what to do when at a crossroads in a career with ADHD

[crystalsphinx]

I was diagnosed with ADHD around 2 years ago. Since then, I have switched out of my 2nd career, which is art, and now I have no direction or clue which path I should go towards as a new career. Since many of my interests with work are for someone who is very organized, which I am not, does anyone have any suggestions where I can get help for an ADHD friendly career? I also have anxiety which causes me many problems.

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[billd]

Since there are as many flavors as ADD as there are people, and severity varies widely, and what your abilities are often has little to do with ADD, it’s hard to say. I know there’s a couple threads here on that very topic, but if I said artist – you’d probably say “yeah, but I can’t draw” for example. For every ADD person who is very successful at one job or career, I could find others who could never handle it – or don’t have those abilities.

Might be easier to suggest things to stay away from….. ?

I’m a brilliant auto -tech. Love it, am very good at it, it’s my first true love, but you need the interest, and the mechanical abilities, manual dexterity, etc. I’ve got great trouble-shooting abilities….. that may or may NOT be aided by having ADD.

I’m great at computer and network security and antivirus – among the best, but it’s my personality there, not my ADD, according to personality profiles (I’m well fitted personality-wise for law enforcement and security- it’s nothing to do with my ADD)

So…..

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[Scattybird]

I’m with billd on this one…you have to choose something you love or at least have a real interest in if that is at all possible. I know it isn’t always possible, but if you can, then it’s much easier to cope with.

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[Anonymous]

You really need to look at your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your likes and dislikes. Get close friends and family to help you brainstorm things they think you are good and not so good at. The solution is not always obvious. When I was an older teen, I wanted to work with animals or young children, or to do something involving my love of science. I did not want a career that would involve dealing with people (apart from kids) all the time, as I was very socially anxious.

I began studying science at uni, but did not do well, and dropped out because I could not see myself getting into a job where I felt comfortable and satisfied (plus I was failing subjects!). I fluffed around for a while, and picked up some work doing childminding. I decided to follow my desire to work with kids, and went to train as a nurse, with the idea of eventually working with kids. I found my hospital placements stressful, due to dealing with people, but there were loads of interesting things to see and learn that kept me from giving up.

Once I got work as a nurse, I found that I had to confront my social anxieties rather than avoiding them, and this actually reduced my anxiety levels as time went on, despite being very stressful initially. I found that dealing directly with people’s needs meant I could not procrastinate much of my work, so it got done (it’s hard to put off a request to be taken to the toilet lol). And dealing with people also kept things interesting, due to the social interaction that I would have once avoided.

I never ended up working in a children’s unit. I ended up finding my niche with my first full time job, in disability rehab, where the patients are there long enough for me to get to know them (which reduces my anxieties over meeting new people), but are not there long enough for them to get irritating and for my work to feel “stagnant” and boring. It is a slower paced job than acute care hospitals, so I don’t get flustered by constantly having to be somewhere, do something, remember too many things, change from one thing to another rapidly, and deal with frequent interruptions and distractions. I have routines, so that my poor memory isn’t constantly being challenged, but they are varied enough to keep my attention where it belongs for the short space of time needed. I still have to be reminded regularly not to overlook/forget the “tedious” tasks (restocking, audits, collecting water jugs, taking out full linen bags, etc), and I have to use my phone alarm to remind me of important things that have not become integrated into my routines, but the job has been a blessing and I am over the moon I found one to suit me.

So just remember to think outside the box. Looking back, I seemed to “know” when I investigated a job whether it would suit me. I kept “forgetting” to apply for jobs that I had told myself I would like, but deep down I knew that I would not have had the motivation and initiative to cope with those jobs as a whole, even though parts of the jobs were very appealing. Nursing just seemed to feel right, despite my terror over having to deal with people as a basic function of my job.

Well, that’s probably way more info than you were after, but I just had to explain myself 🙄 Sorry

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[billd]

KK – I have yet to see his full report – he’s mailing me a copy, but the doc said to not be alarmed or concerned over what I was going to see, then explained one issue he put in there was “social anxiety” – I wonder if this is part of ADD, or we get that way over years because of ADD, or it’s a personality “trait”??

I read your comment ->

Quote:

I found that I had to confront my social anxieties rather than avoiding them, and this actually reduced my anxiety levels as time went on, despite being very stressful initially.

And yeah, that’s me. I avoid phone calls, put them off until I MUST, or they call me… things like that. I had to agree with the man – he’s right, it fits, but is it me, or ADD trait, or developed because of ADD as a coping thing?

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[Anonymous]

Oh boy, I really don’t know what it is about phone calls! I really hate making them. Thank goodness for text messaging!! It has made life that bit less stressful. I may have found dealing with people somewhat less anxiety provoking over time, but I have never managed to reduce the anxiety over making phone calls.

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[kc5jck]

I don’t particularly like to make calls unless it’s someone I know. I think it’s having to try to explain the reason for the call to the other person without making a fool of myself by forgetting why I called or sounding stupid. Expecially if I have been on hold for a while or have to explain all over again to the person to whom I was transferred.

The scary thought is that I might sometime get one of those endless phone menus, zone out while put on hold, and “come to” when the lights are out and everybody has gone home. lol.

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[crystalsphinx]

Thanks for the reply, bill d. I just returned on this site after remembering my user name. I guess much of my problem is having the motivation to slog thru different interests and somehow find something that peaks my interest that I can do or achieve. I just need to focus and reread the vocational and career tests I have done. I have gone to some job postings and information sessions but need to keep looking for the right one.

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[crystalsphinx]

:lol:Thanks Krazy Kat. I really enjoy hearing your reply as well as everyone else’s on here ❗ I have some ideas like going to the TIFF light box and helping people in the store or showing them around, etc. also thinking of the ROM and science centre. It will just take me some time. 😉

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[munchkin]

If your able to do a satisfactory job with your assignments, tolerate the work environment, and agree with the values of the company, that will go a long way to make up for whatever is not such a good fit. I have a hard time with the idea of an “ADD Friendly” job – as far as a job where having ADD is beneficial… But, I think there are jobs where the interest level can be higher, and therefore it’s easier to stay focused and engaged.

If you are an artist, you might have a hard time doing all the marketing, networking and business stuff it takes to really make a great living at it. But – you might like a job where you deal with art in a different role – like teaching, art supply store, gallery docent, printmaking, poster shop, etc. Those jobs could be tedious in their own way, but would remain interesting because you could add your experience and enthusiasm to the mix. I’m not saying that’s what you should do – but as a concept…

There are so many employees out there who don’t have ADD, but they don’t really care about their job either. If you do something that allows you to tap into what you are interested in, but still do a practical job that needs to get done, you actually make a better employee than joe schmoe who just applied at every place he walked by…

It would feel good to be appreciated now and then… for more than just turning paperwork in on time…

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