I’m not presently working but I trained, and worked as, a software developer. I struggle a lot with work and my working life has been very chaotic due to shit mental health. It seems like a really stupid idea, as being a chef is meant to be really stressful. However, the idea of it being fast-paced, immediate, physical, intense, sensory seems really really appealing to me.
I’m sorry if this isn’t a lot of information to go on. I’m trying to reduce details, partly for privacy’s sake, partly because if I don’t wind myself-in this could be a novel long.
Been a chef. It works pretty well for adhd, if you can find a job that has the right level of business and organisation to keep you in flow. It can be really fun reacting to things and having lots of short goals and dopamine hits.
But equally, once it becomes too busy (or the kitchen is poorly organised) it’s easy to become overwhelmed and that can exhausting. If you’re like most adhders I know, you might find keeping you kitchen organised and remembering where you’ve put that small tub with that essential garnish for the next order. As you search everywhere for it, you make even more of mess, and then you discover that it was exactly where you first looked, but because you’re hyper and rushing you missed… And now you are even more behind with the checks and you remember that you forgot to put that vital thing in the oven two hours ago, so you’re going to have tell the wait staff that the one vegetarian dish in the menu is finished.
Also, as everyone else is saying, being a chef is stressful, poorly paid, and easily leads to world of alcoholism and/or stimulant addiction. That being said, it can be fun! And being a good cook is a life skill. So, if you find a job somewhere that seems like a good vibe, go for it. But i don’t think I could recommend it as a career plan.