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Did anyone else not have a dream job when they grew up? I would give an answer when pressured, usually something with a fun name like anesthesiologist, but that

Did anyone else not have a dream job when they grew up? I would give an answer when pressured, usually something with a fun name like anesthesiologist, but that was just to placate the adults.

lapetitejort 3y ago
I still have a dream job that is completely outside my current career. It's far less grand than the dream jobs that I had as a kid, and pays less.
atomicnumber3 3y ago
Yeah, I wanted to be a "nuclear physicist" because I thought explosions were cool, and obviously nuclear explosions were the biggest kind. So obviously a nuclear physicist will be researching how to be able to make even bigger explosions! Obviously as I grew up, knowing that a) ostensibly the point of being able to make those explosions is to ensure they don't actually happen and b) knowing what we'd use that deterrence power for really took the wind out of my sails. Plus somehow it pays less than software, which I actually had more of a passion for than explosions (though I still respect a good explosion to this day). So yeah. Kids will give pretty arbitrary answers to this question even if they think they do have one.
silverquiet 3y ago
If I'd have said the truth, it would be that I didn't dream of labor (I wasn't the happiest or most agreeable of children). I probably just said firefighter because that's a pretty basic "what to be when you grow up" type job, but also my father was one.
washadjeffmad 3y ago
Ninja cop.
- koolba 3y ago
  Is that a crime fighting unit that polices the activity of ninjas? Or, a police officer targeting generic crime but leveraging the elite skills of a ninja?
paulcole 3y ago
I definitely didn't. I don't know where it came from (as both my parents seemed to like their work) but I was sure from a very young age that working was one of the dumbest ideas I'd ever heard of. I was always shocked when classmates would have some plan or idea for what they wanted to do as adults. My parents would be like, "If you want ______, you'll have to get a job to pay for it." So I just made the decision to not want things lol. And so I just figured out how to live pretty simply and be happy with less so I could care less about work. Of course things get more complicated over time but it's served me pretty well. I have a job that passes the time well enough and keeps me stimulated mentally, but as I tell people I work with, "If I win the lottery tomorrow, it's been nice knowing you!"
giantg2 3y ago
"Did anyone else not have a dream job when they grew up?" I probably had a few over the years. Being a dev was one, I guess. How wrong I was. Maybe it wasnt really a dream job but just a job that I thought if be good at and could make some money. I can't even imagine what a dream job would look like today - they all seem like shit.
rurp 3y ago
Same for me. I had plenty of interests as a kid but none that readily mapped onto a good job. I definitely felt some jealousy towards kids who always knew what they wanted to do.
- ok_dad 3y ago
  I’m middle aged and still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago
I dreamed of being an engineer from the start, honestly, although I didn't have a preference as to what specialization. I just always dreamed of using science to humanistic ends and optimizing things within constraints.
card_zero 3y ago
Indeed, I remember saying "astronaut" at about age 10 to shut my grandmother up. I didn't want to be an astronaut. In fact I resented the question, because it seemed to have a subtext of "get your ass in gear and think about work". Hence I chose something implausible. I kind of wanted to try to make games, though. And now here I am, many years later, kind of trying to make games! Mission accomplished.
bamboozled 3y ago
I had no idea what I wanted to do, I still don't really. Ideally, I wouldn't work in the traditional sense, I'd love to just grow veggies, work on my house and surf.
- DANmode 3y ago
  Island-based construction worker
  - bamboozled 3y ago
    I know a few, if the surf is pumping, they're generally no onsite :)
- IncreasePosts 3y ago
  Your entire post resonates with me - I was interested in programming since about 12 years old, and just fell into it with CS as the most obvious major in college, and the most obvious job to get out of college. But if you ever asked me from 12-18 what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would never have said "programmer". I have enough money to retire and be the simple living farmer/beach bum that I would like to be, but now I have a wife and children and it seems unfair to foist my desire on them.
VirusNewbie 3y ago
Nope, I definitely wanted to be a Wizard ala Gandalf or Raistlin.
accrual 3y ago
I wanted to work on satellite operations or planetary science as a kid. Writing code for, and remotely operating and debugging space hardware from millions of miles away felt like the "ultimate" software job.

Did anyone else not have a dream job when they grew up? I would give an answer when pressured, usually something with a fun name like anesthesiologist, but that was just to placate the adults.

lapetitejort 3y ago

I still have a dream job that is completely outside my current career. It's far less grand than the dream jobs that I had as a kid, and pays less.

atomicnumber3 3y ago

Yeah, I wanted to be a "nuclear physicist" because I thought explosions were cool, and obviously nuclear explosions were the biggest kind. So obviously a nuclear physicist will be researching how to be able to make even bigger explosions! Obviously as I grew up, knowing that a) ostensibly the point of being able to make those explosions is to ensure they don't actually happen and b) knowing what we'd use that deterrence power for really took the wind out of my sails. Plus somehow it pays less than software, which I actually had more of a passion for than explosions (though I still respect a good explosion to this day). So yeah. Kids will give pretty arbitrary answers to this question even if they think they do have one.

silverquiet 3y ago

If I'd have said the truth, it would be that I didn't dream of labor (I wasn't the happiest or most agreeable of children). I probably just said firefighter because that's a pretty basic "what to be when you grow up" type job, but also my father was one.

washadjeffmad 3y ago

Ninja cop.

koolba 3y ago
Is that a crime fighting unit that polices the activity of ninjas? Or, a police officer targeting generic crime but leveraging the elite skills of a ninja?

paulcole 3y ago

I definitely didn't. I don't know where it came from (as both my parents seemed to like their work) but I was sure from a very young age that working was one of the dumbest ideas I'd ever heard of. I was always shocked when classmates would have some plan or idea for what they wanted to do as adults. My parents would be like, "If you want ______, you'll have to get a job to pay for it." So I just made the decision to not want things lol. And so I just figured out how to live pretty simply and be happy with less so I could care less about work. Of course things get more complicated over time but it's served me pretty well. I have a job that passes the time well enough and keeps me stimulated mentally, but as I tell people I work with, "If I win the lottery tomorrow, it's been nice knowing you!"

giantg2 3y ago

"Did anyone else not have a dream job when they grew up?" I probably had a few over the years. Being a dev was one, I guess. How wrong I was. Maybe it wasnt really a dream job but just a job that I thought if be good at and could make some money. I can't even imagine what a dream job would look like today - they all seem like shit.

rurp 3y ago

Same for me. I had plenty of interests as a kid but none that readily mapped onto a good job. I definitely felt some jealousy towards kids who always knew what they wanted to do.

ok_dad 3y ago
I’m middle aged and still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago

I dreamed of being an engineer from the start, honestly, although I didn't have a preference as to what specialization. I just always dreamed of using science to humanistic ends and optimizing things within constraints.

card_zero 3y ago

Indeed, I remember saying "astronaut" at about age 10 to shut my grandmother up. I didn't want to be an astronaut. In fact I resented the question, because it seemed to have a subtext of "get your ass in gear and think about work". Hence I chose something implausible. I kind of wanted to try to make games, though. And now here I am, many years later, kind of trying to make games! Mission accomplished.

bamboozled 3y ago

I had no idea what I wanted to do, I still don't really. Ideally, I wouldn't work in the traditional sense, I'd love to just grow veggies, work on my house and surf.

DANmode 3y ago
Island-based construction worker
- bamboozled 3y ago
  I know a few, if the surf is pumping, they're generally no onsite :)
IncreasePosts 3y ago
Your entire post resonates with me - I was interested in programming since about 12 years old, and just fell into it with CS as the most obvious major in college, and the most obvious job to get out of college. But if you ever asked me from 12-18 what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would never have said "programmer". I have enough money to retire and be the simple living farmer/beach bum that I would like to be, but now I have a wife and children and it seems unfair to foist my desire on them.

VirusNewbie 3y ago

Nope, I definitely wanted to be a Wizard ala Gandalf or Raistlin.

accrual 3y ago

I wanted to work on satellite operations or planetary science as a kid. Writing code for, and remotely operating and debugging space hardware from millions of miles away felt like the "ultimate" software job.