1. Archaeologist – Egypt. Dinosaurs. I was enthralled with the idea of digging in the mud.
2. Fighter Pilot – Didn’t every child of the 80’s want to be one after Top Gun was released?
3. Ballerina – Never took a single Ballet lesson, but that didn’t stop me from thinking this would be an awesome career – at least for a little while. What was I doing when I was dreaming of Ballet lessons? Highland dancing. And like most of the ex-highland dancers I know, I have thighs like ancient tree trunks, bad knees and shoddy ankles.
4. Nurse – We have two “family businesses” where lots of us seemed to end up. Nursing is one of them. My mom (and MIL) were nurses. Me, I couldnt’ stand the idea of cleaning up bodily fluids and blood so nursing quickly dropped off my radar.
5. Teacher – Our other family business is teaching. I even went to university straight out of high school to become one. Then I discovered that I didn’t have the requisite patience to be a teacher. It wasn’t that I wanted to be a teacher as much as a I wanted to be a good teacher. I’d had lots of mediocre ones in school and a few amazing and inspiring ones. Computers quickly supplanted my interest in teaching…
6. Football Player (CFL) – Ok, let’s pretend I’m not 5 foot 3 and a girl. Pro football seemed like an exciting career prospect.
7. Author – Doesn’t everyone want to write the next great novel? Me, I wanted to be a poet.
8. Vetrinarian – I love animals, but VET was out of the question for the same reason I avoided nursing.
9. TV News Anchor (talking head) – While waiting for a train in Baltimore, a woman sitting next to me told me she thought I’d make a great news anchor. It was completely out of the blue, but for a few short weeks, planted the idea in my head…
10. Historian – History fascinates me. I adored Prof. Rhinelander in university. Like teaching, history fell to the wayside as I became more and more involved with computer sciene.
11. Librarian – I adore books. I love to read. Of course I’d want to be a librarian.
12. Architect – I didn’t want to build, but I certainly wanted to design buildings.
13. Electrician – When I was in high school and busy considering where I’d go to post secondary school, I really wanted to head to trade school and become an electrician. Dad veto’d it, saying I’d have a better future in University than I would if I took on a trade. Man, was he wrong. I’d be laughing if I’d become an electrician!

Now it’s your turn. What did you want to be when you grew up? Is the career path you’re following now in any way related to your childhood dreams?

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