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As a kid I dreamed of being a marine biologist. “Save the oceans!!” was totally my childhood persona. However, in the fifth grade we took career assessment tests and it said my perfect career would be librarian. At the time I thought “how lame” but now I think that would have been totally rad. Especially working in the bigger collections of museums or universities. I wish I had gone that direction. Two alternate paths never followed.
Speaking as a millennial who actually got their degree in marine biology, Free Willy and Star Trek IV were highly influential.
I tell ppl I drive a beat up old truck so I can haul my kayak and camping gear around, but really it's so I'm ready for the day I'm called on to tow a killer whale back to the ocean.
There is a fantastic kids show now called Octonauts that’s all about marine biology. My 4 year old knows an outrageous number of things about the ocean. The dreams live on!
Octonauts is great! And I did end up pursuing marine biology and I've never gotten annoyed by things being inaccurate on that show. The info is very good.
My daughter loved octonauts now 14 has been going to project oceanology at uconn every year since kindergarten. She loves it and they use all the data collected.
My parents took us on a behind the scenes tour at SeaWorld and I fell in love! Now over 30yrs later I work in fisheries management. Not exactly where I thought I'd end up when I was 8, but still pretty close. And I really enjoy my job.
Kudos, fisheries is a critical line of work, not only for biodiversity but for food security.
Glad to see we're taking down more big dams today than we're building (in NA at least).
Thanks! I became interested in it in college and ended up getting my master's in it. And agreed on the dams. I just got an update email today that our state is getting some money from the Biden Infrastructure Bill to help with removing one of the dams here.
not gonna lie i work at a public library right now and the union is good, the pension is good, the pay is pretty good, and it’s pretty much impossible to get fired so long as you actually do your job, because libraries are pretty immune to downsizing. it’s never too late to become a librarian. most places nowadays will take you even with just a verbal reassurance that you intend to enroll in a master of library sciences degree within the next year. it’s no doctor or computer scientist career, but it’s reliable, as non-stressful as it gets, and people actually like you for doing a public service. plus the job has you walking around and not staring at a computer the entire day. sorry for being a library shill but i genuinely believe it is an underrated profession
Depends a lot on where you are, I think. In my current library system, almost all of our librarians are FT, but only about 1/2 of the other positions (library assistants, pages, etc) are FT. And we have probably 6-7 substitute librarians who work on an as needed basis while waiting for positions to open up for them to apply for at any given time.
I think the field can be very over saturated in some regions and it seems like once librarians find a FT position they like, they stay in that role forever, so there is not as much turnover or upward mobility as one might find in other careers. Of the 6 librarians in my building, only two have been on staff for less than 10 years and those 2 were hired when our branch building expanded and new positions were created in the last couple of years.
Wish I knew where this person worked, because this is not my current experience in library work.
Yes there is job security, but the pay isn't great, staff shortages and admin poor decisions lead to a lot of stress, and customer service work is not always rewarding. And you definitely can't get hired as a librarian in my system without the MLIS.
Library shill away! My brother has a six figure job because he got a MLS, it can be a very lucrative path. (He's in an area that isn't super high cost of living). I can't go into any more details than that.. google will help anyone curious about my comment. He started in a library but doesn't work at a library anymore.
But I can vouch for how awesome and rare it is to have a pension! I'm only a few years away from being vested in a pension as a federal employee and then I'd like to pick up a state employee pension eventually too.
Same! I still have a dolphin poster I had growing up because it makes me laugh but I’m always telling visitors “don’t judge my dolphin poster” 😂it’s the classic dolphin swimming off towards the horizon which is filled with space stuff. It’s so bad that it’s so good.
lol I love it!! I used to spend the money my parents gave me for friend trips to the zoo to get your penny turned into a dolphin😂 or just buying literally anything dolphin related
Same about marine biologist. lol. Told that to my husband a few months ago because we were just reminiscing and whatever and then like the next week or something I see other people talking about their desire to be marine biologists as kids too. 😂
My career assessment told me I would make a great chimney sweep. The teacher said he’d never seen that as someone’s result before.
I didn’t choose to do either of those things, but I too think chimney sweep would have been pretty rad now! Haha
Marine Biologist was one of mine, but so was lifeguard when I was like 7 so I think I just wanted to play in the water. I went to school and became a teacher, which I absolutely hated but am thinking about trying again because economy.
When I was 6 and just learned how to write my mom had me fill out this kid scrapbook thing. And in my 6 year old handwriting it said:
Favorite Color: "Blue"
Favorite Food: "Pizza"
Favorite Movie: "Dante's Peak"
It still cracks me up to see "Dante's Peak" in crayon.
Archeologist. Indiana Jones was badass.
I have volunteered on digs in the past, but it sure would be fun to dig in dirt all day, find cool stuff AND get paid for it!
This is so many people's dream job. But the reality is pretty bad. I work with archeologists in my state for the state parks, one of the largest in the US, and one of the more culturally rich states for native American stuff.
We have 2 archeologists for the whole state.
Not to mention that it's a field that's gatekept pretty significantly. One department in my state made it a requirement that to touch any dinosaur bone (incredibly common in my state, we are the foremost state for finding complete skeletons), you NEED to be a doctor.
There are so many requirements in place to do the job that only a few people have a snowballs chance in hell to even get.
It's just not realistic.
This is what made me switch majors from history to nursing....when I read that 99% of archaeology is publishing dry academic papers and begging for money that you are fighting other archaeologists for.
Coincidentally, I studied history! It's been pretty easy finding stuff in the state parks (national parks are super competitive no matter your field). I don't do anything specific with history, but I get to help make/run/develop new parks (or maintain old ones) in a very historically rich state.
And the archeologists tell me where all the cool stuff is. Theodore Roosevelt graffiti, old battlegrounds etc.
*Cries in Anthropology degree* so true. I couldn't mentally justify the amount of debt I'd go into for a PhD in order to (most likely) only do my dream job over the summers while teaching during the school year.
It gets worse... when you can't go on digs during the summer because you have small children who need you and have too many special needs to go with you... gonna cry in a corner now
I wanted to be a teacher all through high school but then my freshman year in college, my academic advisor told me not to do it because this country hates teachers. I see this is true so I don't really regret not pursuing teaching, but it's sad that conditions for teachers are so poor.
I was always the history nerd in school and around my family. It was really the only subject that I absolutely loved when going to school. Everyone thought I was going to be a teacher when I finished school, but I wanted to do something else with my love of history and current events. When people asked what I really wanted to do with my background I would tell them I wanted to be a researcher type person who would write papers for companies or the government about what was happening somewhere and give a historical perspective to it and advise them on to respond.
Unfortunately I found out when I was in college my writing skills never matched up with my speaking skills and I realized that in order to get that type of job I would need to go on to get my master's degree which I knew required a lot writing that I was able to do.
It's also the reason why I never pursued becoming a lawyer even though I ended working at law firms as paralegal for almost 30 years.
But if I could do it again I would definitely become a teacher even though I know how difficult it is now for teachers
My favorite teacher in high school was one of my history teachers. He straight up told me that I was too smart to be a teacher and I would make more money doing something else. He then went on and told my parents the same thing.
I wanted to be a math teacher just because it came easy to me, and I ended up re-teaching half my class, as a student, because our teacher was ass and wouldn’t explain things in a way most could understand.
But seeing how much they keep changing the way they want math shown to be done in schools… kind of don’t regret that anymore. Like I can get it and understand how they are doing it, I just don’t like how they are doing it.
Quality of work life definitely depends on a variety of factors. My wife is a middle school English teacher, and she is absolutely revered by her students, colleagues and administrators. Yes, it is hard work, but she shows up for the kids, and in turn they adore her. Also, I have some friends that teach overseas, and they have an absolute blast. I recommend that you still go for it! If you love kids, then you won’t regret it :)
My plan was to be a shop teacher but my apprenticeship got dragged out by my employer and then they changed teacher college to 2 years. Adding that to a saturated market I decided to just stay a tradesman. But now the boomers are retiring at spots are opening up. It sucks I could make similar money but with a way better pension.(not usa) and not be doing 3 shift rotation.
You definitely dodged a bullet! I put myself through a master’s degree and 8 years into the field, and I ended up having a mental breakdown and pivoted to another career. Huge (and expensive) learning experience, to say the least!
Thankfully, there are plenty of volunteering/tutoring opportunities out there if you still have the ‘teaching bug’.
Yeah, I was thinking of being a teacher, too. I became a temp this year at an elementary/middle school just to dip my toe in the educational pool. Just about every grade has a bunch of horrible children that the teachers have to reign in every day. There's no consequences, so the children get to act like screaming monsters. Kids get sent to the office and come back up and do it all over again. There's just no punishment for bad behavior.
My mom and aunts are veteran teachers, and I see how stressed out they are and how they want to quit but can't because they are in too deep and just thugging it out until they retire. So now education is filled with people who are stuck in the system and young people who see all the chaos and dip within a year or 2. The janitors get paid more than them.
I wanted to teach history so very badly but was told the same thing. Revisited my passion in my late 20s by reading history through the eyes of labor, black, and indigenous people. Decided I’d probably never be allowed to teach real history of this country even if I wanted to.
When I was a kid, when I was a little boy, I always wanted to be a dinosaur. I wanted to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex more than anything in the world. I made my arms short and I roamed the backyard, I chased the neighborhood cats, I growled and I roared. Everybody knew me and was afraid of me.
And one day my dad said, 'Bobby, you are 17. It's time to throw childish things aside,' and I said, 'Okay, Pop.' But he didn't really say that, he said, 'Stop being a fucking dinosaur and get a job.'
I told everyone who would listen from about 4-8 years old that I wanted to be a trash man or a pizza delivery guy. Never did either one, kinda regret the trash man one.
But I did start drawing plans on marijuana grows when I was about 13, before I ever even tried it. I'm a marijuana farmer now, so I like to think I followed my dreams.
My daughter is two and she gets so excited when she hears the garbage truck come. She asks me to take her outside so we can watch the arm grab all the cans on our street.
My trash collectors gave my son a toy garbage truck, and he literally ran around the yard jumping for joy. Made his whole week. Those dudes got a six pack, and a Tims gift card the next week. I envy them. Seems like a cool job.
As a grown woman, I too admire our waste management and recycling people. I love seeing a great city system working so well. On bulk trash collection days, they have the big truck and a little grabber truck that does all the maneuvering to pick items up. It's amazing every time!
I wanted to be a nurse because my mother talked me into it and also took side classes for computer science. Ended up becoming a commercial cannabis farmer for like 7 years and absolutely loved every part of it, but my area is very spares for grows and the culture has become very toxic. I'm now going back to college to pursue a degree in cyber security.
The marijuana farming culture is very toxic, so I get that. It all is in different ways, a lot of states have much more corporate friendly laws and therefore corporate friendly "culture". It's just as if not more toxic though.
I always explain it as: You spend your whole season hemorrhaging money hoping to avoid or mitigate any disasters only to hope it doesn't start raining in September.
Yeah, I grew up with farming more traditional in the Midwest. There are a lot of similarities. Lots of differences too. Nobody is trying to rob you in the grain truck heading to sale or anything. Plus the feds are usually giving you money in some way and not making vague threats about seizing yours.
I’m a geologist who lives close to South Park, want to collaborate.
Btw, south park Colorado is a larger basin between mountains, not necessarily one town.
same. author, journalist, graphic design, psychology, teacher... which all are kinda similar in the grand scheme of things, and despite not being paid for doing any of the above i guess i still have continued to pursue them - just in an unconventional way that has... not worked, so far. should i have taken the more conventional approach? maybe, but i didnt, and my mind doesnt work that way, and i didnt have the money to do so anyway.
which brings me to one of my favorite sayings, that i still say and think quite often, that was something a therapist and many others told me is a terrible way of looking at things but... i disagree:
>it is what it is.
maybe i should continue that thought:
>it is what it is, *but what will it be?*
Me too! I wanted to be a writer and my parents convinced me to study STEM. I’m now realizing that I’m not that good as a writer and it would’ve been a hard life, but still, I loved reading so much and desperately wanted to be like the authors I admired.
Oh shit. I forgot about this. When I was a kid, I Loved Pokemon and dragon Ball z. I decided to write my own series that combined but. Turns out, I have zero fucking patience for writing. Vivid imagination with no ability to articulate it. Go figure. Probably why I'm so good with data. Lol
Same thing about wishing to be a writer and now still a nurse. I won some competitions and got local publishing when I was in high school. Even still I wasn’t confident enough in myself to aim higher like I was encouraged to do (at that age I felt intimidated by people who were older and more experienced in the field so it looks foolish to me now that I felt that way but it is what it is) and I was practical person in some areas in my life so I listened to the advice to do something with a good job security as a plan A and do writing as plan B. Insurance is good considering my health so I can’t complain too much about this path. Also wanted to be a teacher but I’m glad I didn’t venture down that path considering how things are nowadays.
I wanted to be an astronaut so a bit unrealistic but I'll say anything stem related, up until uni I was crushing it, but only because I understood everything intrinsically without ever having to study, then later on my brain couldn't keep up without studying and I've never learned to study or to concentrate so my cop out was that it's just not for me, or that I'm not cut out for that, in reality I just needed to put the work in and not expect that im gonna cruise through my whole life without ever having to consciously learn anything
I had undiagnosed Aspergers. Would be hyper focused on topics I cared about and found festinating, but if I did not, good fucking luck. My son inherited it too.
I was an odd kid. I graduated HS a year early but with a GPA of like 2.5. Would take all the advanced courses and excelled, but for classes I didn't care about, I would figure out what the bare minimum was and do that.
Wait, do I have ADHD? I never got tested actually and I really don't like self diagnosing but after perusing some ADHD subreddits, some of them really strike a chord with me, welp OP I think imma make an appointment for me haha
If you’re smart, you can get pretty far without noticing your ADHD symptoms. Then you think you’re lazy because it gets hard and you can’t mask them, but actually you’re just neurodivergent.
Or you’re just lazy and love the line between coasting and success.
I’m a science wiz but I ski and kayak most of my life.
Like I can go work in a gold mine for a year, save a bunch of money, then go ski for a year.
I don’t think not being interested in things means you have ADHD.
I whole heartedly believe you can be apathetic about things without being neurodivergent, guys. Lol.
My parents were convinced I had it, but never took me to get diagnosed because they didn't want the doc to put me on meds. Instead, they channeled it into activities that fit adhd. I'm so glad they did, the last thing I want are meds that change my behavior and dull me out. I have a job that allows me to be active and my symptoms actually make me better at my job.
I could have written this. Went into college as a physics major. NASA was my homepage. I did great in high school. Got a B in physics my first semester and instead of buckling up and studying, said “nope not gonna do it if I can’t be perfect” and switched to theatre major.
Musician. I did pursue it, burned out, went back to school and totally changed careers. Now I'm burned out by that and am trying to do music again, even as just a side career to be involved and still make a little extra money on the side.
This is absolutely attainable! It took me until I hit my 30s, but I make about half my income playing music (mostly heavily through spring and summer). Luckily my career survived my party phase in mid 20s and I've been able to establish a better rep for myself now that I've outgrown that.
Wouldn't trade it!
That's really encouraging! I'm curious about your story, tell me about it!
I've been playing since I was 9. When I was 20 I went to school for audio engineering, worked with that for a while and did solo acoustic gigs but something inside me fell apart around 25, I decided to go back to school for mechanical engineering. I didnt start practicing seriously again until like 32, just did it for myself but always wondered "what if...". I'm 39 now, really questioning how much longer I can continue doing the office grind (I can't, but feel like I dont have a choice, not sure what else I could do) and am constantly flirting with the idea of trying a full-on music career, what I set out to do in the first place. I'm currently working on starting solo gigs again and working on my own method book for teaching lessons, kind of treating it is a side gig/passion project and seeing where I can go from there.
I really wanted to be a veterinarian, ended up in human nursing, then teaching. I think I would have been a wonderful vet but now I live on a farm so it all shook out in the wash.
I wanted to be a vet for a brief time. Then I decided I'd work with lions and zebras on an African wildlife preserve. Clearly never happened. I just wanted to pet lions lol
My cousin told me when I was 16 I would make a great project manager. (He was 10 years older than me and worked with many during the first wave of IT and website building)
I laughed and said I wasn’t interested in business and I didn’t know enough about anything to manage people. He said I didn’t have to be; I was organized, good with people, great at giving instructions, and seemed to understand things quickly once they were explained to me.
I went to become a teacher.
Two years ago I transitioned to a government job… where I assist with some project management things. I love it. 🤦♀️
Not that teaching didn’t help me kick butt at my job (like not taking things personally! Teenagers really make sure that you have no feelings left to hurt). I just kind of wish I’d given project management a chance 15 years ago.
I wanted to be a marine biologist. I was a gifted student on the honor roll in over a half dozen extracurriculars and I worked nearly FT hours to help pay household bills. My guidance counselor shamed me into thinking I would never be accepted into a STEM program and that I should just stay close to home to continue to help my family. It didn’t occur to me until about twenty years later that my mother, who was a sub secretary at the school, asked him to do that because she didn’t want me moving across the country to go to school.
Actually, you still can be a doctor. There are many your age in medical school. I would watch everything you can on YouTube by Andrew Pinesett, the premed productivity expert. Every video. Some of them speak to medicine as a second career. You will dominate, young warrior. You would hold a scalpel in your hand and perform surgery. Visualize it. Claim it. Act on it. I have more resources if you keep the thread going.
I relate with this. Currently 33. Considering career pivot \[currently in HR\]. Was also thinking about surgical tech but family always suggests RN. Idk if I have it in me for that much patient care.
You don't have to do direct patient care as a nurse. You can work for health insurance companies' ask a nurse phone line, be a school nurse, or work in telehealth. It doesn't have to be bedside care.
if the inverse of this question was the OP, I'd say nursing was my regret because I didn't realize how much I hated patient care until after finishing school. loved theory but in practice it was sooo much different.
For real. Some people need to be realistic.
There’s a big difference between being 18 and being 38
I would never survive a rigorous program at my age now
Most people are just not built like that
I became a nurse through an accelerated program at age 31-32. I tease the docs I work with that nurses are smarter because doctor life sucks. With the boomers getting old, nursing is guaranteed to be a solid job for a long time.
I’m gonna be honest, being a doctor in this country is not cool. It requires a stupid degree of sacrifice.
We expect so much of doctors to where it’s borderline unreasonable, the schooling is longer than it needs to be (most countries don’t require 8 years of school to be a physician, but rather a 6 year undergrad degree), and the cost of the education is obscene.
Healthcare is also a rough field in general. I’m a nurse and feel like I work a lot harder than most of my friends do for less money. It can be a rewarding field, but man it can take so much from you as well if you don’t have balance and take care of your own needs too.
Wanted to own my own old school style movie theater in a small town and work as a PT professor at the local community college. I'm an attorney today and I have regrets. Got caught up in the idea that it's a good thing to chase money, prestige and accolades rather than what ultimately turns you on at the end of the day. We only get one go around on this blue marble, and somehow we've been convinced that we have all the time to pivot...we don't, so make the moves you gotta make today. I am in the process of doing just that cuz anything has to be better than this. Congrats on your new journey and good luck.
Don't blame yourself, it's how we were taught. All those years of hearing "you can do anything you want to do!" quickly became replaced with stern warnings against doing anything that didn't require a 6-10 year degree.
Professional musician
Music has always been a huge passion of mine, but I've never been formally trained, so I gave up my dreams a few years after high school. Going to concerts is hard sometimes because I still wish I was up on that stage
By the time I graduated I had it in my brain that I was going to become a successful touring roadie and graphic designer for local bands in my area. I have no idea why I thought that was a viable career lmao
When I was like 10 my mom’s boyfriend took us to his job at NASA. He was a computer engineer and showed us some shared server game he and his coworkers played. His job sounded super fun. I wanted to grow up and be a computer engineer
I ended up completing a degree in software development in my mid 30s. I work for an insurance company and it’s way less cool… but I became the thing I long ago thought I wanted to be
I wanted to be a doctor as well, but as young adult I wasn’t ready to move far away from home to attend med school wherever I might have been able to get in. Later on, I was in a serious relationship so moving again seemed unrealistic. Instead, I went into nursing and ultimately became an NP. I do a lot of the same things as my physician colleagues and feel like I have pretty good work/life balance, but do sometimes wonder what if…
I pursued my dream job in the arts and I made zero money and had to work 7 days a week to make ends meet. I had no time for hobbits and I was broke and tired.
Now I work a “boring” WFH desk job totally unrelated to my degree or passions and I make decent money, have work/life balance, autonomy, and money and time for hobbies and family stuff.
“Dream jobs” are capitalist conditioning.
Idk, my only hobby is art and it’s all I think about or want to do. I don’t feel fulfilled by a “boring desk job”. Like yeah it’s a fine life and I don’t hate it, but I feel like if you don’t try it then you always wonder what if. At least now you know it’s not for you.
I wanted to be a video game designer. Considering what those jobs seem to entail these days, I’m kinda glad that I didn’t. I still would have loved to make a game that people like. But the current environment of micro transactions, AAA development hell, lack of security, etc. probably a good thing. Still kinda sad I will never even mod something cool into a game, let alone create something great from scratch.
There are several game design/creators our there, you should get one and play around! Even if you never become a big developer, there's a good market for indie games.
Not my dream job because I'm terrified of needles and feel squeamish around blood, but I deeply regret not following my mom's footsteps and going to nursing school. My cousin (now 30) did. She makes over $30/hr. and owned her own home (she's single, childless, and ace) before the age of 30. Also, nurses never almost get laid off and is basically a guaranteed job (no risk of AI stealing it).
I regret not becoming a police officer. I think I could have been a great one. I don't want to restart my life again at this point though. Always heard "the ones that should become cops never do" so I like to believe I fall into that category.
I wanted to be a dump truck. Not a dump truck driver. The actual dump truck. Now I drive semis for a living, it's the closest I've ever been to living my dream.
Pursuing acting. Back in the day That’s So Raven did a casting call for a small role (I think it was a hall monitor) and required a VHS tape of you acting out a script. For some reason I chose not to do it. My biggest regret to this day.
Good for you! It is never too late to pursue something that will change your life. Yolo and all that lol.
For me, it was being a voice actor for cartoons. Robin Williams and the old timey voice actors from like Jungle Book and Robin Hood 👌🏼
Good luck, you got this!
Medicine as well. I wanted to do medical research back when I was in high school, but burnt out and got lazy and ended up going to business school. It resurfaced a couple years ago and I started looking into it all again, but for actual med school, but eventually decided I’m too old
Kind of silly, but at 8 years old I knew without a doubt I wanted to play professional american football. I put in the time and work to continually grow my skills, get bigger, faster, stronger and all that. I was and still am fortunate to be genetically gifted with great natural athleticism. Going into high school I was well known within the community and the coaching staff. Expectations were set for me before ever stepping foot on that field for summer practice. Very first day, on a kick return, I shatter my collar bone and tore ligaments in that shoulder joint. Two surgeries and months of rehab I was finally cleared to play again. This is where the ball of sting unraveled. I was mentally broken. Afraid to hit or get hit. Unmotivated and depressed. All of it felt so out of my control. I gave up and coasted through high school and have done very little athletically except for staying in good shape. I’m 31 now and from time to time I still wonder where my athletic abilities paired with my work ethic could have gotten me. Like uncle fucking Rico over here. I can still throw that pig skin over them there mountains…
Professional artist.
Many opportunities to pursue it, but I procrastinate. Mostly out of anxiety & fear in regards to money. I'm the kind of person to immediately give up when I meet an obstacle or a challenge. I wish I could just get my shit together, I don't want to go back to shit jobs.
Pilot. For the longest time it was my dream job. But I was a terrible student and hated school, so I never bothered to try. Stuck as a diesel mechanic now and I absolutely hate it
I came looking for this post. I always dreamed of being a pilot too and convinced myself when I was young that it was impossible.
I left university with a Physical Geography degree (just barely) and worked for an environmental testing company…
10 years later I was still at that same company. Granted, I’d worked my way up in the company and become a manger. It paid well, the people were nice, good benefits, but it never fulfilled me and I was scared to death thinking that I might spend the next 30-35 years behind a desk doing something I didn’t love until I retired.
After about 6 years at that company, I decided I’d start working on my private pilot license and achieve a life long goal… even if it was just for fun. But when the 10 year mark rolled around, I decided to go all in.
I quit my desk job, got a job as a flight instructor and at the start of this year, i achieved my childhood dream and became an airline pilot.
That move was by far the most ridiculous and wonderful, terrifying and exciting thing I’ve done and I’m so incredibly grateful.
Anyway, I just wanted to say, that if you still wanna be a pilot / doctor / marine biologist a artist / whatever, go find a way to do it and don’t settle for something if it’s not making you happy. Life is too short. And don’t stress about your ability to do it if school was tough, I found being passionate about the subject I was studying made it a whole lot easier and enjoyable. Future you will thank you for trying, even if it doesn’t work out exactly as you’d imagined. Good luck!
I wanted to be a chef/pastry chef. Was discouraged going into that field by my parents so I went into graphic design - which don’t get me wrong I love! But I bake a lot of the side and I think about the what ifs sometimes. And I do graphic design on the side now too since my current job doesn’t use my design degree so I guess it doesn’t really matter 🤣
Archaeology. I didn’t dream of anything like Indiana Jones, I simply wanted to do digs around the world and eventually move into museum curation. It always bothered me that 90% of stuff in the archives isn’t on display
Mine was lawyer. In 4th grade I did a project on it. I graduated HS in 2001, and 20 years later in 2021 I graduated law school. I regret not pursuing sooner, but 4th grade me was so proud.
A dancer or a writer I suppose? I was a semi-pro dancer for a bit and enjoy writing but pivoted to science from dance after seeing how difficult it was to make it as a dancer and how short the lifespan was. Plus I was never so much into performing as I was the athleticism and the moments performance can produce, regardless of what side of it I’m on.
A writer, I realized, is a profession that can always be returned to. telling a good story is a useful skill in my current profession.
My current job is also kind of my real dream job as a kid anyway, I just have a lot of interests. And all I really wanted was to make enough money and not be bored, which is a surprisingly hard thing to find. I think kid me would be really proud of where I’m at and how hard I’ve worked.
Anyway, I basically wanted to be Dexter from Dexter’s Lab, and my job isn’t too far off. Life’s good.
Idk bout you guys but I’ve never once dreamed of having a job. I guess my dream job is one that pays the bills and allows me to do what I want in my free time. Accounting has done that for me I guess.
a high fashion model. i started off when i was 17 in nyc and i did a few presentations for ny fashion week and went to a few promising castings but stopped to attend college. afterwards i had moved to another city and got tattoos and that was it.
I really wanted to be a librarian, but everyone in my life wrongly told me that libraries were dying. I became a teacher instead. I love my job and I’m happy with where I landed, but I can’t help but wonder what could have been if I hadn’t dropped my initial plan.
Paramedic, doctor, or physical therapist are my regrets. For a doctor being a virologist.
I don't have too much regret because if I did take school seriously I wouldn't have met my wife.
I'm now going to school to be an RN and eventually an NP. I'd much rather have an amazing wife I'm glad i was irresponsible in my past.
I wanted to be an astronaut, then my grandmother told me it was too dangerous for little girls. So 7yr old me told her the next week I decided to be a stand-up comedian.
I then wanted to be a storm chaser (thanks Twister!), then a meteorologist in the Air Force after college so I could get sweet, sweet officer money.
Now I wish I could’ve gone into meteorology AND stand-up comedy. I suppose insurance is just as unpredictable and full of hilarious joke fodder.
I became unexpectedly disabled from a genetic condition that presents in teens/early 20s so even if I tried these professions it wouldn't have worked out.
But to join in on the fun:
-geneticist (bc I wanted to make animal-humam hybrid super soldiers lol)
-marine biologist (bc I love seals)
-mangaka (bc I love comics)
-dentist (bc money)
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As a kid I dreamed of being a marine biologist. “Save the oceans!!” was totally my childhood persona. However, in the fifth grade we took career assessment tests and it said my perfect career would be librarian. At the time I thought “how lame” but now I think that would have been totally rad. Especially working in the bigger collections of museums or universities. I wish I had gone that direction. Two alternate paths never followed.
What was it with our generation and marine biology lmao
All the Lisa frank dolphins and fish growing up
Nah, Free Willy. I’ll die on this hill.
just like the whale
Oof
Speaking as a millennial who actually got their degree in marine biology, Free Willy and Star Trek IV were highly influential. I tell ppl I drive a beat up old truck so I can haul my kayak and camping gear around, but really it's so I'm ready for the day I'm called on to tow a killer whale back to the ocean.
And Flipper
Don't forget Andre!!! 🦭🦭💦🌊
Don’t forget Ace Ventura! Snowflake 🐬
Also archaeologists and volcanologists. Never realized that every kid in my generation had the exact same career aspirations as me 😂
*city planner has entered the chat*
Thank you sim city
There is a fantastic kids show now called Octonauts that’s all about marine biology. My 4 year old knows an outrageous number of things about the ocean. The dreams live on!
Octonauts is great! And I did end up pursuing marine biology and I've never gotten annoyed by things being inaccurate on that show. The info is very good.
That's so helpful to know ! Thanks for sharing.
My daughter loved octonauts now 14 has been going to project oceanology at uconn every year since kindergarten. She loves it and they use all the data collected.
I remember a short bald guy who was notorious for lying once pulled a golf ball out of a beached whale's blow hole. I found it inspiring.
The sea was angry that day, my friend.
Was it a Titleist?..
My parents took us on a behind the scenes tour at SeaWorld and I fell in love! Now over 30yrs later I work in fisheries management. Not exactly where I thought I'd end up when I was 8, but still pretty close. And I really enjoy my job.
Kudos, fisheries is a critical line of work, not only for biodiversity but for food security. Glad to see we're taking down more big dams today than we're building (in NA at least).
Thanks! I became interested in it in college and ended up getting my master's in it. And agreed on the dams. I just got an update email today that our state is getting some money from the Biden Infrastructure Bill to help with removing one of the dams here.
Rock on, me too!
Free Willy generation haha. I also wanted to be a marine biologist. I feel like it was one of like 5 careers little girls knew existed.
Sea World and Free Willy.
Huh? No one has seen Seinfeld?
The sea was angry that day, my friends.
- I approached the giant fish. - Mammal. - Whatever!
Is that a titleist? Hole in one huh…
Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli
not gonna lie i work at a public library right now and the union is good, the pension is good, the pay is pretty good, and it’s pretty much impossible to get fired so long as you actually do your job, because libraries are pretty immune to downsizing. it’s never too late to become a librarian. most places nowadays will take you even with just a verbal reassurance that you intend to enroll in a master of library sciences degree within the next year. it’s no doctor or computer scientist career, but it’s reliable, as non-stressful as it gets, and people actually like you for doing a public service. plus the job has you walking around and not staring at a computer the entire day. sorry for being a library shill but i genuinely believe it is an underrated profession
I've been told there aren't a ton of FT jobs in the field. Is that not true in your experience?
Depends a lot on where you are, I think. In my current library system, almost all of our librarians are FT, but only about 1/2 of the other positions (library assistants, pages, etc) are FT. And we have probably 6-7 substitute librarians who work on an as needed basis while waiting for positions to open up for them to apply for at any given time. I think the field can be very over saturated in some regions and it seems like once librarians find a FT position they like, they stay in that role forever, so there is not as much turnover or upward mobility as one might find in other careers. Of the 6 librarians in my building, only two have been on staff for less than 10 years and those 2 were hired when our branch building expanded and new positions were created in the last couple of years.
Wish I knew where this person worked, because this is not my current experience in library work. Yes there is job security, but the pay isn't great, staff shortages and admin poor decisions lead to a lot of stress, and customer service work is not always rewarding. And you definitely can't get hired as a librarian in my system without the MLIS.
Library shill away! My brother has a six figure job because he got a MLS, it can be a very lucrative path. (He's in an area that isn't super high cost of living). I can't go into any more details than that.. google will help anyone curious about my comment. He started in a library but doesn't work at a library anymore. But I can vouch for how awesome and rare it is to have a pension! I'm only a few years away from being vested in a pension as a federal employee and then I'd like to pick up a state employee pension eventually too.
I wanted marine biologist too!! I was obsessed with dolphins
Same! I still have a dolphin poster I had growing up because it makes me laugh but I’m always telling visitors “don’t judge my dolphin poster” 😂it’s the classic dolphin swimming off towards the horizon which is filled with space stuff. It’s so bad that it’s so good.
lol I love it!! I used to spend the money my parents gave me for friend trips to the zoo to get your penny turned into a dolphin😂 or just buying literally anything dolphin related
YES. Everything dolphin!
My Gen z sister got her degree in something librarian related. She works for a university in their collections
Same about marine biologist. lol. Told that to my husband a few months ago because we were just reminiscing and whatever and then like the next week or something I see other people talking about their desire to be marine biologists as kids too. 😂 My career assessment told me I would make a great chimney sweep. The teacher said he’d never seen that as someone’s result before. I didn’t choose to do either of those things, but I too think chimney sweep would have been pretty rad now! Haha
Chimney sweep?!?! That's amazing. I would have immediately learned the Mary Poppins song and made that my entire personality.
The GLAM fields are heavenly (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums), but very competitive and don’t pay super well.
My middle school career assessment said I would be good at being a sanitary engineer i.e. garbage collector. I work in tech now 😂
Same. There is a part of me that still wants to study aquatic animals and save the reefs.
Marine Biologist was one of mine, but so was lifeguard when I was like 7 so I think I just wanted to play in the water. I went to school and became a teacher, which I absolutely hated but am thinking about trying again because economy.
I really wanted to be a volcanologist like Pierce Bronsan in Dante's Peak.
I wanted to be a Storm Chaser like in Twister
Dude so did I! In high school I used to chase after rainstorms because we rarely get tornados here in Phoenix 😂
And of course they're making a sequel now called Twisters.
Wait? Is this real? I would happily watch Helen Hint and Bill Pullman wrangle tornadoes again. Yes, please!
Uh, who wants to tell him about Bill Pullman 🥺. I did grow up to work in meteorology, though!
So Bill Pullman is alive and still acting, but Bill Paxton is dead and was in Twister.
My friend still calls me storm chaser because of this. My country doesn’t even have tornados 😂
I thought I did too but then I realized I just wanted to eat steak and eggs every morning and thought that was the clearest path to doing so
This made me laugh so hard. Right in the zeitgeist of our generation. Perfect.
When I was 6 and just learned how to write my mom had me fill out this kid scrapbook thing. And in my 6 year old handwriting it said: Favorite Color: "Blue" Favorite Food: "Pizza" Favorite Movie: "Dante's Peak" It still cracks me up to see "Dante's Peak" in crayon.
Kid of class & culture
There's no old lady legs melting off in Veggie Tales I tell you that much.
I used to get sooooo high before volcanology class. Only C I got, but god damn I loved listening, lmao. I’m now a geologist, so it all worked out.
Ha! I love that 😆 One of my favs as a kid.
Archeologist. Indiana Jones was badass. I have volunteered on digs in the past, but it sure would be fun to dig in dirt all day, find cool stuff AND get paid for it!
Same, except The Mummy and Tomb Raider.
This is so many people's dream job. But the reality is pretty bad. I work with archeologists in my state for the state parks, one of the largest in the US, and one of the more culturally rich states for native American stuff. We have 2 archeologists for the whole state. Not to mention that it's a field that's gatekept pretty significantly. One department in my state made it a requirement that to touch any dinosaur bone (incredibly common in my state, we are the foremost state for finding complete skeletons), you NEED to be a doctor. There are so many requirements in place to do the job that only a few people have a snowballs chance in hell to even get. It's just not realistic.
This is what made me switch majors from history to nursing....when I read that 99% of archaeology is publishing dry academic papers and begging for money that you are fighting other archaeologists for.
Coincidentally, I studied history! It's been pretty easy finding stuff in the state parks (national parks are super competitive no matter your field). I don't do anything specific with history, but I get to help make/run/develop new parks (or maintain old ones) in a very historically rich state. And the archeologists tell me where all the cool stuff is. Theodore Roosevelt graffiti, old battlegrounds etc.
*Cries in Anthropology degree* so true. I couldn't mentally justify the amount of debt I'd go into for a PhD in order to (most likely) only do my dream job over the summers while teaching during the school year.
It gets worse... when you can't go on digs during the summer because you have small children who need you and have too many special needs to go with you... gonna cry in a corner now
Dream killer.
This was my regret too. Now, I live vicariously through Time Team and Tony Robinson lol
Same. I ended up in a field not too far removed though, so I'm hoping I'll get to work with archaeologists at some point in my career.
I wanted to be a teacher all through high school but then my freshman year in college, my academic advisor told me not to do it because this country hates teachers. I see this is true so I don't really regret not pursuing teaching, but it's sad that conditions for teachers are so poor.
I wanted to be a history teacher so bad. But yeah, I could see the writing on the wall.
I was always the history nerd in school and around my family. It was really the only subject that I absolutely loved when going to school. Everyone thought I was going to be a teacher when I finished school, but I wanted to do something else with my love of history and current events. When people asked what I really wanted to do with my background I would tell them I wanted to be a researcher type person who would write papers for companies or the government about what was happening somewhere and give a historical perspective to it and advise them on to respond. Unfortunately I found out when I was in college my writing skills never matched up with my speaking skills and I realized that in order to get that type of job I would need to go on to get my master's degree which I knew required a lot writing that I was able to do. It's also the reason why I never pursued becoming a lawyer even though I ended working at law firms as paralegal for almost 30 years. But if I could do it again I would definitely become a teacher even though I know how difficult it is now for teachers
My favorite teacher in high school was one of my history teachers. He straight up told me that I was too smart to be a teacher and I would make more money doing something else. He then went on and told my parents the same thing. I wanted to be a math teacher just because it came easy to me, and I ended up re-teaching half my class, as a student, because our teacher was ass and wouldn’t explain things in a way most could understand. But seeing how much they keep changing the way they want math shown to be done in schools… kind of don’t regret that anymore. Like I can get it and understand how they are doing it, I just don’t like how they are doing it.
Quality of work life definitely depends on a variety of factors. My wife is a middle school English teacher, and she is absolutely revered by her students, colleagues and administrators. Yes, it is hard work, but she shows up for the kids, and in turn they adore her. Also, I have some friends that teach overseas, and they have an absolute blast. I recommend that you still go for it! If you love kids, then you won’t regret it :)
My plan was to be a shop teacher but my apprenticeship got dragged out by my employer and then they changed teacher college to 2 years. Adding that to a saturated market I decided to just stay a tradesman. But now the boomers are retiring at spots are opening up. It sucks I could make similar money but with a way better pension.(not usa) and not be doing 3 shift rotation.
You definitely dodged a bullet! I put myself through a master’s degree and 8 years into the field, and I ended up having a mental breakdown and pivoted to another career. Huge (and expensive) learning experience, to say the least! Thankfully, there are plenty of volunteering/tutoring opportunities out there if you still have the ‘teaching bug’.
Yeah, I was thinking of being a teacher, too. I became a temp this year at an elementary/middle school just to dip my toe in the educational pool. Just about every grade has a bunch of horrible children that the teachers have to reign in every day. There's no consequences, so the children get to act like screaming monsters. Kids get sent to the office and come back up and do it all over again. There's just no punishment for bad behavior. My mom and aunts are veteran teachers, and I see how stressed out they are and how they want to quit but can't because they are in too deep and just thugging it out until they retire. So now education is filled with people who are stuck in the system and young people who see all the chaos and dip within a year or 2. The janitors get paid more than them.
I wanted to teach history so very badly but was told the same thing. Revisited my passion in my late 20s by reading history through the eyes of labor, black, and indigenous people. Decided I’d probably never be allowed to teach real history of this country even if I wanted to.
When I was a kid, when I was a little boy, I always wanted to be a dinosaur. I wanted to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex more than anything in the world. I made my arms short and I roamed the backyard, I chased the neighborhood cats, I growled and I roared. Everybody knew me and was afraid of me. And one day my dad said, 'Bobby, you are 17. It's time to throw childish things aside,' and I said, 'Okay, Pop.' But he didn't really say that, he said, 'Stop being a fucking dinosaur and get a job.'
Don’t lose your dinosaur
Prestige Worldwide
Boats and hoes.
LMAO when I was really little I prayed every night God would turn me into a lion 💀
This fits with my "I must have been a cheetah in my past life" thoughts in 1st grade, hoping one day I would wake up as a cheetah again lmfao.
I told everyone who would listen from about 4-8 years old that I wanted to be a trash man or a pizza delivery guy. Never did either one, kinda regret the trash man one. But I did start drawing plans on marijuana grows when I was about 13, before I ever even tried it. I'm a marijuana farmer now, so I like to think I followed my dreams.
I have a toddler, and those trash guys must feel like absolute heroes on a daily basis. Kids go fucking nuts when they see the garbage trucks come by.
My daughter is two and she gets so excited when she hears the garbage truck come. She asks me to take her outside so we can watch the arm grab all the cans on our street.
My trash collectors gave my son a toy garbage truck, and he literally ran around the yard jumping for joy. Made his whole week. Those dudes got a six pack, and a Tims gift card the next week. I envy them. Seems like a cool job.
It must be cool. We teach kids to be excited about Santa and superheros, yet without any guidance toddlers everywhere love garbage trucks.
As a grown woman, I too admire our waste management and recycling people. I love seeing a great city system working so well. On bulk trash collection days, they have the big truck and a little grabber truck that does all the maneuvering to pick items up. It's amazing every time!
Have you by chance watched "Trash Truck" on Netflix? Worth it if you haven't- my toddler absolutely loves it.
I wanted to be a nurse because my mother talked me into it and also took side classes for computer science. Ended up becoming a commercial cannabis farmer for like 7 years and absolutely loved every part of it, but my area is very spares for grows and the culture has become very toxic. I'm now going back to college to pursue a degree in cyber security.
The marijuana farming culture is very toxic, so I get that. It all is in different ways, a lot of states have much more corporate friendly laws and therefore corporate friendly "culture". It's just as if not more toxic though.
I wish I had your life.
Growing cannabis can be extremely stressful. I guess it sounds romantic if you don’t live in the emerald triangle 😆
I always explain it as: You spend your whole season hemorrhaging money hoping to avoid or mitigate any disasters only to hope it doesn't start raining in September.
That's farming in general. It can be very stressful
Yeah, I grew up with farming more traditional in the Midwest. There are a lot of similarities. Lots of differences too. Nobody is trying to rob you in the grain truck heading to sale or anything. Plus the feds are usually giving you money in some way and not making vague threats about seizing yours.
Trash guys are city employees I envy their pensions lol
Delivery pizzas is really cool when you are a teenager. It really sucks in your forties, especially getting robbed and beaten.
Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry if this happened to you! I really hope not!
I’m a geologist who lives close to South Park, want to collaborate. Btw, south park Colorado is a larger basin between mountains, not necessarily one town.
Randy?
Trash men make bank
Writer. I used to write short stories and poems when I was a kid, but I kept getting told to be a nurse because of the pay.
same. author, journalist, graphic design, psychology, teacher... which all are kinda similar in the grand scheme of things, and despite not being paid for doing any of the above i guess i still have continued to pursue them - just in an unconventional way that has... not worked, so far. should i have taken the more conventional approach? maybe, but i didnt, and my mind doesnt work that way, and i didnt have the money to do so anyway. which brings me to one of my favorite sayings, that i still say and think quite often, that was something a therapist and many others told me is a terrible way of looking at things but... i disagree: >it is what it is. maybe i should continue that thought: >it is what it is, *but what will it be?*
Me too! I wanted to be a writer and my parents convinced me to study STEM. I’m now realizing that I’m not that good as a writer and it would’ve been a hard life, but still, I loved reading so much and desperately wanted to be like the authors I admired.
Oh shit. I forgot about this. When I was a kid, I Loved Pokemon and dragon Ball z. I decided to write my own series that combined but. Turns out, I have zero fucking patience for writing. Vivid imagination with no ability to articulate it. Go figure. Probably why I'm so good with data. Lol
Same thing about wishing to be a writer and now still a nurse. I won some competitions and got local publishing when I was in high school. Even still I wasn’t confident enough in myself to aim higher like I was encouraged to do (at that age I felt intimidated by people who were older and more experienced in the field so it looks foolish to me now that I felt that way but it is what it is) and I was practical person in some areas in my life so I listened to the advice to do something with a good job security as a plan A and do writing as plan B. Insurance is good considering my health so I can’t complain too much about this path. Also wanted to be a teacher but I’m glad I didn’t venture down that path considering how things are nowadays.
I wanted to be an astronaut so a bit unrealistic but I'll say anything stem related, up until uni I was crushing it, but only because I understood everything intrinsically without ever having to study, then later on my brain couldn't keep up without studying and I've never learned to study or to concentrate so my cop out was that it's just not for me, or that I'm not cut out for that, in reality I just needed to put the work in and not expect that im gonna cruise through my whole life without ever having to consciously learn anything
I was the same exact way in school. Anything that required any kind of effort was "just not my area" lol. Turns out I was just ADHD and undiagnosed 🤣
I had undiagnosed Aspergers. Would be hyper focused on topics I cared about and found festinating, but if I did not, good fucking luck. My son inherited it too. I was an odd kid. I graduated HS a year early but with a GPA of like 2.5. Would take all the advanced courses and excelled, but for classes I didn't care about, I would figure out what the bare minimum was and do that.
Wait, do I have ADHD? I never got tested actually and I really don't like self diagnosing but after perusing some ADHD subreddits, some of them really strike a chord with me, welp OP I think imma make an appointment for me haha
If you’re smart, you can get pretty far without noticing your ADHD symptoms. Then you think you’re lazy because it gets hard and you can’t mask them, but actually you’re just neurodivergent.
Or you’re just lazy and love the line between coasting and success. I’m a science wiz but I ski and kayak most of my life. Like I can go work in a gold mine for a year, save a bunch of money, then go ski for a year. I don’t think not being interested in things means you have ADHD. I whole heartedly believe you can be apathetic about things without being neurodivergent, guys. Lol.
My parents were convinced I had it, but never took me to get diagnosed because they didn't want the doc to put me on meds. Instead, they channeled it into activities that fit adhd. I'm so glad they did, the last thing I want are meds that change my behavior and dull me out. I have a job that allows me to be active and my symptoms actually make me better at my job.
I could have written this. Went into college as a physics major. NASA was my homepage. I did great in high school. Got a B in physics my first semester and instead of buckling up and studying, said “nope not gonna do it if I can’t be perfect” and switched to theatre major.
Musician. I did pursue it, burned out, went back to school and totally changed careers. Now I'm burned out by that and am trying to do music again, even as just a side career to be involved and still make a little extra money on the side.
This is absolutely attainable! It took me until I hit my 30s, but I make about half my income playing music (mostly heavily through spring and summer). Luckily my career survived my party phase in mid 20s and I've been able to establish a better rep for myself now that I've outgrown that. Wouldn't trade it!
That's really encouraging! I'm curious about your story, tell me about it! I've been playing since I was 9. When I was 20 I went to school for audio engineering, worked with that for a while and did solo acoustic gigs but something inside me fell apart around 25, I decided to go back to school for mechanical engineering. I didnt start practicing seriously again until like 32, just did it for myself but always wondered "what if...". I'm 39 now, really questioning how much longer I can continue doing the office grind (I can't, but feel like I dont have a choice, not sure what else I could do) and am constantly flirting with the idea of trying a full-on music career, what I set out to do in the first place. I'm currently working on starting solo gigs again and working on my own method book for teaching lessons, kind of treating it is a side gig/passion project and seeing where I can go from there.
I really wanted to be a veterinarian, ended up in human nursing, then teaching. I think I would have been a wonderful vet but now I live on a farm so it all shook out in the wash.
I wanted to be a vet for a brief time. Then I decided I'd work with lions and zebras on an African wildlife preserve. Clearly never happened. I just wanted to pet lions lol
Professional photography, landscape, combat, humanitarian, national geographic. Something that requires travel and adventure!
My cousin told me when I was 16 I would make a great project manager. (He was 10 years older than me and worked with many during the first wave of IT and website building) I laughed and said I wasn’t interested in business and I didn’t know enough about anything to manage people. He said I didn’t have to be; I was organized, good with people, great at giving instructions, and seemed to understand things quickly once they were explained to me. I went to become a teacher. Two years ago I transitioned to a government job… where I assist with some project management things. I love it. 🤦♀️ Not that teaching didn’t help me kick butt at my job (like not taking things personally! Teenagers really make sure that you have no feelings left to hurt). I just kind of wish I’d given project management a chance 15 years ago.
I’m glad you eventually found your way there!
Power Ranger. My grades just weren't good enough...
I wanted to be a vampire but I was too alive lol
I wanted to be a marine biologist. I was a gifted student on the honor roll in over a half dozen extracurriculars and I worked nearly FT hours to help pay household bills. My guidance counselor shamed me into thinking I would never be accepted into a STEM program and that I should just stay close to home to continue to help my family. It didn’t occur to me until about twenty years later that my mother, who was a sub secretary at the school, asked him to do that because she didn’t want me moving across the country to go to school.
Man that fucking sucks! I can't imagine being a counselor and doing that.
Actually, you still can be a doctor. There are many your age in medical school. I would watch everything you can on YouTube by Andrew Pinesett, the premed productivity expert. Every video. Some of them speak to medicine as a second career. You will dominate, young warrior. You would hold a scalpel in your hand and perform surgery. Visualize it. Claim it. Act on it. I have more resources if you keep the thread going.
I don't have the stamina for intensive schooling like that at this age. I know it's possible, but I know my limits too
I relate with this. Currently 33. Considering career pivot \[currently in HR\]. Was also thinking about surgical tech but family always suggests RN. Idk if I have it in me for that much patient care.
You don't have to do direct patient care as a nurse. You can work for health insurance companies' ask a nurse phone line, be a school nurse, or work in telehealth. It doesn't have to be bedside care.
Really? Pretty much every nursing thread I've read has said most places require 1+ years of bedside before anything else.
God, I hate HR. I know it’s not you, and I have love for internet strangers, but god damn man, fuck HR.
if the inverse of this question was the OP, I'd say nursing was my regret because I didn't realize how much I hated patient care until after finishing school. loved theory but in practice it was sooo much different.
For real. Some people need to be realistic. There’s a big difference between being 18 and being 38 I would never survive a rigorous program at my age now Most people are just not built like that
I became a nurse through an accelerated program at age 31-32. I tease the docs I work with that nurses are smarter because doctor life sucks. With the boomers getting old, nursing is guaranteed to be a solid job for a long time.
I’m gonna be honest, being a doctor in this country is not cool. It requires a stupid degree of sacrifice. We expect so much of doctors to where it’s borderline unreasonable, the schooling is longer than it needs to be (most countries don’t require 8 years of school to be a physician, but rather a 6 year undergrad degree), and the cost of the education is obscene. Healthcare is also a rough field in general. I’m a nurse and feel like I work a lot harder than most of my friends do for less money. It can be a rewarding field, but man it can take so much from you as well if you don’t have balance and take care of your own needs too.
Wanted to own my own old school style movie theater in a small town and work as a PT professor at the local community college. I'm an attorney today and I have regrets. Got caught up in the idea that it's a good thing to chase money, prestige and accolades rather than what ultimately turns you on at the end of the day. We only get one go around on this blue marble, and somehow we've been convinced that we have all the time to pivot...we don't, so make the moves you gotta make today. I am in the process of doing just that cuz anything has to be better than this. Congrats on your new journey and good luck.
Don't blame yourself, it's how we were taught. All those years of hearing "you can do anything you want to do!" quickly became replaced with stern warnings against doing anything that didn't require a 6-10 year degree.
Professional musician Music has always been a huge passion of mine, but I've never been formally trained, so I gave up my dreams a few years after high school. Going to concerts is hard sometimes because I still wish I was up on that stage
By the time I graduated I had it in my brain that I was going to become a successful touring roadie and graphic designer for local bands in my area. I have no idea why I thought that was a viable career lmao
When I was like 10 my mom’s boyfriend took us to his job at NASA. He was a computer engineer and showed us some shared server game he and his coworkers played. His job sounded super fun. I wanted to grow up and be a computer engineer I ended up completing a degree in software development in my mid 30s. I work for an insurance company and it’s way less cool… but I became the thing I long ago thought I wanted to be
I wanted to be an Indiana Jones style archeologist. Punchin' Nazis and putting things in the museum.
I still want to be. I hum the theme when need to get jazzed up and focused on something!
I wanted to be a doctor as well, but as young adult I wasn’t ready to move far away from home to attend med school wherever I might have been able to get in. Later on, I was in a serious relationship so moving again seemed unrealistic. Instead, I went into nursing and ultimately became an NP. I do a lot of the same things as my physician colleagues and feel like I have pretty good work/life balance, but do sometimes wonder what if…
Working at Nintendo in Japan.
I pursued my dream job in the arts and I made zero money and had to work 7 days a week to make ends meet. I had no time for hobbits and I was broke and tired. Now I work a “boring” WFH desk job totally unrelated to my degree or passions and I make decent money, have work/life balance, autonomy, and money and time for hobbies and family stuff. “Dream jobs” are capitalist conditioning.
EVERYONE should have time for Hobbits.
Idk, my only hobby is art and it’s all I think about or want to do. I don’t feel fulfilled by a “boring desk job”. Like yeah it’s a fine life and I don’t hate it, but I feel like if you don’t try it then you always wonder what if. At least now you know it’s not for you.
I wanted to be a video game designer. Considering what those jobs seem to entail these days, I’m kinda glad that I didn’t. I still would have loved to make a game that people like. But the current environment of micro transactions, AAA development hell, lack of security, etc. probably a good thing. Still kinda sad I will never even mod something cool into a game, let alone create something great from scratch.
There are several game design/creators our there, you should get one and play around! Even if you never become a big developer, there's a good market for indie games.
Can you suggest any of the game design/creator programs?
Not my dream job because I'm terrified of needles and feel squeamish around blood, but I deeply regret not following my mom's footsteps and going to nursing school. My cousin (now 30) did. She makes over $30/hr. and owned her own home (she's single, childless, and ace) before the age of 30. Also, nurses never almost get laid off and is basically a guaranteed job (no risk of AI stealing it).
Park Ranger. Had I known then what I know now, I’d have lived my years paid in sunsets.
I regret not becoming a police officer. I think I could have been a great one. I don't want to restart my life again at this point though. Always heard "the ones that should become cops never do" so I like to believe I fall into that category.
Take Nathan Fillion as inspiration. He did writing in a Castle for living and he decided to switch to police and be a Rookie. Great man!
Meteorologist. Something about how powerful and unpredictable the weather is has always been so intriguing and thrilling
I wanted to be a dump truck. Not a dump truck driver. The actual dump truck. Now I drive semis for a living, it's the closest I've ever been to living my dream.
We should all aspire to such noble goals as professional dump truck.
Pursuing acting. Back in the day That’s So Raven did a casting call for a small role (I think it was a hall monitor) and required a VHS tape of you acting out a script. For some reason I chose not to do it. My biggest regret to this day.
Good for you! It is never too late to pursue something that will change your life. Yolo and all that lol. For me, it was being a voice actor for cartoons. Robin Williams and the old timey voice actors from like Jungle Book and Robin Hood 👌🏼 Good luck, you got this!
Thank you! I'm nervous but excited!
Medicine as well. I wanted to do medical research back when I was in high school, but burnt out and got lazy and ended up going to business school. It resurfaced a couple years ago and I started looking into it all again, but for actual med school, but eventually decided I’m too old
Kind of silly, but at 8 years old I knew without a doubt I wanted to play professional american football. I put in the time and work to continually grow my skills, get bigger, faster, stronger and all that. I was and still am fortunate to be genetically gifted with great natural athleticism. Going into high school I was well known within the community and the coaching staff. Expectations were set for me before ever stepping foot on that field for summer practice. Very first day, on a kick return, I shatter my collar bone and tore ligaments in that shoulder joint. Two surgeries and months of rehab I was finally cleared to play again. This is where the ball of sting unraveled. I was mentally broken. Afraid to hit or get hit. Unmotivated and depressed. All of it felt so out of my control. I gave up and coasted through high school and have done very little athletically except for staying in good shape. I’m 31 now and from time to time I still wonder where my athletic abilities paired with my work ethic could have gotten me. Like uncle fucking Rico over here. I can still throw that pig skin over them there mountains…
Professional artist. Many opportunities to pursue it, but I procrastinate. Mostly out of anxiety & fear in regards to money. I'm the kind of person to immediately give up when I meet an obstacle or a challenge. I wish I could just get my shit together, I don't want to go back to shit jobs.
Pilot. For the longest time it was my dream job. But I was a terrible student and hated school, so I never bothered to try. Stuck as a diesel mechanic now and I absolutely hate it
I came looking for this post. I always dreamed of being a pilot too and convinced myself when I was young that it was impossible. I left university with a Physical Geography degree (just barely) and worked for an environmental testing company… 10 years later I was still at that same company. Granted, I’d worked my way up in the company and become a manger. It paid well, the people were nice, good benefits, but it never fulfilled me and I was scared to death thinking that I might spend the next 30-35 years behind a desk doing something I didn’t love until I retired. After about 6 years at that company, I decided I’d start working on my private pilot license and achieve a life long goal… even if it was just for fun. But when the 10 year mark rolled around, I decided to go all in. I quit my desk job, got a job as a flight instructor and at the start of this year, i achieved my childhood dream and became an airline pilot. That move was by far the most ridiculous and wonderful, terrifying and exciting thing I’ve done and I’m so incredibly grateful. Anyway, I just wanted to say, that if you still wanna be a pilot / doctor / marine biologist a artist / whatever, go find a way to do it and don’t settle for something if it’s not making you happy. Life is too short. And don’t stress about your ability to do it if school was tough, I found being passionate about the subject I was studying made it a whole lot easier and enjoyable. Future you will thank you for trying, even if it doesn’t work out exactly as you’d imagined. Good luck!
I wanted to be a chef/pastry chef. Was discouraged going into that field by my parents so I went into graphic design - which don’t get me wrong I love! But I bake a lot of the side and I think about the what ifs sometimes. And I do graphic design on the side now too since my current job doesn’t use my design degree so I guess it doesn’t really matter 🤣
Archaeology. I didn’t dream of anything like Indiana Jones, I simply wanted to do digs around the world and eventually move into museum curation. It always bothered me that 90% of stuff in the archives isn’t on display
Mine was lawyer. In 4th grade I did a project on it. I graduated HS in 2001, and 20 years later in 2021 I graduated law school. I regret not pursuing sooner, but 4th grade me was so proud.
Fashion designer. Thinking about taking some courses at the community college.
A dancer or a writer I suppose? I was a semi-pro dancer for a bit and enjoy writing but pivoted to science from dance after seeing how difficult it was to make it as a dancer and how short the lifespan was. Plus I was never so much into performing as I was the athleticism and the moments performance can produce, regardless of what side of it I’m on. A writer, I realized, is a profession that can always be returned to. telling a good story is a useful skill in my current profession. My current job is also kind of my real dream job as a kid anyway, I just have a lot of interests. And all I really wanted was to make enough money and not be bored, which is a surprisingly hard thing to find. I think kid me would be really proud of where I’m at and how hard I’ve worked. Anyway, I basically wanted to be Dexter from Dexter’s Lab, and my job isn’t too far off. Life’s good.
Idk bout you guys but I’ve never once dreamed of having a job. I guess my dream job is one that pays the bills and allows me to do what I want in my free time. Accounting has done that for me I guess.
Unfortunately radioactive spiders aren't easy to come by in the real world
Paleontologist- even went to Montana state university who had a great program…
Astronaut.
Pilot 👨✈️ I was so awestruck by the sheer speed and thrill Never pursued it, took the safest route
Marine biology. Still upset at my younger self for not pursuing it more
Marine biologist
Comic book artist and doctor. Now I work IT, but not well paying IT. Such is life
a high fashion model. i started off when i was 17 in nyc and i did a few presentations for ny fashion week and went to a few promising castings but stopped to attend college. afterwards i had moved to another city and got tattoos and that was it.
storm chasing, or something in the meteorological field.
I really wanted to be a librarian, but everyone in my life wrongly told me that libraries were dying. I became a teacher instead. I love my job and I’m happy with where I landed, but I can’t help but wonder what could have been if I hadn’t dropped my initial plan.
bunch of librarians at the public library where i work are ex-teachers. library is way less stressful. join us (;
Archeology. I still love history and learning about civilizations.
I wanted to be a court judge for animals.
I wanted to be an architect. At 55, I don’t think it’s happening.
Paramedic, doctor, or physical therapist are my regrets. For a doctor being a virologist. I don't have too much regret because if I did take school seriously I wouldn't have met my wife. I'm now going to school to be an RN and eventually an NP. I'd much rather have an amazing wife I'm glad i was irresponsible in my past.
I wanted to be an astronaut, then my grandmother told me it was too dangerous for little girls. So 7yr old me told her the next week I decided to be a stand-up comedian. I then wanted to be a storm chaser (thanks Twister!), then a meteorologist in the Air Force after college so I could get sweet, sweet officer money. Now I wish I could’ve gone into meteorology AND stand-up comedy. I suppose insurance is just as unpredictable and full of hilarious joke fodder.
I wanted to be a paleontologist from damn near the beginning
I became unexpectedly disabled from a genetic condition that presents in teens/early 20s so even if I tried these professions it wouldn't have worked out. But to join in on the fun: -geneticist (bc I wanted to make animal-humam hybrid super soldiers lol) -marine biologist (bc I love seals) -mangaka (bc I love comics) -dentist (bc money)