Regardless of your age, how many of you know what you want to do when you "grow up"?

I've never been sure, so I've flitted from one idea to the next. Now I have a strong idea what I want to do for my career and beyond, but...well, I'm not sure...

How did you know what you wanted (or want) to do?

-D

A Dentist :D.
I made it into the uni course, so i guess it's just a matter of time now.

I think I kind of wanted to become one after my lil' sis cracked her 2 front teeth on her friends skull whilst on a trampoline. I kind of had to pick the fragments up off the trampoline mat and then try and comfort her in the back seat of the car as we tried to navigate our way to a an emergency dentist at 11pm at night. She was still bleeding quite a lot, and it would have been pretty painful, but her main concern was how she was going to look when she returned to school. I assured her that the dentist would make it all better, despite having no idea what they'd be able to do in a few hours on a Saturday night, but when we got there the dentist was just really great and put a couple of temporary fillings in so she could go back to school looking normal. From that point I really took an interest in her dental appointments and dentists in general, and yeah it all just kind of worked out eventually.

Hey, you never really know know...knowhutt'msayin? But after sifting through enough of crummy oddjobs and having started studying two different, but ultimately unsuitable subjects, I might have gotten some idea what I want to do careerwise.

Sure I thought I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I thought I was certain. But goes to show that maybe you just shouldn't limit yourself into something just for the sake of it. Do what feels right, right now, and don't think about the future too much. It's not where you're going but the way that you travel that makes the difference. Of course it helps if you have some plans, but don't etch them in stone. Careerwise it's best to do the kind of stuff and study the kind of stuff which you're interested, first and foremost.

So personally I think I wouldn't mind working the rest of my life as a librarian. But we'll see what it'll be...

Librarian...or a games tester. :D

Well, for a long time I've wanted to own my own pub...and working where I am now, it only intensifies the goal. To me there's nothing more satisfying than this industry as long as it's done right

I don't really know. I've gone through various ideas- even to the point of applying to study medicine- but am yet to find something to really captivate me. At uni now, so I've got a handful more years to try and find something.

Heyy, I've been thinking about a book-& recordstore/internetcoffeeshop/pub...Not that many of those around here in Finland and I'd get to fiddle with things I like in life. There's one pub in Turku which has comics, boardgames, beer and net. It'd be an ideal sort of place to work in...or a business to start for yourself. But that I'd do only if and when I'd get enough money to get by with, to cover the risks. Also, I think I'd need at least one pretty solid business partner and some experience and/or some sort of education in getting started as an entrepreneur...

Ahh, the beauty of youth, so much time to discover your life's calling, so much freedom to figure out where you wanna go and what you wanna do...

I'm spending the next 6months in Salamanca, Spain right now learning Spanish and trying to answer that very question. I graduated with an undergraduate degree in Economics but I still don't know what I want to do..

An History teacher, that is why I'm going to get in university next September :p I've always liked talking and reading about history and I liked every single history classes I had. It seems to me a natural fit.

I'd like to be a writer in the genre of comedy, although I haven't really decided what form I'd like this to take yet. I'm very interested in words - indeed, I'm hoping to do an English Language course at uni - so it's likely it would often have that sort of theme, but I'm not sure if I'd be talking about writing for radio, television, books, newspapers, magazines ... I think I'll find out what I enjoy most later on :)

Art is definitively something I enjoy, but there's just no way I can make a living out of it. I also have a 99.9% complete computer tech diploma, and some experience working as a welder.

The most likely plan is working as computer tech, and possibly owning my own shop somewhere in the future, and work on art or welding as a sideline. Working as a computer tech isn't a bad job, but I have better aspirations than just survive.

If we forget fighting, making food and being able to yell really loud, composing music is the only thing I've ever been extremely good at, so:

I wanna make game music. If someone would just hire me. :p

I think it's always important to have one of those "What if" dream jobs that will never happen. For me, that's a commercial airline pilot. Besides having horrible eye sight, there's no way I'd ever be able to afford the schooling, so it will always be just a dream. :bad:

As for what I'm most likely going to be, I'm getting a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering, and if I stay with the company I currently work for, I'll eventually become a machine maintenance tech working on some wicked cool robots. :D :rolling:

I would love to combine my experience with nursing with love of computers and work in medical software industry. It will require me to learn a lot more about computers though, and that means more college, and I haven't paid off my last school loans yet.

Not that I am really worried abut growing up anytime soon...lol

An History teacher
As long as you don't decide to become an English teacher :p (couldn't resist)

I don't know yet. I'm in a law PhD course, so I'm going to be a doctor of law when done with that, but whether I'll work as an advocate in private practice, or as an academic, or both, is not clear yet. Chances are it will be a job different still and I'm open to all possibilities. I'd like to help people and to make some impact. Plain money-making interests me less, although I'd like to have a decently paying job, especially if I start a family.

If we forget fighting, making food and being able to yell really loud, composing music is the only thing I've ever been extremely good at, so:

I wanna make game music. If someone would just hire me. :p

Do you have any links to work? I collect game music.

When I was really young (less than 10 probably) I wanted to be an architect, probably because my father is one and I used to always go through his blueprints and plans and study them for hours on end. In my early teens I decided to go into astronomy - I used to love anything to do with the other planets and distant stars, and read tons of stuff about it. At around the same time my brother wanted to become an astronaut, so we would have made a good team :)

Retired and independantly wealthy.

Well, I already grew up.

Bondari (aka Splunge) reloads. :(

:p

Growing up is for adults. :p

Do you have any links to work? I collect game music.
Sorry, no, I'm too lazy to put anything in the net. Meh, maybe I finally should.
I 'specialize' in sidescroller music. :p

An Astronaut!!! Hokay, :) , I know it isn't possible in this life but maybe reincarnation is for real. :geezer:

Well, if it makes you feel any better, Nakia, I've always thought of you as a space cadet. (Much like myself.)

:p

Are we talking dream job, or realistic job? I wanted to be an archaelogist, but that was never going to be a practical lifestyle, so now I work in an office within easy commute from home via a bus.

When I was a kid, I always dreamt about being a fighter pilot.

Then I developed short-sightedness, and poof! There went my childhood dreams..

Still, it's not all bad. I always had an interest in computers and now I'm starting on a career as a programmer. I don't think I'd mind doing it for some time, or maybe do something related to computer networks.

When I was little I wanted to be a teacher, but my teacher in Year 2 told me not to bother as it was just going to be a waste of time :lol:

My dream for the past few years has been to work in computer games programming and design. I already design my own games and have about 14 half finished design documents and notes.

Failing getting into the games industry I guess a software programmer in any field will suit me :) As long as I get to work with AI, I would love it :D

I wanted to be a doctor. Not GP type, but working for a company like WHO, or CDC, to fight outbreaks and control diseases.

I want to be the guy who saves the world from aliens and becomes your new god. :p

I want to be the guy who saves the world from aliens and becomes your new god. :p

You just made my day! :lol:

I'd like to be a Vocational Guidance Councelor.

Splunge: I think I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the ideal job for you is chartered accountancy.... :)

He'll have to fight JSBB for that one ;)


What happened to JSBB's old avatar anyhoo? That guy was an accountant if there ever was one ;)

>sigh< what do I wanna be?

Your local specialist/consultant/chief-in-charge. Not difficult to achieve, since I'm currently viewing one of these positions :D

I'm probably going to be a programmer. I hope to outgrow the simple website stuff and do some AI/High Technology programming in Lisp and Erlang.

The village idiot of my hometown. Just have to remember not to apply for the job when they start searching for a new one. :p

More seriously I haven't got the slightest of idea. A job in the financial department or department of foreign affairs would both be quite ideal, but on a more realistic note I'm heading towards financial management of the public sector probably on the municipal level.

I'd like to be a Vocational Guidance Councelor.

Splunge: I think I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the ideal job for you is chartered accountancy.... :)

No, I want to be a lion tamer. :p

(Yes, I know - it took me long enough. That's what I get for posting sporadically. :D )

No, I want to be a lion tamer

;)

Well, at least you didn't want to be a lumberjack.

I would love to restore old cars for a living but with the price of gas nowadays it wouldn't pay nearly as well as it used to.

I would love to be a councillor or psychologist, but I reckon my career path is set on Dispensing Optician indefinately now. I'll always be a child though ;)

King of the World. I've been a budding tyrant for a long time. That whole Lawful Evil thing.

I've been a budding tyrant for a long time

So where does "The clutches of a certain blond dominatrix" come into a tyrant's life? ;)

When I was young, I thought I wanted to be a programmer. So, off I went to university, and studied computer science for 4 years.

I started working in London last year, as a programmer, and now in my second job, I've come to the realization that I enjoy computer science more than I do programming. I've also come to realize that programming in the industry is not nearly as much about problem solving as it is in computer science - its about implementation.

Still, I dont regret studying computer science, it just means I need to find a new career path away from programming, but possibly still in IT. maybe an analyst position, maybe network admin, who knows?

I'm also giving thought to studying finance part time.

A friend of mine told me that his dad told him, "Dont make your passion your career." At first it sounded stupid, but now, it kinda makes sense. My passion is largely computing. I spend all day working on a computer, then I get home and browse the internet or play games for another 2 hours. I think that might be part of the reason I dont dig it anymore.

Anyone looking to get into programming - dont get discouraged by me. Its not a terrible job. The pay is good, the hours are fine, and you can advance within the company (but this depends on more than your programming skills). The other thing I dont like is that you tend to have to specialize in a particular language. So you cant do C# for 5 years then carry on at teh same level in Java - even if you were educated in both, practical experience counts huge numbers, and recent experience much more so.

The only thing that puts me off finance is that I dont really like the whole corporate vibe. I dont know, maybe I could live with it, but the idea of 25-50 year old men showing off to each other all day doesnt appeal to me.

So where does "The clutches of a certain blond dominatrix" come into a tyrant's life? ;)

When Loviatar decides I've been a bad boy... a very bad boy.

Retired. :D

And I've done several different things already, most of them interesting.

I agree - hold on to dreams, and also be ready to do more things than you've thought of so far.

Spoken by a true :geezer:

Roman Emperor.