Ask Mike: Career Opportunities
Hey Guys,
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man. Desperately. I’d wake up early, pad down the stairs to the bay window, and watch the guys toss the cans around. If I was lucky, they’d wave. I’m not sure why, but watching them empty the trash and hang off the back off their truck had a profound effect on my young mind. At that moment I knew I wanted to be a garbage man.
Flash forward three decades and I’m not doing what I planned to do as a kid. And maybe that’s for the best. While garbage men (and women) make good salaries and perform a valuable service for the community, they do have to work with, well, garbage. I asked the community for examples of what they wanted to be when they were kids and whether they were actually doing their childhood “dream jobs.”
Not surprisingly, the answers varied. Cyndi wrote that when she was growing up, she wanted to be either a ballerina or a firefighter. As an adult, she’s neither. Huma, meanwhile, wanted to be a teacher. Now that she’s an adult, that’s exactly what she is. Goldfish wanted to be an archaeologist but is now pursuing a career in fashion.
A few responses came from kids still growing up. One kid wants to be an NBA player but plans to have a backup job if things don’t work out. Another wanted to be a vet when she was a little kid but has since had a change of heart. The Question Queen writes about all the different jobs she wanted to have as a kid — everything from bus driver to police officer to doctor.
What about you? What did you want to be when you were a tot? Why did you want that specific job? Now that you’re older, do you still wish you had that job or are you happy with the way things turned out? Please leave a comment below. I’m off to watch the garbage truck.
Thanks for reading,
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I want to be a writer or a fashion designer, but since those seem to be more of the fantasy dream jobs I might be an architect or anything else that lets you express your creativity.
i want to be living with my future boyfriend ken and be deeply in love forever. i also want to have a a grey kitten with white paws and be a famous fantasy/ myster writer. and live happliy ever after
When I was a lot younger, I had always wanted to be a singer. But now I’m 16 and have discovered my lifelong passion- writing. I want to be an american novelist and when I make my first million, I intend on moving to japan to pursue my TRUE dream of being a manga ka. But the job I had always dreamed of as a kid hasn’t changed much. If anything I can say I acheived it, but the fame level is a lot different! I write lyrics and I’m the singer in a band with my friends. So in a way, I do have my dream job, but not the one I’m shooting for now that I’ve grown up and realized that a published novel definately pays more then playing a show at Lazer Fun Zone. Haha.
What a great “knowledge worthy” question.
My imagination led me to dream about being a superhero, a ninja, somebody famous everybody knew. I wanted to save the world. Around middle school, me and my friends were crazy. Always dong crazy stunts, and tricks. Climbing everything, jumping without a second thought off of our garage, onta a trampoline, into the pool. We would choreograph fights in the playground, convincing everybody we had really beat up our friends. We would hang out in the gymnastics room, with all the crash pads and climbing ropes. These games turned into a dream of staying friends forever, and eventually becoming the most famous Stuntman compay. We would be in all the great hollywood films.We stayed friends, but eventually grew out of that. In high school, I had already made up my mind that I wanted to be a pediatrician. I worked hard on my grades, did really well academically. I had my mind set until I discovered street racing. I graduated high school a couple months ago, and am going to attend Wyotech in the spring. I am going to be an auto mechanic, specializing in high performance tuning. That’s my story.
i wanted to be a neuterologist. now i am a fireman.
when i was young, i wanted to be a vet. i really thought that’s what i would be when i grew up. now i’m a teen, and although i don’t want to be a vet anymore, i still am interested in medicine: but now human medicine. of course i still love animals as much as i did when i wanted to be a vet, but i’ve since found i’m more interested in being a physician than a vet. i’m not sure what speciality yet, and thankfully, i don’t have to decide until medical school. but i love kids, so i imagine something in pediatrics is probably my calling. maybe pediatric emergency medicine, or pediatric neurology. maybe just primary care pediatrics in an office rather than a hospital. i don’t know. i also find the field of pyschology interesting, but i’m too interested in actual medical science and doing medical procedures to be a pyschologist. i think most fields in medicine have an element of psychology to them, particularly in terms of talking to patients and bedside manner and such. there’s also the education side of it; educating people on health issues, which i find fascinating. i’ve always been a writer too, its something i feel i do well, and i hope to incorporate that somewhat in my field; maybe i’ll be one of those doctors who writes a book about their experiences.
and of course, there’s that part of me that thinks it would be totally awesome to be in a movie. as a career i only daydream about, not that i really want to do. i’m sure most of us have had these “daydream careers” and you’ve gotta admit, they’re fun to think about =)
Blackbird
i wanted to be the manager of taco bell. now i am the manager of burger king.
i wanted to be a female nurse. now i am a male nurse.
when i was a kid, i wanted to be Mike. well, things changed. i am currently a garbage man.
I am 11. I want to be a lawyer, I have since I was 10. When I was younger I didn’t know, or care.
I want to be either a lawyer, poet, or actress.
Right now I’m a fifteen year old who is officialy a sophomore and my big dream which has always been a huge one as a little girl also is to become a young adult author – a successful one hopefully. I love to write stories that teens, like I can relate to. They’re a guilty pleasure combine with real life experiences. I love to write and I’ve always loved to do it. In fact, I write and post stories on FanFiction.net.
I always dreamed of one day going to Barnes and Nobles or Borders Bookstore and seeing my book beeing displayed in the Young Adult section with my name on the front. And I’m pushing towards that goal.
I know it’s not an easy goal or career path which is why I’m also looking into graphic/web page design, something I also like to do in my spare time. I would also like to look into becoming a professional flutist in some sort of Orchestra.
Hopefully I can and I KNOW I will fulfill my dreams.
Pretty dang ironic! I also wanted to be a garbage man! And an astronaut, a news anchor, a dentist, a spy, a chef, a model, a fashion designer, a mom…
I wanted to be an oceanographer for the longest time after watching many episodes of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau as a kid. I’ve had several careers over the years and I’m happy with what I’m doing now, but I sometimes think back on the romantic (but probably impractical) dream I had as a child.
i wanted to be an astronaut when i was 5 because you could be in space with all the stars, and earth looked so cool from the outside of it. how many people actually get to say “i’m looking at planet earth”?? exactly.
but now i’m 17, and applying to college in the fall, and i know im not going to be an astronaut. i dont know what im going to be, but definitely not an astronaut because i’m not smart enough =/
i guess i don’t know what i want to be. i used to want to be a photojournalist, then a professional taste tester, now im really into producing. so idk.
I am 14 training to be a C.N.A. A few months ago i was sure that i wanted to be a Nurse… Skip ahead to five months later and i now just want to work with people…
I am still confused about what i wanna do… I am just not sure what i want…
I would love to start a career in Japan or another beautiful place in the world…
I wanted to be a nurse at first. Then a flight Attendant, Then i thought about an ESL or maybe even a doctor… I am still lost in the fog of ideas…
But i know whatever i choose its the best decision…
i always ( since i was 5 yrs old) wanted to be a fashion designer
i always thought i would live in a fancy world
when i was 13 i moved to the us
and i realize i wouldnt earn that much of having this job comparing to in my country
so
i started thinking beyond of what i thought my skills would be
and decided i want to be a climatologist!!!
I want to be two things, a zookeeper and an athletic trainer for a hockey team. In May I’m going to go to school for the zookeeper thing, and after that I’m going to go to school for the athletic trainer thing. How I will manage to do both, I have no idea. But I don’t believe in “far-fetched fantasy dream jobs.” The way I see it, if someone else can do it, so can I.
mike,you can be astronaut if you want too.you smart but you don’t know until you failed.same story with my cousin sister.now she is doctor with out any trouble or hassle.don’t give up,please.
As for me, when I was five I wanted to be a teacher, when I was 15 I wanted to be a pharmasist, Now that I’m 25, I’m pursing a degree in English, with the intent to pursue my Masters of Arts in Teaching, and doing double duty as a Personal Manager for a musician who’s about to release his first solo album and go on a west coast tour.
I think I’ll start teaching by age 35.
I always wanted to be a teacher (and until now, i still do). But, I’m currently graduating my nursing profession.
I remember my sister telling us during our childhood years, she wanted to be a waitress and a housekeeper.
Me, I’m a bi’nisz man. I go around tellin’ people, mind yo’ bi’nisz!
I want be an anesthesiologist and that’s what i’ve had in mind since i was 9. now i’m 15 and i still want to pursue that career.
i do have a back up plan to pursue a career in psychology.
my dad wanted to be a garbageman too!!
he said when he was a kid, they were buff. they lifted the cans themselves. and he thought it was awesome that they got to ride on the back of the truck!
he’s a doctor now.
I wanted to be quite a few things when I was growing up. First, I wanted to be a ballerina and I would spend a lot of time on my toes. As I got older, I had a knack for writing, so I wanted to be an author. Somewhere along the way, I also wanted to be Ms.America, a world famous gymnast, or world famous figure skater (depending which major sports events were on). Then, when I was in tween years, I thought about going into Special Education and volunteered some time in a classroom for kids with profound disabilities. However, I then discovered a huge love—music. I had always enjoyed music from an early age and loved playing in band. In Jr.High, I had a band director that really inspired me and really want to pursue playing and that loved continued through high school and into college. I ended up majoring in Music Education and Flute Performance.
Nowadays, I am working with kids with disabilities and although it’s a real challenge, it’s is very rewarding. However, the experience is also telling me that although I really enjoy what I’m doing, I’m not cut out for a permament career in working with children who have disabilities. However, I would like to continue to include them into music lessons that I may teach as part of music outreach programs. Right now, my plan is to do a master’s degree in Performing Arts Administration so that I can combine some of my childhood dreams into something that is very practical, beneficial to the community, and something that I love.
im still growing up and i want to be a gunsmith and own a sporting goods store if not that id like to be a cop or swat officer if not that id like to be in constuction
Ever since I was litte ive wanted to be a performer. i love acting and performing but it seems that i can never find auditions or get a break. It is really hard. This dream job feels what it is a DREAM.
I Think You Should Follow Your Dreams
my childhood was in the late 1940s and 1950s. I wanted to live on the prairie like Laura Ingalls Wilder. I thought it would be so neat to ride in a covered wagon. I, now, know that was a very hard life and I probably wouldn’t have made it, as lazy as I am!!
I was always interested in fashion design from an early age. I would change my outfit 10 times a day, Played with computer games like “Barbie fashion designer.”
Now in college, I do design clothes for myself and for dolls. I also sell my work occassionally.
I really wanted to persue fashion design, but after a lot of thought I went against it. For my associates I’ll get a degree in Digital media. In the fall I’ll be working toward my bachelor’s in Graphic design & Multimedia arts. I discovered that I really want to have a creative job.
My second job is teaching Irish dance classes. When I was around 12 I begged my mom for dance classes. As I became more advanced and got a little older, I started assisting with classes. I plan to become a certified teacher in the future. I’d love to own my own dance school.
I guess I am on the path toward what I’ve wanted to to.
To be honest, when I was a kid I had no idea what I wanted to be. I didn’t really think much, just lived my life.
I’m in high school at the moment and have different thoughts about different careers. From pharmacist to interior decorator. I am still thinking and hope one day I’ll figure it out like some other people here. ;3
When I was 19, I worked in a county park. – Most of the time I did other things, but for a few days at the end of the summer season, I was assigned to the garbage crew. We had a big garbage truck, but it did not have a mechanism to compress the garbage. The truck had a crew of 4. A driver; a thrower – who would jump off the truck and toss a garbage can up – (This required some strength); a catcher – who would catch the can and dump it out. – And a stomper who would jump up and down on the garbage to compress it. – Being the new guy, that was my job.
I wanted to be a train driver when i was a kid. I still might one day as i’m only 20, but for now i’m a disability carer, which is very rewarding
i wanted to work at the waffle house so i could eat breakfast there every morning but about 4 years ago i decided i wanted to be a trash woman!!! but i live in ga and cannot handle all the maggots:(
I was actually a garbage man for a few months… it was fun at some times… finding some cool things that people threw away was neat, I found mp3 players that worked perfectly fine, alot of money that somehow made it into the trash, and sometimes XXX videos and dvd’s that were no longer wanted. However as fun as it was there were far more downsides to the job. The cold weather, trying to hang onto the back of a truck in the soaking rain, and the company I worked for picked up about 15 tons per truck, imagine lifting 15 tons by yourself in one day, even if it is 50 lbs at a time… it was the hardest job I ever had.
I wanted to be a race car driver or a stunt woman, or the next Gypsy Rose Lee. That is from a 2 year old. When I was a pre-teen, I wanted to be a radio DJ and artist. In high school I wanted to be a secretary and took classes to prepare me for such a thing. Computers had just come about (shows you how long ago this was) and I wanted to learn them. Today, I am a secretary, or as it is called now an executive assistant to the owner of a brokerage firm.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a nurse. I was raised primarily by my grandmother and her twin sister, my aunt, who were both nurses. When I was in high school, I never pursued that dream, and instead wanted to teach music education. Not until after I graduated high school did I join the fire department as an EMT, and then went back to school to get my nursing degree. I’ve been a RN for over 5 years now, and wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I’m only 12 right now, but I’ve always wanted to be a singer/dancer/actress (maybe Broadway). I know I’ll try (I already dance competitively, have acted in 8 different shows, and have toured local venues with my older brother) to achieve my current dream, but I also would love to get a PhD at Yale (also has been a dream of mine) in who knows what (maybe a major in history, minor in French, or major in theatre, minor in German). I guess I really don’t know what my future holds…but who does?
When I was a kid I always wanted to be a superhero or a dancer. Now that I’m older (22) I want to be a doctor. I’ve done my pre-med degree and now I’m hoping for a spot next fall 2009. Fingers crossed!
I’m only 20… {yes its young lol} I wanted to be a lawyer when I was little , but since ive grown and started college I’ve changed my mind, now im well on my way to becoming a RADIOLOGIST!
Pity you didn’t stay with your dream. You’re not very good at what you’re doing now.
You are a mad player mike.bad!!!!!!!!lol
Im pursuing acting, but for some reason I’m the only one who believes in me.
My friend has been trying to catch an acting break for three years, and now decided he wants to be a vet.
My other friend quit trying after 3 monthes and is pursuing becoming a teacher.
I’ll never give up on this dream, and will always go after it because I can’t think of anything else that makes me happy.
When I was under 5 I wanted to be a ballerina. Later I wanted to be a 007 agent and crawled around in the tall grass with my silver cap gun. I spied on my brothers. Then I wanted to run a lab and had frogs in jars in my bedroom. I saved grasshoppers that I’d caught in jars as well. I had a crawdad. The sign on my bedroom door said LABORATORY. I started a book in 7th grade, but never finished it. Then I wanted to be a rock star in high school, but I couldn’t sing or play an instrument. I played the air guitar a lot. The closest I’ve come to any of these ambitions is having several articles published in the late 80’s and early 90’s. One of my sons had a comical ambition. He wanted to be a game show host. He is now a top video game player (the top 400 out of over 100k that play online). The only similiarity is games.
I wanted to be a secretary just like momma
and now i am finishing college to be a nurse
Archaeologist
I wanted to be ballarina-superman. As I am a tall, thick and female is it any surprise that I am not ballerina-superman?
when I was little, I wanted to be a lion, and now, I’m a giant bull frog
i <3 u bro!!! just go where you want your dreams to lead you!!! and remember, i <3 you bro!!!
wel when i was alt younger i wanted to sing jut like brittany spears
well i am still young..only 15
but haha now that has all changed i want to live with my b/f in california and become a chemisty teacher!
Hey, Mike,
Nice topic! When I was a kid my dream was gto become a pilot! The reasons were clear: my big grandfather was pilot, my grandfather, my father, my brother and other close relatives. But I remember, it was my mother who changed my mind. She told me that she was sick and tired of waiting. She said that when she small: she was always worrying abd waiting for her father, after for her hustbent, now for her son, and she at least with me she wanted to be calm
So, now I am Renewable Energy Specialist 
Growing up I wanted to be a singer, but I can’t really hold a note, then a gymnist , a catholic nun, ore a happlily married mom with a lot of kids or a teacher/teacher.
Well, I only was intriged by Nadia Comenichi ( we were the same age) and the catholic nun thing only lasted till middle school.
I did get married and had a large family, but am now single. I did become a teacher and will finish out career soon but I no longer have the desire to continue on for a PHd. I love teaching but am ready to be done,so much has changed in education. I now am pursuing a business in finance, educating people how to save and make money!
I wanted to be a marine biologist. I took out every book the library had on the subject. I memorized the names of all kinds of marine animals. I also wanted to be an artist -and that’s what I am now. Oooh, clay between my fingers, gooey paint squishing through my brushes. Yeah! That’s the life for me.
author. But Im sure thatll never happen Im fine with that though so Ill be a journalist instead just have to review grammer though.
my dream job is of a software developer. at present i am doing BSc(IT) form NIIT.
When I was young I wanted to be a doctor or a singer or a writer. I can’t sing. But I did become a nurse for a while – almost five years thanks to training I got from being in the Air Force. And now I’m really pursuing what I wanted to do as a teenager and that was to write, I’ve written three books. I’m busy editing them now and hope to find an agent soon. I’m also already on a fourth book too, so if you’re young and your dreams seem out of reach they may not be. I’ll be 46 in a few weeks.
When I was little, I really wanted to be a fireman. The shiny red trucks really caught my eye, and when 9-11 came around, it just fascinated me even more. The ability to save lives, help the world become a better place, you know, pretty much a super hero to me. But, as I got older, I realized that I probably didn’t have the body for it since running and being in shape isn’t exactly what I’m good at. I pretty much became the opposite, a model. Imagine a model being a fireman. It just doesn’t work, so I let it go. Now, it’s just a childhood fantasy of mine.
ARE YOU SERIOUS
You know when I read your first sentence i cannot believe what kind of people their are in this world and so different from me. ARE YOU REALLY SERIOUS. Being a garbageman is the most disgusting job there is, when I was a kid I thought that was the most disgusting job and we joked around in family about how stupid and disgusting job it was and I could never IMAGINE myself as a garbageman and to think that was your dream job. Is this really your honest opinion or are you saying this for some other reason.
Well currently I am 16, will be 17 in less than a month, and I am not sure If i want to be a Photographer, a Navy Pilot, or a History Teacher.
I wanted to be a teacher or a pirate or a dancer when i was little. Through High school i wanted to teach english. now im going into engineering education. I guess i was right and ended up as a teacher, just not of what i planned.
when i was youg i wanted to be a fire fighter it was my dream. and now at 23 i am training to be a firfighter. i follwed my dreams. but i have to admit when i was a kid i never once thought that it would be such are work but hey i got my dream. i was never a very smart kid well i mean you know i was smart but lower end of the class kind of thing. it never once stoped me
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian, I think… but instead of working with needles to vaccinate animals, I ended up being a tattoo apprentice (soon to be full tattooist).
Talk about a twist of fate. I guess I was destined to work with needles, no matter what job I ended up with. ^^
when i was kid i wanted to be doctor or president or even professor..!!!!! lmao..what a kid……:p
but now when im adult im going to be something really different
im a graphic designer and plan to make business in it….
so im kinda will be leader in future too :p
Once apon a time I was a baby… my father probably held me in his hands around that time, but thats the last he ever saw of me. My mother ran away because of my father being abusive when I was 2. My father and his family fought for custody but gave up because my father really was at fault in the end.
Skip forward to age 14: I’m a freshman in highschool, no leads in life, and no idea what I want to do for work. We’re writing a report on what we want to do for work when we’re older. I tell the teacher – I have no clue… she said pick the simplest thing you can think of and she won’t read it out-loud. I think – and think… then remember from what I know of my dad he was a union carpenter – I write a report on that. She of course was so impressed by it reads it out loud – the kids laugh.
Skip forward to age 18 : I try to join the union just to see how it is, I don’t get in because they won’t call me back since I have no construction history.
Skip forward to 23: I’ve wasted about 10 years of my life, not knowing what I wanted to do… broken down, moving… one place to another, never finding a path. Mentally and physically broken. But then I happen to find my father.. He figured out I’m hurting and offers to get me in the union.. I join. Long story short, after 20 years of not knowing the guy he pretty much solves the ongoing problem in my life, a path. And strangely enough, I’m the 4th generation to be in the union. Two of those generations are dead that came before my dad (his dad/his grandpa). And strangely enough, there is one place I can fit in and do extremely well that suits every one of my skills and gives me a platform to work off of – not to mention great pay… and that is the job that has worked for the 4 generations before me. A Union Carpenter…
Anyways, thats my story… I’m pretty much where I was probably meant to be a long time ago. And since I joined I’ve got myself completely checked out, and my quality of life is finally almost to where I’d call myself “living”. Which I havent been able to say since I was 13…
But, this will be my first father’s day with my dad, so maybe I’ll have to get him something… He’ll probably just ask for a beer tho. I’ll bring him a soda…
Later all,
myspacenim@gmail.com
I wanted to be a nurse as I spent all my school holidays with my favourite Aunt who was a district nurse and midwife in the beautiful Lake District. My dream was to take over from her when she retired! No, I did not become a nurse. Once while walking with my aunt in Carlisle, making our way back to collect her car after it being serviced, I heard the click click click of a typewriter from an open window. I studied languages French and Spanish, and did secretarial studies. Had a varied working life, including a stint offshore in the North Sea (my son told me on the way to a parents night, not to tell people what I did for a living!) Retired now, enjoying life and teaching a little Spanish to some friends who will eventually move to their home in Andalucia.
Yes, there are times when I wish I had pursued a career in nursing and wonder how that would have turned out for me. I am good at “nursing” people to this day, if they need it!
Growing up I wanted to be, a fireman or train conductor, then as I got older to be a preacher until I got my first job, Then I wanted to be a chef. I took the easy way out and am now a resteraunt manager.
when I was a kid, I wanted to either ride horses or be a vet. Then I realized I can’t stand the sight of blood so the vet option got kinda… dismissed. Then I got into drawing and I wanted to do anything, from an arts teacher to conserving art. I dreamed about animation, but then I stopped. A year ago, or two, I realized I don’t know why I stopped dreaming about animation, and now, after graduating next year, I want to go to the US and study either animation or general arts, and then master in animation
Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be an animator. Though, I don’t want to just be an animator anymore. I want to write stories as well. The problem so far is dealing with the challenges that come from simply trying to tackle the medium: It’s still viewed as something that should be marketed to children. I want the medium to move away from that, letting the only difference between film and animation, being the method of story telling.
In Kindergarten I undoubtedly wanted to be a crossing guard. Rofl now (senior in high school) I want to become a nurse, and work towards opening a bakery.
I wanted to become a musician or in the army. Of course, this was when we didn’t really know what went on in war. At a point I wanted to become a priest, and another was an artist (painter). I now have my own recording studio!
When I was little I always wanted to be a stewardess. It seems like the best job ever, travelling around and around. But I can’t anyway, because I’m not tall enough to be
I still admire stewardesses until now, by the way. Then some years ago I wanted to be a programmer.. and now I *am* studying IT, but I don’t really feel that this is what I want anymore. Strange, eh? 
I wanted to be an actress at some stage in my life, even albeit briefly a singer. I also wanted to work with Children and had decided on Pediatrics for a little while.
I’m a high school teacher, a professional singer and piano player, so things kind of worked out for me.
I also wanted to make it my life’s work at reading as many novels as I could. (lol) I still read and am now on the brink of sending off a portfolio to do a masters in creative writing.
I wanted to be a doctor, but then now when I am older, I realised that to be a musician is what I had really meant for. Now, I breathe and live music…it fills my life with unlimited joy !
When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor – i think I watched too much episodes of ER:) Now I want to be environmental scientist, but if I haven’t save the world, I would like to be… an Olympics champion figure skater and symphonic metal singer. But I don’t have good voice and I’m too old to be very good skater, so… I do what I can do:)
I wanted to be a porn star.
As a kid my dad wanted me to be a bureaucrat, a collector to be precise. Maybe, because he himself was into government services and his boss was one. I as a kid, did not know what I wanted. And thats probably I am what I am today. I am an HR manager in an IT firm after an MBA from the best institute in my country. Still happiness is elusive from my life.
I try to frequently analyse the reasons for my state of mind. Havn’t been able to figure out what
I want to be a vet but I have a few backups if things don’t work out such as a pediatrician, archeologist, forensic scientist, or national geographic photographer. When I was really little however, I wanted to be a nurse.
Writer. Always.
However, I work in Healthcare IT – entirely with data management, text-based messaging, and textual reporting.
I write on the side and hope to be published sometime during my lifetime. I plan to make writing my second career when I retire (which is a long, long way away).
I always wanted to be a lawyer then eventually a politician… maybe i got that from the West Wing… Also I wanted to be a writer. I could have possible become a lawyer, dove into public life, and retired and wrote a tell-all book… Right now I’m enjoying what I’m doing, Engineering… I know it feels like I went in a different direction, but in the end politician and engineers are both problem solvers. I like what I do, but I can’t help wondering what could have been.
I saw you comment about wanting to be a garbage man and had to tell you that my younger son also wanted to be a garbage man when he was a kid. He used to get his Dad’s garden gloves, pick up a garbage can and put it on his back, parading around the house and yard. We were concerned for his ambition, as it lasted for a quite a long time. He finally changed it to various things over the years. Now that he is an adult. After going to three colleges, studying various things, including gunsmithing, he is now a chairmail artist. He makes chainmail clothing, purses, bikinis, motorcycle gloves, guitar straps, etc. Who would have guessed? He supplements his income by doing construction. As long as he’s happy, good for him. I wish I had pursued a career as an artist, but, I worked for the local Government and retired after 26 years of service. I now am doing what I wanted to Who knows,with any luck, I might end up being the new Grandma Moses. If not, I am certainly enjoying the ride.
I wanted to be both a doctor and a policewoman when i was a kid. The thought of me being in power – with a spice of adventure – always inspired me. As i grew up, like when i was nearly 13, i wanted to become a journalist – to be influencial and powerful with my words and articles and come up with really good scoops that would protect my community from danger. Adventure again, you see.
Now im 25, and a journalist. The funny part is, i got fed up and so switched my career to public relations. Wait, that’s still not interesting, i feel.
I thnk it has to do with one’s psychology, and perhaps a combination of one’s mood and the environment they live in all together. It’s quite funny.
i always wanted to work for u.n. last year, my dream came thru. i got a job at unicef. it sounded like a dream job, right? wrong. turned out to be the worst nightmare of my career so far. my supervisor was from hell. he was as worse as miranda from the devil wears prada. i tried to make it work since this was my dream job. i wanted it to last. i ended up w/ stress and depression instead.
needless to say, i quit. now i work for other non-profit for children, feel, and sleep much better. depression drug became the thing in the past.
When I was thirteen, I had a HUGE teenage crush on a taxi driver I was friendly with..he used to pick me up and give me free rides to school in the mornings, picking up all my giggly girlfriends along the way! I thought his job was so cool that I decided I was going to be a taxi driver too…and then promptly forgot all about it and got on with my life, growing up finally to be a nurse.
After I got married and had my first child, we needed a bit more income so I enquired about taxi driving jobs, and started driving weekends dayshift..it wasnt until I’d been doing this for about 5 years that it dawned on me that I’d actually achieved my ambition.!I just totally forgot..but anyway, I continued driving and have now been a part time taxi driver for 30 years..my son will be 31 this week! Of course I also continued nursing when I could, as well as various other part time jobs, but taxi driving is my main job and has been for all this time…and I still love it and still get a kick out of meeting all sorts of people and seeing all sorts of things and how other people live etc etc. I wouldnt change it for the world!
When I was young, I always wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to write for a newspaper and then move up to be a newspaper editor. That never happened though. I’m 29 now with two kids and don’t have the years needed to go to four years of college. Instead, I finally got a two year degree (last year) in office administration at a local community college. I am now a receptionist for a small company, but looking for another job. I went to school to be an Administrative Assistant. Maybe after my kids get out of school (if I’m not too old) I can go to be a journalist.
I wanted to play football, now I would love to be a teacher and coach football. However I am married with two children and will be starting a swing shift job at a local paper mill. I am nearly fifity years of age and I doubt anyone would want someone my age to teach and coach plus I would have to go and get a degree.
When I was younger I wanted to be a tennis player, then a detective. I am only 21 years old, but I have NO plans of pursuing those careers. lol. My younger sister always dreamed of being a bus driver and a doctor, when she was little, and now she is pursuing a degree in Nursing.
When I was about 7, I wanted to be either a chef or a veterinarian. At age 10, I wanted to be a chef and started studying to be that. I was almost constantly in cooking classes, and cooked so often my mom made me start giving away the food I baked.
I am now in cooking college and am working my way to becoming a pastry chef (which, by the way, cooks all desserts, not just pastries).
I wanted to be one because I liked the neat hydraulics the trucks had, but I missed the mark and became a network engineer who teaches firearm safety on the side.
i wanted to be a artist or a marine biologist. i thought it would be fun to swim with the animals and watch them. as for the artist, i just liked to draw. now, i want to be a lawyer. i am kinda unhappy. but i think it is for the best.
when i was a kid i dreamed of being an inventor who build machines runing my own factory
i graduated as a mechanical engineer ,but i was forced to join the wrong job because i had to stay in my town ,after that i tried &did many good things for that job ,but this attitude was not liked by the bosses so i lived in a long fight for years to find my self early retired at age 50 with good gosi income & golden shakehand of 5 years pay to leave .I feel bad because my dream didnot come now i will start again from a small refregiration workshop which i started 10 years ago (still i have hope )
When I was very small, the bowling alley used pin setters instead of automated machines. I wanted to be a pin setter even though they were all teenage boys. Then later I wanted to be an actress and then a teacher.
Mike
Fast forward to how they remove the garbage.
It used to be they empty the garbage cans but now they those big green or black containers
It is done automated now.
I have seen this alot
there is hook which holds the garbage can while its being emptied.
I always wanted to be a dolphin trainer or marine biologist when I was a little girl. I would still love to have the chance at a job like that. Instead, I grew up to be an accountant at an Intermediate School District. Sitting at a desk all day crunching numbers is NOTHING like what I had dreamed of as a little girl, but I’m good at it and it keeps me close to home/family.
I can’t remember wanting to “be” anything as a kid. I recall my Mom suggesting nursing,even made me a nurses outfit to no avail. I think I wanted to be an actress or a singer for awhile but learned that was just too hard to get into and I still remember my Nana asking me if I was going to get married and I said to who? She laughed so did I, at the time I was graduating from high school and never dated.
I took office skills class, got a job, met a guy married him 3 years later, had 4 kids and did a lot of volunteer work over the years. But if anyone asks I still don’t know what I want to “do” I just do what makes others happy and that seems to work just fine for me.
i’m still in third grade
I dreamed of beening like my Dad, A auto Glass Installer, And now that is what I do, and I own the Business, I am O.K. with what I do, But now I would like a change, But everyone says, You make great money doing this, I have found within myself that one must be happy with what they do, it is not all about the money, So find a job you would like to be doing, something you find fun to do, and this will make you happy.
I always wanted to go into space. !st as a radio operator, then as a navigator and finally as a mission specialist. What I wasn’t aware of, is that you can’t have your dreams if you are poor and have a family. They demand all your time and effort, leaving none for your dream. You keep your nose to the grindstone and then one day you look up and find you’ve grown old and the dream has slipped away.
When I was 9 I realized I wanted to be an Actress. As time went on I had interests in everything from Paleontology, to being a Veterinarian to being a Psychologist to being an Astronomer. Then I realized that most things I had interests in were just hobbies really, and not something I wanted to do everyday as a career. In my 20’s I still desired to be an actress and do voiceovers for commercials, cartoons, or radio. I realized that if I wanted to pursue these as a career, I would need something to fall back on in case all my efforts produced no success. I finished college with a BS in Business and have since earned my MBA. When the time is right I will focus my efforts on this full-time. And if one day 10 years from now, I have nothing to show for my efforts in the entertainment industry at least I have my MBA. There will always be business!
To be completely honest? Ever since I can ever remember I’ve always wanted to be a singer, and I have been singing since probably elementary school. Now, I’m in the transition between high school grad. and college freshman, I still want to be a singer. However, the chances of that are slim, but one can still dream/hope right? :] Besides, I believe I’ve become a singer already through all those years of choir haha.
Mike I’ve been extremely fortunate to have been able to at least try all of the jobs that I wanted to do as a kid. I joined the Army and became a soldier and then after that I spent 13 years as a police officer, I actually worked for Waste Management for 2 years as a swing driver. I learned to be a construction worker, and even got to drive a NASCAR at a Richard Petty Driving Experience. I own my own business now and the only thing that I really miss is the police work. I can’t physically do it anymore and thats the biggest let down of all. I would encourage young adults to at least try their best at doing whatever they think would make them happy. The only way to know for sure is to TRY!
When I was a kid I wanted to be in the special forces but everyone always told me they didnt get paid a lot and ended up with broken marriages so I turned to medicine and even tho as a kid I loved ER my parents kept pushing me to be a doctor and so I realized I was pursueing there dreams not mine and actually quit trying in college which was not to smart, but now I’m finishing up as a engineer major and I’m content I know I’ll make decent money make a good husband to my wife and go on dream vacations so not having achieved a dream job is not that big of a deal but secretly I am writing a novel.
Well after my last gcse exam tomorrow, I have 2 weks before I need to make my final a-level choices for college, depending on what career I want to do – and I have no idea!Well I do want to be a dolphin trainer…but what to do in case that doesn’t work out and Oxbridge reject me?Law?Medicine?Disney animator?Rocket Science?
I also wanted to be a garbageman, err, garbagewoman. i used to ask my parents why i don’t see any woman doing the job. i thought that it would be a cool job since they come around once a week so i thought i would only work once a week as a garbagewoman. LOL! i had planned to do gardening for the rest of the week. aaahhh.. childhood dreams.
There was this one intersection near my house with a little patch of dirt where these people used to sell sunglasses and I used to want to be one of them, or I wanted to be a waitress.
Now I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be a psychologist
.
I wanted to be an k-5 grade Yard duty. Today I work for a major financial institution. As I grew up my dreams changed. My goals changed.
They reason In wanted to do that was simply because those men and women had such and impact in your life. They took care of you, they watched out for your best interest. I guess I looked up to them in a way. Which is wonderful!
I’m not upset at all with my “outcome” simply because I took something away from that. That is, Inspiration is my motivation. and to this day. If I can’t inspire someone, (even myself) There’s no point in doing it.
I wanted to be a bus driver at one point when I was five years old, even drew a picture of it. I remember my dad jokingly saying that he’d guess that I’ll change my mind when I get a bit older. Other things I remember really wanting to be as a little girl were a pilot, a vet, and an animator.
When I was a child I wanted to be Wonder Woman. Now I am something similar to that. I am a stay home mom and take care of three beautiful kids.
I wanted to be either an astronaut or a paleontologist. Now I’m 26 & am a project manager for a promotional product company. I still have the huge urge to switch careers and do something more active!
i wanted to be a SWAT officer as it was cool yelling commands,arresting criminals etc. But i m afraid i cant do that,i m 16 tis year,going on 17 at the end of the year. I am not physically fit enough. So now my dream is to be a games designer/producer at EA or be a chef or baker as its a skill.
I am a jill of all trades and mistress of none. I have cleaned toilets, been a sales clerk, a store manager, an assistant store manager (in that order!), I have cleaned stores after hours, taken in dry cleaning for a company and stocked shelves. I took care of people with Alzheimers and I have done taxes for people in a CPA’s office, been a secretary and a customer service telephone rep. I even took a job as door to door perfume saleswoman!
What I always wanted to do for a living is be a prolific writer like Stephen King, or Nora Roberts. Maybe one day I will get to writing-right now I sell on eBay! LOL!
I have physical proof of my mindset as a third grader: A videotape of the years events made by my teacher. One day, which is documented, we had to dress up to be what we thought we would be older i.e. janitor/doctor/detective/teacher. What did I prance into the classroom wearing (and ultimately picked on by fellow mates)? A party halter top black cocktail dress, red lipstick, red stilletos, and full on hair of a diva. My mission, which I thought was completely attainable at the time, was to be a Supermodel. Now, I wonder why my parents let me go to school dressed in attire fit for a 20 something going to a club. But, I wonder more how when I was 8, I had no fear of not being able to become what I wanted? I put on the clothes, I walked to school with backpack and all, and I was ready to convince everyone that that was going to be my career. Of course, the boys in the class are in the background, taunting me with ’showoff’ remarks, but the smirk on my face then caught on camera reminds me I’m still that same girl, that will let people think what they want, but know they have no idea.
I am now a musician. Far from the world of supermodel, but not far from where I speak my mind, and people listen.
Well, I’m only thirteen, but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to be an actor…until now. I’ve taken a Musical Theatre class, and an acting class. But when I took that Musical Theatre class, I realized that I loved dancing much more than acting. I’ve always enjoyed watching people dance.
Soo, I’m thinking of becoming a dancer. I’ve taken ballet and jazz classes when I was little. Plus, I used to be a figure skater, and we had to take off-ice ballet classes. Everybody else hated it, but I loved it(even though the teacher was mean to me.)
But if a dancing career doesn’t work out for me, I love drafting. Drafting is basically designing buildings and structures. I love doing that! I’m not very good at drawing animals and things like that, but I can draw straight and curvy lines. One day I just sat out on my back deck and drew people roofs. I think I’m a bit weird compared to most kids my age=P
I’m going to try my very very hardest to reach my goals!
(I posted this exact same answer in your actual question, just so you know!)
As a little girl in Kindergarten I remember career day and wanting to be an astronaut. I wanted to be that through elementary school. Then in middle school I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Then a movie director.
I am now pursuing a career in cinematography and a job with The History Channel.
When I was a kid, I always envisioned myself changing the world. I always saw myself as a person who would go to the ends of the earth to help people of all walks of life. While I’m not out there physically changing the world and helping people, I work in cancer research and in a way, I make a small contribution. I still see myself one day being out there- actually HELPING people- and now I also include animals in that area.. My ideal job- to work for a non profit helping animals in need. Or people in need..
I am currently in high school, almost finished, and for about 5 years now, I’ve wanted to be an interior designer. I have/am taking Art (twice so far), Digital Photography, Com Tech, etc.etc.
I am trying my hardest to pursue this dream, the only thing that sucks is the school. Once I’m done with high school, there is still loads more school to come. :[
I’m also scared that if I don’t pursue this dream then I will end up with no plans, and stuck. I don’t want to end up with no job and no plans and no education.
so, yeah.
Good story.
I remember when i was growing up, i always had a strog desire to be a railroad engineer. I had this ambation all the way up until i was 15 years old, then i started to participate in sports with thoughts of going to college on a scholarship.
However, i ended up yet taking another route in life at that point, after doing a semester in college and participating on the wrestling team, i decided i wanted to expereince the military, so i joined the Marines.
After i served eight years in the Marine core, i decided to move on once again and move back to my home state of Michigan, after moving back home and, settling in, i was stuck with a job i did not like for a while before becoming a fire fighter.
Now I’m a full time fire fighter attending online courses for business with plans to establish my own small business on the side of my fire fighting career.
It’s very true that people start out with one dream and, have a change of heart as we age and progress through life. However to this very day, i enjoy trains and still would not pass up a chance to work on a railroad and expereince the joy of operating a railroad engine and, travel to different places.
i’m 13 and until last year i’d always wanted to be a car mechanic, but now i have seen a great future in pc building, and one day i want to run my own bussiness
And I thought my brother was the only kid who aspired to trash collection! Neither of you seemed to have fulfilled your dream.lol
I wanted to be the first female to play in the NBA, not the WNBA, but the one with the guys. I thought that would mean I was the best player out of all the females if I could play with the guys. ha ha ha I also wanted to be a cop, never did either one.
Ok this is going to sound weird…but when I was a little girl I used to love to watch Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Well, guess what I wanted to be when I grew up! Yep that’s right! I thought all women in those professions had great lives, met good-looking rich men, and lived happily ever after!
Never thought people wanted to collect trash for a living, I thought people fell into jobs like that.
When I was a kid I always wanted to fly jets, maybe for the military or commercial airliners, or maybe just my own personal jet. But as I grew I developed a severe ear infection that cost me the privilege from hearing anything on my right side. Alas, my dreams of being in a dog fight with the enemy and being proclaimed as the reincarnation of the Red Baron were lost. But as I developed my skills in all the things I enjoy I realized that if I couldn’t be flying in the air with the greatest of ease, then I can teach martial arts. I could be the trainer and teacher of the greatest fighters who ever lived (are you seeing a pattern?). I am still in the process of realizing this goal, but in the process I find myself in the one place I never thought I’d be.
I work in corporate America as a CAD technician for a large landscape design firm. All my dreams of flying through the clouds being as free as a bird; and here I am, confined to an 8’x8’ cardboard and plaster cell.
C’Est La Vie
I wanted to be an over the road trucker from age 15 on. A restless child, I wandered alot and never had a career goal until that one. At age 15 while hitchhiking (more common then than now, late 1970’s) from northern michigan back home to the Detroit area, I was given a 4-5 hour ride back in a very fast Peterbilt. Trained in the Army to be a driver, I realized my goal to be over-the-road immediatly after. It was a fun career, and I enjoyed it for 8 years, however grew tired of it and changed careers in my late 20’s. I am now in the computer software industry like my Father was, and although never planned, is the best career I could have asked for if I wasn’t so restless as a young man!
I also have a question for whoever reads this and want some input: My daughter, who is legally blind, 8 years old, wants to be a BUS driver! Of course she developed this goal because she is frequently riding in one. Any advice to steer her to a more realistic career?
When I was a young girl I wanted to be so many things. Veterinarian, scientist, teacher, cartoonist, doctor…
And somehow I couldn’t make up my mind or keep the same choices over time. My ideas were always changing, and so now that I’m finally grown up and have to decide I’ve realized that I really do want to be a cartoonist and thats where I am now. It’s funny because I remember watching the tube on saturday morning and thinking “i know im going to make these cartoons one day, its my destiny”
However, knowing that, I don’t believe that people that go into the career they’ve always wanted makes them any better then those that don’t. As a kid, our ideas are very malleable and prone to change. With maturity comes wisdom.
I always wanted to be a fighter pilot or fly helicopters.
Well I did join the Army, but didn’t get close to flying helicopters. I’m done now with the Army. My job now is behind a desk.
If not those two, I’ve also always wanted to make movies.
Again, my job now, is neither in the air or on a studio. But I’m still shooting for that big break!
When I was 5 I wanted to be a cat. Yes, a cat… when I grew older I realized what an impossible feat that was. I started thinking about jobs and I told myself I’d be a teacher, a cop, a librarian. I swore up and down that I would never get into any medical fields (such as being a doctor). Today, I’m going to college to be a medical assistant
I volunteer at a hospital here in town and I love it.
Still, somewhere in my own little heart, I want to be a cat.
Sly little fellows.
I am 22 years old and working as an administrative assistant. I still dont know what I want to be when I grow up.
When I was a young girl I wanted so badly to be an architect, before I had ever heard the name Frank Lloyd Wright or Louis Kahn. I would spend hours working on my lego metropolis. It filled the front porch! When it snowed I would be the first kid out building a snowfort (I still am the first one out, actually.) Through high school and the first few years of college I wanted to be a commercial airline pilot, an interpreter for the UN, a zookeeper, and an astronaut. I finally remembered that I’ve always wanted to be an architect. Now I am pursuing my masters in architecture at a renowned architecture school. I can’t wait to start my career. PS I still love legos.
I wanted to be a Vet and I grew up to join the Navy, eventually retire and and am now a Purchasing Agent. I do, however, still pet every animal I see.
I’m 20 years old, halfway through college studying mechanical engineering at a top-notch school…I don’t consider myself a nerd, in fact I party harder than anyone else I outside of my closest friends. I love working on motorcycles, but I don’t see myself making enough money in that field.
Currently I’m interning at an a systems engineering firm in the heart of Chicago. Two weeks ago when I started I thought this would be fantastic experience…now, not so much. I’ve come to realize this job is everything I never want to do.
I’m a really talkative kid and love doing all kinds of things. Sitting here in a cubicle staring at a computer all day is hellacious.
I’m planning on finishing my degree in 2 years and then working in a completely unrelated field. Which one, I’ve yet to decide.
I have no idea where my life is going anymore and don’t even have any ideas, but for some reason I’m more excited about that than anything else.
Anyone else feel the same way?
This funny story is the opposite: a friend from college who had inherited millions got tired of sitting around his oceanfront house in Rhode Island when he answered a dare to become a temporary garbage collector filling in while one of the regulars was on vacation. He ended up loving it because he enjoyed figuring out how people’s lifestyles based on their trash. This was 25 years ago and he’s still telling the story of his “career”! The funny part is that people think he’s just joking.
Hahahaha… I had the same dream career as a kid! I remember drawing a “what do you want to be when you grow up” picture in elementary school. With my crayons I drew a garbage man hanging off the back of a garbage truck. I poked little holes through the paper on each side of his neck and threaded a little chain through the holes so that the garbage man had some “bling” (because I guess all garbagemen wear chains).
When I was 5 we made a time capsule and we had to list what we wanted to be when we grew up amomg other favorites. We added to them over the years, and opened them up when we graduated. It is funny because I can actually remember the conversation that I had with my parents the night before we made the capsule. I told them I wanted to be a nurse. When my mother told me I had to see blood, I must’ve changed my mind. I never laughed so hard as when I read that the paper stated I wanted to be a BUS DRIVER. I guess I picked the first occupation that I saw that morning. Over the years my mind changed a lot. Ranging anywhere from being the president, a singer/rock star, to being a special ed teacher. For that matter I am still changing my mind and going into the mental health field. Maybe I can help someone else make up their mind!! LOL
lol, when i was a kid i wanted to be a singer or a teacher. even though i cant sing worth anything.
i’m now 22 years old, and working at a Walmart Deli. I’m almost done with my associates degree in general studies. i’ll keep going to college. but guess what? i still dont know what i want to be when i grow up. lol.
but i do know i sure as hell dont ever recall being six years old and saying “When i grow up i want to slice turkey and fry chicken.” lol….. i hope i’ll figure it out soon.
Garbage man sounds like a great job compared to this list of the 10 Worst Jobs in America!
http://www.bofads.com/stories/jobs.htm
Not a direct answer to your question, but……
when my older son was young, he was torn between being a garbage man and a preacher. I judged that he just wanted to clean up behind people, somehow or other. Strangely enough, he is in the pest control business and stays booked as well practicing his hobby–singing Southern gospel. Seems as though he sort of came at both childhood pursuits through the side door.
i wanted to be so many things such as a ballerina, dolphin trainer, race car driver, flight attendant, dentist, a choir teacher but mostly a mom. now i’m a mom and i work with special needs children i love it!
When I was growing up people asked me what i wanted to be I said I don’t know I just wanted to be a kid and not worry about that and know I finally know I want to be a photogapher I love to take pictures of landscapes and animals in the wild like birds or whatever happens to be around
okay, well when i was a 5 yr old girl i was good in drowing and painting as for my age.. so i was sure that i’ll somehow be a famouse artist , haha
Now i’m at university in the English departmant i study translaision Arabic-English-Arabic . i like it , but i’m not sure what kind of job i’ll get when i finish my degree !!!??
Also, now , i still enjoy painting with oil-colours and sketching like most of my spair time!
i never thought of like selling my paints coz i don’t think they bring me enough money unless i was dead or something , ha !!
My friends and reletives always ask for my help in decoraiting thier homes , i do well , and like helping – i do it for free!- but i’m thinking of like having a career in home decoraiting!!
Another thing, i do great in fashoin and coutur, so i don’t know if i’ll have a chance in this feild too ,,
Hoping the good luck 4 every1 !!
First I wanted to be a cop!!! but I think that’s just cause my brother did…
as I grew into my teens, I realized music was where I belonged–but wait, I was also an artist… Damn, how to do both? is it even possible? well I am happy to report that while I still love my music, I am an artist currently and a Graphic Designer! so I guess I am what I wanted to be! My Mother always said don’t spread yourself too thin, but I always wanted to prove her wrong, and I’m currently trying to become a writer, stay an artist and become a rockstar…
wish me luck!!!
growing up i had the parents with “the cool jobs” my mother was a criminoligist/mitigation specialist and my father was an MHA for a hugely sucessful medical practice. i had always had a passion for law, but there are far to pompus bastards, i loved medicine, but the schooling was daunting! so i spiraled-WHAT DO I DO!!! in my mid-late teen years i found a love of photojournalism and activisim, i would realy enjoy that but there is NO job security, so here i am, a “gifted” university student-with no idea what career to decide on…..i could always study forign affairs!
When I was in preschool, I remember wanting to be a doctor. I am now in 6th grade, and I want to be a doctor/nurse, physical therapist, or a special ed teacher. At least I still have time to decide!
I want to build things.
When I was third grade, all I wanted to be was a writer. I wanted to entertain people with my stories. As I grew older, I forgot that dream and decided to head into wanting to be a teacher, a vet, a pathologist, a criminlogist, an egyptologist…a lot of ‘ologists’ I know. When I was in my mid 20s, I remembered my dream of wanting to be writer. I went to college and obtained an English Degree with a writing concentration. Now I write for a magazine and write science fiction on the side (granted unpublished for the moment).
well im 14 and i wanted to be a doctor at first but decided that now i want to be a neonatal nurse or even a photographer…
i’m applying to colleges in the fall and i know exactly what i want to be; either a physical therapist or a nurse. i’m thinking of pursuing both. physical therapy first because it takes longer and then doing an accelerated BSN program or night school at a community college =)
When I was younger I wanted to be the first Irish player to play in the NBA… Pat Burke beat me to it!
At the moment, I’m just sifting through jobs, none of which I’ve enjoyed to any degree….
Maybe I like being poor!?
When I was a kid I wanted to be so many things lol. I wanted to be a Dr., a singer, a actor, a cook, and a teacher.
Surprisingly not, I am a mother and I am all these things for my children, family, and friends.
I am into alternative medicine. I sing my kids to sleep. I role play to get my way with people. I am an excellent cook, and I am pursuing a degree in early childhood education.
When I was a kid, I want to be an airline pilot. I am currently 27 years old, I just graduated from flight school last year. It has been a long way.
Now, I am facing the reality of the aviation world because getting a job with little flight time is not as easy as I supposed.
Either way, I will keep looking for a job.
All I’ve ever wanted was to be a horse trainer. Dressage, specifically, although most of you probably don’t know what that is.
I had some good breaks but ultimately none panned out. It’s a tough industry, and even those who “make it” often struggle financially. To some, horses seem like a glamourous sport for the rich, but everything involved with taking care of horses is so expensive, there are very, very few people who make a grand living from horses.
My ‘pure’ love for horses also spoiled my success in the ‘industry’. The industry has a dark side to it and I didn’t deal well with it. For example, those glamorous racehorses you see on TV like Big Brown? Those are the few. Many racehorses end up in a filthy slaughterhouse as the only thanks for their failed efforts on the racetrack.
I still love horses and still hold onto my dream. I just have to wait until I have the chance to do it on my own, my way. For now I work a rather menial job in real estate. I try to get interested in things that will ultimately lead me to my dream. Real estate is one of those things that I think, “maybe this will help me”, when it comes time to buy my own little farm.
What ultimately failed me in my quest for my dream, for the time being, was two things. Firstly, a lack of preparation for the harshness of the real world. I had a sheltered life growing up. It’s taken me a long time to learn how to cope as an adult. Secondly, my social skills and my unwillingness to work with anyone who I didn’t think shared the right ideals (for example, quitting a job on the spot when I saw the boss abuse an animal.) At the time I saw it as being righteous and sticking to my ideals. In hindsight, I wasted opportunities by not being able to keep my mouth shut and just came off as a big know-it-all.
I still won’t stand for any kind of abuse and that’s why I can’t work for the yahoos who are hiring in the horse industry. That’s why I have to start from scratch and do it my own way. I don’t care if I never make it to the ‘big time’, but if I can enjoy myself and bring some joy to others and actually make a small living from it, I would be very happy.
When I was little, I’d always hear the kids around me say they wanted to be a firefighter or a cop or a teacher or a doctor or a lawyer or an actress– either someone who helped/saved people like a superhero, or someone who had a lot of money and fame. I absolutely loved to read and write and thought, “I’d never be anything but a journalist.” Fastforward 11 years and I’m an athropology/health science major hoping to get into the medical science field, but still unsure of what exactly I want to do. Journalism definitely would not match my personality and I guess being Asian, my family’s expectations have set into my being. I’m not unhappy, it’s just weird how you are so sure of things when you are little. As an adult (I guess 19 is considered an adult now), I feel more unsure of myself than I did in 2nd grade. And so that is the way life goes. wee.
I wanted to drive 18-wheelers. I guess you can say I was a bit of a tom-boy. Not anymore! I’m now going to college to be a web-designer.
I still sometimes think about life on the road driving a big truck and being in power. However, I know its not for me anymore.
Great blog!
First dream was to be a Pro Wrestler just like Hulk Hogan or a Cop (which I did for 2 years). In high school though when the counselor would ask me all the time what I wanted to do I finally told her I wanted to move to Canada and be an alocoholic just to shut her up. Turns out I just needed to wait till I turned 21 and stay in the States and become one. So I got 2 out of the 3 that I dreamed of.
well, from what i remember id always wanted to be a pilot, scince like kindergarden, then after 9/11 i got really scared and i remember my mom telling me thats why you shouldent be a pilot, so i looked into archetecture, when i found out how much schooling it took i changed my mind, then soon afteri got really good at fixing computers so from there i wanted to be like a geek sqaud person, that was really lame so i landed on a computer analysis job where i work at a big company recommending small buisiness and schools which computers to buy for example sony, coastline micro etc. now im 16 years old a senior in highschool and realize that my parents pay 10k a month for buisiness rent (they own 2) one is an auto mechanic shop, the other is a tire shop, i now manage the tire shop and im working there right now
my yahoo sn
secretlyslyfox41
they cant afford college so ive decided to work there although i live in huntington beach california
(continuation of below below)
I wanted to be a psychologist or helicopter pilot, but I became a research scientist then left that to work in intellectual property as a patent agent. Still have never ridden in a helicopter, and now, I am kind of scared to!!
When I was growing up, I had so many things I wanted to be as time went on. I wanted to be a vet, dolphin trainer, a photographer, a psychiatrist, a lawyer, and now I want to be a rapper or director and possibly a Forensic firearms examiner, and I’ve always wanted to own my own nightclub when I get older. If none of those jobs work out I’d like to be a bartender or write books. But who knows I still got more time to think of what else I’d like to be, I know I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Right now I’m starting off with a small job and working my way up.
My son also wants to be a garbage man. he sits by his bedroom window and when they come he yells out asking how they are. He is good friends with the man and he is 9 years old. He gets Christmas cards from our garbage man named Allen.
I am the young one of my group, the one who is still in high school wishing she could be out in the real world with all of her friends.
When I was young, 5 or so, I believed that I could be the next soccer player. After a decade it dawned on me, no way in this world would I EVER want to play soccer. I loved it for the social activity.
A few years ago I desparately wanted to be a pediatrician. It still makes me mad that no hospital is willing to give a child who is mature enough to observe and not get int the way, a chance to explore worlds of what we want.
Now days, they make us choose what we want to be our Freshman year of high school. I have it nearly set in stone that I want to be a nurse, or doctor. I have classes lined up for me so that my Senior year I will be a certified nurse with an income and everything, on my way to college and then med school.
Had I not figured out what I truly wanted to do, I’d be stuck in a dream. I’m much more confident with who I am now. Even though I am still so young, I can’t WAIT to pursue my dream.
I am still a kid but i had a lo of things i wanted to be. doctor, lawyer, singer ,magazine editor. but i’ve always wanted to be an actress. since i was 8 years old. i realized all the other stuff i wanted to be besides and actess was because i like the idea of it. it what people told me i should do not what i wanted.
i resently opened a time capsule from kindergarden and i wrote i wanted to be a mommy teacher lol, but i remember when i was 5 i wanted to be a vet. i’ve always loved animals, but at the age of 7 i realized that although you do help animals you would also have to put some down i also learned that you have to deal with blood (which i can not stand in the least) after i learned that i though well maybe i could be an animal nurse i think i thought about that for another 2 years then i forgot all about what i wanted to be and i just played with my friends (i only wanted to play make-believe). at the age of 13 everyone was asking me what i wanted to do i had to put some deep thought into it so i soon came up with the answer of being an actress now soon to be 15 i still have that thought in my head but it is slowly being pushes out and having reality thrust upon it i have no idea what i will be when i get older but i hope for the best!
me 2
I’m 21, and although I don’t go to school (took a year off), I know that I want to be a flight attendent. I love to travel and have travelled often. I love visiting other countries and seeing other cultures and lives. It’s fun.
Mike,
I am a teacher and have wanted to be one for many years…probably since I was 10 or younger and I have been teaching for 27 years! I do not think that for most people, what they want to be when they are young is usually what profession they end up being in. I found your comments about wanting to be a garbage man interesting…my dad was one for many, many years…he was an extremely hard worker…may he rest in peace.
When I was about 5-6 I realized if everyone that wanted to be a vet or a teacher ended up as one, the world would be unbalanced.
I have always liked writing, so I guess I’ll do something with that.
I am not still an adult so I don’t know…
But then again, I don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow…
I’ve always wanted to try plenty of jobs instead of studying a career, because the idea of “I went to college and work like 12 hrs a day I get $150,000 a year so life’s great altho i don’t know my kid and get mad at her because she doesn’t want to talk to me on the weekends and I am always cranky and don’t tolerate her” doesn’t really appeal to me. I know that story, my dad is like that, except poorer.
I only have one goal in life, whoever I am, I’m gonna like it, and whatever job I have, garbage man or lawyer, I’m not going to do it because of the money (why would I want money for, anyways? More clothes than I need to? A nicer house than I have?), I’m going to do it because I feel like it.
My dad is already planning how my great college life is, and you know? the thing that bothers me is how adults ask “what do you want to be” like your job really matters, when who you are is more important.
I’d rather have nothing and be remembered for how awesome I am than being a great court supreme judge and have people remember me for that…
But what do I know I’m just a stupid kid.
When I was really young I didn’t want to be anything. As a teenager I wanted to be most of all — famous, but for something in the arts. I thought I would be an artist, and I was particularly interested in drawing elaborate homes, mansions and furnishings for the same. You see I also wanted to be incredibly wealthy. I would show off these drawings to my parents and their friends to their ooohs and aahs.
But then I got interested in writing, so I was sure I was going to be a writer. I’m not entirely sure why, but I really think it was a vent for me in growing up and expressing myself in ways that were not available to me in my family.
I really thought I was terribly smart (but was pretty much C+, B- with some A’s) but I worked very hard at being a writer when I was a junior and senior in high school. I wrote short stories, emulating my favorite author at the time Kurt Vonnegut. This was in the mid to late seventies.
I got some notoriety for writing a gross-out piece of nihilist fiction in our high school literary journal that created controversy in the high school administration at the time. I subscribed to Writer’s Digest and bought their annual hard cover guide as well — before the Internet – now you can get this stuff on line. I submitted stories to many magazines and was always rejected. In hindsight was too immature. I had no life experience.
One rejection I still remember was handwritten from the famous science fiction writer Issac Assimov – I was writing a story about a bored housewife, and he called me on it and told me I needed to write from my own reality.
I also started to correspond by letter with a cartoonist famous at the time — B. Kliban. I have a number of letters from him, some with drawings in them that I treasure – they are somewhere around here. He was famous for his “Cats!” book at the time – obscure ironic and nonsensical cartoons. He gave me all kinds of advice about being in the arts and I am forever thankful to him. He died about 10 years ago.
The height of my writing involvement in high school was I sent a speculative description to Esquire magazine of a story I would write for them. They accepted my speculative letter and so I sent them the story, but it did not stand up to its description and it was rejected after I graduated from high school. I was crushed.
When I went to college I wanted to major in something that involved writing, but I knew I had to be in something more practical than an English major. So I enrolled in the Journalism program. I was very full of myself and in that first semester I applied to be the editor of the school newspaper – at a very large university where the paper had pretty big circulation. I was summarily rejected and told I should get more experience. I amazed now at the confidence I had at the time.
In Journalism I did not do too well, and found myself disenchancted with journalism as at the time to me it involved only the consumption and spitting back out of the facts, and nothing original. In my mind I knew I wanted to be a fiction writer. But I was panicked that I wouldn’t be able to make a living with that, so I enrolled in the Business School at the University and did horribly. I hated it. Too drastic a reaction on my part.
Then I went into the communications program. Since I watched so much telelvision I thought I might as well be invovled in creating it. I really got into it and enjoyed the videotape editing. I was particularly enthused by a seminar I was in taught by a successful tv writer where I really worked hard on a tv script and I got an A+.
After school I got an internship at a cable television station in Indianapolis and produced local cable tv programs and tv commercials. Worked there for a year but got fed up with the conservative city so moved to Chicago where a lot off my friends were.
Got the same type of job in Chicago but I had a smart mouth and got fired because of it. Lesson learned. During this time I freelanced in video production and also temped as a secretary and ultimately worked at a large International law firm where I got hired as a secretary. Became a legal assistant, and then down the road became a litigation support manager and work with our offices around the world in making data consumable for attorneys to bring to trial. It’s quite a complex and stressful position and pays very well.
When I was a kid I didn’t even know such a thing as a law firm existed. Go figure. Would like to write again after all this time though.
When I was little I remember being terrified of death–like how can something just stop. it was after my cousin died that I first remember thinking about it. In my own way I realized that I wanted to be a doctor, because someone told me doctors save lives! I then went through a bunch of different ideas–I thought about being an inventor! In highschool–I decided that i’d only be happy if I pursued what I wanted as a kid (I think those thoughts are just….simple “doctors save lives”–not doctors make ALOT of money–have to spend a heck of alot of time in school…are really busy etc…)
So now, im on my way to becoming a doctor (with confidence!) Im glad I went with my gut childhood feelings because I’ll never look back and have second thoughts.
hmm…let me respond this way…Parents should expose their kids to the different working environment so that they will think about what they will do for the rest of their working lives. In U.S., many young people have part time jobs like working in fast food restaurants, working in farms; all those environment are good because then, these young people will find their way around.
The carbage service here where I am is noisy. The carbage truck is noisy. Even the carbage men rough handle the carbage bins. Good thing the bins are the property of the local municipal council.
well, im 13 now and i want to be a scientist or an actress, and maybe a professional dancer. but, problably my thoughts will change. who knows?
Ode to the Sanitary Engineer!!
I wanted to be something different from 1 week to the next. I was always aware that there were jobs out there that nobody ever thought of and I figured fate would take care of it… I’m in real estate sales now
and let me tell you now… I wish I was a garbage woman! -not kidding. it always seems so peaceful in the morning like that, riding around with a buddy, hanging on the back of a truck or driving… there’s a freedom in it somehow like the rules of the world just don’t apply that early in the morning. I think as kids we are more likely to see that side of it. Believe it or not, I find myself wishing it more now than it occured to me as a kid.
When I was really little I always wanted to be an actress. Theater just fascinated me, and really it still does. Then when I got to middle school I was very unsure about it and thought about becoming a lawyer, forensic scientist, and a pediatrician. Now as a sophmore in high school I ave to tell guidance what I want and I really am interested in being a film major in college. Like I said theater/acting has always fascinated me.
I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was in like 3rd grade, but at the time I thought that meant I could dig up dinosaur bones. Ironically, I ended up taking a few anthropology classes in college and loved it, but didn’t pursue it, although the dirt part still intrigued me. In 7th grade, I finally realized I was meant to work with animals and decided I was going to be a veterinarian. I am not a veterinarian, but I hope to start school again sometime to be a vet tech. Right now I am looking for any job I can get that has anything to do with animals. I’m even willing to work with mice and I don’t like rodents.
I have always wanted to be in the medical field, I went from wanting to be a surgeon, to a family doctor. Now I am in college to become a physical therapist which by the way is now a doctorate program.
I really wanted to be a waitress! I thought it was the coolest thing to take orders and write them on a little tablet. My grandma was one and she always had stacks of those tabs around her house. My cousins and I would play “restaraunt”. I loved to ask them “what would you like today? Our special is double cheesebugers w/ff”. At that age I was’nt aware of the salary of a waitress and did’nt understand about finances really anyway! Now that I’m an adult I am not a waitress currently, but I did have a few summer jobs as one as a teenager. It definately was not the same as my childhood fun and reality hit me hard! It’s a frustrating, difficult, and thankless jobs to be honest. It’s one of those, underpaid, work your butt off jobs. Kinda like being a stay at home mom, which is what I am now!!! Anyway, life is very much different through the eyes of a child, for sure!
Lol wow, you’re lame xD.
But, I wanted to be an Ice Cream truck driver. :p
My twin sister wanted to be a garbage woman when she was little. but not for the trash, just because they got up early…and she liked that. later, she changed to a lawyer, now she’s more interested in medicine. i wanted to either be a research medical specialist or a foreign journalist. since neither of us have jobs yet, i guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Up until I was 12, I’d always wanted to become a singer. I don’t know what took me so long to realize that I was not born for showbusiness, but rather for thinking abstractly, as in math or physics. I’m in high school now, and I do not exactly know what I want to be… My parents have decided many things for me, but I don’t now if I’ll do what they’d expect. I’m studying hard now, and I’ll just go with the flow. Hopefully though, I can successfully become a professor or just one of those crazy mathematicians!
I’m only 15, but i’ve wanted to be several things. The first thing i remember wanting to be was a teacher, but that changed as soon as i realized how much the kids torture their teachers and talk bad about them. Then, i wanted to be a vet because i loved animals, but then realized that i’d have to hurt them in order to help them. I used to love watching my two baby cousins so i decided that i’d definitely want to become a pediatrician and then my mind changed once again when i thought, “what if i do something wrong by accident” and “actually.. they’re really annoying..” Soon i was out of ideas and had no clue what i wanted to be when i was older and i was clueless for a few years… until my mom talked me into becoming a pharmacist the beginning of my freshman year (now). So that’s what i’m planning on doing as of now.
I wanted to be a pediatrician since I was five. Never happened. After several career changes, I am now an early childhood/special education teacher. Do I still want to be a doctor? Yes! But do I want to spend more money on school? NO! not right now.
I am not quite settled with the idea of being a teacher. I want to be respected, and make more money, but we’ll see where life takes me. I am ready for the journey.
i just have 1 question 4 u………how do u chat with other peeps on yahoo messenger?
When i was little, i always wanted to be a police officer to bust the bad guys and such. Yet, once i started to notice the reality of the world, i changed my goal. My dad had gone thru bankrupcy, and we did not have any money to afford food b/c of the business. I THEN DECIDED i wanted to become a doctor. lots of money and a chance to help people. i flipped my grades artound and turned my GPA into a 4.7. i am going to ease the pain of poverty
I’m still a teenager…15 to be exact and I have changed my mind on what I want to be when I get older MANY times. When I was younger, in pre-k i wanted to be a mom…of course then I didn’t really know any other ‘jobs’ but that was my first opinion. Then in about 1st and 2nd grade I wanted to be a vet…I stayed with this for a few years…and then it shifted to a teacher..now that I’m in highschool I realize being a teacher may be the worst possible job ever for me…I hate repeating things, I hate it when people dont listen…and thats what teachers have to go through EVERY day…after that, for awhile I wanted to be either a fashion designer or an interior…I still would love to be either one, but I really would like to ‘change’ the world in some way…I’m very interested in Biology and the human body..plus I don’t get grossed out easily and bio IS my best subject..so as of now being a doctor is what I plan to be..of course that may not happen or I may change my mind like I have many times before…but as of now its a doctor
When I was a little girl,I wanted to be a “School Teacher”. When I was about 9 years old,I found a pack of 30 Index Cards,so I split them up,and drew a face of a boy and girl on each card. They not only did they have names,but also addresses,phone numbers,birthdays and the names of their parents. Although I live in Indiana,I pretended to be living in New York,and that I was a Teacher at a prestigious (fictious) High School. I don’t know why I chose NY,concidering I’ve never been there! (lol). I would spread my 15 girls-15 boy classroom out on my bed,and I’d pretend they were my students,and play for hours. My brothers did’nt bother me,when I had this time for me. (Now) I’m a Nurse,and never thought about teaching again
I waunted to be just like my dad,, He was good at evreything,, And so he taught me everything he knew,, And that’s exactly what I became,, just like him,, But my true pasion was with cars..But befor I got to cars I worked alot of difrent job’s .Lawnmower reapair,roofing.,eletrical,contruction,,And while I was doing that stuff I was also working with my brother auto dertailing,As well as going to school.. But then I droped all of it when I got the chance to profesionaly repair cars,Ive been there ever since,I now work at one of the largest used car dealer in the world, And absolutly love my job,,, and make a good liveing at too
When I was a child, I wanted to be either a veterinarian or a fighter pilot. Animals and aircraft/warcraft were what totally fascinated me. I also liked maps, but from the perspective not of doing geography but of looking at all the places that I’d like to travel and live. Funny, I did not see myself as a travel agent; I wanted to not just go to exotic places but live there for a while — to get to know the locals.
But I never did any of those things. I was bitten by the computer bug in the 1980s, and worked as a computer programmer, systems administrator, and adult school teacher. I studied anthropology intensely. It was during my teaching stints that I started volunteering in international health, which combines health care and culture, and now I find that this is what I really love. Now that I’m in my mid-40’s, I’ve decided to go back to school to study medicine.
When i was 15, i wanted to become a cop, firefighter, marine biologist or veterinarian (i hated animals) and now I’m something I never in my wildest dream thought I would be……a mom. I used to say I never wanted babies and look at me now!!! I got 2 sexy lil kids…lol!!!
When I was a kid, there were many things I considered: figure ice skater, gymnast, concert pianist, linguist, veterinarian, among many other things. Although I still love animals and keep four cats, I never became a veterinarian. Ironically, as strange as this sounds, when I was six years old and listened to Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (an opera), this inspired me. I remember dressing myself in a pretty costume and running around the house trying to imitate what I had heard. Today as an adult I am an opera singer.
To find the proper career it is important, of course, to have the aptitude for the career of one’s choosing, and enjoy doing it. Yes, it is important to make a good living, however, also to be taken into consideration there are some who although make a lot of money also are miserable with their profession. Others who make comfortable salaries have to work long hard hours. Career is a very personal, individual thing. There is not a lot of money in my profession, however, I enjoy doing what I do and every day it is like taking out my barbie dolls and playing, as well as sharing dramatic, beautiful life experiences and stories with audiences. Good luck with whatever you choose to do. And most importantly, may it be a career you will be happy with and you will enjoy forever!
I have wanted to be different things when I was little,
as of now I wanna be a nurse, in october Im gonna start classes maybe!!!
As a child I wanted to be: an Architect, a baseball player in America or own and run a pub.
…I’m now an Architect’s assistant with no ambition to become an Architect, and I have a strong urge to do motorcycle racing.
My 2 pence
During my grade school, i had a very good techer, so i decide to be like her. But when i experienced how exciting it is to travel and explore the mountain during our hiking trip, and got really interested in biological and botanical science, i decided to be either botanist or something that would require travel and exploration. Now, im a software developer, so unrelated to what i wanted.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a programmer, and typed away incessantly at my Apple //c. I’m working for Apple.
You wanted to deal with picking up messes and garbage. You are working for Yahoo. I remember Yahoo well. I remember not extending my contract of my own accord, because of all the garbage I had to deal with. I know about the hiring freeze to try and suck in all the resources to get Ballmer out of your hair.
Seems to me like it all worked out like we both expected.
It’s sad really, reading all these posts and seeing all of you who were so inspired as children. I really never could decide as a child. I wanted to be an actress, I know that for sure, but that’s really the only aspiration I can recall having. I also know as I got older, I wanted to travel and do something ‘good’, like join the Peace Corps. I never wanted to marry or have kids. Now? I am married, two children, and am a nurse. I’d sure still like to act though, and am told I have the talent for it….maybe I’ll try out for our local theater. I’m not far from Chicago, so I certainly have the forums with which to attempt such a dream…will I ever though? Who knows *shrugs*…..guess it boils down to that day when I decide I really DO want it. In the meantime, I’m sure my life didn’t turn out as I had once hoped, but I’m happy, that’s for sure.
OMG!!!!
I can’t take it anymore!!!
I fiddled so much around with my web-browser (back’n’ forth) that I have now that stupid error999….!
I hope that also gets fixed when yahoo comes back Up!!!
I’m having serious yahoo withdraw symptoms….’ya no….dry mouth…..blurred vision…..headaches and stuff!
As a kid I wanted to be a sailor,,, when i was a teen I wanted to be a Computer Engineer but now I am a scientiest…….an amateaur Astronaut at I.S.R.O