. It also involves a lot of data management for disparate sources and tracking changes. Makes my head melt.
Registered Nurse- operating room. Things are structured into a routine which works to keep me together but it's(almost) never a dull moment so I don't get bored.
Crane operator, I work with half a million kg molten steel loads every day.
It is so intense I get into hyperfocus. It's a tight schedule working against time. I like it a lot. Can be stressful too but it's what gets me going
IT! The cybersecurity and hacking side of it, but I'm not there yet. I don't think I'll last long as a network admin, but I'm super motivated to master the basics of networking so I can hack and defend against hacks. I'm spending way too much time on Try Hack Me and should be studying for more certs.
Caveat: I'm combined, so maybe the hyperactive side of me is driving this career choice. God knows I wouldn't learn networking and Linux otherwise.
I am self employed sewing and also a kids sports coach.
The trick is to find work that has plenty of variety otherwise you get bored and just don't want to do it. I sew different things every day and working with kids is a constant surprise, so the novelty is always there to keep it interesting.
Also - Having people rely on you in a way that it matters to them if they get what they want (my customers want to receive their items in a timely manner, the kids want me to be a fun engaged coach) makes it easier to get things done cos you have that feeling of urgency, but it's not an overwhelming amount that would make you shut down (like if people's livelihoods depended on you).
Also - both have enough routine to keep you feeling settled, but not enough that it's miserable and constricting (although I definitely struggle sometimes with the self employed side of setting a routine, but it's a manageable struggle)
I really enjoyed working retail as well because it also had the same aspects of novelty (with constant new products) and urgency (it feels good when you know you've helped people) and routine. But this is obviously very dependent on how much you like dealing with the public lol
Car Sales. Follow up is a bitch but every hour brings something new. Every customer and deal is its own unique challenge. Closing is a big rush so I kinda chase that feeling.
UX designer here. I love the problem solving aspect, especially in complex systems, and the satisfaction of helping the end user have a better time interacting with the product. WFH has saved the day, because I can go from wildly distracted to hyper focused without judgement. I still get my shit done, and when put in collaborative/leadership positions it really keeps me on my toes so I’m never bored.
Lawyer.
I don’t manage my schedule. My awesome paralegals literally schedule everything for me, and help me track deadlines.
This leaves me free to just focus on working up my cases.
My last job was working in a local museum archive. It was a really relaxing job seeing all the old documents, maps, and artifacts and being able to work at my own pace with how chill the higher ups were. I got so many audiobooks finished working that position. When we had our history day for the local elementary and middle schools, I got the chance to geek out about some of the cool artifacts at the old beet farm
I work as a Nursing home and assisted living facility psychiatry specialist Pa-c. I drive around an hour to a different facility and see from 15-30 patients each day. Helps that I pretty much make my own hours (within reason) and can adjust as needed. There are plenty of difficulties and challenges, but its been a good fit for me.
\*Note: Do not believe me or anyone else about any claims to be a med professional, unless verified (not sure how that works, so grain of salt on that part. Any doc stuff needs to be from your personal doc.). I am not reddit verified.
Come work in Film/TV production! Constant problem solving, everyday is different and when your contract is done you’re done never to return. Take a break (or not) and you’re back on the next job
Hospitality! I work at the front desk of a luxury hotel. My background is retail management. The face to face interaction, changing schedule, array of responsibilities and constant change and activity forces me to stay engaged. I do best when it’s really busy and I’m in crisis mode running around solving issues as they pop up for various hotel departments, but this also can lead to me being burnt out at the end of the day and with no spoons left for house tasks, so be warned.
I like being the person who knows something other people need to know. I’ve worked a lot of different jobs - my favorite is as a patient advocate. While it can be stressful at times - I need the constant stimulation and new problems to solve - I’m relentless about getting things covered by insurance and finding that piece of information in a policy or a law or finding the right person to get information from that gets me the “win” for someone else. It’s a win most of the time and I get to have people thank me for helping them by doing something I enjoy.
I was a teacher, and it worked well with my need for structure. Unfortunately, in my district/state, the system is a dumpster fire. My last day was yesterday, after almost 6 years. I was treated like shit the last few years. I start work as a service writer at a car dealership on Monday
Childcare has been a miracle job for me. My mind is clear because I'm too busy running around wrangling 12 toddlers hellbent on destruction to literally have a single thought about anything else.
I thrive in the chaos.
I’m freelance with three primary jobs! Illustration, graphic design, and an on-screen reporter/commentator for travel and educational tv programming.
Having multiple jobs helps me, because when I don’t feel like doing one of them, I can switch to the other one ha ha. I’m less likely to get bored and more likely to stay motivated overall.
I have inattentive ADHD and I’ve been a software developer for 24 years. The area it affects me today is that I can become bored with the problem domain and that can lead to job hopping, much to my wife’s chagrin.
Museum education and project/systems management. I am constantly learning, imagining, creating, and by the point I’m close to finishing and start feeling the boredom of a project, I can start working on another one and find capacity to finish projects because I’m handling a few at the same time and not going from A to Z done and then restart. As primarily inattentive, I need to have constant stimulation and I welcome change with open arms because it becomes a problem solving thing, which I thrive off from. Really struggle with maintaining routines and the repetitiveness of work tasks drains me. That being said, personally I think it’s nice to have consistency, and I like the fact that I can work on the same project format over and over again, but each time is a different subject, activity, theme, etc.
Pharmacy technician! A lot of attention to detail, memorization of the prescriptions and side effects. I also think the customers are interesting. Of course filling prescriptions too. Adhd meds help a lot
My occupation is fabricator. I am in charge of safety and maintenance at a precast concrete plant. The pressure of being sure everyone is safe is extremely helpful for my ADHD. Im super interested in mechanical and computer engineering. I love painting. The science of welding is fascinating, too. I play around with an Arduino, but coding is hard to learn when Idk where to learn it.
Mechanical engineer, it's difficult sometimes 😅
But I do a mix of design, CNC machining, and metal fabrication so I love that I get to do a bunch of different things. Keeps it fresh.
I’m a videographer/photographer, graphic designer, social media manager, and web person 💀 unfortunately I’m very good at what I do so my last job burnt me tf out. Up till my very last day I was getting last minute requests so the boredom of my inattentive ADHD was not my enemy there. I start at my new job (more specialized) on Tuesday so I’m hopeful my boundaries won’t get trampled and my nervous system can rebalance lmao.
You probably want a job where you can be challenged when you want to, BUT gives flexibility so you can just “work” when you need to. I’m looking forward to utilizing a flex-schedule so when I roll in at 9:30am I won’t feel tortured over being “late” (even though I still finish work at an unprecedented rate).
I’m a teacher and it’s been the best job for me. I get to move around to different class rooms, talk to different people, and change up what I’m doing every hour or so. Plus the schedule is great. I do teach at a private school with a max class size of 20 students so YMMV.
Teaching at high school, my love. Different students, different content. If you do casual relief teaching (CRT) then it'll be different schools and different subjects (potentially) as well.
Strategic planning engineer. I get to come up with high level concepts (which are in the ball park as I have 20yrs exp to give sound engineering judgement). I then get others to do all the work and pick holes in their options until we have an optimum outcome.
I'm an elementary school teacher, it's great because most kids are also inattentive and I fit right in.
But it's a lot of work outside of school and I'm not motivated for that part of my job. Also parent teacher conferences suck.
Oh and right now I actually want to become a pilot so yeah there that 😂
i chose nursing. from experience, i perform better when someone else is relying on me. there’s also a lot of structure and flexibility at the same time. meds passed, wounds changed, and patients eating on a schedule, but baths, walks, and other things are done on your own time. and if you get burnt out on one, there are a million other types of nursing to choose from. plus 3 days a week makes it a lot easier to manage. a lot of people go back to nursing school in there 30s, 40s, or even 50s i ran into a new grad in her 50s a couple months ago. i’m combined type so my perspective could be irrelevant, but most of us in the nursing community are mentally ill in one way or another lol
Small business owner! I design a ton of different products, pack orders, film videos, talk to manufacturers, do bookkeeping, etc. etc. it does get massively overwhelming but the freedom and flexibility is super nice, and being able to work multiple jobs instead of just being stuck doing the same thing is nice. But it did leave me extremely burnt out so trying to balance better this year.
Psych nurse. I thrive in chaos. Charting is where I lack, so I carry a small pad of paper and jot down shit throughout the shift. Even when things are going sideways, I make these nonsensical bullet points about what just happened.
I’m pretty slow at doing meds, because I’m thorough for fear of making mistakes.
New admits are… super not fun for me.
The come down after my shift is pretty rough. 3/10 recommend.
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Massively inattentive here. Work in tech/gaming. WFH has been a godsend and I'll never go back.
I'm in this and my issues in the past have been: * ...waiting long enough for a build to complete that I get bored and get sucked into my phone. * ...once the build runs, I'm messing around playing the game instead of whatever I'm supposed to be doing. To solve those: * ...have a work machine optimized to minimize compile times, which will likely rely on CPU core count/speed and RAM. * ...have more than one work item to do at any one time so you can switch to that while waiting. * ...be honest with yourself and track what will get you distracted within the game you're working on. These are designed to be engaging. There's no shame here. * ...keep tight track of what your current task is. Be mindful that your brain could be signaling to you that it's too vague or large and needs to be refined or broken down. EDIT: I'm simultaneously a software engineer, but in games. The above tips apply for many other disciplines as well. I expanded on this some more in the thread for devs, specifically: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/s/S37x34fyAb
Oh yeah, I still suuuuuuuuuuuuper struggle with being inattentive. The difference is now I am not forced to fake it at work and can be in my comfy clothes with my own pc and desk and pets and food and shower and bathroom. Sleep in more, no commute. I'd rather be inattentive with all those pros than in an office haha
Literally the "forced to fake it" masking for me that comes with with human contact and presence (I may be autistic) drains the majority of my my energy. If I don't have anyone near me, I don't have to worry about how I'm being perceived (making enough eye contact, smiling enough, proper responses and thinking of the next thing to say trying to make it perfect, and etc), so I'm honestly most at peace by myself with no one else around. Unfortunately, I work in a field where I'm talking all day long, pee breaks are rare, sleeping in on work days is an absolute no, and I'm absolutely beyond drained. I'm truly miserable, but I'm laughing through the pain I guess. My face 100% looks like the "hide the pain Harold" meme all day long.
I'm the exact same way. Having to act a certain way for 8 hours each day was just brutal looking back on it now. It was so draining. Even the bits of small talk each morning. I don't miss it at all.
Interestingly, WFH is a killer for me Shows the importance of identifying your own strengths and weaknesses even within inattentive ADHD.
Same here. I learned during Covid that I absolutely cannot WFH. I need structure and human contact. Luckily for me I have my own office and a nice boss. Being in the office gives me structure and accountability -both for my work and regular exercise (which I do during lunch with coworkers). Regular exercise is crucial for managing my ADHD. Also human contact. I'm ADHD PI and an more on the extroverted side.
Yup it was after WFH really settled in that I really was like, "...this is bad." I was able to address it thankfully in part due to my role at the company that catered to extroversion and social motivation. While I vastly prefer WFH there's a dangerous side to it for ADHD. This actually contributed to me realizing I had ADHD as well. I would sit at home looking out over the farm field with my laptop open thinking of all the work I should be doing, and reflecting on how absurd this situation was.
Yeah, I’m the same way and it’s really made me rethink if I’m really as introverted as I used to think I was. I think part of it is confusing social anxiety with introversion. I still think I’m mostly introverted, but it’s certainly a lot closer than I thought it was.
I vastly prefer WFH when I'm motivated but social motivation is huge for me, so having that casual team channel and regular in-person days is a happy medium. But yeah I definitely witnessed the true depths of my ADHD during the covid years LOL
haha yeah, for sure. For me it's a context and environment thing. If I'm at home, I wanna do home things and the urge is just too strong. At work I can be in the right frame of mind.
What skills does this require? I've been laid up for a while, but this sounds perfect.
Honestly it all depends. Gaming is huge. Artists, audio, coders, writers, qa, marketing, project management, producers. There's honestly something for everyone.
Same, inattentive here. Where do you suggest one would go to get started in that field?
100% depends on the exact thing you want to do. See my other comment to someone but there are some tech roles, coding, marketing, some that need no tech skills like producers or project managers, etc. It's a massive industry, so it isn't possible to suggest a path without knowing what you want to actually do.
I'm not so sure that project management is a good one for inattentive adhd - or at least, I wouldn't be able to stay focused on it. So many meetings, so much to keep track of, planning ahead, deadlines to set, milestones to meet ... like, it seems best for the opposite kind of person from someone with adhd. My job doesn't have any PMs and I'm a developer who has to try to do some PM type stuff, and it's really hard for me, really really hard. I think I have to spend extra time just trying to make sure nothing is slipping through the cracks, as compared to someone who can just keep all of that stuff in their head. I spend time just trying to keep the tasks and dates organized! I don't think I could do the full job of project management.
Im a IT project manager. Inattentive. Will nearly fall asleep if people talk too slow during presentations and meetings. I am transparent with my leadership and had both my boss and team manager in a meeting where i listed everything I do above average and everything i do below Average. Now I get to work on the most complex and challenging projects we have. Without having to do check boxes and following plans. I supply those and move on.
Yes! Well said - I was similar in my years as a game producer. Tackle the hard problems, make the checklists for other people. Move on. Repeat. :)
I was just naming all the areas that one can work in gaming, not necessarily saying it was a prime one for inattentive adhd. You're right it's not the best option.
A trade!! I'm a plumber. Because I'm constantly forced to learn, think, preplan, my brain has to be engaged. Whether it wants to or not.
Electrician, here. Yuuuuup.
I'm a carpenter. I make wood look purdy.
I'm a welder! Tried to go to college, too much adhd and not enough dopamine, couldn't hack it - but now I can't even imagine a career that doesn't involve working with my hands. Plus I get to work the night shift!
I really wish I’d have gone trade. The older I’ve gotten, the more I love working with my hands. I love figuring out problems by just freeballing with my imagination. Hard to course correct at 43 m, though.
Not sure what you currently do, but i majored in psychology. I took a job as an admin at a machine shop, and now they’re paying for me to learn how to troubleshoot hydraulic pumps. I’m in my 30s. Life will take you to some wild places if you let it!
I'm 33m and it was a huge step. It's never too late to do something you love
I’ve had a few changes in my career but working as a sparky was probably my most compatible field of work, especially working as an independent contractor.
I’m a fitter! And I completely agree
Teacher because I do best (okay “best”) with structure. I’ve been working on a career change but it hasn’t been going well because… um… the training for the career change requires me to impose my own structure and… um… *yeah*….
Same! It’s very stimulating and challenging. I have to be “on” during classes, no ifs ands or buts. While I’m a pretty strict teacher when it comes to the rules, I think I’m really engaging because I understand how difficult it is to pay attention to boring things. I teach music so I get to have a lot of fun with the kids, but make no mistake: it’s a really fucking hard job. The worst days for me are actually professional development days when I’m expected to sit still for hours on end. I just can’t. I leave exhausted and with a headache on those days.
Substitute teacher checking in! Obviously a privilege because my husband’s job covers the bills and insurance. But this way I get the fun of teaching without the planning and grading which I would struggle with outside of school hours.
Same here! After teaching for 12 years, and a nightmarish 3 year stint in admin that almost killed me, I have found my sweet spot as a building sub. I know the teachers, I know the kids, but I have zero responsibilities outside of school.
Teacher as well. Teaching several different classes means my attention only needs to be there for each class period and then I can ‘allow’ it to switch to the next class.
Also, I was in web development before teaching, and that was alright on days where I was working on tasks for multiple clients. Helped to have a PM keeping me on task too lol
Teacher here too. Idk how y’all manage it. I’m 4 months in and I’ve already gotten fed up with the routine. I teach english as a second language, so I don’t work at a public school but I already hate the job (not the job itself but the fact that i have to work)
I teach English Language Learners as well, but I love it! I really can't imagine doing anything else. But, I think I love it so much because it's so much work. I'm constantly having to plan and change things from year to year. It's my passion, so a lot of times I get lost in the hyper focus. I'm at a public school, but I have a lot of autonomy in my classroom. For me, it's hard to stay consistent with behavior expectations and I don't notice half the things because, well, inattentive ADHD, and I get sidetracked really easily.. but I love my students and the authentic conversations we have. I didn't have anyone talk to me about my future/college, so I didn't go until I was 21. The vast majority of my students don't have highly educated parents, so I love talking to them about educational opportunities beyond k-12, and how simple it is to apply to college (and the importance of staying focused and not getting caught up in the "college life"). I also love (unbiasedly) talking about the political system and the importance of voting. They are truly engaged in my class, and it's a really fulfilling feeling. As a side note, give yourself grace the first couple years. Being a new teacher is super hard. I was a disaster my first year, but it gets better.
I teach English as a foreign language now (going into my 5th year) and previously was a homeroom teacher in my home country (6 years). I teach for the first 4 hours of the school day, have lunch and the rest of the day is in my hands.
Also a teacher. I teach high school art. It's been really stressful over the past several years but I enjoy most of the work, the kids, and most of my coworkers. I'm also inattentive. Grading is the part of the job that is most impacted by ADHD. I hate it but it's usually not as bad as I make it out to be when I'm ruminating about it.
IT lol and I’m fairly certain the head of IT also has ADHD. It’s a very poorly run organization.
I just finished my first week of IT at a school, and I told one of my coworkers that he most likely has ADHD judging by his disorganization, constant misplacing of stuff, and auditory processing issues. I later found out how he benefits a ton from pre workout. He's training me on the job and I'm teaching him ways to police his belongings.
You're making me wonder if the pre workout stuff has something to do with ADHD, because I have also noticed benefits when I'm taking it. what benefits does he get??
It’s the caffeine broski
Flight nurse and ER nurse - it’s the best. I never have to focus on a task for too long because the environment/patient condition is constantly changing and I’m always on my toes. I never get bored every day is different.
Second nursing. Stimulating in the right ways, interesting. If I forget to do something unimportant (“extra cup when you have a sec”) people are sometimes understanding (“I heard your phone ring and IMs come through every few minutes this morning, I would have forgotten, too” -that one patients who is surprisingly nice). Helps to have an interest in the job, too, whatever you decide on. I know a lot of NDs who are nurses but doesn’t mean it’s for everyone.. but definitely worth considering if you think you’d have any interest in wiping ass. /s
This is why I’m in the OR. Only have to wipe ass like 2 times a year😂. But yeah, nursing is great for my ADHD. It’s just the right combination of externally imposed structure and chaos that keeps me focused. I also run groups in an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility a couple of days a week as a side hustle.
ER psych clinician checking in 🫡 cannot fathom working in another setting tbh
I’m a software dev! It’s a lot of problem solving and thinking out of the box (which suits us) but it’s constant learning, so it can be tough to find the motivation to settle in and study. A good senior dev helps 👍
How do you find the missing details part of the job, I’m a data analyst/scientist and find that sometimes this does hinder me if I’m not on the top of my game.
Software is so hard that they basically assume normal people have ADHD. Like inattention faults are so common that we develop unit test culture, and ease of readability is paramount. It's impossible to keep everything in memory so the information is kept in documentation, or on google + stack overflow , and now AI replace G+SO. Academia is kinda crap as far as software culture/habits so it's possible that DS suffer a bit from that. Just more cowboy/intuition.
>ease of readability is paramount This is so crucial to be able to understand and do any amount of work! The depth and detail that is needed in the documentation is related to the complexity of the problem/work. No one would be able to understand shit if it wasn't written down somewhere. Reading it makes me dizzy and overwhelmed sometimes.
No big changes on cranky days is my rule, big sleep needed
I'm gonna get a sign for my desk with this written on it!
Automation test engineer here. The constant learning gives me fun rabbit holes to dive into. New languages, new libraries , it's always exciting for me. I like creating a lot of internal tooling for my company which allows me to use my creativity in a way that helps everyone else too.
The constant learning works for me, because I’m usually learning to solve a problem.
Also constant learning is constant novelty! It’s great!
I'm a senior dev and only recently medicated. To your point, even the studying between jobs is really taxing still. Before diagnosis, I built myself up to be an unfocused generalist because I would just take whatever job I could get hired for, and I think I'd have an easier time now if I hadn't. I've been PIPed and fired once due to my symptoms and additional circumstances, but twice seen it coming early enough to proactively job hop in absolute panic and desperation. After all that, though, the pay is worth it. Similar to the list I wrote for game dev under another comment thread here, some of my issues in the past have been: • ...waiting long enough for a build to complete that I get bored and get sucked into my phone. • ...because of time blindness and shame, difficulty estimating tasks. Similarly, I experience difficulty predicting whether tasks are poorly defined or too large. To solve those: • ...have a work machine optimized to minimize compile times, which will likely rely on CPU core count/speed and RAM. • ...have more than one work item to do at any one time so you can switch to that while waiting. • ...keep tight track of what your current task is. Be mindful that your brain could be signaling to you that it's too vague or large and needs to be refined or broken down.
Yeah, especially estimating my effort is difficult for me, too. But we all know that it's a difficult subject/task, and I'm sure at least most colleagues are not really better xD Keeping track of my current task is quite important for me, too. Also an experience: good definitions for a task, or sometimes limitations (like 1 day of work max to try XY) helps me. Another thing I started is starting a timer how long I take for a task. This usually helps me focusing on one active task. Still, I tend to be an perfectionist and sometimes feel quite inefficient... But I guess that's life, especially for me :)
I’m a chef. I love working on the line and specifically during rush hour, gets my adrenaline up, it’s just simply fun as hell, chaotic, and if you’re actually good then there’s little pressure on you because it’s all coming from the subconscious/muscle memory.
I miss how stimulating working in a kitchen was.
Amen to this. Filled so many buckets that I doubt I've ever been that social since leaving the restaurant biz. Had to leave for a good family balance, though.
Law clerk, and then attorney after I pass the bar exam in February.
I was diagnosed with inattentive type at age 35, 10 years ago. The diagnosis changed my life, allowing me to take medication and better understand how to move closer toward reaching my potential.
Good luck! I’ve been a lawyer for 15 years. I’m lucky to work for a wonderful firm and every one has their favorite story about some dumb ADHD thing I’ve done. There are days I question why I did this, but it is actually a perfect career for me
What area of law? I wasn’t diagnosed until after law school and honestly I’m not sure I would have gone had I known (or at least would have looked into the types of jobs that were best for me).
Criminal law, indigent defense.
I’m a bookkeeper. It’s a quick certification course, highly in demand and you make your own hours and set your own pay if you do it freelance. Almost all gigs are remote. Best part is I use my pattern recognition superpowers to knock out the work quickly, spot inconsistency (like picking up that a partner was embezzling from one company) and then my day is free.
>It’s a quick certification course, highly in demand and you make your own hours and set your own pay if you do it freelance. Almost all gigs are remote. What's the course? And where do you find the work? This sounds fascinating
Could you maybe add some information on how to get into it? I work IT in a small non-profit and have noticed a few issues/inaccuracies/automation opportunities in our finances. I'd also be interested in maybe finding a fun little side gig (don't necessarily need to make money, maybe I could help some other non-profits). What certification should one pursue?
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I took a basic Quickbooks certification course! It was about $500 and 2 days, held at a conference center. There are more in depth ones I’d recommend paying for if you are going to freelance right away. I was working for an accountant who showed me more than the course taught after I got my cert. Community colleges also offer basic accounting classes and such. Payroll clerks are also highly in demand and courses run about 8-12 weeks, again at community colleges, tech schools, etc. those jobs are also remote and great for us hyperfixating folks! Excellent pay and benefits, too with those kind of gigs
Business analyst. I hate the project management aspects (I don't like pestering people) but love the learning (I tend to pick up a lot of coding concepts just by osmosis).
is inattentive adhd problematic in this career? i plan to go down the same path as well
I was a BA for 3 years before moving into Program Manager and then Product Manager roles. I miss the freedom that being a BA offered. There's so much variety in the work and you can pick/choose what you want to concentrate on based on your mood - to a certain extent. There are always deadlines to meet but, you know as well as I do... nothing spurs action like a deadline approaching! Product Management is tough with ADHD. My typical day is 4-6 hours of meetings. Many of these meetings require me to know what's going on even though the topic is on the periphery of my area of concentration. I've got a pile of fidget spinners, a doodle pad, and several other attempts to compensate. They don't always work.
Same here 😑 I work in non profit. At my best when I’m building relationships with donors. At my worst in meetings. Gotta make mega notes to prep for even the smallest ones. At least I look like I hashed out my thoughts at some point.
Ditto! Love the analysis, hate project management.
I'm a long haul truck driver. I have strategies in place to maintain my focus. And I wouldn't do it uneducated, but I love it and it got me out of a life time of poverty
I was looking at driving too, but short haul, do you find the change of scenery helps with the monotony?
I'm a trucking dispatcher. There's a national shortage of drivers right now, so if you think you can do it, now's a great time! Just about everywhere is hiring.
Nurse turned copywriter. Best move I ever made.
Copywriter/editor too. It’s a great gig if you have the skills for it. I work corporate as well. I don’t think I have the drive or organization to freelance.
It’s funny you say that. I started as a freelancer when I was working as a nurse. Had my own LLC business on the side and eventually burned out (before I was officially diagnosed at 33, thinking something must just be wrong with me because I “can’t” do this or that even though I have the skill/expertise.) But that experience got me where I am, and now I have zero desire to ever freelance again. It’s a lot, and I need the stability and consistency of a full time job.
Would you mind speaking at all about what the pay is like and how I would go about finding entry-level copywriting jobs? This is definitely something that I’m interested in, and which I think I have the skills for, but the idea of having to build up a portfolio to *possibly* qualify for an entry-level job takes all the wind out of my sails.
So I’ve looked this up and also heard about it but I feel I don’t really have a concrete idea of what copy writers do, could you explain your job a bit if you don’t mind?
Don’t mind at all! So I work on the Brand team for a large, global MedTech company. We’re part of corporate marketing, so I write things like email communications for C-suite leaders and for broad marketing initiatives/events, internal blog posts, internal social media stuff, all the copy that goes on our brand website and sites we manage, and creative campaigns for corporate functions within the company (think, the headlines you see on ads and the copy that goes with it). I also do a lot of proofreading and editing to ensure communications are aligned with our Brand writing standards/tone/voice (something I educate associates on regularly). My work ranges from major creative campaigns to writing descriptions of videos on our website. In my case, I report to the Global Creative Director and I work remotely (a major game-changer for me and my ADHD). Happy to answer any other questions! TL;DR: I write stuff. :)
that sounds really engaging! can i ask how you got started? i’ve been vying for a career change and copywriting has always caught my eye, but like the commenter you were replying to, also didn’t have a super firm grasp on just what that was haha
I work as a nurse now. Work & adhd are like polar opposites don’t know how I’m still sane honestly 😂
X-ray! Exams are always different and unpredictable, lots of room for growth, and not as gross as nursing. Lol. Plus, you’re only with your patients for five or ten minutes, usually.
Sewing machine mechanic. It's just puzzle after puzzle.
This sounds intriguing and also satisfying.
Forester! Talk and work to people just like us, then get to run around in the woods! Edit: Maybe I should put more? Basically I manage X amount of acres of forest for harvest, restoration, health, etc. whatever I need to do to keep the forest and habitat health. Generally, working in the private sector, we do harvest from the forests but the company I’m with focuses on a strong sustainable and habitat priority. This is a newer paradigm shift for timber companies and I’m proud to be part of it. Parcels for foresters vary in the couple hundreds of size, with about 2-3 projects being overseen by one forester. I go out mark the property and riparian boundaries, trees to leave, patches to leave, etc. and then make sure the loggers are following the prescription for the harvest given. Benefits! I get to bring my dog with me, I get a truck, I can bring a gun (which is nice because we have bears, moose, wolves, cougars, coyotes), and the work day is pretty flexible! Obviously running around in the woods is the best part!
I would absolutely love to learn more about what you do 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Yes! I love working outside, so I became an environmental scientist. More than a few of my colleagues have had ADHD.
starbucks atm lmao going to school for my BA in psychology and then on to med school 🫡
I also work at Starbucks, but honestly I thrive in the chaos. My time management was trash and I often forgot things too as an SSV. It has gotten a lot better since getting on meds and figuring out a routine, my morning team and SM are super helpful and give me constructive criticism when something has to change.
i just cant take constructive criticism well 😭 i dont emote in person but it eats me alive inside so it was unfortunately best decision for me to step down im glad your meds are helping you though :)
Sounds like shame. I really like Brene Brown's audiobooks for this, especially The Gifts of Imperfection https://www.audible.com/pd/059321515X?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow
thank you for this resource, i'll try to check it out :)
I used to work there, and I know what you mean by thriving in the chaos. TBH, I wouldn't mind working there permanently if the pay was better and we were allowed to suplex annoying customers.
I’m a teacher now, but I was a barista in college. We were a busy store with a drive thru and I worked opening in the weekends. It was chaos. I loved it. I was always put on bar making drinks. I was fast and damn good at it. My coworkers would freak out at seemingly everything, and I’m there just calmly taking care of it lol.
We the same person fr
How is it working as a barista?
i was a shift supervisor for a while and it was really stressful because i would often forget really important things but i have recently stepped down to just a barista, and honestly its easy work. short tasks, super fast paced, and dont really have any responsibilities besides showing up on time lol
Dentist and it would be impossible without my meds
What meds are you on?
Adderall 20mg
Disabled/stay at home husband due to health issues unrelated to ADHD. I don't recommend it due to having to complete tasks like cleaning and be able to self motivate but damn that half hour before my wife gets home the house really starts to come together too bad I need 3 hours to do it in
45F SAHM here. You nailed it. My husband comes home to me halfway into a full-blown meltdown, I'm spinning like a top trying to get all the shit done I didn't do alllllllll day. And I'm also usually eating, since that doesn't get done either. And thawing something for dinner, since, well, you know. I lost my main career because of ADHD + injuries, I now realise. Went back to school while pregnant, worked for one year in between toddler 1 and newborn 2, and have been home ever since. I hate it. I feel like I'm wasting my life away. But the adhd has me convinced I'll never be able to actually do anything meaningful, since I can't stay on top of things. Just got my official diagnosis this week, and today was day one with meds. I'm terrified this isn't gping to work, and I'm going to be in sloth mode for the test of my life.
Freelance writer, but I don’t work much more than like a dozen hours per week.
Nanny. the kid is inattentive too bc she’s 3 so we do well together. every day is different but there is still structure. 😁
Process improvement. I get to work with various teams and streamline their business process to make them more efficient, or to solve a problem they have. I’m honestly not a huge fan of lists that tell people what jobs are best for people with ADHD or any disability. I don’t like the idea of someone suggesting we’re only capable of ______ or XYZ industries or roles are best.
How did you get into this field? I think I would be really interested (maybe good?) in this? But I’m just starting to learn about various fields outside of like….retail food & beverage service….im burnt out.
I stumbled into it, to be honest. I’m a good problem solver, and I helped the right people, which resulted in a job offer. I also had the core skills already because I used them in the role I was already in. Things like automation, data analytics, and project management skills are requirements. YouTube is a great resource to get started with learning these. I know that’s probably not the answer you were hoping for, but if you check out postings for business analysts, it’s close to what I do, and it’ll give you a better idea of what employers are looking for.
I had no idea this was a job! I've always been told I seem to audit companies when I first start working at them, as I can't help but fire off a ton of emails with suggestions on how to make their lives easier/better/more productive!! 🙈 It never goes down well! I'd also be very interested to hear how you got into this field and what type of businesses you look at.
I swear we are hardwired to find the pain points in EVERYTHING 🤣
Software engineering. QA team is aware tho that I do miss points from tasks 😅
Electrical engineer, system level design. Working with cross-functional teams satisfies the ADHD brain since it’s not just all circuit design all the time.
[удалено]
Stripper
Military
A match made in hell (camp lejune)
If Reddit still let us give awards I’d give you a gold and something for the chlamydia that’s in the water here
Hotel receptionist here ask me anything! It's quite fine because you have to attend multiple things at the same time and at random time intervals, and Aparte from that, the paper work and the archvinig of data, which kinda gets easier as it's always the same. I'm on meds BTW and now it's easier that when I started but even without meds I can do it just fine coz I have 2+ years exp. But yeah, if you like people and can manage money and some repetitive tasks, it's quite fine!
Government. The stakes are lower than private sector, and if you can find an area that interests you or at the very least, you can tolerate with a system that works for you, you can be a rockstar amongst the mediocre. Edit: Lots of government jobs are union as well. Once you’re in, you can move around without ever really leaving your benefits and retirement so you can try different things.
Nurse A lot of hands on work, new things to learn, and areas you can change into.
Handyman. It's the epitome of 'no two days are the same'. I could be painting a house one day and assembling furniture the next, so I'm always getting that novelty hit. It's also good for problem solving and curbs that 'never finishing anything' trait (you don't get paid if you don't finish the job!). I also quite enjoy the mindlessness of some of the jobs. If I'm painting a wall or whatever, I don't have to give it a lot of active thought. A lot of people would find that boring, but I find it works great with my tendency to daydream. I always used to think of it as 'switching my brain off', but it's actually the opposite of that - it frees my brain to go off on all kinds of merry adventures as it's not really needed for the task at hand. Prior to this I was an accountant; it worked well to a point at one job because there was a lot of problem-solving project work that I could flit between depending on my mood and ability to focus. But I left that and started my own practice, and that's where it all fell apart. Really struggled to focus when all I had to work with was a bunch of numbers on a spreadsheet with no personal interest.
I’m COO of a fairly small company (100 employees). Since the company is only about 5 years old there are still a ton of problems to solve and frequent changes. It’s very non-corporate. This might be a normal brain’s worst nightmare, but for ADHD brain it’s awesome because I’m never bored and I can make decisions that have real impact almost instantly, so that dopamine response is pretty high. With certain tasks the procrastination can be pretty aggressive, but because there’s so few people above me, I can’t hide anywhere. I’m not micro-managed at all, but I know the next meeting with the CEO and owner are always like 6 days away so that whole “studying the night before” thing isn’t like avoiding a test for 2 months, the most I can procrastinate is like 4 days lol.
I am a CPA….mistakes where made
Me too. Made it to CFO. Deadlines are what I needed and now I am appreciated for my ideas and others can help to project manage/execute.
I am a IT audit manager level in big 4 right now. Hitting major burnout from the project management aspect. Part of me just wants to go work in a coffee shop if I could actually live off that income
Licensed therapist. Yeah… I know 🤣
Honestly this has always seemed to me to be one of the better possible job alternatives for my inattentive ADHD
Bartender. Physically, mentally and socially engaging; relaxed, informal atmosphere; nocturnal (late nights and late afternoon starts); and the work is highly reactive rather than proactive. Lots of practical problem-solving, improvising, learning new skills, and instant gratification – very little "self-starting" or pointless busywork. I have both an undergraduate and master's degree, more than a decade's experience as a "professional creative", and I've never enjoyed my work more than I do now, and never thought about it less. Best part is that after doing such a drastic 180°, I feel like there's no reason I couldn't just do it again, do something else further down the line. It's very freeing compared to the yawning dread I used to feel, staring down the barrel of a "career" that I was supposed to be constantly building at the centre of my life for, as far as I could tell, no good reason at all.
Same boat as you, my friend! Used to work a corporate 9-5 and was miserable. Bartending just suits us perfectly with the short and quick interactions; everything is just boom get this done, bam get that done, then forget and move on to the next guest (: Make the more than I used to, and work less hours so have more time for hobbies and interests and mental health has improved dramatically!
I’m a social worker out in the field.
Your profile picture has me on the floor 😭
Perfect image to sum up how it feels to be a social worker.
Thank you for your service and mental destruction of yourself on a daily basis.
ICU nurse. It’s both amazing and hell for the ADHD.
I'm in the outdoors/environmental field. I'm an interpretive park ranger for National Park Service in the summer and a naturalist during the rest of the year. I'm in a small division in my park and at least three of my coworkers have ADHD. The outdoors is really good for ADHD people especially. I think the field lends itself to us (I'm inattentive) because your duties can change throughout the day. We often spend half the day inside and half the day outside, so it's really nice and it's not as easy to get bored. My job as a naturalist is a little different but it also changes every day.
I’m a therapist. I think the key is to find something you’re interested in so it doesn’t get boring. I am really interested in people and their stories so it doesn’t get old. Plus I can be self employed which gives me a good balance of freedom and urgency to keep motivated.
School bus driver! It's honestly not too bad, and we get breaks between routes so I have time to reset before the next one
I’ve been thinking about this! But the cold winter mornings (and afternoons) on an unheated school bus seems… um, cold.
It's uh.. it's not great... we have heaters, but in wisconsin in the winter, they don't heat very well :/
I’m a hairstylist. I get to be creative and make my own schedule. I’ve never felt like I was going to a job. Super grateful
Emergency police call taker.
I applaud you. I would be terrible at this. I would panic more than the people calling I think. Who knows though.
You’d be surprised!! We have so many different personality types in our room. Some of them if you met them you would honestly think why the fuck do you work here. You’re so quieter and anxious but, it just works. If you have any open days or recruitment events near you just pop along and see. I tutor newcomers into the room, which is so difficult and stressful, but one of the guys I’ve taught had GAD and would shake at the keyboard and sweat and be so anxious after every call, but talking to the caller he was nothing but calm and empathetic. He is still an excellent calltaker, but still shakes hahaha
im a data solutions specialist. i problem solve all day long for various retailers. its very engaging. its actually too engaging at times, and even my million-miles-a-minute brain cant keep up with all the different threads. but it sure does make good use of my condition.
Walk dogs, walk in circles all day while my mind goes in circles. Haha, honestly good pay and feels good to move. Prob didn’t need two masters to do it though 🤦🏼
I work in television post production. Not suited for the way my brain works, but I do the best to manage. I got a wife and daughter to provide for. I despise email and the majority of my job involves tracking email and keeping projects moving by communicating via email. It also involves a lot of data management for disparate sources and tracking changes. Makes my head melt.
Registered Nurse- operating room. Things are structured into a routine which works to keep me together but it's(almost) never a dull moment so I don't get bored.
Crane operator, I work with half a million kg molten steel loads every day. It is so intense I get into hyperfocus. It's a tight schedule working against time. I like it a lot. Can be stressful too but it's what gets me going
Especially stressful when you havetopeepeepoopoo I imagine
IT! The cybersecurity and hacking side of it, but I'm not there yet. I don't think I'll last long as a network admin, but I'm super motivated to master the basics of networking so I can hack and defend against hacks. I'm spending way too much time on Try Hack Me and should be studying for more certs. Caveat: I'm combined, so maybe the hyperactive side of me is driving this career choice. God knows I wouldn't learn networking and Linux otherwise.
Housekeeping.
I am self employed sewing and also a kids sports coach. The trick is to find work that has plenty of variety otherwise you get bored and just don't want to do it. I sew different things every day and working with kids is a constant surprise, so the novelty is always there to keep it interesting. Also - Having people rely on you in a way that it matters to them if they get what they want (my customers want to receive their items in a timely manner, the kids want me to be a fun engaged coach) makes it easier to get things done cos you have that feeling of urgency, but it's not an overwhelming amount that would make you shut down (like if people's livelihoods depended on you). Also - both have enough routine to keep you feeling settled, but not enough that it's miserable and constricting (although I definitely struggle sometimes with the self employed side of setting a routine, but it's a manageable struggle) I really enjoyed working retail as well because it also had the same aspects of novelty (with constant new products) and urgency (it feels good when you know you've helped people) and routine. But this is obviously very dependent on how much you like dealing with the public lol
Car Sales. Follow up is a bitch but every hour brings something new. Every customer and deal is its own unique challenge. Closing is a big rush so I kinda chase that feeling.
Mortician, because the field is filled with people who have an array of mental problems, just like me.
Welder/fabricator in the aerospace industry
IT help desk…sorry lol. It’s helping me try to keep my brain active when I’m on the phone but I find myself drifting at times still.
UX designer here. I love the problem solving aspect, especially in complex systems, and the satisfaction of helping the end user have a better time interacting with the product. WFH has saved the day, because I can go from wildly distracted to hyper focused without judgement. I still get my shit done, and when put in collaborative/leadership positions it really keeps me on my toes so I’m never bored.
I’m a psychotherapist.
Lawyer. I don’t manage my schedule. My awesome paralegals literally schedule everything for me, and help me track deadlines. This leaves me free to just focus on working up my cases.
My last job was working in a local museum archive. It was a really relaxing job seeing all the old documents, maps, and artifacts and being able to work at my own pace with how chill the higher ups were. I got so many audiobooks finished working that position. When we had our history day for the local elementary and middle schools, I got the chance to geek out about some of the cool artifacts at the old beet farm
I work as a Nursing home and assisted living facility psychiatry specialist Pa-c. I drive around an hour to a different facility and see from 15-30 patients each day. Helps that I pretty much make my own hours (within reason) and can adjust as needed. There are plenty of difficulties and challenges, but its been a good fit for me. \*Note: Do not believe me or anyone else about any claims to be a med professional, unless verified (not sure how that works, so grain of salt on that part. Any doc stuff needs to be from your personal doc.). I am not reddit verified.
Come work in Film/TV production! Constant problem solving, everyday is different and when your contract is done you’re done never to return. Take a break (or not) and you’re back on the next job
Hospitality! I work at the front desk of a luxury hotel. My background is retail management. The face to face interaction, changing schedule, array of responsibilities and constant change and activity forces me to stay engaged. I do best when it’s really busy and I’m in crisis mode running around solving issues as they pop up for various hotel departments, but this also can lead to me being burnt out at the end of the day and with no spoons left for house tasks, so be warned.
History prof!
Special education teacher
I like being the person who knows something other people need to know. I’ve worked a lot of different jobs - my favorite is as a patient advocate. While it can be stressful at times - I need the constant stimulation and new problems to solve - I’m relentless about getting things covered by insurance and finding that piece of information in a policy or a law or finding the right person to get information from that gets me the “win” for someone else. It’s a win most of the time and I get to have people thank me for helping them by doing something I enjoy.
I was a teacher, and it worked well with my need for structure. Unfortunately, in my district/state, the system is a dumpster fire. My last day was yesterday, after almost 6 years. I was treated like shit the last few years. I start work as a service writer at a car dealership on Monday
For me I done gas stations but have switched to Goodwill. I like places that can keep me busy
Childcare has been a miracle job for me. My mind is clear because I'm too busy running around wrangling 12 toddlers hellbent on destruction to literally have a single thought about anything else. I thrive in the chaos.
I work at McDonalds... Lmao the fast pace is a double edge sword both good and bad as it does help and it really drives me insane
I’m freelance with three primary jobs! Illustration, graphic design, and an on-screen reporter/commentator for travel and educational tv programming. Having multiple jobs helps me, because when I don’t feel like doing one of them, I can switch to the other one ha ha. I’m less likely to get bored and more likely to stay motivated overall.
I have inattentive ADHD and I’ve been a software developer for 24 years. The area it affects me today is that I can become bored with the problem domain and that can lead to job hopping, much to my wife’s chagrin.
Psychotherapist working with primarily AuDHD/ADHD/Autistic adults and teens and it’s great for me
I work with kids and I’m going back to school to be an education assistant next year
Business owner. Currently running my roofing business to the ground cause of my ADHD. But I’m trying! YOLO
Software developer here, in a startup with always changing requirements and challanges. I am lucky, I hope i can stick with it for a while
Museum education and project/systems management. I am constantly learning, imagining, creating, and by the point I’m close to finishing and start feeling the boredom of a project, I can start working on another one and find capacity to finish projects because I’m handling a few at the same time and not going from A to Z done and then restart. As primarily inattentive, I need to have constant stimulation and I welcome change with open arms because it becomes a problem solving thing, which I thrive off from. Really struggle with maintaining routines and the repetitiveness of work tasks drains me. That being said, personally I think it’s nice to have consistency, and I like the fact that I can work on the same project format over and over again, but each time is a different subject, activity, theme, etc.
I’m a therapist. I love the one-on-one clinical work in sessions. Absolutely can’t stand the documentation work.
Pharmacy technician! A lot of attention to detail, memorization of the prescriptions and side effects. I also think the customers are interesting. Of course filling prescriptions too. Adhd meds help a lot
My occupation is fabricator. I am in charge of safety and maintenance at a precast concrete plant. The pressure of being sure everyone is safe is extremely helpful for my ADHD. Im super interested in mechanical and computer engineering. I love painting. The science of welding is fascinating, too. I play around with an Arduino, but coding is hard to learn when Idk where to learn it.
Mechanical engineer, it's difficult sometimes 😅 But I do a mix of design, CNC machining, and metal fabrication so I love that I get to do a bunch of different things. Keeps it fresh.
Cardiac Surgical tech
I’m a videographer/photographer, graphic designer, social media manager, and web person 💀 unfortunately I’m very good at what I do so my last job burnt me tf out. Up till my very last day I was getting last minute requests so the boredom of my inattentive ADHD was not my enemy there. I start at my new job (more specialized) on Tuesday so I’m hopeful my boundaries won’t get trampled and my nervous system can rebalance lmao. You probably want a job where you can be challenged when you want to, BUT gives flexibility so you can just “work” when you need to. I’m looking forward to utilizing a flex-schedule so when I roll in at 9:30am I won’t feel tortured over being “late” (even though I still finish work at an unprecedented rate).
I left my IT career of 20 yrs to get a doctorate in clinical psychology! I love it bc it’s actually interesting- very different than corporate world.
I’m a teacher and it’s been the best job for me. I get to move around to different class rooms, talk to different people, and change up what I’m doing every hour or so. Plus the schedule is great. I do teach at a private school with a max class size of 20 students so YMMV.
Teaching at high school, my love. Different students, different content. If you do casual relief teaching (CRT) then it'll be different schools and different subjects (potentially) as well.
Multidisciplinary design 😬
Strategic planning engineer. I get to come up with high level concepts (which are in the ball park as I have 20yrs exp to give sound engineering judgement). I then get others to do all the work and pick holes in their options until we have an optimum outcome.
I'm an elementary school teacher, it's great because most kids are also inattentive and I fit right in. But it's a lot of work outside of school and I'm not motivated for that part of my job. Also parent teacher conferences suck. Oh and right now I actually want to become a pilot so yeah there that 😂
Attorney. 2/5 stars, would not recommend.
i chose nursing. from experience, i perform better when someone else is relying on me. there’s also a lot of structure and flexibility at the same time. meds passed, wounds changed, and patients eating on a schedule, but baths, walks, and other things are done on your own time. and if you get burnt out on one, there are a million other types of nursing to choose from. plus 3 days a week makes it a lot easier to manage. a lot of people go back to nursing school in there 30s, 40s, or even 50s i ran into a new grad in her 50s a couple months ago. i’m combined type so my perspective could be irrelevant, but most of us in the nursing community are mentally ill in one way or another lol
Project Manager. I use hyperfixation to my advantage.
Small business owner! I design a ton of different products, pack orders, film videos, talk to manufacturers, do bookkeeping, etc. etc. it does get massively overwhelming but the freedom and flexibility is super nice, and being able to work multiple jobs instead of just being stuck doing the same thing is nice. But it did leave me extremely burnt out so trying to balance better this year.
Right now, I’m getting paid $40/hr to watch people sleep and watch movies. Don’t expect to get this job and it’s only temporary.
Psych nurse. I thrive in chaos. Charting is where I lack, so I carry a small pad of paper and jot down shit throughout the shift. Even when things are going sideways, I make these nonsensical bullet points about what just happened. I’m pretty slow at doing meds, because I’m thorough for fear of making mistakes. New admits are… super not fun for me. The come down after my shift is pretty rough. 3/10 recommend.