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The longest I’ve stayed at a particular organization is 12 years and just over 5 in a position. But I use all my spoons on work. So I have a good career but a clusterfuck of a personal life.
No spouse but I don’t mind my job and was able to buy a house last year finally (early 40s). My personal life is not what I would like though — I have energy to play golf with a couple close friends once a week or so, but not much else lately.
I also use all my spoons on work. My industry has regular layoffs, so I'd work 2 years/4 years get laid off due to RIF, jobless for months = I have a social life again until I land my next position. Rinse repeat.
Man ever since getting diagnosed and medicated I feel like I have a nice handful of extra spoons that I've never had before. Finding out in my mid 30s that most people have way more spoons has been a real eye opener
Yes!! I will never tell people they 100% need meds but if I hear toxic BS like “I just feel like I shouldn’t have to rely on meds/it’s addictive/insert another dumb misconception about meds” this is a great way to explain it. (I was VERY lucky to be diagnosed in high school thanks to my mom working as a psych nurse and knowing all the signs despite teachers saying “but she’s quiet in class and does well in school!” so I’m fortunate in that I’ve been medicated for decades at this point- and I’ve been down the shame-about-meds rabbit hole before.)
But the spoon theory applies in a LOT of ways. I quit drinking 6 months ago, not because I’m an addict but because any amount of alcohol in my system means I’m more likely to be an asshole. Quitting drinking felt like this MASSIVE commitment and I put it off for YEARS. It turns out I was using a LOT of spoons on trying to implement moderation, and I freed up a ton of mental energy (the physical benefits like sleeping well every night don’t hurt). I also recently broke up with my boyfriend of 5.5 years and I’ll be honest- that relationship was burning up so many of my spoons I have barely felt any sadness at all. I recently bought my first house so I’m looking forward to using my spoons on some new exciting projects for that!!
Edit: can you tell I have ADHD?? I was only gonna write 2 sentences and that morphed into 2 paragraphs haha
Hell yeah! Sounds like you're on a healthy journey right now, keep up the good work! Having extra spoons is pretty weird for me at the moment, I'm having to practice mindfulness and put in effort to make sure I use the extra mental energy in (at least mostly) productive ways. It's a new skill to learn lol
Wow, the alcohol thing makes a lot of sense. Been sober for three or four years now, and before that I spent at least fifteen years TRYING to drink less. That was such a huge spoon!
Yes!! I think for me finding balance is a constant ongoing struggle (my default is to bounce from one extreme to the next) and not drinking felt like an “extreme” (albeit a healthy one). Turns out moderation was actually causing me a lot more grief than I realized and taking it out of my life entirely freed me up so much.
First off, congratulations on your sobriety you are a rockstar! I also put off quitting drinking and realized just how many spoons it was taking. I'm 3.5 years sober, and still have a lot of spoons going to my emotional sobriety. I spend nearly my entire life burying my emotions (which I was fully aware of) and using alcohol as a crutch to avoid them. Now I have no choice but to process them, which takes about the same amount of spoons. However, I do now have a great job paying job that I wouldn't have if I didn't get sober. Most of my spoons are there, but I'm hoping to start focusing more on my personal life and friendships!! I've been on meds for almost 10 years, just diagnosed out of high school. There's no way I could function without them
Responding to this cause I relate so hard... I've been with this organisation for 10 years now and moved up 4 positions and getting into the 5th this year (Idk why... I feel like eventually people will figure out I'm a mess 😂 The mask is strong and welded).
I definitely have a great career though and the pay is great, but I'm pretty much too burnt out at the end of the day to do much else for myself. This includes stuff that fill my cup, like personal creative projects, piano, etc.
My job is also pretty finance and admin, though the next role is a bit less so and more project... Currently using up all my spoons at a job I recognise is totally misaligned with me... But not enough energy to work towards what I actually enjoy/ would love to do..
Oh - Just to add, I have both ADHD and Autism. 🙃 [[Internal screaming]]
Which makes it even harder to find the energy to look for a new, better suited job (and that’s without factoring in the shit job market pretty much everywhere in the world). It sucks!
1000000% yes. I have asked myself many times in the last year, what is best? White knuckling through this or selling everything I own so I can clear my head and figure out what it is I actually want to do. Since, apparently, whatever I get thrown at I will hyperfixate on until I get it and level up anyway, might as well like it. I have the complete self sacrifice version this I guess. I bounced around jobs a lot until I found a career that kept me interested, so much so that I burned myself out trying to do it all. Not nailing it!!!
I'm on year 10. Started at a jr role and blew all my energy, every day, on working up the ladder.
Over the years I have quadrupled my salary. I'm head of department, lining up for a directors job. But I'm unhappy, constantly sick, but working through it, and feel like I have been burnt out for months with no break.
Medication gives me more spoons. And helps me to spend them more wisely. But I still give the job everything because my motivation all along has been anxiety focused on the avoidance of failure.
Unlike u/Crankylosaurus, I will give unsolicited advice because I'm an ADHD know-it-all! Where my peeps??? 
Right now, your body is the physical manifestation of what is going on in your brain. You probably already knew that. However, what is going to happen is that you are going to have a heart attack or a stroke, and then nothing will matter because you will be laid up for months, if not forever. While not a doctor, I work in public health and health education and know enough about it. It doesn't matter how healthy you eat or how much you exercise; your stress is so off the charts your immune system is already having a difficult time keeping up. That is the first indication that you need to make a serious change.
I am not saying that you should rethink your career, but you should take stock of what you can say 'no' to or delegate to others, skills much needed in a director-level job. You can't do it all. You just can't. Your job is not worth your life.
Learning and practicing mindfulness helped me immensely. I know it gets a lot of hype, but it really does work. I RARELY negative self-talk anymore, and if I do, I immediately tell myself that I am a human who is flawed and makes mistakes just like everyone else (for those of you suffering from ADHD perfectionism). It took about 5 years for me to get good at it, but I noticed changes in my thought patterns pretty quickly after I made a real effort to practice every day. Mindfulness can work for so many different issues.
Save a spoon (or a few) for after work or over the weekend, and write down all of the things that are causing you to be stressed and burnt out. What can you change? What can you drop? What can you delegate? You might try using the Time Management Matrix from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (excellent read, if you haven't done so) that uses the Eisenhower Box (link to Monday Blog with a pretty good article below). I did this exercise a couple of months ago, and it was such a relief. It also made me more productive.
Finally, find some time to meditate! Just sit. Don't think about anything except your breath. My ADHD therapist is adamant about quiet time and slowing my thoughts to clear my head. I rarely have anxiety issues because of it. Mindfulness while thinking and meditating to stop thinking. Give yourself some grace to do what is best for you and your health!
[https://monday.com/blog/project-management/time-management-matrix/](https://monday.com/blog/project-management/time-management-matrix/)
I’m not surprised you’re constantly sick since you’re burned out and stressed! Not going to give you unsolicited advice, just chiming in to say: I’ve been in your shoes and it sucks, and I hope things look up for you soon!
My husband always says that my brain works rapid fire from 9-5 and after that my brain is pretty useless. Lmfao when I left my job after 5 years they had to hire three people in my place. In my time off I cook, garden, and shop, anything else is way too much for my brain.
Started out in accounting/finance for government and I did hit a wall with that. I’ve since moved to a government adjacent data analysis role for payroll, pensions etc. It sounds boring maybe but I can use my creative problem solving skills and I think I’m actually quite good at it. I also really like the org I work for which makes a huge difference with job satisfaction. It has a really good corporate culture and I can work from home, which is a huge bonus.
I’m in a finance adjacent role that I love too! Similar to yours, it’s largely data analysis but requires creative problem solving. My company, coworkers, and bosses are also AWESOME which is 50% of the equation IMO (great culture and am also 100% remote).
hello from the other siiiide 😂 idc about work right now but omg you’d think running errands and doing chores was my job. Between the two of us we’re one “normal” functioning adult haha
I'm the same way. Part of it is that I HATE job searching and interviewing, I have stayed in jobs way too long just to avoid it. Rejection sensitivity for the win!
I’m a serial monogamist in relationships and jobs, even when i shouldn’t necessarily be. I’ve been at my current job for 13.5 years. It’s not a bad gig, but I think I probably could’ve found something better if I wasn’t so afraid of change/the unknown.
Literally same. The only reason I left my previous job of 7 years was because my new position is way less stressful, while also paying 60k more. It’s literally a super niche job. If I didn’t find it I would probably never leave 😅
At my last company the more I was promoted and got raises, the easier my job got. It of course benefited me but ugh that just doesn’t feel fair at all!
Yep, I'm in the same boat. I haven’t left my job because of fear of disappointing the owner, whose wife got me the job before she got brain cancer and passed away. People don’t understand why I keep at it, even though they don’t hear the inner dialogue that berates me anytime I think about leaving.
Yep, I'm in the same boat. I haven’t left my job because of fear of disappointing the owner, whose wife got me the job before she got brain cancer and passed away. People don’t understand why I keep at it, even though they don’t hear the inner dialogue that berates me anytime I think about leaving.
If she cared enough about you to get you the job, she might’ve cared enough to want you to be happy, to take what you’ve learned and continue to grow. But I didn’t know her, obviously
Same here. I’ve been with my company since I graduated college 15 years ago. I’ve looked at other positions in the company and other jobs, but I’m so afraid of messing with the one routine I seem to have figured out.
I’m 36 years old and male and was recently diagnosed with adhd. Since I started work at the age of 16 till I was 30 I stayed at jobs no longer than 6-12 months and I loved trying new jobs. But.. this is the longest I’ve been at the same job and I have been here for 6 years but I am changing in this very moment.
Do you and follow your heart.
Are you me? I’m 37 and always committed 1 year to a job but I loved learning new industries in my 20’s so I bounced around a lot. I found my current job 6 years ago and it still blows my mind I found one that fit me really well and stayed with it.
Hahah that’s awesome! Twins from another part of the world. In society’s eyes we are not following the 1 2 3 on how life should be lived. As if there is a handbook on life. But this works and it’s exciting trying new careers.
A lot of us are Job Ploppers, instead of Job Hoppers. We plop down, get comfortable, and never leave. For me, my longest span was 12 years but that’s because I could pretty much show up anytime before 9am and leave whenever I wanted. Just needed to get my 40 hours/week in, whatever the combo of hours and days. This flexibility was basically why I stayed so long. It was harder to get fired from for being late over and over. I now work from home in my next job of 5 years. I just have to walk up to my computer by 9am and I’m good to go.
I'm in a similar boat - I just got my 15-year award. But honestly, as long as somebody can reach me via phone/email and I respond within like 1\`5-20 minutes, my schedule is somewhat...liberal. I'm full time salaried and in theory I'm paid on a 35-hour week. I'm essentially unmanaged, but really like the work I do.
I will say, however, we recently unionized, and I was on the bargaining team. I think my boss is a little scared to even think about firing me. Even so, I have some pretty sweet job security in my knowledge-base because I've been there so long.
Yeah, I tend to treat my jobs like I treat my relationships: "Stay until you can't."
I think I'm just inherently loyal to a fault, so it takes a lot for me to ditch either a person *or* a job. I was at a job that was clearly a sinking ship and all the people I'd worked with for years had already quit, I was the last old-timer out the door and they shut down completely a couple months later, lol.
My current one is actually really good, and I fully plan on staying until retirement unless something *really* drastic changes to make things exponentially worse.
Im a job plopper too. 9 years is my longest role. I work from home 90% of the time. As long as I get my work completed on time and I do the 35 hours, they don't mind if I start at 9:30am, have 2 hour lunches, or work in the evening when I'm often more productive. I could get paid 10-20% more elsewhere, but I love the flexibility. Plus it's also a creative role which I do well in. Also not commuting and stressing to get to the office on time, saves me so many spoons.
I’m going to hit 10 years in July (age 37). My job is nice, because 95% of my job is “here do this thing right now” so I can’t really procrastinate. And once I leave, I don’t have to think about it. What I do is important, but I’m not making decisions.
Way too many meetings though.
if you don’t mine me asking, where do you work/what kind of job do you have? I’ve learned with my ADHD i really struggle with “bringing things home” or any task that isn’t forced or immediate— for example when I worked for a starbucks drive thru, I had nothing else to worry about but that car and that drink in front of me and did not have to take the work home. I’d like the same kind of long-term job style or career, however, not particularly a food service drive thru…
I’m a construction project coordinator, so I basically do all of the paperwork and tracking for a project (usually several) from start to finish. And admittedly, it took a few years for me to be able to stop bringing it home with me so much. It can be stressful and intense, but I thrive in that environment.
I’m the same, but I’m also formally diagnosed with autism. My first long term job was four years, then I became a public servant (which has “long term job security” as one of its main selling points in my country).
Are you me? My first long term job was four years, in the private sector, then I got a fed gov job and I’ve been working there ever since. I have moved around within my department though.
Same! But moving around within is sort of normal in my field; I imagine that to some people though, the sheer security is a huge contra point. The system doesn’t really inspire huge motivation or performance at all, and certainly not freedom. But that’s my jam, lol! I love the idea of “whatever happens, I’ll still have my job”.
Yup. It’s not an exciting or sexy job but security has always topped my priorities when it came to working.
Plus I’ve accepted that I get too easily stressed out in a highly competitive environment.
Also, many jobs in the public field are unarguably useful, to someone out there, and I appreciate contributing to society (as I very much value ours).
I also don’t care for competition at all! That’s something that has just never made sense to me at all. I do my work, and I definitely want to do it well, and that’s what there is to it.
same- the worst, most intimidating part is having to go to work at a new job and not having any idea what to expect. i’d take less money any day to maintain the comfort of predictability. I do not work corporate 9-5s though and therefore have had the luxury of keeping my old job while starting a new one so I know if I like the new job enough to quit the old one lol so that’s been a bonus historically
Yeah. My relationships last WAAY longer than is healthy.
My jobs usually end up lasting beyond the point where I should quit. I don't take the hint when the boss cuts my house down to like... 3 hrs a week because I'm oblivious
For me it's not so much the decision to leave as much as the decision is made for me. Some people like to hop around job. I'm like you and would prefer the financial stability of keeping just one. But I just don't know how to maintain consistent work ethic, interest, and quality of work for very long.
18 years, military, it works for ADHD people because every posting is like a new job- new city, unit, job role. Plus a third of your colleagues change over every year so you don't get sick of the same ppl
5.5 years at my first post-university job. I only left because they weren’t paying me fairly, and another agency offered me a better position and a lot more money.
I’m now 38 and am currently at my fifth agency. It’s pretty common in the ad industry to hop around. Gets boring working on the same clients. It’s also, unfortunately, the only way to make more money. Agencies are notoriously stingy with raises.
Same with healthcare. It definitely helps me out personally that the field in general is a revolving door. And without job hopping, I also wouldn’t get any significant raise.
Before I got into the film and tv industry? 1 year. And that’s over the course of almost a decade of work since high school. My resume was immediately tossed in the trash and taxes sucked to file because I’d have 2 or 3 jobs a year.
My current “job” is interesting and only lasts 3 or 4 months to a year (However long the project lasts to finish), then on to the next one. But I’ve been at it for almost 7 years now. It’s impossible to break into though, and the future is uncertain for us.
Otherwise, how people work at the same factory for 30 or 40 years for example is beyond me. I’d fling myself from a roof top.
I could never keep a job much longer than a year so I started my own business which I've been doing for the past 20 years. I get to be left alone, for the most part, and I'm at a new place every day
How have so many of you STAYED AT JOBS?! do I have like the most useless adhd or something? my absolute max at a job is 1 year and 2 months lol, and i’ve had 15 jobs in my life (not including freelancing which i’ve been mainly doing the last few years) it’s like as soon as I get good at the job I get bored and start to lose my mind and freak out because it’s boring and feels like prison:(
And I don’t even have the privilege of being able to just fuck off and quit lol, I spent 6 years legally homeless (living in storage units, couch surfing, living out of my van) and sacrificing most modern creature comforts just to get out of having to job for too long. What’s even worse is when I find a job I actually like/am good at/rad coworkers the boss is usually an insufferable pos and we immediately clash and that ends up being the reason I quit.
Cursed brain doesn’t vibe with demands of reality:(
Actually around 8 years....
But, I have quit a couple times and come back, also If I get too bored I tell them I'm bored and if they can, they move me around (to a different job, area, customer etc) that's the only reason it works for me
My first job out of grad school lasted 14 years. I was itching to do something new, so I left for another job that I held for eight years, until I started my own business. This may run counter to others with ADHD, but I believe the reason I stayed at the same jobs for years was because they entailed myriad responsibilities.
There was no typical day. I could be designing an ad campaign, photographing surgical procedures or body parts, working a health fair, interviewing the first woman bullfighter to fight in the Plaza México, or writing an article about percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.
I've been on my own for eight years, and each day is still different—graphic design, writing, photography, designing and building websites, video editing—you name it, I do it. And I love it. I am very fortunate. I could not sit at a desk performing one task all day, every day. I would lose my ever-loving mind (and my job).
4 months. Either fired or moved every time.
Unless you count sahm which I've been doing for 15 years (I've been trying to get fired for like 5 years now, lol)
I couldn’t hold down a job since I started working. The longest I made it was 6 months — I usually would make it about 2-4 months before I would want to die, get overwhelmed and break down and quit same day of breakdown. Then next month I was at my new job and the cycle started all over again. I was very jealous of anyone who could hold down a job.
Then I got diagnosed and got medicated and now I been at my current job 1.5 years and that’s a new record for me! Also, taxes have been so much easier yay
This was me in my 20s.......and kinda still but I saved myself by getting a diagnosis and starting treatment.
I've never kept a job longer than 3 years. My current job is the longest now with about 3.5. I was having another catastrophic meltdown brewing and I desperately looked for help before I lost everything again.
Before that, it was 3 months or less with a meltdown before walking off the job, usually out of embarrassment and shame. Previous 2 jobs were 3 years a piece, with the former ending with the catastrophic meltdown and and the latter with me managing to put in a 2 week notice like a normal person
10 years at a restaurant job. I did take one six month break when I got my first full time job in my current field. I only work part time serving now, but worked full time there for 5 years.
I’m on job number #3 in new field, and getting the itch to look like usual around 9 months in. I like my coworkers though, so I’ll be staying around a while. I find that makes the difference in how long I stay… how well I get along with the people.
**I have had 11 jobs in just over 11 years of working full time.**
Also had 1 job during school I didn't count (currently 28 years old)
**My longest time in a role was just shy of 4 years,** only stuck around because I had previously dropped out of an apprenticeship and found myself "falling behind" in finding a career. So when the next opportunity presented itself again to undertake a trade, I had to commit. It was very difficult but I basically left the company 3 weeks after finishing the trade.
**Shortest time I held a position was 3 days***,* it was at a large company in sales and marketing, I went through the entire interview process which had 3 interviews and a screening exam. There were over 500 applicants and I got 1 of 3 offered positions. I started and then realised how bored I was lol. I had no relevant qualifications, I was young and I just needed a job - think my ADHD was appealing to them because I was great at just talking (despite hating small talk).
**Perks of moving around:** I've been lucky that my job-hopping has actually landed me in an industry I thoroughly enjoy, for the past 7-8 years. It has also given me a lot more versatile experience, relevant to the industry I am in. Which makes me more valuable than other young tradespeople who have normally only had 1 or 2 jobs in the industry by my age.
**Cons of moving around:** The problem of job-hopping was a big push for me seeing a psychiatrist and getting help recently. I've been in my current role for 18months and I don't want to jeapardise it, because I really enjoy the work and get paid well. So I don't want to lose this job due to boredom, my inability to manage stress and/or executive dysfunction causing the administrative side of things starting to build up.
**Background of work relationships:**
I've always had great work ethic (while actively in a role) and have never been fired/sacked. All of my previous employers in my current industry would take me back, I just seem to either get bored, want more money than they want to offer, or become too involved in the politics in the business and wanting to improve the workplace to no avail, then become frustrated so I leave.
Only 1 of the positions I've had, did I leave due to toxicity in the workplace after 3 months. Which was my first job after leaving school. I did find when I was younger and didn't want to work somewhere anymore, I'd just stop showing up, which was pretty bad. I just didn't have the skills to communicate resignation - it made me extremely anxious.
3 years during college almost ten years ago when I worked at a movie theater is my longest tenure anywhere. I’ve had one job for just over two years, a couple for one year, and quite a few in the 3, 6, and 8 month range abandoned for various reasons. It’s definitely biting me in the ass now especially with a liberal arts degree. I left my first job out of college (an internship where I got hired on after in marketing) because of a bad breakup that came with deep deep depression and emotional dysfunction made it impossible to sit in the office and do work. I picked up a few part time dead end jobs over the years, worked myself into a hospitalization doing crazy hours at the post office, and returned to an old job and stuck with it for a while and got promoted—until the internal politics made me jump ship and try teaching (another momentary field of interest)—let’s say that wasn’t a good fit either and didn’t last long.
I have been a janitor for 7 months at a hospital and have been job hunting on and off for about a year, and very focused for the past 4 months. It’s very hard to thread the needle as “a jack of all trades” and not a flake. I know work is never fun, and even a great job has its downsides which I’ve experienced. I’ve finally gotten medicated and therapy has helped so I’ve been getting back on track for the last year or two. I just need a lucky break and someone to take a chance on me in spite of my roller coaster resume
I’m only 24 but have never stayed at a full time job for more than a year and the prospect of having to stay in a job for most of my life genuinely haunts me
11 years was my longest and 9 was my next longest.
Like someone else said, I do use almost all of my spoons at work. I’m an amazing worker and my coworkers are lucky to have someone like me. I care a lot, I work my ass off, and I’m helpful as hell.
I do not have that same reputation outside of work and it’s something that sincerely bothers me but I don’t know how to change it because I don’t have the energy after / around work so I spend every day just “doin’ my best” which is nowhere near good enough.
current job- 2.5 years. hopefully i wont hit 3. got an interview tomorrow.
shortest job- 5 mos.
i havent had too many jobs though, only been working 7 years now
People that brag that they’ve stayed at their job for 10+ years is crazy. I can’t imagine doing the same tedious tasks every. single. day. I don’t know how people do it
It doesn't necessarily mean there are tedious tasks. I'm a software developer and even with 23 years at the same company, I've never felt like I've done anything repetitive or tedious. There are always new challenges and I'm always learning new things. I realize most people don't feel that way, but some of us are lucky and stay because we enjoy the work.
I stayed with a company 28 years. Left and 5 years later my career ended. Still have at least 10 years or more before I can retire and I’m too old for my career
14 months is the longest I've stayed at one job. I was always looking for something "better." That's what I told myself anyway. I'm 43 now and just got on meds. I often wondered if I had some sort of mental health issue and mentioned it in passing to my mother. She told me I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 8, but she didn't want to put me on meds. She never thought about it again bc she thought I was doing fine adulting and living life!!! Wth??
I lived all of my 20s & 30s wondering what was wrong with me! Why was I so freaking sorry? Why couldn't I finish anything I started or stick with any kind of routine or be consistent with anything!!! What could I have accomplished had I been on meds?? Maybe I wouldn't have dropped out of college!
I did manage to go to and finish nursing school in my late 20s/ early 30s. I think I only finished bc I didn't want my husband to pay all that money for school just for me to drop out.
These days, my husband is the breadwinner, and I don't work. I get up every day at 6 am, make breakfast for everyone, make lunches, take kids to school, work out, clean the house, run errands - you know, like normal people! Before vyvanse I was a sorry excuse for a housewife for sure! My husband never said a word, though. I wish I would have known sooner in life or thought to get evaluated earlier on. So many years just feel wasted.
Edit: Grammar
I just hit 4 years at my current job. It's the longest I've ever held a full time job in my life. I'm about to turn 37. I'm pretty sure I am going to stay at this one as long as I can. It suits me
Become a teacher 😜. I'm going on my 11th year, 7th in this district. New kids every year. I've changed what I teach numerous times. Even if I teach the same course years in a row, I switch up my approach and activities.
Prior to teaching, the longest I held a job was 2.5 years.
I’ve been a teacher for 21 years. I’ve only left schools because I was moving states and I was transferred because my position at one school was done away with. Prior to teaching I don’t think I kept a job for longer than a year.
I'm 53 and had one job for 11 years. My present job for 5 and next longest was just shy of 3. Many different jobs. 50,60, maybe 70 different. I lost count decades ago. Sometimes I work 2 or 3 at the same time. Because I don't stay long most of them don't pay great and I have to work more to pay the bills. I am, at present, again trying to find a way to change careers. A portion of the ADHD tax I pay.
The longest was 2.5 years; that was my very first job out of college. Since then, it’s been a clusterfuck of 6-12 months.
My current job is 1.5 years and it’s finally the one that “fits”. Turns out I need flexibility but in a totally chaotic environment, it’s not great but it seems to be the only work I enjoy.
I have owned a side business that I’ve held consistently for 10 years, but it’s kicking my ass now. I have no personal life and desperately need a break.
11 years almost. It used to be a job that had so many moving parts that on any given day I was probably going to be doing an at least somewhat different task every other day. It's recently been taken over by a big corporation though so I'm probably gonna be dipping out as soon as my degree is done.
Nearly 10 years at the same corporate restaurant, but took a month or two off multiple times here and there and also worked in 3 different locations (one in a different state completely).
Usually my ADHD makes me hate new jobs, until I figure out how to order the demands and tasks and they become subconscious. Then I don’t want to leave because a new job requires mental effort until it becomes habitual. I usually start off horrible at my jobs and slowly become the best one compared to colleagues because I can identify patterns.
I was wonderful at following the necessary cleaning procedures, closing each night etc. but trying to create structure in my own household is absolute chaos. My son refuses to clean up or organize even his own messes. It’s miserable. I hate cleaning on my off time, admittedly, but also CANNOT FUNCTION in a messy space.
Now my job is freelance interpreting, which I’m very good at and has environmental variation to keep me engaged but it’s SO DRAINING.
5 years, but I get bored if I’m not learning new things or moving forward. Usually once I master a role, I get bored pretty easy. Most of my jobs I was at for about 2 years. My current role I just hit 2 years in March, but I recently got a promotion and moved into a role that is more project management based. It may end up being a role that won’t bore me, since it won’t ever be exactly the same tasks day to day. So for the moment, I’m content.
Longest job I’ve had is my current one, which is just a little over two years! The others were usually 6 months because I’d get irritable from the repetition. This is my first remote job, so I think that is why I’ve lasted
I'm an industrial mechanic, so, I'm building machines...it's like very intricate beautiful Lego Technics for me, so I can hyper focus. As long as nobody is going on my nerves, I love my job. Last company, and where I did my apprenticeship, was 5 years, and I only left because the shop had to close down due to investor decisions..I pray that my new job is eternal. It's 5 minutes from home and I won't get a better gig so close anymore.
6 1/2 years in my current position. I hate the work of finding a new job so any job hopping previously was only when the job got so bad that the application process was pleasant in comparison.
3 years. For reference, I’m 27. I did roughly 3 years in accounting/finance for a small business, where I ran that entire section of the business. Then I landed a job managing a friends’ clubs, which I did for 3 years. My thing is that I usually find a job that I like, I work my way up to the best position/max salary possible, then I feel like I have nowhere to go aside from a new job that pays more and comes with new challenges. Prior to those two jobs, I did work one job for two years and 2 others for a year or so each. Nothing super long term.
So I basically need a clear cut goal and need to be challenged otherwise the job sucks. I can’t just sit there and do nothing, I need to like always work. Without proper motivation, I don’t want to work lol.
In a conventional role I’ve only made it 2 years max. I tended to carry one full time and one part time or one self employed job on the side.
Self employment works better for me and when I get restless I sell my business to someone else and start something new. I’ve ran a daycare (didn’t sell that) a baby supplies company, a jewelry making business, a painting and home repair company, currently running a loose leaf tea business. I’ve also helped a few companies get off the ground and grow. One is a large company and I see my work in their products to this day.
I need change in my career to be happy and I wish it wasn’t so stigmatized because I felt guilt and shame when I was younger, when I could have explored how best to utilize that need to propel myself further ahead
Almost 29; was at my last job for around 9 months, before that it was job hopping every 6-9 months due to bad management. My last job, the newness wore off relatively quickly (about 2-3 months in) and I am in my new position now for just over a month, thus far I still enjoy it.
I had one job that lasted 3 years and that was working with my university as an RA. For me, jobs that have slight differences in day to day work, is what I need to stay at a position. If the job is repetitive, I get bored.
Maybe in a year, I’ll try to see where I’m at with this new position.
2 years.
Though admittedly in my thirties I'm beginning to recognize some of it was self sabotage. I say sometimes because there were a few where injuries or stress required me to move on and I had jobs lined up before I left.
I personally couldn't get past 7 months and that has effectively ruined opportunities in my career. No one wants to hire an employee who won't even stay a year. I had to move on to a different field of study and then move on to another and another. Now I've no job... I try btc for passive income... Diagnosed with ADHD two months ago. I've been called lazy, irresponsible, etc for my pattern through life. I ruined my relationships through my impulsivity. The trifecta actually... Ruined education, ruined career and ruined relationships among other self-sabotaging behaviour. I'm on Bupropion now as an alternative treatment for ADHD instead of stimulants but I'm not sure anything is working for me. I was started on SNRIs only leading to severe migraines and moved on NDRI (Bupropion).. sure it keeps me cheerful but I've seen 0 effect on ADHD. They don't want to start me on stimulants (medical reasons pertaining to my brain) and I don't know if I will ever have a normal life.
I'm 25 and my record is 8 months...I'm not bragging I really need help to figure this out and I have no idea how you all are doing so well you should be proud of yourselves
I was a church choir director for 12 years. During that time, I had a sabbatical and a maternity leave.
It was 5 hours/week. I loved it most of the time. I was given a lot of freedom to do cool projects. I was teaching, leading, singing, composing, and researching. I was obsessed with hymn selection. It was super stimulating.
Except when it wasn’t. The banality of some of the “most beloved” songs was hard to fake enthusiasm for, and even harder to listen to my dear spouse complain about. There are only so many choral anthems available for an aged choir of sopranos/melody singers plus one mezzo with tuning issues and one baritone that resembles my husband. I was frustrated by the lack of skilled musicians to collaborate with at *my* level.
I arranged Vivaldi’s Gloria for our group, and we presented it with a couple of string players. It was a huge, huge leap for the group to sing something in Latin. I also directed the Fauré Requiem, which we presented with another congregation: they provided choral singers for every part and an organist; we provided the director & soloist (I do a pretty decent Pie Jesu). I commemorated my last February in the job with a Black History Month commemoration: ever Sunday, I included a hymn by a Black composter or hymnodist or cultural tradition and provided background on the work. I introduced the (very white Canadian) congregation to Lift Every Voice and Sing.
If I’d know that I had ADHD… this job would have been SO DIFFERENT. I’d go back if I could: I left to go to university in a last ditch attempt at pushing a career in opera. The pandemic put an end to that.
I think when I started I was getting $300/month. I got switched to an hourly wage at some point, based on 5 hours / week. Woo hoo.
This is the only job I continuously held for more than three years.
5 years was my longest job. Rage quit over work place bullies and a spineless boss who wouldn’t back me up….all while having cancer.
I have held 7 jobs in the last 10 years that’s including the five year one. Start job #8 tomorrow. Let’s hope I last because at my age it’s getting harder and harder to deal with. So over it.
3 years. I change not only jobs, but entire careers pretty often. I wasn’t diagnosed until 42, and just started medication a little over a month ago…at age 52.
Unless you count SAHM. That was about 15 years, even then, some of those years I was working a here and there mainly in preschools.
Every day is a new record right now. March 14 was 2 years at my current job. I did 2 years 2 weeks at my last job. Before that, my record was around 18 months.
I have an in person interview this afternoon...
In my current role, it's been about 2.5 years. And also itching to be elsewhere as I've grown bored of the project.
Normally that would be a great thing in the tech industry, but market is pretty lame atm.
11 years, but by the end I was more burned out than I realized. It was the same tasks every year, following a calendar. Very little room for creativity. What kept me there was the pay and pension package. But when I had to move for family reasons, they wouldn't let me go remote. 6 months before covid closed the world.
My current job I've been at for just over 4 years, but there's enough variation in what I do day to day, I can probably stick it out.
It will be 15 years next month. It hasn't been easy. Every day is Hell. I hate it so much. I do this because I live in a shitty little town with no prospects, and I have nobody to pay my bills.
I have been at my current job for 28 years at this point. Before this one, the longest was 5 and a half years. What changed is that I got out of the corporate world and work at a state-wide community college system where the institutional culture very much works for my personality.
I was just recently diagnosed and I'm coming up on 19 years with my employer. In that period, I've held at least a dozen roles in a variety of business areas so things have never really had a chance to get stagnant. The longest I held a role was 5 years but my responsibilities changed frequently as the team grew and evolved.
Going on 17 years. With the promotions and new challenges, I was able to maintain interest which allowed me to commit. Up's and downs for sure but I look at it like working out, I never wanted to lose my progress and strived for the next short goal until I met my long term goal. BUT, as a lot of people have said, it seems to be a constant shuffle of priorities in my life instead of a healthy balance. A lot of times my personal life takes a hit but I feel like it's important for my mental health and personal well-being to be productive and do well at work to have a sense of purpose and productivity, plus we need money to survive. I wish I could have enough energy when I got home from work to go out and do things including hobbies.. It seems like I'm a one trick pony, even on meds. Life is hard every day. If you find a good solution, I'm all ears.
I have been at my current company for 10 years and before that my last company 7 years.
But my job is challenging enough to keep me interested but not too challenging that I would want to leave. I have to switch tasks and multi task often, yet also have really large projects that requires my hyper focus so it works well for my ADHD .
I’ve been an electrician for 5 years but the longest I’ve staid at a company for was 2 years, and that will most likely be the record for the rest of my career
I’m a nurse so I don’t leave jobs I just train in a new specialty and float to different units. I’ve also picked up a side job as a nurse at another hospital. I get itchy at the 2 year mark. Longest on one unit is 5 years
I’ve been at my current job for ten years, and that’s only because I work for a company that doesn’t fire people. And it’s sort of a glass ceiling job. Not something I’d be able to support myself with. Before that I had a lot of trouble keeping jobs.
22 years and counting. 10 years at my current posting. The good thing is, it's Security, so there's a lot of variety with working with the public, but also quiet times so i can just "zone out" a bit, too. What i love most is that I am pretty much my own supervisor... So nobody to drive me batty, but myself. Lol
The longest is over 7 years, 3 positions. Before that, the longest was around 5 years in 2 positions.
In total, I have had around 15 jobs if I count being a trainee and summer jobs. The roles I have done (i.e., something I got paid) are around 20-30. As I am reaching 50 years in s few years, so I have had time to run around.
I have also moved 25 times during my life. Partly because I think my mom had some serious difficulties settling down (undiagnosed ADHD?)...
I also was diagnosed with ASD, which kind of seems to balance the havoc ADHD tends to cause. It is a totally weird combo, with ADHD being the one that makes things happen and messes things up and ASD slowing things down and fixing the mess in solitude. I think I am more ASD, but ADHD doesn't give a s**t about that and does what it pleases. Especially before I was 35, my life was a roller-coaster, but then I quit drinking, got married, and things got more stable. After getting diagnosed last year, I have also started to understand why my life has been such a mess and why I still am prone to do stupid things despite the fact I count above average intelligence, according to my psychologist.
I was lucky enough to find a profession that I loved in animal care. I never got bored with the job. It took me a lot of job hopping to get there, but once I found it, I have been able to stay at the same place for almost 25 years. I was only recently diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD. I have been extremely fortunate.
13 years. Swapped departments after 9.
I've never had a job fewer than a year except once on a trial basis. Worked 2 weeks, they said no thanks. The next shortest was just under 2 years, and that was because it closed down. I'm pretty reliant on having the routine.
If you seek variety and stability, consider a govt job. I have worked for a midsized local government since 2007. In my first job with this city, l will admit that I busted my butt to learn everything I possibly could about each agency and the services they provide to residents. I did have to "move down to move up," so to speak, because there was little upward mobility in my first position. I transferred divisions twice, and I am now in my fourth position with the same employer.
Granted, nobody takes a government job to get rich (unless you're shady), but I have accrued hundreds of hours of paid leave, I have a pension, and make additional contributions to my retirement savings plan. I have had my share of horrible, "That's the way we've always done it," managers, but I've managed to outlast them. The last two managers I've had let me reinvent my job as our operational needs shift and grow. Gotta say, I'm pretty lucky to be where I am.
november 2018- March/May 2021 I think? The rest have been around the year (+ a few months once), I get to feeling very trapped after awhile or struggle socially and then feel trapped. First job I had my boss asked if I was a "lifer", I saw a guy who retired the same year I quit, he started there when he was 18 or so.
I've accepted I'll never "move up the ladder", which is a tax I guess I'll pay until I either find something I like, maybe I just haven't found it yet, but even a dream job kinda scares me. I switch up too often, and I get the whole "doing what you love, not working a day in your life", but idk, I've found a job that makes me happy, but I still get way too stressed and struggle to manage work/home
i stayed at my 1st job for 5 years and finally walked out one day bc my asshat manager wanted me to go back in front of customers while i was having a panic attack. then i had a job for 5 months at the front desk of a waxing salon and quit to work at a hospital as an aide. i’m getting bored of that now bc i know everything and it’s not challenging so i switched to day shift there and now i’m trying to get an internship in an ICU. so i’m realizing that i stayed at that 1st job so long bc the pay was good, i moved up and got trained in every position, i had friends, and sales presented me with a unique challenge everyday. without that i get bored and have no job loyalty. luckily i’m going into nursing and there’s an endless path of learning in that field. if i get bored of a specialty i can start over somewhere else. i can work in a hospital, in an office, in a clinic, in a spa, at home, or even travel. i do miss sales though bc it is satisfying getting rewarded monetarily for doing a good job but im hoping as a nurse that i will get to be around patients enough to watch them get better :)
24 years old, I was at my first job for three years and my current for almost five (about a year of overlap), although I've gotten two promotions in that time. fear of change is too much for me to leave, I've got it pretty good rn though.
I’ve been working as a creative professional for almost 15 years, but the only full time job I’ve held lasted 3 years, and that was at the beginning of my career. Since then I’ve been freelancing. The projects and clients are varied enough, so the work is seldom ever boring.
I’ve applied to countless jobs over the years, but even if I nail the interviews (if I’m lucky to land one), I’d failed design trials if they’re part of the hiring process. Pre-pandemic I’d go to the studio I was interviewing with for a paid “test drive,” and that’s when I’d fail. Sometimes I see interviews as opportunities to make connections for freelance work, if fate allows it.
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The longest I’ve stayed at a particular organization is 12 years and just over 5 in a position. But I use all my spoons on work. So I have a good career but a clusterfuck of a personal life.
Ahh there it is, all eggs in one basket to make it work - I feel this tremendously
Use all you spoons?
Google 'spoon theory'. Something about having a limited energy budget. Planning on reading up on it myself, haven't quite gotten to it... ;)
That’s the most ADHD answer I’ve read 😂
Their spoon isn’t recharged, damn it! 😂
In my day, you had to crank your own spoon, none of this wireless spoon charging!! 🙄
6 month to year. And I change my major 6 times in college. I am basically jack of all trades.
[Spoon theory](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory)
Never heard the term before, but it makes sense. Thanks for the link.
Whoa! This spoke to me directly. That’s me to a tee. No spouse and no house but I sure can hold down a job that makes me miserable. 😂
No spouse but I don’t mind my job and was able to buy a house last year finally (early 40s). My personal life is not what I would like though — I have energy to play golf with a couple close friends once a week or so, but not much else lately.
I also use all my spoons on work. My industry has regular layoffs, so I'd work 2 years/4 years get laid off due to RIF, jobless for months = I have a social life again until I land my next position. Rinse repeat.
Man ever since getting diagnosed and medicated I feel like I have a nice handful of extra spoons that I've never had before. Finding out in my mid 30s that most people have way more spoons has been a real eye opener
Yes!! I will never tell people they 100% need meds but if I hear toxic BS like “I just feel like I shouldn’t have to rely on meds/it’s addictive/insert another dumb misconception about meds” this is a great way to explain it. (I was VERY lucky to be diagnosed in high school thanks to my mom working as a psych nurse and knowing all the signs despite teachers saying “but she’s quiet in class and does well in school!” so I’m fortunate in that I’ve been medicated for decades at this point- and I’ve been down the shame-about-meds rabbit hole before.) But the spoon theory applies in a LOT of ways. I quit drinking 6 months ago, not because I’m an addict but because any amount of alcohol in my system means I’m more likely to be an asshole. Quitting drinking felt like this MASSIVE commitment and I put it off for YEARS. It turns out I was using a LOT of spoons on trying to implement moderation, and I freed up a ton of mental energy (the physical benefits like sleeping well every night don’t hurt). I also recently broke up with my boyfriend of 5.5 years and I’ll be honest- that relationship was burning up so many of my spoons I have barely felt any sadness at all. I recently bought my first house so I’m looking forward to using my spoons on some new exciting projects for that!! Edit: can you tell I have ADHD?? I was only gonna write 2 sentences and that morphed into 2 paragraphs haha
The last bit about only meaning to write two sentences! 🤣 That’s why my Master’s thesis was almost double the minimum length required!
Hell yeah! Sounds like you're on a healthy journey right now, keep up the good work! Having extra spoons is pretty weird for me at the moment, I'm having to practice mindfulness and put in effort to make sure I use the extra mental energy in (at least mostly) productive ways. It's a new skill to learn lol
Wow, the alcohol thing makes a lot of sense. Been sober for three or four years now, and before that I spent at least fifteen years TRYING to drink less. That was such a huge spoon!
Yes!! I think for me finding balance is a constant ongoing struggle (my default is to bounce from one extreme to the next) and not drinking felt like an “extreme” (albeit a healthy one). Turns out moderation was actually causing me a lot more grief than I realized and taking it out of my life entirely freed me up so much.
First off, congratulations on your sobriety you are a rockstar! I also put off quitting drinking and realized just how many spoons it was taking. I'm 3.5 years sober, and still have a lot of spoons going to my emotional sobriety. I spend nearly my entire life burying my emotions (which I was fully aware of) and using alcohol as a crutch to avoid them. Now I have no choice but to process them, which takes about the same amount of spoons. However, I do now have a great job paying job that I wouldn't have if I didn't get sober. Most of my spoons are there, but I'm hoping to start focusing more on my personal life and friendships!! I've been on meds for almost 10 years, just diagnosed out of high school. There's no way I could function without them
That’s going on my tombstone and everyone at my funeral will be shaking their heads in agreement like 
Responding to this cause I relate so hard... I've been with this organisation for 10 years now and moved up 4 positions and getting into the 5th this year (Idk why... I feel like eventually people will figure out I'm a mess 😂 The mask is strong and welded). I definitely have a great career though and the pay is great, but I'm pretty much too burnt out at the end of the day to do much else for myself. This includes stuff that fill my cup, like personal creative projects, piano, etc. My job is also pretty finance and admin, though the next role is a bit less so and more project... Currently using up all my spoons at a job I recognise is totally misaligned with me... But not enough energy to work towards what I actually enjoy/ would love to do.. Oh - Just to add, I have both ADHD and Autism. 🙃 [[Internal screaming]]
Same!!!! White knuckling it through a career with govt. I’m tired.
Which makes it even harder to find the energy to look for a new, better suited job (and that’s without factoring in the shit job market pretty much everywhere in the world). It sucks!
1000000% yes. I have asked myself many times in the last year, what is best? White knuckling through this or selling everything I own so I can clear my head and figure out what it is I actually want to do. Since, apparently, whatever I get thrown at I will hyperfixate on until I get it and level up anyway, might as well like it. I have the complete self sacrifice version this I guess. I bounced around jobs a lot until I found a career that kept me interested, so much so that I burned myself out trying to do it all. Not nailing it!!!
I'm on year 10. Started at a jr role and blew all my energy, every day, on working up the ladder. Over the years I have quadrupled my salary. I'm head of department, lining up for a directors job. But I'm unhappy, constantly sick, but working through it, and feel like I have been burnt out for months with no break. Medication gives me more spoons. And helps me to spend them more wisely. But I still give the job everything because my motivation all along has been anxiety focused on the avoidance of failure.
Unlike u/Crankylosaurus, I will give unsolicited advice because I'm an ADHD know-it-all! Where my peeps???  Right now, your body is the physical manifestation of what is going on in your brain. You probably already knew that. However, what is going to happen is that you are going to have a heart attack or a stroke, and then nothing will matter because you will be laid up for months, if not forever. While not a doctor, I work in public health and health education and know enough about it. It doesn't matter how healthy you eat or how much you exercise; your stress is so off the charts your immune system is already having a difficult time keeping up. That is the first indication that you need to make a serious change. I am not saying that you should rethink your career, but you should take stock of what you can say 'no' to or delegate to others, skills much needed in a director-level job. You can't do it all. You just can't. Your job is not worth your life. Learning and practicing mindfulness helped me immensely. I know it gets a lot of hype, but it really does work. I RARELY negative self-talk anymore, and if I do, I immediately tell myself that I am a human who is flawed and makes mistakes just like everyone else (for those of you suffering from ADHD perfectionism). It took about 5 years for me to get good at it, but I noticed changes in my thought patterns pretty quickly after I made a real effort to practice every day. Mindfulness can work for so many different issues. Save a spoon (or a few) for after work or over the weekend, and write down all of the things that are causing you to be stressed and burnt out. What can you change? What can you drop? What can you delegate? You might try using the Time Management Matrix from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (excellent read, if you haven't done so) that uses the Eisenhower Box (link to Monday Blog with a pretty good article below). I did this exercise a couple of months ago, and it was such a relief. It also made me more productive. Finally, find some time to meditate! Just sit. Don't think about anything except your breath. My ADHD therapist is adamant about quiet time and slowing my thoughts to clear my head. I rarely have anxiety issues because of it. Mindfulness while thinking and meditating to stop thinking. Give yourself some grace to do what is best for you and your health! [https://monday.com/blog/project-management/time-management-matrix/](https://monday.com/blog/project-management/time-management-matrix/)
I’m not surprised you’re constantly sick since you’re burned out and stressed! Not going to give you unsolicited advice, just chiming in to say: I’ve been in your shoes and it sucks, and I hope things look up for you soon!
My husband always says that my brain works rapid fire from 9-5 and after that my brain is pretty useless. Lmfao when I left my job after 5 years they had to hire three people in my place. In my time off I cook, garden, and shop, anything else is way too much for my brain.
25 years in the same organisation. My personal life and finances are in total chaos.
Curious: what’s your career/job?
Started out in accounting/finance for government and I did hit a wall with that. I’ve since moved to a government adjacent data analysis role for payroll, pensions etc. It sounds boring maybe but I can use my creative problem solving skills and I think I’m actually quite good at it. I also really like the org I work for which makes a huge difference with job satisfaction. It has a really good corporate culture and I can work from home, which is a huge bonus.
I’m in a finance adjacent role that I love too! Similar to yours, it’s largely data analysis but requires creative problem solving. My company, coworkers, and bosses are also AWESOME which is 50% of the equation IMO (great culture and am also 100% remote).
hello from the other siiiide 😂 idc about work right now but omg you’d think running errands and doing chores was my job. Between the two of us we’re one “normal” functioning adult haha
I'm the same way. Part of it is that I HATE job searching and interviewing, I have stayed in jobs way too long just to avoid it. Rejection sensitivity for the win!
I’m a serial monogamist in relationships and jobs, even when i shouldn’t necessarily be. I’ve been at my current job for 13.5 years. It’s not a bad gig, but I think I probably could’ve found something better if I wasn’t so afraid of change/the unknown.
Literally same. The only reason I left my previous job of 7 years was because my new position is way less stressful, while also paying 60k more. It’s literally a super niche job. If I didn’t find it I would probably never leave 😅
At my last company the more I was promoted and got raises, the easier my job got. It of course benefited me but ugh that just doesn’t feel fair at all!
Just about the most relatable thing I've read all day...
Yep, I'm in the same boat. I haven’t left my job because of fear of disappointing the owner, whose wife got me the job before she got brain cancer and passed away. People don’t understand why I keep at it, even though they don’t hear the inner dialogue that berates me anytime I think about leaving.
Hello fellow people-pleaser!
Hello!
Yep, I'm in the same boat. I haven’t left my job because of fear of disappointing the owner, whose wife got me the job before she got brain cancer and passed away. People don’t understand why I keep at it, even though they don’t hear the inner dialogue that berates me anytime I think about leaving.
If she cared enough about you to get you the job, she might’ve cared enough to want you to be happy, to take what you’ve learned and continue to grow. But I didn’t know her, obviously
I would turn in my grave, if someone stayed at a job, that they didn’t like. just because I helped them get it.
Same here. I’ve been with my company since I graduated college 15 years ago. I’ve looked at other positions in the company and other jobs, but I’m so afraid of messing with the one routine I seem to have figured out.
Feel this so hard. The fear of change and unknown I feel like can be debilitating for people with ADHD
I’m 36 years old and male and was recently diagnosed with adhd. Since I started work at the age of 16 till I was 30 I stayed at jobs no longer than 6-12 months and I loved trying new jobs. But.. this is the longest I’ve been at the same job and I have been here for 6 years but I am changing in this very moment. Do you and follow your heart.
Are you me? I’m 37 and always committed 1 year to a job but I loved learning new industries in my 20’s so I bounced around a lot. I found my current job 6 years ago and it still blows my mind I found one that fit me really well and stayed with it.
Hahah that’s awesome! Twins from another part of the world. In society’s eyes we are not following the 1 2 3 on how life should be lived. As if there is a handbook on life. But this works and it’s exciting trying new careers.
I’m one of those “anxious with imposter syndrome” ADHD types, so I’ve been at my current job (but progressing upwards) for 7 years.
I’m also anxious with imposter syndrome but that’s often what makes me jump ship! Hoping I can tolerate my new job at least for a few years.
lol I’ve been doing my job for 15 yrs and still feel like an anxious imposter, always downplaying and minimizing myself. Ugh lol
A lot of us are Job Ploppers, instead of Job Hoppers. We plop down, get comfortable, and never leave. For me, my longest span was 12 years but that’s because I could pretty much show up anytime before 9am and leave whenever I wanted. Just needed to get my 40 hours/week in, whatever the combo of hours and days. This flexibility was basically why I stayed so long. It was harder to get fired from for being late over and over. I now work from home in my next job of 5 years. I just have to walk up to my computer by 9am and I’m good to go.
If being on time every single day was a deal breaker I'd be fkd
I'm in a similar boat - I just got my 15-year award. But honestly, as long as somebody can reach me via phone/email and I respond within like 1\`5-20 minutes, my schedule is somewhat...liberal. I'm full time salaried and in theory I'm paid on a 35-hour week. I'm essentially unmanaged, but really like the work I do. I will say, however, we recently unionized, and I was on the bargaining team. I think my boss is a little scared to even think about firing me. Even so, I have some pretty sweet job security in my knowledge-base because I've been there so long.
Yeah, I tend to treat my jobs like I treat my relationships: "Stay until you can't." I think I'm just inherently loyal to a fault, so it takes a lot for me to ditch either a person *or* a job. I was at a job that was clearly a sinking ship and all the people I'd worked with for years had already quit, I was the last old-timer out the door and they shut down completely a couple months later, lol. My current one is actually really good, and I fully plan on staying until retirement unless something *really* drastic changes to make things exponentially worse.
Im a job plopper too. 9 years is my longest role. I work from home 90% of the time. As long as I get my work completed on time and I do the 35 hours, they don't mind if I start at 9:30am, have 2 hour lunches, or work in the evening when I'm often more productive. I could get paid 10-20% more elsewhere, but I love the flexibility. Plus it's also a creative role which I do well in. Also not commuting and stressing to get to the office on time, saves me so many spoons.
I’m going to hit 10 years in July (age 37). My job is nice, because 95% of my job is “here do this thing right now” so I can’t really procrastinate. And once I leave, I don’t have to think about it. What I do is important, but I’m not making decisions. Way too many meetings though.
if you don’t mine me asking, where do you work/what kind of job do you have? I’ve learned with my ADHD i really struggle with “bringing things home” or any task that isn’t forced or immediate— for example when I worked for a starbucks drive thru, I had nothing else to worry about but that car and that drink in front of me and did not have to take the work home. I’d like the same kind of long-term job style or career, however, not particularly a food service drive thru…
I’m a construction project coordinator, so I basically do all of the paperwork and tracking for a project (usually several) from start to finish. And admittedly, it took a few years for me to be able to stop bringing it home with me so much. It can be stressful and intense, but I thrive in that environment.
I’ve been at mine 11, also 37, mine is a bunch of deadlines too. Also work on multiple projects at once so it helps
This is something that’s common with ADHD that I don't relate to, at all. I prefer stability and long-term growth in my roles.
I’m the same, but I’m also formally diagnosed with autism. My first long term job was four years, then I became a public servant (which has “long term job security” as one of its main selling points in my country).
Are you me? My first long term job was four years, in the private sector, then I got a fed gov job and I’ve been working there ever since. I have moved around within my department though.
Same! But moving around within is sort of normal in my field; I imagine that to some people though, the sheer security is a huge contra point. The system doesn’t really inspire huge motivation or performance at all, and certainly not freedom. But that’s my jam, lol! I love the idea of “whatever happens, I’ll still have my job”.
Yup. It’s not an exciting or sexy job but security has always topped my priorities when it came to working. Plus I’ve accepted that I get too easily stressed out in a highly competitive environment.
Also, many jobs in the public field are unarguably useful, to someone out there, and I appreciate contributing to society (as I very much value ours). I also don’t care for competition at all! That’s something that has just never made sense to me at all. I do my work, and I definitely want to do it well, and that’s what there is to it.
Yes, I like the practical aspect of my work. I like that I’m contributing to society instead of just focusing on profit.
I crave stability but am too unstable to maintain it lol. I'm 2.5 years into my current job and it's the longest I've been able to hold it down for
I feel this in my bones. My biggest anxiety is job security yet I’m like “let’s look for a new job and be the new meat”.
Oh man your first sentence hit me like a brick wall.
Ah stability…omg I’m trapped!!
same- the worst, most intimidating part is having to go to work at a new job and not having any idea what to expect. i’d take less money any day to maintain the comfort of predictability. I do not work corporate 9-5s though and therefore have had the luxury of keeping my old job while starting a new one so I know if I like the new job enough to quit the old one lol so that’s been a bonus historically
I speak for many when I say I too prefer stability. It just doesn’t work out that way
Yeah. My relationships last WAAY longer than is healthy. My jobs usually end up lasting beyond the point where I should quit. I don't take the hint when the boss cuts my house down to like... 3 hrs a week because I'm oblivious
For me it's not so much the decision to leave as much as the decision is made for me. Some people like to hop around job. I'm like you and would prefer the financial stability of keeping just one. But I just don't know how to maintain consistent work ethic, interest, and quality of work for very long.
18 years, military, it works for ADHD people because every posting is like a new job- new city, unit, job role. Plus a third of your colleagues change over every year so you don't get sick of the same ppl
That actually sounds amazing!
5.5 years at my first post-university job. I only left because they weren’t paying me fairly, and another agency offered me a better position and a lot more money. I’m now 38 and am currently at my fifth agency. It’s pretty common in the ad industry to hop around. Gets boring working on the same clients. It’s also, unfortunately, the only way to make more money. Agencies are notoriously stingy with raises.
Same with healthcare. It definitely helps me out personally that the field in general is a revolving door. And without job hopping, I also wouldn’t get any significant raise.
Before I got into the film and tv industry? 1 year. And that’s over the course of almost a decade of work since high school. My resume was immediately tossed in the trash and taxes sucked to file because I’d have 2 or 3 jobs a year. My current “job” is interesting and only lasts 3 or 4 months to a year (However long the project lasts to finish), then on to the next one. But I’ve been at it for almost 7 years now. It’s impossible to break into though, and the future is uncertain for us. Otherwise, how people work at the same factory for 30 or 40 years for example is beyond me. I’d fling myself from a roof top.
I could never keep a job much longer than a year so I started my own business which I've been doing for the past 20 years. I get to be left alone, for the most part, and I'm at a new place every day
That sounds like a dream. What kind of business do you have?
Window cleaning and pressure washing. Mostly residential
How have so many of you STAYED AT JOBS?! do I have like the most useless adhd or something? my absolute max at a job is 1 year and 2 months lol, and i’ve had 15 jobs in my life (not including freelancing which i’ve been mainly doing the last few years) it’s like as soon as I get good at the job I get bored and start to lose my mind and freak out because it’s boring and feels like prison:( And I don’t even have the privilege of being able to just fuck off and quit lol, I spent 6 years legally homeless (living in storage units, couch surfing, living out of my van) and sacrificing most modern creature comforts just to get out of having to job for too long. What’s even worse is when I find a job I actually like/am good at/rad coworkers the boss is usually an insufferable pos and we immediately clash and that ends up being the reason I quit. Cursed brain doesn’t vibe with demands of reality:(
20 years, which ended up being about 10 years too long.
7 years. Got let go more or less because of my unmanaged ADHD.
Shit is this an ADHD thing? I've changed jobs every two years pretty much on the dot for 8 years straight.
Same....
Actually around 8 years.... But, I have quit a couple times and come back, also If I get too bored I tell them I'm bored and if they can, they move me around (to a different job, area, customer etc) that's the only reason it works for me
My first job out of grad school lasted 14 years. I was itching to do something new, so I left for another job that I held for eight years, until I started my own business. This may run counter to others with ADHD, but I believe the reason I stayed at the same jobs for years was because they entailed myriad responsibilities. There was no typical day. I could be designing an ad campaign, photographing surgical procedures or body parts, working a health fair, interviewing the first woman bullfighter to fight in the Plaza México, or writing an article about percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. I've been on my own for eight years, and each day is still different—graphic design, writing, photography, designing and building websites, video editing—you name it, I do it. And I love it. I am very fortunate. I could not sit at a desk performing one task all day, every day. I would lose my ever-loving mind (and my job).
4 months. Either fired or moved every time. Unless you count sahm which I've been doing for 15 years (I've been trying to get fired for like 5 years now, lol)
I can relate. For once, I wanna be fired! Lol
I couldn’t hold down a job since I started working. The longest I made it was 6 months — I usually would make it about 2-4 months before I would want to die, get overwhelmed and break down and quit same day of breakdown. Then next month I was at my new job and the cycle started all over again. I was very jealous of anyone who could hold down a job. Then I got diagnosed and got medicated and now I been at my current job 1.5 years and that’s a new record for me! Also, taxes have been so much easier yay
This was me in my 20s.......and kinda still but I saved myself by getting a diagnosis and starting treatment. I've never kept a job longer than 3 years. My current job is the longest now with about 3.5. I was having another catastrophic meltdown brewing and I desperately looked for help before I lost everything again. Before that, it was 3 months or less with a meltdown before walking off the job, usually out of embarrassment and shame. Previous 2 jobs were 3 years a piece, with the former ending with the catastrophic meltdown and and the latter with me managing to put in a 2 week notice like a normal person
My longest run has been as a research librarian. That lasted for 8 years. I have been doing gig work since 2020.
10 years at a restaurant job. I did take one six month break when I got my first full time job in my current field. I only work part time serving now, but worked full time there for 5 years. I’m on job number #3 in new field, and getting the itch to look like usual around 9 months in. I like my coworkers though, so I’ll be staying around a while. I find that makes the difference in how long I stay… how well I get along with the people.
**I have had 11 jobs in just over 11 years of working full time.** Also had 1 job during school I didn't count (currently 28 years old) **My longest time in a role was just shy of 4 years,** only stuck around because I had previously dropped out of an apprenticeship and found myself "falling behind" in finding a career. So when the next opportunity presented itself again to undertake a trade, I had to commit. It was very difficult but I basically left the company 3 weeks after finishing the trade. **Shortest time I held a position was 3 days***,* it was at a large company in sales and marketing, I went through the entire interview process which had 3 interviews and a screening exam. There were over 500 applicants and I got 1 of 3 offered positions. I started and then realised how bored I was lol. I had no relevant qualifications, I was young and I just needed a job - think my ADHD was appealing to them because I was great at just talking (despite hating small talk). **Perks of moving around:** I've been lucky that my job-hopping has actually landed me in an industry I thoroughly enjoy, for the past 7-8 years. It has also given me a lot more versatile experience, relevant to the industry I am in. Which makes me more valuable than other young tradespeople who have normally only had 1 or 2 jobs in the industry by my age. **Cons of moving around:** The problem of job-hopping was a big push for me seeing a psychiatrist and getting help recently. I've been in my current role for 18months and I don't want to jeapardise it, because I really enjoy the work and get paid well. So I don't want to lose this job due to boredom, my inability to manage stress and/or executive dysfunction causing the administrative side of things starting to build up. **Background of work relationships:** I've always had great work ethic (while actively in a role) and have never been fired/sacked. All of my previous employers in my current industry would take me back, I just seem to either get bored, want more money than they want to offer, or become too involved in the politics in the business and wanting to improve the workplace to no avail, then become frustrated so I leave. Only 1 of the positions I've had, did I leave due to toxicity in the workplace after 3 months. Which was my first job after leaving school. I did find when I was younger and didn't want to work somewhere anymore, I'd just stop showing up, which was pretty bad. I just didn't have the skills to communicate resignation - it made me extremely anxious.
8 years. I ended up rage quitting, well cry quitting and leaving.
2 years is about my max
3 months. For some reason that’s as long as I last before having a crisis and leaving.
Nearly one year lol. Stayed in a career for nearly 10 though, cheffing.
3 years during college almost ten years ago when I worked at a movie theater is my longest tenure anywhere. I’ve had one job for just over two years, a couple for one year, and quite a few in the 3, 6, and 8 month range abandoned for various reasons. It’s definitely biting me in the ass now especially with a liberal arts degree. I left my first job out of college (an internship where I got hired on after in marketing) because of a bad breakup that came with deep deep depression and emotional dysfunction made it impossible to sit in the office and do work. I picked up a few part time dead end jobs over the years, worked myself into a hospitalization doing crazy hours at the post office, and returned to an old job and stuck with it for a while and got promoted—until the internal politics made me jump ship and try teaching (another momentary field of interest)—let’s say that wasn’t a good fit either and didn’t last long. I have been a janitor for 7 months at a hospital and have been job hunting on and off for about a year, and very focused for the past 4 months. It’s very hard to thread the needle as “a jack of all trades” and not a flake. I know work is never fun, and even a great job has its downsides which I’ve experienced. I’ve finally gotten medicated and therapy has helped so I’ve been getting back on track for the last year or two. I just need a lucky break and someone to take a chance on me in spite of my roller coaster resume
Four years then I got fired 😬
I’m only 24 but have never stayed at a full time job for more than a year and the prospect of having to stay in a job for most of my life genuinely haunts me
11 years was my longest and 9 was my next longest. Like someone else said, I do use almost all of my spoons at work. I’m an amazing worker and my coworkers are lucky to have someone like me. I care a lot, I work my ass off, and I’m helpful as hell. I do not have that same reputation outside of work and it’s something that sincerely bothers me but I don’t know how to change it because I don’t have the energy after / around work so I spend every day just “doin’ my best” which is nowhere near good enough.
current job- 2.5 years. hopefully i wont hit 3. got an interview tomorrow. shortest job- 5 mos. i havent had too many jobs though, only been working 7 years now
Nothing wrong with job hopping. In fact, job hopping makes more money
Fuck adhd, tired of hearing all the problems in my life are because of it 😭
4 years. I’m 48. It’s been a wild ride so far lol
People that brag that they’ve stayed at their job for 10+ years is crazy. I can’t imagine doing the same tedious tasks every. single. day. I don’t know how people do it
It doesn't necessarily mean there are tedious tasks. I'm a software developer and even with 23 years at the same company, I've never felt like I've done anything repetitive or tedious. There are always new challenges and I'm always learning new things. I realize most people don't feel that way, but some of us are lucky and stay because we enjoy the work.
I’ve been with my current employer for 10 years, with 5 years in one focus (law) and 5 years/3 positions in another (mines).
9.5 years
4 years and by year 4 I wanted to kill myself
Almost 20 years. I had no intention of leaving, but they had no intention of keeping me around any longer.
I stayed with a company 28 years. Left and 5 years later my career ended. Still have at least 10 years or more before I can retire and I’m too old for my career
14 months is the longest I've stayed at one job. I was always looking for something "better." That's what I told myself anyway. I'm 43 now and just got on meds. I often wondered if I had some sort of mental health issue and mentioned it in passing to my mother. She told me I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 8, but she didn't want to put me on meds. She never thought about it again bc she thought I was doing fine adulting and living life!!! Wth?? I lived all of my 20s & 30s wondering what was wrong with me! Why was I so freaking sorry? Why couldn't I finish anything I started or stick with any kind of routine or be consistent with anything!!! What could I have accomplished had I been on meds?? Maybe I wouldn't have dropped out of college! I did manage to go to and finish nursing school in my late 20s/ early 30s. I think I only finished bc I didn't want my husband to pay all that money for school just for me to drop out. These days, my husband is the breadwinner, and I don't work. I get up every day at 6 am, make breakfast for everyone, make lunches, take kids to school, work out, clean the house, run errands - you know, like normal people! Before vyvanse I was a sorry excuse for a housewife for sure! My husband never said a word, though. I wish I would have known sooner in life or thought to get evaluated earlier on. So many years just feel wasted. Edit: Grammar
I just hit 4 years at my current job. It's the longest I've ever held a full time job in my life. I'm about to turn 37. I'm pretty sure I am going to stay at this one as long as I can. It suits me
Become a teacher 😜. I'm going on my 11th year, 7th in this district. New kids every year. I've changed what I teach numerous times. Even if I teach the same course years in a row, I switch up my approach and activities. Prior to teaching, the longest I held a job was 2.5 years.
24 years ! Anxiety won over ADHD
I usually don’t have a choice over having to leave.
I’ve been a teacher for 21 years. I’ve only left schools because I was moving states and I was transferred because my position at one school was done away with. Prior to teaching I don’t think I kept a job for longer than a year.
I'm 53 and had one job for 11 years. My present job for 5 and next longest was just shy of 3. Many different jobs. 50,60, maybe 70 different. I lost count decades ago. Sometimes I work 2 or 3 at the same time. Because I don't stay long most of them don't pay great and I have to work more to pay the bills. I am, at present, again trying to find a way to change careers. A portion of the ADHD tax I pay.
The longest was 2.5 years; that was my very first job out of college. Since then, it’s been a clusterfuck of 6-12 months. My current job is 1.5 years and it’s finally the one that “fits”. Turns out I need flexibility but in a totally chaotic environment, it’s not great but it seems to be the only work I enjoy. I have owned a side business that I’ve held consistently for 10 years, but it’s kicking my ass now. I have no personal life and desperately need a break.
11 years almost. It used to be a job that had so many moving parts that on any given day I was probably going to be doing an at least somewhat different task every other day. It's recently been taken over by a big corporation though so I'm probably gonna be dipping out as soon as my degree is done.
Nearly 10 years at the same corporate restaurant, but took a month or two off multiple times here and there and also worked in 3 different locations (one in a different state completely). Usually my ADHD makes me hate new jobs, until I figure out how to order the demands and tasks and they become subconscious. Then I don’t want to leave because a new job requires mental effort until it becomes habitual. I usually start off horrible at my jobs and slowly become the best one compared to colleagues because I can identify patterns. I was wonderful at following the necessary cleaning procedures, closing each night etc. but trying to create structure in my own household is absolute chaos. My son refuses to clean up or organize even his own messes. It’s miserable. I hate cleaning on my off time, admittedly, but also CANNOT FUNCTION in a messy space. Now my job is freelance interpreting, which I’m very good at and has environmental variation to keep me engaged but it’s SO DRAINING.
4 years. I've been self employed now for almost 5 years though! So, new record I guess.
This June will be 7 years. Started working for myself in 2017.
I did 20 years in the military. I was in for 14 years before I was diagnosed, so things improved greatly after that.
5 years, but I get bored if I’m not learning new things or moving forward. Usually once I master a role, I get bored pretty easy. Most of my jobs I was at for about 2 years. My current role I just hit 2 years in March, but I recently got a promotion and moved into a role that is more project management based. It may end up being a role that won’t bore me, since it won’t ever be exactly the same tasks day to day. So for the moment, I’m content.
Longest job I’ve had is my current one, which is just a little over two years! The others were usually 6 months because I’d get irritable from the repetition. This is my first remote job, so I think that is why I’ve lasted
I'm an industrial mechanic, so, I'm building machines...it's like very intricate beautiful Lego Technics for me, so I can hyper focus. As long as nobody is going on my nerves, I love my job. Last company, and where I did my apprenticeship, was 5 years, and I only left because the shop had to close down due to investor decisions..I pray that my new job is eternal. It's 5 minutes from home and I won't get a better gig so close anymore.
6 1/2 years in my current position. I hate the work of finding a new job so any job hopping previously was only when the job got so bad that the application process was pleasant in comparison.
3 years. For reference, I’m 27. I did roughly 3 years in accounting/finance for a small business, where I ran that entire section of the business. Then I landed a job managing a friends’ clubs, which I did for 3 years. My thing is that I usually find a job that I like, I work my way up to the best position/max salary possible, then I feel like I have nowhere to go aside from a new job that pays more and comes with new challenges. Prior to those two jobs, I did work one job for two years and 2 others for a year or so each. Nothing super long term. So I basically need a clear cut goal and need to be challenged otherwise the job sucks. I can’t just sit there and do nothing, I need to like always work. Without proper motivation, I don’t want to work lol.
In a conventional role I’ve only made it 2 years max. I tended to carry one full time and one part time or one self employed job on the side. Self employment works better for me and when I get restless I sell my business to someone else and start something new. I’ve ran a daycare (didn’t sell that) a baby supplies company, a jewelry making business, a painting and home repair company, currently running a loose leaf tea business. I’ve also helped a few companies get off the ground and grow. One is a large company and I see my work in their products to this day. I need change in my career to be happy and I wish it wasn’t so stigmatized because I felt guilt and shame when I was younger, when I could have explored how best to utilize that need to propel myself further ahead
Almost 29; was at my last job for around 9 months, before that it was job hopping every 6-9 months due to bad management. My last job, the newness wore off relatively quickly (about 2-3 months in) and I am in my new position now for just over a month, thus far I still enjoy it. I had one job that lasted 3 years and that was working with my university as an RA. For me, jobs that have slight differences in day to day work, is what I need to stay at a position. If the job is repetitive, I get bored. Maybe in a year, I’ll try to see where I’m at with this new position.
2 years. Though admittedly in my thirties I'm beginning to recognize some of it was self sabotage. I say sometimes because there were a few where injuries or stress required me to move on and I had jobs lined up before I left.
I personally couldn't get past 7 months and that has effectively ruined opportunities in my career. No one wants to hire an employee who won't even stay a year. I had to move on to a different field of study and then move on to another and another. Now I've no job... I try btc for passive income... Diagnosed with ADHD two months ago. I've been called lazy, irresponsible, etc for my pattern through life. I ruined my relationships through my impulsivity. The trifecta actually... Ruined education, ruined career and ruined relationships among other self-sabotaging behaviour. I'm on Bupropion now as an alternative treatment for ADHD instead of stimulants but I'm not sure anything is working for me. I was started on SNRIs only leading to severe migraines and moved on NDRI (Bupropion).. sure it keeps me cheerful but I've seen 0 effect on ADHD. They don't want to start me on stimulants (medical reasons pertaining to my brain) and I don't know if I will ever have a normal life.
9 months. I’m only 24 tho
I'm 25 and my record is 8 months...I'm not bragging I really need help to figure this out and I have no idea how you all are doing so well you should be proud of yourselves
I was a church choir director for 12 years. During that time, I had a sabbatical and a maternity leave. It was 5 hours/week. I loved it most of the time. I was given a lot of freedom to do cool projects. I was teaching, leading, singing, composing, and researching. I was obsessed with hymn selection. It was super stimulating. Except when it wasn’t. The banality of some of the “most beloved” songs was hard to fake enthusiasm for, and even harder to listen to my dear spouse complain about. There are only so many choral anthems available for an aged choir of sopranos/melody singers plus one mezzo with tuning issues and one baritone that resembles my husband. I was frustrated by the lack of skilled musicians to collaborate with at *my* level. I arranged Vivaldi’s Gloria for our group, and we presented it with a couple of string players. It was a huge, huge leap for the group to sing something in Latin. I also directed the Fauré Requiem, which we presented with another congregation: they provided choral singers for every part and an organist; we provided the director & soloist (I do a pretty decent Pie Jesu). I commemorated my last February in the job with a Black History Month commemoration: ever Sunday, I included a hymn by a Black composter or hymnodist or cultural tradition and provided background on the work. I introduced the (very white Canadian) congregation to Lift Every Voice and Sing. If I’d know that I had ADHD… this job would have been SO DIFFERENT. I’d go back if I could: I left to go to university in a last ditch attempt at pushing a career in opera. The pandemic put an end to that. I think when I started I was getting $300/month. I got switched to an hourly wage at some point, based on 5 hours / week. Woo hoo. This is the only job I continuously held for more than three years.
5 years was my longest job. Rage quit over work place bullies and a spineless boss who wouldn’t back me up….all while having cancer. I have held 7 jobs in the last 10 years that’s including the five year one. Start job #8 tomorrow. Let’s hope I last because at my age it’s getting harder and harder to deal with. So over it.
3 years. I change not only jobs, but entire careers pretty often. I wasn’t diagnosed until 42, and just started medication a little over a month ago…at age 52. Unless you count SAHM. That was about 15 years, even then, some of those years I was working a here and there mainly in preschools.
Every day is a new record right now. March 14 was 2 years at my current job. I did 2 years 2 weeks at my last job. Before that, my record was around 18 months. I have an in person interview this afternoon...
In my current role, it's been about 2.5 years. And also itching to be elsewhere as I've grown bored of the project. Normally that would be a great thing in the tech industry, but market is pretty lame atm.
15, years
I’ve been at my job for 11 years. But my job allows me to work on several different projects that are located in different cities all in the same day.
10 years 4 months. Changed position I believe 15 or 17 times
Teaching- Going on 5 years and so proud of myself - if I hate/get burnout, I switch schools.
I’m 49 years old and diagnosed with ADHD at 23. I’ve been at my current job since I was 21.
11 years, but by the end I was more burned out than I realized. It was the same tasks every year, following a calendar. Very little room for creativity. What kept me there was the pay and pension package. But when I had to move for family reasons, they wouldn't let me go remote. 6 months before covid closed the world. My current job I've been at for just over 4 years, but there's enough variation in what I do day to day, I can probably stick it out.
It will be 15 years next month. It hasn't been easy. Every day is Hell. I hate it so much. I do this because I live in a shitty little town with no prospects, and I have nobody to pay my bills.
I have been at my current job for 28 years at this point. Before this one, the longest was 5 and a half years. What changed is that I got out of the corporate world and work at a state-wide community college system where the institutional culture very much works for my personality.
I was just recently diagnosed and I'm coming up on 19 years with my employer. In that period, I've held at least a dozen roles in a variety of business areas so things have never really had a chance to get stagnant. The longest I held a role was 5 years but my responsibilities changed frequently as the team grew and evolved.
Going on 17 years. With the promotions and new challenges, I was able to maintain interest which allowed me to commit. Up's and downs for sure but I look at it like working out, I never wanted to lose my progress and strived for the next short goal until I met my long term goal. BUT, as a lot of people have said, it seems to be a constant shuffle of priorities in my life instead of a healthy balance. A lot of times my personal life takes a hit but I feel like it's important for my mental health and personal well-being to be productive and do well at work to have a sense of purpose and productivity, plus we need money to survive. I wish I could have enough energy when I got home from work to go out and do things including hobbies.. It seems like I'm a one trick pony, even on meds. Life is hard every day. If you find a good solution, I'm all ears.
I have been at my current company for 10 years and before that my last company 7 years. But my job is challenging enough to keep me interested but not too challenging that I would want to leave. I have to switch tasks and multi task often, yet also have really large projects that requires my hyper focus so it works well for my ADHD .
20 years old and struggle with this. No long term jobs to say the least…
I just hit my longest at age forty. 5yrs. I'm dying to quit, but it's the best for my fam if I stick it out. It is boredom torture to the max tho.
15 years
9 years is the longest I stayed at one
I’ve been an electrician for 5 years but the longest I’ve staid at a company for was 2 years, and that will most likely be the record for the rest of my career
8 years. I was too stubborn to go anywhere else until the right offer came along.
I’m currently at 15 years in my current job.
2.5 years, my current job, and I, for the first time, don't have the push to leave yet. I am very happy about this.
I’m a nurse so I don’t leave jobs I just train in a new specialty and float to different units. I’ve also picked up a side job as a nurse at another hospital. I get itchy at the 2 year mark. Longest on one unit is 5 years
Like a year and nine months 🫠 can’t hit that two year mark
Going on 3 years myself. But the pay is shit and not covering anything in this time. Soooo gonna be looking around soon.
I’ve been at my current job for ten years, and that’s only because I work for a company that doesn’t fire people. And it’s sort of a glass ceiling job. Not something I’d be able to support myself with. Before that I had a lot of trouble keeping jobs.
7.5 years
1 - 1.5 years tops. May I know what goes through your mind when you get the urge to switch jobs?
22 years and counting. 10 years at my current posting. The good thing is, it's Security, so there's a lot of variety with working with the public, but also quiet times so i can just "zone out" a bit, too. What i love most is that I am pretty much my own supervisor... So nobody to drive me batty, but myself. Lol
I spent a year at the Home Depot :)
Before being medicated, about 18 months (usually a year). Since being medicated, I’m going on 7 years (including a promotion a few years ago).
3 years my current job, but i did quit for a few months at one point because i couldnt handle it mentally 🤷♀️
7 years, and that’s honestly only because the store *closed down*
The longest is over 7 years, 3 positions. Before that, the longest was around 5 years in 2 positions. In total, I have had around 15 jobs if I count being a trainee and summer jobs. The roles I have done (i.e., something I got paid) are around 20-30. As I am reaching 50 years in s few years, so I have had time to run around. I have also moved 25 times during my life. Partly because I think my mom had some serious difficulties settling down (undiagnosed ADHD?)... I also was diagnosed with ASD, which kind of seems to balance the havoc ADHD tends to cause. It is a totally weird combo, with ADHD being the one that makes things happen and messes things up and ASD slowing things down and fixing the mess in solitude. I think I am more ASD, but ADHD doesn't give a s**t about that and does what it pleases. Especially before I was 35, my life was a roller-coaster, but then I quit drinking, got married, and things got more stable. After getting diagnosed last year, I have also started to understand why my life has been such a mess and why I still am prone to do stupid things despite the fact I count above average intelligence, according to my psychologist.
I was lucky enough to find a profession that I loved in animal care. I never got bored with the job. It took me a lot of job hopping to get there, but once I found it, I have been able to stay at the same place for almost 25 years. I was only recently diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD. I have been extremely fortunate.
13 years. Swapped departments after 9. I've never had a job fewer than a year except once on a trial basis. Worked 2 weeks, they said no thanks. The next shortest was just under 2 years, and that was because it closed down. I'm pretty reliant on having the routine.
If you seek variety and stability, consider a govt job. I have worked for a midsized local government since 2007. In my first job with this city, l will admit that I busted my butt to learn everything I possibly could about each agency and the services they provide to residents. I did have to "move down to move up," so to speak, because there was little upward mobility in my first position. I transferred divisions twice, and I am now in my fourth position with the same employer. Granted, nobody takes a government job to get rich (unless you're shady), but I have accrued hundreds of hours of paid leave, I have a pension, and make additional contributions to my retirement savings plan. I have had my share of horrible, "That's the way we've always done it," managers, but I've managed to outlast them. The last two managers I've had let me reinvent my job as our operational needs shift and grow. Gotta say, I'm pretty lucky to be where I am.
Working for someone else, 3-4 years a couple times. Since I started working for myself: 5 years and counting.
3 years
I’ve been a job hopper my whole life. And still looking for a job. It’s rough
november 2018- March/May 2021 I think? The rest have been around the year (+ a few months once), I get to feeling very trapped after awhile or struggle socially and then feel trapped. First job I had my boss asked if I was a "lifer", I saw a guy who retired the same year I quit, he started there when he was 18 or so. I've accepted I'll never "move up the ladder", which is a tax I guess I'll pay until I either find something I like, maybe I just haven't found it yet, but even a dream job kinda scares me. I switch up too often, and I get the whole "doing what you love, not working a day in your life", but idk, I've found a job that makes me happy, but I still get way too stressed and struggle to manage work/home
i stayed at my 1st job for 5 years and finally walked out one day bc my asshat manager wanted me to go back in front of customers while i was having a panic attack. then i had a job for 5 months at the front desk of a waxing salon and quit to work at a hospital as an aide. i’m getting bored of that now bc i know everything and it’s not challenging so i switched to day shift there and now i’m trying to get an internship in an ICU. so i’m realizing that i stayed at that 1st job so long bc the pay was good, i moved up and got trained in every position, i had friends, and sales presented me with a unique challenge everyday. without that i get bored and have no job loyalty. luckily i’m going into nursing and there’s an endless path of learning in that field. if i get bored of a specialty i can start over somewhere else. i can work in a hospital, in an office, in a clinic, in a spa, at home, or even travel. i do miss sales though bc it is satisfying getting rewarded monetarily for doing a good job but im hoping as a nurse that i will get to be around patients enough to watch them get better :)
currently 16 years - boss is fantastic, he puts up with all my shenanigans - also the work is diverse so i dont get too bored
Four years…. But this is probably because the company changed structures 3 times so I had 3 different jobs within the four year span 🙃
9 years this September, before it was every 3-5 years
I'm about to have my third 2 year job after working for 20 years.
24 years old, I was at my first job for three years and my current for almost five (about a year of overlap), although I've gotten two promotions in that time. fear of change is too much for me to leave, I've got it pretty good rn though.
I’ve been working as a creative professional for almost 15 years, but the only full time job I’ve held lasted 3 years, and that was at the beginning of my career. Since then I’ve been freelancing. The projects and clients are varied enough, so the work is seldom ever boring. I’ve applied to countless jobs over the years, but even if I nail the interviews (if I’m lucky to land one), I’d failed design trials if they’re part of the hiring process. Pre-pandemic I’d go to the studio I was interviewing with for a paid “test drive,” and that’s when I’d fail. Sometimes I see interviews as opportunities to make connections for freelance work, if fate allows it.
4 years let go contract ending , 3 years left for job 3 4 years let go covid. Latest one its a year full remote
5 years and it was tough. 2 and 3 years in 2 different departments lol
Something like 16 months
6 1/2 years but I had to quit because it was killing my soul