Did you end up in the career that you planned for , or did it just sort of happen?

[s_morrison57]

I knew I was never cut out to be a suit even though I did the dentistry thing for a few years, ran outta money so I decided I needed a job that paid big and gave me lots of time off, so I went and got that job, still have it 34 years later.

[MotoSook]

Burt Rutan was my idol while in high school, and I wanted to work for him or be like him. I wanted to be in aerospace with Rutan or NASA. Got accepted to the U of Illinois' highly competitive AE program, but was later sent a letter saying that I got bumped and I could choose any of the engineering program offered at the school (the only one I applied to!). I wanted to be at the school anyhow, so I chose Mechanical Engineering, and found my interest in cars and hooked up with the SAE club. I was then going to go work in Detroit and be the next powertrain genius. But I ended up changing my major 3 yrs in and got a .... get this... BS Geology degree! Lol

Had enough of a start in engineering that I felt I had to see it through. So I applied to some southern schools to get out of the Midwest for a couple of yrs before I return to spend my career in the cold of the Midwest. Ended up at Florida State and graduated with a BSME.

Still wanted to got yo Detroit, but I happened to get an internship with a gas pipeline company in the South my last summer of college. They later made an offer that was had to pass up, so I took the job and didn't return to the Midwest like I planned.

Years later I'm happy to still work in the gas and oil industry, and very thankful that chance didn't take mento Detroit!

[Erakad]

Learned my trade in college, practiced it for 20 yrs (clinical lab), then had an opportunity to try something different...I mean really different....and it changed my life and career. Have been to places and done things in the last 15 yrs that would leave my former coworkers stunned. OBTW, they're still doing (or are recently retired from) that "boring" job. We used to joke it was like putting fenders on Buicks. Trust me, there's no glamor in doing lab work.

[on2wheels52]

Definitely, a just sort of happend affair.
Had moved to a different state and found out auto mechanics didn't make much there. It was either move again or find something else to do. It seems like I've had the pawn shop about ten years but it's been 25.
Jim

[scottmandue]

I don't want to be a gigolo but the ladies just won't let me quit!

I was a horrible high school student but was interested in electronics... did one year at community college and sucked at that.

My dad offered me a job at his HVAC contracting company as an installer... which also morphed into sheet metal mechanic and some service work.
After ten years I decided I couldn't keep up the level of physicality. Much to my dads dismay I quit and went to ITT tech to study electronics.

I was hired before graduation by Johnson Controls, a year later they closed the branch I worked at and laid off all us new guys.

I had friends in the computer industry who got me a lot of work on the side that turned into real jobs after a while.

While I was between computer jobs and opening came up at the science museum. All of the above experience helped me get that job. It has been a long strange trip and I couldn't have planed it.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

My first choice was aviation. I invested a lot into it, paid a lot of money to get all my ratings, etc. Pursued it for a while and then realized it's a "carrot dangler" profession that has changed and lost a lot of its allure. Gone are the days of the six-figure pilot in the left seat of some jet powered piece of heavy iron with a 15-on/15-off schedule. No more. More likely you'll languish away for years flying the first and last 30 seconds of flights to boring locations for $20k a year for many, many years in the right seat of an ERJ or CRJ cracking dirty jokes as you watch the autopilot fly the plane and wonder how many more days it'll be until you can get home and see your family again. Nah. So I put that on the back burner and used my aeronautics degree to get into doing some airport planning and design work, which eventually led me to pursue a graduate degree in architecture. That opened a lot of doors.

So there's a kind of weird logic to how I ended up here, but a logic nonetheless. Not what I'd have expected to be doing 25 years ago, but those are the things that make life interesting.

Looking forward a lot depends on the greater economy. I'm doing okay for now working on CM stuff for major capital projects, but let's face it - the construction industry in general is in pretty piss-poor shape. We're collectively overbuilt as a society in virtually all building types although there are some bright spots and some growth areas. Granted I'd probably want to be doing more architectural design stuff, but at least I'm doing some and I'm drawing on the same body of knowledge to help build better, more liveable and more energy-efficient facilities. That's not too bad. But it could all disappear pretty quickly too if the projects stop (and they could). So there's a lot of uneasiness too.

If this blows up I'm probably going to seriously look at going back to school for law. Lawyers and bankers are about the only two types of people out there I don't see hurting too badly out there these days. If ya can't beat em, join em maybe...

[sammyg2]

I planned to be a mechanical engineer, but dropped out of college because I couldn't see myself doing that kind of work and because I had an opportunity to get a job as a millwright making $15.21 an hour. That was huge money back then.

5 years later I was back to school at night, and went to school and worked full time for the next 12 years.
Eventually I became a mechanical engineer but now I spend most of my time being a manager.

So I guess the answer is yes and no.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by on2wheels52

Definitely, a just sort of happened affair.
...

You got it...

Sign the paper... and the guy says, by the way, it's in the Navy

OK, I did not really know we had one. It turn 100 this year; Canadian Navy: Canadian Naval Centennial - Welcome

Did my 24 years+, retire as a Chief and been collecting my pension for the last 10 years while working for a Defense company for the... Navy. Life is good.

Been all over the world, had a great time.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

... 5 years later I was back to school at night, and went to school and worked full time for the next 12 years.
Eventually I became a mechanical engineer but now I spend most of my time being a manager...

Good for you Sammy. A true American Dream Opportunity...

Maybe you should post on http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-politics-religion/569806-obama-snubbs-canada.html and tell your story

[look 171]

I wanted to build houses since age 15. Took what I could in highschool. All the usual shop classes. It was great fun and have always done well. Went onto college without any direction. Did geology for 2 years while building furniture for variuos people making pennies. Got a break working for some designers and big contractors in the late 80s. rented a shop and try to go big time. finally finish college with a degree in Industrial and technical managment 8 years later. During those years, got my General contractor's lic. and compete with the best of the rat race. I have been doing it ever since. about 7 years ago, went back to school and wanted to teach and give some back. Now I teach Woodshop three hours a day in a local high school. Its been great fun. In the past couple of years, my new job or direction is to buy, fix and sell old houses around here and doing all those other thing all at the same time.

Jeff

[scottmandue]

And there were all those years wasted training to be a ninja... I'm pretty good at being invisible, sliding down ropes in the dark, beheading people with the sword... but I could never get the hang of those throwing stars.

DARN YOU THROWING STARS!!!

[MotoSook]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

And there were all those years wasted training to be a ninja... I'm pretty good at being invisible, sliding down ropes in the dark, beheading people with the sword... but I could never get the hang of those throwing stars.

DARN YOU THROWING STARS!!!

LOL! And Nunchuks! Watch out for the nug nugs!

[Hugh R]

Mostly not. I started out in Environmental Engineering in college, did that for 15 years, moved into Health and Safety as part of Environmental Engineering on Superfund projects, started doing some consulting for other industries including the motion picture and TV industry and have pretty much been doing that for 15 years.

[Aurel]

I went for a PhD in chemistry/electrochmistry and wanted to work in industry. Got an opportunity to be employed in the USA, and spent 4 years working on Li-ion batteries for Bellcore/Telcordia. I was really happy with that job, but things were too good to last forever. When they closed our division, it was donated to Rutgers, and I ended up in academia, doing research industry style and not teaching. I have been trying to make it work for several years, even got promoted to associate research professor, but is a very difficult situation with no job stability at all.

I can appreciate the differences: academia is the art of fully understanding stuff that does not work and pretending to know how to make it work. Industry is the art of making things work, without the need to fully understand why.

[techweenie]

Sophomore year in high school, the teacher asked us to write essays on what we wanted to be. I wanted to be an "ad man." And that's what I did for 29 years, phasing into marketing consultant, then inventor/entrepreneur. Pretty linear course, all in all. Got to work with some of the smartest marketing people in the world (Steve Jobs) and some of the dumbest (Steve Ballmer).

[URY914]

Ever since I saw my first James Bond film, I've wanted to be a secret agent. It didn't work out......

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by jyl

I hope to have a third career before I die but can't really think of one right now.

Work with your hands. I started welding seriously after doing a bunch of cars just getting by on the welding. Well, I did take some welding classes 30 years ago and I don't really remember why.

Oh yeah, it was the car thing. (I stayed away from car restoration for almost 30 years before one landed in my lap 10 years ago.)

If the economy was roaring, I'd find a part time gig welding. It's a lot of fun making things whether you're cooking, building, fabricating, hobbying (building your interests yourself) or growing things.

[R K T]

Always wanted to be an architect. Took mechanical drafting classes in HS circa 1965, majoring in Arch drafting in college. Never got a degree cause I had to go to work to pay for my first Porsche, 66 911. Worked on the docks. Warehouse mgr. Managed Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories during the 80s. Retired very early from buying Home Depot stock in 87. Three years ago went to back to work as a graphic artist, so the drafting/architecture training finally came in to play 40 years later.
My other lifelong career.......freelance gynecologist!

[pete3799]

I've been training to be a mammographer since H.S. but i ended up owning a trucking company instead........go figure.

[foxpaws]

I had to draw... I couldn't imagine doing anything else since 7th grade. And when I was in high school I found I really liked cars. Now, I get to play with cars and draw them - and even it is just mostly suspensions - I adore my job. I am a graphic artist/art director as well R K T - haven't ever been anything else.