Working with ADHDers

Something that happens with ADHDers is that they go to college and de-compensate.  Generally the kicker is around the new demands and the change of life and living.

Having lived through this, I started asking questions and expecting answers- that never came.  I ran from college and went to a trade school where I became an LVN.

Oddly, I was still in a time where I didn't need a degree in Computer Science to work in IT.  Technology became my home for nearly 20 years.

On the plus side, people tended to assume that people working in technology were not social mavens.  That kept me safe for many years.  It didn't keep me safe forever.

As an ADHDer, I never knew how to manage social interactions at work.  On one hand, that wasn't a bad thing.  I met my husband at work.  On the other hand, it showcased my difficulty in dealing with social interactions and threw down a spotlight on that.

What I know today is that I can't go back to technology.  I've been out of it for too long and I can't care about it the way I used to.  That means that I can't bring the level of dedication necessary to the table.  On the plus side, that means that I don't even try to win those roles.  On the downside it means that I fight to find freelance roles in writing.

So how do you find a job in a world that believes that you need a college education to collect garbage?

If you are still at an age where you believe you can learn a trade, I suggest you set your browser to mikeroweWORKS.com.  This foundation provides scholarships if you are willing to tell the Foundation why you deserve a chance.

The "Dirty Jobs" guy heard volumes from people who had jobs that were left alone- as unemployment was reaching double digits- because there was a belief that we are all too good to take these jobs, and/or college education was/is more important.

I would love to find a creative job.  I have no college degree.  I can't do what the trade school trained me for any more.  At 52, I'm not exactly what anyone wants to hire.  That doesn't mean that I am incapable or incompetent.  It means that my time has passed.

mikeroweWORKS.com provides a way for ADHDers to find work- real work that pays a living wage- that can last longer than a degree.  At the end of the day, alphabet soup is just a lunchtime thing.

People with ADHD are going to fight to find and keep jobs.  Finding support is important and necessary. If you are willing to think out of the box, there are alternatives.

I wish I was a welder...