I’m asking out of curiosity mostly.
Is anyone here into digital marketing? That’s what I’m studying for right now.
Software engineer is my title but my actual role is much more … chaotic.
I love it
Same, more or less. I work with self driving cars, in software integration (for people not familiar, that is putting together the software components other teams make, and solving the interactions between them).
It’s supremely fun. Constantly changing, chaotic, requires me to see the whole picture and never keep detailed focus on a specific part for very long. I love it.
Tech lead here, but same idea. The chaos and variety is exactly what I love about my job too.
Same here. If something is on fire it’s fun to deal with and easy to hyper focus on till it’s resolved. If it’s repetitive everyday kind of stuff, ughhhh.
Software engineer. I swear half of us are on the spectrum.
Same. And, to be fair, it’s a fairly well-paying field that requires some amount of specialized knowledge, but many applications of that knowledge are usually pretty easy to find with a bit of Google know-how, and use of Google as a resource is not only acceptable, but expected. I feel like that meshes relatively well with how ADHD brains work.
I used to do a bit of Help Desk in IT, and one of the “open” secrets of that field (and later I learned that it’s for all tech fields,) was that a lot of the job was knowing how to find the solution online. Next, was how the heck you install/apply it.
Nice. What software do you specialize in?
Financial / Superannuation (or “401K” as the Americans call it).
I’ve had lots of jobs, but not as many as my (untreated, but diagnosed) father.
Currently I’m working in a bakery while getting my master’s to be a German as a second language teacher for adult immigrants to Germany.
Previously I’ve been a waitress, insurance adjuster, litigation manager (fun, but soul-sucking, because it was for an insurance company), tutor and I’ve worked at a call center, shisha (hookah) bar, and tobacco farm.
The important information from this is: I need something stimulating, that can involve lots of different types of activity, otherwise I’ll get bored and either quit or slack off. Too much control of my own work is also not a good thing for me (it’s straight up illegal to not answer certain types of email as an insurance adjuster- terrifying). Physical activity helps keep me on track as well, but that’s mostly correlated to low pay jobs (hopefully I can pace enough as a teacher).
Additionally: see if you can check your boxes outside of work. I was much happier dancing and playing dnd while working in a call center (it was a bad job) than trying to make data entry work physical and involve problem solving.
dancing and playing dnd while working in a call center
This sounds like a sitcom. Hahaha.
I realize now that it was also potentially misleading! I was dancing and separately playing dnd outside of work while my job was in a call center.
Oh, hahaha, ok. Well if you or anyone you know is looking for a TV sitcom idea, there you go.
Now that I think about it, it kinda sounds similar to Workaholics. Could be different though.
DevOps / Linux sys admin / user support / “it has buttons and plugs into a wall socket” support guy
Holy dang man! All of that sounds big brained to me.
How did you get started?
Started as a tech at a computer shop back in uni, doing diagnostics and assembly for custom PC builds. After I got my bachelor, I started as an IT guy in a factory, and for the next ~20 years worked as a sys admin at a bunch of different companies. Over the last 5 years or so I moved more and more towards Linux, automation, IaC, ansible, docker, k8s, terraform… and now I work as a devops engineer. I work for a small company, so I double as a backup sysadmin/user support guy, because I’m the one that “knows what active directory even is”. 🤷
Holy moly. That’s got to be one heck of a full resume you’ve got.
What would you say to someone who wants to get into DevOps?
Tinker, play, break, fix. Start with docker, a couple virtual machines, use the terminal, even switch to linux. Start automating/scripting mundane or repetitive tasks. For me, this is fun, I actually enjoy the work I do. I have a homelab, a few mini-pcs that I play with, and that I’m not afraid to break. I use ansible and terraform to manage them. Completely overkill for just a few apps and services I run for me and my family, but that’s how I learned a bunch of things.
Getting a job in devops might need a few years of experience as either a sysadmin or a developer, but it’s in high demand.
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Network engineer. Aka systems engineer troubleshooting expert.
Pro tip. if you are ever in the situation where you think the problem is the network, think again. By all means ask for our help troubleshooting, but don’t blame us when you cant find what is wrong with your app.
Except when it’s DNS
Sounds like the sysadmin who is running the DNS server’s problem 😉
Tech support, get that dopamine solving new problems everyday
All the previous jobs were in the vein of either huge risk (pizza delivery) or puzzle solving. Got quite disheartend doing anything less demanding.
Dito, fixing interesting problems is fun. My main issue is that we have had a caroucel of bosses (4 in the last 4 years) and the current one gets a C-. Half the team does not trust them due to drama with the previous manager and the they keep trying to make it so the different team members specialize in different tasks (everyone used to be trained to do everything). I like the job and the company, but its one or two step removed from “Office Space” levels of corpo whohash.
In my office the only issue is admin stuff, time tracking, emails, case updates that sort of time sucking boring nonsense, found a way around, train the new guys, tell em’ contact me if you have problems, so now I fix their stuff and they do the emails/notes :D
I have to convince mangement I’m doing work every yearly review, so far so good!
Depending on how old you are, I’d say that you’re working with what you’re best at and delegating the things you’re not good at, to those on your team or department, that are better at them. If you’re under 45, I’d have a hard time seeing this as you doing a good thing. That you’re just passing off the things you and everyone else should be doing for the new poor schmucks. I could be biased though.
I’m above 40 but below 45, i am shit at paperwork and composing an email takes half a day. each time I solve an issue the solution and more importantly the process I go through to get to the solution is shared, I don’t want to have to fix things more than twice and it is my job to share knowlege/train the new guys.
They don’t know that I don’t know shit and every problem is fixed with detailed troubleshooting not ‘knowing’ what the issue is.
I loved doing tech support when I worked in a Verizon store. I was supposed to sell stuff, but I’d rather solve problems.
I’m an engineer. I don’t usually spend more than a few hours on a single job, and there’s always something to do. My favorite thing is finding out how to do an unusual job and becoming the go-to guy for it.
What kind of engineering are you in? What aspects of your job do you like the most?
Electrical engineering. I’m not in the department that does all the heavy math, I mostly just do what people tell me to do. But there’s satisfaction in making something comprehensible, even elegant, and solving the few problems I come across in my work. It’s not artistic, exactly, but it’s still very easy for the hours to melt away.
I work disability support…
I find the nature of ADHD can really help some people with other mental health issues as I tend to think about all the things, all possibilities etc and my guys are well looked after because of this
What kind of disabilities are you handling? Physical or mental?
Either way, I’m glad there are those out there willing to do that kind of job for those people. I surely couldn’t do it for long or well.
All kinds
We do creative arts based disability support
I assist people with cerebral palsy, autism, blindness, downs etc etc
Anyone and everyone :)
I do CNC machining, a great, non-people oriented job (for me anyway)
Rad. What kind of things did you mill?
I do both lathing and milling! The past few jobs I did were water spindles for fire departments, a few small electronic pieces for some local science department. I did firearms, mostly pistol barrels but also rifle barrels, pistol slides, gas blocks, and baffles. Currently I and doing airplane engine bits! Very fun, very regulated lol
Oh man, that’s a wide variety of things to make. That’s cool.
I used to work in a shop with CNC machinists. I remember asking one of them one day what they liked about it. And I got an interesting reply from one of them. He said, “I like how I can make just about everything you would ever need. I just need the raw materials, my machine, and a few tools to measure. And a trusty hammer for when you need to… encourage something.”
I think it was the dude next to him, who made the point that there are so many different metal pieces that you don’t realize are around you when you walk into a building in general. All of them had to be made somehow and a lot of them are small or tiny pieces of components for something larger.
That really opened my eyes to the world around me. I started to look at things differently from then on.
So hats off to all of the machinists out there. We sure as hell couldn’t have the world like we do without you.
I’m a waitress. A lot of bartenders and waitresses have ADHD or are undiagnosed but share symptoms.
Previously I’ve been a teacher and worked in childcare.
In my experience the healthcare system would collapse overnight if we ran out of Adderall.
My day job is engineering in tech. My night job is in the circus. Fire and knives are my favorite fidget spinners.
Exactly what I’d expect from a Tiefling!
Sounds like you’re living your best life. =)
I’m one half of a small college’s Conference & Event Services team. We’re essentially the campus party planners, and I admin their space reservation software.
That sounds interesting. How did you get started in that?
Random job listing on Indeed.
I had worked in sales for 20 years, and gradually hated it more and more. Switching to a new field helped for a little bit, but that two year itch would cause me to start looking again.
I got lucky at the interview. I wouldn’t realize until a few weeks in, but my supervisor ALSO had major ADHD, so even though HER boss didn’t think I was the best pick, we felt like we spoke the same language and connected instantly. Also, they needed someone nerdy enough to run their scheduling software, but not nerdy enough to expect an IT professional’s wage. 😂
I love it here. It’s been just over two years, which is usually when I start getting bored and looking for a new job, but instead I’m thinking about how I can stick around here until retirement (in the next 25-50 years, depending on how bad they fuck that up for millennials.)
Also, they needed someone nerdy enough to run their scheduling software, but not nerdy enough to expect an IT professional’s wage. 😂
LOL. Sounds like you were a great fit for the job and team.
I’m always surprised when I hear about/from people who were able to stick it out at a job for over 10 years. It’s a weakness of mine, that I can’t seem to stick with a job for more than 8 months. All sorts of things make it difficult to stick around for me. Depression tends to be the downfall of the job for me. I’ve been able to find a great blend of anti-depressants and minor anti-anxiety meds that work for me. Took me years to get here though. But not to make it about me, there’s room for improvements and I’ve had some over the years. Still going at it. Slow and steady I guess.
So what aspects of your job position do you like the most?
The biggest thing, is that my paycheck doesn’t rely on how many people I’ve swindled.
But also, there’s a lot of variety in my week. I could be processing payments one day, making the schedule for student workers the next, or ordering 200 stuffed animals for the faculty party, setting up a new user in the scheduler system, or moving furniture around for a conference.
And some days there just isn’t much going on and I can browse the web and play games online most of the day.
Process Manager in the Client Solutions Operations department
Oh, that sounds cool.
What are somethings that attracted you to that career?
Well, as back story: I started at this company as a Member Services Rep on the phones. Somehow I got promoted to Team Lead, and then again to Supervisor, before I saw this position. I like the job because I get to analyze systems and find gaps and weaknesses, and I get to help people solve problems.
Oh nice. What does a typical day look like for you?
Game designer, it’s a nice gig if you like to make games. 😑
Ha, I take it you’re not really a fan of it anymore.
What are some of the pros and cons of that kind of job?
Are you, ya know… into making games?
I bit, why? You selling?
Software Controls Engineer, I develop tools and templates for automation.
Oh, man. A few years ago I thought about getting into that. Seemed really cool but also a bit overwhelming.
I love to make sense of how things are connected and flow in a system.
How did you get started? =)
I actually started as an electrician, I was installing hardwire motor control systems. I was terrible at running conduit though, so I only did that for half a year.
Was hired as an entry level Controls Engineer for a small company that does automotive manufacturing systems. They weren’t a great place to work mostly throwing bodies at problems, but it got me started and gave me experience.
Turns out I really enjoy PLC programming and made Sr Controls Engineer in 3yrs. It is a steep learning curve, less so if you have any kind of programing/automation experience. At first it was a lot of travel, part of that was just the automotive industry. Though most places put their new employees on site a lot to get experience.
Since covid remote work is more prevalent and a lot of my coworkers work from home when not onsite. Now I am in R&D, I work remotely and haven’t been onsite in over a year and half.
It’s a constantly changing field new technologies are being introduced all the time, it definitely keeps me interested.
Wow, this sounds rad as a job and career.
How much has the tech in your field changed since you started?
Also, would you mind giving an example of what kind of R&D you do? Like where is the industry needing to head towards and what kind of things are you working towards.
Depending on the industry Automation tends to be behind technologically. It makes sense they want things to be stable and relatively inexpensive. So when I started in Automotive we were still doing new installations with DeviceNet. Around 2017 they started using Ethernet, which was a nightmare at first because very few people knew proper network management and frequently messed up the VLANs.
The programing is starting to shift to text based “traditional” programming vs. ladder logic. Ladder is definitely still a requirement right now but there are PLCs that can be programmed in Python. But Allen-Bradley is the most widely used PLC hardware in North America and only supports their own rudimentary text programming currently. More and more companies are seeing Software and IT as a potential Automation workforce.
*Edit: And with Inductive Automation’s Perspective using Web Developers for HMIs is now becoming more of a trend in big companies.
Currently I am working on standardization and templates for our hardware product offering. Last year I was automating our program creation, I created a tool to read a project’s parts database and spit out a basic PLC program based on the contents. This saves our Controls Engineers a lot of mundane text entry and configuration.
One of my the “cooler” things I have worked on in the past has been AGVs (autonomous guided vehicles). They were used in the Automotive plants to deliver parts to the assembly lines. The version that I worked on years ago followed tape on the floor and had proximity sensors to prevent collisions. Newer ones don’t need the tape and instead have homing beacons. I now do a lot of work in automated warehouses and they have AGV “spiders” that can run up tracks on the shelves scan and retrieve packages.
Same here! Controls engineer with software background and BA in ChemE, just in the misguided company part of the growth spectrum, 3 years in… Etc description all matches.
At a fork here though deciding whether I move to a bigger company (PENA) as a Sr or start my contracting life.
Too early to go mobile? How was the travel, I’m being offered lucrative contracts for 5-6 months at a time, but away from my partner. Talking with them and still thinking it over, but if you have any insight I would appreciate it. :)
So the travel was great for the first two years and then never being home started wear on me big time. It wasn’t so bad because I met my husband at work. We managed to either get sent to the same sites, or do office work remotely from the hotel room. But Automotive was stressful.
Switching to a larger company changed my life big time. Better benefits, more resources, less of the “we need all hands onsite, we can’t afford to let you stay home” emergencies.
That said I haven’t tried contract work, but I have known people who did really well with it. Taking a 6m contract and then having enough to take the rest of the year off. The contractors I worked with were always paid better than we were.
