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Post by HooDunnit on Nov 24, 2003 13:52:06 GMT -5
My ADHD son is in grade 11 and I'm trying to think about what kind of career to recommend to him. He likes the idea of engineering, but I'm not sure that he could handle the workload. He has real problems in the area of time management. About a half the people that go into first year engineering either flunk or drop out. I'd hate to see that happen to him. On the other hand, he would be very happy if he succeeded.
Barry
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Post by Douglas on Nov 24, 2003 15:47:13 GMT -5
I spent a number of years managing an engineering team. I can say very bluntly that had I been one of the engineers rather than the manager, I (as an adult ADD) would not have lasted.
Engineers are, as a group, organized, focused, very consistent and productive, not given to stop-and-go work rhythms. Schedules and deadlines are of absolutely critical importance in this field.
If your son has an aptitude for the math and physics, and an inclination in this direction, then it would be a good idea to deal with his issues BEFORE he invests deeply in it, or he may have trouble making it work.
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Post by Allanque on Nov 24, 2003 23:20:16 GMT -5
Dad's a mechanical engineer.
Of course, he changed subjects 5 times in college and has more fun crawling through plants and getting dirty than he did working in an office.
The only thing consistent about Dad is insane amounts of coffee and the time he gets up in the morning.
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Post by LitlBaa on Nov 25, 2003 2:11:31 GMT -5
My younger brother (not ADD) majored in Electrical Engineering in college. He went through Physics four times before finally passing. My hubby (recently dx'd ADD) is majoring in Electronic Systems Technology. Lots of hands on stuff, building the projects, lighting things up, testing things...and he loves it. I don't think my hubby would do well with the heavy duty theoretical stuff, his mind doesn't work that way.
Is there a junior college nearby where your son could try out some classes? Is he more interested in the building things or the theory? I like junior colleges better for those of us who didn't know what we wanted to be when we grew up, it gives you a chance to take different things and see what sparks your interest.
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Post by milesofsmiles on Nov 25, 2003 10:24:37 GMT -5
I started out in college going through the "pre-" classes requesits for the technical fields of architecture, engineering, geology... I think that is all I wanted to major in. It was quite a change to go from high school to college and I had to study all the time, reviewing and rereviewing everything I learned or spaced out. They were some challenging courses such as Calculus 1,2,3, Physics 1,2, Chemestry 1,2, statics, dynamics.... I always thought that I wanted to be an architect. I loved to draw houses and plans. I enrolled in the school of architecture. After about 8 weeks of trying to think like an architect, trying to arrange drawings of circles, triangles and cylinders inspire feelings of fear, euphoria, and trying to twist my thinking that function follows form, I strolled over to the engineering department and told them that I could not think like an architect. My thoughts were too structured. I looked into civil engineering. What a variety of specialities this had. Transportation, traffic, sewer, water, structural, concrete, geotechnical, hydrology, dam design..... After an indoctrination to the general engineering courses, concrete, structures, fluid mechanics, hydraulic engineering, transportation engineering, I focused on traffic engineering. All of the course work I had could not prepare me for my first job, a transportation engineer for a small city. That's when I learned the role of politics involved in decisions. Text book answer or not, there is always the heartstings attached to the final decisions. Since then I have stuck with municipal engineering due to the interaction with people. No two circumstances are ever the same, no single project is ever the same, there are always challenges and deadlines to meet. There are always 2 dozen projects, the phone never stops ringing, and there is never enough money to do everything everyone wants. In a round about way I guess I am saying that starting out requires a lot of disicpline and energy. The prerequesites are tough to get through, but lay the groundwork for more challenging engineering courses. Initial engineering courses give you a sample of everything. I guess you kind of have to know going into college if you loved biology or physics, or art. But there is time to get the feeling of college, set goals and achieve them, or set new ones. Miles  |
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Post by HooDunnit on Nov 25, 2003 15:10:15 GMT -5
Thank you so much for your replies. My son loves to design and build things. At the moment, his physics teacher has him building something for the physics lab. He is paying him for his materials, plus ten dollars an hour for labour. The teacher even is paying him for the time spent on the consultation on what kind of thing it should be -- the various design options, etc.
I have thought of engineering technology courses for him, as he is very good technically. But he prefers design. He would prefer to be more involved with the theory than the application. He would like to design something and then hand it off to someone to build. He says that even when he is walking through shopping malls, he will be thinking of the designs of things. When he was a child, he spent a lot of time playing lego. He had mountains of the stuff. But he would take everything apart and build his own constructions. He knew how everything fit together. He knew every piece intimately and what it could do.
His best subject in math. He also does well in physics, english and history (oddly enough). He seems a good match for engineering, but I worry about the workload, as he has a problem with time management. He tends to waste time surfing the internet and chatting with friends (esp. girls). But I imagine that most teenagers are like that.
Barry
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Post by Linda on Nov 25, 2003 20:40:16 GMT -5
Barry,What does your son want to do? |
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Post by tridlette on Nov 26, 2003 1:37:37 GMT -5
Miller mom asked last spring what would be good for her son, who is probably 8 or 9 right now! Linda has a very good question, what would he like. But to be honest, I am 38 and haven't decided yet! I am currently a home schooling mom, but before this I was a paramedic. Millermom summed up my job nicely... Lots of mini dramas tempered with lots of down time (aka: wasted time surfing the net!) It allows the ADHD me to hyper focus for short periods of time, my adrenaline gets to run at a frenzied pace for short periods, and the inattentive side of me gets to ignore most of the day or night. Yes it is a stressful job, but when they did a survey of 1000 paramedics in New Jersey (I think I have the number and states correct), they concluded that somewhere around 85-90% very likely were ADHD! I spent some time observing my employees a few years back, and I believe that data is very likely true! But, not everyone is a blood and guts type (but how many of us spent our childhood in the ER with blood and guts of our own hanging out  ) I would suggest, no matter what he says he wants to do now, encourage him to take some of the basic classes at a community college. My mom bribed me, since she was saving soooo much $$$ at the local school, she "let" me take her to work in the morning, drive her car to school, fill it with gas, and then pick her after work! I never caught on to her tricks until just now! I tried Environmental Science, Nursing, and Engineering courses during my first 3 semesters there. Then I enrolled in the Medic course, and graduated from the same Community College after 7 semesters at $400 a pop plus books. Mom and Dad retired as soon as I graduated, I guess I saved them mega bucks by staying local. (This has been a very enlightening post... Barry, thanks for opening MY eyes!) Well, I guess you understand why I suggest keeping him local and not going the Harvard route yet! Best of luck to him! Laurie |
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Post by HooDunnit on Nov 26, 2003 10:36:58 GMT -5
RE "Barry,What does your son want to do?"
He wants to . . . .I'm not sure how to put it. You know, with girls . . .
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Post by susanthemom on Nov 30, 2003 1:35:17 GMT -5
Well then, that's simple.....introduce him to the prettiest engineering student you can find.  Susan |
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Post by HooDunnit on Nov 30, 2003 9:38:19 GMT -5
Good point!!!!!!!!!
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Post by mom2tj on Jan 12, 2004 14:05:53 GMT -5
Hoodunnit, My 2 cents.... Please dont tell him he cant do it, I was told I could not be a teacher and I was suggested something else, well I'm 37 years old and I still wish I could be a teacher.... I dont like what I do even if i'm good at it's pretty bad working everyday at something you dont really like doing...
My niece has ADD and she wanted to be a teacher she is only one credit away WHE WILL MAKE IT I am so proud of her, she knew it would be hard but she did it.
he would know if he doesnt try, and if it doent work out he should at the very least find a field that is of interest not what someone else tell him he should do.
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Post by sierra on Jan 13, 2004 1:43:52 GMT -5
I absolutely hate that 10th and 11th graders are trying to make decisions about what they want to be when they grow up.
Of course I'm staring 50 down and daring it to come and get me and I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. But in the meanwhile I've explored a lot of interests and had a great career I've enjoyed the heck out of. I may even ride it a few more years before I grow up. You never know.
This is the age of exploration for our kids. Colleges aren't as easy about this any more, but in my first couple of years I changed majors about as often as I changed underwear. See if your son can take some summer classes at the community college and start exploring.
This is a time for opening doors not closing them. The map is blank. And forget all those here be dragons signs. My advice to anyone from 16-22 is to get a compass, find the north star and start exploring. Who knows where you'll wind up. I sure surprised myself! Still do. Something new walks though my door at least once a week and says Look! I'm so cool. I'm so interesting. I'm so irresistable. Come play with me!
When I stop listening to those wild hairs just set me in a rocking chair on the front porch. I'll finally be grown up. And it'll be a durned shame.
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Post by coyote on Jan 13, 2004 13:32:54 GMT -5
The job I found that seemed to suit my abilities the most was....Emergency Communications. You know, 911 operator, police/fire/ems dispatcher, etc.
One of the requirements of the job is that you be able to split your attention between several things at once! It came easy to me....talking on/listening to several different radio channels, carrying on two or three phone conversations, typing, eating dinner, and reading a magazine all at once. You don't have to manage your time so much as respond to things as they happen....and there are plenty of bells and whistles and lights to get your attention. And the excitement....car chases, shootouts, fires, everything you can imagine. I got hooked on the adrenaline....the busier or crazier things got - the better!
The problem is, I did so well (probably due to ADD), that after 10 years I ended up as a supervisor. Now I'm the director of a 911 center....and I'm not nearly as happy at work, because (again probably due to ADD) I cannot manage my time or attention well enough to get anything done. I sit all alone in my corner office with piles of unfiled paperwork and unfinished projects, and look for things to distract me (like being on the internet right now). It's too bad that I need the salary, 'cuz i'd rather be back out on the floor taking calls and talking on the radio.
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Post by HooDunnit on Jan 13, 2004 14:04:28 GMT -5
Hey, well you can talk to us coyote!! We're happy to have you. By the way, how did you come up with the login "coyote"? "Coyote" is the figure of a trickster in North American native mythology, I believe. I have often thought of my ADHD-son as a bit of a coyote.
Barry
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