JumpyTheFrog Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 How old were you when you finally knew yourself well enough to figure out what your career should be, if you weren't at home with your kids or didn't have kids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) I am the oldest of 4 kids. Very early on I would gather teaching materials, make plans and try to coerce my sisters into playing school. I think I came out of the womb wanting to explain to someone else the how/why of what just happened. No matter what else I've tried to do, my heart gravitates back to teaching. Edited December 13, 2011 by Andrea Lowry added e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'm 45 and I still don't really feel like I have "a" calling. I think I realized I was cut out for business numbers stuff when I was in grad school, because those were the classes I blew away without a ton of effort. This came as a surprise. I really always wanted to work in education. I guess that's why I'm still not really sure what my "calling" is, if I have one. I've done a lot of volunteer work in the area of education, to balance the business side of things. And now, of course, I am up my kids' butts about learning all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Other - if I had to stop what I'm doing now and pursue a career I have no earthly idea what it would be. I think I know myself well enough by now to know what I should definitely AVOID, at least. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 under 18. When I applied to the university at age 17, I had to apply for a specific major. That's the field in which I am working until this day. (Eight years at the university plus two years of required post doctoral work are too much of a time investment to easily switch paths; I won't have the time to gain the same degree of expertise in another field.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted under 18. Unfortunately I had no one encouraging me to pursue my two choices. So I saw them as silly teenage wishes and never tried.:glare: I am now 44 and one is no longer a viable option, the other I am pursuing, just with a 25 year gap in the learning curve. I actually am dealing with the bitterness of not being taken seriously as a child. My parents and I talked about this recently. For those reasons I do take ds's interests seriously. We discuss what they might look like as a career, how he could pursue a degree in that field, etc. Nothing set in stone, I know he may likely change his mind. However, I want him to know his interests have value, and that there are people earning a living pursuing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted under 18. Unfortunately I had no one encouraging me to pursue my two choices. So I saw them as silly teenage wishes and never tried.:glare: I am now 44 and one is no longer a viable option, the other I am pursuing, just with a 25 year gap in the learning curve. I actually am dealing with the bitterness of not being taken seriously as a child. My parents and I talked about this recently. For those reasons I do take ds's interests seriously. We discuss what they might look like as a career, how he could pursue a degree in that field, etc. Nothing set in stone, I know he may likely change his mind. However, I want him to know his interests have value, and that there are people earning a living pursuing them. So what were you two choices as a teen? You have me curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted 40-44 because I was 41 when I started homeschooling my kids. This is the first job I've ever done where I really feel like I'm doing the right thing, both for my kids and myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker25 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I told everyone that I knew at a very early age that I wanted to be a housewife and a mom. Lots of people just smiled and patted my head, but I never changed my mind. Here I am at 33, a housewife and mom to a whole herd of kids. I wish that the adults in my life had taken me seriously. I was groomed for college and career and not for household/kid management. These past 11 years have been really hard as I'm still trying to work it all out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted other. I was 14 or 15 when I decided on career #1. I stayed with that until age 30 when I became a mom. I met dh in that industry. At 30, I decided career #2 would be stay at home , home schooling mom. I'm 50 now and only have 4 years left of home schooling. Maybe 3 years if youngest decides on dual enrollment for sr year. So, I'm deciding on career #3...... Do I go back into my original field? Do I go back to school to be a certified teacher? I'm enjoying part time retail now.... maybe even a retail career? My point: Life changes.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I had to pick other... because I haven't picked yet!!! Well... kind of... As a young child (about 6) I wanted to become a teacher. I loved everything "school". At the end of high school I wanted to major in psychology and work in counseling... I went to college and married after two years and became a sahm... and homeschooled for many years... I love writing, but do NOT write fiction at all... I love photography, but don't have the money for higher end equipment and the "use what you have" and "great photography is in the eye of the photographer" don't get me too far... And I hate promoting myself... I work part time in retail but am so under paid, that I cringe at how many hours equals the amount of the paycheck... I've been told by several people over the years that I would make an incredible nurse because I am patient and do not freak out in emergencies... in fact, I stay incredibly calm during them... but, the years of school ahead of me are a bit of a deterrent... All that said, I AM signed up for night classes starting in January in the medical field because I am only going to get older and I cannot put off doing something more with my time and income... so... medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology for me! Bring it on! However, I still do not know if I will go for a nursing program or start smaller, as in medical assistant and build on that... or if I take these classes and decide it's not going to work out with my brain function (!!!) (I worry about the amount of information you have to store and retrieve daily in the medical field... and I'm not young... but, I'm early 40's, so I have to give it a try and believe in myself...) So.... I picked "other". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I like too many things to pick just one... This is most likely why I never did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I was very very young when I knew I wanted to be a doctor. I can't really remember wanting to be anything else. I did go through phases of wanting to be a "doctor and a ballerina and a mommy". To which I now say that 2 out of 3 isn't bad. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 18-22. I really love being a receptionist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Other. I haven't figured it out yet. Some of the other threads on being a SAHM have me seriously depressed because DH is in a dead end job making barely enough for us to survive, no insurance, no retirement, certainly no house. I'm thinking I need to go back to school, but I'm not sure which one or what I should do. Growing up, I had always wanted to be a SAHM, but I am so very bad at it, I think DH might be a better SAHD. It's just very frustrating for me at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) After being solely a homeschool mom/homemaker for about 16 years, I got involved in speech-to-text transcription in academic settings. I've been doing it for three years now, and am currently working almost full time over the internet from home. I love it. Edited December 14, 2011 by milovaný Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicAnn Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I was 22/23. I never would have known though if it weren't for having kids. I knew right away after my first that I had to be a doula and midwife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I am the oldest of 4 kids. Very early on I would gather teaching materials, make plans and try to coerce my sisters into playing school.I think I came out of the womb wanting to explain to someone else the how/why of what just happened. No matter what else I've tried to do, my heart gravitates back to teaching. This is my experience as well. I started making worksheets for my little brother when I was 5 and he was 3. Poor little brother. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I'm 40 and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. :D In my teens, I worked in restaurants. In my 20s, I was a paramedic (volunteered - I knew I didn't want that as a career) and worked for various doctors, then did some unrelated things, one of which led to... In my 30s I worked as a software engineer for a consulting company. Now, deciding I wanted a part time occupation, I went to work for the Y (front desk, membership stuff), got certified as a personal trainer, and will take over the group-ex classes for one of my young colleagues who is off to school in January. My work life has been a very odd mix. Probably because I'm always looking for a new challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 So what were you two choices as a teen? You have me curious. Archaeologist, particularly Egyptologist, and writer. Both since I was about 12. Doubt the archaeologist is going to happen. Writer, still working on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xel99 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I'm 37 and still don't know what my "calling" is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I voted "other" because I wanted to be a nurse ever since I was tiny. This lasted my entire childhood, adolescence and I went to a college that had an excellent nursing program, completed the pre-reqs, got accepted into the program, passed out during a clinical when they were putting in an IV and quit at semester. And never regretted it.:D I became a teacher and while I believe I'm gifted in that area, I won't go back to classroom teaching again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Once I got over wanting be a dictator, I wanted to be an astrophysicist since I was about 6. After my Diff EQ class in college, I changed majors to what I'm currently doing which requires less math. My second choice after what I'm doing was pirate. I'm saving up for my boat. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I always wanted to be a stay at home wife and mom, but picked 18-22 because once I got married at 22, and my husband was all for me staying home from day 1, I knew that was what I was meant to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) I voted under 18. Unfortunately I had no one encouraging me to pursue my two choices. So I saw them as silly teenage wishes and never tried.:glare: I am now 44 and one is no longer a viable option, the other I am pursuing, just with a 25 year gap in the learning curve. I actually am dealing with the bitterness of not being taken seriously as a child. My parents and I talked about this recently. For those reasons I do take ds's interests seriously. We discuss what they might look like as a career, how he could pursue a degree in that field, etc. Nothing set in stone, I know he may likely change his mind. However, I want him to know his interests have value, and that there are people earning a living pursuing them. I feel exactly the same. I wanted to be an architect. My parents were firmly of the opinion that a womans place was in the home. They did not actively discourage me, but they gave me zero encouragement and didn't help when a bump in my path seemed to spell the end to that. As it turns out, I still could have done it. So my sort of other option, probably encouraged by my parents was nursing. I applied for nursing and got accepted, but in the meantime I had done serious back damage working as a nurse aide. When I was 25 I went to Uni part time to study education, found that boring beyond belief so decided to have a crack at Architecture. As it turns out, I'm quite good at that stuff. But it needed me to give 4 years full time which was not feasible with a young family. During that time I had done a photography paper and really loved it. At 27 I decided that that was what I wanted to do I spoke to the design school and arranged a credit transfer so I was 1 year on my way to a 4 year Bachelor of Design majoring in Photography. Then we had to move and I couldn't do it part time in my new city. So I have had my photography desires on the back burner for the last 12 years. I voted 27 because that's when I discovered photography. I've always had my face upto the viewfinder and seen life that way, but that was when I decided I wanted to study and make a career from it. Well the waiting is over, I've been accepted to a very prestigous course here and I start to study next year :) It's only a diploma, and I did always want a degree, but the degree course is 1/ 3x as expensive and 2/ is aimed at art photography rather than commercial. This course has strong industry links and there is no question I will come out the other end working as a photographer. Edited December 14, 2011 by keptwoman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I still don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Well the waiting is over, I've been accepted to a very prestigous course here and I start to study next year :) It's only a diploma, and I did always want a degree, but the degree course is 1/ 3x as expensive and 2/ is aimed at art photography rather than commercial. This course has strong industry links and there is no question I will come out the other end working as a photographer. :hurray: Congratulations!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 How old were you when you finally knew yourself well enough to figure out what your career should be, if you weren't at home with your kids or didn't have kids? I don't remember how old I was exactly, but it was young; young enough that it's always been a part of my conscious memory. I tailored my schoolwork and extracurriculars to the job, even as a primary student. I was fortunate to have real-life exposure to the job/industry, so I wasn't going in blind (I have many friends who thought they wanted certain jobs, but after schooling or training realized it wasn't what they expected/wanted). I wasn't aiming super high, though LOL. I was after a lifestyle, moreso than a career. I haven't been disappointed! Even now if I were to lose my job, I'm still a believer in the lifestyle as opposed to a specific career. I'd rather teach skiing in the winter and surfing in the summer, living like a nomad between seasons and earning just enough to get by than to have any of the other higher-income, higher-prestige careers of my siblings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I'm 34, and recently decided I knew what path was right for me. Then I researched and discovered exactly ONE drivable location with the necessary program. I can't bring myself to do an entire undergrad with ONE graduate option, and I'm not interested in the career opportunities for the undergrad alone. So now I'm back to dreaming about my fantasy homeschool store. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 :hurray: Congratulations!!! Thank you :) I'm very excited! Lots going on to try and sort out the kids, but that is all falling nicely into place. The thing I found particularly interesting about this course was that they give priority to mature aged applicants. So they interview and offer places to the mature aged people first and then the young uns get the left over slots. This year there are 2 slots (from 30) left over after all us oldies have places. It's nice to know that we older folk ;) are still wanted in the educational world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I was 9 when I knew I wanted to be an actor. I do community theatre now because that is what I can do with my family but it still feeds my soul just like it did when I was little. My 10 year old is on the same path now but has so many more opportunities open to her than I did. I believe it is her passion just as it is mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My interests change over time, I would hate to be limited to ONE career. What I liked twenty years ago is different from what I liked ten years ago and both are different from what I would like to do today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I'm 37 and still don't know what my "calling" is. :iagree: Except I have one more month before I am 37! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in STL Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I've known I wanted to be a teacher since I was very little. My mom took me to a craft fair at Christmas time when I was in second grade. I got to pick one thing, and I insisted on getting an apple ornament with my name personalized on it. I used to help neighborhood friends with their homework for fun. I ended up getting an Elementary Ed degree after going back and forth on what grade level I wanted to teach. I still have that apple ornament hanging on our family tree and joke with my kids that it was my first teacher gift. My dh decided to be a doctor at about age ten and never changed his mind either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 It hasn't happened yet. I'm still waiting. I am in my early 40s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I finally gave up and stopped struggling against it when I was 26. From age 12 on various people (not my family .... far too non-invasive to say anything) had been telling me "You'd be a great doctor". I have no idea what made people say that! When I was 26 I decided it was time to "hand in my youth" and start that long journey from organic chemistry to long shifts in the ICU. But I put it off for a long time. I was scared of the work, and scared of failing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Other - if I had to stop what I'm doing now and pursue a career I have no earthly idea what it would be. I think I know myself well enough by now to know what I should definitely AVOID, at least. :) :iagree: Also, I do LOVE teaching but the idea of completing a useless degree, creating a ridiculous student loan and hating teaching in the public or private school set-up seems like a bad idea. :) I'd love teaching if colleges made sense (classes that are actually geared to what you actually need to learn instead of fluff) and the classrooms and administration weren't so horrible. I've actually been toying with the idea of going back and finishing a degree in education but the idea of using it makes me want to be sick. Now, tell me, does that make any sense?? LOL I want to teach but I want to teach MY way. Guess that makes me a homeschooling teacher, huh? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwlKnits Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I was 5. I came home the first day of Kindergarten and told my mom I wanted to be a teacher. I never veered from that path. I went to college, became a teacher, had kids, and now I homeschool. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 :iagree: Also, I do LOVE teaching but the idea of completing a useless degree, creating a ridiculous student loan and hating teaching in the public or private school set-up seems like a bad idea. :) I'd love teaching if colleges made sense (classes that are actually geared to what you actually need to learn instead of fluff) and the classrooms and administration weren't so horrible. I've actually been toying with the idea of going back and finishing a degree in education but the idea of using it makes me want to be sick. Now, tell me, does that make any sense?? LOL I want to teach but I want to teach MY way. Guess that makes me a homeschooling teacher, huh? :lol: I was an education student until I got disenchanted in my 3rd year (age 19). I figured that I would become frustrated over the lack of freedom and possibly fired over my lack of conformity (since it took 10 years to achieve tenure in those days). About 15 years later, I started looking into doing education as a second career. I was in a successful career that paid off all my debts and built a little nest egg, and I had developed the confidence to put myself out there. That's when I found out how much it would cost me to be a second-career teacher. I'd have to re-take all my education classes and, as a penalty for already having a Bachelor's, I'd have to do it all as a Master's Degree student, which would be far more expensive. Just to start in at the bottom rung of the ladder. No thanks. I guess I'm not "that" altruistic. I did continue to do volunteer work with kids (e.g., tutoring in schools) until my kids took over my life. Now that my kids are 5-ish, I'm involving them and getting back into the hands-on volunteer world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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