I’m curious to see the types of jobs and work fields that us audhders thrive in since a lot of jobs usually just end up burning us out.
Anyone found a way to make a steady income and not hate the job?
I feel like 90% of the comments here are going to be IT related.
Less because of Autism/ADHD, more just because this is Lemmy and 99% of users here are just hardcore Linux nerds.
Also IT.
I’m unbelievably offended that you would assume I do IT. I’m an EE.
But yes I’ve done IT.
IT systems engineer and software developer
I started working as a stock-boy in the grocery section of a certain chain of supermarkets that archers love, and I woke up every day absolutely dreading it. Nothing but the Musak blasting in an empty store, and my thoughts. Half the lights were off since my shift started at 5am, and you can usually find the place where something goes by sight. Absolutely hated it! And the worst part, no headphones. Ever. Even if the store isn’t open, it’s a safety thing…
Anyway, I started getting called over to the online ordering side to help them catch up with the order online, drive up and we’ll run out with your order. So far, I’ve only done the pulls; going out and grabbing products, bagging and storing them in the appropriate temperature, do another run. It keeps my mind occupied, and I’m not alone in an aisle for hours on end.
Time flys, I basically shop for things from a list, and at the end I get a fun “Job Completed” chime that releases juuust enough dopamine to make hours feel like minutes.
Work in IT for the government. Pays well, is unionized, good benefits. Work is sometimes frustrating but that’s true in any job
DevOps Architect - Was born for it. So many details. So many different technologies. I’ve been in IT for 25 years. I learn constantly. Keeps it fresh. And when I can’t focus I just spin around and play Gran Turismo until I can concentrate.
This should probably be my job description, but life got in the way before I speciated from generic backend software engineer. I’m doing something analogous, in that I’ve been putting together a ‘stack’ on top of Proxmox and super portable hardware so that I can self-host nearly everything I need on my own hardware while not having a permanent place to live.
I work at a newspaper and over the years we’ve had quite a few people with autism and some with ADHD on our writing staff. Like, a really disproportionate number to what you’d expect based on the general population.
It’s practically one of the things we look for in new hires. It seems to work, though I couldn’t really tell you why.
We tend to work with a fairly set routine with clearly defined deadlines. Our office environment isn’t too crowded or loud generally. We also write about a lot of different topics, and give people creative freedom to write about things they find interesting or enjoy. And in general, we are very welcoming to people with autism and/or ADHD. We embrace the things you’re good at and see if we can work around some of the things that might not be your thing. Making newspapers is a team effort, so there’s no real shame in having an off day - others can pick up that slack if need be. Our boss also has a daughter with autism, so he understands that it can come with challenges.
So yeah, at least from my perspective… writing for a newspaper seems to be a good fit for the people with autism / ADHD that I’ve encountered in this field.
Systems Administrator
Tutor, surprisingly. Definitely didn’t expect to end up in such a people-facing job when I was younger. But like, I get to tutor a lot of subjects and I like talking about math and science.
Another IT guy here. Not sure how to describe the role… data compliance management and troubleshooting? I dunno, it’s a mix of troubleshooting k8s and charts, log reviewing, and so on, along with some proprietary application stuff.
Previously was an automation and virtualization support engineer, this recent role has been weirdly chill so far by comparison. Feels odd to not be constantly putting out fires. Weird but… kinda nice.
Unemployed geologist. Unemployed by choice because instead of taking a job that would murder me I’m waiting for one that I know works with my limitations to open again. The jobs I take are usually project-based and start in the summer.
I am not the only ND person in the office and it’s quite refreshing.
I do CNC machining. A trade job but I really enjoy it. All things considered my workplace is pretty good. I’ve been enamored with the big ol machines since I first saw em.
I make enough to live for now and the daily stresses rarely come home with me. OT can be an option sometimes too. A perk is the ability to socialize at my desired amount
I build electrical panels but walk past the machine shop every morning and love seeing all the machines that you get to work with. The water jet is my favorite. Also, the press. So f’ing cool.
I haven’t worked with water jet cutting myself but I feel it would be awesome to do! The closest I’ve come would be a wet abrasive blast that I sometimes do at my current job.
But yeah, I love controlling these huge machines and cutting metal. It’s just got a sense of creating something behind it that I really enjoy. A physical product I can see and touch that I made.
Lawyer. Self employed. Subject matter is challenging and constantly changing.
I’m so envious! My job is ending in a few years and I am going to do law school. I can’t wait.
I’ve worked in kitchens my whole life. It’s a love hate relationship. When it’s going good it’s great. When it’s bad it can be the literal worst.
Principal Cloud Architect…i.e Terraform, DevOps strategies, enterprise stuff, etc. It’s like agile scrum was invented by and for ADHD. Hyperfocus + Pomodoro works nicely.
After getting a few pilot licenses and figuring out I likely have undiagnosed ADHD I figured out IT was a more interesting path. Once you start doing long cross country flights being a bus driver in the sky loses some of the sheen
I switched to PPG after realizing that piloting was not a good fit for my stress capacity. You still get to fly but for a fraction of the cost. 🪂
I really want to add a glider rating as there’s a place up the canyon which has a club. Riding thermals along the mountain ridges looks incredibly fun
