Adhd adults what do you do for a job?

[FloralsForSpringGroundbreaking]

I am not formally diagnosed but have recently recognised that I definitely display many traits/behaviour : combined impulsivity and also inattentive ness
I am also perimenopausal which I am sure has exacerbated this

I don't know whether going for diagnosis will help me.
I have worked in comms all my life since graduating but flit from role to role except when my kids were small when I worked from home in the evenings.

I need to find a better life balance and earn better money than I have been.

What do you do? Does it work for you?

I’m a teacher/ SENCo, I work far too many hours as I don’t know when to switch off, but love being able to advocate for young people with SEN, especially as mine were never picked up as a child!

I have my own little business. Mostly it is a struggle, there is a lot of boring stuff that has to get done, and very rarely is there time for the fun stuff. I notice my weaknesses are deadlines, understanding the mechanisms of business, rejection sensitivity, anxiety, managing everything, communicating with clients or staff, money management etc. The impact of not staying on top of all of this is detrimental. Which isn't always easy with monthly burnout and the chaos of life in general. However, I have noticed I am able to adapt when there are days of madness so that helps. I do find it quite challenging at times but I don't think I see myself doing anything else just yet. I suppose I am proud of it at the end of the day.

Combined ADHD type. I work in an office for the NHS. Luckily with a group of people who can cope with the H part of my ADHD, as that’s generally the most disabling bit for me.

@JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam I have just seen your nickname, how can you think Josh is hotter than Sam?!

How can you not think he’s hotter than Sam? 😂.

Hes a beautiful man and so intelligent, also probably a bit adhd….lol 😂

Yes that's a good point @JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam
He prob is a bit adhd

I am also stuck in my life atm.
Am self employed and wish I had more security and more people to be a team with

I'm not diagnosed - I have a GP assessment next week.

After failing to thrive in any job/career, I'm now self employed as a freelance writer, which suits me down to the ground. I work on my own terms, no interaction other than emails - and I keep those to a minimum - and I'm finally thriving.

Self employed in a niche interest, which has its pros and cons! Currently weighing up whether to go back to a salaried role but this would likely mean retraining completely. I am also autistic so there's lots to consider as the two conditions are sometimes at odds with each other ie I need dopamine but also structure, routine & control...

Combined adhd and am a detective - managing a team and then run complex jobs- adhd makes me really good at my job, but I would say at least 30% of the cops i know have it

I've just started the job I always dreamt about as a child. I'm a writer.

Like any job, it's not quite so much fun when it's work, having to concentrate on the particular story I've pitched when my mind wants to go off on another new adventure.

But I do love it more than any of the other (many) jobs that I've had. Living the daydream!

Formally diagnosed two years ago at 46. I'm the stereotype - mathematically/mechanically inclined, into computers and other geekery, and I'm a software developer by trade.

Had a brief stint as lead dev running a team in two companies - first was a startup and I loved it. Second was a more established business which seemed great, but then they fired the best developer on my team for essentially being autistic, and I just couldn't get my head in the game after that. Went back to being a plain dev, and life is just...better.

I work in public affairs, before that policy and before that membership. I struggle to stay in a role longer than 18 months unless I have several other side projects on the go at once.

I haven’t been diagnosed but so many of the ADHD traits resonate with me. I can hyperfocus for 8 hours without a break when I’m up against a deadline. However I get bored very quickly if it’s just a mundane work task.

Self diagnosed ASD + ADHD here (in process of getting official diagnosis of both). I am a software engineer, which as a career has gone through good and bad phases. My autistic side loves the structure and logic of the tech, the problem solving, and the coding; my ADHD means I deal really well with crises and crunches and excel at picking up new tools and languages and whatnot at speed. But on the flip side the ADHD means I really struggle with concentration and focus RE: meetings and documentation and endless architectural discussions (which you have more and more of the more senior you get) and on the ASD side I really really struggle with the politics (got myself in hot water multiple times for innocently saying what I actually thought when apparently other things were expected!). Did a brief stint as a lead after being recommended by management - I wasn't bad at is per se but hated every second as it took away all the good bits (coding, problem solving under time pressure, deep technical stuff etc) and replaced them with tedious management stuff and endless people problems. I went back to the technical side after that.

One of the reasons I'm currently pursuing the official diagnosis is because the more senior I've got the more the ADHD in particular has become an issue. The job expectations have moved further away from the bits that work for me and keep me engaged, towards stuff that just causes me to lose motivation and focus (tricky enough to get at the best of times) and I really worry that the knock on effects will eventually cost me the job (not to mention it's no fun feeling like you just can't concentrate on your job no matter what you try). I am really hoping that a diagnosis and subsequent medication will help me!

Journalist. It’s perfect. Thank goodness I found it.

Primary school teacher with ADHD.

Great job in the sense that time flies, you can approach lessons in a different way each time, you’re never bored, you can choose whether to do the quick burst of dopamine jobs or the hyper focussing ones because there are always such a large volume of jobs to do.

When the ADHD medication ran out globally last year I was amazed about how hard it was. I was so sad to think how much I struggled for so long prior to my diagnosis and medication.

I loved teaching but drowned under the admin. I wasn't medicated then and just couldn't cope with basically another job on top of the teaching so left the profession. The aspects that were rewarding were hugely rewarding. It's a profession I respect highly and I'm glad you're in a good place now with your ADHD to be able to fully enjoy it.

I just recently started meds and don't feel like they do much tbh. Do you mind if I ask how long it took for you to find the right one/dose and how you knew it was working?

Yes, I started on 20mg of Elvanse and worked up each month by 10mg until I got to the dose I was most comfortable with. 60mg was great and helped a lot and the afternoon crash was such a killer that I went back to my Dr and got 10mg of Dexamphetamine to help me get through the rest of the day.

I really struggle with the domestic monotony during the holidays and the lack of imposed structure and I do still get burnt out after the busy terms at school because everything seems to take me longer than it does the average teacher. I also hyper-focus on activities like displays which I do enjoy creating but I think my need for my classroom to be Pinterest level perfect is rooted in my intense need to present a glossy perfect exterior due to rejection sensitivity and this eats into my time a lot.

I struggle with being distracted by everyone (colleagues) who come in to my classroom in my free periods so I find I have to stay very late to make sure I can get my work done while nobody is around.

I also struggle to keep up with the emotional labour of working at my particular school. It’s a private school and the staff are very much more friendly, sociable and lovely than I’ve experienced working in schools before and it saddens me that I can’t give as much time to all the outings, lunchtime walking, watsapp groups and holiday meet ups as I’d like because the job seems to take so much more out of me than it does others.

I know the above makes it sound as though I’m not coping and should look for something better suited to me but honestly the job itself is the best I’ve ever had. Because it’s a private school, I only have 14 well behaved children in my class, a beautiful light classroom to work in, tonnes of freedom to teach as I would like, zero book scrutinies or lesson observations. Even the inspection wasn’t that bad.

I love the hyper fast pace of the school day and the fact I’m fed a hot meal each day. It suits me.

The only thing I am but worried about with the ADHD meds is that I don’t have much of an appetite so what I do eat is just for entertainment like chocolate or grabbing a coffee here and there. I’ve lost weight but I can tell my body is giving me little warnings here and there and I do need to take heed and start drinking water, eating more veg. I’m having a bit of insomnia here and there and very dry scalp/ wiry hair/ folliculitus/ a stye developing/ ongoing conjunctivitis etc but I’m not sure if this is to do with being run down or menopausal so it’s tricky.

Hope this helps.

Self diagnosed AUDHD here.
I'm a chef.i made my hobby my job over 40 yrs ago.
I love the variety and fast paced and constant jumping from task to task.
The only problem is I can burnout as I don't know when to stop.
This applies to talking too.
I only realised when I switched jobs and saw stuff online.
I can get loads done and I have lots of ideas so cooking is ideal.

Anything where there needs to be consistency is a huge struggle - I work in a creative industry where ebb and flow is ok, thank goodness. I am largely in charge of my own workload.

When I was younger, before I had dc, I worked in events, which was varied and active - perfect. I am lucky that I was client facing/creative and someone more suitable took care of the boring details!!

I am very hyperactive and quite extroverted, so it suits me to work amongst people - anything where I have to sit by myself all the time would be a struggle.

Project manager. Got into by accident 20 years ago, and been here since. Turns out I inadvertently found a career that is driven by ADHD! (and I’ve only just been diagnosed) it’s all last minute deadlines, workloads that fluctuate, ability to work weird hours to get stuff done (in my industry anyway) working under pressure, delivering and then going to the next thing. I have terrible memory recall for most stuff, but I can manage most of my plans on paper / in my head

On reflection this year, I think it brings more stress than it helps with! I also now manage a team, which I do not recommend AT ALL as you can’t have downtime and have to be on all the time.

I do a job frowned upon and slated on mumsnet so I won't share. I'm now my own boss and work when I want, where I want and whenever I can around my neurodiversity and health problems. This can be as little or as much as I want. This suits me completely. I love being able to genuinely help others and get paid well for doing it, even paet-time.
I too flitted from job to job before this. Peri- menopause definitely exacerbated the symptoms in a way neuro- typicals will never understand.

I've probably posted on this thread already and forgot 🤣 High level business development in third sector. Quite niche in terms of skills required. Which I like as keeps me focused. Uses communication skills. Deadline and targets which give me dopamine and urgency. Does sometimes feel like self abuse as it's fast and pressured. Hence working on ADHD strategies. Thats absolutely essential whatever you do. My job is a great match but every ADHD brain will eventually get bored. You have to have the variety.