47 and wondering if I've built a career that's completely wrong for my AuDHD brain
47 and wondering if I've built a career that's completely wrong for my AuDHD brain
I'm 47, AuDHD, and increasingly wondering whether I need a different job or a completely different career.
I'm a Senior User Researcher in tech/consultancy. I've got a Master's degree and have had a successful career, but since Covid my work has become almost entirely remote and I feel like I'm getting progressively worse at coping with it.
I'm alone at a laptop doing work that's often ambiguous and self-directed — research, analysis, planning, figuring out what to do next. Starting tasks can feel ridiculously difficult, I struggle to focus without external structure, and I really miss actually being around people.
I've realised I'm craving work with tangible outcomes: there's a thing that needs doing → I do it → it's done.
I've genuinely found myself considering everything from forestry, distillery work and delivery driving to social work or even cleaning. Not because I think those jobs are easy, but because something physical, practical or people-facing sounds enormously appealing. I'm also considering something like content design as a less drastic change.
The problem is that I'm 47 with financial commitments, so starting again at the bottom on an entry-level wage isn't particularly realistic.
I'm also currently dealing with pretty extreme fatigue — sleeping a full night and sometimes several hours during the day as well — which is being looked into medically. So I'm struggling to separate AuDHD burnout, physical health, working remotely and simply being in the wrong career.
The odd thing is that while the thought of carrying on like this makes me miserable, the thought of changing my life actually makes me feel quite excited.
Has anyone here reached a similar point, particularly in their 40s or later? What did you do? And have you found work that gives you structure, tangible outcomes and enough stimulation without eventually burning you out?