ADHD Friendly Occupations
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- Опубліковано 22 жов 2023
- Focuses on the features of jobs that adults with ADHD need to consider in realizing a better match between themselves and their chosen occupations. I also discuss a variety of occupations in which adults with ADHD have found success. Many of those occupations are in nontraditional pathways such as performing arts, athletics, self-employment, etc.
You can find more information on this topic in my books, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD.
I struggled with keeping a job until what I'm doing now. I am a scientific comunicator. I work in a science museum helping visitors understand all sort of topics. Every day is different, I get to walk around the whole museum, and I'm constantly learning new things. MY JOB LITERALLY REWARDS MY OVERSHARING OF FACTS
I love this. Sounds lovely.
@@azlizzie I finally feel acomplished at my job. No joke, it's a dream come true.
This is amazing ❤
@@Chojan7189 *CONGRATULATIONS!* 🏆🤩🏆So awesome that you found your dream! And thank you for making me laugh with the all-caps excitement about being rewarded for oversharing facts. ; - D I would love that too.
Powerful!
As an advocate I've found that there's no specific jobs or even fields that my clients come from or wind up in. What I have found is that workplace cultures impact far more heavily on their work and life. Poor workplace cultures tend to impact us very deeply and cause burnout and other awful things at a much higher frequency.
This !
Totally Agreed! A proper support system who understands us as an individual whether intentionally due to proper understanding of us as an individual and what we need and how we operate overall etc or unintentionally and subconsciously and just luckily match up with us well with a sort of natural understanding of us and either way if you have that understanding and support from a boss and co-workers in a positive healthy environment with a normal healthy empathic nonslave driving company/ Owner of the company than yes you can honestly almost do anything! I have experienced this myself and become exceptionally great at things I genuinely thought I could never even comprehend or understand much less actually be able to do and be good at it as well! It's a complete game changer and opens up potential in us that we truly never knew we had there!
Exactly! I’ve been a librarian/library assistant and I’ve enjoyed my work the most when I’ve been working on my own projects or worked at places that value me and my experience. Usually I prefer larger organizations, because they have more leverage for different types of people than small ones. There I won’t stand out as much as an individual. I also look for places with low hierarchy, I especially prefer frequent communication with my supervisors/bosses so that I know what is expected of me and I also can easily communicate my own needs/ preferences. Nowadays, I usually openly communicate about these things on my interviews, because the work environment means a lot to my success in the workplace. My old bosses mentioned that I was the canary bird on the mines that would signal them how the work environment felt about things, and they meant it the good way, because they could correct the changes or do something about them before things started going bad.
That is true. I'm a senior Accountant, can you believe that? And my boss and coworkers often tell me how I'm appreciated so I must be doing a good job. But I am not micro-managed (take breaks as I need it) and I mostly work from home ( chatty co workers aren't distracting me)
yes
The only ADHD friendly jobs are things that you are passionate about. Period.
true
I agree with the sentiment but I feel this is not very realistic in most cases. Often "passions" do not provide enough income(Except if you are passionate about a standard lucrative job ) or are very unstable or take years and years to develop if you would want to make a business out of and even then often are not a good business plan from the start. If you must provide for your family and don't want to be homeless sometimes there are lucrative options that are not a major passion but can still be engaging enough to maintain as a career and have a fulfilling life. Plus passions for adhders are very volatile, I love all my various passions that I rotate through during the year. But I can never stick to "just one" and the time and effort plus finances that would be required to make them into a business is pretty non-realistic for someone with major executive function and no time management skills and that requires to be 100% self-directed which is often very difficult for people with adhd.
This advice appears more suited to people having the Impulsive presentation rather than the Inattentive presentation.
yeah the occupational choices i have had over my lifetime have mainly been 'predictable, manual, and solitary'. Not 400 different things pulling me in different directions and changing every day. The work becomes the therapy because I am effectively meditating all day long. Then I have the clarity of mind to be a functional adult when i get home.
@JesseRudolph oooh, that sounds quite nice.
@@homelessrobot Same. Can you give some examples? I'm considering changing career but have no idea to what... I worked as a mail(wo)man for a while, it was great except the work hours which were horrible. Now I take care of an old lady which is nice too but also has the worst hours 😩
@@persikosaft Overnight maintenance/janitor at big box stores (like walmart). If you can find the right one, being a kennel worker at an animal shelter isn't too bad (though if you are sensitive to loud noises and cannot find the right ear-pro, you'll lose your f'ing mind). I worked in a university surplus warehouse refurbishing and refinishing electronics and furniture. Pressure there was pretty low because if you broke something, it was already a loss and nobody cared (but ideally, they wanted to resell the stuff at auctions, or cycle it back into the university for reuse). Lawn care is also a good one if you can afford the right equipment and stay away from the crotchety old men who used to mow their grass with scissors and expect you to do the same.
@@homelessrobotas someone with inattentive type, I was working as a cosmetologist for a while, doing men's haircuts specifically. I found it to be engaging and the tasks were relatively predictable and short. It was also manual and I found that to be incredibly rewarding. However it wasn't solitary, and as much as I enjoyed the connection with my clients the most, I really felt my social battery was completely empty by the end of the day. But overall I really enjoyed it and the work culture at the shop I was in made it very enjoyable. However, I recently moved to another country where doing hair isn't really lucrative or a good work culture. It's just not a good fit for me now, and it's been incredibly difficult for me to figure out what job I might do well in. I'm considering being a dental technician, it's a longer schooling process but it might meet the criteria I enjoy most. But if you have any specific suggestions please let me know 😭 because I am absolutely not the next Simone biles
Many of the jobs mentioned in the video are most suitable for extroverts and ADHDers with mostly hyperactive-impulsive presentation and a few or none of the traits and symptoms of other neurodevelopmental conditions. I'm an introvert who switches back and forth between inattentive and combined ADHD. (I have all or almost all of the inattentive diagnostic criteria and four or five of the hyperactive-impulsive criteria, depending on my life situation. And yes, I was formally diagnosed.) I also believe I have dyspraxia since I struggle with motor coordination, visual-spatial processing, processing speed, and sensory overload. (Yes, people with ADHD generally struggle with those too, and dyspraxia is commonly comorbid with ADHD.) Manual labor, trades, and other physical occupations are a TERRIBLE fit for people with those issues. Those with autism and NVLD also have motor coordination issues and sensory sensitivity. NVLD also involves visual-spatial issues. Autism and NVLD are also comorbid with ADHD. I also suspect that I have atypical autism (having a few or some autistic traits) since I prefer to be alone and don't like to talk. I also have selective mutism when under stress or pressure. I'm terrible with social interactions or communication and have social anxiety. So nope, jobs involving frequent social contacts and lots of talking just don't work for me. I much prefer to communicate via email, text, or instant or direct message. I like predictability and routine too, even though my ADHD side is protesting loudly. I actually have about 80% of the traits listed on the chart of autistic traits in women. ua-cam.com/video/3SQFb01SlrY/v-deo.html
The exception to the job list is self-employment because it applies to people in general.
Certain people, including many neurotypical people, want to escape wage slavery and aren't built to work for the man. It definitely applies to neurodivergent folks like us. Self-employment allows us to capitalize on our strengths and also allows for full self-accommodation. It's not always feasible or possible to get ADA accommodations in the workplace, especially for people with invisible disabilities or neurodivergent people. It's darn near impossible to get accommodations for dyspraxia here in the US since it's a little-known condition, even though the voluntary self-identification of disability form for job applications has finally recognized forms of neurodivergence including dyspraxia.
I know that not all people can or want to be self-employed, but at this point in my life, it's the only logical option.
I'd say that the best jobs for people with ADHD are the ones they're most interested in or passionate about and where they can use their gifts and talents. That also applies to people in general.
I was a truck driver . Loved waking up in different places . Seeing how others lived their lives in other parts of the country . The accents , the scenery . Every day different. Retired now . My glory days .
I want to be an actor just never had the opportunities and my family were never supportive o& it as a career
Boy this is just a lot of sad problems for one person….😢 i hope you know the world can’t won’t stop for you, may you find what works for you.
Accountant here. I didn’t enjoy working for others in their firms but I have my own firm now and am absolutely thriving. Numbers are my special interest, and joined with the creativity of entrepreneurship as you said, it’s the best career for me.
Oh great, glad I’m not the only one with ADHD who likes numbers! I have a master’s degree in economics and have heard so many times that it’s a boring field, even from people who don’t have ADHD. I absolutely love it, so it was easy to engage it while at university. On the other hand, I am completely unartistic. I can enjoy some forms of art but couldn't create any to save my life. I guess at the end of the day we are all very different when it comes to our interests, whether we have ADHD or not.
I love Numbers and logic , I studied Mathematics related modules in my undergraduate degree, postgraduate course, getting employment maybe tough.@@ivana61681
Cfo with background in public accounting and consulting. The first couple years were horrid, but Manager and up have been outstanding.
@@miketravis4242 Thanks. I need to hear more opinions on this. I'm in cloud data engineering but have zero influence on strategy. I'm considering an IT management degree.
Great!!! I'm studying Accountant auditor this year, Could you please Tell me what methods you use to be on track? Thanks in advance
I’m professor at the college. This is the best profession for me. Diagnosed with ADHD and ASD in my late 30th, and suddenly everything became so clear and make sense. I changed the well paid job I hated, monotonous and routine, to pursue career in academia. Thank you Dr. Barkley, your lectures inspired me to start my PhD to do research that will help students with ADHD to be more successful at school and in their future profession.
Any advice for those that struggle with school?
@@mr.rubicon1193 First, make sure you reach out to the DRC office. Second, start working on self-discipline, and the best if you have someone in life who can help by being your body double, and “verifier”. Third, find medication that works for you, together with licensed psychiatrist you might go through a few different ones.
If you want to learn more - please watch How To ADHD. This channel is just my #1 resource. Good luck!
I also have the ASD ADHD combo. I feel like I'm a bit better off than the average person with ASD or ADHD
@@mr.rubicon1193 Do your studying and homework in fifteen minute spurts. 15 on and 15 off
Dr Barkley. Really appreciate all your knowledge that you make public. This video is ideal for people in their late teens but less so for senior professionals like myself who hit their early 40s only to find out we have ADHD, and want to make sustainable career decisions as 'late bloomers'. The job examples involve a study path (medical), lifelong training (sports, music), ability to be OK with rejection (sales, performing arts), or a significant pay cut. I didn't cope with the admin involved with running my own business unfort! It would be a great topic sometime in future to hear from you about suitable career shifts for those of us already well into our worklives? I'm an ex-journalist in corporate affairs and already have two degrees. :)
I really agree with this. Tell me, what kind of career can you change to when your healthy physically able to keep the physical pace of activity, yet have adhd with anxiety, in your 60's, love your current job, yet can't keep the up with the pace mentally and emotionally? That isn't a huge cut in pay?
@@hbaker5905 This is why capitalism is awful. Everyone has strengths and abilities, but not all of them are valued equally. So you have to do a job you are bad at to make a good income, instead of doing something you are good at. And the folks doing the things you would be really great at have to live in poverty, and no-one's talents are properly appreciated. ugh,
I got diagnosed late. Got medicated. I finally found my fun job in data science and programming. No degree. Extreme mental puzzles, the programing tells you your wrong immediately, there is a right way and wrong way but incredible creativity within that space. But everyone is different. I've been a cook, political field, activist, and now what I am. I don't see changing again. Find what you want to do and hope it doesn't involve a degree.
@@marshallderks no degree, but SOME training. Where did you get yours/where do you think would be the best place to start? I keep thinking this may be an option for me, but overwhelmed with choices as to where to start. Lol, of course.
Please see my comment about my supermarket job if you want to get paid to keep fit x
I'm a self-employed therapist and love my job. Its been a slog to get here, but now ive got all my billing set up to be automated, and i love working with a diverse range of client issues. In my experience, following my interests and joy has brought me a lot of success. Also, people look down on a "jack of all trades," but all my weird side hobbies have done me well when they suddenly come up at work.
Watching this video I started getting an existential crisis coming on, because I'm studying to be a psychotherapist, and I really struggle to sit and do office-type of work, computer work, etc. I'm starting to doubt my choice and thinking about whether I should've(still should) find a different field. Something to do with outdoor recreation or roasting coffee? Really struggling at uni as well, I think most of us can relate with that aspect of ADHD. You're saying it gets more engaging after starting to practise?
@@matejpetkovski490 For me, it has a lot to do with enjoying the work. I am someone who loves bringing in a lot of philosophy and theory, and frankly I just love hearing peoples’ stories and holding space. I definitely rely on Vyvanse to be able to not interrupt people all the time, but mindfulness and good structured organizational skills has been very helpful.
I'm really drawn towards being a therapist but I've always struggled with my attention when reading and struggle to get written assignments in on time. I know there's a huge amount of reading required for psychotherapy courses. Maybe this is what you mean by "slog"?
How do you manage the case notes aspect of the job? I'm working on my degree in social work, and the idea of case notes fills me with dread! I hope I find a job where I don't have to do them!
@@julybutterflythe more you practice doing the case notes, the easier it gets. Small increments. When you work for others it’s different (notes) than if you work for yourself/private practice bc you write them you’re “own”way and not how someone else requires.
Are there separate suggestions for inattentive type? I’ve struggled mightily with motivation, so running my own business was a huge mistake. I’ve made a living as a programmer, but it’s been a constant struggle to do the equivalent of dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s.
Could you elaborate more? That are some of the problems that have been bothering me for years. Although I am really passionate about some programming concepts and understand quite a lot, due to the very nature of solitary and sedentary work I really struggle with making even a simple portfolio project etc. Not to mention getting a job and experience in the industry. Sometimes I think I am too much concentrated on the tools, desk setup, etc. more than the proper task. The things I really like about programming are (neo)vim and the GO language. They just feel kind of like simple tools to make something and convey ideas in an effective, but not very elegant way (and prevent me from overly abstracting to the point of inertia).
@@lukaszmatuszewski I found that when I work on personal projects on my own, I get excited about them for three or four days and then it’s really hard for me to keep working on them. However, working on a team (especially with people who don’t have the motivation issues) adds just enough pressure so that I’m motivated to keep working on a project significantly longer.
@@redpepper74So body doubling keeps you accountable to the task at hand when working? I'm an inattentive type and find that working with a team helps keep me accountable. I can bounce what I have to do off of them at times and they'll give me tips or ideas on how to do it better.
@@firepatriot42 right exactly, talking out my ideas with people can be very helpful
@@lukaszmatuszewski From my personal experience, attending a coding bootcamp or school can be a feasible solution. I was in the same boat when I needed to secure a job after graduation. It’s hard for me to sit tight and work on side projects just for job hunting. No pressure and no motivation. So I attended a ft bootcamp for 3 months and used the homework and group projects as my profile. Now I’m in this industry for more than two years as a front end developer. Hope it helps.
I diagnosed myself with ADHD after retirement
I was an airline pilot.
At times it was boring. I really loved it when the weather was bad or when things went wrong😊 and I was challenged.
I was also happier and more relaxed as a Captain rather than a co-pilot. I was very uncomfortable with authority figures. I loved being the authority.
A psychologist told me there are hunters and farmers. I am a hunter always looking ahead and seeing the ‘big picture’. Being a farmer would not have worked
Now at 80, I wish I knew all this sixty years ago.
Great video Dr. Barkley.
yeah ADHDers have hunter-gatherer brains :)
The problem is that once you hit 30 and you have a series of low-level jobs under your belt, pursuing many of these careers is no longer realistic.
and worse yet, education is moving out of classrooms with regular schedules and low distraction environments and into your bedroom because everything is distance/remote/from home now. Absolutely untenable with ADHD, so going back to school is nearly as unrealistic.
I wanted to comment to say- if you're thinking of going back to school as an older student, do it. Especially if you meet requirements for the Pell Grant, if you happen to be US-based. It's hard but not impossible. I'm currently working and taking one class at a time and working with my therapist on how to develop organizational strategies and the like.
One of the big pieces of advice I have is to fuck around and find out, literally. People say that negatively but it's the only way to discover what actually works for you as someone with ADHD. On a whim, I decided to try going to the libraries of a couple local universities to see if that helped concentration, and it made a huge difference. One of them is even open to students 24/7, but security is lax enough that it's fairly easy to sneak behind somebody else even tho I don't have a student card. I wouldn't know this if I didn't try to see what may happen. It's the kind of info you wouldn't know unless you found out yourself, and being able to access a crowded but quiet space at all hours of the night (my most productive time) has made a difference in my ability to get work done. Obviously this solution will not work for everyone because of its specificity, but what I'm saying is, there might be strategies available to YOU specifically if you just experimented enough to find them. Don't give up!!! Or do, idk, I'm not in control of you. But you deserve to feel hopeful abt your future, so I hope you don't give up
i finished medical school at age 40
Not necessarily true. I have no degree, mostly retail experience, worked for myself as a photographer for a little over a decade, and went to work at a grocery store for 6 years, then decided I wanted to buy a house. Was talking to a friend who had a well-paying corporate job (by working her way up from the bottom), and she suggested I apply for a job at the same company. I did, and I found a position that didn’t require a degree that had some things I had experience in (sales, working with customers, being technically minded, and good with people, detail-oriented, etc.) and sold myself to the hiring manager. After a year, I qualified for a house and bought one by myself with money I had been saving for several years+the extra I was able to save over the last year. I absolutely hate the job and am planning on going back to school, as soon as I get a few housemates so I can work part time while earning my degree. I’m almost 40. Don’t let age determine your life. ANYTHING is possible if you put your mind+ass into it. Where there is a will, there’s a way! Where there is little to no will, there’s an excuse. I believe in you! I hope you do, too!
I'm 33 and have been working in food service since I was 16, but I recently went back to school for nursing and it's going really well so far.
Doctoral level licensed psychologist with ADHD here….I found that I cant stand doing therapy, so boring! But I love teaching, supervision, psych testing/assessment, crisis intervention….I was sad when I realized I was worthless as a therapist, I have no patience, but I have done well in other ways as a psychologist. Im currently training to learn pharmacology and become a prescribing psychologist in one of the few states that allow it. I would enjoy helping others with ADHD by prescribing medication. Meds have helped me tremendously.
Interesting. I'm training as a clinical psychologist and I find therapy to be the most interesting part! Every session is different, it's deep and challenging work, completely present-oriented and the desire to help the client provides external accountability.
Are most ADHDers extroverts? I'm an introvert and most of these jobs sound awful. I find most job lists for ADHD center around extroversion.
It seems like most are. I'm an extreme introvert and I work much better when I'm left alone for the most part. Especially if the job is data driven and doesn't involve lots of paperwork of any kind.
There's no profile that fits ADHD people that prescriptively. Extroverted people are extroverted, introverted people are introverted, most people are a little bit of both. In my role I advocate for people living with a disability against schools, hospitals, welfare systems, business etc I'm a big introvert but my passion is people being treated fairly so I get to do a little staying on my own researching, and a little arguing on the side of the angels.
I have ADHD and I'm highly introverted as well. I basically do help desk/remote tech support and I find this works for me.
I find I'm usually a bit irritated by people - they talk too slowly, it takes a while to get to the point. Sometimes I interrupt or just start thinking of something else until they're finished speaking.
But at a call centre, that's kind of strength. Once you're sure you know what the problem is, you let that person drone on, giving them certain prompts, while you multi-task and complete the relevant work/forms/adjustments/emails on your end.
A call centre can be anything from sales, to insurance, to banks, tele-health, to being on the other end of government services and providing information, all the way to 911 call taking. If you have specialized training (tech, medicine, accounting), you're more likely to find something that pays better and that comes with good benefits. But even if you don't, experience at a bank looks professional on any resume, and they typically promote from within and offer tuition assistance.
Call centres take advantage of the fact that I enjoy multi-tasking, and the programs/systems you use usually have failsafes to reminder you of certain things you need to do (eg, it doesn't let you move on to the next step until you fill out the form appropriately).
You're also very infrequently interrupted by co-workers - you get left alone for the most part! I know that if you don't like talking on the phone, it's kind of intimating at first. But very quickly, the callers aren't really "people" they're kind of like NPCs who say predictable things and all have the same kind of problems or requests. It doesn't "feel" like you're interacting with people. You don't have to look at anyone, you don't have to maintain a facial expression that conveys interest like in normal conversation, and most of the time it's more about listening than actually responding to the person. Basically, if you struggle like I do with the "get to the point" of talking to people, call centres kind of allow you to safely "ignore" what the person is saying once you get good enough at your tasks and disseminating important information and key words.
I would say that the disadvantages are that you are mostly sedentary, that socializing is unavoidable during training, and that the sales/entry level positions tend to pay lower. I'm currently a government employee (utilities adjacent, for my municipality), and the hourly rate is fair, I'm in a union, and the benefits are above average.
Ever wondered about the possibility of having co-occurring autism? Turns out that, for many years, diagnostic criteria for both conditions was mutually exclusive, so there's a good number of people who fit both diagnoses but couldn't get both acknowledged officially.
The autistic characteristics will likely favor things like asocial tasks, routine, attention to detail, environments with low levels of bothersome stimuli, or extreme specializations matching a special interest.
@@jamiejohnson5748 When I worked in a call center I was struck by how freeing it was not to have to make my face look socially acceptable while talking to the callers. ; - ) They were still people to me though, and I liked that.
Hey Dr. B - I am a librarian. We spend a lot of time on public desks, we have to interact with all sorts of people. I know when I got into this field I didn't realize how exhausting it can be. I mask a lot. We actually have a rule at our (public) library that the public desk shifts can't be more than about 3 hours at a time. I love working in the back room away from all of the noise (the quiet library is mostly a myth unless the library is a study library) and movement. We have quiet spaces for those who need them but the main part of the library is humming constantly.
On the plus side the constant change keeps me engaged, even in the workroom doing labeling or jacketing. I like the work and must keep engaged or I might mix something up.
Yes.
My first several jobs were at public libraries, mostly in the reference department. I did it because I really liked books. I found the customer service portion of the job to frequently be exhausting. Thankfully desk shifts were never more than 2 hours. If I had gotten into tech services I might have made a career out of it. (ASD + inattentive ADHD, though I didn't know that at the time).
I have a dear friend with ADHD is a librarian, and she knew that well before going after her MLS. She passionate about the cause (freedom to read, libraries a a public good, etc). She likes books and helping people, but does find it exhausting sometimes, probably for the same reasons you describe. I need to ask her more about her experiences and what she likes/dislikes about the job.
I know this comment is a bit old, but I'm glad to read a comment about librarianship. I found more of my niche in my public library job. I get to do a lot of physical activity -- shelving, shipping/receiving -- plus I do displays, write blog posts for the website, and create programs (one of which I'm holding outdoors, which is great for me). I think people have the wrong idea about libraries. It's like any other organization where there are different niches that attract different types of minds. Maybe there are departments that wouldn't be that great for ADHD, like cataloging, but programming, marketing, or just general public librarianship seem like good matches.
Self-employment and entrepreneur are not job descriptions. I hate it when these get listed in recommended occupations. Also, ADHD doesn't equal to infinite energy supplies, especially for people over 35 years old. I had no problem doing physically demanding jobs, the problem was length of the shift-8 hours is considered part-time job these days.
The video was on types of work, not job descriptions. Not all work is a job.
I think looking at ADHD success stories like top-level athletes, musicians, actors, and such is not a good reference. For every one of those there’s a million people who tried these things and failed. And it’s not just about doing the right things and making the right choices, because there is also luck involved in these cases, ADHD or not.
What I think a lot of us want is to just get a stable job with a decent pay that doesn’t wreck us with demands in the exact areas where we fall short of the norm.
Depending on the personality, a career in law-enforcement or the military might be a very good idea. The fire brigade or other emergency services is another option. There’s the question of emotional incontinence but I have found sudden and hasty situations to quell my personal storm and actually help me stay sharp and decisive to get the job done.
I don't think not becoming a professional means you "failed". Athletics, music, acting, are all good for preventing cognitive decline, and they are good as self-care, not everything has to be lucrative, and anyway there are LOADS of musicians and actors that are making a living without being famous nowadays. You could start them as a hobby and hope that some day there might be an opportunity to turn them from a side-hussle into a career, but if there's not you didn't "fail", you got a lot of benefit from them.
@@therabbithat I very much agree that cultivating pretty much any skill is never wasted time.
The point I was trying to make is that if an ADHD person is trying to figure out career choices to pay the bills, something only a small number of people can do professionally isn't necessarily the best advice.
The thing is, very few artists or athletes can make a living just by doing that thing alone. Most need to have a job that pays their rent. So indeed, it's totally misleading to use a few most famous ones as example. Arts can be great for ADHD people, but artists still need to find somewhere else to gain income. Many teach their form of art, but teachers weren't mentioned, though it's a profession with a lot of variety and all.
I think lists of suitable or unsuitable professions are very misleading, unless the one giving advice actually has a wide knowledge of what the work is like in each profession. Otherwise it just seems people give advice based on assumptions and stereotypes.
Yeah ADHDers are actually great in crisis situations we go into hyperfocus mode. I agree with what you're saying and I've read all the following comments and still agree. Very few of us are going to be Justin Timberlake and it's not just down to luck it's down to talent and contacts (who you know in the business) too. I didn't hear Dr. Russel Barkley list out the top earners in Firefighting and Carpentry lol. It is notoriously hard to make a steady living in sports and the arts and a lot of us just don't have the energy to have two or more side-hustles.
I would say that military would be good for structure. Law enforcement could be bad since most ADHDers have low impulse control.
Here are some more ideas! I have ADHD and this is a list of jobs I’ve done or know I’d thrive in 🙂
-Preschool teacher
- Foley artist/Field Recorder
- Occupational therapist
- UX/UI designer
- Graphic Design
- Workshop facilitator
- Occupational therapist
- Stage production
- Guide (travel, extreme sports etc...)
- Barista
As someone who needs accountability in their life to function, these jobs are wonderful for the teamwork and creative stimulation they offer.
Could you provide me more info about OT, why do you think it's appropriate for you? Plz share your experience i am curious
@@ms.monologue i am a different being but here are some reasons I think OT would be a good job:
1. it's extremely varied, there's a lot of scope to re-specialize in the field. One year you might be helping lung cancer patients to breathe freely by breathing differently and the next you might decide you'd rather be helping big businesses make accommodations for employees with ADHD
2. It's quite physical, yes there's paperwork and sitting behind desks or sitting talking to people, but there's also a lot of things that involve moving around or demonstrating exercises (e.g. demonstrating wobble cushion games for kids with dyspraxia)
3. when you are doing the training you'll learn stuff that helps with ADHD and how to approach trouble-shooting difficulties that people have, including your own difficulties
One of the most common jobs among the inattentive members of our local page is data analytics, and there are a fair number of developers too. Depending on the nature of the workload, these roles can weaponise hyperfocus, and some methodologies like Agile give shorter task timeframes that somewhat suit our strengths. I find that any task that I can gamify becomes do-able.
I can't see with the rejection fear aspect that being a door-to-door salesman would be a good job
Yeah, that was a terrible idea.
I have inattentive type and I found that working as a nurse in the hospital was overwhelming, I’d get too distracted by conversations with patients, I’d forget things often, lose my vitals and notes when it was time to give report. But I switched to private duty nursing with one medically fragile patient that has a routine and it’s so much easier for me. I am looking to switch careers (because of nursing burn out overall), but I think I would do well with something that I’m interested in that I can hyper focus on. I’m thinking something tech. I find that I’m really good at hyper focusing on solving problems that are fun to figure out. For my ADHD, I found that a structured environment works best for me. Give me a task that, I like and I will hyper focus on for hours. The hard part is finding something that I actually like to do.
I keep seeing people distinguishing between inattentive and hyperactive (possibly more variations) is a diagnosis from a clinician the only way to know which you have?
I was out of work for many years after being very nastily fired for careless spelling mistakes and not remembering things like which tablecloth was for the breakfast service - after 6 months. But I started a flower farm and floristry when I moved to an acreage, and a year later I'm still excited and still planting and still making bouquets and updating social media with them (hate SM).
I thrive on the intense thoughts and notes about what to sow next and how to harvest what, when, etc. It's getting very hot (nearing 40oC in Spring!), and I'm having to walk down to the field at least 5 times a day to move the sprinkler (no irrigation) which is getting slightly depressing. Deliveries can make me feel like I'm under a lot of pressure - which I don't realise until I'm done, and I'm saying, "Oh, thank goodness they're all delivered to the right people, and it all went well!"
I really love it!
I have ADHD and I’m a scaffold builder; I love the hands on and constantly moving by either building, taking apart builds it’s fun and the time flies by
Some things that helped me:
- Getting a treadmill/standing desk
- Hiring an admin assistant for my business
- Getting an ADHD/business coach through Upwork
I'm on a basic income but these were non-negotiable for me to be able to work in a white-collar job
Thank you for posting this response. I can’t stand questions coming back and misinterpretations so I can spend 3 hours writing an email about a technical process so it’s clear for everyone at our 30+ locations and exec staff (I am manager over a centralized function that needs to have compliance from employees at the local level). The writing is easy, the editing to get it in bullet points is excruciating, and then I have to work longer to make up the time I spent editing and it just wastes so much time. Thank you for your advice.
Teaching covers allllllll of those things and is never boring. It’s overwhelming at times and the expectations that teachers should provide the solutions to every single problem in society and in the home is an unrealistic expectation we have to deal with. But there’s constant movement, making materials, a schedule, talking (my god so much talking), helping, and if you like you’re subject, story telling (performance). I’m really surprised you left out educator - I know you said athletic educator, but intellectual educators are not outside the scope of talent required for this job.
I have a hard time structuring my thoughts and I would get distracted and start to talk about a related topic before finishing the point, that I wanted to make. I have been told that it’s very exhausting to listen to me and I know that this is quite common for people with ADHD. I also would have a hard time preparing my lessons.
@@thyfity I'd say being educated in pedagogy helps a lot. Most of the time people don't know how much there is about teaching that needs to be taught. When you grasp that, it's easier to kind of funnel the expertise to powerpoint slides, which then offer a great basis to work from in the classroom.
Anyway I 100% second this about being an educator! Though I work with adults in a field that's my special interest. I love having a group of individuals, each with their own interests and all. Turns out this matches the new style of pedagogy really well. Also the way I hate rules has made it easier to be accomodating to different needs. And I love discussions! Perhaps a bit too much sometimes.
Yes, there's masking involved, but not too much imo. I've needed to learn to speak clearly with full sentences, and I need to keep calm. Online teaching has been more of a struggle, but I think I'm starting to find better ways now. Getting indirect feedback from adults (aka when they give feedback to the institution) is probably the worst part, same as needing to evaluate the students, but so far I've never encountered a teacher who would enjoy those, so there's always collegial support.
@@thyfity I used to work as a one-on-one tutor, which went really well. That is more of a back and forth conversation than a monologue, so I was kept on track by my students, their questions, but also their body language and all kinds of subtle cues. Then I became a teacher standing in front of a large class, just talking for over an hour. I really struggled there for the exact reasons you mentioned: staying on track during a monologue, and preparing lessons. Our team decided to change tack one year, and completely rethink the approach to teaching. It became much more of an interacting and coaching type of teaching, with regular questions and tasks for students to work on, feedback, group discussions, etc. My performance (and personal satisfaction!) dramatically improved because of that.
I tried teaching problems with organisational skills so it didn’t work out
Dr Barkley a lot of people I know in the field of ADHD are under impression that you have retired and no longer involved with education. I think gradually we should see more and more subscription to your Chanel. Please continue your dedication to ADHD and education. I wish you well.
I am 60 and watching this i realise i am finally in my perfect job. I work nights refilling shelves in a supermarket. The task is broken down into small steps, one box at a time, it is very physical and fast paced - we walk at least 10 miles per shift, about 25,000 steps, social interaction limited to 2 short breaks, reward is immediate because the boxes get empty and they get fewer and fewer through the shift, i have time blindness so i don't get bored over the 10 hour shift, i can listen to music or podcasts in one ear while i work and there's no paperwork. it's great,i wondered why i was enjoying it so much !
The only drawback is the physical stress on my body so i only do 3 shifts a week max. I recommend it if you can stay awake all night and sleep during the day.
This particular video was a miss for me because I'm more of a bookish/artsy type who has activity limiting health issues, severe punctuality and time management problems, and extreme sun sensitivity. ; - D I really appreciate Dr. Barkley's work in general though!
Same here! I'm surprised artist wasn't recommended here as we ADHDers thrive in creative fields. I was disappointed that there weren't job options here for ADHDers who are introverted and don't want to deal with people.
@@AA-rr9ly I wish I knew of a good resource for this because job issues are one of the worst ways ADHD affects my life! Good luck to you. < : - ) 🍀❤
@@bellaluce7088 i’ve found that online wfh jobs or freelancing are best for us introverted ADHDers! It’s what i do now and the only job I’ve lasted long
Same 💔
Same 😔
Welp too late. I'm a Y3 radiology resident now 😂
Having a search pattern really helps. Also Ritalin.
Was so glad to see this in my feed. Work is by far the biggest struggle in my life. Feels impossible to work 8-9 hours consecutively at a boring job, then go home and maintain life with cleaning, cooking etc
I absolutely cannot stand the fact that 8-10 hours of every day for the rest of my life needs to be thrown away doing nothing good just so I can go about my life (with no time to do anything at all)
All of the more practical, outdoorsy ideas definitely align with my ADHD experience and symptoms. But the rest of me equally wants to be locked in intellectual and mental work, it's like two very fundamental parts of me are at odds. At the end of the day I realise that life needs variety and what you don't get from one activity you can get from another. I've been a teacher for the last 7 years, and frankly, it's left me ragged. I'm too tired, and I can't build up enough energy to improve my physical and mental health. Suitable as it may be, it stops being suitable when you can't really "profit" and grow from the job. While I don't have any ideas on ADHD friendly occupations specifically, I can say that I've come to appreciate the value of having a life full of variety. That way, if the job isn't ADHD friendly, the rest of your life can be.
I love being a software developer, the challenge of learning it, the complexity and logic involved and the feeling of "building" something was awesome... for the first 6~7 years. Now It's already getting boring, and I find myself having to change technologies, teams/projects and even jobs just to shake things up a bit. I constantly worry I'll stop liking it, which would eventually mean not being able to do it properly.
I feel this *so* hard.
I've been writing code professionally for 10 years and I've been moving more into management. It's now time for me to decide to go back to individual contributor role or into more management.
I'm worried because I just don't think my brain has the same fire for programming problem solving I had 5 years ago. It takes a ton of energy for me to problem solve. As long as I love it, it's great but when it's not... Oof. I'm starting to enjoy more 'people problems'. Ie how do I help this software team achieve a goal rather than for me to program 30+ hours a week
i’m studying occupational therapy and i absolutely LOVE it !!
i highly recommend anyone with adhd to look into it if you’re interested in disability support and advocacy, neuroscience, anatomy, and arts and crafts !!!
a part of what OTs do is they provide therapy through enjoyable activities, so it’s not unusual for a therapy session to consist of painting, or play doh, or music and dancing, etc. bc we use these activities to therapeutically benefit clients.
it’s so incredibly fun and definitely facilitates my adhd and makes it an advantage
Don’t you need a high score at school in order to be accepted into OT at university? Most adhd kids don’t get high scores.
@@danielakolundzija50 I got all the way through law school and a graduate diploma before being diagnosed. Look into IQ masking. Also, depending on the country and what special consideration is available, sometimes it's not as hard to get into certain courses as is the case here in Australia.
I’m not an OT, but responding to your last sentence about most ADHDers not getting good scores/grades, this isn’t necessarily true. There are many ADHD folks who are able to be straight A students who’ve developed helpful coping mechanisms and avoided developing “Learned Helplessness” who end up being very successful, but unfortunately due to their success and lack of appearance of struggle externally, go undiagnosed for many, many years, and struggle internally/emotionally, until they find out much later in life.
Dr. Barkley, you’ve been busy! The videos that you have done in the last six months have been incredibly helpful to me, the parent of an adult with multiple disabilities, including ADHD. I can share these shorter videos with my son’s care providers who balked at the longer ones. Thank you. I appreciate your expertise and generosity!
These videos are really so helpful, aren't they? I have ADHD, and I feel like these videos give me the opportunity to understand myself better and to accept my diagnosis and look for help.
I started a mechanical fitter and machinist apprenticeship in my early 30s after being diagnosed with ADHD. The medication helped me get through the study part of the apprenticeship. It's the best decision I have ever made. I have mostly worked as a machinist so far. I love manual machining, but ended up stuck doing CNC machining for the last few years... There is too much standing around and it was bad for me, but I'm about to start a position where I'll be trained in Hydraulics and rebuilding rock drills for the mining industry. This is such a broad trade that I can side step into a different position once I have learnt as much as I can and start getting bored. As long as there is good variation in what I do, and opportunities to learn I thrive. If I get stuck doing repetitive tasks or standing around watching a machine run it exhausts me.
So happy to read this my son with ADHD just started school studying this. 🙏🏾
The problem with the ER it can be overly stimulating for ADHD. Also, detailed documentation is required especially with serious trauma patients going to the OR.
ER nursing would be perfect for me except the night shifts destroy me. Ideally want to be a specialist nurse again, so can hyperfocus on something I am interested in. Did that pre children... My absolute favourite job would be a stsy at home mum. Shame that doesn't pay the bills.
For sure. When your brain goes into fog mode you can’t just say , I’m done.
My favorite job outside of catering was working as a runner for a CPA firm, which is essentially an errand person/courier. I loved it because I was never in the office long enough to get pulled into any office politics, and I got to drive around all day and have BRIEF, friendly interactions with new people. I was happy for a time. Unfortunately, these jobs don’t pay enough for me to live. Now that I have a bad back, my options are very limited
I wish I would have had this video 30 years ago when I felt so lost and not knowing how to manage my ADHD as a college student and then in the work place/finding a work place that was right for me. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your books, channel, research, hope and most of all kindness to and about individuals with ADHD! You’ve been a godsend to millions of people Dr. Barkley and I’m truly grateful for you!!!! 🙏🙏🙏
I can really relate to this. Jobs that I loved and thrived in were photo finishing, garden center sales, and fragrance sales. My current job is sitting at my computer rating English speaking tests. It takes a lot of effort to focus on it, but I still love it. Luckily, it's something I can do at my own pace so I will rate 5 tests, go do something else for a while, then do 5 more, this method has been working really well for me.
My ADHD symptoms are quite devided and I’ve found that I’m best in a job where I can both concentrate on something intricately as well as work with people and go to meetings or do something with my hands. If I think about my most productive times, I would say that working in blocks for different duties has been the most productive. As a public librarian/library assistant, that was easy since our days were usually divided into sections of couple of hours. I did prefer sections of 3-4 hours since beginning, switching and ending tasks is quite laborous for my mind. But I liked that I could handle books like shelving for two hours (physical labour), work at an information desk as customer server for three or four (social) and then work on larger projects like events, social media, book lists and meetings for the remaining time (intricate, project or self-rewarding). When I was doing only customer service, I missed the work where I could be in a quiet place all by myself and would just do something meticulous (I really lost myself into it) like cataloging. When I was doing that kind of work, I missed working with clients and having conversations with collegues. So I’ve realized that I’m most happy with work that fuzes all three together.
I think the examples Dr. Barkley here presented are great, but I also think that they are maybe suited best for people with a lot of hyperactivity. As someone with especially hyperfocus as one of their strongest features, I also love quite meticulous work - when it’s my favorite subject. I also prefer to work at my own organized desk rather than all over while doing it of course.
I’ve discussed about this issue a lot with other ADHD women in Finland online and was really surprised about the different jobs that I’ve found out and what clicked with them. I for example heard that at least one was an accountant and that they loved the work because it was like detective work, trying to find the missing puzzle pieces whenever the sums didn’t add up! I used to play similar games when books were missing from the shelves or making predictions which books were worth taking off catalogue or taken to storage. I became really succesful in those things and made them really interesting for me. A lot of people were journalists, nurses, entrepreneurs but I realized that there were people from all fields or work and all different education levels. There were doctorates and manual laborers. Many people had done different things and changed their careers many times. That gave me hope that someday I might also found something else suitable for myself (huge unemployment in Finland for librarians at the moment).
I also believe that because education is so valued in Finland, it’s mandatory to continue your education till age 18 (or have a job etc) and because education is free (for almost till the end), more young adults have more possibilities to continue education paths. Children and teens also get special education since kindergarten where almost all children go to and our kindergarten teachers have higher education degrees, while there are of course other staff helping as well. That means that children nowadays can be recognized by these teachers earlier and get specialized help for both children and their parents. This help is provided all through the education system and until young adults. I myself was born in the 80’s in a small village, where nobody had heard of girls with ADHD. I did get special education with math and fortunately finnish school system helped me through the basic education. We also had an amazing young teacher fresh from school and he began using new techniques like groupwork, presentations etc where we could be really creative and learn about subjects delving into them. We could learn about history while doing a play on it etc or watching a movie. My teacher also used a lot of calming music as we were writing essayes etc so it was easier to concentrate. As I went into high school, I had reached others and began to do really well. That meant that I had the possibility to choose free higher education. It’s really sad to realize that others the same aged as me didn’t have enough support from school system back then and this has harmed their self-image and made these things more troublesome for them. So it’s very much down to the early education systems how the child and it’s family is being supported through the system.
I would be really interested to see something that would discuss about different education cultures or dogmas and what impact they hold on children. I’ve been to different schools and kindergartens like montessori and think there are interesting things in each of them that would suit some children and be harmful for others (all education systems can be harmful for certain individuals).
Neurodivergence is very prevalent in IT, it must be the continuous stream of novelty that comes with it that attracts adhd and asd people. At ASML they like to boast about their amount of autistic employees and their exceptional performance in the field. At my school I asked my dean if it was also true for our school that 25 percent would be neurodivergent and she answered: "Well, that must be at least 25 percent.".
Software engineering can offer an endless stream of novelty. Of course there's routine and there are noisy offices, but home office + modern technologies is perfect for ADHD.
I worked in an engineering it dept in the bbc literally I'd say 60 per cent on the spectrum
@@neithere Home office is completely unworkable for me. Might as well tell me to go knit a sweater at the bottom of the ocean. Its funny how different presentations of ADHD have vastly different coping strategies.
I'm 41 and have been in IT for 20 years. Also was in the Marines for 5 years. I find the structure and predictably along with the variety of issues that come across my desk are perfect for me. I don't mind dealing with people, but being bothered while I'm in the middle of something drives me nuts. I hate working from home, and enjoy going to the office.
@@philipramsden4975 yeah i am also 41 and spent 5 year in the army. been in IT for more or less 20 years. I think this might be a pattern.
I am a Martial arts instructor, and I run a small Brewery. Both are hands on with lots of movement. I enjoyed being an Uber driver a while back too.
I'm a local journalist and have been in this job for almost 30 years. I am doing something different every day. It's deadline driven, and I get to be social. There are a lot of ADHDers in my field.
Great video, Dr. Barkley. Thank you!
I’m an interior decorator and I think it’s the perfect fit for me as the job involves lots of movement and ever new challenges. The pressure of client deadlines helps me perform to a high level -and I love making people happy so there’s an intrinsic reward, too.
(However I find as a self-employed person I struggle with timekeeping and paperwork and staying motivated when there’s there’s no urgent work to attend to.)
Best of all I get to use my creativity and ability to hyper focus to develop unique solutions and produce something of real value in the world.
I’m glad you mentioned Ty Pennington as an example of succeeding in one’s career despite living with adult ADHD. He’s an inspiration to many!
Retail stocking was actually a pretty fun job. The customers and managers absolutely ruin it though. I do transcription from home and it's a lot better not having to deal with people.
Hmm... If you don't mind my asking, what does transcription entail and how does one get into it?
Lmao I work in retail now and know exactly what you mean . The job itself is ok, but dealing with people is so ehhhhh
Shelf stacking is an awesome job
I’m self employed now and it’s just changed my life in such a positive way. I work fast, doing highly technical work, but in short bursts. I can work in the evening if I want and nobody is on my back. Now I am not chained to a desk for 8 hours a day. I work when I feel like working. It’s brilliant. I’m a technical writer in a niche industry. I never want to be an employee again!
Librarian is actually a very good job for someone with ADHD! I'm constantly heaving around carts of books and talking to patrons. Public libraries are very community-centered and customer service is a very valuable skill. We don't do a lot of shushing. :) Our children's librarian is very active in her job and gets to play with all of the shinies, too.
Thank you for the providing this information in such a kind way. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed at the tender age of 46, so most of these seem impossible (and the ones that don't seem impossible sound tortuous to me. Story of my life, lol!). It certainly why I was horrible at all admin jobs - I was constantly finding reasons to get away from my desk. And working in a cubicle? 😱 Luckily, I got ill and stopped working 13 years ago. In the mean time I've taken numerous courses, volunteered at various places, and burned out each time. I have no skills and can't seem to find a productive direction to put my energy. I started a TEFL certificate and burned out again. So what do those who are diagnosed very late with no transferable skills/talents do? (Yes, I'm in therapy, lol!)
We have a lot in common. I was diagnosed ADHD-I two years ago at 46. Now I am ill and disabled. Pretty useless. Originally getting diagnosed seemed positive and life changing, to finally understand myself and learn I am not alone. But these days it is just depressing. I am constantly reminded of how things could have been different if I had only known earlier... So much regret. I am so sorry that you are dealing with this too.
I'm a paramedic with ADHD. I found myself drawn to the field before I even suspected I might have ADHD and, in retrospect, it's kind of funny how perfect this job is for people like me. Something I really like about the career is its pacing; I go out and deal with a high-intensity crisis and then I get to go back to my post and unwind and refocus for a little while. This suits me much better than some other jobs I've tried, which I found to be more of a low-intensity constant slog for 8 hours a day.
Im 29 I’ve been in trades for most of my life. Renovating, stonemasonry, concreting.
Now I’m studying to be a design and technology teacher. Teaching students robotics, coding, woodwork, metalwork, engineering and I’m minoring in outdoor education.
I am 43 years old, just diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type, more likely CDS. I live in Italy. Some years ago I believed I would never find the right job for me. I was wrong. As an art historian, now I cohoperate with a museum (making guides, creating didactic activities etc); I also cohoperate with a newspaper writing articles on my favourite subject; right now I am moving my first steps as art curator etc. I love my jobs because they enhance my talents and also because certains ADHD treats seem to be no more a curse but a gift 😄 my struggles are still there but I don't feel them so heavy like in other contexts of my life.
My son is ADHD too and he is in the military. He feels very comfortable in a high structured and planned job, with a lot of workout, routines but also with highly adrenaline activities.
I find boring jobs to be perfect for me as I don't have to focus too much and I have the freedom to get lost in my own thoughts. I've always wanted to be a librarian. I found that jobs with flexible hours, or freelancing are the best for ADHD.
Any example of "boring jobs" ?
@@clemthai stuffing envelopes
@@clemthaiI took Ultrasounds. I went to medical school then applied for a ultrasound training programmes.
I liked teaching in a hands-on, loosely structured environment. Talking and explaining are the easiest things ever. And above a certain IQ, you're destined to become a teacher. You have a choice between helping people become smarter, or going stark, raving mad at the world's stupidity.
I also like manual, outdoor labor. The results of mowing a patch of grass or trimming a bush are instant. This removes the uncertainty between effort and effect that is always present with any kind of clerical or intellectual work. Interviewing one more person for a study you may never publish, filling out details on a form that won't be processed for weeks and may not lead to its intended effect: these kinds of things create a distance from the present that removes engagement. It speaks to Russell's theory of a deficiency in the potency of internally motivating objects of thought, as opposed to extrinsic, tangible stimuli that provide clear and immediate feedback
Counterculture is another requirement for me. Neurodiverse people don't mix well with normies. Ordinary people are motivated primarily by social status, as opposed to connection. They operate within strict hierarchy, with submissive and dominant roles being the norm. They generally don't realize this, because it's just the sea they swim in, so they can't be made self-aware in this regard, and wouldn't want to anyway. Neurodivergent people are motivated more by connection and reciprocity, because we've basically never had any of either. We're much more outgroup social, and much less reverent of our local warlord. So corporations are empty, ghoulish places for most of us to be. Working with corporate droids is like having a job in the Uncanny Valley.
Anything that combines tedium with uncertainty is an absolute no-go. Having to get together 5 documents and bring them to the DMV is a dark, dark, DARK feeling, because I know at least one irrational and inhumane requirement will be unfulfilled due to an indecipherable technicality somewhere. IT is NOT possible to complete any bureaucratic task on the first try, the second try, the first phone call, the third phone call, the fourth physical trip, or, at long last, the 7th circle. Bureaucracy is the bane of ADHD. And possibly individual humans in general. But I think people with ADHD have a particularly adversarial relationship with any human-created processes, as opposed to things that follow an organic and intuitive logic. Maybe because the people who create the majority of processes in society are absolute idiots. And since we have lower frustration tolerance and less ability to pay attention to redundant and illogical monotony, we're the ones taking the most fire on the front line in the fight against incompetent user interface.
I love your comment and writing style. Thanks for this, I just had a good chuckle while reading
Wow, some high quality insights right here. Thank you for sharing!
Working as a clinical psychologist works good for me, especially since I started working through videocalls from home. That way I can do 90% of the admin during the sessions rather than having to do all of it afterwards. Has greatly helped me a lot, combined with an employer that gives a lot of free responsibility when it comes to when I work. Basically an in between of bein employed and self-emploeyd. I can choose how much I work in increments of 20% and choose to work extra outside that and get a fair compensation for that.
I really consider myself lucky for having this workplace, although it does have a few downsides it's simply extremely ADHD friendly in my opinion. It allows me to focus on what I really enjoy: Helping people, and minimize all the other stuff.
So finding accomodations for your workplace is also something to look into!
Something I would add to this list is being a psychotherapist! I'm a therapist and find that my ADHD can be helpful in many ways (staying in the present moment with clients, recognizing patterns etc.). Medication is helpful though so I can sit still and not get too distracted haha
The absolute best job I've ever had was medical transcription. It combined manual dexterity with my best cognitive skill, verbal/auditory processing. No need for working memory, just rewind the tape. I am really introverted, so being alone was very comfortable. Every report was different and medicine is fascinating. There was some challenge when clinicians would murmur or had very strong accents. I lovvvveeed transcription, and then voice-to-text came along and I got laid off. Now I sell handwoven bohemian wall hangings and handspun yarn on Etsy. It doesn't pay as well but it's work I can do. I need to have my hands in almost constant motion.
I was a bank teller and I really enjoyed that job. Talking to people, helping them with their banking needs. Then one day I was held at gunpoint and I have severe ptsd from it. Now I’m on disability.
This hits home. I have worked many diff jobs, but every long term job was chef, fast food, whole animal butcher (trade) music (djs at bars and raves) and now at Costco where I am trained across 8 diff positions and never know whwlere I will be
More of this please! So much good encouragement here 🥲. Thank you!
Actors: you can be anything. Everyday is different. Creative play. It’s the best job for ADHDers in my opinion.
Quite naive, because there is 0.1% who become something more then background mass there, it's up to chance, esp. if u haven't born in USA.
It’s what I’ve always wanted but never had the opportunities to be
@@Dancestar1981 now is always a good time.
I’m currently a micro poultry farmer, raising pastured thanksgiving turkeys with my family in SE VA…
But prior to that, I worked in television as a production manager free-Lance. Although it required me to stay on meds and have extreme organization, it was a great blend of “familiar routines” and “novel new experiences.” I have inattentive type, but the new surroundings and new coworkers on every show always kept me engaged.
I've embraced a pattern of changing professional directions and/or styles every 2 years or so, as I get into a slog otherwise. I've also found the following MORE important than the specific field: having the(tedious) nuts and bolts of business taken care of by someone else, the ability to keep learning, higher-level coworkers/supervisors who support and inspire, variation over repetition, interesting challenges, and space to experiment/innovate. Hands-on active work is definitely a plus. So far, I've had success in audio engineering, music composition/performance, videography, fundraising, nonprofits, boat building, carpentry/tile/trades, teaching (Pre-K to adult), copywriting, web design, and active outdoor/adventure guide work. Thank you for all you do, Dr. Barkley!
The Environmental health field is really awesome too. So much variety, dealing with the public. Bit of admin, but lots of trips out on investigations, special events, and business inspections.
Thank you Dr. Barkley for helping us!!
Just found your his research, finally someone who understands
Thank you acknowledging this aspect of life for adults with ADHD. One thing to consider is how much strength one needs in understanding the perspective of others, and the ability to work in chaotic situations. I was a high school art teacher for almost 20 years. My classroom was in the old part of the school where the shop classes used to be which required frequent movement outdoors to check my mailbox in the office, make copies (back in the days before we all had printers in our halls), even visit the restrooms or buy lunch in the cafeteria. The changes in class the variety of kids and people around me, the variety of projects going on both sustained interest but also overwhelmed sometimes. I reallllly struggled with my emotions when it came to dealing with difficult kids. I would say this drained my tank and served in the end s the reason I burned out BUT, this was just me. That is a very weak area in my executive function. Paying attention to detail in the area of grading was a struggle too but I found much grace in this area and learned how to deal with that over the years. I loved teaching art and loved the interaction and movement available to me in that environment though and it was overall a good fit for ADHD. If I had realized I had ADHD, I would have pursued medication- which likely would have helped with the emotions.
I've been diagnosed with ADHD at age of 33, one year ago. I work in IT sector as a Server Reliability Engineer and co-owner/director of a IT Service company. I have to work in emergency situations and also in regular maintenance of infrastructure. Regular maintenance is of course harder part to manage when you have ADHD, but in my case i have some degree of elasticity that allows me to switch tools that i use and tasks that i work on. I find my job very stimulating - I have to use double dose of my medications in days off. There are also tasks that i struggle with, like keeping up with the deadlines, doing long paperwork, remembering to answer emails - all this is very exhausting. These also put me in uncomfortable situation with my partners, who are unsatisfied with results of my work from past years. I think that having supporting staff around me is important for me to keep regular, baby-step approach in long term projects (to hold me accountable and on-track). Currently criticism i get keeps me in negative thought spirals and i feel unmotivated or paralysed with anxiety, so i think about switching temporarily to less demanding job, and eventually starting my own business.
I wait for your videos with so much excitement. I have learnt a lot from you. You are such a blessing to our ADHD community. Stay safe and healthy
I was blessed to have had a long career as a copier repair technician for 27 years. Fit very well with my ADHD symptoms.
Ha, got degree in computer engineering before I got ADHD diagnosis, and getting a degree has wildly different expectations and requirements to the workplace. Screeeeeeewed.
Hi dr Barkley! I have adhd and I work in data analytics and it has been great.
I really enjoy problem solving and learning new things all the time.
Not much manual work but I do get to tinker around systems and find cool things! Also it is very structured i work with stats, formulas, systems and programming languages. I enjoy structured things as there's less ambiguity. On the other side I do get to be creative with pretty graphs and colours!
I worked construction and the challenge was keeping your tools in your toolbag. Information Technology and running my own business was perfect for me.
The work environment is really the most important part. Good people around you, no sounds, smells or movements that affects your ability to focus.
I have been diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger.
"Simple jobs" are really bad for me. Working in factories, and other stuff that does not challenge you intellectually. I have issues with focus when studying, working etc but if i have a good environment its easier.
The best type of jobs for me that i have been able to try is in IT, like programming. The worst kinds of jobs have been working in factories, welding, landscaping, constructions, and more. Working with people is not for me either, does not matter if its in a store, restaurant or in the medical field. My brain needs to be challenged but only if i really like the topics.
In my experience, game development has been a perfect fit for me.
Heard so many bad stories about crunch culture and the hours/workload game devs have to deal with. Is it harder with ADHD?
I would love to hear you elaborate on this a bit more if you want! Are you working in a game studio or an indie dev? What coding languages do you need to know to even be considered for such a position, do you need to be able to write your own engine from scratch?
I am definitely seeing myself in the same vague area but I keep jumping from concept art to 3d to suddenly geeking out about generating procedural textures to the occasional sound track to c# programming (using unity)... I love the variety in jumping between technical problem solving perfectionism & creative expression too much to just choose one of them and stick with it, I think. Maybe I just need to stay a student forever so I can keep learning what I want.
My game teacher said this only becomes a problem when the results of these different areas are all mediocre and that he wasn't worried about me but I am not sure if he's right and I have actually just internalized too high standards for myself or if nobody would ever hire me for anything apart from maybd my 2d art (which is an oversaturated field already), or if positions where you get to wear multiple hats even exist. I don't want to get bored sticking with that one thing I someday need to apply for. Ahhhhh.
Thanks for reading, sorry if it was a bit much to receive out of the blue.
I am happy you have found the perfect fit for yourself though!
@@lambs5258I'd say it is kind of a double edged sword in an industrial setting. On one hand, people with ADHD often times are creative and they are known to perform their best while they are under high pressure situations, so while it isn't ideal to work in poor working conditions, it is possible that people with ADHD may thrive in this environment better than colleagues that break under pressure, but it would be wise to remember that regardless of being able to work well under pressure, this type of life takes a toll on you. Now, on the other hand, it might be tough staying focused on a specific task over a long period of time unless you actually find it interesting, but this will apply to most jobs for someone that has ADHD. Anyway, using something like Ritalin takes care of most of the problems, so there's that.
@@Yumenoki99 Sure, I'll elaborate more and I'll try to answer your questions. I am currently working as an indie dev. You don't need to write your own engine from scratch unless you have very good and specific reasons to do so, it can be a fun challenge but coding an engine isn't the same as making a game. Maybe I am wrong, but if I remember correctly, over 50% of current games are made with Unity, it is also the most popular engine for indie devs. For AAA 3d games, Unreal seems to be more powerful and popular in that category. The coding language for Unity is C# while Unreal uses C++ and Blueprints. Most people consider that it is easier to code in C# than it is in C++, but Blueprints seems to be easier than C# since it doesn't even need coding. From watching videos and also from personal experience, Unreal is easier if you come from an artistic background and Unity is easier if you come from a coding background.
It seems like we share the same type of experience, jumping from one area to another. If you keep doing that, you will eventually head into the generalist direction which is the best bet if you intend to become a solo developer. If you want to join a team, it might be better to specialize. The saying "Jack of all trades, master of none, but often times better than a master of one" comes to mind. And based on how the ADHD brain works, being a Jack of all Trades seems like the natural outcome after experimenting with something that is as multidisciplinary as solo game development. As a solo dev, it doesn't matter much if you jump from one thing to another, as long as you keep moving forward within your project.
Your game teacher is right and I would like to add that you should avoid large projects and instead focus your attention on finishing games that will take one or two days of development, then once you are comfortable, move into games that take a week at most. I am thinking about extremely easy games to code, such as Flappy Bird and Pong. Also, escape tutorial hell, I lost so many years stuck there. Here's some sound advice, avoid youtube tutorials like the plague if you want to learn about game development and instead make your first games using ChatGPT Plus (the premium version), forget about the free one, it is trash. The premium version is a lifesaver and it will even teach you everything that you need about coding, it can even code most things for you. I recommend that you use ChatGPT to actually learn how to code, even if you aren't coding yourself, it will help you understand and fix problems in your scripts. I know professional programmers and they already say that chatgpt premium is now the industry standard for them.
Here's what I recommend you to do. Stay in Unity and C# for now, Get ChatGPT Premium and use it to guide you through the process of making a game, also treat it as if it was your own personal programmer. Ask it to provide you with all the necessary code and whenever you are stuck with a problem or you don't understand something, feel free to ask the chat. It will provide you with specific explanations and the most important thing is that it will give you immediate feedback and even help you solve/debug any problems that you run into (if you get an error in game, copy the error message from the console into chatgpt and then copy the solution from chat into your script, and so on). Start building very short games that are popular and that can be easily replicated. Focus on minigames. If you want to delve deeper. Keep your conversations with chatgpt separated from each other so that you avoid saturating the chat with useless context. And remember, after the recent Unity fiasco, you might want to work your way up into Unreal, that's what I am currently doing.
As a final note, I can't stress enough how much chatGPT has changed my life and it has the potential to change yours too. It will craft curriculums that are relevant to your very specific needs and the fact that you can open multiple conversations with different contexts each is a lifesaver for someone with ADHD.
I was in the military for 5 years and am now in school for Radiologic Technologist. I work in Computed Tomogrqphy. Scans don't take long but I'm up moving around a lot. Going to get my bachelor's in Nuclear Medicine. I love radiology. MRI may not be best since the scans are longer and take more attention but there are modalities like IR, surgery, cath lab, and so on. I can do so many things. Absolutely love it!!!
My bestie were just talking about this. I was in the restaurant biz & absolutely luved it! She said I was fantastic at it. I really like your calm soothing voice. Thx 😊
It's great reading all the comments here about people with ADHD who've found their right career path. I work in a highly technical job that pays well and allows me to work from home, but I am perpetually getting by without ever excelling at it. It's extra depressing because I am wrapping up an advanced degree too to "double down" on this career path that I'm not looking forward to. I have a family now and feel it's too late to take career risks and explore something new if it means we might not be able to put food on the table
Holy shit I'm in exactly the same situation right now. I'm getting more and more depressed because I'm actually quite good in School but I'm fearing that it all will crumple down once I'm back in the industry. And my therapist pushed me into this school. I have a suspicion she might just be a really bad therapist for neurodivergent people
Honestly, if you have found a job you can do without burning yourself out or feeling dissatisfied... Save your passion for outside work hours. Employment is just a safety net to avoid homelessness and poverty.
@@ADHDad I am burning out though :(
@@bombastixteuton1130 What makes you feel like you're burning out?
In high school (not diagnosed then!) We did aptitude tests to help us know our strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes when it came to future careers. Mine came out as lawyer or registered nurse. Became a RN 😅 only found out have ADHD in my 40S. Explained a lot of my struggles, but they were not work related. I have however been amazed this test was pretty spot on! This was offered to hekp you choose your exam subjects if you were not sure. I remember questions about do you enjoy working indoors or outdoors and other more random questions and having to rate each answer 0-5. Would love my daughter to do this test now she is in high school...
I just saw your channel, and i am so excited🤗. I really appresciate it, that you give us your scientific knowlegde about ADHD! Thank you very much. I hope, it will help me or even my docter. Today i will let him know about your channel - i hope, he will watch your videos too... Thank you very much!
Loved this.
Adhd female with a Fashion design degree. Worked in production, sewing, drafting (enjoyed pattern drafting but needed to watch out for careless mistakes.) Lots of moving around and new projects daily.
I am almost 31 years old, and for most of my teenage years until 2 years ago I always wanted to be an electronic music producer, focusing most of the time on that. I was pretty good and could focus pretty well, unlike school, where I was a total disaster, so I don't have a highschool diploma. Not because I wasn't smart, on the contrary, but I couldn't focus except with music so it made me even less interested. In summary I had a burnout and now I can't focus on electronic music anymore and I can't even enjoy the process of when I do it for myself. I've worked various jobs, including carpenter, dishwasher, kitchen helper, and farm laborer, but honestly I never felt they were mine. So now I find myself at 31 lost and without ideas. I'd also like to become a graphic designer, it's something I've often done since I was a kid, but with the advent of generative Ai I don't feel like jumping into it completely.
I work with animals and have for 30 years. I love what I do. I have always preferred the company of cats and dogs over humans, and so it is really a perfect fit. I would never made it as a vet (which was my childhood dream) so it was wonderful to discover all the different choices there are in animal care. Apparently, dyscalculia is very common in ADHD people. That is what derailed my plans for work in the sciences. Numbers are my nemesis. I can not work with money (cashiering, book keeping, etc.) But the hugely varied tasks that come from dealing with animals fits with my adhd needs and is always hugely rewarding. Highly recommend to young people who love animals but are discouraged by the math roadblocks set up by adhd. Vet science is only one of many choices for you. Find one that fits who you are.
I've had different kinds of jobs and in all of them it was very difficult for me to keep motivation for more than a couple of months, until I started working in a kindergarten. I didn't lose motivation, but even more it was that for the first time in my life I was getting praise and recognition. I was being appreciated, and I felt like I belonged. If you love children and you're concerned about making a positive difference, it can be very rewarding. It does require some anger management though.
I love how many of the things I considered or wanted to be-law enforcement (though ACAB), ER doctor, tradeswork, some kind of outdoor profession like forest ranger-are on this list. And the profession I got talked into-attorney-is not. Being able to do something (and even being good at it) isn’t the same as being suited for the profession. I’m actually pretty good at my work… it just drains the life out of me. Less so, now that I’ve found a less demanding position in the profession, but trying to do something I’m not suited for exhausts me. Not going to med school is probably my number one regret (though the choices I made led me to a good life with a person I love, so I wouldn’t want to go back and change them now).
I've had success in call centres with tech support. The great thing about call centres is that there's almost 0 paper work. Everything is organized for you. Calls come through and you have to deal with it, so there's not even an opportunity to procrastinate. If others with ADHD haven't pursued specialized job training or higher education, I think it's something to consider. I have a public service/government job, good benefits, and facilitate essential services, so it's pretty stable too. My job is also 75% remote, so I can work from my treadmill desk at home too.
I've been fairly comfortable in office jobs. Lately I've been wondering whether I should switch professions to being a professional dog handler/trainer. Drug sniffing dogs, finding missing persons etc. Would be very gratifying for me. Something to think about.
Thanks for another video =)
I wish retail paid more because I was actually stellar at it
Same 😔
I've had a high paying job in programming for 10 years now and I keep burning out. I often dream about being back in my retail job and having fun, but in reality if I went back my salary would drop so much. It's depressing.
I love being a Software Engineer/Web Developer and I've met so many others with ADHD. I'm starting to think it's one of the best choices if you like tech or need a lot of mental stimulation in your job. This is a broad field with many jobs, so I think it depends on what you choose to do.
It plays to my strengths - problem solving, creativity, adaptability, and learning new things. There's a tonne of variety with different projects and clients and constant short term deadlines and tickets to complete - which helps keep the goal in sight and feels rewarding to check off.
I'm a little more introverted, and easily get overwhelmed/exhausted in busy environments, so the quiet of working from home suits me. But there are plenty of noisier, more social jobs in start ups, and for remote working you can go to a co-working space. While I'm not physically building something, the work feels very mentally active and there's a clear product being made.
The only downsides are that writing documentation can be boring sometimes (though I'm grateful for it later and AI has helped this a lot) and lack of movement at my desk all day, which I'm working on.
Previously a teacher (sensory overwhelm, too much paper work), web copy editor (boring, but lots of deadlines to keep me on my toes and I was good at it), music/singing teacher (amazing job, but very unreliable). The job I disliked the most was retail work - just constant sensory overwhelm and exhaustion, followed by boring quiet periods, while waiting for customers.
Tour guide at a theme park or major city! It's great if you love interacting with new people, using lots of energy walking everywhere and being paid for being creative and deliver engaging stories day after day. There is a performance aspect to it that I find incredibly fun and I think it would be good for ADHD folks.
I am a lawyer with ADHD. Although I have had my achievements, it has held me back in a lot of ways. I love "action" assignments such as depositions and trials!
food service industry is 100% not ideal for ADHD
I went from company internal IT support/admin work to taking care of our service contract renewals and reviewing our entire tech stack for license usage & access management, and it's working really great for me.
I talk to everyone across the company and our service partners to gather information, cowork multiple small to medium scale projects at the same time and get to see real benefit to both my work experience (IT admin) but also my curiosity (self driven discovery work) and sociability (stakeholder management) and it all leads to real tangible external results (i.e. cutting our external software and infrastructure spend by almost 50% in 6 months in a time where many other companies have to resort to layoffs). It's really varied even if it sounds bone dry on the surface, thanks in no small part because most of our company knew and trusted me through my previous role and give me a lot of way to handle things with own way.
I'm surprised that occupations like social work and community engagement wasn't on the list. Often has very reflexive components, lots of variety in day to day activity, can really engage people with a space to utilise their justice oriented mindsets. Can also require a high level skill building e.g. taking on counselling or therapeutic work, running workshops or skill building activities, working with diverse people. Can be a space where ADHD cognitive strengths really shine. And, with the emergence of lived experience - ADHD experience of poor mental health can be hugely beneficial to actively supporting others and building geniune rapport.
I’m a CFO for a midsized hospitality company. Got my start in public accounting and consulting. The work is complex, surprisingly human focused, and incredibly varied.
After leaving last year for the job I’m in now, I can avoid the details and focus on high level, complex issues. It’s been a great path.
I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and Im a mail carrier at the Post Office. It was the best move I ever made.
I have ADHD with some co morbidity's such as Anxiety disorder and Major depressive disorder. I'm a veteran of the army, formerly self employed landscaper, former crisis councilor, physical and dietary fitness nut, beginner videographer and did well preforming in my HS plays. I never stay in one place for long when it comes to employment, but I've always liked the idea of working outside in the community, asking thought provoking (Sometimes philosophical) questions and helping others with physical and mental health. I don't have much of an education (never did well in school) but love learning various things and applying them holistically in different contexts. I haven't had a job in over a year and when I do, I'm often taken advantage of for my enthusiasm and end up quitting from burnout and seemingly chronic exhaustion. I often wonder what it is I need to do to be satisfied and regulate myself when it comes to work.
Live production stagehand work I’ve found is great for me, because the “jack of all trades” mentality is appreciated. You can get electrical training, chauffeurs license or CDL, rigging training, and you’re more valuable the more different things you can do, as opposed to the tech industry where you’re almost forced to specialize in a very specific thing.
There are also more technical aspects of audio and video that if you are into technical/intellectual work, you can start to learn and implement.
The downside is that it’s almost all contract work or PRN so it’s a hustle to get hours continuously and benefits are hard to come by, and prepare to track mileage, keep receipts, etc for taxes.
I built a career out of freelance writing. Don't have to interact with people (except taking assignments) and can hyperfocus my creativity into writing my topics. I eventually became a project manager for high-end digital agencies.
Thank you for the suggestions I honestly hadn't thought so deeply on how to encorperare feedback and movement and interaction into what my career path with be
I work as an X-ray welder (stainless steel piping for the pharma/food industry). It does tick all of these boxes and I do enjoy the challenge of creating a nice-looking weld. I'm always moving, using my hands and many different tools. I work together with a small team and some communication is needed, but most of the time is spent putting on my welding mask, turning on some music, and pretty much disappearing into my own world. A TIG welding torch creates an electrical arc with a temperature of up to 19000 degrees Celsius. That's hotter than the surface of the sun! watching metal melt in front of your eyes and being able to manipulate it with your hands is very fascinating to me.