AMA: Is architecture a good career for someone with ADHD?
TLDR: Maybe? This letter discusses the role of interest in career choice for folks with ADHD.
Hello reader - thank you for being here!
Before we dive into this week’s question, I want to provide a little context:
For those that don’t know me personally, I used to be an architect before becoming an ADHD coach. Technically, I am still an architect (I still have my license) but I am not practicing architecture at the moment as I am pouring full-time efforts into my ADHD coaching business: ADHD Embraced.
This week’s question-asker references inattentive ADHD. Inattentive ADHD is a subtype of ADHD characterized mainly by difficulties with focus, organization, and follow-through, rather than hyperactivity or impulsivity. If this is a new concept to you, you can read more about ADHD subtypes here: https://add.org/adhd-types/
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Thanks! Now on to the question.
Question: I am looking for some advice from you on the topic of working in architecture and having ADHD (inattentive type). So far, I have found working in the architecture field difficult. After I graduated with my architecture degree and had challenges with staying employed, I realized and was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD. In the architectural roles I was in, I didn't enjoy the technical drawing aspect in those jobs. I've mostly been in drafting roles and I have not liked those roles. I think I would enjoy more conceptual and creative work along with renderings. I've unfortunately been let go from the majority of architectural roles I have been in because I can't perform the work quickly enough. I typically work at a much slower pace than other employees in the office who are neurotypical. I have such a hard time focusing on things that need to get done on architectural projects and I miss things in work I am doing which causes errors that other employees have had to fix. I'm considering changing fields if architecture is too much for my ADHD mind to be able to handle. If I do make a change, I've considered doing interior design instead, but I wonder if I will have the same problems trying to work in that field also. Do you find it challenging for you to be able to handle everything an architect does with having inattentive ADHD? I'm just curious to get your perspective on this since you have ADHD. I'd appreciate any advice and feedback you have also for what you would recommend me to do since I'm having these challenges in architecture that are in part due to lack of focus, lack of interest, and lack of motivation. Let me know if you think interior design could be a good option for me to move into or do you think I would be better off looking for another kind of job where the ability to focus isn't as critical in being able to do a job well and to be able to do the job in a reasonable amount of time. Keep me posted on your thoughts. Thanks.
— Anonymous
Dear Anonymous Question-Asker,
First: I'm truly sorry to hear about your experience of being let go from jobs. Not being fast enough was a big insecurity of mine when I worked in architecture too. I relate to and validate your experience of not enjoying technical drawings. I was lucky never to have been in a purely drafting role, but I imagine that I would really struggle with it. I was involved in multiple phases and aspects of projects, but even then —every project would reach the phase of construction drawings or contract admin eventually and I remember the painful dullness of those days, and the insecurity that I couldn't just “get things done” and crank them out the way my colleagues seemed to be able to. I’ll answer your question in three parts:
1. What being an architect was like with undiagnosed ADHD
Architecture does demand a great, almost perfectionistic attention to detail and I was very anxious about making mistakes as well. I used a lot of checklists and double, triple, and quadruple checked my work before sending it out. I would often stay late and work unpaid overtime in order to do this, and also because I felt I was just too slow compared to my colleagues and was very insecure about it.
I experienced a lot of what you described and overcame my inattention difficulties with a lot of anxiety (and unpaid overtime) — this is not a technique I would recommend. l was not diagnosed with ADHD until the final month or two of my career in architecture, and I didn't really know anything about it before I was diagnosed. I had been diagnosed instead with generalized anxiety, and I saw a therapist for anxiety the entire time I worked in architecture. Anxiety is a compensating factor for inattention, but it's a dangerous one. Essentially our brains can get in the habit of using adrenaline and cortisol to initiate focus and action in order to compensate for our low dopamine levels. I just wanted to put that out there as a caution, because I think it's a really easy trap to slide into as an inattentive ADHDer, and over-relying on cortisol and adrenaline has negative consequences for both mental and physical health. By using this unconscious strategy of making myself very anxious, I was keeping up with my work for years while feeling absolutely drained and miserable until eventually I just hit a wall and burned out.
So yes, architecture can be a challenging profession for us, but I don't think it's impossible. I think you're absolutely right to imagine that you would perform better in more creative roles. When we're working on tasks that are inherently rewarding to us, the dopamine gets flowing in our brain and we have much less trouble paying attention and staying motivated. I'm sure you can think of many examples in your life where this has been true. I firmly believe that for people with ADHD, following our joy isn't a “nice to have,” it's a necessity. So as you decide on your next steps, give a lot of weight to what you truly enjoy doing (and not what you “should” enjoy, or wished you could enjoy - we can't fake out our brains!)
2. What might make the design field work better for me
I don't know you well, so I hesitate to weigh in on whether you should move toward interior design, but I can share some things I am considering for myself if I were to move back into the design field. That being said, just because this is what I am thinking for myself, doesn't mean it also applies to you — so feel free to take anything that resonates with you and leave the rest. One of the reasons I believe so strongly in ADHD coaching is that people with ADHD are all so unique and different. We have interest-based nervous systems so we work best when our interests are engaged, but people can be interested in such different things that an individual-tailored approach like coaching can really bring out someone's strengths when they have ADHD. General ADHD tips and hacks will only take you so far.
Here's what I think would be important for me if I were going to re-enter the design field:
Fast-moving, smaller projects.
I worked primarily in affordable housing and public transit which were meaningful areas of work to me, but those projects would take years and years and years to complete and my brain needs more novelty and change. If this resonates, then I think you may be onto something with interior design. I briefly worked at a firm that did restaurant interiors and the pace of that was better for me in retrospect — projects were completed in months and weeks, not years. Also the construction drawing phase was relatively short, so I spent a larger portion of my time on the creative schematic phases of those projects.
Working for myself.
I love being my own boss now that I'm an ADHD coach. It's such a relief to be able to work in flows that make sense to me and not have that feeling that someone's looking over my shoulder and accounting for every minute of my time. You mentioned that you were in drafting roles, so I'm imagining that you likely were working for some larger corporate companies. I think folks with ADHD work better in bursts and allowing ourselves to work this way is more productive while being kinder to our nervous systems. For me, the more autonomy I can have over how I use my time, the better I feel, but large corporate environments typically don't allow for much autonomy.
Consulting related to architecture.
For example: being a LEED consultant, etc. This one is tricky because you need some experience in the field in order to become a consultant and I'm not sure if I would even be able to make my way into this. But I like the thought of consulting because I could both work for myself and also have a small role in many projects which I imagine would keep things more interesting than working on the same project for years.
3. Interest is essential—but so are strategies for life’s boring but important moments.
My biggest advice is to learn to trust your gut on what's really going to be interesting to you and what will provide your brain with inherently rewarding feedback. We folks with ADHD do so much better when we're interested, and when we're not it's like we're swimming upstream. This is not to say that if we follow our joy things will never be hard. If you end up deciding that your real passion lies in architecture, there will still be moments in every project that are challenging for folks with inattentive ADHD, but the balance has to be right. You need enough passion and interest to get you through the drudgery. If it's all drudgery (or mostly drudgery), it's going to be really tough.
If you do find yourself stuck in a period of boring work as you move through your career journey, do your best to set your brain up to have the most available dopamine. This includes:
taking medication (if you choose to - it isn't right for everyone).
getting enough sleep (lack of sleep further depletes dopamine).
exercise (aside from medication this is the most effective way to increase your brain's dopamine levels. Ideally this would be cardio exercise, ideally it would be in the morning - but any exercise at any time, even going for a 5 min-walk, is better than nothing and very effective).
spending time outside.
experiment with doing something you absolutely love for 20-30 minutes at the start of your day.
pair something interesting or enjoyable with the boring activity. (For example: I would listen to interesting, fun podcasts or upbeat music while drafting).
It sounds like things have been discouraging, but I want you to trust that you will do well when you find the job that has enough interest to light your brain up. I wish you clarity, momentum, and most of all joy on your journey ahead!
— Keltie
Summary of links in this article:
Types of ADHD in Adults: Understanding the Differences
Emotions and Motivation with ADHD
Identifying Brain Differences In People With ADHD
ADHD & the Interest-Based Nervous System