What did you want to be when you grew up?

[Doctor Q]

As you were growing up, what job or profession did you always imagine you'd have?

Did it work out that way? Are you still headed that way?

[Blue Velvet]

As a kid I went through phases from:

Dancer to painter to astronomer back to painter... now graphic designer (print).

[wordmunger]

I recall changing my mind several times, but the only career plan I can actually remember is -- economist. You know, on the news, when they report that "economists say" the rise in unemployment was due to this or that or the other thing. I wanted to be that guy.

Needless to say, that didn't exactly work out. Second-year college math, coupled with actual economics classes, pointed me to becoming an English major. Now I'm a writer.

[emw]

I remember riding in a car with my grandfather when I was 9 years old and him asking me what I wanted to be. I told him I wanted to build robots.

14 years ago I graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering - and with several "robotics-related" courses under my belt.

Of course, by then, I had become somewhat disillusioned with the whole thing, and ended up taking a job with a printing company, designing press modifications, etc. From there I got into graphic design, color management, PDF workflow, process improvement, etc.

So today I'm sitting in a meeting in Florida discussing the technical aspects of the next version of ISO 15930-6 (PDF/X-3). Not quite what I'd dreamed of 24 years ago sitting in my grandfather's car. But at least it's warm.

[Timelessblur]

Well at one point I wanted to be a Asturnot (Still would like to be one) By 3-4th grade I believe I had desided I wanted to be an engineer. Now what type of enginneer took me up until year or so after I got out of high school before I desided I wanted to civil but I knew back in third grade I wanted to do something with math and sciences

[ravenvii]

When I was a kid, I wanted to rule the world.

I'm still heading towards that.

[clayj]

An architect. I drew all sorts of buildings as a child, and took four years of drafting in high school so that I could go to design school. That was when I found out you can't get into any decent design school without having better artistic skills...

[wdlove]

I was a person that just did average in school. Didn't really have any profession in mind. Then during my Junior year in high school my English teacher gave us an assignment, it was to write a paper on our future job. It caused me frustration at first. My mother told me that her father, who was a telegrapher on the railroad, had encouraged a local boy to become a funeral director. Never found out how that connection occurred.

My mother took me to visit him at the funeral home, which he owned. He was very helpful with information for my paper. That was it, my goal was to be a Funeral Director. He offered me a job the summer after graduation from high school. Needless to say my interest in school and grades improved.

I entered college and then Mortuary Science College. After graduation did an internship an passed the state Funeral Director's license exam. Prior to graduation took the national Embalmers Exam. I graduated Magna Cum Laude. Also worked at a second funeral home. It ended up not working that well with my personality.

It seems that things work out for the best. My mother was a Nurse, so on the spot decided to be a Nurse. It was the best decision that I ever made. What a great joy to be able to help others.

[Doctor Q]

In elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher, inspired by a wonderful 4th grade teacher. I also wanted to be a mathematician, although I didn't really know what a mathematician did all day... math homework problems, I figured.

By 8th grade, I wanted to be a journalist too (not instead). That's when I had my own weekly comedy newspaper (I sold subscriptions to classmates) and was in the school's journalism class.

In high school, I discovered computers and decided I wanted to be a programmer.

Now I'm a programmer, I do math projects for fun, I teach students and teachers how to use computers at a local school, and I write articles for the school newsletter (and lots of posts at MacRumors). So I guess I ended up doing a little of everything I had in mind.

[iGary]

Elementary through high school I wanted to be a marine biologist or wildlife biologist.

I got lost in college....and ended up being an editor and photographer.

Never would have guessed it. :o

[brap]

First off, I wanted to be in the Air Force... then someone decided to persuade me against it, succesfully. Thanks. Next up, architect, followed by engineer of some kind. Made some really bad decisions as to courses at college, so I'm now a qualified programmer. And I hate it. Studying History to get some kind of grounding (with my dissertation on architecture), ready myself for that oh-so inevitable office job.

Seriously though, lack of guidance in education has ******** me over so many times, I've wasted many [the best] years doing things I hate and/or are completely useless, uninteresting, uninspiring and downright degrading. I'm still quite, no, wait, I'm very ********* bitter.

I think underneath it all I still yearn to have the opportunity to be an engineer, or architect, someone who has to manipulate data - use the brain everyone said I had when I was 16 - but I'd have to start from the very beginning (read: 6 years ago). Really can't face it.

Wow. This is getting close to an epiphany, you know?

[Lacero]

I wanted to be an astronaut, but after the Challenger disaster, I changed my mind. Also I am myopic and slightly retarded, so that ruled me out from that profession.

[iGary]

I was a person that just did average in school. Didn't really have any profession in mind. Then during my Junior year in high school my English teacher gave us an assignment, it was to write a paper on our future job. It caused me frustration at first. My mother told me that her father, who was a telegrapher on the railroad, had encouraged a local boy to become a funeral director. Never found out how that connection occurred.

My mother took me to visit him at the funeral home, which he owned. He was very helpful with information for my paper. That was it, my goal was to be a Funeral Director. He offered me a job the summer after graduation from high school. Needless to say my interest in school and grades improved.

I entered college and then Mortuary Science College. After graduation did an internship an passed the state Funeral Director's license exam. Prior to graduation took the national Embalmers Exam. I graduated Magna Cum Laude. Also worked at a second funeral home. It ended up not working that well with my personality.

It seems that things work out for the best. My mother was a Nurse, so on the spot decided to be a Nurse. It was the best decision that I ever made. What a great joy to be able to help others.

Wow, I really couldn't do that, but i am glad there are people out there like you that can, and enjoy it.

Don't the aspects of working around corpses and death become too much at times, or is that something you just get used to? yo udon't have to answer if you don't want, but I am curious. :confused:

[Littleodie914]

When I was a kid, I wanted to rule the world.

I'm still heading towards that. :D :D :D

I think this one wins so far.

As for me, I'm kinda still debating... I'm a junior in high school right now, and am planning on maybe web design? Can anyone give me an insight as to how popular the business is, how hard it'll be to find a job, salary, etc.? My freshman year I wanted to build/repair computers, sophomore year I wanted to be an engineer (a kid I looked up to graduated and is working on his degree), and now I (think) I've decided on web design of some sort. I love it, and I'm not too shabby at it. (My current homepage isn't that great, I'm working on a new version.)

[miloblithe]

dig up dinosaurs.

Not even close.

[bousozoku]

I wanted to be a samurai warrior first. That didn't exactly work out but I am the type to protect others, despite my shortness. :D

After that, I decided that being a pharmacist or concert pianist would be good. At the end of high school, I wanted to be an interpreter/translator. After a break from school and some desire to study again, I learned software development and digital electronics and I'd been there until recently. Right now, I'm doing photography and some graphic (print) design.

[Lacero]

After my initial disappointment with being a spaceman, I did want to become a ninja. I had the whole black mask down, and the silent ninja moves. I even owned a few ninja stars and swords. I ended up in a desk job and gained 30 pounds.

[mactastic]

An architect. I drew all sorts of buildings as a child, and took four years of drafting in high school so that I could go to design school. That was when I found out you can't get into any decent design school without having better artistic skills...

Not entirely true. I got into a pretty good architecture school with (what I consider to be) terrible hand drawing skills. And now that I'm graduated and working in the field, the pretty drawings are nice and all, but your CAD skill and you knowledge of code, appliances, and other technical aspects are at the core of what I do. I spend very little time sketching by hand. Of course, I'm no Frank Gehry either.

Back on topic however, I wanted to design houses when I was little so things worked out pretty well for me so far. :p

[makisushi]

In elementary school, I wanted to be a marine biologist, later in high school, I wanted to be a chef. I college, I started in Poli Sci, switched to Bio Chem, then to Culinary arts, and finished with a BFA in art., needless to say, i was on the 5 year plan.

I did the big design firm thing for a couple of years, now I own a business in a completly unrelated field.

One day, I hope to be a marine biologist.

[mactastic]

One day, I hope to be a marine biologist.
How do you feel about the Santa Cruz (http://ims.ucsc.edu/) area? ;)

I thought about being a chef too. Then I decided that the hours sucked.

[makisushi]

How do you feel about the Santa Cruz (http://ims.ucsc.edu/) area? ;)

I thought about being a chef too. Then I decided that the hours sucked.
I love the Santa Cruz Area, my Dad's cousin owns a bookstore there.

Chef hours do suck, I worked as a sushi chef to pay for college. I think if I were to do it now, my wife would divorce me.

[jefhatfield]

as a kid, i wanted to be a pilot of a prop plane (fueled by WWII tv shows) but by high school i wanted to be a rock and roll musician and make a living at it

though i did music for nearly 25 years, on and off, it was just a hobby and i didn't get paid much over the years...i played for free a lot but that was fine with me since it was mostly fun

in college, where i didn't want to be, i was a business major, then english major, took five years off, and went back to studying business and finished up with degrees in liberal studies and then in personnel management/labor law but i couldn't imagine myself in that field

now ten years later, after a short stint for 6 years as a techie, i plan to get back into the personnel field/labor law field in some capacity...nothing big but maybe as an associate for a law firm in that field before private practice...when i took a class in labor law, the professor was an administrative law judge (only a few hundred in the usa) and i was highly impressed by his occupation but my inability and unwillingness to go that far or endure that type of stress makes me admire powerful judges from afar

[quagmire]

My dream IS tp fly tomcats, raptor, or the Hornet since I am in 9th grade. But, of course it is hard to actually get the job of flying jets since you go were the Navy tells you to go and I would be risking my life. But, I would be risking it for my country so that isn't a big factor. I heard believe it or not it is hard to be able to fly the tomcat. That you must go through top gun to fly a tomcat. I first hated the tomcat but, after playing Ace Combat 5 and watching the history channel about it gained a lot of respect from me.

PS: for the people who don't fighter jet codenames, the Tomcat is the F-14, the Hornet is F-18, and the Raptor is F-22.

[wdlove]

Wow, I really couldn't do that, but i am glad there are people out there like you that can, and enjoy it.

Don't the aspects of working around corpses and death become too much at times, or is that something you just get used to? you don't have to answer if you don't want, but I am curious. :confused:

Working with the bodies didn't bother me at all. It was something that had no effect on me from the beginning, the summer after high school. So it just reinforced the feeling that I had made the right decision at the time. I found the difficulty to be working with families. Being an introvert, just made it more difficult. So nursing just was a better fit for my personality. I like the one on one aspect, the feeling that I'm making a difference in someone's life. Does this answer your question?

[jefhatfield]

My dream IS tp fly tomcats, raptor, or the Hornet since I am in 9th grade. But, of course it is hard to actually get the job of flying jets since you go were the Navy tells you to go and I would be risking my life. But, I would be risking it for my country so that isn't a big factor. I heard believe it or not it is hard to be able to fly the tomcat. That you must go through top gun to fly a tomcat. I first hated the tomcat but, after playing Ace Combat 5 and watching the history channel about it gained a lot of respect from me.

PS: for the people who don't fighter jet codenames, the Tomcat is the F-14, the Hornet is F-18, and the Raptor is F-22.


the jets never interested me, i liked the f4u corsair, the p-47 thunderbolt, and the b-17 flying fortress...i did learn as i got older, in the 1970s, that the only way i could fly those in action would be to fly for a south american or southeast asian air force ;)

but i did get to see the flying fortress actually fly in an airshow...wow, what an amazing sight

[quagmire]

the jets never interested me, i liked the f4u corsair, the p-47 thunderbolt, and the b-17 flying fortress...i did learn as i got older, in the 1970s, that the only way i could fly those in action would be to fly for a south american or southeast asian air force ;)

but i did get to see the flying fortress actually fly in an airshow...wow, what an amazing sight

If there is anything I could do today or go back to WWII I would be doing everything I could to fly the super-fortress( B-29). The B-29 interests me even more then the tomcat. Hey, I will even settle for the Russian TU4( the stolen design of the B-29) I may not have seen a B-29 in flight, I have seen the Enola Gay at the new air and space museum in DC. The Enola Gay was fully assembled since 1960!

[18thTomorrow]

2nd Grade: Teacher
3rd-6th Grade: World-famous jockey, show rider, or horse trainer
7th-8th Grade: Veterinarian
9th-10th Grade: Music Teacher, symphony player
11th-12th Grade: Graphic/Website media Designer or computers research scientist

Current Careers:
Student, Major in Computer Science, minors in Greek and Art
Website Developer, University Webteam & freelance developer
Violin Teacher, with 11 students

Hm. 3 out of 6 goals achieved. Not bad at all.

And I'm just getting started. Look out, world.

[vniow]

I love the Santa Cruz Area, my Dad's cousin owns a bookstore there.

Which one?

[mrjikey]

Wow, out of all of these posts i would have figured to see more policeman. I thought everyone (at least boys) wanted to be a cop at some point in time. At least all of my friends and I did. Part of that might be because my dad is a cop, but I'm still surprised. Right now i'm almost done majoring in Industrial Technology, but i'm really not sure if that's what I want to do with the rest of my life. I guess I have a little time to think about it.

[Doctor Q]

In elementary school, I wanted to be a marine biologist, later in high school, I wanted to be a chef. I college, I started in Poli Sci, switched to Bio Chem, then to Culinary arts, and finished with a BFA in art., needless to say, i was on the 5 year plan.

I did the big design firm thing for a couple of years, now I own a business in a completly unrelated field.

One day, I hope to be a marine biologist.Best post of the week, and it's only Monday!

[Mav451]

I gotta tell ya, at first I wanted to be some kind of marine biologist. Out on a boat, studying "stuff" (lol).

Of course later on, I thought being an architect would be nice >> and now I'm a civil engineer. Of course, when you become an engineer, you realize just how much of a b*tch it is to calculate the forces, the tediousness, and heck sometimes its just downright dry.

And of course, architecture has its own school, so I'm wondering what I'm doing in civil engineering now. BUT...talking to people, they tell me architecture is just as bad as engineering (i.e. the long hours working by yourself); with people living at the architecture building literally, when projects are due.

Sigh, and then I'm pretty decent with PC hardware and would like to do something with that, but to get a real job I'd have to be come a programmer. C++/VB, Java, and Matlab courses bitchslapped me.

"You can't program worth a damn Mav451".

And now i'm here.

Where do i go?

[ham_man]

A billionaire...;)

I am only 14 so this question should be in the future tense for me, but I would like to be a meteorologist or a computer programmer of sorts...

-Andrew

[Lacero]

A billionaire...;)

I am only 14 so this question should be in the future tense for me, but I would like to be a meteorologist or a computer programmer of sorts...

-Andrew

I had dreams of making 50 billion dollars in my lifetime, but currently only making enough to afford a Camry and several houses. :mad:

[virividox]

a lawyer...kinda reconsidering that

[Don't panic]

scientist

worked out well

[themadchemist]

An astronaut then an actor then a doctor then surgeon general then back to just a doctor and then by 7th grade a neurosurgeon...

Now I'm an undergrad studying neurobiology. I'm interested in research and am considering being a clinician-scientist. I also have an interest in politics...Maybe that will carry me somewhere later in life. Who knows. I have many interests, a few aptitudes, and no marketable skills. ;)

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

Perry Mason. But after passing civil procedure with less than flying colors and barely surviving torts, litigation might not any longer be on the horizon...

[ecche]

when i was a toddler I used to say I was going to be either a "crocodile" or the next pope, my mother said.

as a school kid I was doggedly determined to become an archaeologist and unravel the mysteries of easter island and its massive stone statues plus of course discover a couple more jewel-laden mummys in egypt.

then, before finishing school, I changed my mind and was going to study chinese. on the very day I graduated I noticed a flyer on my school's message board praising the merits of being a doctor. I half-heartedly applied for medical school and that was that.

I never looked back.

[WinterMute]

I wanted to fly jets, but I didn't want to join the airforce... :rolleyes:

Then I wanted to be a Doctor, till I found out how hard that really is (massive respect to Arn and WDlove and all our other medical friends)...

Then, at 14 I joined a band and wanted to be a rockstar.... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

OK, after being a rockstar for a while, I got into studio recording, was an engineer for a long time and now I lecture in studio engineering, so I'm a teacher really...

Not too far from flying jets.

There was a amall kid who lived in my road when I was about 13, he had a red racecar peddlecar, kept telling everyone he was going to be a racing driver when he grew up, he's called Kelvin Burt, raced British Touring Cars for a couple of seasons, I think he's driving in the states now...

We can do anything we want if we want it hard enough.

[Platform]

When I was a kid, I wanted to rule the world.

I'm still heading towards that.

Go for it :p

[makisushi]

Which one?
I believe it is called Logos....it is a pretty big store.

[jemeinc]

The earliest I can remember is 3rd grade when I decided I wanted to be a Chef... Got on the fast track for that, worked my butt off, ended up opening a few restaurants, made a boatload of money, had a couple of kids & then realized I wanted to be a father more than anything... A couple people have mentioned that Chef's hours suck- that's an understatement- they more than suck- but the money is great... Problem is that before you know it, you don't know your kids anymore & you're too far into it to change careers because the food industry is all you know.. I ended up starting a specialty foods company- all of the sudden I was actually home for dinner every night, able to put my kids to bed, coach their sports teams, & enjoy a family movie on a Sat. night... Things I had never done before... It's been about 7 years since I got out of the kitchen & I realized I enjoy kids so much I'm currently taking classes to become a teacher.. Hopefully when I grow up I'll sell the business, get the golden parachute, & become a teacher...lol...

[pigbat]

I was pretty set on automotive design and had everything lined up to attend the Academy of Art University in SF. My world took a sudden turn when my girlfriend and I found out we were having a baby. Got married, joined the military and lucked into an IT job at the NSA. It led to a long career as a Unix admin which I enjoy and it pays the bills but my heart is still in the world of design.

I now have a 16 y/o who has her heart set on fashion design, I hope her dreams come true.

[Veldek]

I remember that I’ll always wanted to do something with mathematics since the early school days. Guess, what I do now... :D

[sushi]

I may not have seen a B-29 in flight, I have seen the Enola Gay at the new air and space museum in DC. The Enola Gay was fully assembled since 1960!
Really?!

FWIW, I saw it in pieces during the seventies when it was being renovated. Actually walked through the parts that composed the main part of the fuselage.

Sushi

[mactastic]

I believe it is called Logos....it is a pretty big store.

No way! That place has sucked up more hours of my life than I care to admit.

[mactastic]

I gotta tell ya, at first I wanted to be some kind of marine biologist. Out on a boat, studying "stuff" (lol).

Of course later on, I thought being an architect would be nice >> and now I'm a civil engineer. Of course, when you become an engineer, you realize just how much of a b*tch it is to calculate the forces, the tediousness, and heck sometimes its just downright dry.

And of course, architecture has its own school, so I'm wondering what I'm doing in civil engineering now. BUT...talking to people, they tell me architecture is just as bad as engineering (i.e. the long hours working by yourself); with people living at the architecture building literally, when projects are due.

Sigh, and then I'm pretty decent with PC hardware and would like to do something with that, but to get a real job I'd have to be come a programmer. C++/VB, Java, and Matlab courses bitchslapped me.

"You can't program worth a damn Mav451".

And now i'm here.

Where do i go?
Yeah the Arch labs were pretty much a grueling experience, but they were good fun too. Although working with X-acto knives when you haven't slept more than 6 hours in 3 nights is a risky proposition. Luckily I never cut myself bad, but I did manage to glue the ass of my jeans to a table at one point. And not with some silly white glue either.

I took a few civil and earthworking classes in college. Interesting stuff for sure.

[Yvan256]

When I was a kid, I wanted to rule the world.

I'm still heading towards that.

Hey Bill, nice to see you hanging with us in mac forums! :D

;)

[Yvan256]

I think underneath it all I still yearn to have the opportunity to be an engineer, or architect, someone who has to manipulate data - use the brain everyone said I had when I was 16 - but I'd have to start from the very beginning (read: 6 years ago). Really can't face it.

Starting over from only 6 years ago isn't much. The more you wait, the harder starting over will be.

Don't wait until you're over 50 to realize you need to start over. By then, it'll be 30 years wasted.

[Yvan256]

As for me, I'm kinda still debating... I'm a junior in high school right now, and am planning on maybe web design? Can anyone give me an insight as to how popular the business is, how hard it'll be to find a job, salary, etc.?

Some people will not agree with me, but stay as far as you can from web design as you can (unless you'll stick with the design side of things and won't get involved in technical details).

Yes, I used to work in web coding and survived the first browsers war, but seeing as everyone seems to think they have the right way to implement standards (and it's way better than it used to be, believe me), it could get ugly again pretty fast.

IMO it won't be hard to find a job (then again, depends on where you search) and the salary is almost insulting (in Canada, anyway).

Now I (think) I've decided on web design of some sort. I love it, and I'm not too shabby at it. (My current homepage isn't that great, I'm working on a new version.)

If you can cope with all the W3C standards, browsers bugs, platform differences, etc, then go for it.

I can only hope that you don't think "website" equals "Flash".

[jefhatfield]

Yeah the Arch labs were pretty much a grueling experience, but they were good fun too. Although working with X-acto knives when you haven't slept more than 6 hours in 3 nights is a risky proposition. Luckily I never cut myself bad, but I did manage to glue the ass of my jeans to a table at one point. And not with some silly white glue either.

I took a few civil and earthworking classes in college. Interesting stuff for sure.

i always respected the architecture students at cal poly...it was one of the two schools there that had a national reputation back then known outside of california (hehe, i am sure you know the other highly regarded major/hint: steel guitar in every song and plenty of skoal)

...not only did the architecture students use one side of their brain for the math and science classes, they also had to be handy with that exacto and be artistic...a rare combination for anybody

the people i have known in life have either tended to be really into art/music/writing or were more or less quant jocks

...as for being into exacto and not cutting yourself, try balsa model boats (www.historicfishing.net) and working with the crew while drinking a drink or five ;)

[Yvan256]

I had dreams of making 50 billion dollars in my lifetime, but currently only making enough to afford a Camry and several houses. :mad:

Not even happy to have a car and more than one house?!

[jefhatfield]

Not even happy to have a car and more than one house?!

for tycoons of all sorts, one of anything is not enough

take donald trump and his wives ;)

[scem0]

I wanted to be an astronomer, but I grew up to hate science :).

Now, at 17, I want to be a web designer/integrated media specialist. Let's hope I don't end up hating that too ;).

[jefhatfield]

I wanted to be an astronomer, but I grew up to hate science :).

Now, at 17, I want to be a web designer/integrated media specialist. Let's hope I don't end up hating that too ;).

having been an hr person and been in the working world for 26 years, i noticed that's why people have involved hobbies, because it's not smart to make your hobby a job or to expect a job to fulfill your personal/spiritual/creative needs

like money or credit cards, a job has a purpose whether it is to make money, learn a trade, or even kill time...but rarely does it make people happy and fulfilled in a way a hobby can

to understand that frees a person not to expect the impossible from a job

if you have the time, read the book "die broke" ...amazing insights on both life and career

[2A Batterie]

I am and always have wanted to be a musician. However, I never planned on the poverty and desperation coming along for the ride.

[mactastic]

...as for being into exacto and not cutting yourself, try balsa model boats (www.historicfishing.net) and working with the crew while drinking a drink or five ;)

Worst thing I did was once after minimal sleep for two nights I realized shortly before presentation time than all the display tables had been taken and that I had nothing to put my models on. I headed down to the support shop and proceeded to use the tablesaw, bandsaw, brad nailer, and a few other things with sharp pointy teeth to make a quick table for my stuff. The whole time I'm thinking "Go slow and DON'T look at the clock. And keep your eyes open." :eek:

[Jaffa Cake]

I wanted to be a Jedi.

However, when I found out this wasn't possible, I concentrated on wanting to be an artist. Over the years, that metamorphosed into being a designer, which I now am!

[wdlove]

OK, after being a rockstar for a while, I got into studio recording, was an engineer for a long time and now I lecture in studio engineering, so I'm a teacher really...

We can do anything we want if we want it hard enough.

Now that I'm working with the radio ministry at my church, I have great admiration for what you are doing. The director at our church has fifteen years of experience, he amazes me whit his knowledge. Says that he learned by experience, fascinated by the flow of the electrical current.

[quagmire]

Really?!

FWIW, I saw it in pieces during the seventies when it was being renovated. Actually walked through the parts that composed the main part of the fuselage.

Sushi

Yep. Make it 1961 really.

The airplane's last flight ended on December 2 when the "Enola Gay" touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The bomber remained at Andrews in outdoor storage until July 1961. By then quite concerned about the bomber deteriorating outdoors, the Smithsonian sent collections staff to disassemble the Superfortress and move it indoors, out of the elements, to the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.


The staff at Garber began working to preserve and restore "Enola Gay" in December 1984. This was the largest restoration project ever undertaken

http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/boeing_b29.htm

I also got an autograph pic'd of General Tibbits standing infront of the Enola Gay. One out of a thousand.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Well, I always kind of knew I probably wouldn't become a superhero...

...so now I'm 35 and still not sure what I want to be if and when I grow up... :D

[vniow]

I believe it is called Logos....it is a pretty big store.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.lenharth/bow2.gif

[jsw]

For the vast majority of my youth - from as far back as I can remember until halfway through high school, I wanted to be one of the guys on Wild Kingdom (http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/wildkingdom/elephant/episodes/show.html). I loved the idea of working with animals.

Progress on that front: first girlfriend worked at Scoville Children's Zoo in Decatur, IL; now I have a dog and a fish.

Then, after doing well in debate in high school (state champion, did well nationally), I thought about law. Specifically, I wanted to prosecute.

Progress on that front: realized law school was a lot of work and prosecutors make no money.

Then I decided to be an astronautical engineer late in high school. Wanted to be a rocket scientist.

Progress: two degrees in aero/astro engineering at U of I. Then the cold war ended.

Then I decided computer graphics was where it was at - graphics like NASA visualizations and Industrial Light and Magic.

Progress: couldn't find a gig like that in 1989.

Then I stuck with programming.

Progress: series of programming jobs, including great one doing AI/image recognition in the 1990's. Now doing phenomenally boring work with management of network devices.

[jefhatfield]

Worst thing I did was once after minimal sleep for two nights I realized shortly before presentation time than all the display tables had been taken and that I had nothing to put my models on. I headed down to the support shop and proceeded to use the tablesaw, bandsaw, brad nailer, and a few other things with sharp pointy teeth to make a quick table for my stuff. The whole time I'm thinking "Go slow and DON'T look at the clock. And keep your eyes open." :eek:

the good thing about a "hobby" as opposed to school and work is that there are no deadlines :)

i got humbled at the true art of mastery it takes to build a good balsa wood model from scratch when i met a man who called himself a beginner since he only had been doing it for "only" twenty years, according to his recollections

he wrote the govt for actual plans on a ww2 liberty ship and scaled it down and built it from scratch...he said it would take him years just to finish that one project

so at ten years i am looking at another ten before i can consider myself a beginner in this hobby...when i met many of the modelers years ago, they were all old people and i had assumed it was something that they just took up after retirement

but actually, most of them had been doing it all their lives and the quality of their work showed in the models they made for the local maritime museum and the local seafood restaurants

besides skill with wood and woodworking tools, one has to be a historian as well as being able to set up and conduct interviews to fill in those historical gaps and details needed to make a true representative balsa wood boat model

i am sure from scratch airplane and car modelers go through the same attention to detail when doing their endeavor, especially when what they are building no longer exists to see and measure

[chanoc]

Oddly enough, I wanted to be a US Army Special Forces commando and retire from the army. My of my, how my objectives have swung radically to the left in latter life! :D

[atari1356]

I honestly don't remember wanting to be anything in particular when I was a child.

Luckily though, I had parents who liked to buy things that they didn't really need, including a long string of computers including Pong, Atari 2600, Atari 800, an early PC with DOS, and the original 128k Macintosh. I fell totally and completely in love with the Atari 800, and then the Mac.

I also had a love of music, and thought I would combine my two interests by going to school for audio engineering. After graduating, then working for 4 months as an unpaid intern in a recording studio - only to be replaced by another unpaid intern, I decided to take a job with some friends in Florida who had started a business to design something called "web sites" on this thing called the "internet." That was over 10 years ago. My early experience with computers has come in quite handy.

At the end of 2003 I was feeling very burnt out and wondering how I ended up doing design work... for that reason and others, my wife and I dropped everything, sold our house and moved to Ohio where we had a baby girl.

Now we're back in Florida and I just negotiated going back to work with the same company - and I'm pretty excited about it. Being unemployed (except for some freelance work) for a year makes you grateful for what you have... I'm going back with a new perspective on work, on Florida, and on life in general.

I highly recommend tearing apart your life and piecing it back together over the course of a year. Make sure you also create a new life and move 3 times while you're at it. ;)

Funny thing is, I've had a quote saved on my computer for a few years that reads: "Before enlightenment, chop boy carry water; After enlightenment, chop boy still carry water". I think that describes my situation perfectly.

[Phat_Pat]

I want to get involved with movies. Either with editing, filming, or even some acting.

[MentalFabric]

I'm a rock star, baby :p

[Roger1]

After my initial disappointment with being a spaceman, I did want to become a ninja. I had the whole black mask down, and the silent ninja moves. I even owned a few ninja stars and swords. I ended up in a desk job and gained 30 pounds.

Only 30? I've picked up 50. When I was younger I wasn't sure what I wanted to be. But now, when I look back on things, a wealthy playboy would have been nice. Or just a playboy with wealthy girlfriends. :)


edit: Now that I think about it, I did want to become a video game tester.

[Doctor Q]

Now that I think about it, I did want to become a video game tester.I'm surprised nobody mentioned that before. Didn't every kid want to be a toy tester or, in particular, a video game tester?

There must be a lot of people who didn't end up doing what they thought about as a kid, since you never hear anybody say "When I grow up, I want to administer human resource policies and programs" or "When I grow up, I'm going to be the best senior administrative assistant ever!"

[Roger1]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that before. Didn't every kid want to be a toy tester or, in particular, a video game tester?

There must be a lot of people who didn't end up doing what they thought about as a kid, since you never hear anybody say "When I grow up, I want to administer human resource policies and programs" or "When I grow up, I'm going to be the best senior administrative assistant ever!"


Or' "When I grow up, I want to work for minimum wage at McDonalds' as a profession" (guilty). Or "I want to work a dead end job in a factory" (again, guilty). Boy, I almost sound like monster.com, don't I?? :p

[blackfox]

When I was a child, I wanted to be a grown-up and change the world. Now that I am a grown-up, I desperately want to hang-on to the last vestiges of my child-like qualities to do the same. Funny ol' world...

Some days, however, "changing the world" gets downgraded to "commercially viable". Those are the same days I drink whisky.

[sushi]

The Enola Gay was fully assembled since 1960!

Really?!

FWIW, I saw it in pieces during the seventies when it was being renovated. Actually walked through the parts that composed the main part of the fuselage.

Yep. Make it 1961 really.




You might want to read your article again.

It has not been assembled in one piece since 1960. From 1961 to 1984 it was disassembled and stored inside until they started the restoration.

I saw it at the Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland, in 1979. And it was in pieces. Many pieces.

Anyhow, they did a super job restoring it.

Sushi

[maya]

My dream was to be crazy, I believe I am half way there. ;) :)


joking aside, there is always time for me to accomplish what I want and dreamt of when I was a child.

pilot, astronaut, fly AirWolf. ;) :)

[Doctor Q]

Working with the bodies didn't bother me at all. It was something that had no effect on me from the beginning, the summer after high school. So it just reinforced the feeling that I had made the right decision at the time.wdlove, I remembered this post of yours from last week when I wrote my post here. You'd love the exhibit I went to tonight.

[mad jew]

I woulda been a firefighter, I just can't stand the smoke. :(

Maybe a Mac test pilot? "Yes Steve, this G6 definately needs more GHz!" :)

[Chappers]

Wanted to be an artist - sort of part way there. I try to exhibit when I can.

[absolut_mac]

As you were growing up, what job or profession did you always imagine you'd have?

Did it work out that way? Are you still headed that way?

I didn't care what the job or the career was, I wanted to be rich, because my folks were so poor.

But when the time came and I had the opportunity to date a few wealthy girls - I can't say that they would have agreed to my marriage proposals, but maybe one of them would have - I couldn't do it because there wasn't any chemistry there. Oh well, no complaints from me, love won out in the end :D

As for the job, I guess I an one of the fortunate few who managed to turn his hobby into a profession, I repair watches to pay the bills.