[sindohte]

Okay all you folks who either have been/currently working and to all the college age students - Is your current career choice anything like what your major was in school or what you dreamed about when you were younger?

Current career - therapist/psychologist

Other career paths I considered -

- lawyer (I actually majored in psychology with the intention of going to law school. Even today I still wonder if I should have become a lawyer )

- architect (Didn't do it because my math skills sucked)

- medical doctor (The thought of needles makes me squeamish)

[Yavanie]

Current career: Stay-at-home Mom (okay, so I don't stay at home that much).

Degree in Archaeology. Yeah I really wanted to be Indiana Jones (worked at a local native american burial ground for 3 years in high school).

Other paths considered: geology (so someone would actually pay me to pick up rocks, but couldn't take the upper level chemistry and math)

technical writing (come from a family full of English teachers, so I come by that naturally) but no creative way to write a manual about anything. I will definitly pursue that for my own pleasure not some one who will dictate what I get to write.

have also done: Park Ranger (great work, pay sucks), worked for a mortgage broker and land title company (really long hours and short tempered bosses).

spent 2 years at home as a homeschooling mom (oldest son has learning disability way beyond my ability to cope or teach, he is now in private school - but we'll need a second mortgage to pay for it!).

Never thought I'd NOT get paid for all the work I really do (all you unemployed moms know what i'm talking about - no vacation, no sick pay and no lunch hours or coffee breaks!)


{that said, I wouldn't trade my kids for anything}

[Thuriniel]

[artanisoflorien]

Current career - Technical Writer
About to be career - Stay at Home Mom (I'm quitting my job in November to stay home with my little boy.)

Careers I Considered -
- Lawyer. When I was in middle- and high school, that was what I thought I wanted to do. I realized early on that it was more paperwork, and less Perry Mason.
- Researcher/Biologist - I majored in Biology for three years before I switched to English Literature. I switched at the suggestion of one of my chem profs. I was lousy at chemistry and math, but was pretty good at writing, and he knew I was headed in the wrong direction. He actually suggested scientific writing. The ironic thing is, I absolutely hated the mean little man, but he had an enormous impact on how my life turned out.

Careers I Would Try if I Were Starting All Over -
- Speech Pathologist or Physical Therapist - I've been working with professionals in these fields a lot lately. My son has Down Syndrome and qualifies for therapy in both of these areas. I think I would've been good at both and would have enjoyed either one. Plus, for some reason, that line of work seems more meaningful than writing online computer help and user manuals.

[Maram68]

I work in something that couldn't be further away from what I studied and have my degree for. I am financial manager of a large project for a third-world-country developement-aid agency.
Been in the business for the past 15 years.

But yeah, and dumb as it seems, I would have loved to be a freelance journalist/photographer. War-correspondent to be precise.

I still have my journalism/media sciences degree.

[inglor]

Degree in forestry, great work environment, low pay

Current occ: Security Equipment Sales: can't get much farther apart than that

What would I change: Chased and drank less in Uni and hunkered down in Calculus to become a Materials Engineer... still might

Inglor

[SpaceWeavil]

Current ‘career’ – sad nobody (for another month, then I will be a mature law student)

Other things I considered…

- Chemist, like my father and uncle, when I was in my first few years of high school

- Stage Manager – I did Standard Grade Drama in third year and ended up as stage manager on the exam production, and decided then that I wanted to go to theatre school. By some miracle I actually got into one in London and was there for two years. By the end of the course, however, there were a lot of problems with that particular college in terms of staffing, funding etc. so that most of what we paid for was not delivered, and I was so pissed off that in my last week there, I grabbed a copy of The Stage and just plunked for the first non-theatre job I could see. Ended up going for an advert that said ‘do you want to go topless in London?’. So yes, I ended up working as a tour guide on open topped buses

- Archaeologist – my other idea just before I left theatre college was to do a degree in Egyptology at UCL. I actually applied, only I got a letter months later saying my application had been cancelled, as my tutor at theatre college hadn't bothered to forward the reference to the application people.

- Degree in French – that was my back up option if I didn’t get into the theatre course.

- (and this one is a laugh) Composer. I did honestly consider a postgraduate course in composition at the Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. I also nearly thought about becoming a professional clarinettist. If you heard me play nowadays you would know why that is funny.

- Actress – I have done a couple of amateur things and did do two auditions in London, neither of which I got. That wasn’t really a career choice though to be honest. Just something I thought I’d try.

- Writer – I wanted to be a published writer since I was in high school, maybe even earlier than that, and my plan was that I would find a job I enjoyed to pay my bills while I worked on getting established and published. I used to submit loads of script ideas to the BBC and other companies and got some really helpful advice from an agent down south. My only novel was an original fantasy thing and I tried for years to get someone to look at it, but only got an offer on a part-subsidised deal, which I couldn’t afford. Although that’s still at the back of my mind as my ideal career, I think I know now, from feedback on my fan fic particularly, that it is a silly idea.

I have a lot of things, I just realised. But I think that’s mainly because I am pretty mediocre at most things Haven’t actually found something yet that I can be good at, though I am still sort of hoping that law will turn out to be my forte.

[Aerin]

Don't worry Jess, you will find your thing.

I think I want to be a Massage Therapist. I have no problem with other people's bodies, just my own!

[Viv]

When I was a kid, I wanted to be President or a Bounty Hunter like the dude on "Fall Guy" (very forgettable tv show). The presidential dream stuck around for a while, then morphed into International Spy... I took four years of Russian, read Tom Clancy studiously, and talked to some folks from the state department.

I ended up getting an English degree and now manage editorial for a small publishing company. Degree and career mesh nicely, but they're a long way from excitement and adventure I dreamed about as a child.

[Amlee]

Really I am doing just what I want.

Growing up I wanted to travel, help people, and make money.

So the best way for me to do that was to open my own Travel Agency.

So I get to travel to different locations. Help people realize that they can take that dream trip and I make money in the process.

[sindohte]

Thanks Viv for reminding me about my other possible career choice - criminal profiler. I seriously considered trying to get a job with the FBI's ViCAP. Now that would have been the ultimate dream job. And likely I would have run into BB while hanging around in Quantico

[DreadLadyFreya]

Currently: Mom to two wonderful little boys and Administrative Assistant - actually there's not that much difference between the two, lots of hand-holding, cleaning up after others' messes, dealing with juveniles. . .

What I wanted to be when I "grew up" (still waiting for that whole growing up thing ):
Astronaut - wanted to be the first woman in space -- then I found out you have to at least be competent in mathmatics and science
Veterinarian - yep, wanted to be able to help all those strays I kept bringing home -- but there, again, was that science spectre
Teacher - actually got my degree in Early Childhood Education and taught preschool for a couple of years, then reality reared its ugly head & I realized I couldn't live on what I was paid (not to worry, I won't get on THAT soap box, for now)
Mom - the best job in the whole world (at least in my humble opinion), and no math or science! (except multiplication and basic biology

[Philia]

Current: doing German & British studies at uni (and NO clue what's going to come after that!)

Also considered:
- veterinare (okay I was 9 when I wanted to become that It seemed so lovely to me, all those fluffy animals ... it was only later I realised I had to do surgeries on them as well )

- architect (my father's an architect so it kinda runs in the family)

- reporter (actually I STILL see that as an opportunity)

- graphics designer


And what do I want to do after my studies? My biggest dream has always been to become a writer, to publish novels. But I think I lack talent . I'd also love to be a tutor at uni ...

[SpaceWeavil]

I’d love to be mum, though I think my own mother would disown me for saying that. she’s told me she does not under any circumstances want grandchildren. I don’t know why. Even if I could ever get married or whatever though I’d be too scared to be a parent. I’d be terrified I’d stuff it up.

[Yavanie]

The great thing about being a parent is that as long as you do it with unconditional love THEY don't know when you think you've "messed up"! It's a wonderful experiment to live through (and yes there are days I wish I could find their off switches, but alas, they didn't come with user manuals!).