Your childhood dream job vs your currrent career? Any ragerts

[closetohumping 17443]

I was supposed to be a sports journalist but somehow lost sight of it when I entered college.  Loved, actually still love sports and was sports editor for my high school paper  I’m in sales , doing well but yes some ragerts absolutely.  And nope, no chance I try to pursue it at this age in my career

[Bender Bending Rodriguez 1688]

I’m 43 and wanted to work in sports my entire life. I’ve worked for the network that covers my hometown teams for over 20 years and it’s been incredibly fulfilling, though I often wonder what I’ve left on the table streamlining my career focus at such an early age. 

[Guest]

Wanted: Pro football player.

Became: Sales/ team director/ adult babysitter.

 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

I honestly don't recall what I wanted to be as a kid.  I remember looking at the classified ads in the Chronicle for fishing/adventure expeditions up the Amazon and by the time I got to college I wanted to double in history and archeology.  However, halfway through my time at Texas, I switched to RTF and ended up working in the music industry for about 7 years.  I worked in recording studios in Austin, Houston and DC as well as owned a studio and record label in Austin.  I LOVED that work.  I HATED being poor and relying on family from time to time to get by.  So I gave up, and to make a long story short, I ended up in Oil and Gas.  Most days I dislike it, although my current job isn't so bad.  I love the money I make now.  Regrets?  You bet.

Also, after doing photography for more than half my life, I wish I had tried to get into photojournalism, and maybe combat photography.  But no chance I do that now as a father of two young kids.

[Clackles 276]

I wanted to work in a bicycle shop.  Probably best that’s not how things ended up.

[Aqua Buddha 14598]

3 minutes ago, Clackles said:

I wanted to work in a bicycle shop.  Probably best that’s not how things ended up.

Actually not a bad retirement job if you know what you're doing.

[Zepol87 9188]

I wanted to play in the league. Now I work in the cloud. Work works

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Zepol87

[UTGrad98 2280]

When I was young I wanted to work at Gamepro or Nintendo power magazine. That or become a professional baseball player. Now I work in healthcare where I speak to pissed off patients when my team screws up. My new boss is also a bitch. It's very fulfilling. 

[Richard Kimball 1495]

When I was a kid I wanted to be an artist. Ended up being a firefighter and doing sports photography, writing and interviews on the side. 

Life's actually a lot better than I planned. 

 

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

The only thing I ever wanted to do was be a fighter pilot.  I passed my flight exam on my 16th birthday (back when you could get your pilot’s license at 16) and went and passed my driving test the next day. I managed to get an appointment from Bill Archer and was accepted to the Air Force Academy.  I ended up turning it down to go to UT (my backup school) with my first ex to get an accounting degree.  I hate to say I ragret not going because then I wouldn’t have my kids, but I think about it a lot, especially as I get older.  

Edited December 25, 2021 by NeverMarryAStripper

[Superhero 8830]

I wanted to be an architect going into college, and ended up getting an engineering degree. My work now is managing a group of estimators, and crushing the souls of architects when their designs get too expensive.

I truly love design, and feel bad holding architects back from what they do best. But there is a balance between design aesthetic and cost, and unfortunately I need to be the bad guy more often that not. Financially speaking, engineering salaries tend to be higher than designer salaries, but it's hard not to hold back from offering design input.

So there is some ragrets.

[Hpara759 1780]

9 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

 

Also, after doing photography for more than half my life, I wish I had tried to get into photojournalism, and maybe combat photography.  

You do take some good pictures

[That Guy 959]

I always wanted to be a cop. I blame CHiPs. I resemble Jon but would’ve pulled ass like ponch. Now I do accounting stuff. I still think about it sometimes, but salaries for cops are no bueno where I live. 

[Hefeweizen 5327]

Wanted to be an engineer, became an engineer.  I love solving complicated problems other people can't.  Hate regulatory bullshit, hate managing people (with a serious passion), hate kissing client's asses (don't really need to do this because  I'm good, no humblebrag).

 

No regrets at all on my career in Austin but I am pretty sure it's time for a change of scenery.   Nearly 30 years is  a pretty good run and I am ready for a new challenge.  Now that may be something I regret...

[HOOKEM4 5037]

3 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

Wanted to be an engineer, became an engineer.  I love solving complicated problems other people can't.  Hate regulatory bullshit, hate managing people (with a serious passion), hate kissing client's asses (don't really need to do this because  I'm good, no humblebrag).

 

No regrets at all on my career in Austin but I am pretty sure it's time for a change of scenery.   Nearly 30 years is  a pretty good run and I am ready for a new challenge.  Now that may be something I regret...

Send your clients my way when you peace out. I will take care of them!

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

You do take some good pictures

Thanks

[Hefeweizen 5327]

55 minutes ago, HOOKEM4 said:

Send your clients my way when you peace out. I will take care of them!

Well, I have grown a pretty big office so it’s likely most of them will stay with my current employees, but if that changes I’ll dm you…

[Hefeweizen 5327]

1 hour ago, Hpara759 said:

You do take some good pictures

That’s serious understatement.  Guy has talent.  I take terrible pictures so I know what I’m talking about.

[HOOKEM4 5037]

2 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

Well, I have grown a pretty big office so it’s likely most of them will stay with my current employees, but if that changes I’ll dm you…

I will take employees as well! This is really working out well. Merry Christmas to meeeee

[Sbbruin 21858]

I wanted to be a firewatcher.  Ended up being an underachiever.  Meh.

[deadshank 24653]

I wanted to be a commercial real estate guru. I worked for a few of the big players in and right out of UT.  

It sucked.  An industry full of narcissistic, backstabbing, money grubbing, paranoid whores.  
 

So, I went back to what I know: construction.  
 

Now I’m right at home in an industry populated by workers on the lowest and last rung of employment to go along with customers with completely unreasonable expectations, demands for the finest of everything at a price below cost and a penchant for furor if you make a dime. 
 

I love it.  

Edited December 25, 2021 by deadshank

[South Austin 52517]

4 hours ago, Superhero said:

I wanted to be an architect going into college

You should’ve been a city planner.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

That’s serious understatement.  Guy has talent.  I take terrible pictures so I know what I’m talking about.

Hahaha obrigado mano.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, deadshank said:

 

Now I’m right at home in an industry populated by workers on the lowest and last rung of employment to go along with customers with completely unreasonable expectations, demands for the finest of everything at a price below cost and a penchant for furor of you make a dime. 
 

 

This paragraph, with your avatar, is hilarious.

[Js1 85372]

I mean when I was a kid I wanted to a firefighter, an astronaut, president, a teacher and a superhero. 

Kids are fucking stupid 

[Brisketexan 105154]

As a KID….I wanted to be a firefighter or garbage man (any job where you got to ride on the outside of the truck was key). Then, I wanted to be a brutal RB just like Earl Campbell.

But by the time I was 9, I decided I wanted to be a trial lawyer. And I am.

BUT….if there’s any way to cash out and make as much money being the world’s worst fishing guide and middling chef, I’m all ears.

[DaysOff 7951]

I'm allegedly doing it.

3,649 more days and I'll never have to do it again.

[demos 3004]

I regret that no one ever told me this was a job:

[Guest]

Clam Sniffer more suited to surly...

[markstanco 12577]

I'm allegedly doing it.

3,649 more days and I'll never have to do it again.

After I got my pilots license 6 or 7 years ago I am jealous of what you guys do for a living. I wish I would have known more about the airline industry at a younger age. I know it is stressful unlike when I fly, but my God there can’t be a more beautiful office in the world.

[deadshank 24653]

Not a childhood dream but more of a semi-regret:  
 

I had just started my business a year or so prior and was feeling some growing pains.   During this start up I continued to go on the annual elk hunt with a bunch of guys I knew that were much older than me.  (All but 2 are now gone from us).  They needed someone to gut, skin, guide, deal cards, pour drinks, fore caddie, referee fights, cook, clean, find their glasses, etc and I was their guy. 
 

After several years of this role the owner of the ranch offered turning over the whole hunting operation to me.   I almost took him up on it.  
 

Although I knew it was a dead end gig I often wonder what could have been. 

[LTbear 4170]

I grew up wanting to be either a paleontologist or a NatGeo wildlife photographer.

I did my PhD in paleobiology, work as a biology professor, and do wildlife photography in Yellowstone and Glacier on my weekends and school breaks. Living the dream.

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by LTbear

[Sbbruin 21858]

1 hour ago, deadshank said:

I wanted to be a commercial real estate guru. I worked for a few of the big players in and right out of UT.  

It sucked.  An industry full of narcissistic, backstabbing, money grubbing, paranoid whores.  
 

I’ve been in commercial real estate for over 30 years.

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Cowboy (d’uhhhh what kid doesn’t want to be)

helicopter pilot 

architect 

[deadshank 24653]

1 minute ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

 

architect 

But you tell your ma you play piano in a whorehouse. 

[Sbbruin 21858]

My biggest “what if” that makes me second guess often was bad ‘92 I was in my last year of grad school and another student approached me to tell me he was going to pursue a job with this company out of Seattle and would I want to join him in a management training program (we got along well and did a few projects together).  Handed me a business card that said “Starbucks”.  He said one thing they made you do was work in a store for 6 months to really understand the business.  I felt that was far too below me.  “No thanks” I said.  Hmmm.

[Richard Kimball 1495]

4 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

My biggest “what if” that makes me second guess often was bad ‘92 I was in my last year of grad school and another student approached me to tell me he was going to pursue a job with this company out of Seattle and would I want to join him in a management training program (we got along well and did a few projects together).  Handed me a business card that said “Starbucks”.  He said one thing they made you do was work in a store for 6 months to really understand the business.  I felt that was far too below me.  “No thanks” I said.  Hmmm.

Yeah, but you're in real estate in California. You should be able to buy out Chip Kelley's AND Sarkisian's contract with the money in your couch cushions. 

[Scheiss Meister 8408]

I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was a kid, then found out that being red/green colorblind isn't a desirable trait for a pilot.  So I decided to become a band director instead.  While studying for that in college, I realized that being responsible for the actions of 100 to 200 high school aged morons wasn't going to pan out, either.  I was looking for something to pay the rent and got an industrial wastewater treatment job at a plating plant, moved over to municipal wastewater, and found that I have a talent for it.  I've been watching turds float by for almost 35 years now. 

No regrets, but I need a change.  I'll retire in the next year or two, then get a job in a different industry.  I like working in a lab, so maybe find a place that needs an analytic lab tech.  If I ever figure out how to make wandering around the mountains looking for rocks pay, I'll go with that.

[52-80 19162]

in retrospect, i think my childhood dreams of being an retired-NBA-cum-astronaut was unrealistic.

of my more realistic teenage/college career prospects:

-working in capital markets aka finance: cycles from attractive to thank-god-it-didnt-happen

-software developer:  90% thank god, but recently it seems attractive

-generic business / mba:  thank god

 

[52-80 19162]

now that im mid-career, i just have whacko aspirations like fucking making custom furniture for a living or opening a sandwhich shop or something.  just doing something on my own.

[tchookem 3900]

Actually not a bad retirement job if you know what you're doing.

And willing to work for virtually nothing.

[luke duke 6413]

I was looking for something to pay the rent and got an industrial wastewater treatment job at a plating plant, moved over to municipal wastewater, and found that I have a talent for it.  I've been watching turds float by for almost 35 years now. 

Username checks out.

[LebongJames 1811]

First wanted to be a NBA player. Height and being white held me back there.

Then I told everyone I wanted to a be lawyer.

Then I got an environmental science degree. My first job offer was for $12/hr at TCEQ. I decided to go into sales.

I’ve been in sales for 17 years and in the construction industry for 10 years. I don’t regret the pay or actually finishing the projects but the last two years with Covid is pushing my patience.

My buddy left all of it behind and started working for NatGeo in Africa. I follow him on Instagram and I do get jealous of that. My goal now is to just stack as much as I can and retire as early as possible.

[Richard Kimball 1495]

4 hours ago, Js1 said:

I mean when I was a kid I wanted to a firefighter, an astronaut, president, a teacher and a superhero. 

Kids are fucking stupid 

Should have been more realistic, just a cowboy, astronaut millionaire.

Edited December 25, 2021 by Richard Kimball

[Buzzrock 14922]

Wanted to be a rock star but knew that was virtually impossible so I never tried. I was always good with computers and my career took off during the 90s IT boom. I sell software now and make more money than I ever thought I would. I figure I’m doing what most folks do: a job they don’t particularly love but that they are good at to make a living and provide security for the family.

[Celery Man 20965]

Was going to be a rock star. Got far enough on that path to not have regrets. I was very fortunate to have a flexible IT operations gig in industrial analytics while doing that, which turned into devops engineering management and then technical product management.

I wish I had done more to develop myself as an independent songwriter (book’s not closed on that yet, although I don’t have the aspirations I used to). I’ll really glad I’m not trapped on the road am not delivering pizzas. What I do isn’t the dream, but it’s plenty interesting.

[Celery Man 20965]

We should start a band.

[Sbbruin 21858]

2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

 an retired-NBA-cum-astronaut 

 

 

[Aqua Buddha 14598]

10 hours ago, Superhero said:

I wanted to be an architect going into college, and ended up getting an engineering degree. My work now is managing a group of estimators, and crushing the souls of architects when their designs get too expensive.

I truly love design, and feel bad holding architects back from what they do best. But there is a balance between design aesthetic and cost, and unfortunately I need to be the bad guy more often that not. Financially speaking, engineering salaries tend to be higher than designer salaries, but it's hard not to hold back from offering design input.

So there is some ragrets.

As someone who is married to an architect, you chose.......

wisely

 

[Jameslaw121 4448]

Wanted to own my own company and do something with music. I own a music company. Having missed most of the kids stuff with my oldest child because of the work, I now want to semi retire so that I can pick up my daughter after school.