GTKY 3/15

kboydbowman · March 2022

What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you doing it? What's your dream job now?

dsmith211 · March 2022

When I was a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian. Unfortunately in college I quickly discovered that was not my destined path and it’s probably a good thing. I feel like I’m way too emotional a person and wouldn’t handle bad situations well.

I’m now a software developer. I got a degree in geography with a focus in technology so most of my current skill set is self trained. Not what I imagined I’d be doing while in school but I enjoy my job and it allows me flexibility and the ability to work from home full time. I’m pretty content with what I’m doing now.

If I could do anything to make things better I might take some of my free time (what’s that?) and volunteer at the animal shelter near us as I do really enjoy being with animals, just need something less stressful than that being a full time job.

jhysmath · March 2022

I also wanted to be a veterinarian, or marine biologist when I grew up. (Thank you voyage of the Mimi with Ben Afflack as a 12 year old to inspire that) I realized in high school when I needed to sign up for Bio2 that I couldn't cut up cats and watching the cat bodies roll through the lunch room to the bio room each day told me before I even ended up in the class.

I'm not really sure how or when I chose to be a math teacher, but sometime in high school I made that switch. Math came easily to me I guess and teaching sounded nice. I debated art teacher, but I can't draw (I love photography and ceramics and excelled in that) I also realize I'm not the type of person who can give praise for crap work, so I couldn't tell a kid their art piece had great depth when I thought it looked like a trash heap.

Before I finished college, I took a course called "making babies" and I really enjoyed it. I think I had 2 semesters left when I took the class as a science elective. It was taught by a L&D nurse and it was so in depth about everything from getting pregnant or not, to giving birth. I learned so much in the class I made a comment to my mom that maybe I should switch majors and become a midwife, she told me no, I was almost done with my degree just to finish it. So I did. I often wonder what if now. I feel I'm too old to make that drastic of a life change, and with little kids, taking bachelor level courses wouldn't be doable. Some day, I hope to look into get an IBCLC certificate or a doula certificate. I think I would really enjoy even teaching birth classes and using all of this knowledge I have researched and learned even prior to having children.

Also I'd love to be a farmer. Like small farm and farm to table restaurant.

laj0217 · March 2022

Another vote for vet over her, although there was a period where I considered lawyer. I am a social worker instead, so very different! I actually think I might have really enjoyed something in personal finance and helping other people get financially stable.

mnmomma84 · March 2022

I also wanted to be a vet! But learned that blood, needles and things as such really are not my thing. I get pretty squeamish with bodily fluids.

Currently I'm an office manager for a student identity department at a state university. Is it my dream job? No. But it has great benefits and it pays the bills. I also have great flexibility from my supervisor that makes the headaches I deal with regularly worth the trouble. I never finished my degree or really decided what my dream job would be when I was younger because we had a [happy] surprise pregnancy and had our first son when I was 22. Fun fact, we mathed the other night and realized that when this baby turns 18 we will have been parenting for 33 years. I realize parenting goes beyond the age of 18, but hopefully you get what I mean. We also have the "bookends" of the grandchildren on my husband's side, so we'll have the oldest (15) and youngest with this baby.

mamamoomoo12 · March 2022

I wanted to be a chef and own a restaurant. Now I am a real estate agent and work part time in my old grade school in the development department.

I would love to work in non-profit full time or start my own business.

kboydbowman · March 2022

My father had both my brother and I pretty thoroughly brainwashed into believing that we wanted to be doctors, so that's what I said/believed all the way until I got to college. I loved all the math and science classes and was super good at them. Started my pre-med track, but during my second class, I decided I didn't want to spend my time memorizing organs and be in school and debt until I was 30. So I ended up majoring in psychology and women's studies, with a minor in classics. My father was not pleased. I had a really excellent guidance counselor in high school (long story, but I went to a residential magnet school, so our guidance counselors were much more involved with students than "regular" counselors) and initially thought that's where I wanted to go with it.

When I graduated from high school, I was still with my ex-husband (boyfiend at the time), who decided to join the Army. Army made his initial station somewhere that had a master's program in psychology, so I applied and did that. Then afterwards he went to Korea for a year (I was still finishing my master's program), and once he as back and done with my program we got moved back to North Carolina. Started applying for jobs, and a job with the prisons as a master's level psychologist was the first thing I was able to get. Absolutely loved it, and I never looked back. I did later go back to school to get my doctorate (which actually takes longer than medical school, which makes me laugh in hindsight0, but then returned to prisons.

Currently, I'm in a senior position that's somewhat more administrative, although I do maintain a small caseload. I work in quality management for the various health services (mental health, medical, dental, etc.) at our prison. I also do clinical supervision of less experienced staff and run some training classes.

I'm not too far off from my dream job. Eventually I'd like to keep moving up the leadership ladder and be in a position that helps make policy change. I'm big on social justice, and I could stand on my soapbox about racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, etc., within the criminal justice system, so I'd love to be in a position to help effect policy that might address some of that.

blanket_girl · March 2022

My dream job as a kid was a paleontologist- I read every single book in our public library on dinosaurs when I was little and rented this dinosaur documentary series narrated by Walter Cronkite so many times the librarian literally made me my own copies to keep so the other patrons could get a hold of them every once in a while 😆

As I went to college and got exposed to more types of science, I realized I love neurobiology and specifically neurogenetics, so I decided to do my PhD in neuroscience (molecular bio track) right out of college. Unfortunately, I got very sick with undiagnosed neurological Lyme. I had seizures as well as debilitating hemiplegic migraines and unfortunately you can’t really be allowed to work with the chloroform if you’re liable to drop it, so I took a leave of absence from my program in my second to last year. Unfortunately by the time I was treated and well again, the statue of limitations had run out for me to return with my full ride and honestly by that point I didn’t have the stamina I used to. It sucked for a while but honestly I think I’m much happier now than I would have been in the career track I was headed toward with school.

Ifs been a bit of a winding road since then, but now I’m a researcher in a large university research clinic that specializes in OCD. I love working with patients and still being close to research, even though I don’t get to do the molecular/genetics stuff that I was so passionate about. As part of my position, I’m training to be a facilitator to guide patients through therapeutic experiences with hallucinogens. It’s a really rewarding experience and an honor to be there to witness the healing that can happen for some people ❤️

TLDR: I’m absolutely not doing anything close to what I envisioned earlier in life, but I made my peace with it and have found a lot of beauty in what I do now

babywiik · March 2022

I dont remember having a dream job, in fact I'm sort of lazy and not doing anything sounded pretty perfect😆 I ended up working at a daycare for 3 years, then decided to go to school for Early Childhood Education and absolutely loved it! I'm a SAHM now and love that I get to use a lot of what I learned in school even though I don't work outside the home. I was in school at the time to be an ECE teacher and I found an old school project from 1st or 2nd grade where I wrote that I wanted to be a teacher so apparently I had that dream at one point? Or it could be that I wrote "teacher" because the kid next to me did or I thought my teacher would like the answer...😂

lucyg00cy · March 2022

I wanted to be a news anchor when I was little. I honestly just loved Katie Couric and wanted to be just like her. No other reason 😂

I did not end up going to college for that, the off hours were not what I was looking for day-to-day and honestly when I found out you typically do your own hair and makeup I was definitely out. I don’t do hair and makeup, let alone at 5 AM or 9 PM. I ended up getting my degree in Sociology and Sustainability Studies. I am now a recruiter for a software company. I do love my job and my team, but my absolute dream job would be to own an animal sanctuary, or be a travel blogger. Maybe in retirement I can do both 🤷🏼‍♀️

pangolindrome · March 2022

kboydbowman said:

What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you doing it? What's your dream job now?

Depending on how early, a Transformer, zookeeper, gardener, or translator for books. I went to high school for auto mechanic.

I teach high school English and am in my seventh year of doing so.

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