looking for suggestions for a new technical career

[humdinger67]

Hi all, I'm new here.

I have a four-year Engineering degree. I never landed a job in my field, in large part due to my ADHD. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 45 because I'm not fidgety. I'm 54 now. I take Adderall XR (20 mg) on work days, which is tremendously helpful for about eight hours; I try to make plans and to-do lists during that time. I have trouble focusing on anything for the first day or two of my three-day weekend, since don't take the Adderall XR on those days.

I have a job as a technician in a factory making electronics, which bedevils me because I'm expected to multi-task every day. I have lots of priorities that I'm supposed to attend to. To make the most of my time I should spend a few minutes on one priority, and then set it aside and jump to the next. I hate switching tasks like that, and I'd prefer to concentrate on one task until it's "finished", but most tasks are never really finished, just satisfied temporarily. I feel like one of those performers who spins plates on sticks, who is trying to spin a few too many plates. My annual performance reviews always criticize my productivity, and my raises are anemic.

I'm a bright guy who is into technology, but lately I've been thinking that maybe this is not the best job for me because of the multi-tasking expectation. It's frustrating because I'd like to be promoted to Engineer, where the problems and expectations are different, but in nearly four years it hasn't happened, and I doubt it ever will at this company.

I was thinking that a better job for me would be a job that requires intelligence, and possibly training, where I'm expected to do a complex procedure well, but not asked to multi-task. I heard that lots of pilots have ADHD, but I'm too old for that field. I thought about teaching, which I have a knack for and enjoy, but I'd need to go to school for a straight year, but I'm not sure it's what I want to do for the next fifteen years.

Does anybody have a suggestion for a career for an intelligent, technical, middle-aged person who is terrible at multi-tasking?

[inbetween]

Have you considered doing something similar to your current job, but on a smaller scale? I really enjoyed working as an electronics repair tech in a retail store. Perhaps a place where you can work independently as the resident expert might be better suited to you? I think many of us get frustrated when we have to follow orders, because we really need to do things our own way in order to be successful.

[humdinger67 in reply to inbetween]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into that. I've done component-level repair on cell phones before, so I should be a natural.

[notanotter]

I have no idea if these are multitasking jobs but I wonder if you would like network security or cyber forensics?

Honestly though, a year is not long to get credentialed in a new field, so I might try teaching and follow the good feelings. Can you maybe ask to shadow a teacher in your network to see what it’s like and talk to several times learn more?

[humdinger67 in reply to notanotter]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into that!