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I'll never forget my elementary school graduation ceremony. Each of us got to walk up to the microphone and say what we wanted to do when we grew up. I said I wanted to light Cuban cigars with $100 bills. I was subsequently grounded for a week :D

Way to go, man; that is brilliant.

a history teacher is what I am working towards. I want to get kids interested in the past and want to develop more diverse history options for high school kids than is offered now (basically Canadian history and some very brief glances at world events are offered now)

however, if I have my way I will be working in video game 'journalism'...

English/History teacher.

Already on the way. Taking the righ subjects for my A-Levels, so wish me luck :p

I am a history teacher (among other things) and I remember thinking after the first class I ever taught that it was amazing and brilliant that someone would actually pay me to talk about things I liked to talk about. It's a great job, if you love history. If you are in an area that you love/like/find fascinating, it really compensates for an awful lot of other shortcomings. The old idea of making a living out of a hobby has a lot to recommend it.

When I was a kid, I was (still am) fascinated by science and I wanted to be an astronomer and also an artist. Something creative, anyway. I have managed to combine love of history, with creative pursuits, so that is fine, to a certain extent. Needless to say, it does not pay all that well, but money is not my god, job satisfaction is. Melrose is quite right to point out that preferences and interests change over time, and what gives satisfaction personally/professionally at one time may change. I suppose self-knowledge also develops with age; certainly, I wish I knew some of the things I know now, (about life, love, self, work, etc.) a bit earlier. Cheers.
 
I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger. Now I'm on my way to become a dentist and then onto oral surgery, so I'll still be a doctor.
 
For a long time (up until the end of my freshman year of college) I wanted to be a pediatrician. Then, after volunteering in a children's hospital, I noticed that the children weren't particularly excited to see their doctors, but rather to see people like Child Life Specialists. At the time I was also interested in embryology and thought about going to grad school for biology.
I decided to work towards Child Life while keeping biology. I fell in love with two of my classes: Ethnic Minority Families and Theories of Human Development. A few of my professors talked to me about graduate school, and the more I thought about it the better it sounded. So, I am applying this November/December to several sociology programs, along with one psychology and one human development program.
I've always love statistics (since AP Stats in high school) and I'm a total geek and read scholarly articles just for fun. :p I also love my professors and I would enjoy working with people like them.
So, in a nutshell, I want to do research and teach.
 
Im 34 and only really just realised what I want to do.

Want to get into TV and Film production, specifically camera work. Its a bit of a bastard to get into though, tried the usual BBC etc, but must have experience. So, at the moment trying to get experience. Not having much luck though :(
 
Some people are like that. Some people are dead set on something during their younger years and completely change their mind later.
Me? I had such little idea of what I wanted to do at school that, when our English teacher asked us to write an essay on what career we wanted, I just wrote "I want to be a spy" :D
Had no idea what I wanted until a long term hobby became a career option.

I've known several people from both ends of the spectrum and some in between... it's just funny since we're brothers and turned out so opposite. I'm also the techno-buff and he only just bought cell phone and still can't turn a computer on.
 
lawyer, CEO, stock broker, anesthesiologist, Hedge/ Mutual fund manager. :)

Diversification is key, learn as much about as many things as you can. But focus on one thing to be your key skill. I don't know if you will get that. ;)
 
I really didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up--so I joined the Air Force to sort things out--meanwhile 30 years later--I am retired from the Air Force and still ask myself that very same question...
 
By grown up, it means after uni.
Well 7 years as a broker in the city to make the money and then move to a more rural area, start a family and take a smaller job as a company accountant. Anyway, that is the dream
 
When I was a teen, I wanted to be a rockstar. Didn't quite work out but played a lot of gigs though and that was worth it, and did some music in between being in the real working world. Now that I am considering a second career after 20 years doing one thing, I want to write contracts, business plans, and do pro-bono work for HR and labor related issues/cases. It's not very exciting sounding, but my need for excitement has diminished over the last 30 years.
 
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