As a child, did you think you’d “grow up” to be a firefighter? Doctor? Ice cream maker? Construction worker? Veterinarian? Princess? What was it that you thought you’d “grow up” to be?
We’re curious to learn how many of you ended up working in a career that you dreamed of as a child. If we had to guess, we’d guess not that many of you actually did. But, we’ve been pleasantly surprised on more than one occasion! Please tell us by voting in the poll below. If you want to make our day, leave a comment saying what you thought your career would be when you were a kid.
My family tent camped as I grew up. I was impressed with those that manned the fire lookouts and decided that’s what I want to do. I never did it but I received a dual degree in forestry and hydrology; I retired after 35 years with the US Forest Service and feel blessed to have had a challenging – rewarding career in our national forests alongside dedicated folks who really believed in “Serving the People, Caring for the Land”.
I played “hospital” with my dolls, lined them up and dressed them etc as their nurse. At 14, I spent a year at the local hospital as a volunteer “candystriper”, after which I decided nursing wasn’t for me. At the age of 20, I changed my mind, became an RN and never considered another career.
I loved being a nurse and spent 30+ years working as one.
I wanted to be a firefighter when I was young but my dad wanted me to follow his path and become a home builder. I did become a builder and for the first 8 years of my marriage I never got a vacation. One day our drywaller’s son in law was helping him on his day off from being a firefighter. He told me all the perks of the job. Without telling my dad, I applied to 2 different fire departments and got hired right away because of my construction background. Then I had to tell my dad. He didn’t talk to me for 2 months but when he saw how much time I had off, he came around to my thinking. I did 31 years and also became a fire investigator which was interesting. I was involved with the theater shooting in Aurora Colorado and it was no longer fun going to work so I retired. We’re now FT and winter in Tucson.
Thank you for your service. I remember the Aurora shooting vividly…my daughter had friends who were there that night. Tragic day! Enjoy your retirement.
Didn’t have a clue upon graduation. Bummed around in a small town. Decided I wanted to travel. Joined the Air Force traveled Europe and Australia. Retired, tried to settle back into the civilian world and ended up in the education field and readying to retire very soon and nothing but RVing/happy camper. Wouldn’t trade my military years for anything.
Thank you for your service!
From the time I was 4 years old, I wanted to be a pilot. I was blessed to be an Air Force pilot for over 33 years, and flew every year that I was in the Air Force. Very rare accomplishment!
Thank you for your service!
From a fourth generation family run Guild Jewelry store-103 years- to self employed Master Plumber. Only consistent thread is self employed.
I always wanted to be an electrician, I guess I wanted to know why I got shocked when I put a paper clip in the receptacle. Instead of being an electrician I went a few steps further and became an electrical engineer and then a second degree in electronic engineering.
From some of my earliest memories I wanted to become a locomotive engineer. One day after my 26 birthday I was hired by the Santa Fe railway. Two years later I achieved my childhood dream and was promoted engineer. Now 26 years later I still love my job
My Dad was an engineer for Union Pacific for 45 years!
At a very young age I had a cousin about 10 to 15 years older that was in the USAF. I could hardly wait until he would come home on leave. 3 days after HS I enlisted and stayed for a career. After retirement I worked for 3 aircraft manufacturers and a commercial airline. Jet fumes and engine whine in my blood til death. Got hooked on travel, my wife and I lived full time in 2 TT’s and a 5th wheel. We would volunteer at National Parks/Forests with cruises (2-3 x a year) between volunteering. Health necessitated getting out of the RV COVID-19 stopped the cruising “temporarily”. We have 3 cruises booked. We’ll see
Wow…lots of service members here. Thank you for your your service. My daughter and son-in-law served in the USAF.
I answered No, but there is an asterisk. When I was young I thought I would become a minister. I didn’t dream of going into film making, but I did occasionally have fantasies of operating a camera on a big camera boom. I never became a preacher, instead I ended up as a film maker (but not in a Hollywood studio with big camera booms).
I came home from school on the second day of first grade and told my mother that I was going to be a teacher. I never changed my mind and after 40 years of teaching now I am going to be a happy camper!
I wanted to be a nurse when I was young, took care of every sick thing around, human or animal. Parents said doctor, but I didn’t want that level of responsibility. Ended up in mortgages out of college, but went back for a master’s in Occupational Therapy in my 30’s. Spent 27 happy years in home health and acute hospital care. Now retired and don’t even think about work anymore!!
i answered ‘yes’ but it really should be ‘sort of’. always wanted to serve as a police officer or work in broadcasting. i worked at a small town AM/FM outlet for a year during college and made several PD hiring lists but never got the call. i ended up having a long (30-yrs) career in public safety communications…police/fire/EMS/9-1-1. started as a dispatcher and ended up as deputy director of the largest consolidated 9-1-1 comm center (27-police and fire depts) in Illinois. the dispatcher position was the best job i’ve ever had.
Thank you for your service…worked with public safety dispatchers for 17 years…that’s a tough job.
As a child I wanted to grow up, go to Ohio State University and be a farmer, but I lived in a small town. After 1 quarter in college I realized I could not be a farmer so I went into Agricultural Education. I was required to take a Rural Sociology Course and liked it so much I got a PHD in Sociology, with an emphasis in Rural Sociology. I taught at a Land Grant University for many years but then wanted to apply the information in my job so I became a socioeconomic specialist at the Department of the Interior and retired as a Fed after 24 years. I was a socioeconomic specialist managing studies of native peoples in Alaska. I also was a manager of a computer center and dealt with computer budgets and served as a project manager. I also spent about a year working on a committee on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. I did not even know what any of those jobs were when I was as a kid. I jumped at opportunities when they presented themselves and had a great and exciting career.
Oh my goodness no. Never even had a concept of a career in any field. Just by dumb luck and hard work I “clawed my way to middle management” (that is my humorous way of saying it). The only concept in my head was to put my head down and work hard. I learned I could outwork those exceptionally smart people who seemed to look for ways to get out of work. It was my only competitive advantage. Well that and surrounding myself with people who thought differently than myself. That has a high level of frustration when to be sure, but their brilliance helped us all succeed.
The career that I ended up in (computer software support) didn’t exist when I was a child!
I wanted to be a person with a dog. Mission accomplished.
All I ever wanted to be was a wife and mother. I’ve been a wife for 44 years, mother of 3, and grandmother of 4. The monetary pay is lousy but the perks are great!
You have my respect. Being faithful to your spouse, and raising young children to be responsible and productive adults is indeed a noble calling! Maybe this country wouldn’t be so messed up if there were more like you. Blessings to you!
The hardest career any individual can hold and probably the most stressful is running a house. Can be a thankless career task but if managed correctly the outcome can be amazing. You’re 1 in a million, hats off to you Mrs. Snead!
❤️
Went to college for engineering but always admired the law enforcement field.After school I started taking civil service tests for Police Officer. Finished up 39 years in 2013.
I always felt I had a front row seat to the greatest show on earth.
Lots of job satisfaction and many great memories. Wouldn’t trade it for anything else!
Thank you for your service!
I started playing with electronics when I was about 12. I built my first radio kit and was hooked on 2-way communications. I worked at a Motorola service center for 42 years, starting with tube radios and ending with computer operated radios.