Software engineer is my title but my actual role is much more .. chaotic.
I love it
this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2024
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ADHD
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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.
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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.
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.
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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 😉
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?
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.)
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I’m an environmental scientist in applied research. Started as a technologist where I was handed experiments to plan and execute. Every project meant learning/creating at least new work flows, processes, instrumentation in different environments (lab, field work, greenhouse). I often had to learn new but related areas of expertise. CONSTANT troubleshooting and creative problem solving. All that chaos and stimulation was perfect for a brain that needs lots of novelty, pressure, and stimulation. Any time I started to get bored with the work I was doing, something completely different came up.
My employer sent me to grad school so I can lead some of research we do. I’m now figuring out how to make this work with my ADHD.
I work at a small company where I wear a lot of hats.
I audit chats, supervise a team of agents, answer billing and sales tickets as well as the phone for sales.
When theres downtime i also work on spreadsheets which we use to track agent performance and make tools to help us work. Thats probably the msot fun part. Its a good job.
Pay is way under what we should be getting but i like the company and they treat me well. Plus wfh so cant complain too much.
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.
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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. :)
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Packaging engineer! Foam is fun!
Do me a solid and see what you can do about NEVER using that Styrofoam that makes my bones itch when it squeaks.
I actually don't design with Styrofoam (EPS, Expanded Polystyrene). It's mostly polyethylene in various forms, or polyurethane. EPS is a terrible product!
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Data Architect... also management at the moment.
Holy moly. I fantasized about working that job many years ago. From what I gathered from job research sites, it takes many years of college to get into it. That's just not a path I can take as the way I learn isn't very cohesive with textbook learning, lecture note taking, and the like.
Am I wrong about this?
And how did you get started?
I tripped into it... I have always been database/persistence focused and joined a rather young small company so I became THE expert - years pass and I'm now managing persistence and design for a modestly sized team.
commissioned sales. for my ADHD the job can be awesome or it can really suck depending on the boss, which is why I started working for myself a few years ago
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