I was going to be...

[numbnuts]

When I was 13 my uncle who was the Commodore of the Alexander Towing Company in Southampton Docks told me there was a job waiting for me. I would have to start at the bottom and work my way up, his son was all ready a skipper on one of the tug boats.
At school we were asked what we wanted to be when we left school, I said I'm going to work on the tug boats in Southampton, the teacher laughed calling me "Tug Boat Anderson", I felt so ashamed I never took it up. I was very good at metalwork and we had a Blacksmiths forge at school, I was good at that too so I became a Blacksmith.

 

[Old jon]

Teens? Phil Read. Before then? Geoff Duke. I did, eventually, ride bikes with the same names.

 

[steveindenmark]

I wanted to drift and have done that successfully for the past 45 years. When I retire I will not have a care in the world financially and so my plan worked.

During my drifting period I have been in the military, a police officer, HGV 1 driver, driving instructor, account executive in a bank and a sailmaker. I left school with one O level but have always applied myself to whatever job I decided to do. I have had a varied and interesting work career and have enjoyed it.

My tip to any youngster is when you get bored of the job you are doing. Go find another job. If you dont, you will only drag yourself down along with all your work collegues.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I wanted to be a draughtsman and draw lots of complicated fiddly pictures.

A friend had a Spectrum, I got an Electron. I've been a programmer and have been an IT Manager in the last 31 years.

It turns out I have an aptitude as a mechanical engineer of some sort, but that was discovered too late.
I build an ace kitchen though.

A couple of years ago I passed an AAT level 2 in accountancy. So that's another path that may have been or could still be.

17 years until I retire so who knows!

The spectrum was my catalyst too !

 

[Elswick Cotterpin]

I still haven't decided yet.

 

[AndyRM]

I fancied being an artist, and in a way I am as a graphic designer.

 

[raleighnut]

I wanted to be a mechanic so I started full time at the Garage I'd been the 'Saturday Lad' at for 2yrs already. After the 2nd winter I decided I'd had enough of that.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I wanted to be either an accountant (I thought I was good at maths) or an agricultural contractor like my Uncle. I soon got bored of maths, and hated driving tractors for my uncle so that put me right off both. I got half way to a career as a PE teacher (did my degree) but then found that I only wanted to do this because I had fancied my PE teacher at school.

I slid into what I'm doing now, just using my sport and exercise science as a general foot in the door degree.

 

[s7ephanie]

An airhostess ! That was many years ago when the job was considered glam ! But at 5ft 2 i was too short x the wanted to join airforce but in those days a female couldnt be a pilot,

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

I think it’s very interesting to see what people have ended up doing compared to what they wanted to do when they left school, so will answer the OP in that fashion.

I wanted to be a Graphic Designer when I was at school back in the 1970s, and so went to Art College after leaving with 8 O-levels.

This lasted about 9 months until a day trip to the Tate in London where we were shown a framed series of dirty nappies and a pile of bricks pretending to be art.

I didn’t get it. Still don’t in fact. I still think modern art is a con. I was so disgusted that the next morning I joined the RAF as a Propulsion Systems Technician and did this for the next 25 years, mainly on the Jaguar ground attack aircraft. In my early years I had to stay quiet about being ex Art College or I’d find myslf with a tin of green paint and a brush in hand, painting ground equipment.

For the last 15 years since leaving the RAF, I’ve been a software engineer (modern term for computer programmer), currently for one of the main insurance aggregators. I’m kinda semi-retired now and only work three days a week which seems to be the perfect work/life balance for me.

I haven’t picked up a paint brush since 1979.

My main regret is that while in the RAF I very nearly re-mustered to become an Air Loadmaster with a view to being the guy who hangs out the bottom of a helicopter on a cable, pulling people off sinking ships. In the RAF this trade was called ‘Dope on a Rope’.

I just think that to do a job that involves saving lives on a daily basis must be so rewarding.

Enabling people to save money on their insurance doesn’t really cut it In comparison.

Graham

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

An airhostess ! That was many years ago when the job was considered glam ! But at 5ft 2 i was too short x the wanted to join airforce but in those days a female couldnt be a pilot,

I would have though that being short would have been an advantage for an air hostess as the headroom on some airliners is not so good. I suppose trouble reaching the overhead lockers would have been the reason they had a minimum height restriction?

Graham

 

[youngoldbloke]

Fancied being a draughtsman, then product designer, so went to art school and became a potter/ sculptor/ lecturer. Who knows what I might have done had I known and understood the range of careers and opportunities available at the time - careers advice in the early '60s was abysmal.

 

[User10119]

I'm not sure I ever knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Still don't, come to that...

 

[User10119]

There's plenty of time to decide when you grow up....

Precisely.

No rush, after all.


(The SmallestCub told me yesterday he's decided what he probably wants to be - a professor, doing SCIENCE, and researching infinite power sources. Inspired by a visit to school from a parent prof, for Clean Air Day. And also by Star Trek.)

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

For me the draughtsman thing never happened because the technical drawing class was seen as a goof off for the in-crowd that wanted to talk about football all day, so the class was packed and I didn't get in despite appeals that it was my career choice. When a place came up it was given to another of the in-crowd, who wanted to be with his mates, and happened to be a staff member's son.
While I was out of work in 1993 I went straight into wanting qualifications and got a HND using AutoCAD. By then I'd been a programmer already so just jumped at the first IT job.
If I'd had any sense I'd have stayed in programming as it's a lot better paid these days. IT management requires a lot of worrying about 'what if' and 'when' about critical equipment if you don't work in places that happily invest.