What did you guys want to be during the 80's, or when you were growing up? How does it compare to what you are doing now?
My guess is that not many of us have ended up doing what we originally dreamed of.
From as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a teacher. In fact, I got put up a grade in primary school coz I was teaching the other kids to read before the teacher had a chance! During high school, all Year 10 students have to spend a week in the workplace, so I spent a week at a local primary school. My God, did I HATE it! I realised that I'm not cut out to be a school teacher, I can't teach kids.
But over the course of my working life, I've found that I'm really good at training people, and all the jobs I've had have involved that. At IBM, as well as my normal job, I was always called upon to train new staff. And now in my retail job, I find myself teaching my customers how to use their computers or cameras or whatever, and I love it.
So what jobs do we have in here? Do we have any teachers, or real estate agents, or car salesmen, or antique dealers, or stock brokers, or admin managers? And back in the 80's, did we want to be firemen? models? accountants? veterinarians? graphic designers?
Posted by annier (Member # 3305) on :
I started horse riding lessons from the age of 5 so I always wanted to be a teacher or professional show jumper or something along those lines. It’s the only career I ever thought about when I was growing up. At about 18 I started to loose interest in it as a career but I did enter afew semi-professional events and taught part-time at the weekends but the pay was dreadful.
After college I worked for an international events company for 7 years which was a great job mainly due to all the free trips away you get. Sadly they went bust and so I applied for an admin job at a local college to keep the money coming in and they offered me a job as a careers adviser. I’ve been doing that for 5 years and its not my dream job but it pays the bills.
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
As a kid, I was always standing up for the underdog, and hated seeing others kids being picked on or bullied. Fairly early on, I decided I wanted to be in the helping field....with kids in particular. I was never a great scholar (reflective of effort, not ability), and never really planned to go to University. But one day (I was 16), I decided that I wanted to work with kids, and that I would pursue a career in that field. I took Sociology at St Francis Xavier University (Nova Scotia, Canada), and I've been working with teenagers ever since (approx 10 years)as a Child And Youth Counsellor. I doubt I'll ever be rich...but I make a pretty good living and am very happy. It was always important for me and my wife not to have to move away to make a decent living...and we've succeeded in that...we're approximately five miles from my wife's parents...and five houses away from my parents....we are actively involved in the lives of our nine neices and nephews, and our own two year old gets to grow up with lots of family around as well. Not sure I'd change too much in my life right now.....
Posted by ISIS (Member # 1780) on :
It's funny, because every job I ever wanted to do-I have worked in some way in that field.
I had wanted to go to college to be an art teacher or a special education teacher. I actually worked as a resident manager of a group home for years.
I always thought about being a Veternarian- because I love animals, I worked in Virgina for a year as a Veternarian's Assistant- which the Vet there taught me how to do Xrays, I assisted in surgeries, he actually let me spay and neuter my own 2 cats, so I learned how to do all kinds of stuff.
I went to school to be a travel agent, my first job was with a huge agency in Virginia- but it had no perks to it at all, then I got a job with my best friend at a small agency and we got to travel all over -I got to go to Hawaii for 10 days, I got to dress up every day. I loved that job.
I was an antique dealer for 7 years, and I worked in a co-op- and the manager let me do all the window displays- and I learned a ton about interior decorating.
Now, I have my dream job- I own my own business- and it is awesome, I have met people from all over the world, I have got to travel to places to visit some of them- like I went to Cape Cod -2 years ago. I get to bake and cook- which I have always loved to do- my house has been in magazines- I have been in cooking magazines. I get to do interior decorating. I get to do landscaping, and I am now a paid artist...so everything I ever dreamed of doing, I have done, plus I still have my tax id number for being an antique dealer, and I still can incorporate that in buying things for my home.
Plus, I am a mom, and that to me is the best thing I ever have done.
I am very lucky. I think if you love something you should find a way to make money at it, because I always feel bad for people who are just stuck in a job they hate.
Every job I ever had, even when I was in high school-I loved working, and I always had a blast with the people I worked with, you can make anything fun...and that's what life should be.
Posted by Chris the CandyFanMan (Member # 3197) on :
For a while as a young child in the 80s, a zookeeper was the prime ideas for I, given how much I cared for animals. Today I work in television as a master control operator at a local station, hoping some day to sell a successful script. Since I am one of the few from my TV/Film class in college to still be in the field at the moment, no real reason to complain.
Posted by Earth Angel (Member # 3301) on :
In the 80's I was a little kid, so I wanted to be a Nurse, then a dancer, then a vet (I am none of those things). In the 90's I wanted to be a Social Worker, and I do kind of so that now, I work with teenagers with problems and children with special needs. I am now back at college so I can be an English and Drama teacher.........I think it's too late to be a dancer Posted by jdocster (Member # 5752) on :
Stich, very good posting idea!
I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do when I was a kid. I was good with my hands and had a knack for fixing anything mechanical in nature. All of my friends would come to me with their problems and I would do my best to help them out. Like kevdugp73 I too hated bullies and I did my part to help people out of bad situations. I thought I might like to be a psychologist but I wasn't sure. When I graduated high school I worked as a welder, clerk, small engine repair work. I finally decided to be an auto mechanic. I did that professionally for years, working on everything from cars, trucks, big trucks, military vehicles, naval weapons, etc... I finally went back to school when I was 27. Been working for the last 14 years on computer networks.
If I could do it over again I would have been a psychologist... But, hey, I've been very blessed in my life, so, no complaints... Posted by MotleyRulz (Member # 3598) on :
Mine's really different. After watching The Fall Guy at around age 8, I decided I wanted to be a professional stuntman. Around middle school, I decided I wanted to be a surgeon. My first semester of college I decided I wanted to be an electrical engineering (the old man was an electrical engineer too) major. Needless to say, my first semester of college involved everything else but studying so that didn't pan out. I then switched to business/accounting with a logistics minor. I went back to grad school to get my MBA with a Concentration in Human Resources. I'm in retail management and I consult in logistics and HR part-time from home. I'm hoping to grow enough to eventually run my own show full-time and that's it because workin for somebody else effin sux lol. I am fortunate though to have a career that's fairly stable............
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
Well way back then I wanted to be a nurse or a doctor. Then I decided I wanted to be a psychiatrist. My first semester (I didn't even make it a whole year lol) of college I majored in the sciences b/c I had decided by then to be a pysical therapist. But when you don't go to your 8:00 chem class and you hate biology and math that doesn't work out much. So second semester I switched to elementary ed and here I am! Sometimes though I wish I'd went into middle school but most days I wouldn't trade the little ones.
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But, hey, I've been very blessed in my life, so, no complaints... ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)