What did you want to be when you grew up?

A librarian or a hotel receptionist.

A hotel receptionist.

A nurse from being about five years old and I did become a nurse.

Ballerina - something for which I am entirely unsuited.

Like you, #Newatthis, I left school at 16 and became a pharmacy technician. However, my real love was chemistry and I went back to uni as an adult and became a chemist. I'm now a compliance manager.

New here! A window dresser!

Still haven't decided

A singer but I'm tone deaf

A Vet. But the sciences were not my forte and my exam results were never going to get me into veterinary college. I did however have a talent for art and my art teacher wanted me to stay on an extra year, take A-level Art and go to art college. My Mum flatly refused no way would she let me mix with all those hippy college students!! I went into banking in the City where I stayed until I married 12 years later. I did actually enjoy the work. Once our children were in school I went to work in education, not teaching. Then I later started my own business which allowed me to retire before I was fifty.

I have enjoyed my working life, but I still wish I had been allowed to at least try to follow my dreams. We've always let our children make their own career choices and although they've sometimes had difficulties they've all done OK and are happy in their working lives.

If I’m being perfectly honest I mostly wanted to be a ‘respectable’ adult. As a child I lived like the Ruggles, only not so posh (!!), but oh how I aspired to be like one of the Famous Five.

An Actress - sorry they are all called 'Actors' nowadays aren't they, regardless of gender - WHY?
My path was similar to yours 'Newatthis' - left school at 16 , into the Civil Service which I hated, gained my BA Hons part time and ended up a Book Dealer - which I have been for around 42 years! Well I suppose there is often some 'performance involved in selling!

When I was at catholic primary school I wanted to be a nun until I went to a catholic GS and discovered what nuns were like (1 or 2 were nice). Then I wanted to be a vet but was rubbish at sciences. Drifted into insurance and later made a good career in educational management. But really all I wanted to be was a beach bum.

A nanny did my training and got my NNEB then trained to be a midwife absolutely loved it One of my home deliveries in a caravan (New Age travellers )then got accepted to train as a midwife I loved working with these people Dogs and horses included as they would come looking for me accepted them as I found them

A bus conductor when I was about 3, then a Mummy, but aged 4 accompanied my Mum to a hospital appointment and from then on I only ever wanted to be a nurse. Retired early (due to husband's illness) after 35 years, but loved nearly every minute.

I liked the idea of nursing but I had to leave school at fifteen. I had various jobs including hairdressing office work and ten years as a civil servant.
I married had my children and was then divorced. Being on my own I went to college and university in my late thirties.
I remarried at forty and worked with my husband who had his small business for over forty five years.

A fighter pilot...

I wanted to be Puff the Magic Dragon

I always wanted to be an architect, ended up in intel/investigation/law
Now retired am building my own house !!

HavingFun

New here! A window dresser!

I trained to be a window dresser and received a B.Tec in Display Design.

As a little girl I wanted to be a toilet attendant because I saw the saucer of money and thought I'd be rich.

When I left college I worked for the Land Registry in their typing pool.

I left to have children in my late teens/early twenties and retrained later as....

A teacher!

I was famous in my school, for my beautiful display boards! And I could type up my reports in no time!

My dad was a lorry driver and I'd often go to Scotland and Surrey etc with him. I had 2 choices, either a lorry driver like my dad but long distance, or work with animals!
I'm in my 50s and still can't drive, have never even taken a lesson. And back when I was applying to work with animals they'd ask if I'd ever been attacked or bitten by one and I'd say I had.
Stupid me! Well, was I supposed to lie?
Anyway, I've done a few different jobs as I've moved around a bit. I started as a home visitor, usually visiting around about the times the home carers went in but while they were busy cleaning I'd be chatting, maybe doing a little bit of local shopping! I liked that job.
Then nursing the elderly.
Then off I went on my travels, just England tho I had plenty chances to go abroad, hotel work, cleaning, waitressing, factory work, working in a school...
I certainly tried a few things and had loads of fun along the way!

A vet. My parents took me to have a chat with our vet for some advice, he was useless and said girls couldn’t be vets and perhaps I should consider being a veterinary nurse instead. I was completely crushed and demoralised. Still regret ignoring what he said but I did go on to run my own successful company.

A vet - until it dawned on me that sometimes you would have to put animals to sleep
Then an air hostess - thought it would be glamorous - how wrong that seems now
I actually became a therapist which I loved, didn't even know it was a job when I was a girl - it probably wasn't

A teacher, wish I had tried something else too because I was in Eduction from age 5 until 63 and it was only Covid that gave me my get out clause.
Would loved to have seen life outside of Education.
Husband is retired teacher too.
With 2 teaching parents our 3 thirty something daughters steered well clear !!1 , Self employed illustrator, hairdresser and a vet nurse instead