Career for my smart, hardworking active DS with ADD

amother

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 6:45 pm

My DS is graduating HS this year. He is an A student, and the hardest working child you will ever meet. He is also very hyperactive. He takes medicine for long Yeshiva hours but would ideally do much better with a career that allows for flexibility and movement. He is super athletic and loves hard physical labor. He is totally frum and plans to lead a frum lifestyle. He plans to go to YU and has been accepted. He will be on a sports team. Any suggestions of careers suited for someone with his strengths? He is not interested in plumber, electrician type of work. He wants to make over 100,000 but doesn’t want a desk job. Any ideas? Nurse? Engineer? His dream job would be park ranger but isn’t realistic considering where he wants to live and pay.

Frumwithallergies

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 6:47 pm

How are his grades? What about physiotherapist?
Can you tell us a bit more about him? What is he passionate about?

Most importantly, what drives him? Does he have any ideas as to what he wants to do?

amother

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 6:54 pm

He is an A student. Not the greatest at math but super hard working and excellent at writing and loves science and social studies. I believe he would be miserable sitting at a desk all day. He loves the outdoors. Farmer, gym teacher, park ranger, etc would be ideal jobs for him but he know he wants to support a family and be happy. So WE have been brainstorming ideas. Career testing I don’t think would be so helpful because it doesn’t take into account the hyperactivity..

crbc

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:00 pm

I would suggest volunteering ,or interships, esp if he is considering any healthcare fields - , volunteering in a hospital is great because it allows observing many diffefent HC proffesions first hand.

Zehava

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:00 pm

Seems like he’d do great in the medical field. As an EMT, nurse, or even doctor or surgeon. ADHD means he’d have the extra energy and stamina needed and be able to go on less sleep.
Other ideas are firefighter, police force, or perhaps he’d like to enlist in the army? Not sure how you’d feel about that.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:01 pm

I'm going anon because people know me IRL.

I have ADD (without so much hyperactivity) as well as auditory memory issues and a math learning disability. But my academic strengths outweighed these weaknesses. (Medication helps, too!)

Somehow, my dream was to be a physician. I pushed myself very hard, and pulled through with strong undergraduate grades and got into med school and then a residency speciality. I've been working at an academic / university hospital ever since.

Hopefully his diagnosis won't hold him back; I love your brainstorming ideas. Hopefully he finds his calling quickly!

imasinger

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:21 pm

There are ADHD coaches who do career testing.

That's a great way to go.

But he can also spend a year or two at YU before deciding on a future.

dancingqueen

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:27 pm

imasinger wrote:

There are ADHD coaches who do career testing.

That's a great way to go.

But he can also spend a year or two at YU before deciding on a future.

Exactly. That’s the beauty of a liberal arts degree. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to be in high school.

amother

Chocolate

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:33 pm

Nursing is great. Not that much schooling before he can start working, and lots of room for growth in the field down the line. He will be on the go all the time, and he is interested in science (and I assume people too?)

I think it's a great career for frum men, because they can easily work overtime and pick up extra shifts as the financial needs arise. While at the same time being very family friendly

imamom7

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 7:36 pm

Emergency room doctor
It’s hard to make over 100k as a physical therapist without owning a place, which I would imagine would be hard for someone with add

mlc

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 8:02 pm

Business and marketing

I personally know three people who have done so well in marketing and business industries . One actually attributes his success to his ADD- says it helps him keep up with new ideas and keep working on starting up new projects. They all went to YU too

amother

Gold

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 8:05 pm

amother [ Chocolate ] wrote:

And then move up to management where nurses can make $$$$

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 9:20 pm

imamom7 wrote:

Emergency room doctor
It’s hard to make over 100k as a physical therapist without owning a place, which I would imagine would be hard for someone with add

It’s possible to make close to 100k without owning a a place and it’s less schooling and training than an MD.

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 11:32 pm

Another possibility to consider may be computers, NOT programming. Rather, "back-end" , like servers and infrastructure, or Operations, maybe help desk. These aren't sitting jobs for the most part, unless you're very senior in the company. Lots of hands on, problem solving, adrenaline because there are emergencies, needs technical skills. Can make decent money, esp at management levels

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Apr 30 2019, 11:39 pm

amother [ Seagreen ] wrote:

I agree with this. He should look into IT jobs, NOT programming. It's often an on the minute, be available for emergencies plus often a lot of traveling and meeting new people.

My ADD husband is in IT and he LOVES his job. My ADD son is planning to go into this as well.