fbpx

Jobs I once thought sounded cool

Jobs I once thought I wanted to do

While I think I almost always knew roughly what kind of career path I’d take, there were definitely times during my teens when I wavered, torn between some of my other interests.

Luckily, I saw sense and stuck with the area where I had the most talent – and thus, potential to succeed. Believe it or not, here’s some of the other professions I briefly entertained:

Psychologist

Some things I enjoy giving advice on. Some of those things, I even might be good at – like the more practical things in life. But I’m not really equipped to deal with emotional issues. Lord knows I have my own stuff to handle. I’m fascinated by people and what makes us tick but I’m better observing from the sidelines rather than wading in.

Music journalist/publicist/performer/writer

Late nights for work? Leaving gigs early to write up reviews ASAP? Taking flak from armchair critics? Needing to form opinions about entire albums in a pinch? Not for me. I’m no great shakes as a songwriter, certainly not as a performer, and don’t have the personality to do music PR. And while pegging hit songs is one skill I do have, it takes a lot more than that to become an A&R rep, if those even still exist these days.

Designer

I enjoy fooling around with images for the blog and for work but I’d be terrible at any real design work. I lack visual flair and don’t have a style of my own (just scroll through my archives and you’ll quickly see what I mean).

Financial planner

I don’t think I’m the only PF blogger who’s briefly considered this. Thing is, I’m really only interested in the lower level, psychological aspects, not the serious finance stuff. I don’t think I’d ever feel comfortable advising anyone on how to invest their money, and there’s no money in helping struggling people learn to budget.

Software testing

Getting paid to essentially try and break stuff? Sweet! This wasn’t ever really a job I wanted to do myself, but it did cross my mind this might be up T’s alley. Then I started having to do the odd bit of testing as part of my job … and quickly realised how tedious it gets. It’s repetitive and painstaking work that would drive either of us up the wall.

What other careers have you considered, if any?

18 thoughts on “Jobs I once thought sounded cool

  • Reply Alicia August 26, 2014 at 07:56

    Interesting. I was going to be a marine biologist, then a musician, an award-winning writer, a journalist, an psychologist, and a lawyer (missed that one narrowly). Now I am a scientist, but I don’t think it suits me. Time to think up something else.

  • Reply Newlyweds on a Budget August 26, 2014 at 09:11

    I really want to be a flight attendant…kind of like a second career when I retire, just for the travel benefits.

    I also have thought of being a nurse bc of the flexible schedule, but the long hours are a bit intimidating…

    Travel writer-bc why not?
    and full time blogger…would totally be on board with doing freelance full time if we didn’t need my income. Unfortunately, we do

  • Reply Hannah Wasielewski August 26, 2014 at 09:45

    I’ve thought about becoming an ambassador from the US to Brazil, or just working for a consulate in general. The consulate thing might not be too far off for me!

  • Reply Michelle August 26, 2014 at 14:33

    Oh I’ve been interested in so many different things. I wanted to be a pilot (my dad was one – back when airlines were better), marine biologist, psychologist, and more. Funny how life changes.

  • Reply Mrs. Frugalwoods August 26, 2014 at 14:37

    I like to think I’m still evolving as a person and that I might pursue other careers in the future. When I was younger, I wanted to be a nurse (like my mom), which I now think I probably won’t ever pursue–though, who knows? I also wanted to be a ballet dancer, which I think I can definitely cross off the list 🙂

  • Reply Kara August 26, 2014 at 15:50

    Careera that I’ve considered include: Pyrotechnician (bizarre 15-year old thought), marketing a la Mel Gibson in What Women Want (which I based by first year of university on, and backed out), and then welding because I thought I could be as tough as him. Not sure what I was thinking for any of those!

  • Reply jefferson August 27, 2014 at 03:11

    Software testing is a horrible job.. you don’t want that 🙂

    I wanted to be the center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals for most of my childhood.. That didn’t work out for me..

  • Reply Anne @ Money Propeller August 27, 2014 at 05:03

    Ah, things that seemed awesome as a kid! A friend’s brother did video game testing for a little bit and while it is the “dream” job of many people, he said it was SUPER boring… playing the same scenario 80000 times trying to break it, run off of the screen, etc. etc.
    I’m trying to think of things I’ve given up wanting to do… I’m sure I will think of some in about five minutes.

  • Reply Lisa E. @ Lisa vs. the Loans August 27, 2014 at 11:20

    I’ve considered being an interior designer – I was obsessed with the TLC show Trading Spaces! I also think it would be fun to be an actor.

  • Reply Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life August 27, 2014 at 13:30

    Haha, I have a major in drama and psychology- top two on your list 🙂

  • Reply catherine August 27, 2014 at 14:01

    Mine have always been medical related. I’ve also seriously considered social work but at the end of the day I couldn’t deal with the bullshit!

  • Reply Taylor Lee August 27, 2014 at 23:28

    Oh gosh so many things! I wanted to be (in order): a ballerina, award-winning author, business owner, doctor, physician’s assistant, professor, software developer, financial planner, actuary, therapist, physical therapist, technical writer, actor, data analyst, and then an author again.

  • Reply Holly@ClubThrifty August 28, 2014 at 00:07

    I went to school for nursing but I’m pretty sure I would hate being a nurse now. I’m also glad I didn’t pursue that path because I am partially disabled now (wasn’t when I went to school) and wouldn’t have been able to do the job long-term.

  • Reply Marie @ The Money Template August 28, 2014 at 01:05

    I used to dream to become a Flight Attendant, News Caster and a good Chef. 🙂 I didn’t expect I would be on computer kind of job. 🙂

  • Reply Sally August 28, 2014 at 09:34

    I originally started out wanting to be a journalist/writer. I still love to write but you know, life gets in the way. I used to think being a bartender was cool, now I can’t even fathom it!

  • Reply Will ~ First Quarter Finance August 29, 2014 at 08:52

    I used to think working in an office building would be cool. I was wrong.

    But on a more positive note, when I was growing up I wanted to be a farmer. I kind of am one now. I work on the farm quite a bit. It’s not my full-time job but it’ll always help bring money in and it is really a great career!

  • Reply Rob @ MoneyNomad.com September 2, 2014 at 17:51

    All very interesting ideas. It’s amazing how our concept of what we want to do can shift over time. But it certainly sounds like you’ve hit a niche that you enjoy. I’m struggling to determine what I really want to be doing in life – and it’s great to see a few people have gotten in figured out!

    Keep up the great blogging.

  • Reply Amanda September 5, 2014 at 12:51

    I honestly used to want to be a meter maid. For whatever reason as a kid, it really pissed me off when people parked where they weren’t supposed to or let their meters expire. I have no idea why, especially because I grew up in small town where there wasn’t a single parking meter or parking structure of any kind. Kids are just weird, I guess?

Leave a Reply to Will ~ First Quarter Finance Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.