DATA: I am puzzled, captain. This joke did not receive a single humorous reaction. However, I calculated with 99.987625% certainty that -

PICARD: Well, Data, there's more to humor than, well, data.

Honestly, I'd be more curious what topics where the media does nail the nuances of. Are there any at all?

I'm a similar boat. Diagnosed with ADHD recently but later in life, and it's likely why I never settled into a single domain. I consider myself a strong software engineer but tend to fall apart in interviews, particularly with unstructured things like being asked to "tell me about yourself." I am also planning a shift into a management role.

My main regret in life is spending a lot of time trying to apply advice that seemed reasonable and how Other People did things. Only adopt things that work for you.

• I highly recommend at least trying stimulants. I inadvertently self medicated with caffeine for years, which might work in a pinch. My secret sauce is frankly 90% Concerta and 10% behavior modification things like carrying a notebook around.

• I would not mention that you have ADHD to interviewers since you can't count on anyone to properly understand it. Showing weakness is just blood in the water. Hopefully this won't be an issue for future generations. Yes, I am extremely bitter about this.

• Approach this as doing whatever you have to do to get yourself over the finish line, and know that trying harder at a failed strategy never works. Don't limit yourself to how things are supposed to be done.

• Security requires a flexible mindset and attracts square pegs. Data centers are where all the real weirdos hang out so devops might be worth considering. I'm confident most scientists I've worked with have ADHD, and prototype R&D work is definitely more ADHD friendly.

• Insist on knowing the structure and expectations of each round of an interview. I pitch this as "I need to know how I'm being evaluated so I can properly prepare and demonstrate my abilities."

• I'll be honest: the interview process is mostly nonsense and should be treated as such. Anything that puts a thumb on the scale in your favor is fair game, short of unethical behavior like lying. Telling people what they want to hear is a great way to counter dumb questions.

• I've built up an Obsidian 'database' of bullets to help during interviews, including a prepared statement of why I have it and need to have it available.

  • "Tell me about yourself", "what type of role are you looking for", "why do you want to shift into management" open ended questions. The key thing is respond in a coherent, organized way without showing any negativity or weakness. Yes this is ridiculous, but it's how it is.

    • Turn your generalist background into the strength it is. I use: software engineering is a problem solving role, everything else is a means to that end. Solving problems is what I do; I've done so in a wide range of fields and domains and always drive them to completion. What I'm looking for is a great team to join, which is independent of industry or tech stack.

  • "Tell me about a time" behavior questions. I like the STAR format. I do well on these but need an outline to work with. Make sure it's polished into a coherent narrative. Put an emphasis on what you did, but also how you enabled your team. Numerical data points are great if you have them

    • If the company posts their values or principles then that's likely want they want to see out of these. Match your scenarios to the values beforehand. The idea is previous behaviors indicate future ones.

  • System design questions. I have my own checklist of questions I go through since I don't like the popular format. I expect this is where you shine, maybe just need a bit of scaffolding to help organize your thoughts.

  • Leetcode programming tests. Like it or not, it's part of the game.

• If you are serious about going into management, you'll need a prepared philosophy of how you see the role and will approach it.

  • This is also a great question to ask hiring managers. The best indicator of what the job will actually be like and you can't wiggle out without raising red flags.
  • The two books I like are The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier and the classic First, Break All the Rules by the Gallop folks. Again, not all advice is good so only take away what you think will work for you. Worth reading if only to understand what you should expect out of a manager.
  • Do not make the mistake of feeling like you need to go into a people management position. Shifting into project management is perfectly fine. Topping out at a senior or staff software engineer role is also perfectly fine. Frankly, topping out at a mid level engineer is fine, just watch out for ageism.

• I also have check lists for all sorts of random things. Even dumb things like how to respond to a question I didn't prepare for: repeat the question, write it down, jot down what I think they want to hear, write down points, and give them an order.

I'm extremely open to tech stacks and specific industries, though I would die happy if I never had to touch another line of TCL. Go to hell TCL, and take your upvar nonsense with you.

I'm currently between jobs and planning a career shift into a software engineer manager role, so I have been thinking about this quite a bit. A job I would leave - which is really leaving a manager/team, not a company - would rate poorly on these, which I'm polishing into a new "what type of position are you looking for?" answer:

• A team that works cooperatively, as we accomplish more together than in competition. Everyone should strive to be world class at their roles, as being around that is critical for learning from each other.
• An environment where clear and open communication is encouraged, including whatever anyone is struggling with.
• Work that takes on difficult problems and strives to work through them with the highest standards.
• A position that enables me to grow down my desired career path, which as of this writing means reporting to a software manager who is willing to delegate project management tasks and eventually people management as well.

Something I wouldn't reveal during an interview, though critically important, is a work environment that I can arrange such that it best enables me, and not be boxed in by someone else's conceived ideas of how software engineers should act or work. I've felt like a square peg in a round hole my entire life. Turns out it's a concrete objective fact (ADHD). I am so goddamn tired of feeling bad or apologizing for things that are actually just the scaffolding that I need to survive.

Buddy if you are waiting for a Sign, this is it. It'll never get more concrete than this message I'm typing for you right now. Having a lot of doubts is common. It wasn't truly real for me until I started medication.

My broad advice is to find a good psychiatrist (and don't be afraid to switch if you aren't happy) and dig as deep as possible for evidence both for and against. Go in with confidence that you have ADHD symptoms, but keep an open mind since there are alternative explanations. A diagnosis of "no you don't have ADHD it's actually ____" is also important information to know, and you will regret letting it drag out if you do have ADHD.

I wouldn't be. None of these are prescribed for ADHD minus a few at the top. Taking an extended release stimulant isn't going to put you on the path to needing antipsychotics. Or paying a vet under the table for ketamine for your 'horse' or whatever the point of this meme is.

The Fun part of ADHD is there's nothing unique to ADHD. Being overwhelmed with anxiety doesn't mean you have anxiety disorder. It's when you have frequent overwhelming anxiety and it's interfering with your life.

Having a tendency to put things down and lose them doesn't mean you have ADHD. Constantly having to find that screwdriver that was just in your hand and realizing that desk has been half complete for six months because you keep spending thirty seconds looking for it before getting distracted by other tasks? That's ADHD. Unless it's focus issues rooted in something else. Like anxiety or depression, which can cause ADHD like symptoms. But also ADHD can cause anxiety and depression, or be comorbid.

That said, you are here voluntarily on an ADHD community finding common ground with an ADHD meme. If you've wondered specifically about ADHD or more broadly felt there's something different about you've just never been able to put your finger on - this is your sign. My advice is to find a psychiatrist who really understand it, dig as deep as you can for hard evidence that you have or don't have it, and keep an open mind to alternative explanations. A diagnosis of "no you don't have ADHD" is also important information.

I think you'll find that awful or lazy was never true, and the potential was always there buried deep. You just didn't have the right tools.

What's the DEAL with WIVES anyway

Poorly, in retrospect. The best period of my life was four ish years pre COVID when I got into the bad habit of drinking a lot of caffeine, without realizing that it was helping me. It was also inadvertently ripped away from me when I went remote and was cut off from my bottomless source of coffee and pop and energy drinks.

One of my takeaways when I started proper medication is that I in fact did know all the organization tricks in the book - the missing piece was the medication, not knowledge.

Is there any actual analysis this went down as written? This sets off two eyebrow alarms for me: 1. AI doing something revolutionary without serious issues and 2. clean cut police work, which never happens (at least not anymore).

Honestly I'd put money down the police caught him by chance and went backwards to find a good explanation for how. I'd also be highly skeptical of an AI system that actually catching drug dealers without also catching like everyone else.

FYI the scene this is from. If you "so bad it's good" media I highly recommend Danger 5. It's one of the very few things to initially try that and pull it off.

You might know it from this gif.