What did you want to be when you grew up?

[Martha]

Interesting little blurb in Business Week on what was the top childhood dream job of adults in specific occupations:

--Administrative professionals: 33% wanted to be a princess

--Lawyers/Judges: 59% wanted to be U.S. President

--Executives: 29% wanted to be a firefighter

--Firefighters: 41% wanted to be a fighfighter.

I was fickle. I wanted to be President (first grade) an astronaut (most of the rest of childhood) and then a veternarian.

 

[Khan]

Veterinarian.

 

[Moemg]

I desperately wanted to be a telephone operator .That was in the days of the old plug in switchboards .My parents bought me a toy switchboard for Christmas that would make me ringing or buzzing noises.I loved that toy but my mother wanted me to be a nurse so every year after that I got nurse kits and Nurse Nancy books. She won !

 

[Martha]

I desperately wanted to be a telephone operator .That was in the days of the old plug in switchboards .My parents bought me a toy switchboard for Christmas that would make me ringing or buzzing noises.I loved that toy but my mother wanted me to be a nurse so every year after that I got nurse kits and Nurse Nancy books. She won !

Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?

 

[WM]

I remember playing with Barbies and wanting to be a housewife - seemed much the better deal than being the husband and having to go to work every day

 

[ronin]

Still trying to figger it out!

 

[flipstress]

I remember playing with Barbies and wanting to be a housewife - seemed much the better deal than being the husband and having to go to work every day

WM, are you male or female? Never mind, I looked at your profile.

I thought I wanted to be a teacher or a doctor. There wasn't much exposure to other job possibilities or role models.

I remember at the HS senior year retreat, the retreat master (priest) telling us girls to listen closely for God's voice who might be calling us (to be a sister). I prayed for God not to call me.

 

[scrinch]

I always wanted to be a doctor, since my grandfather and uncle were doctors and my mother was a nurse. But when I took biology classes in HS and college, I didn't like them. Too complicated and squishy compared to chemistry and physics. So I became a rock doctor instead.

 

[bbbamI]

I wanted to be a nurse.

If my memory is correct, all the girls wanted to be nurses and all the boys wanted to be either a firefighter or cowboy.

 

[MikeD]

I always wanted to be a veterinarian. Then I met organic chemistry. The chem was too hard and the computer science was easy. I got a BS in CS. Then I met a mid-life crisis. I still wanted to be a vet. Then I found out how much they made. I stuck with CS.

Mike D.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

the prerequisite to knowing what you want to be when you grow up is an assumption that you will be growing up. unfortunately or not, i've never been that presumptuous.

though we have one of these in town now. maybe that would have helped: www.wannadocity.com

 

[unclemick]

Cowboy until the 5th grade. Then I wanted to be a Space Cadet.

After 29 yrs in the space program - now in ER what I want is: NOT TO GROW UP!!!!

heh heh heh

 

[Outtahere]

As long as I can remember I wanted to be a veterinarian. I'm glad I didn't.

 

[retire@40]

Anything self-employed.

Even in school, I had a hard time reading books my teachers told me to read. But I could spend a whole day finishing a book I wanted to read.

When doing "team" projects, I usually ended up doing most or all of the project myself anyway. From elementary school to high school to college to my first job in a company. I saw the pattern.

I've always been able to figure out a better way to accomplish something on my own, usually with less talk and more action.

 

[DangerMouse]

I wanted to be a physical education teacher. However, I have to say that was in large part because I had no idea there was much to aspire to beyond that. Being a female, our high school counselling consisted of learn to type and go and work in an office until some man swept us off our feet.

Once I got a bit older I thought being a flight attendant was the epitome of sophistication. Glad that was a career path I never pursued.

 

[Moemg]

[

I remember at the HS senior year retreat, the retreat master (priest) telling us girls to listen closely for God's voice who might be calling us (to be a sister). I prayed for God not to call me.
[/quote]


I used to sleep with a pillow over my head so I would not hear him calling me !

 

[bssc]

First an astronaut and then a diplomat (like my dad). This was before anyone really knew about computers.

 

[frayne]

Still not grown up and still don't know.

 

[LeatherneckPA]

I wanted to be an astronaut, just like John Glenn. Then I decided I wanted to be a policeman, I've always beena self-admitted control freak. And later it was a United States Marine; the best fighters, the best womanizers, and the best uniforms. All the women in the old movies wanted Marines. Besides those two jobs were the best known for having good retirements after only 20 years or before 50 years old. Even at 14 I was onto the ER concept.

Well, I am a Marine. I have been a police officer, and still work in a law enforcement field for 18 more months. But if John Denver couldn't buy a seat on a shuttle I guess I will never see the Earth from 500 miles.

So three out of four ain't bad.

 

[simple girl]

Archeologist. Used to spend hours digging up old relics from an old house that had burnt down (with my childhood friend; the house was on her property).

We were easily entertained. Guess I was a simple girl even then.

 

[2B]

I hesitate to admit it....a priest.

At 13 I started to seriously reconsider. At 17 I totally blew it. Before then, I wanted to be a chemist since I was doing my older brothers science homework since 9th grade. I changed to chemical engineering my junior year in high school and never wavered. I had a few rough weeks in my first chemeng class (heat and material balances) but after that it all just seemed so obvious. When I get to do real chemical engineering, I still have nothing but fun. Kinda scary, huh?

 

[sgeeeee]

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I still haven't decided for sure if I want to grow up. Once I've made that decision, I'll start working on what I want to be -- maybe a dragon . . . or a rainbow.

 

[linkerbink]

Big game hunter (not too many female ones back in the 50's when I had that aspiration). Then when the space program came along, I wanted to be an astronaut. Again, being female knocked me out of that one early on. Then in the 7th grade, I found out there were women in the military, and I decided to become a Naval Officer....I was fortunate enough to make that goal! I would have tried out for aviation when it came open to women, but I wear contacts, so that was out. But I loved the Navy!

 

[SingleMomDreamer]

Early career choices for women above a certain age: housewife, nurse, stewardess, waitress. My goal was to find any way possible to escape the "typical" life. College was the key. From there I became a researcher and writer. So the answer is, anything OTHER THAN housewife, nurse, stewardess, waitress.

 

[Sandy]

psychologist. Not a good fit, since then I still haven't really decided.