I’ll start! When I was a kid, I most commonly said I wanted to be a doctor or a scientist. In high school that changed to lawyer. I ended up becoming a combination of those, a forensic psychologist.
@monstera13 I read the book "Sometimes Amazing Things Happen" a couple years ago and I thought being a forensic psychologist would be such a cool job.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor, then when I was in middle school and high school I watched too much CSI and I wanted to be a medical examiner. Then I got to college and only made it a few years into premed and gave up and now I'm in law enforcement but I want a change but I don't really know what I want to do with my life.
When I was really little and obsessed with dinosaurs and Jurassic Park, I so wanted to be a paleontologist, out in the field digging for fossils! 🦕 As I got a little older I’d alternate between wanting to be a veterinarian and a marine/animal zookeeper or trainer! (I’ve always loved animals!) I ended up becoming an orthopedic hand therapist at a hospital— not what I would have ever anticipated when I was younger, but I LOVE what I do! I love that I get to see my patients improve so dramatically from their evaluation to discharge and I love that I get to tap into my creativity when I fabricate custom orthotics and splints to mold onto my patients’ hands. I get to be part exercise therapist, part educator, and part artist/sculptor! I could totally see myself doing volunteer work with zoo/rescue animals in the future though, or maybe even when I retire!
As a kid I wanted to be a jockey and race horses. I stuck with the general theme of wanting to do something with horses throughout high school and toured some equestrian colleges. There was one I really wanted to apply for, but was strongly encouraged to get a degree first.
I was also very involved in acting and loved that, but also quickly realized I didn’t want to do what it would take to make that an actual career. So I started college aiming for PR, and did great with those actual classes but flunked out of newspaper at the same time that I fell in love with costume design. And so I majored in theatre, to my mother’s dismay.
I spent the first few years after college and of our marriage doing as much costume design as I could while also dressing mannequins for a retail job. And then we had our first baby and I quit it all because it just wasn’t worth it financially or any other wise. Now I homeschool and am working on trying to get my kids to learn how to ride a horse - while being currently horseless.
I always wanted to be a veterinarian or a librarian. I love animals and books and it just seemed to make the most sense. My sister became a children’s librarian, so I live vicariously through her!
My grandmother was a nursery nurse and used to sit with me at her kitchen table and go through the birth announcements in their small town newspaper and tell me which babies she had met. She had obstetric and gynecology books all over her house, and a ton of midwifery textbooks as well, and I have a lot of memories of looking through them and examining all the pictures and diagrams. When I was in high school and the first year or so of college I thought I was going to go to midwifery school after graduating nursing school. But the more I learned about it the less appealing it sounded to me, I liked the other side of it as a registered nurse more, so I thought I’d be an L&D nurse. I even bought liability insurance before I graduated in preparation for it.
Long story short, being hired as a new graduate RN directly into a specialty unit is a pipe dream, so I did what everyone told me to do and worked as a general med/surg RN for a year before the Army moved us across the country. I hated it SO. MUCH. I would regularly cry at work. So at our new assignment I literally applied for every position available that wasn’t med/surg, and NICU was the first to call me so I accepted. This was 12 years ago and I haven’t left. I always joke that the NICU is pretty similar to being a veterinarian because the patients can’t talk to you and you have to treat them based on data and clinical presentation. I occasionally work in the PICU when they are short-handed and work part-time at a smaller community hospital as a nursery and postpartum nurse, but the NICU is my passion. This past year I sat for my IBCLC boards so I could add more letters behind my name, and I love it. My grandmother passed away shortly after I sat for my boards last fall but I like to think she’d be proud of me.
I honestly as a kid thought about being a stay at home mom but saw there was no guarantee to that so started to think about what to do for work instead. My parents worked in education and all I knew was I didn't want to do that. Honestly not sure of the order of operations but by high school I was working as a Marketing intern and hated it. I got into an accident and had some issues post and went to a few doctors and the person who helped me the most was my Chiropractor. So as a senior in high school I decided to do that. Then after working in the field for 4 years I specialized further and started to work for a company who hires PTs and chiropractors that just does soft tissue manual therapy coupled with home care exercise therapy for soft tissue injuries. It's weird as a chiropractor to say I haven't done adjustments in like 6 years but I do love what I do now getting to see people improve so quickly is fun and I ironically enjoy teaching people how to manage their own symptoms with exercises so life's come a bit full circle.
When I was little, I never really thought about what I wanted to be. I enjoyed and learned several languages, so figured I would something in international relations, translations etc.
I kind of just went with the flow and feel in love with biology during my senior year of high school. I went to college as a genetics major and quickly switched to microbiology. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do, I knew I didn’t want to be an MD. I continued on to graduate school and got my PhD in biomedical sciences. I then got my business degree and now I work in a biotech company on the business side. I love being close to cutting edge science, but doing management and strategy type of work, which fits my personality more than doing research.
******TW******Siggy warning BFP1 04/24/2015 EDD Dec 2015 MMC 10W5d; BFP 2 09/25/2015 EDD June 2016 MMC 9wks; BFP 3 03/22/2016 EDD Dec 6th 2016
@rbflei My parents were also both teachers and just like you, I knew for sure I never wanted to be a teacher! However, as a hand therapist, I do so much education for my patients, I’ve always said I did end up teaching, just in a different way! I was actually inspired to go into healthcare by my own chiropractor as a teenager, since I have scoliosis and would regularly go in for adjustments.
In elementary school I wanted to be a basketball player, LOL! Then around middle school I wanted to “help people” as a counselor/psychologist, although I didn’t fully understand the difference then.
Stuck with that through the first year of grad school when I left to be a SAHM/homeschool but worker in mental health from when I was 19 up to that point. After my daughter was born I got my certification as a childbirth doula and starting building a business there until my youngest was born— he was terribly clingy and would refuse a bottle no matter how long I was gone. By the time he got a little more independent my husband was traveling sporadically and I didn’t have a solid childcare base so I’ve only done a couple births for friends since then.
Then when my husband lost his job earlier this year I thought I’d go out and supplement his unemployment with a temporary job, which ended up in me completely taking over management for this little coffee shop/juice bar cafe. It’s a fun job but I love my kids more and arranging for childcare to get to work by 6:45 am isn’t my favorite thing, so I’m slated to be done after Black Friday.
I’ve really gotten into gardening and nutrition the past few years though, so I’ve started making and selling jellies, pickles, spice mixes, breads, etc, on the side.
When I was little I wanted to be a teacher, then I wanted to be an actor and got into all the theater stuff, then in high school we took some kind of aptitude test and it said I should go into broadcasting so I wanted to do radio broadcasting/communications, then in college I decided to be a teacher again. Lol I graduated with an elementary education degree and taught middle school for a couple years, then I moved to Nashville and couldn’t find a teaching job right away so I decided to go into hair school. Got my cosmetology license and now I own a barber shop(since 2010).
I mean, a young kid I wanted to be a ballerina or a model or a singer or something. Teenager, I wanted to be a publicist, and I became a publicist. #regrets I ended up doing mostly scientific communication (after starting out in beauty PR), though, which teenage me did not even realize was a thing.
When I was little I always wanted to own my own business. Sometimes that meant a little home decor boutique, a book store, or a 50s style diner.
15 years ago I was in college and took a summer dog bathing job at a local pet store. They ended up teaching me to groom and I never went back to school. It’s been 10 years next month that I’ve owned my own dog grooming salon. I absolutely love being my own boss and being around dogs all day.
I have no idea what I wanted to be when I was real young but starting in middle school, it was marine biologist. In high school I did really bad in honors biology so I gave up on that thinking I'd never be good enough.
Briefly I thought fashion design and towards the end of high school thought it might be fun to do fashion merchandising, until I realized that lots of people ended up managing JC Penney and that seemed like a job you didn't need 4 years of school to do (not saying its not hard, just $80k to learn it seemed a bit much). Picked Human Sexuality as a major (a big thing at IU where I went) and my mom mentioned that I didn't seem suited to a life of research on my own, so I downgraded that to a minor and went into public policy.
Graduated and worked at a trade association in DC and realized my boss was miserable and didn't want to end up like her and also kind of hated cubicle farm working. So I did some thinking and asked myself, "What job is different every day, requires me to constantly learn, and gives me time off to travel with my family once I have one?" Teaching jumped out at me immediately. Went to grad school to get my teaching license and been doing that for 9 years-almost completely math and science for 3-5 graders, with one year as a full classroom teacher with all subjects (it was too hard). Now I'm an instructional coach/interventionist for math K-5. It's a lot of fun.
I will say, that honestly I hate working full time. It is really hard and while I love my job, every year I get super overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to run my household, raise my kids, and do my job well. Teaching is getting harder every year, with more responsibility. I honestly only work because I realized that as a SAHM I get zero breaks-and that isn't good for me either. Working gives me two hours a day between work and daycare pick up that are all mine-otherwise I might pick not working and just raise my kids and work on my writing! If I move to the librarian job at my school, then I'll be able to take some responsibility off my plate AND its oddly full time at my school-so there's a chance it would eventually down grade to part time which is more my wheelhouse-even once all my kids are in school.
Growing up I always wanted to be a teacher. I loved being the boss, in front of people, and grading papers. I used to stay in at recess and help my teacher grade papers (easy things like math where he had an answer key). I would set up a school classroom and force my brother and sister to go to school all day and do their lessons. 😂
Once I got into high school I realized education was not the path for me. I really liked numbers and had an aunt who worked in accounting. I was also working as a teller at a bank and loved it. So I went to college and got my degree in accounting. I really enjoyed my accounting classes. I got an internship that gave me a chance to do accounting and also financial planning and analysis. I realized I actually hate accounting in the real world, but love data and financial analysis. So I’ve worked at a couple of large corporations doing financial planning and analysis. I’ve mostly worked on the budgeting side and helping plan and analyze budgets.
Over time I’ve learned I really enjoy Business Intelligence (BI) and data visualization. But I don’t have any tech degree or any certifications so I’m still trying to figure out how to get myself more into that field.
As a kid, I wanted to be an artist and/or novelist, and I definitely still have those dreams in my heart!
I majored in art education at first but quickly realized that teaching was not a good fit for me, and I mossed taking literature classes, so I switched to art minor, English major.
Then I worked as a marketing copywriter for websites, then as a technical writer for a financial software company. Last year, I decided I wanted to do copyediting and proofreading, hopefully novels, and I also didn’t like commuting and working full time, so I quit my job and went freelance. I mostly enjoy it, although the business side can be a little overwhelming sometimes. It’s nice to have breaks between editing jobs.
I would still love to do writing and/or art on the side but often lack the motivation/discipline to get started.
Me: 30 // Hubs: 31 Married May 2019 Baby #1 due April 19, 2022
From preschool until middle school I wanted to be a seal trainer. I have it on video and multiple writing assignments that it was my dream. I don't know why it changed, maybe because I grew up in AZ so the odds that I would be great in salt water were slim, but I wanted to be a 3rd grade teacher from middle school until now even.
I had to work 2 jobs, 7 days a week while going to college and my tolerance for the classes that wouldn't help my degree was low so I left before I got a degree. Fell into Quality Assurance for 5 years and got burnt out.
Got a job as a receptionist so I would have predictable hours and I could go back to school. One week into that job my boss said you're a quick learner, do you want to get trained in SAP and be our buyer? I said yes because he made it sound easy and SAP is used a lot so not bad on the resume. Turns out it would take all of my time but I do love learning new things. So I've been a buyer for 4+ years and this year changed companies so I'm not burnt out and actually have time for my family and any kind of life.
Re: GTKY: Career
When I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor, then when I was in middle school and high school I watched too much CSI and I wanted to be a medical examiner. Then I got to college and only made it a few years into premed and gave up and now I'm in law enforcement but I want a change but I don't really know what I want to do with my life.
Long story short, being hired as a new graduate RN directly into a specialty unit is a pipe dream, so I did what everyone told me to do and worked as a general med/surg RN for a year before the Army moved us across the country. I hated it SO. MUCH. I would regularly cry at work. So at our new assignment I literally applied for every position available that wasn’t med/surg, and NICU was the first to call me so I accepted. This was 12 years ago and I haven’t left. I always joke that the NICU is pretty similar to being a veterinarian because the patients can’t talk to you and you have to treat them based on data and clinical presentation. I occasionally work in the PICU when they are short-handed and work part-time at a smaller community hospital as a nursery and postpartum nurse, but the NICU is my passion. This past year I sat for my IBCLC boards so I could add more letters behind my name, and I love it. My grandmother passed away shortly after I sat for my boards last fall but I like to think she’d be proud of me.
Married: October 2011
DS: January 2016
DS: May 2019
#3: April 2022
When I was little, I never really thought about what I wanted to be. I enjoyed and learned several languages, so figured I would something in international relations, translations etc.
I kind of just went with the flow and feel in love with biology during my senior year of high school. I went to college as a genetics major and quickly switched to microbiology. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do, I knew I didn’t want to be an MD. I continued on to graduate school and got my PhD in biomedical sciences. I then got my business degree and now I work in a biotech company on the business side. I love being close to cutting edge science, but doing management and strategy type of work, which fits my personality more than doing research.
BFP1 04/24/2015 EDD Dec 2015 MMC 10W5d;
BFP 2 09/25/2015 EDD June 2016 MMC 9wks;
BFP 3 03/22/2016 EDD Dec 6th 2016
Stuck with that through the first year of grad school when I left to be a SAHM/homeschool but worker in mental health from when I was 19 up to that point. After my daughter was born I got my certification as a childbirth doula and starting building a business there until my youngest was born— he was terribly clingy and would refuse a bottle no matter how long I was gone. By the time he got a little more independent my husband was traveling sporadically and I didn’t have a solid childcare base so I’ve only done a couple births for friends since then.
Then when my husband lost his job earlier this year I thought I’d go out and supplement his unemployment with a temporary job, which ended up in me completely taking over management for this little coffee shop/juice bar cafe. It’s a fun job but I love my kids more and arranging for childcare to get to work by 6:45 am isn’t my favorite thing, so I’m slated to be done after Black Friday.
I’ve really gotten into gardening and nutrition the past few years though, so I’ve started making and selling jellies, pickles, spice mixes, breads, etc, on the side.
Briefly I thought fashion design and towards the end of high school thought it might be fun to do fashion merchandising, until I realized that lots of people ended up managing JC Penney and that seemed like a job you didn't need 4 years of school to do (not saying its not hard, just $80k to learn it seemed a bit much). Picked Human Sexuality as a major (a big thing at IU where I went) and my mom mentioned that I didn't seem suited to a life of research on my own, so I downgraded that to a minor and went into public policy.
Graduated and worked at a trade association in DC and realized my boss was miserable and didn't want to end up like her and also kind of hated cubicle farm working. So I did some thinking and asked myself, "What job is different every day, requires me to constantly learn, and gives me time off to travel with my family once I have one?" Teaching jumped out at me immediately. Went to grad school to get my teaching license and been doing that for 9 years-almost completely math and science for 3-5 graders, with one year as a full classroom teacher with all subjects (it was too hard). Now I'm an instructional coach/interventionist for math K-5. It's a lot of fun.
I will say, that honestly I hate working full time. It is really hard and while I love my job, every year I get super overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to run my household, raise my kids, and do my job well. Teaching is getting harder every year, with more responsibility. I honestly only work because I realized that as a SAHM I get zero breaks-and that isn't good for me either. Working gives me two hours a day between work and daycare pick up that are all mine-otherwise I might pick not working and just raise my kids and work on my writing! If I move to the librarian job at my school, then I'll be able to take some responsibility off my plate AND its oddly full time at my school-so there's a chance it would eventually down grade to part time which is more my wheelhouse-even once all my kids are in school.
As a kid, I wanted to be an artist and/or novelist, and I definitely still have those dreams in my heart!
I majored in art education at first but quickly realized that teaching was not a good fit for me, and I mossed taking literature classes, so I switched to art minor, English major.
Then I worked as a marketing copywriter for websites, then as a technical writer for a financial software company. Last year, I decided I wanted to do copyediting and proofreading, hopefully novels, and I also didn’t like commuting and working full time, so I quit my job and went freelance. I mostly enjoy it, although the business side can be a little overwhelming sometimes. It’s nice to have breaks between editing jobs.
I would still love to do writing and/or art on the side but often lack the motivation/discipline to get started.
Married May 2019
Baby #1 due April 19, 2022
I had to work 2 jobs, 7 days a week while going to college and my tolerance for the classes that wouldn't help my degree was low so I left before I got a degree. Fell into Quality Assurance for 5 years and got burnt out.
Got a job as a receptionist so I would have predictable hours and I could go back to school. One week into that job my boss said you're a quick learner, do you want to get trained in SAP and be our buyer? I said yes because he made it sound easy and SAP is used a lot so not bad on the resume. Turns out it would take all of my time but I do love learning new things. So I've been a buyer for 4+ years and this year changed companies so I'm not burnt out and actually have time for my family and any kind of life.