I've achieved great succes in my career, but have also been fired over 10 times!

[Anonymous]

When I heard one of the characters on the ADD TV special comment about his great successes and great failures – did I ever get it. Just got fired (again) from a job that a small rodent could probably perform (that is, a small rodent without ADD). Didn’t get it how I could be so successful in my accounting career, but get an everyday joe blow job and guaranteed, I’ll get fired. And NO, I’d didn’t want too. After watching the TV special, a lot of things are starting to make sense. I’ve also never had a job for more than 5 years (season tax business). Seeing the light

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[Anonymous]

ADHD people don’t usually become accountants. That takes a lot of detail work. I rarely ever see accountants in my practice. Having said that, I have met Chartered Accountants but there is a lot more creativity in that field than just bookkeeping, for example.

why don’t you do a vocational assessment one day and see what other career options you might be suited for. Take a chance

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[itsallgood25]

hehe I am catching up to you at 5 fired jobs with no great success

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[Anonymous]

Someone should really make a list of ADHD freindly careers.

I could use one and bet that many others could as well……….

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[itsallgood25]

I was told by a good friend that I should get into Car sales. I am moving in that direction and I feel pretty good about it. I KNOW I’d be good at it and I can “see ” career paths branching out from that. So I am searching for that type of job.

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[Anonymous]

I just love this forum because I read so much stuff about how others are experiencing the SAME things I am over the course of their lives…I too have been ‘let go’ from jobs as well, even though my longest employer was 4.5 years…. at that time, I was exhibiting ADD characteristics but had NO IDEA. I lost that job over things that added up, I believe. Many of those things were ADD characteristics. Some people at that job not directly attached to my boss loved it! My boss hated it…so thus, eventually I got essentially pushed out…

Oh well…

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[Barrister14]

Five years must be the rule. Almost to the day, I lost my last 3 jobs after 5yrs. because of ADD. Each started out exciting, quickly promoted, labeled a “star” (with the results to show it!) and then got bored to the point that the routine or mundane (as I saw it) couldn’t even be accomplished. Though I was at the top of my accounting class and tutored students in Economics, I couldn’t balance my own checkbook, pay my bills on time or handle the basic chores of life that most take for granted. The problem is that at some point that pattern is recognized by prospective employers. Then, like me, you can’t get work in what you’re trained for….your “overqualified” and will “be bored” in other fields…and no one will hire you. Unless of course treatment causes some positive changes. I’m hoping it will and am encouraged by the first few months of medical and behavioral treatment. Thank God for the diagnosis!! I’d known since childhood that there was something wrong and tried to (and in some respects succeeded) develop means of coping with ADD but something still wasn’t right. Now, I see an objective cause for my behavior. That alone has had an incredibly positive impact on me and my future hopes.

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[Anonymous]

I go through the same thing as a teacher. For years, I only did supply or substitute work since it was perfect for my situation. I was the mom of 3 kids with a husband who travelled all over the world for weeks at a time. Never home except for occasional weekends. *smoke coming out my ears*

That left me at home to hold down the fort by myself with no other family members closer than 3000 kilometers. Oh, did I mention that my son was a qualifier for SuperADHD Man?

So for me at that time, day to day supply work was great. I could work if I wanted to or choose not to if it didn’t fit in to what I had to get done that day. Even better than that, every day was different. I could be teaching Gr. 1 on one day and the next day I could be teaching French to a class of Gr. 4 students. Every day was different, lots of variety, never boring! (What kind of tricks are the kids in today’s class going to try and pull on me?? Soooo much fun just anticipating their tricks!)

When the kids were finally in school full time and the husband started working ‘at home’ (as in, not out of the country) more often, I went back to teaching full-time. Great the first year, okay the second year, mundane by the third year, and by the fourth year….. Yes, by the end of the fourth year I would ask to be assigned to a new grade of students. ADHD people like me get bored by our fourth year and need a change.

Luckily for me, I can change my job up like that to keep it fresh and interesting. I really can’t understand how there are people out there who can start a job and stay at the same one for their whole career!

I’m lucky in that I’ve found a job that is perfect for me right now. Each day is different enough to keep me focussed and there is enough change each year (oh boy, a new batch of kids every Sept) to keep me interested. Eventually, working with the same group of teachers and teaching the same curriculum does get boring. Changing grades helps keep me fresh, focussed and interested in getting up to go to work each day.

The down side? All the hours and hours of paperwork that goes on for record-keeping/reporting. If I could just get my own personal secretary life would be perfect.

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[Anonymous]

I’ve been in sales for years. I seem to alternate between great success and abject failure. The failures seem to come from the amount of time it takes for me to get confident discussing products/solutions that are new to me. My field, technology relies on a lot of background and oftentimes training is informal.Additionally, most sales people in my field work from home. When I started my last job, I got 30 minutes of product training over the phone. I struggle with this, but it seems lots of people can function just fine with this approach to training.

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[Anonymous]

10 for me in 20 years…. diagnosed 2 years ago…. looking for a new job and hoping to keep it a bit longer….

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[Anonymous]

I am not taking it anymore… They call it a disability for a reason. their are laws to help and protect us!! I love my company , just got stuck with a boss who cant relate or deal or whatever…. Im not surprised, not her fault. ADD is hard for me of course its hard for her!.. But instead of shrinking away. Im being proactive.

research

asking for reasonable accommodations

I want to have a Great Life, help others and ADD is not getting the best of me!!

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[Anonymous]

I’ve never gotten fired, but there were a couple of cases where my opinion of myself got so low that I would leave of my own accord, even if the people I was working for weren’t giving me a hard time. Is that common?

Now I’m in a job that should theoretically be perfect for me, but the workload is so stop-and-go that I’m getting less and less motivated, even when I DO have things to do, and that in turn makes me feel terrible about my job performance. (Even if it’s really due to factors I have no control over.)

I’ve considered freelance, but I’m terrified I wouldn’t be able to manage myself.

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[turbo]

Megatron, if you had something else to do to fill your time would that help? Some jobs are just like that – boom or bust. If during the “boom” you end up working overtime, then it stands to reason during the “bust” period you should get time off, rather than having to sit at your desk at work.

If it’s just the normal ebb and flow during a 40 hour week, one option might be to talk to your supervisor and see if there are other small projects -that are interesting and will hold your attention- which you could work on in between. Another option, if your work environment allows, would be to work on a project of your own making either for you or the office. Perhaps you have a project or two from home you can bring in to work on discreetly when time allows?

Although some people might not think it’s right, I can tell you that while working at every job I’ve had since age 18 I was also running my own small business out of the cubicle during “down time”. SOmetimes, even during the “up time”

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[Anonymous]

At least up to 25 plus jobs before I gave up and started my own None of the jobs last more then 4 months, between ages of 16 and 24.

My first and hopefully only company now 3 years… Better if you can get into the field of being your own boss.

Dustin Knight

http://www.knightsgamingrepair.com

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[Anonymous]

Console repair? That’s friggin cool!

I work at a company that develops mobile games. Although there are “peak” periods for me, I don’t usually have to do overtime, but once my role in a project is mostly done, my workload slacks off a lot until the next one. (I’m a writer)

In the past I used to ask my boss for more work…and then he’d give me random tasks of HIS that he didn’t want to do…usually stuff I wasn’t qualified to tackle. Or he’d make something up. So I got in the habit of not asking. :S

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