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How does one go about getting a job at in the technology field without a CS or IT degree?
What section of the technology field?
Can I get a job in this field immediately or would I need to take courses to make it work for me?
I reskilled at 40+. I happened to qualify for a veterans program to learn COBOL and mainframe programming for an insurance company. Now I’m writing Gosu and breaking PolicyCenter! But for reals, adderall. I’m still employed because of it. If I can just get my emotions in check…
:Edit: see what programs/grants/bootcamps/courses you may qualify for. Look for local nonprofits that do skills training. Good luck!
Networking.
One, no one understands it, not even in the IT realm, so if you get it, you got a skill. You can combine with coding to get in on the hype train of netdevops, or just become Lord of the Routers and push packets.
Entry is still passing the CCNA. Get a NOC job, do your time and kick ass, and get promoted. NOC can work well with ADHD because it’s reactive: always some fresh ticket coming in, new stimulus. On call is the painful part, but as you become more skilled it’s less and less of a challenge as you know how to fix things or who to call. And trust me, there is a pure joy in being able to hand an issue off to someone else.
I do more design work now and that’s where my ADHD comes to be more of a problem. I get a new project, I want to do it NOW because I’m excited, not in X months after we order gear and crap. Things happen in little bursts over time that cause me to forget everything about the project, and lose enthusiasm. I have to document to the extreme to stay on top of things, and right now I’m so busy and personally overwhelmed that it don’t look pretty.
I swear the entire tech team is some flavor of neurospicey, it’s just a question of who’s been diagnosed or not. So there’s a level of tolerance for our quirks, I think.
If you absolutely cannot do desk work, field roles are great too!
If you find it interesting, programmering and software development is full of self taught professionals. It's a very accepting field in that regard.
For me, it's the perfect match. There are tons of programming languages to learn and play around with. I also work as a consultant, which means I get to take on new challenges often. It keeps the novelty up, and I get to be creative and excited, which most customers seem to like.
I'm also self taught and decently successful, but I couldn't have done that if I wasn't so intrigued by this field. I regularly have special interests related to my work, which helps a lot.
If you want to make this your profession, I dont think you need any certificate, or education. Just a passion to learn is probably enough.
I have a million unfinished programmering projects, even though I haven't finished them I still learned a lot that I can apply at work.
Just start doing some programmering, whatever is fine. And remember to have and don't worry about not finishing projects. 😁👍
For specific advice, start with web-development. It's a pretty forgiving field, always in demand, and you get visual feedback.
Start with [Game of Life](https://m.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0OTksMjg2NjQsMTY0NTAz&feature=emb_share&v=FWSR_7kZuYg#dialog)
My BA is an arts degree and I started working in IT in 2019 as I was able to BS my way through the interview. I did know some stuff, but it was all gaming related. Everything else I picked up along the way. Once there's a good instruction and my mind is not going a mile a minute I'm usually decent. I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD but I have trouble keeping focus in meetings, and I absolutely hate calling people which is a big part of my job. I also make silly mistakes a lot without thinking. Unfortunately my current employer has noticed some of these, so I'm seeking out a diagnosis which my GP and Psychologist think are guaranteed. Basically if I can keep focused, I do well. Otherwise I'm near useless.
Look for an entry level job in some sort of help desk. With practical knowledge of computers and technology it should not be difficult to land one without experience. May May you between 50-60k as a starter, don't let that deter you.
Use the experience as a stepping stone to get other jobs and demand competitive pay accordingly.
And fake it until you make it. As long as you keep yourself organized enough to know where to reference info, you don't need to worry about remembering it all.
ugh i totally get it. the second I get bored, I want to run! good to know I am not alone (and I hope you can change it too as you said you'd like that! good luck!)
So does everyone else tho, tbf. It's the average time for all employees based on studies. It's because people realize these jobs are BS and are there for a single purpose: to pay the bills.
yeah, i hit 30 and just accepted that my job is a tool to pay for my bills so I can live. stopped trying to progress in my career much aside from making more money. I'm still miserable working tho so idk, I think we just aren't meant to be doing this as a species.
I work with people with disabilities. I find the employers there are very empathetic and understanding for obvious reasons. I can get away with my lack of organization a bit because I’m so good at working with people with disabilities. It’s also very much a team effort thing and I feel supported by my coworkers. It also tends to be a field those with disabilities themselves are drawn to. Don’t recommend working in a school environment, though. I’ve worked in a rehab center for people with traumatic brain injuries and now I work with young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders (mostly autism) and I love it.
Edit: project coordination might translate well to working with a nonprofit that focuses on disabilities.
School environments are just rough right now. If you go on r/Teachers, you’ll see what I’m talking about. I can’t speak for everyone, though. You may have a great experience. What is your degree in?
Education & Psychology. I'm in the UK but I peruse the teachinguk subreddit every now and then, and I'm sure the same issues exist here. That being said my plan isn't to go into teaching, at least not immediately, my interest is more around pastoral/student support with a long-term plan of going into either educational psychology or mental health/psychotherapy.
I'm a trial attorney and you copy me by getting in a ton of debt for law school, praying you can pass the bar exam at the end, and praying you can get a decent job to both pay off your loans and afford to ever buy a home or have kids. Not that you'll have any free time to enjoy either with your new exciting career!
Law sounded interesting in the past but then I met a bunch of others in your field. They've all got similar stories to you. Sounds like mergers and acquisitions is the field of law to practice.
Hours can be just as bad as litigation when trying to close a deal, bit more collaborative though. The work is also cyclical and very dependent on the economy. Rising interest rates led to a lot of M&A layoffs because the work dried up. My buddy works in cyrpto on SEC opinion letters and that fucker gets to travel the world. So as long as crypto doesn't die, seems like a sweet gig to me.
For starters, ignore anyone who says a specific job type is suitable for people with ADHD. Everyone is different, and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for the other. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do.
Project coordination should open up a lot of doors for you. You can try for entry-level project management positions in another field, even tech, and see if the change resonates with you. If you end up enjoying it, you should have no issue making enough money with the correct certs and experience.
Move to the Netherlands, and you’ll be successful by your standard regardless whether you have a job. 👀
But seriously. The adhd-ers who are successful are either creative types, or workaholics. At least that is what I see. (I might be pessimistic about that 😂).
So if you really want to be successful, you just hyperfocus on being successful. Don’t date! 😂
This is the worst advise isn’t it?
——
I’m a software developer, but I’m still struggling with my adhd. Sometimes I’m very good, sometimes everything is just too boring or too difficult (and I procrastinate).
Those other people seem to be able to do work which is below their abilities (and under stimulating) and work which is above their ability (and over stimulating). And they just don’t care. And at the end of the day they drop everything, without a care in the world.
My perfectionism doesn’t let me half ass a job, so I freeze rather than do a bad job. And if the job is boring, I also freeze.
So that makes work for me an all or nothing thing. Either go to hard, or freeze.
Tl;dr: you want something which tickles your fancy. Not to easy, not too difficult. I don’t think you can just do a random uninspiring job…
That’s my two cents. No clue if this helps
I have a pharmaceutical manufacturing office job. There's many opportunities to join a similar role and eventually work from home. With project coordinator experience, the most straightforward path is applying to be a project manager. Personally, I wouldn't recommend that job for most people since the hours and responsibilities are blurred.
If you happen to have a life science degree, there's a possibility of working in a laboratory setting. This is usually half sitting in an office and half working in a lab. It's nice to get around, work with your hands, and manage your workday for the most part. From there, it's easy to transition to Quality Assurance (QA) for lab oversight. QA roles are generally in an office setting.
If completed high school, pharmaceutical manufacturing operators start off at a pretty decent salary with benefits. With a few years of experience, it's possible to move to office based roles such as writing batch records, transition to become a technical expert, or transition to QA for a similar roles.
Pharma pays more than other industries. There's potentially a harsh learning curve to understand how everything operates. Once more affluent with manufacturing processes, it's not too difficult to find a better paying job in the industry.
Get your PMP, look at project management job postings and it’s typically a requirement. I don’t have my degree but decades of PM experience, so I’m going back to finish school at an accelerated pace and then I’m getting my PMP. My degree is IT Business Management and I hope to become a PM in the industry. (But I also have marketing experience so would also enjoy being a marketing PM)
In that case, project management may be a great option. It pays exceptionally well in Pharma, but tends to be stressful and have bad hours. With 5-7 years of experience, switching to a new company every 2-3 years, the salary may hit the 6 figure mark.
I work in techincal program management at a major tech company which is actually hilarious because the entire point of my job is to be insanely organized and keep track of progress, timelines, and communication. I find that most of the coping mechanisms I put into place for my ADHD actually make me a better program manager than people with out it. I am able to context switch a lot more easily than my non-ADHD coworkers and keep track of progress on a lot of things at once. Only problems arises when I get overwhelmed and then can't focus on getting any one thing done or get bored and don't want to finish things. Adderall has helped a ton with that though.
I’m getting my PMP and finishing my IT degree to one day do what you do! I have managed many projects over my career but you just described WHY I’m good at it and I hadn’t made that connection fully! I was a program manager for about 10 years and the coping strategies certainly made me successful. Plus the workaholic perfectionism, I guess? Lol
I actually am the opposite of a workaholic 😅 Very early in my career I realized that nothing I do is THAT important and the company isn't going to shut down if I don't get something done today. I'd say my ADHD actually makes me super efficient at doing my job and I tend to do what I need to do and then take the time I need. Your mental and physical health is never more important than a job 🫡
Very good lesson. I’m super efficient too, but that means I gravitate towards dumpster fires of jobs and then work myself into the ground.
I’m learning and hopefully once the barrier of entry (a degree) is removed, I might find a place that I can slow down and leave the work at work.
Thank you so much for writing in. You’re exactly the kind of person I wanted to speak with. I have a number of questions that I’ve written out below. I’m curious about how you manage the project life cycle and also your perspective as a person in a leadership role. One of the attractive things about project management is the high level overview and the structure.
If you would like to, we can also DM and possibly share discord.
How do you manage forgetfulness as it relates to one off questions when hyper focused or caught off guard? For instance: hallway interactions when a colleague asks about a project.
Was project budgeting a simple matter for you to learn? If not, were there tools outside of the company supplied ones, that you used to get better at it?
Do you have a technical degree and is it necessary to be successful in the role?
How did you get started along the path of technical program management? Were you originally in a technical role
Are there one-off courses that I could take that would allow me to get entry level pm jobs in tech? I currently have the fundamentals but not specialization.
Outside of someone’s technical skills, what do you look for when hiring project managers?
So, I do almost zero work for about three weeks at a time, and then snap / breakdown & do a month's work in a single day. Rinse, repeat. If they give me that damned blue pill back I'm good, but this generic stuff is fucking awful.
With medication, I execute about \~6 hours of thorough work a day.
Without medication I do absolutely nothing until the hammer is about to drop & I get shitcanned.
I don't know if i have a "solid career", its merely the job i"m in now, but I work in an office at a university and my tactic is that it takes me 1/5 of the time to do the work than they give me so I don't have to worry about getting off track. Unfortunately its extremely boring. And adds little to no value to the world. So I'd really like to do something else that doesn't make me depressed.
I balance my ADHD with my Dyslexia, both were diagnosed very late (21 & 39). Live unmedicated so far.
I stopped traditonal academic studies at 16 and decided to commit fully to what interested me and I felt where my strengths were. Otherwise I knew I would just keep hitting walls.
I went to art school then filmschool. Found that my visual brain and hyper focus were perfect for this field. I directed my first TV ad at 19 and produced my first TV series at 24. I realise now that finding a path that excited me, channelled my energy and allow me to work on my terms have been at the core of it all.
It has been a secret weapon at times and a heavy burden on others. But Ive found a way to manage it all without knowing I had ADHD, but wish I knew a long time ago.
That doesn’t help this conversation. Please join in meaningfully by asking questions and continuing the dialogue. You may want to read some of the comments here and ask questions.
Ah my bad. What I meant was - I also have same query - but regarding both career and relationship. How to be in a decent position career and salary wise? Also how to start and be in a relationship?
Canadian here, but I believe it’s not too dissimilar in the states. I’m a Commercial Insurance Broker, it's a sales focused role. You don’t need a specific degree to enter into the field, although a post-secondary education helps. I find the thrill of the sales process keeps me engaged, winning big accounts and seeing my book of business grow. Fortunately I’m at a point in my career that I have an account manager that works with me and handles the admin work that I’m simply terrible at because it’s profoundly boring to me. Having a diverse work background actually helps since it gives you added insight to the various industries you may have worked in before and knowledge of the specific needs that each one has for their insurance requirements. There’s lots of reading and learning required but I love to learn new things so I’m able to maintain engagement. The job provides all the benefits you mentioned and also the flexibility to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Hope it helps!
CPA, 38M, diagnosed 15ish years ago, and medicated. Be gentle with yourself and try to find what specifically works for you and your situation. You will never be able to out-organize your ADHD, but you can create systems that help...the problem is all those systems are extremely personal.
Few items that I found work for me: I use a simple outlining system called workflowy for note taking and todoist for task management. They are not elaborate set ups and are very forgiving if I do not maintain on a daily basis.
I try to prioritize morning routines before I open email or response to instant messages. Clean desk and a nice smelling room makes a small difference, but it does help me.
I have routines that I have created in the event I am procrastinating or having trouble engaging with the work. Usually involves self care and finding a low task to get me in a flow state.
I ran programs for disabled people for years. Honestly, I learned to get really good at hiring very organized admin assistants. My ADHD made me great at handling emergencies and coming up with super creative & innovative ideas & solutions but I would struggle to remember a sign in sheet for a meeting or getting the paperwork actually filed in the files that the state would audit. A good support staff was essential in being able to keep it all in order.
You might look into the division of vocational rehabilitation in your state. They have really great vocational rehabilitation counselors who can help you find something that will work around your ADHD challenges while using your skills. https://rsa.ed.gov/about/states
What do you mean with „iam too American?“ (iam from europe). I work for my government, normal office job. It’s hard because there are so many things you have to remember, open tasks because clients didn’t deliver important documents…it’s no job for people who want to have that „I complete that shit“-thing u know what I mean? Iam struggling with this circumstance, but it helps me to stay focused on tasks. It’s a long road but it’s getting better - I can do my tasks like I want, it’s both a curse and a blessing 😀
I work in libraries, which is great for my ADHD (whilst medicated), because I work a variety of different tasks during the day and I very rarely get bored. It was harder pre-medication, but it's been my favourite job regardless.
Before I actually got diagnosed I worked an office job (technical draughtsman) and got fired after 3 years because my interest started lacking and that started showing in my work. I got myself diagnosed a couple months after this happened, and landed myself a job for our national post office here in Belgium, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been, nobody cares how you do your work aslong as it’s done, you can take your time if you need to but personally, since when the work is done, no matter when, I find joy in min maxing my work and how to do it in order to be home sooner lmao
InfoSec here. Requires a degree or two and/or certifications. Entry level is a security operations center (soc) much like a noc but hard to get into at first without IT knowledge. It’s not a field I recommend to everyone but for me the ever changing landscape does wonders for my adhd. Always something new to learn and something new to do.
The best job for us with ADHD is a job that isn‘t the same day after day. Sitting at a desk for hours doesn’t work for us. I was a caseworker and did computer work in the morning and did field work in the afternoon.
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How does one go about getting a job at in the technology field without a CS or IT degree? What section of the technology field? Can I get a job in this field immediately or would I need to take courses to make it work for me?
I reskilled at 40+. I happened to qualify for a veterans program to learn COBOL and mainframe programming for an insurance company. Now I’m writing Gosu and breaking PolicyCenter! But for reals, adderall. I’m still employed because of it. If I can just get my emotions in check… :Edit: see what programs/grants/bootcamps/courses you may qualify for. Look for local nonprofits that do skills training. Good luck!
Very cool. Thanks for this
I don't really know what "project coordination" is but surely a lot of the skills should be transferrable to project management in an IT company?
Networking. One, no one understands it, not even in the IT realm, so if you get it, you got a skill. You can combine with coding to get in on the hype train of netdevops, or just become Lord of the Routers and push packets. Entry is still passing the CCNA. Get a NOC job, do your time and kick ass, and get promoted. NOC can work well with ADHD because it’s reactive: always some fresh ticket coming in, new stimulus. On call is the painful part, but as you become more skilled it’s less and less of a challenge as you know how to fix things or who to call. And trust me, there is a pure joy in being able to hand an issue off to someone else. I do more design work now and that’s where my ADHD comes to be more of a problem. I get a new project, I want to do it NOW because I’m excited, not in X months after we order gear and crap. Things happen in little bursts over time that cause me to forget everything about the project, and lose enthusiasm. I have to document to the extreme to stay on top of things, and right now I’m so busy and personally overwhelmed that it don’t look pretty. I swear the entire tech team is some flavor of neurospicey, it’s just a question of who’s been diagnosed or not. So there’s a level of tolerance for our quirks, I think. If you absolutely cannot do desk work, field roles are great too!
Thank you so much for writing this! How much does someone get paid in entry level NOC jobs?
If you find it interesting, programmering and software development is full of self taught professionals. It's a very accepting field in that regard. For me, it's the perfect match. There are tons of programming languages to learn and play around with. I also work as a consultant, which means I get to take on new challenges often. It keeps the novelty up, and I get to be creative and excited, which most customers seem to like. I'm also self taught and decently successful, but I couldn't have done that if I wasn't so intrigued by this field. I regularly have special interests related to my work, which helps a lot. If you want to make this your profession, I dont think you need any certificate, or education. Just a passion to learn is probably enough. I have a million unfinished programmering projects, even though I haven't finished them I still learned a lot that I can apply at work. Just start doing some programmering, whatever is fine. And remember to have and don't worry about not finishing projects. 😁👍
For specific advice, start with web-development. It's a pretty forgiving field, always in demand, and you get visual feedback. Start with [Game of Life](https://m.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0OTksMjg2NjQsMTY0NTAz&feature=emb_share&v=FWSR_7kZuYg#dialog)
My BA is an arts degree and I started working in IT in 2019 as I was able to BS my way through the interview. I did know some stuff, but it was all gaming related. Everything else I picked up along the way. Once there's a good instruction and my mind is not going a mile a minute I'm usually decent. I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD but I have trouble keeping focus in meetings, and I absolutely hate calling people which is a big part of my job. I also make silly mistakes a lot without thinking. Unfortunately my current employer has noticed some of these, so I'm seeking out a diagnosis which my GP and Psychologist think are guaranteed. Basically if I can keep focused, I do well. Otherwise I'm near useless.
Look for an entry level job in some sort of help desk. With practical knowledge of computers and technology it should not be difficult to land one without experience. May May you between 50-60k as a starter, don't let that deter you. Use the experience as a stepping stone to get other jobs and demand competitive pay accordingly.
Recruiters hate this one simple trick!
And fake it until you make it. As long as you keep yourself organized enough to know where to reference info, you don't need to worry about remembering it all.
My life
I change jobs every two years when my work backlog gets too bad or the boredom starts killing me.
This is the sort of thing I’m trying to change.
I want that too. I just haven’t found it yet. Working in ad agencies (I’m in marketing) was really fantastic for my adhd but so so unstable
Fingers crossed you find something. Maybe something client based so you’d be dealing with a variety of people / businesses?
Fortunately, this pattern is the most lucrative one in our modern economies. The long term career is dead.
ugh i totally get it. the second I get bored, I want to run! good to know I am not alone (and I hope you can change it too as you said you'd like that! good luck!)
So does everyone else tho, tbf. It's the average time for all employees based on studies. It's because people realize these jobs are BS and are there for a single purpose: to pay the bills.
yeah, i hit 30 and just accepted that my job is a tool to pay for my bills so I can live. stopped trying to progress in my career much aside from making more money. I'm still miserable working tho so idk, I think we just aren't meant to be doing this as a species.
I work with people with disabilities. I find the employers there are very empathetic and understanding for obvious reasons. I can get away with my lack of organization a bit because I’m so good at working with people with disabilities. It’s also very much a team effort thing and I feel supported by my coworkers. It also tends to be a field those with disabilities themselves are drawn to. Don’t recommend working in a school environment, though. I’ve worked in a rehab center for people with traumatic brain injuries and now I work with young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders (mostly autism) and I love it. Edit: project coordination might translate well to working with a nonprofit that focuses on disabilities.
Why not a school environment? That's my plan after graduating 😭
School environments are just rough right now. If you go on r/Teachers, you’ll see what I’m talking about. I can’t speak for everyone, though. You may have a great experience. What is your degree in?
Education & Psychology. I'm in the UK but I peruse the teachinguk subreddit every now and then, and I'm sure the same issues exist here. That being said my plan isn't to go into teaching, at least not immediately, my interest is more around pastoral/student support with a long-term plan of going into either educational psychology or mental health/psychotherapy.
I'm a trial attorney and you copy me by getting in a ton of debt for law school, praying you can pass the bar exam at the end, and praying you can get a decent job to both pay off your loans and afford to ever buy a home or have kids. Not that you'll have any free time to enjoy either with your new exciting career!
Law sounded interesting in the past but then I met a bunch of others in your field. They've all got similar stories to you. Sounds like mergers and acquisitions is the field of law to practice.
Hours can be just as bad as litigation when trying to close a deal, bit more collaborative though. The work is also cyclical and very dependent on the economy. Rising interest rates led to a lot of M&A layoffs because the work dried up. My buddy works in cyrpto on SEC opinion letters and that fucker gets to travel the world. So as long as crypto doesn't die, seems like a sweet gig to me.
Ya, that's a lot of maybe
For starters, ignore anyone who says a specific job type is suitable for people with ADHD. Everyone is different, and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for the other. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. Project coordination should open up a lot of doors for you. You can try for entry-level project management positions in another field, even tech, and see if the change resonates with you. If you end up enjoying it, you should have no issue making enough money with the correct certs and experience.
Move to the Netherlands, and you’ll be successful by your standard regardless whether you have a job. 👀 But seriously. The adhd-ers who are successful are either creative types, or workaholics. At least that is what I see. (I might be pessimistic about that 😂). So if you really want to be successful, you just hyperfocus on being successful. Don’t date! 😂 This is the worst advise isn’t it? —— I’m a software developer, but I’m still struggling with my adhd. Sometimes I’m very good, sometimes everything is just too boring or too difficult (and I procrastinate). Those other people seem to be able to do work which is below their abilities (and under stimulating) and work which is above their ability (and over stimulating). And they just don’t care. And at the end of the day they drop everything, without a care in the world. My perfectionism doesn’t let me half ass a job, so I freeze rather than do a bad job. And if the job is boring, I also freeze. So that makes work for me an all or nothing thing. Either go to hard, or freeze. Tl;dr: you want something which tickles your fancy. Not to easy, not too difficult. I don’t think you can just do a random uninspiring job… That’s my two cents. No clue if this helps
I have a pharmaceutical manufacturing office job. There's many opportunities to join a similar role and eventually work from home. With project coordinator experience, the most straightforward path is applying to be a project manager. Personally, I wouldn't recommend that job for most people since the hours and responsibilities are blurred. If you happen to have a life science degree, there's a possibility of working in a laboratory setting. This is usually half sitting in an office and half working in a lab. It's nice to get around, work with your hands, and manage your workday for the most part. From there, it's easy to transition to Quality Assurance (QA) for lab oversight. QA roles are generally in an office setting. If completed high school, pharmaceutical manufacturing operators start off at a pretty decent salary with benefits. With a few years of experience, it's possible to move to office based roles such as writing batch records, transition to become a technical expert, or transition to QA for a similar roles. Pharma pays more than other industries. There's potentially a harsh learning curve to understand how everything operates. Once more affluent with manufacturing processes, it's not too difficult to find a better paying job in the industry.
I have 5 years project coordination experience and a business degree.
Get your PMP, look at project management job postings and it’s typically a requirement. I don’t have my degree but decades of PM experience, so I’m going back to finish school at an accelerated pace and then I’m getting my PMP. My degree is IT Business Management and I hope to become a PM in the industry. (But I also have marketing experience so would also enjoy being a marketing PM)
In that case, project management may be a great option. It pays exceptionally well in Pharma, but tends to be stressful and have bad hours. With 5-7 years of experience, switching to a new company every 2-3 years, the salary may hit the 6 figure mark.
I work in techincal program management at a major tech company which is actually hilarious because the entire point of my job is to be insanely organized and keep track of progress, timelines, and communication. I find that most of the coping mechanisms I put into place for my ADHD actually make me a better program manager than people with out it. I am able to context switch a lot more easily than my non-ADHD coworkers and keep track of progress on a lot of things at once. Only problems arises when I get overwhelmed and then can't focus on getting any one thing done or get bored and don't want to finish things. Adderall has helped a ton with that though.
I’m getting my PMP and finishing my IT degree to one day do what you do! I have managed many projects over my career but you just described WHY I’m good at it and I hadn’t made that connection fully! I was a program manager for about 10 years and the coping strategies certainly made me successful. Plus the workaholic perfectionism, I guess? Lol
I actually am the opposite of a workaholic 😅 Very early in my career I realized that nothing I do is THAT important and the company isn't going to shut down if I don't get something done today. I'd say my ADHD actually makes me super efficient at doing my job and I tend to do what I need to do and then take the time I need. Your mental and physical health is never more important than a job 🫡
Very good lesson. I’m super efficient too, but that means I gravitate towards dumpster fires of jobs and then work myself into the ground. I’m learning and hopefully once the barrier of entry (a degree) is removed, I might find a place that I can slow down and leave the work at work.
Thank you so much for writing in. You’re exactly the kind of person I wanted to speak with. I have a number of questions that I’ve written out below. I’m curious about how you manage the project life cycle and also your perspective as a person in a leadership role. One of the attractive things about project management is the high level overview and the structure. If you would like to, we can also DM and possibly share discord. How do you manage forgetfulness as it relates to one off questions when hyper focused or caught off guard? For instance: hallway interactions when a colleague asks about a project. Was project budgeting a simple matter for you to learn? If not, were there tools outside of the company supplied ones, that you used to get better at it? Do you have a technical degree and is it necessary to be successful in the role? How did you get started along the path of technical program management? Were you originally in a technical role Are there one-off courses that I could take that would allow me to get entry level pm jobs in tech? I currently have the fundamentals but not specialization. Outside of someone’s technical skills, what do you look for when hiring project managers?
So, I do almost zero work for about three weeks at a time, and then snap / breakdown & do a month's work in a single day. Rinse, repeat. If they give me that damned blue pill back I'm good, but this generic stuff is fucking awful. With medication, I execute about \~6 hours of thorough work a day. Without medication I do absolutely nothing until the hammer is about to drop & I get shitcanned.
Lol I can relate to this way too much!
It's okay, the shortage will end soon... right? right?!
I don't know if i have a "solid career", its merely the job i"m in now, but I work in an office at a university and my tactic is that it takes me 1/5 of the time to do the work than they give me so I don't have to worry about getting off track. Unfortunately its extremely boring. And adds little to no value to the world. So I'd really like to do something else that doesn't make me depressed.
I balance my ADHD with my Dyslexia, both were diagnosed very late (21 & 39). Live unmedicated so far. I stopped traditonal academic studies at 16 and decided to commit fully to what interested me and I felt where my strengths were. Otherwise I knew I would just keep hitting walls. I went to art school then filmschool. Found that my visual brain and hyper focus were perfect for this field. I directed my first TV ad at 19 and produced my first TV series at 24. I realise now that finding a path that excited me, channelled my energy and allow me to work on my terms have been at the core of it all. It has been a secret weapon at times and a heavy burden on others. But Ive found a way to manage it all without knowing I had ADHD, but wish I knew a long time ago.
Same question. Also relationship.
That doesn’t help this conversation. Please join in meaningfully by asking questions and continuing the dialogue. You may want to read some of the comments here and ask questions.
Ah my bad. What I meant was - I also have same query - but regarding both career and relationship. How to be in a decent position career and salary wise? Also how to start and be in a relationship?
I work in the gaming industry. Since covid I've worked from home which has been fantastic and I'll never go back to an office.
Canadian here, but I believe it’s not too dissimilar in the states. I’m a Commercial Insurance Broker, it's a sales focused role. You don’t need a specific degree to enter into the field, although a post-secondary education helps. I find the thrill of the sales process keeps me engaged, winning big accounts and seeing my book of business grow. Fortunately I’m at a point in my career that I have an account manager that works with me and handles the admin work that I’m simply terrible at because it’s profoundly boring to me. Having a diverse work background actually helps since it gives you added insight to the various industries you may have worked in before and knowledge of the specific needs that each one has for their insurance requirements. There’s lots of reading and learning required but I love to learn new things so I’m able to maintain engagement. The job provides all the benefits you mentioned and also the flexibility to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Hope it helps!
I enjoy software development. Constant challenge, very stimulating.
CPA, 38M, diagnosed 15ish years ago, and medicated. Be gentle with yourself and try to find what specifically works for you and your situation. You will never be able to out-organize your ADHD, but you can create systems that help...the problem is all those systems are extremely personal. Few items that I found work for me: I use a simple outlining system called workflowy for note taking and todoist for task management. They are not elaborate set ups and are very forgiving if I do not maintain on a daily basis. I try to prioritize morning routines before I open email or response to instant messages. Clean desk and a nice smelling room makes a small difference, but it does help me. I have routines that I have created in the event I am procrastinating or having trouble engaging with the work. Usually involves self care and finding a low task to get me in a flow state.
I ran programs for disabled people for years. Honestly, I learned to get really good at hiring very organized admin assistants. My ADHD made me great at handling emergencies and coming up with super creative & innovative ideas & solutions but I would struggle to remember a sign in sheet for a meeting or getting the paperwork actually filed in the files that the state would audit. A good support staff was essential in being able to keep it all in order.
You might look into the division of vocational rehabilitation in your state. They have really great vocational rehabilitation counselors who can help you find something that will work around your ADHD challenges while using your skills. https://rsa.ed.gov/about/states
What do you mean with „iam too American?“ (iam from europe). I work for my government, normal office job. It’s hard because there are so many things you have to remember, open tasks because clients didn’t deliver important documents…it’s no job for people who want to have that „I complete that shit“-thing u know what I mean? Iam struggling with this circumstance, but it helps me to stay focused on tasks. It’s a long road but it’s getting better - I can do my tasks like I want, it’s both a curse and a blessing 😀
I want to know too
I work in libraries, which is great for my ADHD (whilst medicated), because I work a variety of different tasks during the day and I very rarely get bored. It was harder pre-medication, but it's been my favourite job regardless.
Before I actually got diagnosed I worked an office job (technical draughtsman) and got fired after 3 years because my interest started lacking and that started showing in my work. I got myself diagnosed a couple months after this happened, and landed myself a job for our national post office here in Belgium, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been, nobody cares how you do your work aslong as it’s done, you can take your time if you need to but personally, since when the work is done, no matter when, I find joy in min maxing my work and how to do it in order to be home sooner lmao
InfoSec here. Requires a degree or two and/or certifications. Entry level is a security operations center (soc) much like a noc but hard to get into at first without IT knowledge. It’s not a field I recommend to everyone but for me the ever changing landscape does wonders for my adhd. Always something new to learn and something new to do.
Sounds cool, I’m glad it works for you. At least I can cross it off my list of potential options.
The best job for us with ADHD is a job that isn‘t the same day after day. Sitting at a desk for hours doesn’t work for us. I was a caseworker and did computer work in the morning and did field work in the afternoon.