If you have ADHD and work, what job do you do?

[walkingdisaster23]

I'm really low and struggling. I have a physical disability and diagnosed ADHD and sometimes it all feels too much. Sometimes though I don't believe it's ADHD just me being too stupid and lazy and crazy.

But on the off chance it is actual ADHD with me, and because I know there are tonnes of women with ADHD who do have great careers -

What job do you do if you also have it?

What do you think is key to your success in the workplace?

Has anyone had any sort of ADHD coaching or mentoring or anything extra outside of work that helps?

Has anyone broken out of a toxic rut of feeling utterly convinced you are stupid and genuinely changed their self esteem and now feel like a normal ok person?

Hah, I also work in charity fundraising and love it. No two days are the same for me either - I always have a ton of projects on the go, have targets to hit and also am constantly meeting new people.

I'm currently unmedicated because I'm pregnant, but only got medicated a couple of years into my current role. It just made me more efficient, but I was always good at my job.

I just love admin, could do it all day

The best career advice I've seen is to 'Find something that is your forever hyper fixation '. It's incredibly difficult (practically impossible) to do a job you don't find enjoyable This! I'm a lawyer, medicated, but if I know it's going to be a very busy and stressful day I skip the meds because the adrenaline does it naturally. I love my job and I'm good at it and that's the secret. In my younger days I was sacked from waitress/shop jobs for being absolutely useless. Seems bizarre that ì find it "easier" to be a solicitor but I do!

I was diagnosed recently, and have been medicated. I was a nurse in an acute setting until I burnt out. Have been flitting between jobs for a few years.

I'd love to go to uni again, but wouldn't be able to maintain interest if it was part time. I'd be bored before I finished. I don't trust myself to chose a subject and stay interested.

Definitely in a rut, and bored with life. And can't think of anything I can do for work that I'd be good at!

Critical Care Nurse. Have been for 3 years. Diagnosed with adhd and been medicated a year. Even prior to dx I thrived in this job as it has a practical element. With medication I am less tired and overstimulated. Many people in the NHS are neurodivergent and there's plenty of part time options

School office/Head's PA. Recently DX, as yet unmedicated. I used to work in banking and rose fairly high, but after having children I seemed to lose all ability to care about the dull, administrative stuff, and gratefully took redundancy when it was offered.

Working in a school really suits me - no two minutes the same (let alone days!), freedom to be creative, loads of seat-of-the-pants "we need this NOW" and research requests from the SLT that keeps me interested and focused. It was actually the Head who suggested to me that I might have ADHD...

Downside is that the money is dreadful, but thankfully I did well enough out of redundancy that I don't need megabucks to survive.

I design and deliver corporate training. A large aspect of the work is consultancy and detective work, to ensure the training is right. I like a puzzle. There's a bit of a buzz at the start of a new, complex project, and it keeps me going. I prefer several projects at once.

I get bored easily. I struggle with anxiety and take beta blockers as and when. I can't cope with the overstimulating office environment so I work from home. I eat too much sugar and can't manage my time well so I don't exercise enough. I've never taken ahdh meds but I think it's time I try soon.

I'm seeing really clear themes here:

• Deadlines/pressure
• New challenges
• An ability to manage sensory issues
• Flexibile schedule
• Fun

Which I guess describes most people's dream jobs. But when you start stacking up the opposite of those things, that's where it gets difficult...

• Slow pace
• Repetitive work
• Environment triggers sensory issues
• Rigid schedule
• Boring

Arguably that does sound like a pretty rubbish job that anyone would probably want to leave 🤣

But you've just got to figure out what works for you. What jobs have you enjoyed in the past? What elements really got you excited?

I have ADHD and autism. I’m a vet

I'm very recently diagnosed, and ADD rather than ADHD, I'm an A&E consultant, fast paced and suits me, nothing lasts long enough for me to get bored and wander off!

When I was younger I worked in a shop, selling thingsi was interested in, so could hyper focus and did quite well at that

Yeah, every job has boring bits. I'd be off like a shot if I didn't need to money, no matter how much I enjoy it. 😆

It's a matter of finding coping mechanisms to get me through the boredom. I find listening to podcasts or binaural beats helps a lot.

I'm a bookseller, and I love the job and am extremely good at it, but the pay is only just above minimum wage. I'm the opposite of @honeylulu in that I qualified as a solicitor but was miserable and quit to work in a bookshop.

@NDandMe I have had the opposite thought. If I won the lottery I would need to still work, I just wouldn't do my current job if I didn't need the money.

Instead I'd probably work for an animal charity or on some sort of farm in a manual role. Varied days doing something that I find really valuable. With a clear tangible purpose. But then animals and animal husbandry is hands down one of my biggest passions... Just doesn't pay very well...

I also don't know if I'll take well to retirement 🤔. I guess it depends if I have the funds to switch from one hyper fixation to the next or not 😅😬

I’m a nurse. I have 3 jobs, all fast paced, high pressured and challenging. I get bored really easily and have to exercise before work and at lunch if it’s a very slow paced day otherwise I loose all motivation and focus.
I get hyper focused at work and struggle with general chit chat of colleagues as I find the interruption irritating so prefer lone working just with the patients.
I worked in an open plan office once and the over stimulation and constant interruptions made me fell very stressed.

I am a qualified Chartered Accountant but am working as essentially a dinner lady. It's all I can handle. Love how fast paced it is but constantly feel guilty about how I am earning a fraction of my potential and the pressure my OH has as the breadwinner. Hoping that once I start on medication I can handle something more.

I'm a producer for photo and video. I love how fast paced it is. There's always a deadline (the shoot itself) to work towards and loads of things that need sorting and juggling before hand. And I love the fact there's always a new project around. The corner to be working on after the previous one ends. Sometimes it can be pretty full on but I love it.

Prior to being diagnosed with ADHD quite late in life I was desk and office based with mundane boring repetitive tasks and I hated it.

ADHD meds have made a MASSIVE difference to my life and career. I take them on days when I'm WFH and need to focus on emails and computer based tasks. The meds help me keep on track and complete my tasks. I don't take meds on shoot days because I get so much dopamine from rushing around sorting things out and making sure everything is running smoothly.

I really wish I would have known about ADHD earlier in my life so I could have been diagnosed way before I went in the wrong career direction. I feel like I've started a new career path way too old.

I'm in my late 40s and until 5 years ago worked as an accountant. I was an auditor for a few years which was ok as it was fairly fast paced. Following that I was an accountant and it didn't sit well with adhd. Having said that, it was a huge organisation and my boss was both terrifying and motivating which definitely helped me!

I decided to have a huge change 5 years ago and became a self employed dog walker.

I love love love my job. I don't earn as much as before but I'm so much more content. I love the outdoors, the constant walking, being my own boss, spending time with wonderful dogs etc..

I am never bored, and no two days are the same.

However I am totally rubbish at the administrative parts of my job (invoicing mainly). I struggle to motivate myself to do it. I know that many self employed people with adhd have similar issues.

You make a good point however there have been studies showing that compared to NT people, some people with adhd thrive in stressful, fast paced jobs where there is a lot of 'thinking on your feet' as opposed to careful planning. Things like A&E doctors / nurses, ambulance drivers / technicians, radio DJs.

@Vieve1325 " I am cool as a cucumber and razor focussed when shit hits the fan".

Me too. I seem to thrive when chaos reigns. I'd go so far as to say that I find it exhilarating.

I kind of understand why this suits my adhd brain but I almost feel ashamed about admitting it.

Teacher but it's always been such a struggle to be on top of everything

@freckles20 Maybe I phrased it badly but that was exactly my point. Everyone seems to be converging on a similar set of positives. Fast paced, ever changing, high pressured etc.

As an aside - I'd recommend researching how to automate the boring parts of your business. Things like invoicing and admin etc. You could set up simple systems for example where you could use a home assistant and say "Alexa, invoice the Smiths for 2 hours for Willow" etc. I think there's a skill called Invoice Maker that could be useful 🤔 but I'm sure there's lots of solutions which could automate away the boring bits.

Nurse, suits me as i can change departments every few years, learn new things and face new challenges, however i currently work in an area with a lot of unpredictable patients with a variety of conditions, and less routine based work, which seems to be suiting me for longer than previous ward based roles as i love it and have no plans to change any time soon.

One of the first adults to be diagnosed in 2006..

Criminal investigator.. absolutely ideal.. I'm good at it .. (missed loads of kids appointments though 🤣)

I opened the thread to say I don't have ADHD but know someone who does...but reading some of these posts I realise there are people whose brains function like mine does. Who knows? I might have to look into it further. I've got a job with a high degree of autonomy so I can balance out the get shit done days and the get no shit done days. I think they get good value out of me.

OP you sound like you will be an asset to your company, see if they can support you, but point out your strengths too.

By the way my friend with ADHD is a nanny, absolutely amazing with children, lots of physical energy and she changes up the games and activities before she or the children get bored.

I am a social worker, unmedicated as the benefits didn’t outweigh the impact on my blood pressure and I was concerned for my physical health, which is poor at the best of times.

I am in a job which involves writing a lot of reports with deadlines, which helps. It’s very high pressure. My reports are thorough but concise. My work with families is done on time. My case notes are a higgledy piggledy nightmare.