Anonymous wrote:People with ADHD can do any job they want if they have learned to live with and adapt to the challenges presented. There are many helpful tools.

100%. Dh is an entrepreneur in tech. Self taught at programming and started a business and now has a whole company. A big part of his coping is not being averse to risk and knows his challenges and delegates where necessary. He’s also dyslexic. Many entrepreneurs have these diagnoses.

Anonymous wrote:Sales (account management, customer success), consulting, marketing, business development

I’m a female (diagnosed as an adult) with ADHD and think it actually is the reason I’ve been relatively successful in my career. I’m currently at a top consulting firm and the juggling of multiple projects, constant deadlines and ability to hyper focus (or not, and just chat with people) is key

Just have her major in what she likes and a job will figure itself out that she cares enough to think about all day

OP here- still reading and appreciating all the replies!

You are a good mom for trying to guide your DD. The ADHD career path is not always a straight path however - there may be some trial and error situations - but over time - and time is HUGE for ADHD people, your DC will figure out what works best for them in a work environment.

Lots of medical specialties have a fair number of people with adhd. It can work great as long as they are really interested in the field.

One of my co-workers from years ago had severe ADHD. Her office was a total scrap yard. Her personal life was a mess as well. However, she is the best tax manager I have ever worked with.

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Anonymous wrote:With ADHD, being The Boss is the best thing. Let other people remember what day the trash goes out and suffer the consequences if it is not done.
Those ADHD evaluations are modulated for gender. Your DD is going to be light years better at organizing than if she were a different gender. Good at math? Great with people?
Project manager at a tech company. Major in STEM.

Are you kidding? The project managers I know are some of the most detail oriented, timely and reliable people I know. I have mild ADHD and could tell you this type of job would be absolute torture.

ADHD doesn’t preclude being detail oriented, reliable, or even organized. The opposite, I’d say, if it’s something that interests you.

As long as you are hyperfocusing on the project, you can be kick ass project manager.

I am the worst possible project manager, but great at strategic planning and creative thinking. Good enough that I skipped over middle management and have project managers under me who keep me organized and manage the day to day supervision of my teams and workstreams. It’s a great fit for my ADHD now, but earlier in my career was a lot harder. Unless you can make yourself really valuable quickly, I’d caution against program administration and project management ADHD with executive functioning deficits.

Anonymous wrote:DD has pretty severe ADHD -- even with medication- so bad at executive functioning, organizing, sustained attention to low interest activities, etc. Also has a learnimg disability with writing. Despite this, she is smart, good at math, loves kids, attractive (I mention because it can be helpfuk for some jobs), has an outgoing personality. She has a year before college and she is starting to think about future career paths (i.e. teaching, nursing). Does anyone with ADHD have a career path that has been especially good for them or their family members?

My son had pretty severe ADHD, barely made it through high school; barely made it through community college; and has been a police officer in a small department for 3 years. He hates it (but would hate any job). The good parts: there are very few calls for service; very little paperwork; rare court appearances and no real quotas for anything. It’s a very small geographic area (so not lots to navigate), there are usually 4 other officers on the shift, and he gets paid about $90k per year right now. It’s 12-hour shifts, so it also allows for many days off.

Anonymous wrote:DD has pretty severe ADHD -- even with medication- so bad at executive functioning, organizing, sustained attention to low interest activities, etc. Also has a learnimg disability with writing. Despite this, she is smart, good at math, loves kids, attractive (I mention because it can be helpfuk for some jobs), has an outgoing personality. She has a year before college and she is starting to think about future career paths (i.e. teaching, nursing). Does anyone with ADHD have a career path that has been especially good for them or their family members?

In my family the career paths for those of us with ADHD are varied:

Partner at a top 10 law firm
Librarian at a university
Political consultant
Philanthropic consultant at a family foundation
GC at a tech company

Your daughter’s career path shouldn’t be defined by ADHD. She should pursue a profession that she’s interested in and that works for her personality (her personality isn’t ADHD). I’m detail oriented and very good at seeing the big picture and can hyper focus while more or less keeping a bunch of balls in the air. I’m naturally curious and well read and as a result am always up on things. I’m good socially with people, but get exhausted from tons of social interaction. Research, writing, and analytical reasoning are perfect for me. I also do my best with a lot of autonomy.

If she likes math then nursing might be of interest, but accounting could also be of interest. Sales is very demanding. There is lots of follow up and there are lots of deadlines. You really have to be on your game. If she tries Sales please have her go to a company with a training program.

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Anonymous wrote:Police officer, I work in LE and more than half the officers I work with have it.

In LE one challenge is to control emotions during highly stressful and fast-moving situations to make good judgment calls. Someone with ADHD would need to be highly motivated to practice this skill.

Not all ADHD is hyperactive. Controlling emotions has never been a problem with the ADHD people in my family and they are a rock under pressure.

I'm the PP you responded to. For students who can handle the coursework, a career sometimes suggested for what you describe is ER doctor.

There was a joke about that in the tv series "The Pitt."

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Anonymous wrote:Police officer, I work in LE and more than half the officers I work with have it.

In LE one challenge is to control emotions during highly stressful and fast-moving situations to make good judgment calls. Someone with ADHD would need to be highly motivated to practice this skill.

Nah, the concern with ADHD in law enforcement is impulsivity. ADHD people are the definition of operating during highly stressful and fast moving situations.

My DH and both kids have ADHD. IMO, success comes from pursuing an authentic interest, something that can engage the ADHD propensity to hyper-focus.

For DH that was software engineering. He can lock in on that all day long. DS just finished college and is similar. He's starting a job as a data scientist.

DD is different, can't stand the idea of being at a desk all the time. She's an environmental science major and loves fieldwork. She has a real passion for the work, spent all last summer working outside doing conservation projects and loved it. Doing the same this summer.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Police officer, I work in LE and more than half the officers I work with have it.

In LE one challenge is to control emotions during highly stressful and fast-moving situations to make good judgment calls. Someone with ADHD would need to be highly motivated to practice this skill.

Not all ADHD is hyperactive. Controlling emotions has never been a problem with the ADHD people in my family and they are a rock under pressure.

I'm the PP you responded to. For students who can handle the coursework, a career sometimes suggested for what you describe is ER doctor.

Electrician.

Anonymous wrote:People with ADHD can do any job they want if they have learned to live with and adapt to the challenges presented. There are many helpful tools.

I'd say this, and it depends more on the persons other skills/talents. I have ADHD but would be terrible at sales. ADHD can come with social struggles too, and social skills are key in sales.

I've done realy welll in engineering, unmedicated, because the problems can be really intersting puzzles and i'm good at math, logic, and systems thinking. I make dumb mistakes due to inattentivenes, but spell/grammar check helps that in my documents. In my more technical work, i just have to go over things several times. The job is never the same day to day. Sometimes I procrastinate but I still get my work done. I do need deadlines, though.

ER doctor, teacher, or something where you have to be very present and in-the-moment wors for others.