What did you want to be when you grew up?

Nell82 did your brother sue the charm school?!

My teachers were always telling my parents when I was in secondary school that I should be a teacher. I cant imagine why because I decided at age 11 I didnt want children nor did I particularly like them! So its ironic that in later life I did go into accademia - but uni students are adults. Or at least they are supposed to be.

From age five, I wanted to teach. Went to teacher training college and after the first teaching practice, realised it was not for me. Then wanted to be an archivist but back in those pre-internet days, no-one knew how to help me find out what to do to achieve it. So I ended up training as a secretary, which I did until I retired. Strangely, I have always worked in either schools or colleges, so the teaching bug must have been deeper than I thought. I still hanker after being an archivist…

I wanted to be a radiographer, but when the careers officer came to the school, she terrified me and I couldn’t think of the word radiographer, so I said I wanted to work in a hospital. I ended up as a nurse. I always envied the radiographers whenever I went down to X-ray.

A policewoman, then later, a journalist. I ended up working as a Finance Clerk, then later, a Domiciliary Carer

I wanted to be a professional musician, which I achieved in the form of instrumental teaching and accompanying. If this had not worked out, I would have trained as a librarian.

My parents were decorating the house when I was about 7 and I was "helping". Our teacher asked us what we wanted to be and I said "An interior decorator" Funnily enough I ended up designing record shops for EMI so I was quite close.

I wanted to be a nurse, imagining it to be like Emergency Ward 10 which was popular on TV at the time. I lasted barely four months and had to return home in shame. After a year working in Darling’s Dungeon, a boutique in the basement of an Edinburgh department store, I went to Edinburgh University and eventually found my niche as a writer and editor. I still have the greatest respect for nurses.

I had dreams of being an air hostess as it seemed glamorous to me! That or a hotel receptionist possibly. But ended up working in a bank in early 70’s in those days very much male dominated though

Georgesgran 💐

I wanted to be a librarian, I loved being in the library and thought I would be able to read books all day !
I did work in a library for a brief time many years later ,just part time, and soon found a lot of time was spent putting books back on shelves and answering readers queries- not quite what I envisioned as a child.
Instead I became an infant teacher and that was very rewarding.

I wanted to go into medicine - a theatre sister was my aim. I was, however, an only child who wanted to please my Mum. She had dreadful RA, was often in and out of hospital for operations and various procedures and really put me off the idea. I adored my parents, but wondered later, if she’d wanted me to be available to help care for her in later life, which, perhaps subconsciously had made her so against my career choice. I went into social services.
From the mid 90s, I cared for my daughter, my mother, my father and later DH. My friends say I’m the best nurse the NHS has never paid.

A ballerina, nay, a prima ballerina. If you’ve ever seen that advert for an insurance company where a rather solid child in tutu and ballet shoes flings herself round the house to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer, crashing into tables and setting all the ornaments wobbling and the pets scattering, that was me. I had all the gear - full pink outfit with satin shoes, ballet books, a cup, Nutcracker/Sleeping Beauty LP, ballerina bedding and coffee table. Sadly, I never made the Royal Ballet. I’m guessing an actual lesson or two might have helped…

Sorry. That was for Su22

I’m jealous!!

A hotel receptionist. I just thought it was glamorous meeting all those people and staying in nice surroundings. Ended up as a nursery teacher!

When I was in my very early teens I wanted to be a courtesan. I thought it a lovely word but had no real idea as to what it was. I think I had read somewhere that they were showered with jewels. Sounded good to me.

Firstly a nurse, then when I achieved that, a Social Worker. Only in later years did I come to realize the unseen pressures I had experienced. My constant love has been gardening...and that is what I would choose now.

An infant teacher, an atomic scientist. Both careers I was totally unsuitable for.

I then thought very seriously about becoming a barrister, being a solicitor did not appeal, but back then (early 1960s) to become a barrister, you needed to know someone to get into chambers and a private income or some help from home for the first 5 years. Neither of which I could do, so I moved over the Chartered Accountancy because I was good at arithmetic.

I graduated with a degree in economics, did six months training and realised i was unsuited to accountancy aand then by chance I got a job in the economic deprtment of a big company - and I found my home, doing the economic and business reearch that senior excutives needed to make their decisions, and essentially did that in many different guises for the rest of my working life, and loved it.

Nowadays, I would have read history and become an academic. I am a researcher to the core of my soul.

Air hostess was definitely the most glamorous job in the world. I met a few in the 1950s when we flew from NZ in BOAC 36 seater constellations or Delta in the pre jet age.

The hostesses were elegant and stylish.
They must have put up with a lot even then. Fat, cigar smoking American businessmen, children (us) vomiting.

I wanted to go to art school because I wanted to be an art student. I knew one or two and they wore wacky clothes and looked interesting. So I did. I'm still working as a potter in my 70s so it wasn't a bad choice for me.

Aged about 9, my desired future career was to be that of an air hostess, and preferably with BOAC for these deeply considered reasons, I liked the shoulder bag, I liked the hat and I wanted to travel. I hadn't factored over the course of years to come, fortunately after I'd seen many places by then, that I would come to hate flying, the job appears to involve lugging a trolley up and down a narrow isle, whilst placating, at times, rude and difficult people and on maturity and having worn something similar in girl guides, the hat lost its appeal. Anyway, soon after I harboured that childhood desire I was to fall off my bike and chip a front tooth to which my mother pronounced "oh dear! you won't be able to be an air hostess now!" so from that time on all thoughts were banished. When a friend and I were aged about 19 or so we bumped into a school acquaintance who proudly deludedly announced "I'm an air hostess with Dan Air now" to which my friend replied "I'm so sorry to hear that" I wouldn't have dared.

A ballerina until aged eight when I learnt to ride then a show jumper and finally an artist .
I also thought that I could be a missionary as going to church and having missionary neighbours were strong influences in my childhood .
I have to smile when I look back .

What I became.

Life also went almost identical to how I "planned" it. Until now.

I imagined I would live life where I am now, quite happily until I died.

Not as sure now.
Several factors may change that. Either against my will or my choice. I dont know about that either.

When I was about 8 read a book called Jean becomes a nurse and I was hooked.
Became a nurse!!
Best financial decision I ever made.
Enabled me to work in Switzerland for a couple of years and meant I could always get work wherever I was.
Also very rewarding experience.
But I should have read " Anne becomes a lawyer"

What I wanted to be varied from day to day. But I never wanted to be a police officer, in the armed forces, a secretary or a nurse.