What did you always want to be growing up?

When I was a kid I wanted to be on The Really Wild Show and work with dolphins orr be a farmer!
I am now doing a masters in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture but DO NOT want to be on TV. Not too far off I suppose.

Older. (It has lost some of its appeal, but I still continue to want to be “older” ... just “slower”.)

Other than a mercifully brief period during my early twenties, when I suffered under the horrifying delusion that I wanted to be a politician, I always wanted to be a US Army officer.

I wanted to be an astronautical engineer. I’m about to start college but I probably won’t study astro engineering specifically; it is becoming too small of a field, unfortunately. Now I’m thinking of trying for a robotics engineering degree, which is far more marketable and about as interesting to me anyhow.

I wanted to be a scientist/inventor. Then I realized that one can’t make a living by sitting at home dreaming up fantastical inventions. A few people, such as Edison, fit that model, but most inventions these days are the product of thousands of people working for huge companies with development budgets of million, or even billions.

A princess, of course.

I wanted a job that had something to do with nature or nature conservation. At one point, I wanted to be a park ranger.

@KateTheGreat Wait… you’re not a princess?

@KateTheGreat, all you got to do is find yourself a single prince :)

When I was a small kid conditions were so miserable that I had no dream of being anything as an adult. Getting through each day was my only concern. I struggled, got into a lot of trouble and failed a lot. But I always learned from my mistakes which made me stronger. Later when I was in my first 2 years of college I made an attempt to make it into veterinary school but I didn’t get the acceptable grades. That was perhaps my biggest failure but I have still realized a relatively high level of success.

An artist. I have been, I am and sometimes it’s paid.

A pharmacist. I could spell penicillin by age 4 and I knew all the medical terms for most of the bones in the human body because my aunt taught me. It changed to nuclear pharmacist when I started working in a nuclear pharmacy, milking generators and compounding nuc meds. Favorite job so far.

I wanted to be a jockey (horseracing) until I found out how bad their pay and working conditions actually are.

@SavoirFaire As much as I would like to be, I am not. But hey, I don’t have the correct manners for that anyways!

A doctor. Changed my dream, now I’m training to be a sociologist. That’s the new dream.

Just choose something that can’t be done by robots or computers in the next 100 years, and can’t be done remotely from some poverty-stricken country

I wanted to be a ballerina, but my Mom told me that it was very, very hard and that ballerina’s toes bleed!!
I wanted to be a conductor but I haven’t any musical ability or training! I just loved the idea of it being in command of an orchestra!
I sometimes think I would be happy being an anthropologist because I love studying anything to do with human culture and tradition. However I think I know myself well enough to know that I would not love some of the field conditions I might encounter, lol.

I wanted to be a designer and I have become one. Although not as successful as I would like to be financially I do love my work and am passionately interested in everything to do with making clothing. I love the craft of it as much as the art and way more than the business of it.

@Earthgirl If you like to study human culture and tradition but don’t necessarily want to do a lot of fieldwork in other places, you can become a sociologist. We are pretty much the same as anthropologists (thought they’d loath me for saying so) but we look at bigger patterns.

I always wanted to be a singer. Own my own recording studio. I love music. I still have time to obtain that dream. My other dream was also to be a psychologist/criminologist. But then i thought about all the years of study that would need…..

I thought I was going to be a teacher, but when I did job shadowing in high school, I discovered I don’t have the stamina for it.

I did home schooling with my two sons, and on and off with my grandsons.

Sex god. I’m awesome eversince birth.

@Luiveton

And so modest too! : )

@CaptainHarley I know right. :)

A fireman. I couldn’t follow on the dream but I know everything there is about it.

I came on Fluther, ready to ask this exact same question. Are you reading my mind?
I first wanted to be a chef. Then I realized I couldn’t cook. Then I wanted to be a firman. Then I realized I wasn’t brave. I tried sing, bu realized I was tone-deaf. So what do you turn to next?
Acting.

I guess I read your mind @TheIntern55 ! :)
Keep searching and you’ll find what fits you best.

@Sher_King Haha, thanks. It’s okay; I’m pretty good at it and I’m much more comfortable doing it.

A writer.

Simone De Beauvoir Yes, that’s true there are a lot of similar aspects to Sociology. I also like Psychology. But I think Sociology focuses more on group behavior and dynamics versus outward expression of culture such as dance, music, art and clothing. While I am interested in all of the behavioral aspects of society it is self expression and cultural traditions that fascinate me most. For some reason I am especially fascinated with primitive and folk culture.

@Earthgirl It’s not necessarily true that sociology focuses on groups, mostly. There is sociology of groups&organizations and there are many other kinds. Psychology wants to get to understand everything from the psyche, from the inside of the individual. We feel, as sociologists, that no individual is the answer, on their own.

I wanted to be an artist for the longest time, even during my other phases.
I wanted to be a veterinarian for awhile, but only because I’ve always loved animals and thought that vet offices were usually so ugly that I would want to make mine look nicer just on principle. Then I really thought about it and realized that I would probably have to put animals to sleep or otherwise see animals die/badly hurt, so that was the end of that.
I also really really wanted to be a magician. I used to put on magic shows every single day.

I knew what I did not want to be more than what I did, so I searched for a long time. I still am not sure what I want to be, so I have given up , and just try and be what I am.

I wanted to be someone else…ended up being myself…:)

I wanted to take over the world.

@Symbeline I still want to do that.

I wanted to be a dancer, then a teacher, then a musician, and have landed upon wanting to be a psychologists, with a band as a hobby. But that could possibly change, I’m only thirteen.

The kindergarten class in my elementary school asked this same question and one thing I will never forget is a boy wanted to be a firetruck. Gotta love kids :)

@spykenij that reminds me of many years ago when I met the 5 year old son of a famous professional soccer player (in the UK). He told me that his daddy was a football man, but he wanted to be a fireman. Now that little boy is all grown up and he never did get to be a fireman. He’s a football man, just like his dad. :)

It shifted from time to time between being an electrical or mechanical engineer. That did’t come about but I’m close, as a maintenance technician with an Associate’s Degree level education in electromechanical technology (and other certificates) I still get to play around with electricity, electronics, mechanics and physics but I get dirty with less pay :o)