I envy people who knew from a young age that they wanted to be a doctor, or a teacher, or an architect. I’ve never had that kind of focus. I’ve always said along with Harriet the Spy (one of my childhood heroes), “I want to know everything, EVERYTHING.” My ideal career changed every month or so. Unfortunately, I still feel and think that way.
Here are a few of my careers/fields of interest, some old, some new:
Writer. This blog exists because I want to, have to write. No need to elaborate. :)
Other Book-Related Careers: Librarian. This is a no-brainer, right? I would be an excellent librarian. If libraries weren’t downsizing and closing nationwide, I’d be on my way to getting an MLS right now. Same problem with the publishing industry. Or journalism. Or owning a bookstore (part of me still wants to be Kathleen Kelly). A wise friend of mine often says that although things change, they always change to something, so you just need to determine what that is. Time to learn more about e-books. :\
Meteorologist. As a kid, I could happily watch The Weather Channel for hours. I read endless books about hurricanes and tornadoes. In college I had a vague plan to major in meteorology and then enroll in a grad program at Mississippi State or OU. Unfortunately, the day I went to declare, I was told that the meteorology major no longer existed and they just hadn’t taken it out of the catalog yet. *facepalm* It was a blessing in disguise because I had forgotten one crucial thing: I have no math skills whatsoever. So I reconciled myself to being a big fan of weather. I have a home weather station in my backyard, make a sport of talking back to the storm team during tornado season, follow a bunch of weather celebs on Twitter, and attend storm spotting classes. It’s a good time to be a weather nerd.
Exercise instructor. I love exercise, most of the time. I love dance and choreography. I love finding the perfect energizing song. And nowadays, a lot of instructors don’t even talk much – they just gesture, and everyone figures it out. When I did Zumba regularly in 2006 (before it was popular – exercise hipster alert!), I seriously considered getting certified to teach it, but some people didn’t think I had the right personality. Of course I also love yoga, and my yoga teacher of four years has actually suggested I sub for her sometime! So we’ll see. However, I know I can’t make a career out of exercise instruction, unless I someday have the luxury of being the secondary household income.
Professional organizer. This is so interesting to me and uses all my Monica Geller cleanliness tendencies to great advantage. You get to organize stuff and help people in a tangible way (sometimes including a little armchair psychology). What’s not to love? I’ve researched professional organizing, taken a one-day class, and even thought about joining NAPO. But starting my own organizing business would consume all of my free time, so it’s another idea on the shelf for someday.
Counselor. My own wonderful counselor came to the field later in life, and I’ve considered it. But I think I’m too empathetic to be an effective counselor. My patients would end up comforting me. LOL!
What do you still want to be when you grow up?
Wow! Lots of those are on my maybe one day list too! That’s awesome. I’m at a point where its I’ve got time to figure it out. You do too.
Loved this entry.
Exercise instructor – you can totally do it as a side job. I did! I am not sure why someone would tell you that you don’t have the right personality. I used to think I needed to be an extroverted party animal high-energy type to teach until I read the message boards online that it was okay to be a quieter teacher. I got certified to teach Turbo Kick, cardio kickboxing. When I bought the DVDs to learn one of the routines in preparation for teaching, the creator of Turbo Kick Chalene used instructors with different personalities in her videos. She used party animals and even quieter ones. She wanted to show us that instructors came in all different personalities, not just party animals. Seeing those introverts behind Chalene made me realize that it was okay for a quieter person like me to teach. And so I taught, for a year, before my son was born. I did it as a side job twice a week at night while having my day job for a steady incone, just like you. I love dance and choreography too and I LOVE Turbo Kick. They know how to pick high energy songs, the kind that make you bob your head to.
If I could do it, YOU totally can too. At the time it was something I really wanted to do and I got tired of making excuses for why I should NOT be doing it and finally one day I decided to go for it. Heck I even got my group exercise certification from AFAA first so I could be all official. I had to study and all that. It was really the only time in my life that I followed-through with something I really wanted to do, and I’m a pretty lazy person. :P So you can totally turn talking into doing too, Brenda.
To answer your question, when I was in high school I wanted to be a psychologist, but that went out the window when I took the intro. to psych class in college and didn’t like it at all.
Nowadays I want to be a Cantonese translator, but I don’t see that happening.
These days I’m just happy to have a steady job.
Oh my goodness…I could’ve written this post. Almost everything in this post is true for me too. So I have no advice as I’m still trying to figure it all out. I couldn’t help but comment since I felt like you read my mind. I guess the only words or encouragement I can share are “You are NOT alone” in feeling this way. Good luck! :)
Dietician – Seriously, look into it.
I always wanted to be a children’s author and an actress. I’ve done both in ways I never imagined, but that clearly glorified God in the process. Meanwhile, my favorite career thus far has been the one I have now. Wife. Mom. Teacher. Friend. All titles are appropriate for the “one” job. The pay isn’t great, but the benefits are awesome.
But my favorite future-job hope comes from our youngest daughter (7), who longs to one day be either a Marine Biologist or a Rescue Helicopter Pilot (specifically one who rescues people after being bitten by a shark). I don’t think I even knew enough at age seven to dream up those jobs!
Still a writer! Though I’ve always wanted to better at art, too.