Jobs suitable for ADHD Patients

[Shadio]

May you please advise me on suitable jobs for ADHD patients?

[STEM_Dad]

That's both simple and not simple to answer.

ADHD comes with an interest-based attention system. We are drawn to what we are interested in .

So the simple answer is: do what you are interested in.

.....

The not-so-simple answer is:

• We each have our own unique interests

• Your interests can change

• Even in a kind of work that you find very interesting, there are likely to be some parts that are a struggle for you because you don't have the skills or the interest to do them

I've seen various lists of jobs for people with ADHD, but I think they are simply a list of jobs that the list maker knew that some people with ADHD were doing.

Career placement tests or job skill inventory tests might help point to what interests you or might relate to your experience, but they can't definitively match you with the right job.

~~~~~

Also, consider any natural talents and developed skills that you have.

Some ADHDers have hyperactive traits, and others do not. Something that I've observed is that some ADHDers seem to flourish in jobs that involve physical movement, and I think that it's because the opportunity to move meshes well with their hyper mobility. (The same people would be way under stimulated sitting behind a desk.)

Some ADHDers need a lot of mental stimulation, novelty, and such. (I'm one of these; I have the Predominantly Inattentive presentation of ADHD.)

Some prefer jobs that don't require too much mental effort, because of their level of struggle with executive functioning.

Be sure to get treatment for your ADHD, and don't be too hard on yourself.

~~~~~

[TL;DR - the following is an example from my own life... It's quite long, and you don't need to read it to get the gist. The above is what you really need to read. I added a synopsis of my career path as an illustration, because some people need examples to get a concept.]

To illustrate my points, I'll tell you the highlights of my own career path:

[I should preface this by pointing out that

I found my career field in my 30s in a round about way. My path to get there was meandering, and my path within my current career field has been very difficult at times. Also, I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until I was 45.]

• I am helpful by nature, but was painfully shy as a kid. So, really I got my start doing volunteer work, mostly in Scouts. Then, I got my first job working at Scout camp in the summer. (I was too indecisive about what area of camp to work in, so I wound up on kitchen crew... where my helpful nature was mostly satisfied serving food, but my interest-driven attention was bored.)

• Then, while in college I got a retail job. It forced me to confront my shyness, and I developed from a total introvert into an ambivert. (This was a very uncomfortable process.) In that work , I realized that my empathy helps me develop a rapport with people quickly, my novelty-seeking and problem-solving interests turn my attention quickly to helping customers find what they are after (even if my store didn't have it, but I happened to know from my own curiosity what other store to direct them to). ... Incidentally, I also discovered that I'm good at training people (coworkers, then).

• In college, I pursued interests in computers, engineering, art & design, and psychology. (I changed between five STEM majors, across 5 different colleges and universities. I still don't have a degree.)

• For a while, I tried jobs in education, in support roles. I did okay in an office job, but didn't feel fulfilled. Then I became a math tutor, and I loved it... helping people (students) all day and constantly facing novel problems to solve. [I left to return to school, planning to become a math teacher, but struggled in college again. I had to leave school to provide for my family, though.]

• I went into retail management for a while, but my undiagnosed ADHD made it difficult for me. (I struggled with memory issues, distractibility, and a lack of interest in corporate management duties.)

• I returned to college to study computers again, but had to drop out when I ran out of financial aid, but got hired at the school in the IT Help Desk. That's when I discovered my career field, at 36 years old. I could help people all day, train new colleagues all the time, deal with novel technologies, solve puzzling problems...the only thing that my first IT job was short on was that it didn't pay very well.

My career growth in IT has been slow, mainly since my ADHD wasn't diagnosed and treated until I was 45. Also, I was very indecisive about what area of IT to specialize in, so I remained in the lower level until literally last month (and I'll be 50 soon). I only realized a year ago what I wanted to specialize in, and now I'm doing it. (I support users of specialty software and hardware systems. After almost 14 years in Technician roles, I'm now a Tech Support Engineer.)

...So, as you can see, I don't think it's an easy question to answer, but an important one to seek the answer to. Just know that you may settle into one job field easily, or might follow a convoluted path like I have.

[Shadio in reply to STEM_Dad]

Thank you for your effort and advice. I will try to find the most suitable one, InshALLAH.

[STEM_Dad in reply to Shadio]

Questions to ask yourself: • What are you interested in? (General interests, career field interests,

• What gets you excited? What things do you seem to be drawn to?

• What are things that seem to be easier for you than for the average person?

--e.g. I eventually figured out that I'm more interested in computers and technology than others. Most people just want their tech to work for them, but I like to understand HOW it works.

• What do you have experience with?

• What skills and talents do you have, especially ones that you think you can build on?

• IF YOU COULD DO ANYTHING FOR WORK THAT YOU WANT TO, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (This is assuming that you will earn an adequate income and recognition for doing so.)

~~~

Think towards the future.

Many years ago, I heard someone say that "in 20 years, there will be many new jobs that never existed before, and some jobs that have existed for a long time that will disappear." They were absolutely right, and it's only been about 15 years since I heard that.

There will continue to be changed like this in the workplace. Just in the last few years I've seen a lot of small changes and some big ones, too, like working from home.

~~~

Don't be afraid to lead change. You don't necessarily have to be a manager to do so. You could simply be a workplace influencer.

An important about people who have ADHD is that we tend to be entrepreneurial. We often think creatively, be adaptive and collaborative, think "outside of the box".

Being entrepreneurial doesn't always mean starting your own business, but might be like an advocate for new ideas within an organization (which I've heard called intrapreneurial).

[STEM_Dad in reply to Shadio]

The salutation at the end of your response reminded me of other considerations about what kind of work to do:• Ask yourself what kinds of work that you believe is good, important, and/or necessary to do.

Ideally, your work should fit in with your personal beliefs and values. (That doesn't mean that if you are a person of a particular faith that you ought to work in a faith-based role. Some people definitely do, but the important thing to be aware of is that you do not work in something which is not a good fit for your beliefs and values.)

There's a concept borrowed from Japanese culture (from Okinawa, I think) called Ikigai.

The concept of Ikigai is to find where four areas intersect:

• What you LOVE (DOING)

• What you're GOOD AT

• What the WORLD NEEDS

• What you can be PAID FOR

[DogKissesAreTheBest in reply to STEM_Dad]

I really appreciate your reply. The timing is superb. Your path sounds very similar to mine, all the way down to being diagnosed at 52. I’ve had 16 jobs in many years. I’m not lazy or stupid but I feel every bit of that today. I am yet again, trying a new gig and I really like it and want to be good at it, but the organization it is too much.

Your reply prompted me to make a post asking for some advice in this arena. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks

[Reformschooldropout]

Totally agree with what STEM_Dad has said.

I don't think there's really such a thing as ‘a job that is great for ADHD’ because everyone with ADHD is different and is interested or motivated by different things.

But I do think there are probably ‘jobs to avoid if you have ADHD’ although again people have massively different ADHD weaknesses. But I would think that anything particularly repetitive or boring that requires lots of working memory without being exciting, would be pretty much a no go for most people with ADHD.

What I have found with all the jobs and roles I have had is that there are elements of each that I have enjoyed and excelled at, basically anything I am personally interested in or that is a challenge, but I get quickly bored, and anything admin related, deadlines, remembering to communicate essential but uninteresting information, etc, has been a problem, and every job I have had has had an aspect of these things.

I have also found that doing something where you are helping someone or lots of people, and seeing the results or getting gratitude, is very satisfying and gives me a dopamine boost.

Some areas I have worked in that I have enjoyed are:

Music teaching

Sports coaching

Tech support and IT training

In most work places I have been in, I have enjoyed understanding how things work and what systems they have in place, and analysing what weaknesses there are and suggesting changes that would improve efficiency or effectiveness. I have never had a role that specifically was to do this, but I have done it in lots of workplaces alongside whatever role I am in.

Anything that involves generating ideas and creative problem solving works well for me, but if I am also expected to implement the ideas and then follow through to tidy up the details, I will get bored before it is finished so I really struggle to get a good end result unless I am working with a person who is good at this and doesn't mind. I think this is where the entrepreneur thing comes in - if you're the boss, and you can employ someone to do the things you aren't good at, you can play to your strengths and minimise your weaknesses.

Things that involve serious crisis management can work well for me in the short term, I am calm when others panic, and can take charge of a situation and see what needs doing and tell everybody what they need to do, but this type of thing does take its toll after the immediate crisis is over and the adrenaline rush has gone - especially if there is criticism afterwards of how I handled anything - I find that very hard to cope with and so it tends to end up being a negative over all.

Definitely the bottom line is you need to know your own strengths and weaknesses and find something that works for you!

[LisethHIS]

Hi, Shadio,

Thank you for reaching out to the CHADD National Resource Center on ADHD. I found an article that might be helpful for you—medicalnewstoday.com/articl... it talks about job opportunities for people with ADHD. Here’s a link to the American Job Centers (AJCs): careeronestop.org/localhelp... These centers are located across the country and offer employment and training services to help both people with and without disabilities find jobs. Here is list of tips on ways to succeed at work: chadd.org/for-adults/succee...

If there is anything else you need, please let me know.

Best,

Liseth

Health Information Specialist

CHADD's National Resource Center on ADHD

chadd.org

[Mamamichl]

totally depends on the person. I’ve seen people work quite well in a busy environment (teacher, cook, firefighter, medical professional), but they have to have a passion to work wherever they end up. Some work better when they can hyper fixate on something and not be bothered (tax person, librarian, etc). It depends on your adhd symptoms and your interests, really.

[ChaosDad in reply to Mamamichl]

I agree with Mamamichl, it depends on the person. I personally work as an IT Technician and I struggle everyday trying to organize my time, calculate time in work orders, manage tone in emails/chats, and it's not as if any organization or employer cares enough to not just dismiss you and move on to the next technician standing in line.

[Mamamichl in reply to ChaosDad]

It can be certain companies too. My last teaching job, I was discriminated against for my anxiety and adhd, and the one before kept me in the classroom even though I was injured, then blamed me saying that I was making it look dangerous. My current one is extremely supportive and everyone seems their own neuro spicy. My supervisor even asked me if I wanted her to take me home from a medical procedure today. Never seen this much support and understanding,

[AuroraJ]

Also very interested in this, I am with MIND employment support and they are doing their best. Though my own searching and applying has helped. I recommend NOT Ticking the disability box until you've got past interview or the role has been offered.

[Gladiator100]

Hi there, I was in television media with a large corporation. So I was able to move jobs every few years in the same company and change is better than a rest for us ADHD'ers! However, I did learn this lesson-no matter how exciting the main part of one's occupation can be, there will always be parts of it that are just deadly boring and will provoke the worst parts of ADHD (procrastination, in attention). For most of my career, I played every mind trick in the book on myself, using coffee, sweets whatever it took to get it done. Knowing I would perform the best part of the job better if I just did it really helped motivate me., but doing it was like walking through mud. When medication came a long in my life, it all got A LOT easier. So, take that for what its worth. Good Luck!

[Slothwidget]

Hi, I have to agree with people saying that a job that involves some movement helps. For me the best job was one where part of the shift I was at my desk in my office concentrating on minute details that I could get lost in and the other half was walking around the library or standing at the main desk doing various tasks and interacting with one person at a time. I think this was good for me because it had both variation and a routine built in. I was never overwhelmed by anything like a line of customers, but I did help people. I was never without something to work on, but I rarely felt rushed. (Can you tell I miss this job? lol) My other longest lasting position was as a floral assistant. I was moving around a lot, helping customers but surrounded by nature. It was both hands on and creative. Also, when working at other retail businesses, be it a gift shop or a sandwich shop, I did my best when I could walk around and do things. When I could work on displays or restocking or even cleaning. However, when I was forced to just stand in one spot and wait for the next customer or task to come to me, that would drive me nuts. I hope this helps some!! Best of luck to you in your job search. I am currently in one too.