What are better jobs in Computer Software/IT for someone with ADD?
October 22, 2015 4:59 AM Subscribe
What are better jobs in Computer Software/IT for someone with ADD?
I changed major to computer science for master's degree, from a unrelated undergraduate major(physics). only till then during the grad school did I found out I have ADHD inattentive type, in a severe form. It explained all the struggles I had experienced for school and for life.
To be frank, since I'm relatively new to this computer field, I don't have much confidence to be able to survive and succeed with my ADD. My coding skill is not particularly strong, and I find some fields are boring, such as front end web development and database.
I need some advice from someone with experience in both computer software and ADHD, what are some of the better fields to work in in IT industry with the disability caucused by ADD? relatively easy to handle(not working memory intensive), not too boring(repetitive) and probably have a chance to make use of my analytical/mathematics/physics background? And which fields are better to avoid?
Thanks in advance!
I changed major to computer science for master's degree, from a unrelated undergraduate major(physics). only till then during the grad school did I found out I have ADHD inattentive type, in a severe form. It explained all the struggles I had experienced for school and for life.
To be frank, since I'm relatively new to this computer field, I don't have much confidence to be able to survive and succeed with my ADD. My coding skill is not particularly strong, and I find some fields are boring, such as front end web development and database.
I need some advice from someone with experience in both computer software and ADHD, what are some of the better fields to work in in IT industry with the disability caucused by ADD? relatively easy to handle(not working memory intensive), not too boring(repetitive) and probably have a chance to make use of my analytical/mathematics/physics background? And which fields are better to avoid?
Thanks in advance!
I’m also an ADHD inattentive type, IT professional.
As somewhat of an extrovert, I’ve been most successful as a Sales Support/Sales Engineer type person. Enterprise software companies will almost have these positions. Basically, this job is to be the expert in the sales process that the real sales person brings in when he or she wants to seem like they know what he or she is talking about.
I found that that type of position allowed me to really understand the technical details of the software, develop a best method of communication about those details, and always have a new shiny client to communicate with. And, because I wasn’t the “real” sales person, I didn't have to do any of the boring work that my ADHD brain hates like: cold calling, following up with contract details, negotiating the deals, etc. I’d come in, excitedly share a new shiny thing, and leave to the next potential client without any real responsibility for direct follow up.
posted by mrbeefy at 7:37 AM on October 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
As somewhat of an extrovert, I’ve been most successful as a Sales Support/Sales Engineer type person. Enterprise software companies will almost have these positions. Basically, this job is to be the expert in the sales process that the real sales person brings in when he or she wants to seem like they know what he or she is talking about.
I found that that type of position allowed me to really understand the technical details of the software, develop a best method of communication about those details, and always have a new shiny client to communicate with. And, because I wasn’t the “real” sales person, I didn't have to do any of the boring work that my ADHD brain hates like: cold calling, following up with contract details, negotiating the deals, etc. I’d come in, excitedly share a new shiny thing, and leave to the next potential client without any real responsibility for direct follow up.
posted by mrbeefy at 7:37 AM on October 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
I am a computer type person, married to an ADHD computer type person. I'd say success and happiness depends less on the type of work, and more on job environment. So, coding, DBA, support, sales/bizdev-- he's done all of these. Anything that's an interesting puzzle and triggers hyper focus makes him happy. Support was tough from the "yelling clients" POV, but he was awesome at crisis management and thrived on it (which he attributed to ADHD). Coding is bliss.
Environment-wise: startups are his happy place, because there is less bureaucracy. Startup-turned-mega company was the worst because everything had to be run through committee and signed in triplicate. Hell! Especially for ADHD. He is more agile than agile, and thrives most in a very small team when left to his own brilliant devices.
The biggest hell was expense reports. I think we probably lost thousands because he never did them. So unless you are important enough to have an admin, either avoid jobs requiring expense reports (consultants, sales, traveling support) or hire a VA (virtual assistant) to help you with your paperwork.
Other than that, just pick something that seems fun-- coursework is the perfect time to figure all this out.
posted by instamatic at 1:36 PM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Environment-wise: startups are his happy place, because there is less bureaucracy. Startup-turned-mega company was the worst because everything had to be run through committee and signed in triplicate. Hell! Especially for ADHD. He is more agile than agile, and thrives most in a very small team when left to his own brilliant devices.
The biggest hell was expense reports. I think we probably lost thousands because he never did them. So unless you are important enough to have an admin, either avoid jobs requiring expense reports (consultants, sales, traveling support) or hire a VA (virtual assistant) to help you with your paperwork.
Other than that, just pick something that seems fun-- coursework is the perfect time to figure all this out.
posted by instamatic at 1:36 PM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
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Since you have a scientific/analytical background, look for scientific/engineering work. Your undergrad degree will be a big plus. And get some books or take some on-line courses to improve your coding skill. It's not an innate talent, like athletic ability. The more experience you get, the better you'll get.
posted by ubiquity at 6:32 AM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]