31M, still trying to figure it out.
I’ve been a firefighter, a soldier, a police officer and a bunch of other labouring jobs since leaving the force but I’m still trying to find out what ticks my boxes job wise.
31M, still trying to figure it out.
I’ve been a firefighter, a soldier, a police officer and a bunch of other labouring jobs since leaving the force but I’m still trying to find out what ticks my boxes job wise.
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I am 58, the only thing I want to be is retired.
44 and still waiting to figure it out.
I was about 28/29 I was fresh out of the Marine Corps and working as an LEO in Florida. I was relatively happy with where I was in life. I was married with a few kids, owned a house, had two cars, but money was tight.
The Sherriff’s Department in the next county over was hiring and paid almost $10K a year more. But you had to have an associates degree to work there. So I enrolled in community college to get an associates degree so I could get the higher paying police gig. My First semester of college, one of my first classes involved federal law. The professor was a retired Philadelphia prosecutor…. After a week in class, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer too. So I changed tracks from an AS in criminal justice to an AA so I could transition to a 4 year university and put my head down and worked my butt off taking as much course load as I could handle while working full time and still being there for my kids. Took me 6 years, But I got my doctorate and have been a practicing attorney for 25+ years now.
18, I’ve been a carpenter (different kinds of carpentry; framer, trim, general, cabinetry, architectural, mill work, etc) for the past 26 years
Maybe try something outside the establishment
Sounds like public service is in your blood. Just pointing out the trend.
I didn’t figure out anything; path of least resistance coupled with lots of luck. And studying.
12 years old, but it took me 40 years to get there. Don’t let stupid shit people say to keep you down get in the way of your dreams.
Around 31-32.
I still don’t know…I just wait for retirement at this point. I’m 52.
My daughter asked me this when she was in high school. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her… I’m 45, but I’ll let you know when I figure it out.
I’m 39 and will be graduating with an associates in HIT when I’m 40. This is after getting my cna age 16, mayo clinic Radiology 2015-2022, and I really hope it makes my grown self happy
I was 8 when I started writing software. I’m 42 now and I still love writing software.
I had a vague an idea what I wanted to study at 15 but due to my parent’s pressure and the shitty job perspectives at the time. I didn’t go through with it.
35 now and lo and behold, psychiatrists and therapists are in demand.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes and have plenty of other shit I’m still working on but I feel like I’ve had this particular thing figured out since I was a teenager.
I just want to keep being interested in stuff. My health will eventually go. Friends will probably all eventually move on or drift away in their own endeavors. I just never want to stop being curious and interested. It’s a big world out there, and it’s changing faster now more than ever.
32, I’ve worked in trades, landscaping, and crab boats. Currently an ICU rn and still figuring it out lol, considering going back to school for my NP but who the knows
What I wanted to be, or where I ended up?
I knew what I wanted to do back when I was 10… doubt I’ll ever get there though
Somewhere around 20. It all happend pretty fast and a lot of luck/chance was involved.
I hated school, hated having to work, had very bad grades and eventually I got kicked out for “antisocial behaivior”. I then proceeded to get some random girl pregnant, and we decided to both keep the baby and be/stay together, so I suddenly had a family to care for, but no education or hope for a job. I managed to weasel myself back to school via luck and a loophole, and finish it.
Now, during the final year before the exams we had to take a extracurricular course and write an essay about it. We had like, a dozen courses to pick from and naturally, some were far cooler than others so we had to write applications for them and name alternatives. I landed in aerospace, that was my 5th pick. The teacher who decided who gets what hated me so he put me into one of my bottom picks, but jokes on him, that was the second best thing that happened to me ever. By the end of the course i knew i wanted to be an aerospace engineer, badly enough that I accepted I had to git gud in math and physics, subjects i HATED with a passion all my life.
Yeah, and thats how I became an engineer, basically 😅
12
I have been the slow kid,no disability so no resources, since the third grade. When I turned 12 9/11 happened and heard that the military would be taking anybody, kept that in my back pocket till I could join. Have four more years before I retire and have to find something new to do.
I am 54 and I don’t know
37
I was 41 when I transferred into quality control & knew that’s what I wanted to do. Retired 1.5 years ago from quality control.
I am 41 and it was in my late 30s that I realized that my career doesn’t need to define who I am as a grown-up. My job pays me relatively well and has allowed me to buy a house, provide for my family, and fund my hobbies and vacations where I engage into he things that I love.
My wife is a scientist and she absolutely loves her job despite how stressful it is, and she thinks it’s sad that I don’t love what I do. The thing is that I love everything else I do, and when I leave work I get to think of what I want. Meanwhile, she leaves work and is always thinking about work.
She is very much the stereotypical researcher where her head is full of numbers and frameworks and criteria. Meanwhile, I like to write and to draw and to create, and I value the freedom to explore what I want to explore. David Lynch is a hero of mine, and I’m always seeking to “catch ideas.”
She enjoys her work and I’m so happy she made the mid-career switch to get her PhD and do what she loves, but I find it so freeing to have my own thing separate from other people’s control. If someone could pay me my current salary to write every day that would be the closest thing to bliss, but even then I’d beholden to the day’s word or page count.
TL;DR Your job doesn’t have to define who you are when you grow up. When people ask me what my dream job is my response is, “I have no dream job, for I do not dream of labor.”
I would try to not get hung up on finding a dream job you love. Some people seem to truly enjoy their work, but in my experience most don’t and are simply doing what they have to do in order to get by. Find something tolerable and that doesn’t leave you burned at the end of the day and seek fulfillment elsewhere. Employment is an exchange — your time for money. I always told people if it were “fun”, you would pay to be here. But at the same time, work shouldn’t be drudgery.
I’m pushing 50 and just waiting for it all to end
I never knew what I wanted to be as a kid growing up. The older I got with different jobs, I learned more about the type of things I enjoy and don’t enjoy for work. I also learned the type of environment that I like and don’t like.
At 42, I enjoy what I do (commercial HVAC). I work for a great company. I can’t imagine doing this for another company. Do I love everything about it? No. But I love the flexibility my work provides me. I love going to different places everyday. And I love being part of a union. And there are many aspects of the work I enjoy. What more can I ask for?
39 and still figuring it out even though I’ve been in IT the past 15 years. Currently really having an opportunity to live for myself (for once) so working on transitioning out of it. Many think it’s a wild decision but it doesn’t change my mind.
31M, I’m still trying to figure it out too. Started as a teacher, then I was an event coordinator, currently a training coordinator/LMS admin, and I just talked to the sales manager at my company about moving to his team in sales.
I just never wanted to have a job. I’ve been a Teacher, a Factory worker, a Server, a Bartender, and now a lab technician.
First career 6, my father made sure I’d have a follow on career and basically set the wheels in motion for my present career.
I was 21.
It was around middle school/high school when I figured what I was going to probably be doing, if I wanted to be “free” in a sense.
But, I never really committed until after college to the course. I still had it on my mind that other things in my surroundings would dictate my future.
Fortunately, I took chances to do more.
I’m 73 and still figuring it out.
33 for me. Only trying to go to school for it now at 43.
Definitely sometime in high school, we had a job fair and the IBEW electrical apprentice ship was there. And that was the only booth I looked at. So I think I actually knew I wanted to be an electrician even before that cuz I always liked electronics and stuff. I know it’s not the exact same thing but that got me started on this route.
Currently 38, I’ll let you know when I figure it out…
I was 30, when I got a job working for the federal government as a chemist.
When I was in high school, I wanted to be a doctor. When I started college, I was convinced I was going to make a career out of the Army.
When I graduated college and entered the Army as an Infantry Officer, I was convinced that I wanted to do a short stint in a Ranger Regiment before submitting my packet to Special Forces and going that direction with my career. However, a 13 month deployment to Iraq where I served as an Infantry Platoon Leader brought me face to face with what that reality would look like and I changed my mind again.
I got out of the Army and figured that I’d want to make a shitload of money working in corporate America, but I found those jobs to be soul crushing. Other than having a ton of money, where is the sense of service and pride in making another billion dollars for a billionaire? I decided to do a full 180 and sort of fell into a job working as a chemist for the federal government.
Working for the government, it’s easy to see how your service directly impacts and improves the lives of Americans. I found the work incredibly rewarding and, it just felt cool to tell everyone that I was a scientist.
If I were to do it all over again, I’d certainly make different decisions, but I think I’m as satisfied with life as I am now because of the experiences I had along the way. If I would have jumped directly into being a chemist when I first graduated college, I may have felt that I was missing something in my life.
I’m 35 i only know i don’t want to be poor again.
I’m 41 and i have a career in nursing. Started working 13 years ago. I want to get out of it but cant find a real way.
I was 34 when I got on the right path, 36 when it led me to the perfect job. Trust your gun, follow your instincts, don’t be afraid of new things or taking risks, have faith in yourself. Those are the best words of advice I can give you to point you in the right direction. Good luck my friend!
Edit: it started from me sitting down with a bottle of wine and making a list of things that I enjoy. Not even enjoy doing, just things that I enjoy.
31 and still think I kissed my highway exit to become a car engineer. Or a farmer. Or a Policeman.
I knew in 3rd Grade. Found documentation when I graduated high school and was given my student file. There was a third grade questionnaire given by the teacher and my answer was the same direction of my life’s career.
90% of people don’t love their job. You read something and completely missed the Mark here. You already had positions many would love. Look inward. My career choice has been whatever allows me too retire in my 50s
52 and never figured it out. For me, at this point, it’s about having a job I don’t hate that pays the bills and provides plenty of PTO. My work isn’t fulfilling in the least, but at least I don’t dread going to work every day. Work gives me enough to fund my hobbies and spend time with my friends and family. It’s my out of work relationships that give me purpose and meaning
I didn’t know until I was already doing it. 52 int 2 weeks.
How did you do both police and fire?
At 32 started career in IT, now I am 37 years old and ready to do what I am doing till I retire
54 and I still want to be a rock star, an NHL winger, a servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor, and a whole lot more. Someday I’ll figure it out, maybe.
I don’t know if I ever did. if you asked me when I was 18 what my life would look like, I can guarantee you that the answer would not in any way resemble where I am today. that’s not a bad thing, it’s just that life has a way of changing as you go along, And in a lot of ways, I’ve just kind of gone with the flow.
My college diploma was in one field, that I only really worked in for a couple of years, and then I kind of ended up in a different field, and back to college I went. I stayed in that job for another dozen years, until The company restructured, and I ended up doing something completely different for another 5 years. another restructuring later and I left that company and decided to completely switch fields, more education, and a completely new career again. Will I stay in this field? I think so now, but that’s also what I thought about each of my previous careers.
career path so far: computer network administration -> internet help desk -> Internet installation -> telephone technician -> educational content Creator -> paramedic
so the answer might be that I finally figured it out at age 41, or the answer might be that at age 46 I still haven’t figured it out… only time will tell.
33M. I got extremely lucky and was offered a job right before failing out of school, essentially no call / no show to one job, and my girlfriend moved out while I was at my other job. Luckily that job was still there when shit hit the fan.
Turns out medical lab work is fucking awesome. I now work alone for a comfortable wage, and it’s very chill most of the time.
I was about 46. After numerous short gigs, and careers in insurance adjusting and sales, I settled down in construction management. I worked in CM until I retired a few years ago.
I picked a general direction at around 16. Engineering. Then electrical. Studied it. Almost bailed to become a priest. Finished it.
And now about every two years, I reflect on where I am and if the direction I am on is what I want. Sometimes it calls for dramatic change. Sometimes a slight course correction. Sometimes just micro changes about me.
This is on top of every few days giving myself time to pay attention to where my emotions are, which also gauges my boundaries with respect to supporting my long term goals.
All this to say, I am constantly changing my goals of who I am and I have dramatically reinvented myself several times in my life.
So don’t worry about the finish line. Visualize some sort of goal and build a trajectory toward it. Work toward it. Start immediately. And be open to changing it when new opportunity comes up or circumstances make it impossible. However don’t be subject to the circumstances. Be flexible.
You are an adult now. You are already grown up. Compare you now to you at 16. Very different. And in five or ten years, you will laugh at the idiot you are now. And that’s good. Thats growth.
I got my first desktop computer in 1995 at age 7 and latched onto it pretty well. I think I was 10 or 11 when the idea of it being a future career was suggested to me by teachers. In high school, I also had interests in architecture and culinary arts, but decided on IT since it had the easiest path to money. I’m now 37 and a software architect for a large tech company, so it’s worked out for me so far.
If this industry continues to shit the bed though, I’m struggling to figure out what I’d do next.
35
Still have not figured out what I want to be when I grow up. But have accepted my job of 20 years as a nice pastime, I enjoy it.
I’m 36 and have had a few different gigs. Some of which paid very well but the work wore me out and at the end of the day the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.
This is my view: most people work jobs they either dislike or hate to make ends meet. Some lucky people are able to find a rewarding job that pays the bills. And a select few find a job they actually enjoy they pays well. T
The most realistic scenario is finding a job with an employer that takes care of its people, the work doesn’t burn you out and the pay is good enough to support a family and save for retirement.
49 and still trying to figure it out
37 – I finally started to be a fashion photographer, i also work behind the scenes on film sets.
42, still figuring it out. Did econ in undergrad, then law, then science, now healthcare, and i don’t think i actually care about any of these things but i’ll tell you retraining is a fucking bitch.
I am now retired. Never figured out what I wanted to do for work, but retired young after a good career. I did my best at every job I ever had whether I liked the job or not until I moved onto the next one. My work life just brought me to the right places.
The only thing I ever wanted out of life from the time I was a young teenager was to be a good father and stay happy.
I wanted to be a software guy and work remote when I visited my friends in Bali. My fiend is a digital nomad so. Next year I started college and become a software developer at age of 35.
Not yet working remote and now married with a kid so I may not be able to fulfill my dream but yeah came a long way
45 and still figuring that out. Doesn’t really help that I kind of landed my job in my early 20s and just stuck with it, turning it into my career. I hate it, but it’s pretty much the only thing I’ve ever done and I’m just tired and have zero interest or desire to rack up debt going to school to learn a trade or earn a new degree. I’m just tired and waiting for it to end.
35 and I have no idea. I’ve always been in customer facing positions. Customer service, customer success, sales, sales leadership, account management, etc.
I don’t want to have fake conversations anymore, but I don’t know what else I could do where I’d make comparable money. I’m tired, boss.
Hell I’m 50+ and I’m debating a career change.
Gone are the times of granddad working at the spring factory for 50 years and getting an engraved, gold Casio watch for retirement.
What you want is to enjoy the journey. There is no specific point where you will be grown up.
Keep doing things that are in the best interests of your current and future self and you should be able to reflect back with satisfaction.
29 when I began to see some success during my PhD in AI
Well when professional athlete and/or race car and/or baja driver was obviously not going to happen (injuries and lack of wealthy parents/connections or even access to a track – grew up in the middle of nowhere)… I decided to run with whatever career would afford me the ability to pretend to live my dream job (aka make enough to have a motorcycle/track car/dirtbike/etc).
Got a degree in finance… an entry level job… and worked my way up to the c-suite. Enjoyed that for a while and at one point I had 2 motorcycles, a side by side, an RV/toyhauler, a dirtbike, and a boat (mission accomplished IMHO).
Now I have my own company(ies) and the time and financial freedom allow me to live my life in a more balanced way but I am not yet making enough for all the toys… but not working for someone else and building my own empire is worth it in the long run even if I have to shelve the “dream” for a while.
I’m 49. I still ask kids for ideas.
I was in 6th grade …
I settled on being an accountant at 28 and went back to school for it. 32m now and very happy with it.
Nothing glamorous but I work at home or in a climate controlled office. No danger. Just have to deal with long hours for parts of the year.
Very stable and pays enough to survive.
I recommend if you want to get out of physical labor and want stability. I do not recommend if you can’t work on a computer for 12 hours.
Might not be your cup of tea but wanted to throw this out there because I was lost in my 20s and accounting gave me a career I like.
Most people don’t figure out what they want to be, they figure out what they are good at and what pays well for their skill set. Pay is the #1 motivator for the majority of people to be working. The “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” is bullshit unless you’re already independently wealthy and can afford to do something that helps people and not worry about income.
For those people who do chase their dream job, they tend to be overworked and underpaid even more than others since they are willing to make sacrifices to live their passion. Or they find out that their idealized childhood version of certain jobs are completely wrong. We never see the paw patrol fireman giving narcan to someone OD’ing in an alleyway or the paw patrol police dog planting evidence and shooting an unarmed black teenager in the back.
30
I figured out what I wanted to be in college. I changed my major several times and got as much work experience as I could during that time. It was trial and error. Now, I’m ready to do something else. I’ve been wanting to do something else for years after starting my career and I’m just now starting to put my finger on it to make that transition.
I was 10 when I figured out I wanted to be a landlord. Grew up poor, Mom used to say she couldn’t buy my toys cuz we had to pay rent. I never saw this guy working, but knew he was collecting all my toy money. So this guy was collecting toy money while also not showing up to work at the apartment everyday?????? I need this job when I grow up.
Around your age I figured out I wanted to use my brain for work instead of my body. I ended up transitioning into software, but the actual work is secondary to the fact that I can do it without physical wear.
I have known I never wanted to work another day in my life since my first job at McDonald’s.
By the age of 38 I’d been a soldier, computer programmer, electrician, locksmith, and mechanical engineer. I didn’t like working as an engineer so I went back into the skilled trades as an access control technician for a school district which was sort of a hybrid construction/project management position. Institutional maintenance (particularly with government) has the same sort of “structured but dysfunctional” thing as the military, but the hours are better and you get the satisfaction of making shit work. Doesn’t pay as much as engineering, but I hate the life of meetings and emails, so it was an improvement to me.
Mid/late thirties. The problem is, we have to make decisions at a point in our lives we’re ill equipped to do it. No 16-18 year old knows what they want to do, yet they have to decide the direction they want to head before O’Levels, so they can then make a career decision before A-Levels to get the degree they need (if they’re academic)
I did Civil Engineering and lasted about ten years before moving over to IT where I lasted 17-18 years before moving into property development full time, which is what I wanted to do, but I needed to get the capital together. I was probably about 36 when I decided I would quit corporate within ten years to go solo.
11
I’m 66 and I still don’t know what to do when I grow up.
I’ve figured it out 3 times and was wrong each time. Still on that path. I’m 38
17
What i’m getting from this thread is that it’s a privilege to be in a position to even ponder this. A lot of life is just mounting responsibilities and treading water.
26 is when I think I’ve figured out a path
I was about 14 or 15 when my physics teacher sent me to the local college for a 2 day course on programming an MK14 – Nat semi SC/MP based.
In pairs we programmed the MK14 to control traffic lights.
I was hooked, went to uni to study electronics, specialised in IC design and 40 years later, the vast majority of you will have a device in your pocket with a chip I did much of the early architecture for, and which still utilises a patent I invented.
Looking back (and whilst my medical and lawyerly peers are all desperate to retire) I’ve had a blast, fantastic remuneration, challenging but fun work and I still love every day. I tried retiring but got bored and I’m now working on the next tech that will change the world.
I’m 61 next birthday.
Thanks Mr Borer.
I’ve decided that I don’t want to grow up anymore. Taking the toys out of storage, I saved for kids that I’ll never have, and getting back into lego.
I’m 41 and I still haven’t. I’ve been a teacher for 18 years but I can’t see myself being in a classroom until I retire and I don’t think school management roles are in my career pathway either.
I found my career in property management at 31. I wanted to switch my major from environmental science to minor in business but it was too late by the time I started taking courses in my minor.
I enjoy this more than working on the environmental field.
I’m 59 and not sure!!
I’m 34 and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
Then again… Growing old is inevitable, but growing up is optional.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a mad scientist and take over the world.
Now I mess around with CRISPR in my bedroom.
More and more its less about pay and prestige, i just want something laid back and not stressful
Even if I’m pretty close to broke, as long as it pays the basic living expenses
My favorite job so far was a night shift janitor
Least favorite is what I’m doing now,long haul truck driver, its very stressful to me
Got introduced to my passion at 12 and started an apprenticeship at 16, love my job ever since then.