Worst Jobs for ADHD and Careers to Avoid – Top 6 in 2024

In this article, we consider the worst jobs for ADHD adults and why they might want to avoid them. Having such a delicate condition, there are a few options considered as being the worst careers for ADHD adults that it might be best to avoid. Slowly, it can take a maximum toll in aggravating their condition, over time. Knowing the worst careers for ADHD is the focus of this article.

So what are the worst jobs for people with ADHD? And how can they identify a job that’s not suitable for them? To answer these questions, you need to first know the (negative) characteristics of ADHD. On the other hand, you need to know what the job entails.

On the other hand, we also have a guide about the best jobs for people with ADHD where we listed the best ADHD career opportunities.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the (negative) characteristics of ADHD:

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that has a negative impact on one’s attention and behavior and can interfere with daily activities such as school work, socializing with friends, and routine chores in the house. 

• ADHD can also have a negative impact on what one does in his or her job occupation. It is a common brain-based disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 10 school-aged children. Half of those who have ADHD in childhood will have symptoms of the disorder continue into adulthood.

If you’re interested in delving deeper into ADHD employment, we’ve also compiled the latest ADHD employment statistics for your exploration

We invite you to have a look at our list of jobs for people with disabilities to find and apply to jobs if you have ADHD.

What is ADHD?

The term ADHD is an acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which begins at an early age, In fact, our last analysis of the statistics of neurodiversity in the workplace shows that ADHD is the most common neurodiversity among college students. It is a disorder that affects neurodevelopment. Some major (negative) traits of this condition involve impulsivity, inattention and hyperactivity. Due to their lack of attention to detail, people with ADHD may find it more challenging to develop organizational skills. They may also sometimes have difficulty concentrating and go through periods of restlessness.

At work, people with ADHD may be manifesting:

• Difficulty with time management;
• Difficulty with dealing with high level of stress;
• Impulsive behavior;
• Difficulty when it comes to be organized;
• Lack or difficulties when it comes to prioritization;
• Difficulty when it comes to detail planning;
• Lack of multitasking skills;
• Low frustration tolerance;
• General restlessness;
• Regular mood change.

That’s why, below, we have explained which are the worst jobs for ADHD adults and why you might want to avoid those careers.

When going out to apply for work, there are plenty of jobs that perfectly suit those with ADHD. In this post, we will focus on the following jobs that are simply not a good fit for people with ADHD. 

Top 6 Worst Careers for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

1. Event Planners

Event planners are required to plan and figure out the logistics of events down to every last detail.

Event planners are also expected to put on a smile at all times and socialize with guests, which may prove to be challenging for those with ADHD.

Ultimately, a great amount of precision is required to be an event planner. When you organize an event, you must make sure that the information you gather about an event is accurate. If something goes wrong during an event, people with ADHD may be unable to control their reactions since unexpected mishaps can develop restlessness.

As a result, event planning is one of the worst jobs for ADHD adults.

2. Legal Practitioners

Taking a career in the legal field requires extraordinary concentration.

Usually, a lawyer always has to deal with a lot of documents. More so, these documents hold life-changing details, so the legal profession often calls for additional focus and organization. Moreover, it is not an everyday profession.

Long, uninterrupted hours of work are typically required if you pursue a career as a lawyer. While at the law firm office, you will have an abundance of paperwork to sort out, and specific information about cases to organize. Paying attention to detail is typically not a strength of someone with ADHD. 

Being a legal practitioner is not for everyone, and is not recommended to people with ADHD.

An unflappable commitment to the details and solid organizational skills are mandatory for lawyers. Whether it’s creating contracts, wills, or testimonial evidence, you cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake when presenting a legal case in a courtroom or performing a legal duty for clients. In other words, there is much stress involved with the job of a lawyer, which may not be suitable for those with ADHD.

In fact, it could unsettle you and make you error-prone, eventually. So Legal Practitioners is definitely one of the worst careers for ADHD adults.

3. Customer Care Representatives

Who is most likely to get exhausted from long hours of calls, every day? Customer care representatives.

Their job entails repetitive, sometimes boring calls from clients.

Perhaps, for anyone else, it is a joy of a profession. It is, in fact, a talent to settle a customer’s complaints and reverse their grumbling into sheer satisfaction and happiness.

The job of a customer care representative is to make calls throughout the day. Depending on the tone of the customer in these calls, a representative with ADHD may be met with either rude or condescending comments. 

It takes skills in both planning and socializing to solve a customer’s problems. When handling rude customers, representatives need to keep their temper in check. People with ADHD typically have the characteristic of a temperamental attitude. 

Customer care representatives specialize in being patient and polite, no matter how rude customers get. Sometimes the impulsivity of people with ADHD prevents them to refrain from reacting negatively in such situations. 

That’s why customer care reps are easily one of the worst jobs for someone with ADHD.

We invite you to have a look at our list of jobs for people with disabilities to find and apply to jobs if you have ADHD.

4. Truck Drivers

There is more that goes into driving big 18-wheel trucks than just operating a Gross Vehicle Weight of over 26,000 pounds. You will most likely make long drives alone, and often overnight. This job requires concentration for long periods of time, which is not a strength of someone with ADHD.

Other components of a truck driver’s job include picking up and safely transporting goods, communicating with dispatch when necessary, and maintaining detailed driving and delivery logs. Sometimes having a tendency to be inattentive, people with ADHD may accidentally omit important details. If communicating with an unsupportive boss, people with ADHD may react negatively.  

Truck drivers must adhere to company and industry rules and regulations, which requires a steady level of organizational skills. It can sometimes be challenging for those with ADHD to maintain a proper organization. Keeping track of a specific set of rules can also be a challenge.

5. Therapists

Last but not least, therapist jobs are among the worst careers for ADHD adults. By nature, being a therapist demands a high level of maturity and stability of mind.

Of course, there’s no better way to analyze emotional distress in your clients and proffer them solutions. So, if the therapist is just as dramatic as the one needing therapy, it is a laughable scene.

Now, people with ADHD are interactive enough for this job. However, they could lack the sufficient attention span to properly offer therapy to their clients.

Naturally, people with ADHD would prefer high-energy and creative jobs. Being a therapist is just not one of them.

Therapists engage in interactions with clients to process information about them. Therapists are tasked with providing psychological therapy by acting as a friend.

While people with ADHD are highly interactive, they do not have the attention span required to provide effective therapy.

Another key part of a therapist’s job is to show empathy for clients. A strength of someone with ADHD is the great ability to show empathy. However, there is a shortage of the neurotransmitter to bring pleasure in the brain of someone with ADHD. 

Therapists are effective listeners and don’t immediately react to sudden words or actions. Therapists see all kinds of clients throughout the course of a day. They pay attention to what is being said and done first, and then react at the appropriate time. The impulsive nature of someone with ADHD can cause him or her to react to certain situations inappropriately.

6. Clerical Jobs

Clerical jobs are arguably the quite monotonous jobs. There’s absolutely nothing exciting about organizing large logs of files, documents, archives and so on, repetitively. In addition, they can be exceedingly tedious due to the level of concentration the job needs.

Although, the workload depends on your work environment as a librarian or bookkeeper

For focus-driven clerical jobs like this, ADHD persons will find it almost impossible to fit in. They simply lack the time-management, logistics and high organizational skills it requires. Indeed, clerical jobs rank as one of the worst jobs for people with ADHD.

Recognized people with ADHD

To illustrate the variety of fields a person with ADHD can develop their career, we collected some  celebrities, athletes, politicians, and business leaders who are successful in their jobs while living with ADHD:

• Michael Phelps: The American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist has been open about his ADHD diagnosis and how it has impacted his life and career. He has spoken about how swimming has been a therapeutic outlet for him and how he uses visualization techniques to manage his symptoms.

• Simone Biles: The American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist has also been open about her ADHD diagnosis. She has spoken about how the condition has impacted her ability to focus and how she has used medication and therapy to manage her symptoms.

• Richard Branson: The British business magnate and founder of Virgin Group has ADHD and has spoken about how he has used his condition to his advantage in business. He has credited his ability to think outside the box and take risks to his ADHD.

• Howie Mandel: The Canadian comedian, actor, and game show host has ADHD and has spoken about his struggles with the condition. He has used his platform to raise awareness about ADHD and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.

• Justin Timberlake: The American singer, songwriter, and actor has been open about his ADHD diagnosis and how it has impacted his life and career. He has spoken about how he manages his symptoms with medication and therapy.

• Michelle Rodriguez: The American actress has ADHD and has spoken about how the condition has impacted her life and career. She has credited her success in Hollywood to her ability to hyperfocus on her work.

• Adam Levine: The American singer and lead vocalist of Maroon 5 has ADHD and has spoken about his struggles with the condition. Levine uses his fame to talk about ADHD and help fight the stigma this mental condition has in society.

These recognized people with ADHD have been open about their struggles with the condition and how they have managed their symptoms to achieve success in their respective fields. They are positive role models for people with ADHD and a good reference to teach society about the capacities and unique abilities of people with ADHD.

Conclusion

The best work environments for people with ADHD tend to encourage creativity, offer variety in daily routines, and have a high level of interaction.

Positive traits of those with ADHD include having higher energy, the willingness to help or mentor others, having the ability to multitask, and having compassion and empathy. With traits like these, there is a great abundance of careers for people with ADHD, so the long-term outlook is bright.

However, struggling to pay attention to detail and showing impulsive behavior in stressful situations prevent people with ADHD from working jobs that expose those negative traits. Jobs that generally require staying focused for long periods of time don’t always work out for those with ADHD. It is therefore important for ADHD employees to stick to their strengths and pursue careers that will highlight their positive traits.

So if you suffer from ADHD make sure to avoid the options listen in our Top 6 worst careers for ADHD persons in 2024.

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