Hi ALL who read this :O)

I am wondering about what kinds of jobs women with ADD or ADHD have?
I work in Insurance and I hate it, I sit at desk all day feeling tired and unfulfilled (not sure how to spell that word) I feel that I am smarter that what I am doing, but just don't know what to do? Any suggestions????:)

Well, what are things that you do enjoy doing?

Well..Tha is a good question, I know seems strange to ask someone what they enjoy doing and have them say ummmmm.... A little bit about me I passed high school barely, I went to college for generals and got suspended due to poor grades, with no help form anyone at the college I never went back, all while NOT knowing I had ADD. I kinda Fell into Insurance because It was something I could do with out a college degree. I have always known something was wrong and it was not until earlier this year I was diagnosed and put on medication. I am 31 and I do not know what I want to do when I grow up.
I enjoy spending time with animals (I do not want to be a vet or vet tech) I thought about getting certified to be a dog trainer and/or opening up my own business or rescue. I enjoy people who have diabilities ex: I volunteer with kids who have Downs Syndrome..but what kind of job could I get doing that?
I appreciate you asking me.

You could always be a trophy wife. :)

Funny you say that, I told my husband I could stay home and be his Trohpey wife this weekend. :O) Being funny of course, because we both have to work to enjoy our lifestyle at this point, which is fine. I think I would be bored staying at home.. although my house might clean for more than day or two, laundry would be done, I might make dinners at night, bake some goodies, and get the mail on a regular basis too, I think I need an assistant or maid.;)

A good trophy wife has an assistant AND a maid! :)

Jobs, jobs, jobs. I've only been working for 3 years, so I still have a lot to learn, and I haven't been doing so well so far. I also do not have the capacity to earn a college degree so my options are limited. Fortunately, my talents lie greatly in songwriting, musical performance, and photography so even if I did go to college it wouldn't help me find a job.

I do a little of this and a little of that whenever I need some money. My dad delivers Auto Connection and Job Connection every Saturday and I pick up his route sometimes. I recently had a short contract with FEMA making $200 a day to drive a wheelchair accessible van to move handicapped evacuees. I only worked for about 45 hours out of an entire month, but the only trouble with it was that I had to go to Louisiana and I had to live in the van. Nonetheless, relief work is an awesome experience. I wouldn't take it back for the world. If you like volunteering maybe you could find a paying job doing relief work.

Hmmm, waiting tables is alright. If it's not your only source of income. It's unreliable and it sucks sometimes but it's fast paced and usually not boring.

Your volunteer work with disabled children would be experience on your resume for a daycare or nanny position. I nanny sometimes and I love it.

With me, there is no one job that is the answer to living with ADD. I just have to jump around and not rely too much on money. Good luck.

I chose teaching, not only because I love it, but also because it is changing all the time. New students every 5-6 months. New topics. New information.

Barb

What about being an aide for a kid with special needs? I'm not sure what it requires but it's worth checking out..

That's a GREAT idea Kristen!! I will look into that..Thanks!!

You could always be a trophy wife. :)
Hey, that was MY idea! As soon as I saw the title of this post, I thought of 'trophy wife' as the ideal career for us ADD gals!

Wish I'd thought of it when I had the 'qualifications'.

LOL.....great minds think alike!

hee hee, trophy wife seems like fun--or rich kid--basically anything that takes care of the bills while you do whatever it is that makes you happy :-) But until then... I know working on fast paced stuff makes me happy---I'm sure you could find something that's high-energy in your field--ooo--and maybe something that has a larger purpose as well--gets you motivated.

I'm a big believer in apptitude testing.

It can really help in finding your niche.

I'm a 1st Level IT Anayst. Have been doing this work for about 10 years now. Most people use this as their first step on the ladder up but I find that it suits me for the following reasons:


It's fast paced
It [generally] has a quick resolution
It's a type of transaction in - transaction out - Finished!
Over the phone, I am confident - In front of people I find I'm distracted by trying to read body-language etc etc.
As an Approval-Junkie, it gives me instant rewards


Although I was interested in "specialising", I just found that I would go off on a tangent and found it difficult to stay focussed on the one thing.

hi everyone...im a newy at this chat. im only 23 and just got diagnosed. started medication yesterday and dont like the side affects....:( but im not working right now i wanna get back to doing reception...anyone know how long you should wait b4 getting back to work??

hi everyone...im a newy at this chat. im only 23 and just got diagnosed. started medication yesterday and dont like the side affects....:( but im not working right now i wanna get back to doing reception...anyone know how long you should wait b4 getting back to work??
Depends upon what is going on with you. Probably you should get back to work as soon as you are able. I don't think there are any guidelines for this.

However, at 23, you are still in a position to consider becoming a trophy wife. You could probably hook up with a relatively young, good looking rich guy if you are model-attractive. However, if you aren't, don't be discouraged. There are a fair number of older guys who would love a young babe like you in their lives. You might want to consider a REALLY old guy.....check out up-scale nursing homes or other venues where REALLY old rich guys hang out. The benefits of this are obvious; as long as you make sure he has at least one life-threatening or terminal illness, you won't have to tolerate him for long. But you will be expected to cater to his every need for awhile, and that means EVERY need. You might want also to brush up on your low-sodium recipes, and see if you can adapt them to the blender. If you can, you will be a hit. Stock up on Depends, and go for it girl!!!!

Please don't hate me; I can't help it that I'm.........kidding.

...I enjoy people who have diabilities ex: I volunteer with kids who have Downs Syndrome..but what kind of job could I get doing that? ...


welcome to the forums busymind :)

i worked for several years at a group home for develpmentally disabled adults. in my experience group homes are always looking for caring individuals to work for them. however, the pay is low and the hours are goofy. there tends to be a lot of turnover also. but, i would still be working there happily if the pay was better.

there are also work sites for individuals who have develpmental disabilities, so, if you could talk to the people you volunteer for, ask them about what type of paid positions are available and who to contact. plus, you can use your contact person at the place you volunteer as a reference.

good luck!

wheezie

hi everyone...im a newy at this chat. im only 23 and just got diagnosed. started medication yesterday and dont like the side affects....:( but im not working right now i wanna get back to doing reception...anyone know how long you should wait b4 getting back to work??

i think it all depends on how well you are feeling. it's a really subjective question! through trial and error you'll find a combination learning skills to manage your ADD and/or medications to treat the symptoms. how long that will take varies greatly from individual to individual. i think that the question you're asking relects a feeling of still bing overwhelmed by the prospect of finding a job/working, but, you're probably anxious to start feeling good enough to handle working again. all i can advise is patience. when you find the right combination, the pieces will fall into palce and you'll *know* you're ready to look for another reception job.

good luck and welcome to ADDF. :)

wheezie

Thanks wheezie I will try that, I guess the pay would not be a big deal to me, I am lucky my husband has a good job that pays well, so if i took a huge pay cut it would not be that big of deal. It is very hard to find that niche in your life I feel kind of out of place because shouldn't I already know?

hi everyone,

thanx for the advise who gave it to me :) i really wannna get out of the house soon!!!
lol! how do u all control the need to go out and do things ie : get milk from shop even if u dont need it at that very moment! i find it hard, getting bit better with the med.
take care

Joyous, that is so funny. Wow I am a definite goober i neverheard of a trophy wife before. Probably cause they ain't none in Maine. But if it means staying home or doing whatever you want all day and still have plenty of money(how about enough to pay the bills, I am not greedy) I am all for it. I do take care of Handicapped adults, severely mentally retarded and wheelchair bound. On a bad add day, I think they should take care of me. I am kidding, don't mean to sound crass. The job certainly is not intellectual, but i do keep moving all day. I also have the best intent for the people i take care of.

Joyous, that is so funny. Wow I am a definite goober i neverheard of a trophy wife before. Probably cause they ain't none in Maine.
Well, heck. In Maine, being a trophy wife probably amounts to being something that could be stuffed, mounted, and put on the wall.

You gotta hang around in places like Freeport, or Biddeford, or any of the places where the rich folk hang out.

THEY will know what a trophy wife is!!

I am a scientist.

This is my first post here. I know that's not relevant, but it will be the only time I can say it.

For 10 years I worked in an office as a secretary. Being the first one to answer the phone and open the mail, I was usually able to catch one of my screw ups before anyone else did. I was afraid to miss a day of work because when I came back, I was always "told" about something that had slipped through the cracks. Everybody thought I had a good work ethic. I was just paranoid.

Hotel/Restaurant Evaluator ("Secret Shopper"). This was good because the cost of the meal/stay would be reimbursed; bad because there are a lot of details you have to observe and record. Times, names, etc. Would panic over forgetting things.

I then worked as a Data Conversion Operator for the US Postal Service. How I did this for 7 years, I will never know. I would sit in front of a computer screen reading "images" of the mail and typing in the city, state, zip code, etc. We were allowed a 5 minute break every hour and there were times that I thought I was going to jump out of my skin because I had to sit so still. No talking was allowed. Thank God for headsets and books on tape/music to keep me amused. We had to keep our error rate at 2% and that was tough for me. I was either spacing out and making mistakes or sleeping. I can type and sleep at the same time. I apologize to all of you whom didn't receive the correct mail between 1995-2003, lol.

After that, I sold manufactured housing (mobile homes). That was different enough to keep me from getting bored and I did get to drive around to our different communities so I wasn't stuck in an office all day. I'm just not comfy selling.

I went from there to selling cars which was a big mistake. 12 hours a day of making phone calls to people that don't pick up the phone and trolling the parking lots. Boring. Boring. But if you can manage to sell cars, you can make real good money. I worked with people that made $5-6,000/month and this is a "depressed" area.

Then I had two paper routes. One was a motor route and I delivered the morning paper from 3a to 6a. Could listen to the radio and drive (which I find very relaxing)but I would get daydreaming and drive past the box I was to deliver to and catch heck from my supervisor the next day. I had to collect money too so there was too much paper work for me. I still have a check that I never cashed from over a year ago. I'll get around the sending it back to the owner one of these days. The other route was walking. Didn't make much money, but my kids could come with me and I lost weight. Didn't miss any houses because, they were with me to remind me and I was walking so I was more alert.

Church Secretary - the people get mad at me because I put the wrong numbers for the hymns in the weekly bulletin.

My favorite job is Roadie/Light Girl in a classic rock cover band. We play at different places every weekend. The music soothes me and I can dance around. I have something to do with myself by pushing the buttons and looking at the pretty lights. I have lots of energy so I can get the band "up" and the crowd motivated. An added bonus is that the band understands me. The lead guitar player is ADD himself, but functions pretty well and when I get confused about something, he knows what that look on my face means and helps me out and never criticizes. Also, being in a band has perks like free food and drinks sometimes. It's all good.

Sorry for the length, but I've worked lots of places. Hopes this helps somebody.

I'm coming to a realization--maybe we could prevent the job hop all the time if we did other stuff outside of work....I know that many times, it's not practical, especially with time restraints and commitments.....but for the first time, I have a job that's not project based, but one of those stable-work-for-many-years type job. And though I love it, I'm a bit apprehensive of staying in one place for so long.....

I'm passionate about a lot of stuff, and I'm going to try very hard to get involved with projects outside of work that can supplement the need to do different, interesting things... since I just moved to this new place, I'm justtrying to settle, but maybe the perfect job would be something you like, but recognizing that you might need to find other sources to occupy your brain... I don't know... now I'm just rambling...we'll see how it works out

I'm coming to a realization--maybe we could prevent the job hop all the time if we did other stuff outside of work....I know that many times, it's not practical, especially with time restraints and commitments.....but for the first time, I have a job that's not project based, but one of those stable-work-for-many-years type job. And though I love it, I'm a bit apprehensive of staying in one place for so long.....

I'm passionate about a lot of stuff, and I'm going to try very hard to get involved with projects outside of work that can supplement the need to do different, interesting things... since I just moved to this new place, I'm justtrying to settle, but maybe the perfect job would be something you like, but recognizing that you might need to find other sources to occupy your brain... I don't know... now I'm just rambling...we'll see how it works out

I was a journalism major in college and am now a radio news reporter for a local AM station. It's great for ADDers who don't like to spend a lot of time at one thing. I spend 5 minutes or less interviewing people on the phone, work up a few short soundbites and write a few short stories around the interview and Boom it's done - move on to the next thing. My newscasts are 3 minutes long. Boom they're done. My only problem with it is that I'm REALLY bored when it's a slow news day!!

It's just a part-time job; I have two other part-time jobs so each day is a little different. I was just diagnosed about 6 weeks ago so this all makes so much sense to me as to why I do the types of jobs I do.

By the way, being a scientist in an academic setting is good for me - I can set my own hours, choose what I want to work on, and have as many different projects as I want (allows me to jump around different topics). Overall, it's a great career for a disorganized nerd like me.

I would love that kind of job being a scientist, but I have no education for that, and not for alot for that matter. I really disliked school probably because I could never get anywhere or any help at that time, because I had no idea hat was wrong with me, it is scarey to think about going to back to school, but I have to to get a different job.

I have tried many things also. I majored in education but I really didn't have the patience and focus to teach a class room full of kids. I get stressed very easily. So after about 6 other things I decided to become a Yoga instructor and possibly a massage therepist. Quiet things where my mind can just be at peace. Even secretary stuff stresses me out. If I have more than one thing to focus on I just freak out. I feel opposite of what most people said and I really am not sure what my diagnosis is right now. I do know that it's been extremely difficult for me having three children. I've about given up. This is what has lead me to get a job. I've been at home for almost 8 years and have tried some different things but right now home is driving me nuts, we need the money, and Yoga has done wonders for me so I feel like it would be great to be able to pass that on to others.

I've been through a barrage of crappy jobs (temp, receptionist, grocery bagger, cashier, dishwasher, telemarketer, etc., etc.) while still struggling through school. Now, I'm 26, have been out of school for a few years, have a BA in History after about seven or eight major changes and a super-duper summer after senior year, and have floundered around substitute-teaching, temping some more, and finally landing my current (a year and three months!) job, as a part-time piano teacher. I'm already getting fidgety and disgruntled, and desperately need stability and an independent living. I keep telling myself that 2006 *must* be the Year of the Good Job! I hope I'm right.

I was an airline reservationist. It was a job that I did very well on. Although it is very structured, two 10 minute breaks, and a 30 minute lunch a day, the repetition was such that it didn't take a lot of "thinking". One call at a time. Didn't matter if there were 200 calls on hold, because you can only do one at a time, and it is completely finished before going on to the next one. Plus, when you can't stand it any more, you could travel. I managed two trips to Hawaii, and three trips to England every year.


I'm a 1st Level IT Anayst. Have been doing this work for about 10 years now. Most people use this as their first step on the ladder up but I find that it suits me for the following reasons:



It's fast paced
It [generally] has a quick resolution
It's a type of transaction in - transaction out - Finished!
Over the phone, I am confident - In front of people I find I'm distracted by trying to read body-language etc etc.
As an Approval-Junkie, it gives me instant rewards

Although I was interested in "specialising", I just found that I would go off on a tangent and found it difficult to stay focussed on the one thing.

I'm 40 and have never found it that elusive "right job".

I also like the idea of Trophy Wife or like Nufsed, working with a band! OR, I could be a groupie....which might then lead to being the trophy wife of a hot rock star! LOL!

I took Joseph Campbell's advice, "Follow your bliss." With no obstacles, what would I truly want to be doing. Once I figured that out I could have smacked my head...I think I really did...and I'm persuing it. Slowly. But it's there.

I vacillate between thinking I am only suited to be either the Queen of a small country or a "picker of the bad oranges" off a conveyor belt, depending on the swing of my mood:)

I'm 51 and I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up! I'm looking for work now. I had been in retail sales for many years. Then I worked as a data processor (supervised 14 people) for 18 years. I then left to take care of my elderly mom until she passed away. I worked at a bank for 3 months, but just gave notice yesterday. I just didn't get it!

I don't know where to start!

ps
there was a period when I was at home; kind of like the ghetto version of a trophy wife, since income was limited. I hated it! I guess I need a little structure and challenge to survive.

I'm still trying to make teaching more ADHD friendly for me, getting better...

Hello all, I'm a newbie here! Wow, what a great place this is.
Soooo... jobs, well I've had many and have had a few at the same time even. Not in any particular order I've been a receptionist, mailroom clerk, microfiche copier, waitress, nanny, cashier, retail salesgirl, drycleaning/laundry attendent, montisorri teachers assitant (AKA glorified booty wiper), and massage therapist. Most of those jobs I couldn't hold on to for more than 3 months at a time untill I got on meds. I also tried to go to college off and on and it was then at my third try when I KNEW what I wanted to be and still as hard as I tried could not focus or sit still in class that I got a grip on this ADD AD/HD thing.
I've been working on a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I'm almost done with my pre-req's with an excellent GPA, although I'm retaking a couple of classes that I took before I was on meds. Nursing fits me for so many reasons. There is flexabiliy in hours, a vast variety of departments and specilties to work in, I get to help people, and I don't have to sit in a cubicle farm and shrivel up under the florescent lighting. I'm really excited to start a nursing program. I'm a tactile learner so I know I will excell in clinicals. There's such a need for nurses, it's great to know that I will have a job right out of school. School is hard and competitive because the lack of nursing professors thus a lack of space in programs but I love the challenge. If you have an apptitude for science, anything in the medical field is great. Good Luck!

P.S. It would be a great way to meet cute Dr.'s, maybe being a trophy wife IS in your future!:p

working in a group home. That's what I do. Every 30 minutes I'm doing something different. I'm cooking, then I'm walking around a store, then I'm dispensing meds, then I'm working in the garden, then I'm driving the van, then I'm doing paperwork, then I'm watching a movie, then I'm assisting with personal care, then I'm doing grocery shopping, then I'm walking around a flea market, then I'm shooting hoops, and on and on.
I tried sitting in an office all day, couldn't do it. :faint:

The general concensus seems to be variety.
So we like a job that has variety or several interesting part-time jobs.

We seem to like to:-have some flexibility of hours
-have a variety of tasks
-have tasks that can be completed
-be able to check our work
-be helping people or working with people in some way
-be able to change our job description to suite us
-be able to move around at will; not stay in one place
-be able to control our environment (quiet or noisy) to suite

Seem about right? My job has many of these, plus I have bosses that listen. That is really nice.

My boss and I both have ADHD,, I am inattentive and she is hyperactive and guess what ,,, we love our job!!!!!! I work at Curves Fitness Center. I work out for a while,,, I make calls for a while,,,, work out some more,,,,, file some stuff,,,,, run around acting goofy for a while ,,,,, then just chat with the women working out. It has been a lifesaver,,,, never in my life have I ever thought I would work somewhere I considered my own personal playground. Not to mention my waiste, butt, thighs and arms are shrinking wooooo hooooo lol.

I truly believe that having your own biz is a great pursuit for an add person. I started my own personal chef service, and I actually feel fulfilled with my work, for the first time ever.

I think whatever you do, its important to be busy and stimulated the whole time. I actually did the insurance thing in the past too. I thought I would go crazy. Follow your passions! ;)

I am a chef as well! I love what I do. Everyday is different, I can wonder when I get bored and such. Its great, there are enough people to talk to and things to do that I hardly ever get bored. However, it did take me 4.5 hours to make one soup today! That is a prob!!