Re: What to do with my life?

[Anonymous]

@MrJK, I agree with librarian_chef, whose moniker is a good indicator of ADD and varied interests!

I too, am trapped in a profession (law) that doesn’t cater to my ADD. I do M&A work most of the time, and that’s exciting, dynamic and stressful enough to keep me interested. It also pays well. If you’re in accounting or analysis, you may want to try to get on a deal team and see how that works for you. We work with Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y, and their deal teams are very different than their BAU, planning and audit teams (like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug). You may also want to look into working for an investment bank, where the work is more complex (and therefore more interesting).

I know a few people who have (or I suspect have) ADD and they love working with numbers. I enjoy tearing into a good financial statement or excel worksheet once in a while, myself–especially if there’s profit to be had. It’s not that unusual, I guess. It’s the bureaucracy that drives ADDers nuts. Math (and business analysis) can be a creative outlet, but you need to be in the right position.

As far as changing jobs too often, don’t worry too much about that. I like to say that the Renaissance was not the product of narrowly defined job descriptions. In law, I’ve worked for 3 different employers, but I’ve worked in countless groups. I started off in M&A, then real estate, then corporate securities and financial institutions (2 groups at the same time). Then I moved firms and did hedge funds and investment company act work, then executive compensation and employee benefits (1 group). Now I’m at a corporation, where I’ve been for 4 whole years! I’ve had 5 job titles, 4 bosses and am moving into my sixth office tomorrow. Only one of those 5 job title changes were voluntary, but I think my department knows when I’m getting restless.

My diverse background facilitates creative problem solving. I remember I was in a meeting once with a hedge fund client. We were trying to solve a novel problem, and something we did all the time in commercial real estate had never been done in this industry. I suggested it, it worked and the partner was impressed. Now that I’m in-house, I use all of my diverse experiences to provide holistic legal and business advice to a very complex company.

I should mention, I hate being a lawyer, and wish I could do something else. Like you, though, I have no idea what I really want to do, so I keep the golden handcuffs on. Like I said, the M&A stuff keeps me on my toes, so I’m happy enough to stay. If you can find something you’re passionate about and still use your degree–the money will follow. If you cannot, then you will have to venture out on something new. ADDers are 3x more likely to own their own business, so you’ll have plenty of company.

Good luck. And BTW, my company is hiring two M&A analyst positions if you’re in the NY area. I don’t know if you’d be interested or if the folks with the open position are, but we can figure it out how to connect if you are.

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