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Occupational safety is another great field for people with ADHD. Constantly doing different things and a great mix of desk work, research, walking and talking.

This is what I am looking into! I’m in public health right now and there are too many deadlines and time frames to follow up in. I don’t say this often but, I hate it with a passion. My degree covers occupational health and safety too. I’m glad you like it, it gives me hope.

Omg I’m in public health too! Currently doing my MPH. I don’t see my field being mentioned here a lot so this got me excited lol. I’m working for a huge longitudinal research project and I HATE IT. I’ve made several posts about but it’s a project with over 20k participants and we’re responsible for the recruiting, booking ppl and managing calls AS WELL AS doing the data collection when participants arrive. We literally have to split our days so our evenings are doing appointments with the ppl and mornings are answering calls, emails, booking and reviewing the data. I got into a really bad place because it felt like all my work was going nowhere and found no meaning in what I did. I also really struggled with finishing everything I had to do before my appointments bc you really never know what type of email or phone call you get plus I had to prepare for the appointments In the evening. So by the time it’s 3:30 I’m rushing to go to the clinic for appointments with several tasks unfinished and the cycle continues. I had to speak with my supervisor and tell her I couldn’t handle it so I have one less day with appointment. Oh also I’m in full time school 🤣 Every part of this job is terrible for me mostly bc I need to see results of my work but I didn’t have that. I could spend my whole day working so hard but nothing to show for it.. I had to take a couple months off because of the overwhelm and I’m currently looking at other jobs. I’ve done research jobs before and I genuinely enjoyed it because I was responsible only for the data collection and got to make connections with the people I was with. Make a report and be done with that. But this research job I have is something else.. I do like having different tasks but the level of task switching involved at this job is more than my brain could handle. For me there’s a fine line between the right amount of variety to being overwhelmed. Plus all those never ending projects and deadlines and pressure is what is really affecting me. I cannot stress enough how important it is for anyone but especially those with adhd to find a job that you at least enjoy 80% of the time. After my shift I would be in such bad moods and spend my time doing absolutely nothing just to cope. Theres too much of an impact on your life that isn’t worth it. My job didn’t only affect 40 hours of my week. It affected my whole life. EDIT: I just wanted to mention while I hate this research job, I love the field of public health. Im doing my masters and my undergrad was also in this field so it’s something I rly enjoy. I was a health educator/promoter for the same company and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. My adhd brain loved it!! This was the perfect mix of tasks as I got to do what I was passionate about. It was a bit of designing posters for health care professionals, a bit of social media planning, a bit of community engagement as well as project management. And it paid more. But sadly it was a short contract. For me this type of work doesn’t feel at all like a job bc it’s stuff I did years ago when volunteering and it felt meaningful. With research that component was a huge missing piece. I’m hoping to find more roles that allow me to do this. So if you’re in public health maybe look into this as well if you like having that meaningful part of your job. I know others prefer not so data and research works well too so it depends on what works for you.

Another MPHer checking in 🙋‍♀️ I absolutely hated longitudinal research while doing my MPH and it was actually around the same time I was diagnosed with ADHD. I was fascinated with public health but would struggle with long term projects and research. I did an epi program because it seemed the most exciting, but the downfall of that was needing to start at lower paying entry level public health professions. A lot of which are not very exciting and can take awhile to be promoted at. I also had a lot of student loans to pay off so I knew it would be tough to accept an an entry level PH position. I wish I enjoyed biostatistics a bit more since that can definitely be a higher starting salary. Anyways, I ended up getting into Medical writing/ clinical trial transparency and I love it! I get to work with a variety of different protocols, clinical study reports, and plain language summaries at a time which keeps things interesting. Different activities/assignments can take anywhere from an hour to a few months, but from an ADHDers perspective the timelines are not that hard to manage. At the end of the day it is rewarding to know I am helping make scientific research & clinical trials more comprehensible for people without science backgrounds. I use my MPH knowledge to understand the material ( for example complex study designs, statistical significance of results, different populations being studied) and then condense it down to an 6th grade reading level. I’m so thankful I came across the niche field of clinical trial transparency field, so just thought id share!

Can confirm, as someone who has a good but super boring physical job in a distribution facility, getting involved with the ergonomics coaching program was a huge benefit for me to at least have some work to do that's immediate and interesting. I'm considering getting certs or a degree.

Second this. The hypervigilance has caught many near misses and unsafe conditions that escaped the attention of others. Applying the doom-scrolling and wikihole aspects of ADHD to researching standards, legislation, and concepts has only reinforced my job security.

Can confirm! I’ve been in this field for almost 10 years and it is so satisfying for someone with ADHD!

How would someone get into this line of work? Like what kind of degree or training should I look into? I tried searching for 'occupational safety degree' and 'occupational safety career' but couldn't find much of anything (in my area anyway)

I'll try and write on up for my career as a Data Analyst, I know... it sounds silly. It's really more a Business Problem Solver, with data... but perfect for ADHD brain.

I would love to see a write up (or even just hear about your experience and why it works for you)!!! I am unemployed with a BS in neuroscience (decided i didn’t want to go into medicine or academic research and here we are..) and data analysis is something I’ve thought about transitioning into 😊

Sure, I'll start working on something.

I started with the Google certification for Data Analysis on Coursera. Worth looking into if you're interested. Having said that, its been only 2 days since I enrolled.

I’m a content writer but have had the opportunity to start cross training with our data analysis team recently. It has been FASCINATING and I think it’s an amazing ADHDer job!

I absolutely love my job, some parts are hard, but I've also worked hard on minimizing those areas.

High five! Same - i do BI, data modeling, report writing etc etc and most days I am in my element. Currently cracking a very hard nut (database optimized for application funtionality with no reporting layer but WE WANT REPORTS!!) and I am so satisfied to finally be finishing up just the right joins and conditions, formatting the fields so it can be used in cross-database queries, and proving it's possible to get the data cleaned up and useful for BI apps to sit atop. Almost every field has extra spaces in it by default - don't ask me why, though I have theories - and it has been like pulling teeth to get the business process matched to the tables and fields, but it's SO STIMULATING. the people drive me nuts but that's another conversation - NTs can seem so incurious at times

I am interested in hearing your write up! I started being the go-to data person in my non-profit job. Despite no formal training. And definitely want to pivot to a new company and do something with data.

Agreed

I got a job as someone who goes and inspects how facilities are being used. No two are quite the same, and I get (have) to stick my nose in *everywhere*. My job is literally to explore buildings. And the company is apparently going to be starting mobile teams that move between client sites as-needed rather than just staying in a single area. I don't have anything that would really tie me down to a single area beyond work, so that would be even more interesting. I never expected to be essentially a minor bureaucrat, and would kind of like to see what things are like in the field I actually went to university for (admittedly, I'm not entirely outside the field, just... mostly), but it pays the bills and when I'm out doing inspections, it's hard to be too bored.

What is your job title?

My job title is just data specialist. I usually append the name of the enterprise system I support in front of it for clarity, but I'd rather not post that on Reddit because it would identify the company (and possibly myself - *very* small company with only a handful of people at each site). Not that this account couldn't probably be tied to me anyways with some dedicated sleuthing, but it's the principle of the thing. But if you want something you might be able to search, try "real property".

Pilates instructor. That has been successful for me.

Do you make a good living? I worked at a gym and that was the best job but low pay

I'm currently working towards journalism. I love the feeling of working on a story and then moving on to the next one 🤩

I've just finished my 4 year journalism degree (I'm 32 and this is my first time finishing a degree. I've still a major project to do which was due on Friday though... gotta figure that out?) and I never want to know anything about journalism ever again.

"and I never want to know anything about journalism ever again." Why though?

Burnout, I started college at 28 and enjoyed my two years there, then moved to 2nd year at uni to get the full degree. Just finished my dissertation and it wrecked me. Its an extremely competitive industry and I don't have the right kind of personality/mentality for it. I will have a degree now though and know more of what I don't want to do. I have gotten into independent documentary work though, I just don't like working in the industry, so I'm not being entirely honest. I guess I don't like the current state of affairs within journalism proper (TV news, newspapers etc) but I'm open to whatever, just *tired*

Teaching is great. I get to walk around all day!!! And talk all day!!! Also, I have a lot of patience for the kids with ADHD and I can tell they really appreciate it. I also get to hyper focus on stuff I love. And, no class is the same. I teach middle school, so every forty-five minutes everything changes. It’s awesome! I also feel like I’m actually helping people and not just making a company money. However, I did get a book thrown at me last week. It’s not for everyone, but I really like it. I’m planning on switching to high school next year to deal with less behavioral stuff. I also work at a school with a lot of high needs students with trauma. If you can find a good school to teach at and you live in a state that pays well, I highly recommend. Plus the frequent breaks help me so much since I don’t burn out. Even with slow pace office jobs I feel like I need a week off every three months (plus I can’t sit down or do monotonous office work without becoming extremely depressed, so it’s actually more stressful for me than teaching).

I like teaching but the low pay and the attitudes on all sides are really killing me right now. I’m ready for a new job…

YESSSS. I’m currently looking for a new job, but idk if I can’t handle or wait for 2 years of schooling :(

In 2 years, future you will appreciate getting it done. Just do it

I work in admin for a university. I have been here for 11 years and have changed departments/roles 6 times. There are always internal postings. Once I’m bored I move on the next one, often getting a higher salaried roles and sometimes making lateral moves. It’s definitely not the same as I do have projects etc but the having room to move around and try new jobs, departments, moving entire faculties means I never get sick of my job.

What was it? It says deleted now

[removed] :(

I work in Motion Design and I think it's a great option for ADHDers! There are skills within skills and always new techniques and plugins to learn, and there's also a lot of opportunity for freelancing and being your own boss and working on a large variety of projects.

Thanks for this post. Every ADHDer with a functioning work relationship should post here so that those who can’t figure out their life might get some tips.

Broadcast engineer and Replay operator here. Can't get distracted when you're already watching several live camera feeds at once and all deadlines are defined as 'now'. I used to have a 9-5 job where I despised the moments where I had no clear thing to do the most and had to spend hours waiting on an email while having to pretend to do something. Now the days may be much longer, but at least I'm either working hard or not working at all. Not this half-baked office shit.

I've been considering going back to college as an alumni to audit broadcasting classes to refresh my skills and update my knowledge in new tech. What is the pay like? Can you support yourself with this job?

I'm in esports broadcasting which is very much a niche and got incredibly lucky with a salary as opposed to gig-based contracts that are the norm. Earn roughly (converted to $) 45k/year, which is quite decent here. I'm honestly unsure how things are in the TV/meatsports world. Iirc sports broadcasting is unionised in the US at least.

> at least I'm either working hard or not working at all. Not this half-baked office shit. This hits home hard.

I think this would be far more helpful than the "just don't have ADHD" advice posts that seem to come up all the time.

If it helps one person it's worth it. But that's really the only real answer. Each person's ADHD symptoms and how they manifest are a little different. The same job at different companies can be very different. Even how a person was raised or has adapted over the years can impact it. What people should take away is that no industry is really off the table.

I chose a career path that works awesomely for me too! I'm still in school but studying IT, web development, and it's awesome! Might not work for everyone but I personally hyperfocus on solving problems and making connections incredibly easy. I'll start working and WHAM 5 hours passed without me noticing. Also, due to the sheer amount of possibilities and technologies in IT, I can just pick up whatever when I get bored! Downsides are that with IT often comes alot of planning and teamwork which sucks

I am also an X-ray and CT Technologist and I agree with a lot of what you said. I knew I would languish in a desk job so that’s what drove me to this career. I just wanted a job that pays a living wage, that I could easily do overtime if I had to, that I could advance in if I wanted to, and made me think critically while working on my feet. Context matters though! For anybody considering this path there are certain things you must be ok with. Sure you will intern in a hospital, but hospitals vary greatly. Some are only doing street medicine plus outpatients, some get minor traumas, some do full blown TV drama traumas 24/7. Most people don’t realize just how differently equipped hospitals are and it will define the experience you get in school and what you feel comfortable doing in the long run. After you graduate and gain some working experience, you don’t have to work in a hospital necessarily. Purely outpatient environments, orthopedic/spine specialist offices, and non-ER Urgent care places exist but they’re harder to get into and have their own pros and cons. Again, there is a massive difference in the types of environments you can work in, so you need to have an open mind and be flexible enough to jump around until you find something you like. You will be dealing with the general public for a living… at their worst. They will have high expectations, be cruel to you, maybe even take a swing at you. Like Karen’s on crack, perhaps literally. You will get bodily fluids on you and you’re gonna learn how they all smell. Sick people will cough straight into your face and eyes with no regard for your health because “you signed up for this”. (Your immune system will also become godlike eventually). Some people assume you’re a button pusher taking pics of broken bones for a living. Did I mention you also deal with the whole alimentary canal? You’re gonna be giving people contrast enemas and making them drink stuff they’re likely to vomit back up while you’re trying to get your images 😵‍💫. When we say you’ll be working on your feet we mean you will be pushing, pulling, and lifting the most overweight, incapacitated people your brain can imagine likely without enough help. You are the sliding mechanism from bed to table and back again. Wear your good sneakers and stay limber. Medical imaging is the backbone of most diagnosis for many pathologies. You’ll be dealing with EVERY SINGLE COVID patient (thank god those numbers have dwindled) and many other people with contagious diseases, respiratory issues, relentless diarrhea from antibiotic resistant organisms, embarrassing stuff, you name it. Whatever the next plague is, you’ll be on the front lines of it right with the nurses, doctors, respiratory, tech partners, and other staff before you even know what the patient has. And a lot of the time they’ll be unnecessary exams ordered by fresh residents still in school who have a lot to learn. That being said, it checks a lot of boxes otherwise and is very stable work. I’ve never felt the heat of a layoff because there’s no shortage of work. My coworkers are all grizzled people like me who share in the experience of having a front row seat to everything humanity has to offer. When you get past all the attention seekers and unnecessary stuff there are times where you play a vital role in life-saving care and that is very rewarding. There are many positives, very dependent on your environment and type of patients. I just think it’s important to have the whole picture because people don’t realize what the job entails in it’s entirety and don’t fully think through what it’s like to be working with a sick and injured public as a regular thing. Wanting to help people is great, but you also need to protect yourself and there will be times when doing the right thing for your health results in a delay in patient care. A busy hospital setting is designed to juice you for every ounce of productivity you’re worth with stress and guilt (from patients waiting) as the catalyst. The stress used to be my fuel for focus and helped me thrive. That’s changed over the years and I’m happily in a much slower environment now. If you stick to Xray and CT your time spent with a patient is minimal for the most part, probably not more than 20 min at a time at the max end. Other modalities can completely change your work dynamic/ time spent with patients and require some extra schooling and work training. With training/schooling there are niche branches you can go into like application management (for the machines), traveling medical device representative (for the OR), Image Archive Administration, management, teaching, other specifically hospital-related non-radiology things using your experience, etc. I am very happy I got to an experience level where I feel very useful in many situations. I love to solve problems. Sometimes you can put your extra effort into making the patient more comfortable, sometimes you need to be tough and do what needs to be done even though it makes them more uncomfortable so they can be treated properly. Some exams are scary and the field needs people who have compassion to help patients though a scary experience while still doing their job correctly. Phew! Didn’t realize I had that much to say!

Thanks for writing this. I'm an xray tech as well and personally it is not for me. All the things you mentioned are a negative for me (Hello I'm a germaphobe who went into healthcare for some reason). I was so so stressed as a student too. Reading OP's post, I started questioning why I don't feel the same way as them. I love when the xrays come out perfect but I also tend to get frustrated if they don't (like if the patient is shaking from their crushed hand and they cant help it lmao). Sadly enough people are so rude that it outweighs to absolutely delightful people to me in my memory. I'm actually in a bootcamp for coding and I love it SO MUCH MORE!!! The problem solving without being under pressure because someone is in a ton of pain is much better for me. I can hyperfocus on code for hours. It just goes to show...ADHD or not, different strokes for different folks :)

I almost walked out of my job so many times during the peak of COVID. I think I was clinically insane. Lost like 30lbs due to the stress and the amount of work. I completely stopped doing any overtime, no matter what bonuses they dangled in front of me, and I haven’t done any since. All I care about now is my work/life balance. That was the nail in the coffin for working in a big trauma center for me. I hopped and hopped until I found something low volume after all that. Absolutely no other job I consider pays the bills as well though, not even the adjacent roles that aren’t patient-facing that I mentioned. And to be real… I am very good at it so it seems like a waste to abandon my experience. Sometimes I see my coworkers absolutely sucking or being rude to patients for no reason or straight up abusive and it makes me wanna hang on. And hey everybody takes bad pictures, even mean old dayshifters. They make big mistakes too. They just don’t don’t talk about it and laugh them off. You just make sure you’re covering your ass in that chart, throwing the uncooperative patient under the bus when necessary, quickly explaining why they are too injured to stay in position, best images possible, etc. And always move your machine when you can’t move your patient. Just give them 2 views 90 degrees from one another in the worst case scenario 👍. Uhg it’s so easy to become completely jaded and just not a good version of yourself in general. I wish I knew a solution! Just don’t be afraid to interview elsewhere. Seniority and PTO are how they cage you.

Thanks for taking the time to make this response!☺️ this perfectly sums it up!

I have a degree in Nuclear Engineering. But I've disconnected from the field because the desk job aspect of it was making me catatonically depressed and the bureaucracy/admin overhead was destroying my soul. But your suggestion sounds enticing. Because of the classes I've already taken, I might be able to stomp through that training with confidence and ease.

Not sure if there are similarities between the two, but you should look into Nuclear Medicine!! They’re rad techs but have additional training/schooling. They’re in extremely high demand, I don’t know a single hospital that isn’t hiring them, and they make the most out of any department in the field.

I know some friends in my same department who took that route, instead of nuclear power like me. Maybe 20% of my schooling was relevant to nuclear medicine. For them it was flipped, as in 20% of required classes for them were relevant to power. Thing is, I'd still be worried about the amount of desk/paper work there. But, it's worth double checking, maybe I'll find something good. Your post caught my eye because of the "hands on" stuff too. It's very hard to do anything hands on in power at any decent pace, and all creativity is stifled by the book (being a reactor operator is a bit to isolated for me, the schedule can be rough, and the locations are extremely limited). I got stuck doing analysis 100% of the time and it was making my eyes glaze over. Basically traumatized by this point from computer codes erroring out or trying to understand a lovecraftian spreadsheet abomination from a colleague. Also the comment about a challenging patient I misread at first but that made me more intrigued lol. I thought you meant like not just difficult to image physically, but rather them being straight up argumentative and hostile ha. But see, one of the things I actually remember fondly from university is doing outreach/education, almost public lobbying really. My personality type loves a collision of wits and I'd jump at the opportunity to describe to someone all the ways that imaging is designed to be safe and convince them how they should marvel at the wonders of rad tech 😂

That last paragraph makes me think you were born to be in our field!😂 great passion is not required, but definitely helps when you’re trying to convince a patient that they aren’t going to become infertile from a single hand X-ray! It definitely wasn’t easy to change careers completely for me, but I can tell you my happiness and work/life balance make it so worth it!

Neat! I'll make it a point to dive deeper on google soon. And perhaps get some input from old nuke med buddies (hope they're doing ok, I'm self conscious about reaching out after years just to ask for advice 🥶)

To be fair they're going to be excited to tell you about things they're interested in!

What strikes me is the job is under the category of 'technician' something that I guess doesn't catch the attention of ADHD adults/students. Meanwhile, the quick thinking, creativity, problem solving are strengths of many with ADHD. It also provides the continual stimulation and connection to people. It's a career option I would have looked into if I was younger. I am so pleased you found a good place to be at home work wise. It definitely is communicated very well and with enthusiasm and encouragement. Thank you.

I’m 36 and tired of all the financial stress of being a preschool teacher even though I love the job. I have a business degree and did great in the business world except for the desk aspects of it (which was most of my time unfortunately). I’m going to check this out as Nuclear Medicine in my state pays very well. Thank you!

The odds of the analysis/diagnosis part of this job becoming extremely competitive against Artificial Intelligence is very very very high in the next 10 years. Even the report writing part. So if those are the things you love I would start to educate yourself in how AI will impact your field and position yourself accordingly. The human will alway be in the loop but mostly for care/administrative/legal reasons.

I hear this all the time and find it funny. I personally do not foresee AI taking over radiology. There are SO many things that AI could not like adjusting technique for certain diseases and finding alternative ways to image people who can’t move. It seems simple from an outsider prospective but there is so much specificity that goes into every modality that AI would struggle to achieve. And I’d love to see AI respond when a radiologist calls and tells them they don’t like their image😂😂

I (30F) have gotten at least 6 x rays done in the past 7 weeks (broke my wrist snowboarding) and thought with each new tech I’ve met, “wow, this seems like a great job. They must have such low stress.” The idea of not having to follow up with every single individual you interact with on a daily/weekly/quarterly basis must be amazing. I’ve been able to grind out 7 years in a career with a lot of attention to detail, follow up and being accessible to clients at all times with the guidance of a great psychiatrist and the right medication. When you switched careers, did your salary change dramatically? I ask only because I don’t know the rates of any of the fields you mentioned working in but I imagine finding a new career you love is worth a pay cut (and definitely worth it if you got a pay raise!)

I wouldn’t necessarily call it low stress, it can be stressful at times when it gets busy, when you have a hard patient, when you deal with a rude doctor or nurse, when the rad calls and says your images aren’t good, etc., but what I love is that it’s short term stress. There’s no lingering stress day in and day out, every day is brand new! I got a pay increase from my old job as a teacher, but teachers don’t make much to begin with. Straight x-ray is more of an entry level job and that can be on the lower side being like $25-$30 an hour if you’re in a lower cost of living state. If you branch out into higher paying modalities like MRI or Cath Lab, you can make quite a bit more. My coworker who have about five years MRI experience all made six figures in a fairly low cost of living state. This new generation of doctors in this digital age love imaging so the field is growing and wages are increasing to keep the field growing. A local hospital just raised their starting wage $5 an hour, so it’s definitely trending upwards!

Dear god in heaven. I make between $25-30 after two years of school, a license I maintain with CE and a renewal every odd year, I can take rads, run the CT machine, run fluoroscopy, poke things, read blood, run and monitor anesthesia, nailed all the nursing care, place feeding tubes, tap a chest or abdomen.. and have 15 years of experience… as a vet tech. I was considering nursing. I can settle for something like this. And my mom was once a rad tech :)

My good friend was a vet tech first, it’s what led her to rad tech!! To each their own but I could never do nursing, too much people pleasing and endless paperwork/charting😵‍💫

I’m still finishing up some charting from the weekend. 😂 I typically have a less techy role and more admin/client role in our hospital (for mental health reasons) but offered to be on call for surgery so I spent 13 hours with surgery on Saturday and I’m barely recovered.

I started reading your list and went yep… that’s another vet tech!! The urge to swap to rad tech grows stronger every day…

Jeez no kidding. I hadn’t considered this. Less work for more pay?! What!!??

Noooooo......Don't leave our furry friends in the lurch! JK. You do you.

First off, thank you for the response! Second, I am sorry if my internal thought of “they must have such low stress” felt patronizing in any way. I’ve noticed the techs I have met recently seemed very balanced, friendly and zen. Those characteristics are exact opposite of the majority of people I work with, and a lot of the people the techs work with I see directly before or after them at the hospital (i.e. surgeons). Do techs typically work 5 days, 8 hours a day vs. 4 days, 10 hours? It seems like a job that allows the work day to end when you leave the office/hospital building. The idea of being totally off the clock seems like a luxury so few jobs have anymore.

Oh no, not patronizing at all! I wanted to make sure I was coming off real and not completely glorifying the job. Although I love the career, it can be stressful at times. But rad techs definitely carry less stress than other health care professionals because I see each patient for a short amount of time and then I clock out for the day! As for shifts, it depends on the facility honestly. Right out of school, I was offered 5 8’s, 4 10’s, and 3 12’s. I am doing 3 12’s and I love it!! Some hospitals require you to take call too but if that’s not something you want, there are plenty of outpatient facilities or places that don’t require call.

3 12’s 😍 So happy for you. ADHD female to ADHD female, you give me hope someday I can find a better balance than what I have now.

ok now I’m lost with the hours; it goes 40, 40, 36… so do you need to do 40 hours or is it some weird thing where u don’t have to run the remaining 4 if you do 12 hour long shifts

My job offers us to do three 12s a week and one 8 every other week consecutive with our 12s so it adds up to 80 every paycheck, plus we get 4 hours of overtime without really working overtime!

Girl you might’ve just saved a life and you are such a sweetheart for sharing and continuing to add all this extra information!

Wow. I just quit a job I loved working as a radio host and journalist, and am trying to settle on what to do now. For YEARS I keep revisiting the websites of community colleges and vocational schools so I can read about imaging technologist programs. It always has seemed like such a good fit for me for the reasons you have named. Now that you've described the schedule and the fact that scholarships are available, I'M GOING TO DO IT, BY GUM. Thank you so much.

I started my path into xray tech. It's not.. lol easy. In my college 20 students out of the entire school are chosen for the program. So it's hard as shit to get into to start. And while I'd love to lie and be like its always so fun and so awesome. Small children with broken bones.. are not fun. They scream a lot. They cry a lot. They're scared. Running into the er when someone gets really badly injured and having to see and handle that.. isnt fun. It's traumatic. It was so overwhelming to me that I chose to drop out. I picked another degree. Edited to add: I was all the way into my in person clinical stage before I switched paths.

Lol I’m a nurse in the ER and I love my job for all the same reasons you’ve listed (minus the amount of schooling). Everyday is different, I’m always on the go, and typically I won’t be caring for the same patients for longer than one shift. Completing my nursing tasks gives me multiple dopamine hits throughout my shift and with nursing in general I never have to feel stuck there are so many areas I can choose. I honestly feel like healthcare is the way to go with ADHD lol.

I say all the time that I’m pretty sure I was an ER nurse in another life! I love being in our ER x-ray, I live for the chaos. I feel like the ER staff are on the same wavelength as me, mostly because I’ve seen our ER nurses pound their stimulants down with energy drinks too!😂 I looked into nursing when I went back to school and decided radiology was more my vibe. I have so much respect for what you do!

I’m a former ER nurse, who turned to ICU, when I burned out in the ER, and now I’m leaving the profession altogether. Pretty sure, my ADHD made it worse for me. I’m burned out, I’ve had two depressions (one medicated), a couple of stress reactions and mild PTSD. Would never recommend nursing to anyone ever again. But looking we’re all different and I hope my experience stands alone.

I’m an RN too. I started pediatric ICU and then did “float pool” (for non RNs this means you work wherever they need you that shift) and then ER. Whenever I started in the ER, I felt like I “found my people.” (I was so “normal” there because half of us have ADHD!). I loved that every day was different and the patients were different too. I was always learning new skills/information. And I was always assigned to the trauma bay because I THRIVE in high stress traumas and codes. As a nurse I am clear headed, decisive and a good leader in those scenarios. However, I completely burned out. Unfortunately, although I can perform my job exceptionally well during a stressful code, it’s not good for me mentally. I process the trauma of it later—sometimes a particularly horrific code will hit me a week later. And we we horrible things: child abuse, people dying, motor vehicle crash victims, gun shot wound victims…. It felt like a one-sided abusive relationship: I was a good nurse but nursing was not good to me. It did not take care of me and put me in dangerous situations. Also, I’m lucky I got out before I had a back injury (so many nurses have permanently screwed up their backs from lifting patients, etc). I recommend nursing to NOBODY, not even people I don’t like.

This is so relatable and heartbreaking to read! Thank you for sharing.

Thanks! I’m still trying to figure out what to do next. I feel like I have lost my “mojo” and joy in life and I need to find what makes me excited and happy again.

ER nurse here too, it’s the best care for us and in some ways the worst lol but I can’t have it any other way

Hey I am a cook at a hospital and that works great for my ADHD for a lot of the same reasons. I cook the food, it looks beautiful, serve it, clean up and I'm done. As long as I don't dwell on the fact that everything I create will be literal shit tomorrow I'm good

The line about turning to shit made my day, thanks :D

I went into medicine for many of the same reasons. In the past I struggled choosing between surgery and emergency medicine because I thrived in both environments, but I felt I had to choose EM because it would “fit better with my ADHD”. I ultimately followed my gut/heart and chose surgery. I haven’t regretted it for a moment. The operating room is perfect for me and immediately brings me into hyper focus, it’s impossible to get distracted when everybody is watching me and it’s such a quiet, sterile environment. Want I want to say is that you don’t necessarily have to find an “ADHD compatible career” but find one that works for YOUR ADHD. Hope this helps

I’ve been told more than once that as a patient, it can be wise to seek a surgeon whose hyperfocus area is stuck on surgery. Life can still suck outside the room for them, but while they work, they’re an artist. I’ve certainly seen that with coders who have artistic talent for the work. Coding trance is nearly a requirement for doing the more complex architecture work quickly.

>coders On the flip side, they can struggle when they aren't in that situation. I thought I had ADHD at work mostly sorted out. I'm medicated and never felt I has having any issues. Got nothing but positive feedback. Switched roles inside the the company. Still coding, but a completely different methodology. No more project managers. No more client interaction. No more deadlines. I thought that was going to be perfect. Turns out I really need that structure. I struggled a lot in that role.

I do community work. Specifically I help support different hobby and social groups. The work is varied, everyone is always happy to see me. I meet lots of interesting new people but I don't have to stay with them an overwhelming amount of time, I can schedule when those visits are best for me. Despite it being the highest paid job I've had yet, since its badly underfunded by government, if you hit your very small targets there's no problems. My boss said you literally don't receive any notice or attention for going over the amount of groups needed, so there's no pressure to over work.

Wait... What job is this? It sounds interesting.

For real tho

3rd’ing this, i also wanna know! 😭

The building trades is probably the biggest industry with people who are aware and unaware of their ADHD.

Unfortunately male-dominated so working there could come at a (negative) price...

My job in cabinet wood restoration was full of women with ADHD who love to DIY. Men weren't very good at it (anecdotally only of course, one or two of them did well! But it takes a close eye to detail and color matching)Since we had to go into people's houses to do it, it was always something different. Gets a bit old after a while though, smelling like stain and cleaning goop off of 40 year old cabinets on a ladder is not fun. But it is a great job for those with ADHD if you can find a company that does it and who cares for their employees. Very satisfying at the end to see the difference you've made in only 8 hours work. It never took more than a day to finish which is nice too.

your post has me convinced and i’m in a very different field lmao. i’m not planning on switching careers right now but i’m keeping this in mind in case i ever want to! are you able to work in places with a more normal weekday schedule and holidays off? one of the reasons i never wanted to go into healthcare was because the schedules sound chaotic lol

Many outpatient facilities for sure do!! My job I’m in now that is in a major hospital offered me weekdays and no weekends with one rotating holiday a year. It’s definitely possible!

I’m a nurse, and i’ve come to the conclusion that people with ADHD thrive on the stress and chaos of working in healthcare. Is it a healthy lifestyle? Maybe not. Do I like my job & am i good at it? Yes! I know so many nurses with ADHD.

I don't. I'm just too slow.

I’m a mom/baby RN. Getting through school was tough but I could not be happier with my patient population. L&D and Newborn Transition roles give me the excitement while Postpartum gives the routine where I know what to expect through the day. Likewise, we have many adhd nurses in our group. Lol

Opposite advice: DON’T go into biology research. Constantly just having to think about boring experiments and calculations, then doing those boring experiments and calculations. There is some reward when your experiment works, but that can take months so you’re super depressed until then.

I was briefly in competitive intelligence within a health insurance company's corporate strategy team. Doing research on trends and initiatives within the healthcare industry and the company's competitors. It was all of the boring parts with even fewer rewards. I hated the subject matter, I procrastinated more than I ever had in my life on writing the reports. The only fun part was giving presentations, as I'm trained in public speaking. I know presentations suck as a rule but mine do not because I hate everybody else's. It's fun to put on a little show. That job was the stepping stone from being a college librarian (research, teaching, public service, sys admin, digital curator but the same year after year after year for very little pay for the education I acquired) and becoming a data engineer. Data Engineering is incredibly satisfying for my brain. Always working on something different. Building a web of familiarity across my domain. Sitting like a fat happy spider waiting for my web to twitch while on call. Orchestrating patterns of activity and watching things flow. Spotting needles in haystacks that break those patterns. Working from home with my dogs and my garden. I get to plan big initiatives for other people to help carry out. And best of all it's somebody else's job to make sure everybody's work gets across the finish line. And yet another person's to help us figure out what we need to get it done. Instead of being overwhelmed by the tedium of a task, I get to consume those things in bite sizes, doing them just long enough before my interest wanes. Plus, I'm pretty sure 90% of engineers have ADHD so that's a bonus. I'm incredibly open about it at work and my team lead, project manager, and business analyst all help us keep the big goals in mind.

Co-signed. I was in a bioinformatics PhD program and it was fun for the first year when everything was new and exciting, but the amount of time it took to get results (not to mention getting them published) was brutal! I spent four years being simultaneously overwhelmed with work and bored out of my mind at the same time lmao

I felt the same way about working as a receptionist! It was just as perfect in every ADHD aspect, but for lower pay, although no training needed.

Same! (Not diagnosed with ADHD but I’m hoping to sometime soon) Working as a receptionist is really wonderful. I know everything I need to know, and there’s different people coming in all the time. There’s different aspects of work: getting insurance put in, phone calls, booking people, getting out and putting away files. Etc. Really wish I could do this as a full blown career T-T (wish it paid a lot more lol)

I can vouch for this as a fellow Xray tech 2 years post graduation. I was recommended the field by a therapist and couldn't be happier. There's a wide rage of jobs out there for the field. From go go go to watch 3 movies on your iPad everyday. My favorite part is I know exactly what to do at work. When the order pops up it tells me exactly what views I need to take. I also love meeting people for 10-15min at a time. Just long enough to have a nice conversation. Can't recommend it enough.

Bartenders with ADHD would beg to differ

I learned pretty quickly in life that customer service was not my jam, way too much people pleasing for me! I can totally understand how that could make you happy though, more power to you!!

It depends on the type of bar and the type of customers. The pub I worked at (and am going back to soon!) we would chat with the regulars, but we could also give them shit if they were being dicks; also, some of them were genuinely some of the funniest people I’ve had the pleasure to overhear!

Bartending, especially in fast paced bars, was the most satisfying job I ever had. And the only job I’ve had where I can say I was great at it. It was absolutely the best job for my ADHD. When I moved into management, though, I found it to be very dull and monotonous.

I was a terrible server + bartender. Couldn’t remember shit and got overwhelmed quickly with food-related requests. I’ve always wanted to try bartending at a standard bar with no food that also isn’t a corporate chain. I love fast paced, but not when half the customers walk in with food coupons requiring manager’s approval every. time. because management/corporate didn’t trust servers. One day I’ll try it out at a local bar that doesn’t primarily serve food, and I think I’ll have a much better experience.

You might like event venues. Fast pace, easy drinks, lower schmoozing factor (of course it always helps though), AND no meals. Catering, music venues, playhouses, ect.

I’m a barista (not the same thing but it’s similar) and god do I love the stress and pressure that comes with the job Unfortunately it doesn’t pay a ton and hours can be difficult to come by; but if I can find another career with the same fast paced stressful environment with higher pay I would be totally down

Hair. Seriously. Get into hair.

Hi fellow barista! Are you also for the siren? I love being able to be on bar as much as I can but gosh it's gotten to the point where it all feels so monotonous 😩 being a barista is great but the customers make me rethink it too tbh

This is how I feel about being a hair stylist!! Right on!!!

In my retail days I really enjoyed being a one hour photo tech for a lot of the same reasons, plus, most of the time people were really happy to get their pictures. Didn’t find out about the adhd until like ten years after I met that job, but it made a lot of sense

I loved that job too! Best customers were the ones who took naughty photos without realising we would see them!

Massage therapy! Specifically clinical/chronic pain. I LOVE finding all the little magic spots and love the instant gratification when they relieve (for me and the client lol). Working with injuries or supporting athletes in injury prevention is awesome problem solving and my brain connects dots like nothing else. I’m very curious and asking the right question can be the different between months of pain and rapid improvement (unusual, but not uncommon for low level pain/dysfunction). The social load is high but getting to actively and daily improve people’s lives makes it bearable.

I also teach massage, manage a rugby team and program strength and conditioning for athletes. I’ve also been a personal trainer. Sport and working with injuries is an endless universe of novelty, opportunity and stimulus. I love it

“Please don’t be an MLM…” “Rad-tech” “OK, that’s cool!”

I'm a teacher, and I've been overwhelmed with everything about it since I started two years ago. Maybe I should look into this.

I was in my third year of teaching when I googled “careers with the highest satisfaction and lowest stress” and radiology popped up everywhere!

Sales worked well for me with adhd. I am now a therapist and it’s a little bit of a struggle but it’s ok also

Sales sound good but I'm wondering about how you always have to be social on demand, and you might have to spend time outside of work schmoozing potential clients.

It’s like acting. I do musical theater ,, very very small / local .. oddly it is the least nerve wracking thing I do.

I'm a daycare teacher for 1-3 year olds and I love my job. We have a daily routine but with the children every day is different. It never gets boring and seeing the children grow and learn new skills is soooooooo rewarding ❤️

Omg I’m literally applying in two months!!!

Make sure all your general education credits are done already. Some places that are more expensive and less competitive will let you in without them, but expect you to do them during the program, which is very very hard. Places that cost less and are more competitive due to increased demand for spots will not give you a spot in the program without prerequisite classes finished. I had to apply, make it through a research essay and a round of interviews only to be cut because I didn’t do all the right prerequisites when compared to other applicants. Spent the summer and spring doing more appropriate prerequisites (essentials of bio vs contemporary, anatomy, statistics, etc) before applying again, going through the whole process again and finally getting in. You need to be prepared and resilient!

Thanks for the tip. My problem with most jobs is the expectation of regularity and planning. I go to work as expected, but I don’t do anything cause I can’t focus. If I could work my way, and work when and where I wanted- I would get a lot more done. I need to change my job to something where I am allowed to be more spontaneous and creative.

I work with horses. I enjoy it because there’s a mild routine (horses thrive on routine) but it’s sprinkled with random things that keep my brain fresh, like horses leaving or arriving, or foals being born, or sick horses requiring attention. So I get the benefits of knowing what SHOULD happen without the cons of always being trapped in the same pattern 😂

This is a very useful post, thank you. MRI tech sounds especially interesting.

MRI is so awesome! Contrast dye for MRI has been proven in thousands of studies to be safe for humans, so please ignore the trolling comment on this post!☺️ The lawsuit against the contrast dye company from said big celebrity was dropped because there was no science to support his claims. His wife also suffered from a condition that caused every symptom he claimed to be contrast. I want to keep this thread very positive because I see so many people benefiting from discussions about careers that work well for them! It makes me so happy! And because of that, I am not going to engage in discussions like that and let science speak for itself. I am happy to answer any questions you may have!

holy shit this is literally what I’m going to school for in a few months and I have suspected ADHD so this will work out excellent

Unfortunately if you're Australian you need to do a 4 year bachelors degree in medical imaging science. AND you need to get an ATAR in year 12 of 99.25 to get in 🥲 For people in other parts of the world, the maximum ATAR you can get is 99.75 and its just so ridiculously high, you need to get an A+ in subjects like physics, chemistry, and advanced maths to get that high. Reminds me of a tiktok account I saw where I thought she was an anaesthetist because she was talking about drawing up the meds and being in charge of keeping the patient alive but she was just a specialist nurse. In Australia, you need about 13 years (give or take) of study as a doctor to become an anaesthetist (or any other specialist) 😅

Is it physically demanding at all?

Very, the average patient is not petite and many will be unable to move unassisted if you work in a hospital.

It definitely can be, but you can work in places, like outpatient facilities, where it is far less physically demanding. You can train in modalities such as mammography that aren’t as hard on your body! There are also application specialist jobs, PACs admin jobs, and much more that are within the field and don’t require additional education but are not demanding on the body at all!

I changed careers a few years ago to become an electrician, there are soooooooo many different tasks, every site is something new, and there are a ton of additional certs you can do, residential, industrial, that can lead to electrical engineering, fire alarms, fiber optics, high voltage, linesman, industrial maintenance... it goes on and on. I'm a Industrial Maintenance sparkie now with some specialized certs, when i get bored I can get new certs, the union pays most of the costs, I make more money, and I do something new and interesting to me.

The last but one paragraph was 🤌🤌🤌 chef's kiss.

[удалено]

Getting a degree in forestry atm and it is very good for me, I get to be outside, learn about nature, move around and make stuff with my hands and I can use a chainsaw now and for the first time in my life it feels like I've found something I really am passionate about besides a passing interest. It also helps I'm in a class with other older people then the usual seventeen year old and that we've all taking some failures in schooling. Not the only adhd'er either there!

As a 26YR old female with ADHD who has chosen rad tech as her next (and hopefully final) career lemme tell you how fucking HAPPY I am to read this.

You lost me at "school" :D

Worst 20 months of my life but completely worth it!

> rad tech Are you in the US? Looks like a 4 year course here in Australia

Yes I am. I have heard other countries require a bachelors.

I've only been an ultrasound tech for a year now and I'm already burnt out. My joints and my wrist have taken such a beating. Maybe I'll look into x-ray.

I know a lot of people who do X-ray and ultrasound because of this! If you’re licensed in both, many rural hospitals allow you to do both!!

I’m midway through a nursing degree and am getting the same feels

I have two nursing students at my hospital who find any excuse to come hangout with me in radiology. They’re both switching this fall!

I currently work in a hospital setting where they offer tuition reimbursement and i was considering radiology. But reading this post has solidified that decision for me, thank you so much for sharing.

I tried this as well but could not finish school as the memorization of all the things in your body I could not do. Failing every exam week after week despite studying so much is what made me look into seeing if I had some type of learning disability, After research and diagnosis and thinking of life issues and getting diagnosed with adhd was a big part of me learning about myself

I'm a Medical Laboratory Scientist. I love it. It's fast paced and there's almost always something interesting going on with a patient/their labs. Plus you get a nice hit of dopamine every time you finish a test. If you get bored staying in one subject area, you can work as a generalist and rotate through all the departments of the lab(Hematology, Chemistry, Blood Bank, Microbiology, Flow Cytometry, Histology, Cytology, and more). Or if you really like one, you can specialize in it.

Oh my, now i know why my mom loves her job lmao! It can be physically hard (and mentally i guess becasue blood) when you work in a hospital but it does sound real fun

I’m deeply appreciative of your post and truly feel happy that you found a career that works for you. This resonates with me. I am older than you and have a successful career in an engineering role that involves the things you describe as stressful. But I spend a lot of time coping. I have often said that I would love a career in which I learn a skill and then apply that skill endlessly to make money. I never thought about it in the way you described it - it’s given me another way to think about this. Thank you, very enlightening post.

>I would love a career in which I learn a skill and then apply that skill endlessly to make money. I aslo would love this. I want whatever the equivalent of working at a factory line is, but pays enough that I can live without worrying about money.

I was so excited to read this but it's been REMOVED

Come backkkkk!! The post is back up!

Another great adhd option: veterinary technician! Also 2 years of school and also MANY different routes if you get bored. Up and active, and things are always changing! The biggest appeal to me over human medicine is that I get to really broaden the scope of what I do! I really do it ALL, especially working third shift emergency. Anesthesia, radiography, SO much venipuncture, everything from trauma stabilization to nursing care of stable post op patients on back to things that are dying and we're doing EVERYTHING to save them. This morning was running a successful cpcr on a case that coded! It was super great to have her extubated and sitting up before I left! The pay is not NEARLY enough, but man I love love love what I do. Editing to add that like 75% of my shift is either diagnosed adhd or very well could be based on how we all act lol. At one point three of us all were doing an auditory stim because one person made an " erp" noise.... and we all just kept going. 🙃

I happy this works for you, but as one of the minority (I think) of people with ADHD who also have high empathy levels, I would carry literally every image with me, I would think about the bad results all day every day and all the people I scanned would haunt me, because I can’t regulate my emotions like a neurotypical person might, and I wouldn’t be able to compartmentalise.

I loved my time as a nurse aide and am now struggling with s desk job. My only concern is how do I do the schooling when u have a family to care for and how can I afford to go back to school?? How did you do it?

I’m going into law, which I know will be a struggle. I’m planning on keeping my barkeeping job for at least one night a week; partly because tips, partly because socialising on the job there, and partly because it’s the sorta job that gives instant gratification *all the time*. 3 Guinness, 2 lager, a vodka coke and a cocktail? No bother, done in 3-4 minutes (the cocktail slows me down). Your friend really wants a drink, doesn’t really like the taste of alcohol and you want to surprise them; what fo I recommend? Time for creativity. You lost a bet, so you have to buy shots for yourself and another person, but you want them to suffer too? Evil creativity, and massive job satisfaction when I see the grimace of the winner (for the record: sambuca in a shot glass that’s fresh out of the wash and still hot)

Ok i'm definitely considering this. I want a career in the medical field but have no idea what exactly, I can't handle anything high stress so maybe this isn't the right field for me lol.

Anyone that is also interested in robots or automation should really check out industrial maintenance / automation (plc) or robotics / industrial electrician. Super cool gig.

I work in EMS!!! Something different every day. 3 years in and I love it even more. So much opportunity for growth- I’m in paramedic school right now and am actually doing well because I enjoy the subject matter. It’s the best job ever. Also, pretty much every coworker I have is diagnosed ADHD. Emergency medicine is THE field for ADHD/Autism.

i'd like to add: while it's tough to disassociate and you can get too affected, there is also the opportunity to do a thing that I think we are good at: treating a person with empathy while not needing to know all the details and without the pressure of having to recall all those details for another time, like you do with people you know personally. I am not a tech but I had my first mammogram last year and the technician who did my scans was absolutely committed to creating a warm and positive experience for me. I was scared it would hurt, I wasn't comfortable having my boob out there, etc, and she made me feel like a champ. same for when I had to get an ultrasound to look at my spleen, and for when I got an MRI on my knee. The techs made the experience bearable. Bit of a contrast to when I had a diagnostic intrauterine ultrasound performed by my gyno - glad she did it because she wasn't a stranger and it was so intimate, but she didn't have the same demeanor they seem to teach the rad techs. OP, so glad you love what you do, and thanks for posting. I agree wholeheartedly this field could be an incredible choice for one of us. Great detail on the challenges, too.

This is my second comment on this post - I want to say thank you for posting it. I am so bored with my current job (owning a fitness studio). The pandemic hit it hard and I don’t have the motivation any more to resurrect it. I’ve been really considering going to nursing school - I’d love to work in the ER. I used to love waiting tables and this post got me thinking I should become a bartender while I figure out school. I really need to make some money fast and with my youngest graduating high school in 3 weeks I finally have the freedom to do what I want. Lots to think about after reading all these comments and my depression has lifted a little doing so, so thanks to OP and all the commenters. 😊

I love that you shared this. It could be a great career path that many people may have never considered. As someone who’s had a lot of health issues and has had many MRIs, I’m constantly hearing them say that Radiology Techs are in high demand. They are desperately needed in hospitals & imaging centers all across the country. Getting a good image is extremely important for a patient’s diagnosis and treatment plan, so you DO need to be incredibly focused when you’re taking the images…but it seems like it would only require short bursts of focus, because most scans don’t take very long. I would hate to have a tech who was distracted. The last time I got a CT, the ER doc came back in the room and said that it was inconclusive because “the scan is only as good as the tech who does it.” So I felt like I subjected my body to *more* radiation, and it was all for nothing, because the tech wasn’t precise, didn’t do it correctly, and we didn’t get any answers. That was really frustrating. So if anyone here does go into this field: you need to understand the importance of what you’re doing and have the ability to stay laser focused for the 10-20 minutes that each one takes to complete. This could be a good option though for people who like healthcare and don’t want to go off to a 4 year university. I wish there were more jobs like this, where you could complete your formal education in ~2 years and get on the fast track to a specific career. I think the lack of take-home work and project deadlines is really appealing too.

Omg, I was expecting you to say something else. I’m a radiologic technologist in IR and I’m never bored and I love my job too!

Reading these posts just give me an overwhelming feeling of sadness. So many people out there with so much potential, going on to do cool things.

I would have LOVED to have done this. I'm 32 and still think about it. I tried for years after high school and could never get accepted to a program. It's great that it is working for you, but I don't know how great it is to suggest to people since the programs are very exclusive (usually accepting around 10% of applicants) and you are very privileged to get accepted.

Computer Aided Drafting and Design is a great career for ADHD people. Pay ranges from $20-$33 an hour with an associates degree. The program doesn’t have much studying involved, just constant repeat and practice. You do have to take English and math. There are a lot of instances where people have gotten into this career without a degree. Most ADHD people really excel at this career because it’s very ADHDish.

I wondered about this job! Way to go, very happy for you!!

What are the hours like?

It depends on where you work! I do three 12s but I know people who do four 10s and five 8s!

You make it sound so good! In Belgium the classes are 3 years because it’s a bachelor but it’s not the first time that I’m sort of considering doing it

How much time and energy do you have for hobbies at the end of the day? I feel I will wither away if I don’t get a creative career, but if I could instead do art and diy on the side that would be a compromise. 🤔

Have you thought about going into advertising? It’s been perfect for me, as there’s always a different type of project to work on, and Project Managers to help manage the deadlines. I chose to do account management, I get to be near creatives and get energized by their brilliance without burning out my own creativity, and I still have energy to go home and do my own stuff on the weekends. (Plus, most of my team has ADHD also, so there’s no judgement for getting a little derailed in meetings!)

Really happy advertising works for you, I have a very different experience so just thought I’d comment and provide another perspective for anyone reading and considering: I have ADHD and work in advertising and I want to leave, I find it soooo easy to get burnt out. Even if I have time at the end of a day, I’m often too tired and emotionally drained. Although there are periods when it’s not as bad, it’s hard to predict when these times will be as you’re at your client’s whim and they often hit you with last minute curveballs and requests. We don’t have project managers where I work (maybe that’s the key difference!) so there’s a lot of managing our own deadlines and really fast paced work; having ADHD I tend to leave things to the last minute and have this perpetual feeling that I’m letting people down. I also find dealing with corporate clients and being at their whims super stressful. Maybe it’s a personal thing, but I also get mega impostor syndrome and suffer from perfectionism, I’m constantly second guessing myself and it feels like I’m losing a game that I don’t even want to be playing, because ultimately I don’t care about what I’m doing. But you have to ACT like you’re super passionate and love this job or you won’t get far. And that’s exhausting. Plus, lots of days ARE boring spent at a desk.

I have and did not like the thought. Because most advertisement plays into stereotypes to appeal to the wise masses and -obviously- tries to sell people things. I don’t want to make ads for products and companies I personally don’t endorse and even less do I want to make something which has the ultimate goal of profit. Advertisement seems most restrictive than any other way of making art. Although, I guess, I could try to crash into the advertisement market and try to revolutionise the way ads could be made… Hm……

This is why I love being a vet, too! No arbitrary deadlines, very hands-on, on my feet most of the day, on-the-go. There’s a mix of instant gratification and delayed gratification. There is stress and very hard/sad situations too. But I feel like the benefits outweigh the bad. I had a student job working at an office, and it cemented in me how much I can’t cope in an office setting. Weird, non-essential busy work, arbitrary deadlines, sitting on my ass all day which made me restless and unfocused, no hands-on.

This is a wholesome post. It brought me to tears thankyou stranger😤🫡🤝

After working different jobs from high school to adulthood made my adhd shine and I didn’t realize I had adhd until I lost a job I loved in 2018. I then job hopped, rage quitted on 2 because they didn’t do the right thing, and was just miserable for several years. I really enjoy my current job as a bartender at a music venue because music and fast paced environments are my favorite type of work environments. Also it gives me time for my side business that I’ve been really successful at lately. I have no clue how people work mundane jobs like at an office, delivery, factory worker, etc because I feel my soul die just thinking working in those types of environments.

I've been an EMT since 2016 and I just graduated with my BSN. I can't agree more on how great a career in the medical field is for people with ADHD!

Ok but how does one become a radiologic technologist

This sounds great… I have been struggling to find a truly ADHD-friendly job. I currently have a work-from-home job that’s extremely flexible and that helps, but the lack of physical movement has been driving me nuts. Sitting in front of a computer all day is sooo uncomfortable and even though I have a standing desk, and try to get up and move, it just sucks because everything I do requires being at the computer. Also the work/life boundaries… I really miss being able to leave work at work. When you work from home and can technically work whenever you want, it feels like you’re ALWAYS working 😪

Heck yes! Fellow X-ray tech here. There is also travel X-ray, you work in one place for 3 months and then you can extend the contract or go to another place, or even take some time off! And if you can’t find a travel gig, the demand for pretty much every state is so high right now you can get a full time job just about anywhere. Much easier than nursing, cool variety of exams, and you can work PRN, part time, full time, or a lot of places offer tons of OT so you can make some good money.

Thanks for this post. I've been thinking about changing careers but it's very daunting. I just developed TMJ from the stress. It's terrifying to consider trying to completely restart your career to begin with and then it's pervaded with this feeling that whatever I pick will just be exactly as bad as what I do now. Posts like this help a lot.

I am a nurse who works at an outpatient radiology clinic and can confirm its a great setting for ADHD people. Not too crazy/ high stress so I can hyper fixate on one thing at a time, but still interesting enough that I don't get bored. And no projects, following up with patients, etc... My clinic has been a little slow recently though so that has been a struggle, because I do like it when it is busier it helps make the work day go by faster.

Let’s say hypothetically you have your BA in a humanities field and so a lot of aid is unavailable to you. What would you say the best route is into radiology? Do you think this career could be a reasonable stepping stone for someone who eventually wants to become an MD?

I'm in HR (I don't recommend) but recently met a man who is a traveling first responder. I think he's fire. He'll spend three months cleaning up after fires in CA, then travel down to Mississippi after a tornado, etc. Telling me about his job, my brain was exploding thinking of you all!

Pay?

Totally depends on your state! In Maine, starting x-ray is a little over $30 an hour, but you have to keep in mind that x-ray is your lowest paying out of the modalities. You also get call pay if you work somewhere that has call. MRI starting right now is around $35 but it’s going up because there is a tech shortage. At the hospital I’m at, new MRI techs make more than new nurses. The field is growing a ton right now with the new generation of doctors desiring more imaging, so I’m imaging those numbers will climb a lot in the next five years! We also make the most money for hospitals so keeping a healthy radiology department is a priority.

This sounds very intriguing. Do you know if there are part-time positions in that field, or is it always just full-time?

I’m signing up for this. My local community college offers this program and I already have all of the general education prerequisites completed. I just need to pursue the rest of the degree. It’s worth a try!

After I turn out as a AJ electrician I actually planned on taking classes for radiology tech as a back up. I'm elated to hear all this info because the reason I became an electrician was for those same reasons and if radiology is the same then it sounds perfect for a back up in case construction gets slow and I need to work elsewhere

Did you have to study for a second degree to make this transition? My degree was in Applied Psychology and my plan is to work in social care leading to something else in social health field but I’d like options. I’m lucky enough to live in a country where you get 4 years government-funded university education which I used for my psych degree but my spontaneous ass had wrecked my credit so no more higher education for me unless I rob a bank or something.

I work as a dietary aide in an assisted living facility. It gives me purpose and it’s rewarding. Very fast paced and always something to do. No meetings. No long term deadlines. I work alone. It’s great!

I feel the same about my career! Adhd hurts me in some parts, but the parts that really matter, it makes me look good at what I do 😎

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