The three alternative things you considered doing.

[El Presidente]

I was having a discussion with Greg not too long ago about the pressures to decide on your career so early in life.  

Outside of what you are doing now, what were the things you were seriously considering when you were in that 18-22 year old zone?

 

For me it was 

 

1. Priest

2. Lawyer

3. Banker. 

 

Jesus wept on the first choice but I was pretty close to deciding on the seminary. It was only the beginning of the priest and marist brother scandals in the final year of my schooling that made me reluctantly drop the idea. 

Law was the fall back uni course. However there was a lass I was particularly interested in and so I did commerce with her.  I think things through carefully 

 

 

[Troels]

1. History 

2. Scientific studies of language

3. Sociology

random last minute decision made me choose human geography - ended up with a Master in that, but thought about a swap for biocemistry or the like for the first years if my study

clearly all over the map

[dicko]

1. Butcher - I love the smell of the butcher shop. I would love to do some butchering as a hobby down the track. Also, love meat small goods. Potential pay was a turn off. 

2. Armed forces. I actually interviewed twice for the defence force but never committed. The lack of personal freedom (e.g. not being able to choose where you are barracked etc) was the major turn off so I have much respect for people who have made that sacrifice (among others).

3. Police officer- when I play the "what job do you think I do" game with people when I'm out people 80% of the time guess cop. Again, lack of personal freedom about where and what you would be doing was the big turn off.

4. Historian - I love history and studied it at uni as a minor. I do not think I would gel with the academic lifestyle and I also don't think I would have the discipline to write and research as would be required to write books. I don't want to get political, and I am actually very far from right wing but the left bias on campus was palpable even as an undergrad.

5. Tradesman - if I had my time again I would have become a plumber or electrician and run a small business. 

In the end I've ended up as a lawyer and most importantly self-employed. I like the day to day freedom in decision making but there are also drags in other ways the biggest being lack of holidays over 7-10 days and always having the business in the back of your mind. 

I totally agree the pressure on younger people to make long term career decisions is crazy but I guess that's life. 

[polarbear]

1- Military

2- Chef

3- Commercial Diver

Option 3 kinda led me into the start of my current career path so I guess I kind got where I was aiming at the time
As I'm only 31, I am starting to wonder what my next career (a term I've never been comfortable with TBH) will be
I've been in my current career for over 10 years there are days I think it might be time to change things up a bit

 

[Thomasdenaro]

1. Professional AFL player - got close but didn't cut the mustard when i got diagnosed with chronic fatigue (not long after it became a better known illness) wrote of my possible career.

2. Architect 

3. engineer

so i ended up as a shopfitter and now a Project manager.

 

[kwsaw63]

Wanted to join the Air Force as a pilot but poor eyesight sank that option. Seriously considered studying Anthropology for my bachelors degree but decided against it as I didn't want to piss off my mother again (I was already in her bad books for dropping Maths & Physics at A level and doing Politics and Ancient History instead). So ended up a bean counter as this is the profession I dislike the least!

[MrGlass]

I never knew what career I wanted to pursue at that age, and 13 years later I'm still none the wiser (with even less of an idea on how I ended up in my current position).  The only thing I ever really considered was a pilot, but that was never really an option due to the cost involved.  

When I finished high school, my parents gave me some great advice - don't go to university for the sake of going to university.  As much as they wanted me to go, they knew I still wasn't sure what to study and knew that ultimately it would just be an expensive waste of time.  I nearly started a science degree, but didn't bother pursuing it.  And now that I'm engaged to a scientist and have had some insight into that world, I'm even happier I didn't start it.

[gweilgi]

Same here as some others ... I really had no clear idea what to do.  At 18, most kids are barely old enough to tie their shoelaces unattended (so to speak) -- to expect that they have their life choices made and their careers planned is a bit much.  

The armed services (bit of a family tradition) were out because I failed the medical.

I then considered 

Literature (English, German, French, Comparative)

The Classics

History 

but was dissuaded from the first two when asked whether I wanted to become a teacher (hell, no) or an otherwise unemployable cab driver (also, hell no).  

So in an uncommon display of maturity, I listened to the good advice of my parents and picked a subject that would not nail me down to any one specific career and would thus keep open my options  That is how I ended up with European Studies,  a grab bag of a little bit of economics, business, literature, languages, politics and history which has stood me in good stead over the years.

If I had to do it all over again, I probably would not do a full degree at university.  I'd become a proper watchmaker, with a few related uni courses thrown in.  Being able to design and construct a timekeeper with my name on it that would still be ticking and being useful a century or two down the line -- there are worse ways to find a bit of immortality.

PS: Not that there is anything wrong with career changes later in life if the opportunity presents itself!  Many folk don't make that leap for one reason or another, but my SWMBO went from chemistry to financial planning in her thirties and never regretted it for a minute.

 

PPS: @Elpresidente -- " so I did commerce with her" ... come again?

 

[Jimmy_jack]

1-Chef

2-Lineman / Power Company

3-Lawyer

[miurajus]

1.  Professional Gamer (Had a small sponsor lined up in Korea back in 2001 that I just couldn't swing).

2.  Equities Trader

3.  Software Engineer

[JoeyGunz]

1. Advertising

2. Fireman

3. Butcher / Chef

 

I would still love to be involved in advertising.

[semifan1]

If I hadn't of gone in the Army.

1.Firefighter

2.bum

3. live at home forever

[BuzzArd]

1. Percussionist

2. Biology teacher

3. Vagrant

1. Was a percussion performance major at FSU.  Realized some time into that choice that I was probably going to starve.  2. When I wandered away from drums after 3 years of study (not to mention my you ger years) I persued another love. For a while.  Science always got me.... That was, until I started doing some interning for local high schools. Came to the same conclusion as choice No 1 and moved on. 3. Vagrancy offered no further assurance of a meal at the end of the day.  

Wandered into the School of Nursing because my pop had just made a career choice away from being a machinist to Nursing and was loving it. Hell, I already had the prerequisites, so I joined up.  

Now after 27 years I'm thinking of becoming... a machinist.   

[Auspaul]

 Army  went to the recruitment center everyone was so clean cut thought I couldn't shave everyday . 

Applied for the Police got accepted but got a trade at the same time  glad I did not join the Police force was a lot of corruption and I probably would have got in trouble

Thought about a priest but decided against that

 

[Puros Y Vino]

1. Pilot (jet fighter, not any of those crappy commercial planes.  Being a bit too chubby, tall and not have 20/20 vision prevented that)
2. Artist ( didn't see much $'s in it so I went into IT. Still enjoy doing it now and then)
3. Books (My oldest brother ran his own bookstore for 30+ years. I used to run it on weekends when he worked at another job.  It wouldn't have paid great but I probably would have enjoyed it  My brother is a bit of a mess but I'm impressed that he managed to be his own boss, employed a little over a half dozen people and just in general outlast some competitors and prevent being killed by the big book chains nearby.) 

[BEVOSREVENGE]

For me the following interested me at 18 years old:

1. Petroleum Land Management

2. Law

3. Real Estate

Timing had a lot to do with where ended up because the oil and real estate markets both crashed in 1985 when I started college.  The PLM degree was shelved with no more admits before I could qualify.  Real estate was a skeleton of its former self and who the hell wants a liberal arts degree if you cannot become a lawyer; hello starvation if you fail to become an attorney.  Went balls in on real estate and have stuck with it ever since.

[GrouchoMarx]

I suppose I'm weird - by the time I was 18 I had already decided upon my career in "information technology".

I spent the years from 18-22 schooling for it.

Been doing it now for - ouch - over 30 years.

[canadianbeaver]

Always wanted to be a doctor. Loved watching medical shows on tv. The documentary kind, not just the drama ones, but like those ones too.

I wanted to be a writer of books for adults, mystery or crime fiction. I love movies about that stuff.

Last, perhaps owning a ranch of some kind? Bulls or horses? True confession though, I would have to be wealthy enough to just hire staff to do everything. I just like wearing the clothes. 

[HarveyBoulevard]

1.  Interior Decorator;

2.  Architect;

3.  Gigalo.

Still decided to be a paid whore...so I went to law school ; )

[Corylax18]

1. Architect - Realized there was too much Math.

2. Engineer - See above.

3. Lawyer

I graduated High School without a clue about what I wanted to study or do for a living. My first summer job after school was finishing basements. (framing, drywall, concrete, HVAC) I took to it like a duck to water. I went from driving the garbage truck to managing a framing crew that first summer and never looked back. I ended up graduating college with a construction management degree (still too much damn math) and still use things I learned that first summer today. 

I have quite a few friends with law degrees and its something I am still very interested in acquiring myself. Construction litigation can involve huge sums of money and be tremendously complex, which is actually a draw for me. 

 

[Cep]

Accountant

Was good with numbers as a lad. Then i got into booze and weed in highschool and my motovation went to zero. 

Electronics engineering technologist

Hs was ending, my grades were meh, didnt know about getting into uni, so decided on a priv college in electronics paid for by student loans. I passed all the exams but learned nothing. Still no motivation to do anything. 

Snooker player. 

If i would have moved to the uk when i was 15 or so i probably would have been pro eventually. But i didnt. Also i have a fear of playing in front of crowds lol so never even got close to winning canadian amateur championship.

 

I ended up fixing bank machines. Still do it part time on weekends. I work in QA full time for an accounting SW company. Go figure. 

I still know nothing and have no motivation.   When can i retire?

 

 

[TNT009]

Chef

Glass artist

Pro golfer

[shlomo]

Psychology- clinical or research. Finished up a degree,  got recruited and tried research for about 6 months. The pay was excellent, hours were great, benefits tops. I just did not enjoy the day to day repetition and boredom.

Small business owner- been a dream of mine for a while. To this day even. Never had the capital, nor the cojones to give it a go.

Police detective or traffic cop- traffic because I get a kick out of being an asshole sometimes (insert forum joke here) and detective because I just thought it was awesome.

Wound up in education which was a very thoroughly thought out and rational choice. Just wish the pay wasn't shit. Other than that, I am fulfilled and satisfied by my choice every day.

 

[BuzzArd]

2 hours ago, GrouchoMarx said:

I suppose I'm weird - by the time I was 18 I had already decided upon my career in "information technology".

I spent the years from 18-22 schooling for it.

Been doing it now for - ouch - over 30 years.

You may indeed be weird, but not for that. 

[Fuzz]

9 hours ago, dicko said:

2. Armed forces. I actually interviewed twice for the defence force but never committed. The lack of personal freedom (e.g. not being able to choose where you are barracked etc) was the major turn off so I have much respect for people who have made that sacrifice (among others).

 

Hey! Me too! Scored in the top 1 percentile in testing, but failed the... um.. psychological. Oh, and I was .5cm too short to be a pilot.