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Your Dream Job | Pad Patter 08.02

IntenseMagic said:
Ohhh I forgot about Psychology!! That was my second love in college. If I hadn't gone in to teaching, I would have done that in a heartbeat! I took psychology courses as electives because I enjoyed them so much! People fascinate me! I love to analyze them :giggle
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Jan, that's funny. I kind of did the opposite. People also fascinate me so I majored in psychology and got my B.A. in psychology. But I knew from the beginning of college that I didn't want to be a psychologist. I figured I'd just cry with my patients and not be very helpful. So eventually (my junior year if I remember correctly) I added a minor of child development and then entered the teaching credential program. It was a year and a half following earning my B.A., and I taught for 5 years until my husband and I moved out cross country and started our family.
 
When I was a kid I always said I wanted to be either a teacher, an author, or a third thing I no longer remember. I only remember that it was three things! I wish I could remember. Maybe that's what I'm meant to do next! :think

Then I reached the end of high school and thought those three things were just childish ideas, old habits, and I explored other possibilities. I love people and I'm fascinated by how our brain works so I decided to major in psychology. I did like all of my psych classes but I didn't want to be a psychologist and after pondering a while decided I really did want to teach. I enjoyed my 5 years of teaching primary grades while I was doing it, but it was exhausting and took up a lot of time outside of school hours with planning and stressing over things. Plus I've changed a bit since then, after so many years being a mom of 3 unschooled kids. So I never want to return to teaching, at least not in a school.

I AM currently doing my biggest life dream -- since 2001. The thing I wanted to do above all else was be a mom. All my life I've loved children, I'm fascinated by watching them learn and develop, and I always had a strong desire for a closely connected family. I'm so grateful that I have been able to "just" be a mom and not have to work outside the home. So glad I learned about homeschooling early on and have been able to live this lifestyle.

Alas, mothering does not pay well in actual dollars and we struggle a bit with debt, so I'm trying to figure out what I want my next paying job to be. My kids are 17, 14, and 11 now, so they're old enough to be on their own for periods of time. One possibility I considered is photography. I was quite serious about it a few years ago, taking photography and business classes from 2012 to 2014, but I kind of got scared away from the idea of going into business by myself. Another idea I have is that I'd love to work at a library. I have a lifelong love of books and libraries. And the library system in my area has several branches, all modernized, and active with community events. I'm still in the research phase though. Not actively pursuing anything yet.

Oh! I almost forgot. Another job idea I pursued a while back -- even earlier than the photography -- was scrapping for hire. I got as far as creating a website but never got any customers. I have created pages and a birth announcement for a few friends, and create my girls' drama club flyers and theater programs though. I've been thinking about s4h again recently. But I'm wondering if it's even a thing scrappers find successful. Anyone else scrap for hire?
 
I loved reading this thread. I am amazed at how often career plans have changed for everyone, and that you still want change!

I don't know what my dream job is. Right now I am a SAHM, I was CT Lead for The Digichick, and was a substitute para in the school district my boys are in. I've always felt led in the direction of teaching, however one of my teachers made a comment about it not paying anything and you couldn't make a living off it, so I never pursued it at all :( So I got a BA in Communication Studies hoping for a marketing job, the degree is now totally outdated (fb did not exist when I graduated!) I worked at yellowbook for a bit in sales, but hated it, so I went to a claims specialist and I was good at it and enjoyed it. I enjoy teaching RE and Summer Bible School. I loved the long term sub jobs that I took this past year, one was in the special ed preschool room, and one was just a regular preschool classroom. I am currently trying to sign up for the Sub-Authorization class so I can sub as a teacher to give me some more options (and more $$). I am really hoping for a preschool para job. I don't really want to go back to school for a full degree, and honestly, I can't believe some of the BS teachers have to put up with and not really sure I want to do that!

My hubby pretty much works 3 little boy dream jobs: Volunteer Firefighter, Mayor and Construction as Sales Manager. So that leaves little time for me to do my own career, hence the SAHM mom part. Thankfully his dream job pays the bills! Even though it is stressful for him some days, I've never known anyone to love their jobs as much as he does.
 
I think mine was similar to @Cherylndesigns - I didn't get paid a lot but in my early twenties I had a job training and traveling all over the country. I absolutely loved it. It was in the finance sector - and it was so fun to visit so many different states and meet so many different people.

I do regret quitting design school and switching for a liberal arts degree instead. Oddly enough when I decided to go back to school recently for a 2nd degree I didn't pursue art then either. I just picked something that I was interested in and thought I could one day do from home or that would be applicable anywhere. The kids are flying the coop and we want to be able to go where the wind takes us next! :)
 
From the moment I could talk I told everyone I wanted to be a nurse and I wanted to work with baby's; I work at high care neonatal unit as a registered nurse and I have not regretted it for one single second.
Losing a baby is tough and it still makes me cry but seeing most of them going home makes it all worth it.
 
Interesting topic since I am 21 1/8 days away (working days) from retirement. I am so tired of being stressed, so tired of high pressure, I just want to sit home and vegetate for awhile. We have 2 1/2 acres, maybe play in the dirt. No major plans for me. Friends at work tease each other about their next career would be a greeter at Walmart, although I've heard that those are being phased out.

At university, I ended up getting my requirements over with, got accepted into the school of social welfare, and then left to join who was to become my DH when he left the area. He's four years older than I am, so he had graduated, was ready to move on and become a career person...

Growing up, I was fascinated with rocks, but who has a career in geology? Then I thought about being an archeologist, again, I sincerely doubt those are in high demand. Any classes in physical science I totally loved, so don't ask me why I ended up choosing social work.

And as it all turned out, after leaving school, I moved into an apartment that was literally a 2 minute walk away from a local hospital. I applied, I was hired on the spot, started work that Monday, August 20, 1973. Yep, 45 years at the same employer, celebrating that as well as me turning 65 this month and then retiring on August 31. August is turning out to be pretty awesome. Anyway, I digress. I started out in billing, they had just installed a computer system, only inpatients were up on it and it was a disaster. A few months later I became the supervisor of the area, a few months after that, I acquired the outpatient group. A few years after that, I was the Patient Account Manager, managing 30+ mostly women and hated the 15+ years I was in that position, every single day. I want to be the nice guy, I don't want to discipline people. Anyway, I broke a few teeth from the stress, talked to my VP and said I'd love to be an analyst, since I was really into learning about what made the operations work. A couple of months later, they offered me the analyst job they created for me, and here I am, almost 30 years later, finally retiring from being an analyst.

I'm thrilled to death with the idea of being retired, can't wait to stay home and dig in the dirt. Actually, it comes full circle, doesn't it? My dreams of being an archeologist, that is. LOL.
 
I wanted to be a vet when I was younger, a vet nurse would have been good as well. Our high school Councillor was pretty well useless at his job and encouraged all the girls to be office workers/farm wives or if they really wanted to go to uni, then teaching or nursing were the only choices for good country girls...
I bucked the system somewhat and go a degree in Environmental science but should have done Library science instead. That is where my heart was and still is I guess. I spent most of the kids school years helping out in the school library - volunteering - so no money and now am moving into volunteer work at our local library helping adults to read. I hope this leads to maybe teaching English as a second language as well.
 
ha!@ Treecity and I had a discussion in the comments somewhere about naming paint colours for a house paint company -i think it started with ' would you buy a paint if you didn't like the name of the colour on the swatch?' i absolutely couldn't! (no idea what qualificaitions or who even does that but how cool would that gig be!)
 
I always said I wanted to be a teacher, and then in high school, that morphed into specifically being an English teacher. I have a degree in English Education. I completed my student teaching during the local superintendent race. I was in the classroom of the teacher who was running against the incumbent superintendent. I stayed out of the political side of things, but it was a super weird experience. I would walk into the teachers' lounge and everyone would stop talking. I should mention that this is the same high school I attended, so the teachers knew me already. It broke my heart. Seeing what happens behind the scenes, experiencing how teachers treated me, I just had no passion left for teaching. In the mix of all this, too, was the fact that I had fallen and hurt myself at the university, and ended up having my back surgery 2 months before I started my student teaching. NOTHING about the experience felt right.

I ended up getting a job at a local law firm because my cousin worked there. I quickly rose through the ranks, and ended up after 10 years being a Certified Legal Assistant. The firm I worked for was instrumental in the tobacco litigation, not to mention many other class actions. It was interesting, fulfilling, terrifying, miserable, and soul-sucking all at once. LOL I made it ten years and then ended up taking a sabbatical. I never returned.

Being a graphic designer is not something I even dreamed about because it was not a thing way back when . . . but I can say without a doubt that it is definitely my dream job. I absolutely love what I do. I know now that being creative is essential to me and my happiness, so it will always play into whatever work role I have from now on.
 
@michelepixels I have one custom scrapbook client, and she found me, not vice versa. I enjoy creating for her because she's very laid back and lets me dictate the way the albums look, but I could see how my experience would be totally different if she was more demanding and very specific about what she wanted. Even with how laid back she is, it's still difficult to scrap with her photos. I am continually fighting back worry about what she will think about the finished pages . . . and just pretend that they are my own photos and make what I think is beautiful. LOL I think if it's something you want to do, definitely give it a try!
 
jenn mccabe said:
I think mine was similar to @Cherylndesigns - I didn't get paid a lot but in my early twenties I had a job training and traveling all over the country. I absolutely loved it. It was in the finance sector - and it was so fun to visit so many different states and meet so many different people.

I do regret quitting design school and switching for a liberal arts degree instead. Oddly enough when I decided to go back to school recently for a 2nd degree I didn't pursue art then either. I just picked something that I was interested in and thought I could one day do from home or that would be applicable anywhere. The kids are flying the coop and we want to be able to go where the wind takes us next! :)
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It was SO fulfilling! It's wonderful to love what you're doing.

After I thought about this thread (later on this evening) I must say that I have a dream job right now. I was fortunate to be able to be a SAHM when my kids were in junior high and high school. My DH really wanted me to stay home with them, especially after we got relocated to another state.

Later on, I did sell real estate for a couple of years, but worked from home a lot even then. I honestly don't and never have gotten bored or felt like I needed a to get out of the house everyday.
 
Tree City said:
But I don't have one of the listed requirements, so should I even try?
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Yes. The worst that happens is you get the job. Because if you don't get the job, nothing changes. You are still a SAHM. And second worse case scenario - They give you feedback on why they didn't hire you that you can use in the future.

I've done it before. I applied for a job that wanted a bachelor's degree, and I didn't have any degree. I got the job. Three different times.

Also, typically companies are writing towards what their dream applicant would have, not what the applicants they interview and hire end up having. Perhaps you have a skill they didn't realize they even wanted! Some certifications you can even work with the employer to get, depending on the requirements. Like, ok, you may need a Registered Nurse license, but they might hire you without the BSN, or pediatric CPR certificate if you get it within the first x days.
 
When I was little, I wanted to be a swim instructor. I absolutely loved swimming and already then I liked to "teach" other kids.
In high school, I wanted to become an actress. However, I chickened out of the auditioning and I still sometimes think "what if?". I am pretty sure I would have been turned down, but, you know, what if?

Because I really didn't know what to do exactly I started a bachelor in ICT and quit very quickly because I needed something more social. I then got myself a bachelor in Social Work which I loved. After a break (my Canada year) I noticed there were hardly any jobs in my area of expertise. So I decided to get a bachelor in Education.
I am a college teacher now, and I teach students who want to be social workers. So both of those degrees really help me now! Even though my work is very demanding and never finished, I absolutely love it.

My mom always said I should become a teacher. I always said no. And yet, here I am.

I still sometimes dream of becoming an actress though. As well as some kind of creative artist. Or a writer. Those are dreams I still have, but can be stilled with it being a hobby.
 
jk703 said:
Yes, try! Please! Don't doubt yourself, and give it a shot! You always need to be "promoting" yourself when job hunting. You are more than capable of doing the job, and they will teach you what you don't know. You have to go into the interview believing they want you - toot that horn for what you do have under your belt, not what you don't, and don't let that stop you! Ever.
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Totally agree with @jk703, I’ve been told by career advisors that if they’ve invited you to an interview, you must be what they want and then it’s just about promoting yourself in an interview.

I pretty much give anything a go within reason even if it means relocating. Just in the past 2 months 18/19 roles have been out of the city I live in. If nothing else I get experience in job applications and interviews. I do draw the line at jobs in the disability sector that are care work or have a high level of driving involved where there’s no other alternate way of getting around.
 
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bestcee said:
Yes. The worst that happens is you get the job. Because if you don't get the job, nothing changes. You are still a SAHM. And second worse case scenario - They give you feedback on why they didn't hire you that you can use in the future.

I've done it before. I applied for a job that wanted a bachelor's degree, and I didn't have any degree. I got the job. Three different times.

Also, typically companies are writing towards what their dream applicant would have, not what the applicants they interview and hire end up having. Perhaps you have a skill they didn't realize they even wanted! Some certifications you can even work with the employer to get, depending on the requirements. Like, ok, you may need a Registered Nurse license, but they might hire you without the BSN, or pediatric CPR certificate if you get it within the first x days.
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^^^^
Totally agree, that’s how I got invited to a recruiter for a role, the role was as a receptionist for a service provider for people with intellectual disabilities - I have no receptionist experience but have customer service, admin and computer skills plus a degree in disability studies so I got an interview with the recruiter. It didn’t go any further than that but it was a case of I have some of the stuff they want plus stuff they haven’t mentioned but i’ll give it a go.
 
When I was in hs, I wanted to be a teacher of French to grade school children but this was not a common job at the time. The other thing I wanted to do was be in the Foreign Service and applied to the school of Foreign Service at Georgetown Univ and did not get in. Long held resentment about that!!! so I studied to be a teacher, Elem Educ, but flunked out 2nd semester junior year. So I looked for a job and found I was overqualified by my 3 years of college for a lot of the work and did not have a college degree for others. I also could not pass a typing test! which led to a major, major argument with my mother who said "Any monkey can learn to type!" Ms SmartMouth answered back "Well obviously I'm not a monkey!" which was not terribly kind to my mother who had a job based on her secretarial skills. I found a (mindless) job doing pre-coding for the green card computer coders of the 60s at an insurance firm that specialized in insuring architects and engineers. I married two years later and spent the next 20 years living the 'diplomatic' life without the degree. I also learned that back in my hs days, Georgetown accepted very few women for the Foreign Service program because if/when they married, they had to resign. Such discrimination and I had no idea of it at the time.

Once divorced, and back in the US, I had various jobs including School Age Day Care teacher which was a lot of fun but the pay was peanuts, Office Manager of a Mental Health which was me and an answering service, until I was hired as a Caseworker for a US Senator. I loved that job - Military and VA cases and later did Immigration work which made me think of finishing a degree and becoming a Paralegal. However, all constituents were becoming nastier and nastier and I got sick of being screamed at daily by them - especially when my job was to help people. So after 10 years I quit and became a regional coordinator for a foreign exchange program. I was there 18 months and was fired for not meeting recruitment goals. I also learned a lot about ethics...

I'd gone back to school over the years and taken lots of courses but not completed any degree. Classes that appealed to me but mostly in the educ/psych field. I started working for MD government at the Help Desk and leading tours of our State House. That lasted about 2 weeks and I was hired by a State Senator. I started doing casework again, but within a month her legislative person retired and I became the Legislative Aide. I also finished my B.A. in Human Services (which was the degree that used the majority of my credits) during my early years with the Senator.

What I can see in hindsight is that I have had jobs/a life that included my dream jobs...teaching, foreign service, and the law - all without the presumed required degrees. I considered law school in my last job but was newly married and realized that I could not work, go to school and be the wife I want to be. I only regret that on occasion. I like retirement and I've had various volunteer jobs but if I could do what I want I'd go back to doing immigration work and fighting the system for immigrants or for veterans who serve and then have to fight like hell to get adequate benefits. I also plan to protest in DC with some other women of my age. I may end up in jail sometime but that's ok.
 
I used to watch Perry Mason as a kid and for the longest time, I wanted to be a lawyer. Then in high school, it changed to wanting to be an architect. I used to love drawing house floor plans. Every plan always had to have a foyer lol I also used to say I would go to school in-state but when the time came, I actually went across the country to attend school on the east coast. I still was thinking to pursue architecture but my freshman counselor steered me towards engineering. It was a good choice. I work full-time for the Forest Service and have been an engineer and fleet manager over the last 17 years. But my engineering degree has been invaluable :)
 
I don't think I have a dream job.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher and a mom. Well, then in high school, one of my teachers was kind enough to let me see the ins and outs. That was enough for me! I didn't want to deal with all the politics in the school system for the super low pay.
I went to college originally for a paralegal degree. I didn't know if I'd want to continue on to a lawyer, but I have a very strong sense of right and wrong. Well, I realized that in law, you have to defend the bad and the ugly, not just the good. So, that was out.
Right now, I love being a mom, and a Polly. I'm going to school for Web Design and Development - I just have to decide if I'm doing a Web Design or Web Development emphasis. But, I plan on taking the other one as my fill in classes.
 
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