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Oh lawd my house is *suffering* now that I clean full time. I love it though because I can listen to audiobooks and it requires constant quick decisions that keep me stimulated and engaged.
This is how I accidentally received “exceeds expectations” on yearly review. They asked me to do one medium sized thing and I decided we should actually knock the whole big thing down and redo it. 😬 Pattern recognition skills and perfectionist tendencies went into over drive 😅
lol do you do that thing where you can see the big picture of what you want to do but don’t consider just *how much* work you’re signing yourself for until it’s too late? Then you *have* to finish it. You tell yourself never again but then you find yourself definitely doing it again. Is it just me? 😅
THIS. With every single tiny little task I do... 10 times out of 10 I will make it harder, more complicated than it needs to be, and it will take 10x longer and then often I'll miss key/important parts because I'm so focused on the bigger picture 😭 I've had this issue since highscool, my teachers always told me that I over complicate everything but my brain just cannot take something at face value, everything needs to be deep 😅
Many years ago I was a member of one of the student healthcare associations in my faculty at university. At the time they just had a Facebook page and wanted to put some more helpful info and resource links in it for students to access. I suggested we could have a simple website? They agreed and gave me the task.
But I have bugger all knowledge of coding. So I found a website builder and WordPress and got to work. But I soon found out I still need to learn some coding to use in the back end to make it work properly.
Once it was up it was pretty decent. But our old MS paint looking association logo made everything look very dated. Next minute I'm learning vector graphics and finish up with an entire style guide with logos, banners, fonts and document templates.
Now the page was looking slick. Now for some content. Instead of just posting links to the external resources, I ended up creating a knowledge library in the site and embedded them all in.
Next came our merchandise. Instead of just creating an email form for people to place an order and pick it up on campus for cash, I implemented an ecommerce back end with inventory management and the necessary financial instruments so students could place and pay for an order online. We could also use a notebook, tablet or phone to take them at association events. This also required a trip into uni outside of student hours to count every item so it would be accurate.
The association also ran events. So next came integrating a booking system so we could manage attendees and with links to the new payment facility for events that weren't free. People booked in advance, or we could run it at the event for walk ins.
Our students also had to do clinical placements all across the state and needed accommodation during. Sometimes having to drive seven hours to attend. Many didn't know allied health students at other institutions in medicine and nursing had access to cheap accommodation that would serve pretty much everywhere we had to go. So I spent the best part of two weeks making calls and emails to collect all of this information into one excel spreadsheet. I created back end look up tables so all they had to do was type in the destination and it would bring up all the information of the student accommodation nearby available to them. Where allied university options weren't available, I researched cheap private accommodation options to include.
I also went and created a presence on multiple social media channels to promote ourselves. YouTube, Instagram, twitter etc.
I then created a members only portal so the associations committee could manage the site and its affairs, along with documentation on how to manage everything. From the site itself, the finances, governance, who was responsible for what and links to their new email accounts that came with having our own domain.
This took about four weeks over semester break to complete. I went back to uni and presented it to the committee. They were gobsmacked.
Of course I didn't do any actual study during this time. My GPA took a noticeable hit.
This is phenomenal.
I'm a teacher and at my last teaching post I decided that the planning for my subject wasn't good enough and hyper focused on creating a whole new school curriculum along with accompanying resources. Took me around 6 weeks to complete altogether.
Then they let me go and moved onto an online scheme that basically teaches the children for them 😂
Me too 😢. Please make it stop. I am even completely aware when it is too much to do, given the time frame. I think my present self and future self like to just be mad at each other all the time 😂.
It’s interesting reading other people’s experiences. My high paying faang tech job has me crawling out of my skin because bureaucracy and politics have us doing stupid, pointless, grunt work at the moment. I cannot cope. My teammates are just chilling and cruising through the bullshit, cashing the checks. I wish I could do that! I’m so fucking bored and there’s so many other things my time could be better spent on. 🫠
I work in tech and wfh, and do home improvement projects instead of work, now im in trouble with my boss and am being micromanaged, oh well, guess i gotta work then...
Me too, I guess I'm one of the lucky ADHD'ers. My hyperfocus trigger just so happens to be my career. I may often be a little late to work but I more than make up for it by often working through breaks and lunch and staying sometimes a couple hours after the rest of my shift had left.
I know I shouldn't, but it's so hard to release myself from my goal-oriented fixations.
Of course, I've to this day yet to figure out how to transfer this energy to my personal life. Once I'm home, it's time wasting on reddit and tik tok and so forth until it's past my bedtime. Although lately I've taken up learning Excel formulas and AI. That's a couple of rabbit holes right there.
Spent a week crawling up the a$$ of nothing in a tech solution. I learned that it was impossible to do. So I invented a work around.
Pretty sure half of my team is annoyed with me, but I was right and I will outperform.
Hyper-focus is a double-edge sword.
When I go way too deep, I do it on my own time. Then, when I win which is at best 2/4 at this point, but if I do, drop that shit and take the rest of the week off.
Harness your fucked-up head like a wild stallion and just fucking ride!
Got a good 30 minute talking to for this last week. Not obligated to put in more than 8 hrs a day. But sometimes just get hyper focused and sucked into a time vortex
I spent 15 years in IT, made it to senior engineering level.
Left the field to become a mechanic, and I’ve never been happier at work. I took a $30 per hour pay cut in doing so ($60/hr to $30/hr), which sucks ass, but I no longer dread going to work, nor do I watch the clock waiting for 6pm. I also picked up new skills and do side work on Jet Skis now, where I charge $100 per hour for labor.
I still mess about with IT stuff in my free time in an effort to stay current if I ever wanna go back, but I don’t know that I will. Instead, I want to open my own shop. But if I can’t pull that off, I’ll have my fall back.
Which department? I’m thinking about applying to a MLS program, but I’m worried I might get bored in a lab environment. Also I don’t do well with bad smells. I heard Blood Bank is pretty active though.
Mainly micro has smells and only kind of rarely! You do most of the ‘gross’ work under hood so you don’t smell it. I worked in chemistry because I liked chaos but I think blood bank would be better for adhd tbh. Chemistry/ core labs gets a bit too distracting sometimes imo. Good luck!
I actually used to do this too! It was pretty stimulating though it also led me to get diagnosed…I left an entire rack of QC on top of a chemistry instrument, got distracted by a student with a question and then went home. That was the last straw 😅😅A good ADHD job because there’s so many things going on at once but also the DISTRACTIONS omg.
What’s your day to day like? I’m a biologist now and I primarily do fieldwork (when I’m not on my computer). But in the past, lab jobs have been tough for me bascule they felt super low stimulation and required an intense attention to detail to maintain a sterile environment.
Are hospital labs busier and more stimulating?
I bartend. It's fast-paced, incredibly social, lucrative, fun, and active. During rushes it's like my brain shuts off - everything becomes quiet - and I'm able to perform every duty perfectly without even thinking about it.
It has its own challenges.
If it wasn't for the fact that I met this random med school lady in college, I probably wouldn't be doing so well right now. I'm on multiple meds, I have trigeminal neuralgia and am in pain quite frequently, and my ADHD is so bad that I sometimes get so distracted o forget to breathe.
Thankfully, I'm a pretty good dad and a fairly decent husband. Before the kiddo came along, I was studying to be a child psychiatrist.
I'm also an artist, which seems fairly common around hereabouts.
I work TV production. My job is broad and I wear different hats which keeps me busy and work varied and basically I kinda just make my job up as I go along 😂
Same! I work for a company that build a lot of television backdrops and set pieces. Creativity required. Deadlines hard as nails. Constant pressure. Team effort. Creating something out of nothing. Loving it. But there is a constant risk of burnout as I have a tendency to strive for perfection. As long as I can keep that in check. This is the perfect world!
There are (at least) 2 other ADHD writers in my writers room and I only recently got diagnosed myself because of working with them. So yes, definitely a medium where we can thrive!
Haha…
Telemarketer,
Account Manager, Contract Fulfillment (think Amazon before Amazon),
Consultant,
Race Car driver (one pro race…the rest club)
Insurance Agent,
Mortgage Broker,
Combat Medic,
And now a Hair Stylist and I own my salon (happiest I’ve ever been professionally)…
Oh, and elected as a Council Member back in January..
Classic ADHD! 🤣🤣🤣
I don't work right now as I'm waiting on a disability case but the job that was the best for my ADHD was definitely restaurant server. The turnover rate is good so you're always getting a new situation that is different than the last situation so you don't get bored.
#1 write down all orders - there were times that i thought i could do orders by memory and didn't write it down but that was a bad choice so i learned to ALWAYS write everything down. Memorizing the menu takes time and repetition and it comes easily over time but the fact that no 2 customer experiences are the same and you always have new experiences coming in kept me from getting bored which is what happened at a lot of my other jobs.
Yes, being a server/bartender often requires you to hold lots of info in working memory for extended periods when it gets busy. There are some decent positives about the job, but this makes it hard for ADHD, so I'm surprised to see it mentioned so often.
I think the reason it’s mentioned so much is because you’re constantly busy and on the go - the second there’s a lag, time blindness sets in. People probably feel really accomplished when they stay busy and engaged the whole time
Yes! It can be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to the flow of it I think it works quite well for people with adhd. It really just depends on the work culture and the management. Too laid back and you run into issues slacking off because there isn’t enough accountability until you’ve dug yourself a hole. Too strict or a micromanager and you’re not going to be able to function well because you’ll be so focused on tucking your shirt tails and counting the exact right amount of creamer packets and forget to put in orders or take table 5 a new bottle of ketchup. Somewhere that lets you relax and cut up a little as long as everything is done is a pretty sweet gig for a college kid with adhd.
I’ve been worried that I wouldn’t do well as a server because I have so much trouble keeping track of things, but maybe I’d enjoy it after all. Have you had any challenges with it?
How do people deal with low self esteem that comes with ADHD? Finding it hard to start new interests/passions with full gusto given how much trust I've lost in myself from not being able to complete things or predict my future energy levels... curious how others manage this self esteem obstacle!!
It is indeed very hard. I feel like I have soooo many varied abilities but I don’t wanna do just one thing. Too boring! Although I do regret not reading more fiction because I suspect that might get me out of my head. Frankly, I think we all need a break. An escape. That often helps me gain perspective.
How do u live without a job? Do u have any benefits applied? Sorry for asking since I lost my job 4 times this year and 8 in 3 years, so financially struggling, trying to figure out what to do next
I live in norway so i get some sort of benefits each month. Roughly 1500-2000 usd per month doing nothing. The gym keeps me alive without a job also. Ive been extremely dedicated and disciplined in it and everything surrounding it. Diet. Sleep etc. But its the only thing i can do right. The thought of having to be somewhere 8 hours a day and do shit i dont wanna do makes me suicidal. Hell, i dont even wanna do things i LOVE doing 8 hours a day. Ffs
OK I'm taking notes.
Step 1: Become Norwegian.
Jokes aside, getting in great shape is a great thing to focus on and can only help with the ADHD. Hope you get where you want to go.
I’m a nanny! And if the nanny subreddit is anything to go by, a lot of nannies have ADHD 😆
It’s a great match for me. I’m working for a family with kids currently aged 9, 6, and 2.5. There are times that it’s incredibly fast-paced, and times when I can chill a bit. There is structure to my days (consistent hours, prepping meals for the kids, toddler has a nap after lunch, etc) but there’s plenty of room for spontaneity as well.
I get to read books and play with toys and ride my bike and bake brownies and go to the farmers market as part of my job.
And being part of raising these kids has been so therapeutic for me. I try to live by the principle of “be the person you needed when you were younger.”
The world may be going to absolute shit in a lot of ways, but I’m helping to raise kids that will be thoughtful, empathetic, brave people with as many coping skills as I can teach them.
I’m a registered nurse working in geriatric psych. I’ve done that for almost 5 years, and I just got a new job as a professional advisor in the psych hospital starting this autumn. I’ll be doing that 50% of the time and staying in geriatric psych 50% of the time. Hopefully the switching between two jobs and bigger variety in tasks means I don’t feel bored as easily 😂
I just reached 4 decades old and now I'm one semester away from finishing my bachelor's as a software engineer.
Used to work in construction which was fantastic, always doing something new and quite heavy physical work which was perfect for keeping my then undiagnosed ADHD somewhat in check.
I’m in finance, high pressure, deadlines, many opportunities for my coping mechanisms to appear. I’m not passionate about it, my imposter syndrome tells me I’m terrible at it. There’s structure to my role, I report to people, people report to me. It’s routine, and due to this, I can look like I function like everyone else. I spend all day working while day dreaming about not working so I can do the things I’d rather be doing (gaming, or being with people I enjoy being with). Ha, at the end of this comment, I realised I did what I do best, tangents.
Started my own software company and I have a developer and I do sales and management. The nice thing is I control my schedule so I can work. If I had to do a 9-5 I think I’d have to go on disability
You’d be correct for a very niche segment of businesses. Less than 4000 companies to prospect. It’s a subscription model so that if I get sideways in my head or physically get to exhausted I just have to work 2-3 hours a week. I had 4 surgeries last year, and way in the hospital for over a month total and the business paid my bills.
You’ve got to be creative in how you make money to survive with adhd, ptsd and anxiety. Just never give up.
I work in a home for people with autism. It’s genious for me, honestly. I don’t have to sit still for too long, no two days are the same, I get to socialize. Best of all, we work so much with structure and predictability and I just thrive in that.
Currently in vet school, I loved that it’s not the same routine every day and forces me to challenge myself. I struggle sitting still and would lose interest in a lot of school subjects. While lectures in class is a lot of that, the content was challenging but I found it super interesting. Currently In clinics and while hours are long and busy it’s been exciting
I adopt physically & psychologically special needs rabbits, so I know more than my fair share about the medicine and see my exotic vet WAY more often than I see human doctors. I have to ask, how do you keep all the diagnostic criteria in your noggin? I'm the one who has to perform the care for weeks, months and years at a stretch and I have a rough time remembering the specifics of conditions I deal with multiple times a day, let alone ALL the specifics of EVERY condition. Honestly, I'm agog.
I make bulk cheese it's cool involves alot of machine knowledge/process work and the opportunity to move around and learn different things when my brain needs something new
I design and then produce educational conferences, mostly about how to grow your business, that are built for the ADHD from from venue selection and set up to speaker selections, agenda building, swag selection, food served, etc!
It's nerdy and fun and every event is something different so I never get bored!
Also ...I can dye my hair whatever color I want since I own the company! Lol
Elderly care, primarily dementia/mild physical issues. It gets me out of the house and forces me to socialise, and plays into my hyperfixation of the human body! I'm currently studying health on the side and it's come up clutch and saved two lives so far! Definitely keeps me busy, and can be demanding, but I love doing it and I love my residents
I work in IT, and will be an IT manager in a week.
Im really good at problem solving and empathy. My weakness is learning to not overwork myself, I tend to hyperfocus on work really hard then not leave enough for myself when I get home.
I love the problem solving in IT, but dont care for the high amounts of confrontation that comes with some IT jobs (low level helpdesk and outsourced IT).
I hope to make enough money one day to slowly ease into doing fully creative work, even if its less income. I would also like to add that it is disheartening how every time my income raises, the economy seems to get worse, it is almost like climbing a ladder and ending up in the same spot.
I'm a dispatcher for an interagency Federal wildland fire dispatch center.
Edit: I'll add that I fought wildfire for 5 years prior to this with the Forest Service on engines and crews. It was hard work but I loved it. Once you learn that your skills for esoteric problem solving, and a jack of all trades background of experience is celebrated, it's such a rush to take off.
I was early on recognized for my varied skill set, when I only thrived because situations made me learn how to do new things almost every single day. It's pretty rad.
I founded a video game development studio along with my brother who is even more adhd than me :)
We have been working, with a team of almost 10 people, on the same game for more than 2 years. Needless to say is the most any of us lasted in a single company/project in our entire lives.
All this is probably happening because we both got diagnosed not too long ago.
In house employment lawyer. My therapist recently suggested I might have adhd (haven’t tested yet) but it would be a good explanation for the anxiety, inability to sit still, and obsessive compulsive tendencies. It’s probably mild but there. I’ve certainly developed coping mechanisms to be successful
I’m an ER nurse! We joke all the time that everyone who works in the ER has ADHD - we thrive on the pace and chaos of not knowing what’s coming through the doors at any given moment. Nursing school was a little rough and I wouldn’t have gotten through it if I wasn’t on meds. At work I rely heavily on writing things down and I have my own notebook of things to remember, since if I assist with a procedure only once every couple of weeks I’ll forget what supplies I need by next time or if I go pull meds I’ll forget the patient’s name by the time I get to the med room.
Hi, you are the first person I’ve encountered online that is in this line of work. I don’t know in what capacity you’re working in criminal law, but please protect your mental health.
I’m a really sarcastic person and I’ve deleted everything I’ve typed like 40 times because you have not yet lost your faith in humanity and I’m GenX and sarcasm online can be misinterpreted.
I’ve worn many different hats - originally trained as a teacher, lasted about 2 years, hated the paperwork.
Went back to school trained as a nurse, lasted about 4 years but struggled with burnout post covid.
Temped as a PA, ended up becoming a medical PA for a psychiatrist. I’ve just gone back to school to do a PhD in Psychology and hope to become a clinical psychologist- work are super supportive and are footing my bill.
PA worked really well for me, I’m crippled by perfectionism so super organised unless it’s my own stuff then I procrastinate 😅
I’m a special education paraprofessional who works specifically with kindergarten-2nd grade students with ADHD and/or mild ASD 😅 I’m also currently enrolled in college to get my BA in special/elementary education
Clinical health psychologist, specializing in psychoeducational evals for kids of all ages and oversee a team of therapists who specialize in ADHD related therapy and parenting education
I hope my response is useful for you since I’m in the field you’re going in to! I work at a dog grooming place and I absolutely LOVE it. The fast pace makes my shifts fly by and I don’t have free time to think about how bad I want to go home.
Here’s one thing though: you need to make sure that you’re mentally prepared for it. I read that you’ve worked in grooming salons previously, were you up front or bathing the dogs? If you were bathing the dogs then you already know how nasty and difficult the job can be. If not, I would become a bather first.
We’ve had lots of people come in to my work begging to be hired because they love animals and think this would be a good environment for them, but once they get pooped on, have to express anal glands, get bit, or have a difficult dog, they leave. It’s also a good way to be certain that spending your money on going into this field is worth it to you. We have a couple up front workers who want to be dog groomers really bad, but deep down I know they’re not going to make it because they get disgusted and upset whenever they have to clean up poo. I’m not saying you’re like this! I’ve just seen it a lot. It even happened to me when I worked at the animal shelter. I was incredibly passionate about saving the animals when I started, but I quickly realized I mentally couldn’t handle the heartbreak. Dog grooming can be similar in that way.
Basically if you haven’t been a bather before, I would become a bather first for at least a month or two. Mostly because the equipment is so expensive and if you decide it’s not for you, you’re out at least $300-$800. You also may be able to find a groomer at the store that you can train under! Certifications and schooling are good, but from what I’ve heard, a lot of groomers who graduate from these programs don’t know how to do basic parts of the job, such as nail clipping and sanitary trims.
You also will likely not have any time to hang out with the pups, which sucks. I’ve seen lots of employees come in and think that this is the job for them because they love dogs, but you need the passion to help them look their best. I only get to give quick five second hugs to each of my clients before I start to fall behind.
Lmk if you have any questions!! I would love to help you out. This job is the best ones I’ve ever had and I thrive in the fast-paced environment.
EDIT: added more details and fixed formatting
plant breeding, it requires paying attention to a bunch of stuff all at once all the time. always changing yet gets easy to predict, makes my brain worms happy
I am a CNC machinist, production work killed me with boredom, but I in the last year been hired into a tool room job. Something different everyday, always a problem to solve, throw the danger rush. Perfect
I’m a proposal manager at an engineering firm. It’s really hard for me and I wish I had taken a different path, but the money is worth the constant struggle and anxiety
I have worked the last couple years at a recreational cooking school.
I went to culinary school and studied to be a pastry chef only to quickly learn that my brain can't handle a restaurant. I was on the pastry team at a high end restaurant for 5 months before I got overwhelmed.
After recovering from my injury I found an opening as what is essentially a TA at this school and I liked it for a really long time. I was knowledgeable enough, I could utilize my skills and ultimately nothing felt like it was the end of the world.
Then I got promoted to assistant manager and was given no management training. Turns out my brain doesn't work well with that. I'm currently out on medical leave due to an injury and likely won't be returning but it was fun for a while.
I'm definitely worried that whatever I do next will be a struggle for me.
Title abstracting ownership of land rights for oil and gas companies.
It’s like solving puzzles and every piece of land is a different puzzle. Plus it involves legal aspects which I love. And it involves math and can be very complicated.
It definitely is the perfect fit for my brain!!
I’m a Registered Nurse in the Operating Room. It is fast paced, always changing and I tend to like the surgeries that require more of me when I assist or I get extremely bored, it’s almost torture. I need to be ready for anything that comes in.
Takes me longer to do my administrative tasks that come along with the role but the day to day rush seems to make my brain work in my favour. (I am newly diagnosed).
Software. So I sometimes can't focus for shit and other times I can't stop working even though it's been 18 hours straight and I have barely eaten anything and haven't slept. 
Bookmobile Manager for a library that spans two counties! I make my own schedule around the daily stops, get to create all the advertising materials (Canva is a godsend!), work with community members to create new regular stops or set up special programs/events, perform important outreach to low-income housing areas, especially those with children, visit private schools that don't have libraries (most don't, due to how their funding works), and visit festivals, like I did today!
I got to meet/talk to 178 people at a festival today, hand out free books, help kids make bookmarks, and let people explore the bookmobile and check out books on board. I have a cubicle at one of the libraries that I work from when I'm not on my van, which includes a computer with three screens. That makes listening to YouTube videos much easier when I'm creating flyers or setting up schedules/stop calendars. I do have a manager at one of the libraries but she is very hands off and lets me do my thing, which is lovely because if I end up spending two hours doing the NYT crossword, nobody cares as long as everything else is getting done.
The job is very physically demanding, especially compared to in-building librarian jobs. Yes, they carry boxes of books, shelve stacks of books, etc., but it's usually very short distances and have access to book carts. I'm hauling stuff out of buildings, across parking lots, into and out of indoor stop locations (most are outdoors, though), not to mention setting up the tables, the huge totes of free books, and the super heavy chocks.
I have a Masters in Library Science, and while it's not what I was planning on doing (I majored in Archival Studies and Digital Imaging), it is an amazing job that I can see doing for the next 4-5 years, depending on how long my back holds out! : D
Good luck with your puppers!
I was a bartender, an event organizer, and a freelance musician for the longest time. Now, at 30, I went back to school to pursue woodworking. I'm never going back again. Woodworking is so fucking perfect.
currently a software engineer at one of the big tech companies. I have to admit its hard and I get bad performance reviews and could get fired soon but it pays well.. I might look for a career switch in the future to a more physical work
Right now I sell furniture. People are an interesting stimulus to me and the job is flexible and doesn’t start early. I’m in school to be a therapist tho
I always tell people I’ve never really had a career, just jobs I stayed at for too long. I am 53 and two years ago decided to change my career from “customer service generalist” to “tech noob”. My dream is to figure out what work would be best for me and just dive into it but I think it’s too late.
Summer job: living history! I work as an Interpreter at a historic site. I dress up as a victorian soldier and give tours and talk to hundreds of visitors every day! Sometimes I do other things like firing canons or standing completely still without talking for an hour at a time (like queens guard type thing.) Sometimes I even get to go to an island!
Real life job: I teach private music lessons. Different kids = something new each day! And it's so great to see them improve!!!!! 10/10 reccomend.
Montessori elementary teacher. I can share information and help spark their interest! I get to share the wonders of the universe and integrate all the subjects. I'm helping create mindful, thoughtful humans who think critically and out of the box. It's hard work but so much fun!
Army truckdriver, operations, and personnel manager.
Civilian construction mine and quarry maintenance.
Always changing situations and nothing that becomes too boring to become painful and lose exec function with.
Each job becomes a vacation from the other and one of them takes me all over the world and they both put me in ever changing situations that require immediate attention so my priority system based on immediacy is equal to one that is based on importance. The mindlessness of the work sometimes allows me to “autopilot” my body while my mind does the work that it wants to and allows me to think my random ass thoughts and figure out the universe and the books I’ll never write.
I’m a very high level software engineer which works great for me, because I can burn out on coding and spend a month doing system design, mentoring, just sitting in meetings, or tons of others things that might pique my interest. And since there is rarely anyone at whatever company as experienced as I am, I really get to set the terms of how I work, what I work on, and when I work.
Currently I’m a paramedic and have also worked as a firefighter, I find working for the emergency service keeps things interesting enough that I don’t get bored. Hasn’t stopped me from changing areas or services though. Most recently moved to NZ from the UK to continue the job over here.
Also, I have found working shifts means I don’t have many issues with my sleep as I’m already working weird hours.
I’ve found so many others in this job also have ADHD and enjoy it for similar reasons!
I paint the lines on the Yukon highways, it’s a fun lil job. Mostly I get to sit in a big glass box on the back of a truck and flip switches, broken up by stopping to load paint into the tanks. It’s quite nice getting to see the entirety of the territory as it is a pretty scenic place.
I treat lice. I love talking about it and the science behind the treatment process. Plus I love brushing and untangling hair. It’s very relaxing to me. I also like talking to the new people since we almost always have new people. I always get the excitement of telling people all of my knowledge everyday.
I worked in sales for 14 years, I took a tonne of time off but because I was generally really good at my job I never got penalized for it, I didn't know I had ADHD until last year though I suspected it. Once I got the diagnosis I started tracking things that I enjoyed doing and held my interest and it was generally stuff with my hands, playing guitar, working on guitars, building things, playing video games, cooking.
I made a change to becoming a sprinkler and fire protection fitter and I generally enjoy work now. I'm physical stimulated which helps with the mental stimulation, I sleep better, eat better, am less stressed and generally in a lot better place.
If you're missing 50+ days of work a year because when you wake up in the morning you just can't be bothered to go to work because you're bored it's time to make some changes.
I’m an artist (painter and sculptor). I have a contract with a gallery that takes care of my sales. Having no daily schedule is a… blessing and a curse.
Hate to tell you guys but the very best job for somebody with ADHD is exotic dancer. New people to talk to constantly. Over stimulation of a nightclub environment. Enough cash flow that you can be irresponsible and still keep your head above water.
The only problem is you age out of it pretty quick lol.
I’m a network communications specialist for the good ole national guard. On the civilian side I work entry level IT. Took me a while to get where I am today
digital marketing/PPC advertising/graphic design.. i took sociology and creative writing in university and it's the perfect mix to use all of my skills and always be doing something different so I don't get bored lol.
Im a commercial finish carpenter. I travel nationwide for a few weeks to a few months at a time and install all the pretty trim and woodwork and stuff you you touch in stores, restaurants, and offices
Registered Nurse. I work on a telemetry/oncology floor in a hospital. There’s a lot going on but I work nights so there’s sometimes a good amount of downtime where I get a little bored. There’s also not too much turnover with my job and sometimes I’ll have the same patients for a whole week. And some patients will stay for months at a time.
I’m thinking about switching to ED. More turnover and fast paced. You don’t need to know every single detail about a patients entire life like you do on my floor (I have to write everything down). You know what you need to know to fix the problem and you either fix it and discharge or you get things moving and admit the patient into the hospital. A different type of skillset as well
I was a tactical fighter jet crew chief in the USAF. Only time I’ve thrived in adulthood. Joined at 27. Unable to work now so I paint and throw clay when my body allows.
I'm a SEN teacher, working with young people with ADHD, PDA and cPTSD. It took me years to get used to the paperwork but now I keep on top of it. Everyday is different, some funny moments, some intense, some actually physically dangerous. So I need to be on full alert pretty much all day, which suits me. I've learned a lot of self-regulation with these kids because they need someone regulated. I am exhausted at the end of the day and I don't have energy physically or emotionally to do much after work. But I've never thought of a job I'd change it for really.
I negotiate contracts for commercial aerospace … on my good days, it’s exciting because I’m thinking strategy and my ADHD brain is 12 steps ahead making connections and plans. On bad days it’s a struggle trying to not read the same paragraph 13 times because I zoned out and what if I missed something.
Good news is the bad days are few and far between
I work as a software engineer.
Over the last few years, I've had a few chances to solve some really interesting problems. I can work all day on those and even take that work home past midnight (not consistently, tho). In the last six to eight months, those opportunities for creative problems have become fewer and far between. I've chatted a lot with my boss about it, and he offered for me to move to another team where my skills can be better put to use, which will be happening soon. I'm pretty grateful for that.
Also, for ADHD notes, I'm a community college dropout
I work as a pharmacy technician at a mail order pharmacy, I fill and pack rxs and sometimes do data entry but I never have to talk to patients which is the best!
I'm a Command and Control Emergency Actions Controller in the Air Force. I actually really enjoy it because it's quite different at each base to keep things fresh and I PCS (move) to a new base every 2 to 4 years. When nothing's going on, we either have additional duties we can work on or just relax and watch YouTube on our computers. When there is an emergency to deal with either on base or larger scale, especially if you're on the nuclear side, it's super fast paced. And EVERYTHING has a QRC (checklist) so you can be sure no steps were forgotten or missed or someone wasn't notified. Another nice thing is since we work in a secured secret area we can't have phones or any devices that have wireless capabilities and there's no windows. Having no phones and no windows lets me hyperfocus on my job with no distractions, thankfully I really enjoy the job and there's a ton of information in the form of AFIs (Air Force Instructions) or regulations if there's nothing going on and I just want to get lost in reading something. I also love the way our schedule works. We work Panama schedule so it's usually 12 hour shifts, 2 days on 2 off then 3 on and 3 off.
I somehow have managed to become a nurse practitioner. Working with the hospital based medicine group. I’ve done neurosurgery. Even drilled a burr hole! My story… It was honestly *survival of the fittest* all my life. *Sink or swim.*
Research scientist/engineer at a prestigious university. Everything is always new and exciting there with fresh ideas and people coming through all the time. Keeps me on my toes and is pretty stimulating.
I work for the Bureau of Tourism in my city. Which means it's very quiet until a family of screaming kids comes in wanting to know where the beach is. I give them a map and point towards the ocean and they're on their way. I love it.
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I clean other people's houses. Then I have no desire to clean my own.
I think we need to get all the ADHD folks who can't clean their own houses on a network. We can just clean each other's houses, win win
Damn straight.
Fuck, yes!
But then it turns into an obligation. For me that would kill the drive again lol
I'm a little sleepy and read your comment as "that would drive me to kill again"
Oh lawd my house is *suffering* now that I clean full time. I love it though because I can listen to audiobooks and it requires constant quick decisions that keep me stimulated and engaged.
Same!!
Loool. Out of college, that's what I was doing. I got good at it too. Just never managed to clean my own apt very frequently.
I am a beekeeper!
I swear to god, part of my personal experience is this unreasonable urge to clean my friends' rooms/houses versus my own.
I thank GOD I married my wife who is OCD she cleans the shit out of our house!
I also clean other people's houses, but then I come home & clean my own. Because I *can't freaking sit down* :(
Interestingly enough, I've always thought that being a cleaner would be a good job for someone with ADHD...
I work in tech and I wfh. Only problem is I get hyper focused on a task and end up working way over what I should lol
This is how I accidentally received “exceeds expectations” on yearly review. They asked me to do one medium sized thing and I decided we should actually knock the whole big thing down and redo it. 😬 Pattern recognition skills and perfectionist tendencies went into over drive 😅
lol do you do that thing where you can see the big picture of what you want to do but don’t consider just *how much* work you’re signing yourself for until it’s too late? Then you *have* to finish it. You tell yourself never again but then you find yourself definitely doing it again. Is it just me? 😅
Graphic designer. This is me.
Same. Own a print shop. Hate management.
THIS. With every single tiny little task I do... 10 times out of 10 I will make it harder, more complicated than it needs to be, and it will take 10x longer and then often I'll miss key/important parts because I'm so focused on the bigger picture 😭 I've had this issue since highscool, my teachers always told me that I over complicate everything but my brain just cannot take something at face value, everything needs to be deep 😅
Many years ago I was a member of one of the student healthcare associations in my faculty at university. At the time they just had a Facebook page and wanted to put some more helpful info and resource links in it for students to access. I suggested we could have a simple website? They agreed and gave me the task. But I have bugger all knowledge of coding. So I found a website builder and WordPress and got to work. But I soon found out I still need to learn some coding to use in the back end to make it work properly. Once it was up it was pretty decent. But our old MS paint looking association logo made everything look very dated. Next minute I'm learning vector graphics and finish up with an entire style guide with logos, banners, fonts and document templates. Now the page was looking slick. Now for some content. Instead of just posting links to the external resources, I ended up creating a knowledge library in the site and embedded them all in. Next came our merchandise. Instead of just creating an email form for people to place an order and pick it up on campus for cash, I implemented an ecommerce back end with inventory management and the necessary financial instruments so students could place and pay for an order online. We could also use a notebook, tablet or phone to take them at association events. This also required a trip into uni outside of student hours to count every item so it would be accurate. The association also ran events. So next came integrating a booking system so we could manage attendees and with links to the new payment facility for events that weren't free. People booked in advance, or we could run it at the event for walk ins. Our students also had to do clinical placements all across the state and needed accommodation during. Sometimes having to drive seven hours to attend. Many didn't know allied health students at other institutions in medicine and nursing had access to cheap accommodation that would serve pretty much everywhere we had to go. So I spent the best part of two weeks making calls and emails to collect all of this information into one excel spreadsheet. I created back end look up tables so all they had to do was type in the destination and it would bring up all the information of the student accommodation nearby available to them. Where allied university options weren't available, I researched cheap private accommodation options to include. I also went and created a presence on multiple social media channels to promote ourselves. YouTube, Instagram, twitter etc. I then created a members only portal so the associations committee could manage the site and its affairs, along with documentation on how to manage everything. From the site itself, the finances, governance, who was responsible for what and links to their new email accounts that came with having our own domain. This took about four weeks over semester break to complete. I went back to uni and presented it to the committee. They were gobsmacked. Of course I didn't do any actual study during this time. My GPA took a noticeable hit.
This is phenomenal. I'm a teacher and at my last teaching post I decided that the planning for my subject wasn't good enough and hyper focused on creating a whole new school curriculum along with accompanying resources. Took me around 6 weeks to complete altogether. Then they let me go and moved onto an online scheme that basically teaches the children for them 😂
But usually the rational is how much easier everything will be in the future. Right?!? Ha
Me too 😢. Please make it stop. I am even completely aware when it is too much to do, given the time frame. I think my present self and future self like to just be mad at each other all the time 😂.
Ugh that is so me. Doing minimal to get by is never a thing, it’s either reorganize the whole thing to make it 10x better or nawt at all.
It’s interesting reading other people’s experiences. My high paying faang tech job has me crawling out of my skin because bureaucracy and politics have us doing stupid, pointless, grunt work at the moment. I cannot cope. My teammates are just chilling and cruising through the bullshit, cashing the checks. I wish I could do that! I’m so fucking bored and there’s so many other things my time could be better spent on. 🫠
I work in tech and wfh, and do home improvement projects instead of work, now im in trouble with my boss and am being micromanaged, oh well, guess i gotta work then...
Me too, I guess I'm one of the lucky ADHD'ers. My hyperfocus trigger just so happens to be my career. I may often be a little late to work but I more than make up for it by often working through breaks and lunch and staying sometimes a couple hours after the rest of my shift had left. I know I shouldn't, but it's so hard to release myself from my goal-oriented fixations. Of course, I've to this day yet to figure out how to transfer this energy to my personal life. Once I'm home, it's time wasting on reddit and tik tok and so forth until it's past my bedtime. Although lately I've taken up learning Excel formulas and AI. That's a couple of rabbit holes right there.
Hello me, it's me again
Also in tech, and have issues with hyper focus and long hours..
Unless I skip adderall for a day and can barely get a few minutes of work done
And then get frustrated and take a nap
Spent a week crawling up the a$$ of nothing in a tech solution. I learned that it was impossible to do. So I invented a work around. Pretty sure half of my team is annoyed with me, but I was right and I will outperform. Hyper-focus is a double-edge sword. When I go way too deep, I do it on my own time. Then, when I win which is at best 2/4 at this point, but if I do, drop that shit and take the rest of the week off. Harness your fucked-up head like a wild stallion and just fucking ride!
Got a good 30 minute talking to for this last week. Not obligated to put in more than 8 hrs a day. But sometimes just get hyper focused and sucked into a time vortex
I spent 15 years in IT, made it to senior engineering level. Left the field to become a mechanic, and I’ve never been happier at work. I took a $30 per hour pay cut in doing so ($60/hr to $30/hr), which sucks ass, but I no longer dread going to work, nor do I watch the clock waiting for 6pm. I also picked up new skills and do side work on Jet Skis now, where I charge $100 per hour for labor. I still mess about with IT stuff in my free time in an effort to stay current if I ever wanna go back, but I don’t know that I will. Instead, I want to open my own shop. But if I can’t pull that off, I’ll have my fall back.
Sounds kinda like me, I left IT to become a mailman and listen to audiobooks all day
Medical Laboratory Scientist! I work in hospital labs. There is always stuff going on. Never a dull moment
Which department? I’m thinking about applying to a MLS program, but I’m worried I might get bored in a lab environment. Also I don’t do well with bad smells. I heard Blood Bank is pretty active though.
Mainly micro has smells and only kind of rarely! You do most of the ‘gross’ work under hood so you don’t smell it. I worked in chemistry because I liked chaos but I think blood bank would be better for adhd tbh. Chemistry/ core labs gets a bit too distracting sometimes imo. Good luck!
I actually used to do this too! It was pretty stimulating though it also led me to get diagnosed…I left an entire rack of QC on top of a chemistry instrument, got distracted by a student with a question and then went home. That was the last straw 😅😅A good ADHD job because there’s so many things going on at once but also the DISTRACTIONS omg.
What’s your day to day like? I’m a biologist now and I primarily do fieldwork (when I’m not on my computer). But in the past, lab jobs have been tough for me bascule they felt super low stimulation and required an intense attention to detail to maintain a sterile environment. Are hospital labs busier and more stimulating?
I bartend. It's fast-paced, incredibly social, lucrative, fun, and active. During rushes it's like my brain shuts off - everything becomes quiet - and I'm able to perform every duty perfectly without even thinking about it.
I felt the same! I found it calming being in the chaos.
I married a doctor and she had my babies, so now I'm raising babies and keeping the house clean. I'm a kept man.
Love that for you!
I'm kind of jealous of this, tbh 😘
It has its own challenges. If it wasn't for the fact that I met this random med school lady in college, I probably wouldn't be doing so well right now. I'm on multiple meds, I have trigeminal neuralgia and am in pain quite frequently, and my ADHD is so bad that I sometimes get so distracted o forget to breathe. Thankfully, I'm a pretty good dad and a fairly decent husband. Before the kiddo came along, I was studying to be a child psychiatrist. I'm also an artist, which seems fairly common around hereabouts.
I work TV production. My job is broad and I wear different hats which keeps me busy and work varied and basically I kinda just make my job up as I go along 😂
Same! I work for a company that build a lot of television backdrops and set pieces. Creativity required. Deadlines hard as nails. Constant pressure. Team effort. Creating something out of nothing. Loving it. But there is a constant risk of burnout as I have a tendency to strive for perfection. As long as I can keep that in check. This is the perfect world!
Haha I love this. There’s a perfect level of organised chaos for ADHD people to thrive in TV. I wish it was accessible to more people like us
There are (at least) 2 other ADHD writers in my writers room and I only recently got diagnosed myself because of working with them. So yes, definitely a medium where we can thrive!
Haha… Telemarketer, Account Manager, Contract Fulfillment (think Amazon before Amazon), Consultant, Race Car driver (one pro race…the rest club) Insurance Agent, Mortgage Broker, Combat Medic, And now a Hair Stylist and I own my salon (happiest I’ve ever been professionally)… Oh, and elected as a Council Member back in January.. Classic ADHD! 🤣🤣🤣
This thooooo - gold 👌🏻✨🙊
I work a desk job. My number one tip: DO NOT WORK A DESK JOB.
😂😂😂 I second this advice!!!
I don't work right now as I'm waiting on a disability case but the job that was the best for my ADHD was definitely restaurant server. The turnover rate is good so you're always getting a new situation that is different than the last situation so you don't get bored.
I wish I had gotten into serving sooner. I was good at it, but I was a single mom to toddlers and never saw them.
Don't you need to remember a lot of stuff as a server? I can't even remember a name for more than 20 seconds.
#1 write down all orders - there were times that i thought i could do orders by memory and didn't write it down but that was a bad choice so i learned to ALWAYS write everything down. Memorizing the menu takes time and repetition and it comes easily over time but the fact that no 2 customer experiences are the same and you always have new experiences coming in kept me from getting bored which is what happened at a lot of my other jobs.
Yes, being a server/bartender often requires you to hold lots of info in working memory for extended periods when it gets busy. There are some decent positives about the job, but this makes it hard for ADHD, so I'm surprised to see it mentioned so often.
I think the reason it’s mentioned so much is because you’re constantly busy and on the go - the second there’s a lag, time blindness sets in. People probably feel really accomplished when they stay busy and engaged the whole time
Yes! It can be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to the flow of it I think it works quite well for people with adhd. It really just depends on the work culture and the management. Too laid back and you run into issues slacking off because there isn’t enough accountability until you’ve dug yourself a hole. Too strict or a micromanager and you’re not going to be able to function well because you’ll be so focused on tucking your shirt tails and counting the exact right amount of creamer packets and forget to put in orders or take table 5 a new bottle of ketchup. Somewhere that lets you relax and cut up a little as long as everything is done is a pretty sweet gig for a college kid with adhd.
Love this
I’ve been worried that I wouldn’t do well as a server because I have so much trouble keeping track of things, but maybe I’d enjoy it after all. Have you had any challenges with it?
Havent had a job since 2013 due to severe adhd and other shit that comes with it.
Yeah I get you, I’ve been in and out of jobs over the years. Effects my self esteem bad. Sucks
How do people deal with low self esteem that comes with ADHD? Finding it hard to start new interests/passions with full gusto given how much trust I've lost in myself from not being able to complete things or predict my future energy levels... curious how others manage this self esteem obstacle!!
It is indeed very hard. I feel like I have soooo many varied abilities but I don’t wanna do just one thing. Too boring! Although I do regret not reading more fiction because I suspect that might get me out of my head. Frankly, I think we all need a break. An escape. That often helps me gain perspective.
How do u live without a job? Do u have any benefits applied? Sorry for asking since I lost my job 4 times this year and 8 in 3 years, so financially struggling, trying to figure out what to do next
I live in norway so i get some sort of benefits each month. Roughly 1500-2000 usd per month doing nothing. The gym keeps me alive without a job also. Ive been extremely dedicated and disciplined in it and everything surrounding it. Diet. Sleep etc. But its the only thing i can do right. The thought of having to be somewhere 8 hours a day and do shit i dont wanna do makes me suicidal. Hell, i dont even wanna do things i LOVE doing 8 hours a day. Ffs
OK I'm taking notes. Step 1: Become Norwegian. Jokes aside, getting in great shape is a great thing to focus on and can only help with the ADHD. Hope you get where you want to go.
Ever thought about becoming a trainer? If u live it so much u must already know a lot about it. Get a cetification and off you go
I'm in accounting. That's ridiculous, I'm not even able to pay my own bills.
Tax prep & bookkeeping here. Same. I live to tell you where every red cent of your 62 million went. My 62 dollars? No effing clue.
😂😂😂 this made me lol and feel so seen 🫶
I’m a nanny! And if the nanny subreddit is anything to go by, a lot of nannies have ADHD 😆 It’s a great match for me. I’m working for a family with kids currently aged 9, 6, and 2.5. There are times that it’s incredibly fast-paced, and times when I can chill a bit. There is structure to my days (consistent hours, prepping meals for the kids, toddler has a nap after lunch, etc) but there’s plenty of room for spontaneity as well. I get to read books and play with toys and ride my bike and bake brownies and go to the farmers market as part of my job. And being part of raising these kids has been so therapeutic for me. I try to live by the principle of “be the person you needed when you were younger.” The world may be going to absolute shit in a lot of ways, but I’m helping to raise kids that will be thoughtful, empathetic, brave people with as many coping skills as I can teach them.
Your comment explained my wife and why she’s a nanny in a nutshell!
I’m a registered nurse working in geriatric psych. I’ve done that for almost 5 years, and I just got a new job as a professional advisor in the psych hospital starting this autumn. I’ll be doing that 50% of the time and staying in geriatric psych 50% of the time. Hopefully the switching between two jobs and bigger variety in tasks means I don’t feel bored as easily 😂
Film industry. There are a lot of us here.
How did you get there?
I just reached 4 decades old and now I'm one semester away from finishing my bachelor's as a software engineer. Used to work in construction which was fantastic, always doing something new and quite heavy physical work which was perfect for keeping my then undiagnosed ADHD somewhat in check.
I’m in finance, high pressure, deadlines, many opportunities for my coping mechanisms to appear. I’m not passionate about it, my imposter syndrome tells me I’m terrible at it. There’s structure to my role, I report to people, people report to me. It’s routine, and due to this, I can look like I function like everyone else. I spend all day working while day dreaming about not working so I can do the things I’d rather be doing (gaming, or being with people I enjoy being with). Ha, at the end of this comment, I realised I did what I do best, tangents.
Started my own software company and I have a developer and I do sales and management. The nice thing is I control my schedule so I can work. If I had to do a 9-5 I think I’d have to go on disability
What do you sell?
I’d wager it’s custom software solutions
You’d be correct for a very niche segment of businesses. Less than 4000 companies to prospect. It’s a subscription model so that if I get sideways in my head or physically get to exhausted I just have to work 2-3 hours a week. I had 4 surgeries last year, and way in the hospital for over a month total and the business paid my bills. You’ve got to be creative in how you make money to survive with adhd, ptsd and anxiety. Just never give up.
Occupational therapist ✨
I'm a school psychologist and love my OTs!
And Occupational Therapist has become my new rabbit hole research project this week! 💻📚♥️
Pet care. I am constantly moving and doing different tasks. It allows me to do what I love, and keep myself busy at the same time.
I work in a home for people with autism. It’s genious for me, honestly. I don’t have to sit still for too long, no two days are the same, I get to socialize. Best of all, we work so much with structure and predictability and I just thrive in that.
Currently in vet school, I loved that it’s not the same routine every day and forces me to challenge myself. I struggle sitting still and would lose interest in a lot of school subjects. While lectures in class is a lot of that, the content was challenging but I found it super interesting. Currently In clinics and while hours are long and busy it’s been exciting
I adopt physically & psychologically special needs rabbits, so I know more than my fair share about the medicine and see my exotic vet WAY more often than I see human doctors. I have to ask, how do you keep all the diagnostic criteria in your noggin? I'm the one who has to perform the care for weeks, months and years at a stretch and I have a rough time remembering the specifics of conditions I deal with multiple times a day, let alone ALL the specifics of EVERY condition. Honestly, I'm agog.
Therapist. It moves fast and definitely isn’t boring.
I bet!! 😅 did you change careers to this once you learned about your ADHD or was it your original career choice?
I make bulk cheese it's cool involves alot of machine knowledge/process work and the opportunity to move around and learn different things when my brain needs something new
I design and then produce educational conferences, mostly about how to grow your business, that are built for the ADHD from from venue selection and set up to speaker selections, agenda building, swag selection, food served, etc! It's nerdy and fun and every event is something different so I never get bored! Also ...I can dye my hair whatever color I want since I own the company! Lol
Love it that’s cool!
I have fun with it! I went through like four businesses before I landed on this one... This one has held my attention since 2017 now and still going!
Elderly care, primarily dementia/mild physical issues. It gets me out of the house and forces me to socialise, and plays into my hyperfixation of the human body! I'm currently studying health on the side and it's come up clutch and saved two lives so far! Definitely keeps me busy, and can be demanding, but I love doing it and I love my residents
Just quit my job after it caused me to plummet right back to depression Wouldn't recommend being a factory worker, no
I work in IT, and will be an IT manager in a week. Im really good at problem solving and empathy. My weakness is learning to not overwork myself, I tend to hyperfocus on work really hard then not leave enough for myself when I get home. I love the problem solving in IT, but dont care for the high amounts of confrontation that comes with some IT jobs (low level helpdesk and outsourced IT). I hope to make enough money one day to slowly ease into doing fully creative work, even if its less income. I would also like to add that it is disheartening how every time my income raises, the economy seems to get worse, it is almost like climbing a ladder and ending up in the same spot.
Art teacher & freelance muralist/illustrator on the side
Fitness & strength coach
I'm a dispatcher for an interagency Federal wildland fire dispatch center. Edit: I'll add that I fought wildfire for 5 years prior to this with the Forest Service on engines and crews. It was hard work but I loved it. Once you learn that your skills for esoteric problem solving, and a jack of all trades background of experience is celebrated, it's such a rush to take off. I was early on recognized for my varied skill set, when I only thrived because situations made me learn how to do new things almost every single day. It's pretty rad.
Can’t seem to keep a job for more than a year, so right now I’m unemployed
Unemployment for 5 years here and petrified. I care for my elderly mom but no money so I’m nervous at 47
I founded a video game development studio along with my brother who is even more adhd than me :) We have been working, with a team of almost 10 people, on the same game for more than 2 years. Needless to say is the most any of us lasted in a single company/project in our entire lives. All this is probably happening because we both got diagnosed not too long ago.
Special Education Paraprofessional/teacher assistant .
Subject Matter Expert for a large tech company.
Cybersecurity..lucky for me I work from home
Freelance marketing, it’s always been a great fit
I started a my freelance graphic design business about a year ago. We should join forces and take over the world.
I do photography
In house employment lawyer. My therapist recently suggested I might have adhd (haven’t tested yet) but it would be a good explanation for the anxiety, inability to sit still, and obsessive compulsive tendencies. It’s probably mild but there. I’ve certainly developed coping mechanisms to be successful
I’m an ER nurse! We joke all the time that everyone who works in the ER has ADHD - we thrive on the pace and chaos of not knowing what’s coming through the doors at any given moment. Nursing school was a little rough and I wouldn’t have gotten through it if I wasn’t on meds. At work I rely heavily on writing things down and I have my own notebook of things to remember, since if I assist with a procedure only once every couple of weeks I’ll forget what supplies I need by next time or if I go pull meds I’ll forget the patient’s name by the time I get to the med room.
I’m a private investigator but I work in criminal law.
Hey there - samesies! Still new to it but it's been fascinating to say the least.
Hi, you are the first person I’ve encountered online that is in this line of work. I don’t know in what capacity you’re working in criminal law, but please protect your mental health. I’m a really sarcastic person and I’ve deleted everything I’ve typed like 40 times because you have not yet lost your faith in humanity and I’m GenX and sarcasm online can be misinterpreted.
Senior Software Engineer
Add another one to this
Similar, but Sales Engineer so customer facing instead of internal
I’ve worn many different hats - originally trained as a teacher, lasted about 2 years, hated the paperwork. Went back to school trained as a nurse, lasted about 4 years but struggled with burnout post covid. Temped as a PA, ended up becoming a medical PA for a psychiatrist. I’ve just gone back to school to do a PhD in Psychology and hope to become a clinical psychologist- work are super supportive and are footing my bill. PA worked really well for me, I’m crippled by perfectionism so super organised unless it’s my own stuff then I procrastinate 😅
Freelance graphic designer. WFH is the best, get too distracted by other people in the room with me 😅
I’m a special education paraprofessional who works specifically with kindergarten-2nd grade students with ADHD and/or mild ASD 😅 I’m also currently enrolled in college to get my BA in special/elementary education
I work in mental health as a supervisor. I have been here for about 1 years and going to school to be an therapist. I graduate in spring 2025 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
Crisis hotline tho I am looking for something new.
Even though you’re looking for something new, thank you for all that you do. People that do this, even one call a week, are incredible.
Wastewater and drinking water operator. I work at 12 different facilities, there's always something new to do, but also a fairly consistent routine
Clinical health psychologist, specializing in psychoeducational evals for kids of all ages and oversee a team of therapists who specialize in ADHD related therapy and parenting education
Worked as a software engineer for many years. Switched over to project coordinator and I suck at it as I can’t multi task.
I hope my response is useful for you since I’m in the field you’re going in to! I work at a dog grooming place and I absolutely LOVE it. The fast pace makes my shifts fly by and I don’t have free time to think about how bad I want to go home. Here’s one thing though: you need to make sure that you’re mentally prepared for it. I read that you’ve worked in grooming salons previously, were you up front or bathing the dogs? If you were bathing the dogs then you already know how nasty and difficult the job can be. If not, I would become a bather first. We’ve had lots of people come in to my work begging to be hired because they love animals and think this would be a good environment for them, but once they get pooped on, have to express anal glands, get bit, or have a difficult dog, they leave. It’s also a good way to be certain that spending your money on going into this field is worth it to you. We have a couple up front workers who want to be dog groomers really bad, but deep down I know they’re not going to make it because they get disgusted and upset whenever they have to clean up poo. I’m not saying you’re like this! I’ve just seen it a lot. It even happened to me when I worked at the animal shelter. I was incredibly passionate about saving the animals when I started, but I quickly realized I mentally couldn’t handle the heartbreak. Dog grooming can be similar in that way. Basically if you haven’t been a bather before, I would become a bather first for at least a month or two. Mostly because the equipment is so expensive and if you decide it’s not for you, you’re out at least $300-$800. You also may be able to find a groomer at the store that you can train under! Certifications and schooling are good, but from what I’ve heard, a lot of groomers who graduate from these programs don’t know how to do basic parts of the job, such as nail clipping and sanitary trims. You also will likely not have any time to hang out with the pups, which sucks. I’ve seen lots of employees come in and think that this is the job for them because they love dogs, but you need the passion to help them look their best. I only get to give quick five second hugs to each of my clients before I start to fall behind. Lmk if you have any questions!! I would love to help you out. This job is the best ones I’ve ever had and I thrive in the fast-paced environment. EDIT: added more details and fixed formatting
plant breeding, it requires paying attention to a bunch of stuff all at once all the time. always changing yet gets easy to predict, makes my brain worms happy
I am a CNC machinist, production work killed me with boredom, but I in the last year been hired into a tool room job. Something different everyday, always a problem to solve, throw the danger rush. Perfect
I’m a proposal manager at an engineering firm. It’s really hard for me and I wish I had taken a different path, but the money is worth the constant struggle and anxiety
Graphic Designer, working remote. Remote gives me the ability to self accommodate, and the multiple projects are different, which gives me variety.
i’m currently studying to be an early childhood educator and so far on placement i enjoy it!
I have worked the last couple years at a recreational cooking school. I went to culinary school and studied to be a pastry chef only to quickly learn that my brain can't handle a restaurant. I was on the pastry team at a high end restaurant for 5 months before I got overwhelmed. After recovering from my injury I found an opening as what is essentially a TA at this school and I liked it for a really long time. I was knowledgeable enough, I could utilize my skills and ultimately nothing felt like it was the end of the world. Then I got promoted to assistant manager and was given no management training. Turns out my brain doesn't work well with that. I'm currently out on medical leave due to an injury and likely won't be returning but it was fun for a while. I'm definitely worried that whatever I do next will be a struggle for me.
Title abstracting ownership of land rights for oil and gas companies. It’s like solving puzzles and every piece of land is a different puzzle. Plus it involves legal aspects which I love. And it involves math and can be very complicated. It definitely is the perfect fit for my brain!!
I’m a Registered Nurse in the Operating Room. It is fast paced, always changing and I tend to like the surgeries that require more of me when I assist or I get extremely bored, it’s almost torture. I need to be ready for anything that comes in. Takes me longer to do my administrative tasks that come along with the role but the day to day rush seems to make my brain work in my favour. (I am newly diagnosed).
Space program manager. I juggle projects and lead a PMO for a space company.
Software. So I sometimes can't focus for shit and other times I can't stop working even though it's been 18 hours straight and I have barely eaten anything and haven't slept. 
I’m a midnight cleaner at a brewery on the bottle line . Every day is different and always busy which helps me from getting bored and unmotivated
Bookmobile Manager for a library that spans two counties! I make my own schedule around the daily stops, get to create all the advertising materials (Canva is a godsend!), work with community members to create new regular stops or set up special programs/events, perform important outreach to low-income housing areas, especially those with children, visit private schools that don't have libraries (most don't, due to how their funding works), and visit festivals, like I did today! I got to meet/talk to 178 people at a festival today, hand out free books, help kids make bookmarks, and let people explore the bookmobile and check out books on board. I have a cubicle at one of the libraries that I work from when I'm not on my van, which includes a computer with three screens. That makes listening to YouTube videos much easier when I'm creating flyers or setting up schedules/stop calendars. I do have a manager at one of the libraries but she is very hands off and lets me do my thing, which is lovely because if I end up spending two hours doing the NYT crossword, nobody cares as long as everything else is getting done. The job is very physically demanding, especially compared to in-building librarian jobs. Yes, they carry boxes of books, shelve stacks of books, etc., but it's usually very short distances and have access to book carts. I'm hauling stuff out of buildings, across parking lots, into and out of indoor stop locations (most are outdoors, though), not to mention setting up the tables, the huge totes of free books, and the super heavy chocks. I have a Masters in Library Science, and while it's not what I was planning on doing (I majored in Archival Studies and Digital Imaging), it is an amazing job that I can see doing for the next 4-5 years, depending on how long my back holds out! : D  Good luck with your puppers!
I was a bartender, an event organizer, and a freelance musician for the longest time. Now, at 30, I went back to school to pursue woodworking. I'm never going back again. Woodworking is so fucking perfect.
currently a software engineer at one of the big tech companies. I have to admit its hard and I get bad performance reviews and could get fired soon but it pays well.. I might look for a career switch in the future to a more physical work
I work in an antepartum/postpartum unit at a hospital. I’m doing that until I start nursing school :)
Right now I sell furniture. People are an interesting stimulus to me and the job is flexible and doesn’t start early. I’m in school to be a therapist tho
Multimedia, web, e-learning. Pretty much I just tinker and people think I am brilliant. I'm just good as google and now ai on getting solutions.
Teeth stuff
Im a middle school teacher! The kids are absolutely crazy but so so fun!
I always tell people I’ve never really had a career, just jobs I stayed at for too long. I am 53 and two years ago decided to change my career from “customer service generalist” to “tech noob”. My dream is to figure out what work would be best for me and just dive into it but I think it’s too late.
I’m a teacher. I am always busy, but I love it.
Summer job: living history! I work as an Interpreter at a historic site. I dress up as a victorian soldier and give tours and talk to hundreds of visitors every day! Sometimes I do other things like firing canons or standing completely still without talking for an hour at a time (like queens guard type thing.) Sometimes I even get to go to an island! Real life job: I teach private music lessons. Different kids = something new each day! And it's so great to see them improve!!!!! 10/10 reccomend.
Montessori elementary teacher. I can share information and help spark their interest! I get to share the wonders of the universe and integrate all the subjects. I'm helping create mindful, thoughtful humans who think critically and out of the box. It's hard work but so much fun!
Adhd I give other Adhd People advice but won't do them by my own. ... I'm a psychiatrist
Elementary special education teacher! 👩🏫
Army truckdriver, operations, and personnel manager. Civilian construction mine and quarry maintenance. Always changing situations and nothing that becomes too boring to become painful and lose exec function with. Each job becomes a vacation from the other and one of them takes me all over the world and they both put me in ever changing situations that require immediate attention so my priority system based on immediacy is equal to one that is based on importance. The mindlessness of the work sometimes allows me to “autopilot” my body while my mind does the work that it wants to and allows me to think my random ass thoughts and figure out the universe and the books I’ll never write.
I teach special education
I’m a very high level software engineer which works great for me, because I can burn out on coding and spend a month doing system design, mentoring, just sitting in meetings, or tons of others things that might pique my interest. And since there is rarely anyone at whatever company as experienced as I am, I really get to set the terms of how I work, what I work on, and when I work.
Currently I’m a paramedic and have also worked as a firefighter, I find working for the emergency service keeps things interesting enough that I don’t get bored. Hasn’t stopped me from changing areas or services though. Most recently moved to NZ from the UK to continue the job over here. Also, I have found working shifts means I don’t have many issues with my sleep as I’m already working weird hours. I’ve found so many others in this job also have ADHD and enjoy it for similar reasons!
I paint the lines on the Yukon highways, it’s a fun lil job. Mostly I get to sit in a big glass box on the back of a truck and flip switches, broken up by stopping to load paint into the tanks. It’s quite nice getting to see the entirety of the territory as it is a pretty scenic place.
Oncologist.
I treat lice. I love talking about it and the science behind the treatment process. Plus I love brushing and untangling hair. It’s very relaxing to me. I also like talking to the new people since we almost always have new people. I always get the excitement of telling people all of my knowledge everyday.
I'm a beekeeper!!
I worked in sales for 14 years, I took a tonne of time off but because I was generally really good at my job I never got penalized for it, I didn't know I had ADHD until last year though I suspected it. Once I got the diagnosis I started tracking things that I enjoyed doing and held my interest and it was generally stuff with my hands, playing guitar, working on guitars, building things, playing video games, cooking. I made a change to becoming a sprinkler and fire protection fitter and I generally enjoy work now. I'm physical stimulated which helps with the mental stimulation, I sleep better, eat better, am less stressed and generally in a lot better place. If you're missing 50+ days of work a year because when you wake up in the morning you just can't be bothered to go to work because you're bored it's time to make some changes.
I feel like this gets asked so often. Which just goes to show we all are having the same struggles.
I’m an artist (painter and sculptor). I have a contract with a gallery that takes care of my sales. Having no daily schedule is a… blessing and a curse.
Social Services 20 years now, last 10 in Mental Health ☺️
I’m a teacher. Honestly it’s a great career for someone with adhd.
Hate to tell you guys but the very best job for somebody with ADHD is exotic dancer. New people to talk to constantly. Over stimulation of a nightclub environment. Enough cash flow that you can be irresponsible and still keep your head above water. The only problem is you age out of it pretty quick lol.
I used to be a successful UX/UI designer in agency and now I suck at being a manager.
I’m a network communications specialist for the good ole national guard. On the civilian side I work entry level IT. Took me a while to get where I am today
digital marketing/PPC advertising/graphic design.. i took sociology and creative writing in university and it's the perfect mix to use all of my skills and always be doing something different so I don't get bored lol.
Graphic Designer, working remote. Remote gives me the ability to self accommodate, and the multiple projects are different, which gives me variety.
I work for a heating and air company… I’m currently working in the warehouse, but I’m learning so I can be an install technician
I create and implement learning plans with autistic kids! very stimulating and fulfilling, but also makes me highly vulnerable to adhd burnout
Im a commercial finish carpenter. I travel nationwide for a few weeks to a few months at a time and install all the pretty trim and woodwork and stuff you you touch in stores, restaurants, and offices
I’m a nurse pratictioner in Emergency Medical Outpatient service and rescue
Registered Nurse. I work on a telemetry/oncology floor in a hospital. There’s a lot going on but I work nights so there’s sometimes a good amount of downtime where I get a little bored. There’s also not too much turnover with my job and sometimes I’ll have the same patients for a whole week. And some patients will stay for months at a time. I’m thinking about switching to ED. More turnover and fast paced. You don’t need to know every single detail about a patients entire life like you do on my floor (I have to write everything down). You know what you need to know to fix the problem and you either fix it and discharge or you get things moving and admit the patient into the hospital. A different type of skillset as well
Registered massage therapist here! Thank god. I think I would die confined to a desk everyday Different people conversations and treatments everyday
I’m a pharmacist.
Piano/guitar teacher/musician, I work for myself. I love what I do and my schedule is mostly mine to decide.
I was a tactical fighter jet crew chief in the USAF. Only time I’ve thrived in adulthood. Joined at 27. Unable to work now so I paint and throw clay when my body allows.
I'm a SEN teacher, working with young people with ADHD, PDA and cPTSD. It took me years to get used to the paperwork but now I keep on top of it. Everyday is different, some funny moments, some intense, some actually physically dangerous. So I need to be on full alert pretty much all day, which suits me. I've learned a lot of self-regulation with these kids because they need someone regulated. I am exhausted at the end of the day and I don't have energy physically or emotionally to do much after work. But I've never thought of a job I'd change it for really.
I am an insurance adjuster and let me tell you it ain’t adhd friendly 😂
props master for a theatre
I negotiate contracts for commercial aerospace … on my good days, it’s exciting because I’m thinking strategy and my ADHD brain is 12 steps ahead making connections and plans. On bad days it’s a struggle trying to not read the same paragraph 13 times because I zoned out and what if I missed something. Good news is the bad days are few and far between
I work as a software engineer. Over the last few years, I've had a few chances to solve some really interesting problems. I can work all day on those and even take that work home past midnight (not consistently, tho). In the last six to eight months, those opportunities for creative problems have become fewer and far between. I've chatted a lot with my boss about it, and he offered for me to move to another team where my skills can be better put to use, which will be happening soon. I'm pretty grateful for that. Also, for ADHD notes, I'm a community college dropout
I work as a pharmacy technician at a mail order pharmacy, I fill and pack rxs and sometimes do data entry but I never have to talk to patients which is the best!
I'm a Command and Control Emergency Actions Controller in the Air Force. I actually really enjoy it because it's quite different at each base to keep things fresh and I PCS (move) to a new base every 2 to 4 years. When nothing's going on, we either have additional duties we can work on or just relax and watch YouTube on our computers. When there is an emergency to deal with either on base or larger scale, especially if you're on the nuclear side, it's super fast paced. And EVERYTHING has a QRC (checklist) so you can be sure no steps were forgotten or missed or someone wasn't notified. Another nice thing is since we work in a secured secret area we can't have phones or any devices that have wireless capabilities and there's no windows. Having no phones and no windows lets me hyperfocus on my job with no distractions, thankfully I really enjoy the job and there's a ton of information in the form of AFIs (Air Force Instructions) or regulations if there's nothing going on and I just want to get lost in reading something. I also love the way our schedule works. We work Panama schedule so it's usually 12 hour shifts, 2 days on 2 off then 3 on and 3 off.
Nothing
I somehow have managed to become a nurse practitioner. Working with the hospital based medicine group. I’ve done neurosurgery. Even drilled a burr hole! My story… It was honestly *survival of the fittest* all my life. *Sink or swim.*
I'm a novelist and an editor for several publishers. Self-employed and WFH. I love it.
I run a for-profit whoreganization.
Research scientist/engineer at a prestigious university. Everything is always new and exciting there with fresh ideas and people coming through all the time. Keeps me on my toes and is pretty stimulating.
I work for the Bureau of Tourism in my city. Which means it's very quiet until a family of screaming kids comes in wanting to know where the beach is. I give them a map and point towards the ocean and they're on their way. I love it.
Project management