Good jobs for someone with ADHD.

qwertyK

I just lost my full time job of 2 montrhs at a freight company. Doing the job has made me aware I may have ADHD as I have had difficulty retaining information and have struggled with this a lot, bringing me into conflict with the person who was supposed to be training me. I was given a choice: resign now, or wait to be dismissed following a meeting the next day, so i walked.

Now I'm back on the dole, and I have no idea what to do. I'm an intelligent guy, I have three A levels, one of them An A* in sociology, the others were A in History and A in English Language. I never really wanted to do an office job and given my experience of this one i don't think it is right for me, it's probably the worst kind of job for a person with ADHD. I also am autistic.

I was going to join the police, but would have failed the medical because I'm on antidepressants. I got as far as the medical and then I had a mental health crisis so I pulled out. It's even less likely I'll be successful this time.

I applied to the fire dept before the police and failed on their psychometric tests., And that was one of the few brigades that were hiring, most seem to have put their recruitment on hold for years. I was at uni for about a month and left due to illness, but i also struggled with the work and got very easily bored and procrastinated a lot.

Now I have no idea what to do. I've worked in retail before and hated it and walked out of one job after a week. I also made mistakes in the other retail job, and I generally don't like that sort of job. I'm very gifted with words in writing and speaking, and I have looked at apprenticeships for things like the BBC, btu they're so hard to get, especially if you're a straight, white male who comes from a upper working class/lower middle class background. Positive discrimination seems to be the order of the day (I'm guessing this is the case because they asked me questions like were i eligble for FSM, did one of my parents have a degree etc). I'm automatically ineligible for the armed forces because of my Autism and my mental health issues, not that I'd particuarly want to do that anyway. The only kind of job that springs to mind other than the police right now is some kind of pastroal job n a school. I did apply for one the other day and got invited to an interview but I turned it down because right now I think I could benefit from more volunteering at schools etc and when they asked me for the interview I still had a job.

I'm really at a loss, it's getting me down, even if I want to go to uni I've got to wait a year now to start. I seem to struggle with regular employment yet the jobs I would most likely thrive in don't want me because of my medical history.

Things I like/don't like
1) I take a holistic approach. I don't like small details and tend to struggle on this
2) I like a job that has variety and doesn't involve doing the same thing day in, day out
3) I like a job where I can use my skills (such as writing)
4) I like a job where I can go to different places, and not just stay at a desk all day
5) My organisational skills (currently) are pretty poor, it's very difficult to be honest about this because almost every job says you have to have good organisational skills, but if you have ADHD you naturally willl struggle with this. Same with "teamwork" - autistic people would struggle with this.

Starting my own business has occured to me. I'm pretty good at IT and set up a business before fixing people's computers as a sideline and although it was only ocassionally I'd get called out, I could make hundreds of pounds for a few hours work. I'm also interested in development, urban renewal that sort of thing, and have made a few contacts but it's not an easy thing to be successful in especially at the moment

littlegreenparrot

Its difficult to make tailored suggestions without knowing what you social skills are like. Going to assume your fairly confident dealing with people if you have considered the police and working in school. 

What other skills do you have? not sure about any job involving writing that isn't going to involve sitting at a desk. Also what kind of writing? Factual reports? Analysis? Fiction?

Sounds like you need things that involve variety and movement. So hand skills - engineering, carpentry, building, plumbing, etc most of these would involve an apprenticeship. 
Computers - programming, coding
Don't know if it would be to repetitive, but lorry driving/delivery driving gets you out and about. 

Don't dismiss university, if there is something you want to do you can do a lot of related work experience between now and next September. Some courses will also allow a late start if you find something in the next couple of months - its at least worth asking the question. 

Don't lose heart, it took me a long time to find a job that I liked and felt like I got on well with. 
Its not ideal but you won't be the first person to have a job to pay the bills while you figure out what you want to do and try to make that happen.   

qwertyK

littlegreenparrot said:

Its difficult to make tailored suggestions without knowing what you social skills are like. Going to assume your fairly confident dealing with people if you have considered the police and working in school. 

What other skills do you have? not sure about any job involving writing that isn't going to involve sitting at a desk. Also what kind of writing? Factual reports? Analysis? Fiction?

Sounds like you need things that involve variety and movement. So hand skills - engineering, carpentry, building, plumbing, etc most of these would involve an apprenticeship. 
Computers - programming, coding
Don't know if it would be to repetitive, but lorry driving/delivery driving gets you out and about. 

Don't dismiss university, if there is something you want to do you can do a lot of related work experience between now and next September. Some courses will also allow a late start if you find something in the next couple of months - its at least worth asking the question. 

Don't lose heart, it took me a long time to find a job that I liked and felt like I got on well with. 
Its not ideal but you won't be the first person to have a job to pay the bills while you figure out what you want to do and try to make that happen.   

I'm pretty confident but my social skills played a part in me being told I was going to be fired. Apparently my "body language is rude" - like I slouch or walk away from people when they talk to me (but am not aware of this).

I never liked programming because it involves sitting at a desk all day, I find it very complicated and boring, also a lot of maths based and I struggled with maths a lot at school, initally they thought i was dyscalculic but I went onto get good results in maths and I am pretty good when it comes to doing sums quickly. 

comeandgo

There are not many people who manage to get a job that ticks all the boxes of what they like, most need to work to earn money, you may have to compromise somewhat.

lincroft1710

What exactly are your "writing skills"?

qwertyK

lincroft1710 said:

What exactly are your "writing skills"?

I got an A* in English language, I have written two novels too. 

qwertyK

comeandgo said:

There are not many people who manage to get a job that ticks all the boxes of what they like, most need to work to earn money, you may have to compromise somewhat.

comeandgo said:

There are not many people who manage to get a job that ticks all the boxes of what they like, most need to work to earn money, you may have to compromise somewhat.

Of course, but I don't want a job which I am going to be fundamentally incompatible with due to my ADHD. I'm going through the diagnosis process and hopefully at the end of it i'll get medicated which may help to varying degrees. But the skills most jobs want you to have I fundamentally lack because of my autism and ADHD. 

theoretica

With an interest in journalism, I wonder if marketing or digital media manager would appeal?

Savvy_Sue

qwertyK said:

I'm really at a loss, it's getting me down, even if I want to go to uni I've got to wait a year now to start. 

Why? If there was something you wanted to do - and I'm not saying you should - can you not apply through Clearing? Google says you can. 

If you're potentially interested in working in a school, why not see if there are any holiday clubs or playschemes recruiting near you? That would only be temporary, but would give you more experience, and might lead to part-time work in an afterschool / breakfast club in September. 

littlegreenparrot

qwertyK said:

littlegreenparrot said:

Its difficult to make tailored suggestions without knowing what you social skills are like. Going to assume your fairly confident dealing with people if you have considered the police and working in school. 

What other skills do you have? not sure about any job involving writing that isn't going to involve sitting at a desk. Also what kind of writing? Factual reports? Analysis? Fiction?

Sounds like you need things that involve variety and movement. So hand skills - engineering, carpentry, building, plumbing, etc most of these would involve an apprenticeship. 
Computers - programming, coding
Don't know if it would be to repetitive, but lorry driving/delivery driving gets you out and about. 

Don't dismiss university, if there is something you want to do you can do a lot of related work experience between now and next September. Some courses will also allow a late start if you find something in the next couple of months - its at least worth asking the question. 

Don't lose heart, it took me a long time to find a job that I liked and felt like I got on well with. 
Its not ideal but you won't be the first person to have a job to pay the bills while you figure out what you want to do and try to make that happen.   

I'm pretty confident but my social skills played a part in me being told I was going to be fired. Apparently my "body language is rude" - like I slouch or walk away from people when they talk to me (but am not aware of this).

I never liked programming because it involves sitting at a desk all day, I find it very complicated and boring, also a lot of maths based and I struggled with maths a lot at school, initally they thought i was dyscalculic but I went onto get good results in maths and I am pretty good when it comes to doing sums quickly. 

Ok, so scratch the programming. What about the other suggestions that do not involve desk work?  

You have mentioned working with children/young people. What about outdoor pursuits? Being an instructor? Seeing if the local scouts or the like need some volunteers? 

Regarding the social skills, I was thinking more of your confidence in dealing with people, rather than how you are perceived. You mentioned autism and many autistic people would not put themselves in a position to deal with the public at all because they wouldn't like it. I know every case is different though so was just trying to work out how that fits for you.

University, what course would you like to do? Where would you go ideally? Have you worked out of you would be entitled to funding? 

I am not expecting an answer to all these questions, I'm just trying to get you to think it through. You might find it helpful to write some lists or mind maps. Try to focus on what you can do, lots of this stuff can be learned even if you do struggle with it. 

YBR

I know a load of people who've traits like Autism, ADHD and possibly OCD that have found roles to thrive in in Engineering or the Railway industry. Definitely among Engineers (me included) there is more acceptance of those whose social skills leave something to be desired!

I was going to suggest Project management but that means being very organised.
Railway Maintenance, Installation or testing could have you outside and travelling over a potentially wide area but you have to work your way up past the routine bits to have the necessary experience for the interesting bits. Down-sides are working outside in any weather, lots of night-shifts and weekends.
I wonder about Systems Engineering for you, because it's a higher level of how systems and sub-systems interact and less the detailed bits for the sub-systems and components.
On the IT/Technology front, perhaps a hardware role - the sort that involves being a roving hands-on trouble-shooter for a company's clients?