The three alternative things you considered doing.

[Phillys]

1. Air Force pilot, was in the air cadets as a teenager, took all the flying courses, but got kicked out for insubordination. I really hate it when people think they can tell me what to do.

2. Food industry, always wanted to make food, own a food processing plant, something big.

3. Investment Banking/Private Equity, studied business/finance in university, got a masters degree from a good business school, then decided against it. If I am going to work 70-80 hours a week, I am going to work for myself. 

I then started a company intead of going into IB/PE. I now work as a manager in a finance department to feed the familly while the business is taking off. I have maybe another year before the business really takes off and I can quit my day job. The company has just been funded and I am lining everything up to start operations soon.

I have always been an entrepreneur and have come to the conclusion that I cannot do anything else. 

[ShortFatHokie]

1- Lawyer

2- Teacher

3- Meteorologist

 

Ended up working the golf business for 20 years and have spent the last 10 as an in-house accountant for an Owner/Operator of 11 fast-food restaurants.

 

 

[SloppyJ]

- Fishery Biologist 

- Civil Engineer

- Game Warden

I love fishing and I love science. Started working at a civil engineering firm as soon as I got out of high school as a means to work through college. Decided I was going to go for a Civil Engineering degree. I then learned that civil engineering is mostly sitting around with your calculator hammering out math problems. I wanted to be out in the field more. I changed my major and got a degree in soil and water science. I found that I enjoyed chemistry much more than calculus. The irony of the story is that I still work at an engineering firm. I handle drainage designs normally but I live for the ever so infrequent environmental jobs.  

[Frozen North]

I really wanted to be a copper, so here are the top 3:

- Police officer

- Cabinet maker

- Gynecologist

[TBird55]

1 Entrepreneur 

2 Doctor 

3 Farmer

 

Fairly successful at number 1, got tired of the office, sold businesses,  now a tree farmer, love the outdoors.

[RijkdeGooier]

1. Chef

2. Stocktrader

3. Gambler

 

[scap99]

I had every intention of being an auto mechanic.Then joined the pipe fitters union as an HVAC mechanic.

Second choice was join the Navy.

Third choice was CPA.

 

[Booyaa]

1. Pro basketball player - Booze, cigars and recreational drugs got in the way of that though, such a waste.

2. Whisky industry - worked at a distillery and a bottling plant from age 16 and wanted to give it a go.

3. Dry Cleaner - Ditched the whisky job when my old man died and took on the running of the shop while still working as an insurance underwriter. The old dear didn't want me to ditch the day job to take over the business full time so eventually sold up.

[Colt45]

Rock 'n' Roll axe grinder

Wine biz - merchant / importer

Intimate cigar lounge / night club with a jazz vibe

 

Settled on being a witty, handsome, charming, intelligent all 'round nice guy.

And humble. 

 

[cigaraholic]

1 Baseball 

2 Photography 

3 Wine

If Cuban cigars were sold in the US #3 would have been cigars.

[Texwrangler]

Law Enforcement

NASA (astronaut)

Vet

[stogieluver]

1. Commercial pilot

2. doctor

3. lawyer

I did a little flying (puttering around in 150's, 172's, and Super Cubs) in my college days, and toyed with the idea of pursuing a commercial career.  College, and thoughts of medicine or law, and women and the college good life, called, and off I went.  Long story short, got married right out of college, had two children, and had to support the family.  The first job offer that came along was in banking, starting at the bottom at $18k/year, as a management trainee.  Started in the teller window 37 years ago, and ended up as president of a community bank here near the end of my career.  The older I get, the more I wished I had been a cattle farmer like my grandfather.  I love sitting on a tractor cutting, raking, and bailing hay.  Others can get it in the barn, though.   

The best laid plans....

[helix]

4 years from retirement and no ideas yet .

[ThePolskiOgorki]

1. Fire Fighter

2. Chef

3. Tradesmen (considered carpenter or electrician)

Settled on being a Construction Estimator.   If I could do it over I would have pursued the fire fighter route. I think it would be a little more of a rewarding job. 

[bnasse9900]

1. Accountant.  Switched majors with two classes left.  In the end, the steady paycheck was outweighed by the mind-numbing work.  Best decision ever.

2. International Hotelier. I was all set to move to China, but got caught up in some red tape at the last minute.  The thought of graduating without a job put me in panic mode, so I settled for my current career.

3. Opening my own brewery.  I had the chance a few years ago, but couldn't take the pay cut.  Here's to hoping that the opportunity presents itself again down the road...

[MooseAMuffin]

1. Doctor - Wanted to go into medicine but never got off the admissions "wait list". After 2 years of being wait listed, I gave up and got a job to start paying off the mountain of debt I acquired.

2. Day Trader - Got really interested in stocks. Read a bunch of books to learn how to get started and manage risk. Saved money, then realized I didn't have the guts to go all in. Spent the money I saved on the kiddo and getting our first house.

3. Farming/Rancher - I married into a farming/ranching family. About 100 head of cattle(not counting calves) plus row crop of soy beans and corn. I help my father-in-law pretty much weekly since he does it all on his own. I love doing it and think about taking over every now and then, but again, don't have the guts to jump all in.

Instead, I settled to work in IT which isn't bad. I don't love it but it's ok for now. Been in it around 5 years now.

[MIKA27]

For me it was;

Doctor

Fireman 

Electrician

I ended up doing Automotive Electrical trade and now managing commercial property. 

[rhcolbert]

Active duty army

active duty air force

federal agency- customs, FBI, whatever.

laned army national guard, then Air Force reserves (still in that) and a insurance underwriter to really pay the bills ?

[treberty]

1) Diplomat

2) Lawyer

3) Cigar distributor / shop owner - worked in a shop during my studies and loved it

 

[MrGTO]

1) pro football player. - made it to division one college but was to slow (4.7 40yrd) and too short 5'10".  

 

2) Carpenter. - I loved the work but didn't work out. I am still glad to have built and remodeled homes. I'm pretty handy so no need to hire home repairs. 

 

3) Health care industry- I worked for a few years in a hospital and decided I didn't like people that much. Honesty it was coworkers not patients. Women dominate industry = drama...

 

4) currently a Machinist. - I started my own machine shop and work with my Uncle who has been a machinist for 30 years. I current do work for the nuclear industry and the national lab in the secret city. 

[dangolf18]

1.) Doctor

2.) Fishermen in some exotic locale

3.) Investment banker or options trader.

[hanjr]

My dream job was a caddy on the PGA Tour...well that didnt work...i went to college with the dream of being a TV Cameraman...that didnt work..I then decided on a financial career, graduated with finance degree...well I have been a computer support analyst for 20 years, and thats what I do!!  LOL

[JoeyBones777]

1. Aikido instructor (martial art)

2. Chef

3. Pro poker player

The top 2 really battled it out but ended up becoming a chef. I'm 36 now and have been doing it for 18 years...although, now I'm ready for a change. It's Not conducive to having a home life.

[dominattorney]

1) physicist

2) English literature professor

3) entrepreneur

Science always fascinated me, but a lack of ability to understand higher level mathematics made it clear to me that physics would not be a good career choice.  Both theoretical and practical physics these days both require an ability with numbers that exceeds my own.  English literature professor was scrapped because of a lack of fundamental stability for the profession in America, though I am still an avid reader of 20th Century American writers as well as 19th and 20th Century Russian ones.  To my mind, not much good has come out of the 21st century thus far literature wise.  Entrepreneur is a cop-out, because I do have a side business in addition to my law practice, but it's not a main focus of my activity. 

[zeedubbya]

1.) Poker Player (did it for nearly a year but it became not fun anymore.  Grinding out a living at the tables is not nearly as much fun when it's work.  

2.) Doctor

3.) Lobbyist/Lawyer

In between campaigns I took a job as a Car Salesman and the $ was too good to leave (at the time).  And then the pesky family got in the way of the other dreams.