What to do with my life?

[Anonymous]

About a year ago (I am 29 year old) I was officially diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. I went out to seek professional help because I was having problems at work. Even though I thought I was trying really hard I ended making mistakes very often and at some point it became unacceptable to my superiors.

Back then, my job had to do a lot with numbers. I used to be an analyst and conducting reports that involved numbers was a major part of my job. Even though I used to check every document I gave out very thoroughly, (or at least I thought I was) I kept making mistakes. The funny thing is that my BA was in Business Administration and my postgraduate studies were in Accounting and Financial Management. I had it coming! Studying Accounting is one thing, but working in accounting is a whole different matter. I really hated my job and I didn’t know what to do. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to make a career out of it. I was stuck in a job that didn’t stimulate me and I found it very uninteresting. So, I arranged a meeting with the HR department of the company and I got transferred. I am more satisfied in my new job but it is very different from what I used to do and has little to do with my studies.

The thing is, that I want to succeed in life and earn an amount of money that will suit my needs. don’t know if I can make it, if I keep making career shifts. If you take a look at my resume you will see that I have made 3 career changes over the past 6 years. I can’t seem to find something that I am really good at.

I feel that I don’t have a passion for something in particular. I have read around the web that one should find his true calling. The problem is that I don’t believe I have one. I like doing a lot of things like listening to music, cooking, travelling, watching movies, dancing, signing etc. I have always been that guy that drops a hobby to start another one. I almost never finish what I start. I like a lot of things and not only one enough so to make it my passion.

I want to do something with my life but I don’t know what. My postgraduate studies went down the drain because I realized that I am not a “finance” kind of person. I am more of a creative type rather than a calculating type and even though my new position is better than the old one I don’t feel stimulated enough while working. I always feel unsatisfied with everything.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thank very much for your attention (I hope this post is not very long for you to read )

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[Bibliophile]

Many of us are or have been in the same boat, MrJK. Unfinished, dropped hobby projects, constant career changes, etc. Trying new things is unfortunately one of the few guaranteed ways to evaluate whether one has a passion for something. With ADHD passions are often fleeting, not sustained once they become repetitive.

The sad truth is that your job need not be your outlook for your creativity. It is certainly more enjoyable and healthier for the mind when it is, but hobbies and other activities can provide stimulation. One key ingredient to enjoyable workplaces is a challenge and ADHD people often love a challenge, provided they are left to come to a solution on their own terms. The latter part is important as it allows freedom to be creative, even in an office environment.

I feel for your situation as I often feel that I have not yet found my TRUE calling professionally yet. However, I do find things about my job that I can focus on that are stimulating. There will always be aspects of any job that we don’t care for that take us away from the tasks we do love. Either we farm those out to someone else or just bite the bullet and get them over with to get back to what we actually enjoy doing.

Also, in most situations there is no ONE TRUE CALLING, but a range of appealing jobs, which will change over time as we develop new interests or move tangentially away from the original one.

Good luck and keep us posted on your hunt for ideal employment.

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[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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[Wgreen]

Our lives tend to be itinerate because our minds are itinerate. Constantly changing interests and goals create a restlessness that pervades our personal and professional lives.

Some ADDers seem to find a calling. Others are not so lucky; we remain wanderers “in a strange land,” searching for a place that feels like home.

I know this doesn’t help. But I wish you good luck…

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[Anonymous]

Thank you all so much for your kind words!

Pete-Puma thank you very much for your offer but unfortunately I’m not in the NY area (actually I am not even in the USA area). I live in Greece! But considering the recession we’re in here, I wouldn’t mind at some point migrating to a different country… That is also one of my many thoughts.

From what I can see you are a very professionaly accomplished individual and even though you don’t like being a lawyer you are very good at it because you find something in your profession that intrigues you. When I was an analyst I did not find it intriguing at all. Numbers were tiring me as I kept making one mistake after the other. What I realised was that I am more of a social kind of worker. I like being in touch with people and I feel very good if the interpersonal aspect of my job is high. I don’t like being in a cubicle punching numbers and analyzing financial statements. I realised that quite late because if I knew that I wouldn’t like this kind of job I wouldn’t have studied finance and accounting at a post graduate level. What I surely know is that I very much like being in a stimulating work environment where a lot of things are going on at once.

I don’t know if all people are able to find their true calling (if there is one). I believe it is more difficult for people with ADD because we are constantly changing our minds and interests.

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