I was going to be...

[slowmotion]

I wanted to be a tree surgeon but I'm hopeless with heights. I ended up being a low-grade boffin.

 

[Nigeyy]

Hmmm well when I was 5 or 6, I remember watching some B&W US movie, and it showed the character robbing a supermarket, along with a voiceover of "..and he became a criminal....". It seemed pretty cool (though I can't even remember the actual story or gist of it), so of course I then proceeded to tell my parents I wanted to become a criminal. Never have lived that one down.

I think the first job I ever thought I'd like was bush pilot -there was some tv show (anyone remember it from the 70's?) on where it showed a mustachioed Canuck flying a boat plane into a small log cabin-ish settlement on a pine tree surrounded pristine lake. Sorry, but helicopter pilot from Skippy the bush Kangaroo didn't cut it for me. Anyway, fast forward to a naive clueless 18 year old, and I agree with another poster; the careers "adviser" at my school was worse than useless. I have a vague recollection of doing a questionnaire, and then being told I was suitable for some ludicrous job I knew I wasn't suited for. Fortunately for today's youth, it seems like that has improved greatly thank goodness. But I have to say at 18, I had no clue what I wanted to do! I've ended up in the tech sector more by accident than design.

 

[classic33]

Hmmm well when I was 5 or 6, I remember watching some B&W US movie, and it showed the character robbing a supermarket, along with a voiceover of "..and he became a criminal....". It seemed pretty cool (though I can't even remember the actual story or gist of it), so of course I then proceeded to tell my parents I wanted to become a criminal. Never have lived that one down.

I think the first job I ever thought I'd like was bush pilot -there was some tv show (anyone remember it from the 70's?) on where it showed a mustachioed Canuck flying a boat plane into a small log cabin-ish settlement on a pine tree surrounded pristine lake. Sorry, but helicopter pilot from Skippy the bush Kangaroo didn't cut it for me. Anyway, fast forward to a naive clueless 18 year old, and I agree with another poster; the careers "adviser" at my school was worse than useless. I have a vague recollection of doing a questionnaire, and then being told I was suitable for some ludicrous job I knew I wasn't suited for. Fortunately for today's youth, it seems like that has improved greatly thank goodness. But I have to say at 18, I had no clue what I wanted to do! I've ended up in the tech sector more by accident than design.

Baileys Bird?

 

[Paulus]

I was one of those kids that wanted to be a train driver from about the age of 7. In 1974 I joined the railway as a traction trainee at Finsbury Park motive power depot. I qualified as a driver in 1979 and the rest is history. 44 years later I have now retired and don't regret one moment of my choice of career.

 

[Fnaar]

A simultaneous translator French/English. If only I had worked harder, I could be worth a lot more loot than I am now. Ah well, I think I had more fun really.

Having seen simultaneous translators in action a few times, hats off to you! That is a really difficult job. The ones I've seen (same event, a years running) were only allowed 20 mins 'on' before they had to take 20 minute break (they were swapped over for 'fresh' translators).

 

[The Crofted Crest]

Having seen simultaneous translators in action a few times, hats off to you! That is a really difficult job. The ones I've seen (same event, a years running) were only allowed 20 mins 'on' before they had to take 20 minute break (they were swapped over for 'fresh' translators).

I was once shown round the European Parliament in Brussels by a simultaneous interpreter and she recalled she was once interpreting for a Russian who told a joke. The punch line was a play on words only funny in Russian itself. Quick as a flash she said into the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, the joke cannot be translated, will you please all laugh?"

 

[Archie_tect]

Decided at junior school that I wanted to do what I liked doing best- drawing- so looked in my Granny's old 1940s encyclopaedias in her best front room to see what sort of jobs I could do... what an Architect did sounded perfect so that's what I choose and never wavered.

It was only after my Granny died that I realised that she only had 2 volumes. Luckily I'd started at A....

 

[Garry A]

When I was a wee boy I wanted to be an astronaut, now I just work with a load of spacemen and guys that are wired to the moon.

 

[Archie_tect]

Ah... but no drawing required! ...except from accounts!

 

[Bazzer]

Train driver when I was younger. Then thought the water guard of Customs and Excise looked interesting, but the interview panel decided I was better suited to the Inland Revenue and ultimately ended up "encouraging" offshore fraudsters to pay their dues.

 

[Nigeyy]

Nope at least that doesn't ring a bell.

Edit: The Beachcombers!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENMOwXwRTZU

Baileys Bird?

 

[Archie_tect]

Train driver when I was younger. Then thought the water guard of Customs and Excise looked interesting, but the interview panel decided I was better suited to the Inland Revenue and ultimately ended up "encouraging" offshore fraudsters to pay their dues.

Hope you were able to train lots of enthusiastic people to take over your good works when you retired.