What’s your dream job and what’s stopping you?

[TheChosenTwo]

Or are you on your way to achieving it?
In about a year or so I’ll be at a bit of a job crossroad, I could continue what I do forever but I think I’m bored and want a change. Great GCSE results years ago, dropped out of college, did an access course a few years after than when my dc were young but nothing since. Don’t think I can face going back to study as i hated it and lacked motivation to do it.
So, if you have a dream job, what is it and why is it only a dream and not a reality?
I don’t really have a dream job, there’s a couple of things I’d like to do but not enough to warrant years of studying!
Just being nosey really.

Tax exile
Lack of funds

My dream job is something that isn’t my current job! What’s stopping me? I am paid a decent salary (not high, just decent) with good job security and it’s not financially possible for me to just give that up when I have small children and a mortgage. I am the main earner. It’s suffocating at times.

Dream job(s) 1- working in children's mental health, the waiting lists are shocking. I know it wouldn't make a huge difference but maybe 1 extra member of staff might be able to bring the wait times down just a little (that's my naive thinking anyway lol)

or working for social services specifically to help children for the same reasons as above.

What's stopping me - serious lack of education and I have ASD and so struggle massively interacting face to face with people so neither of those areas would be suitable for someone like me.

Dream job 2 - I also quite fancied being a writer, I've written (on my laptop not published) 2 books from what I envisioned as a 7 book series (I have the ideas for each book set out but never seem to get around to doing them). I also have lots of other ideas for stories but just no motivation to do it which is the thing stopping me (that and I don't think what I have written is any good).

What's stopping me - Lack of motivation or belief that what I have written is any good

Dream job 3 - Some sort of career/further education guidance for young people. Having been over and over things with DD, several of her friends advising them on their best options, researching local colleges, Uni's, what's needed for X path etc, I found it really interesting and I felt really happy knowing I'd helped these kids see what options were available to them. Even DD's bf who had some shocking results and ended up with nowhere to go (despite my advice he only applied to his school's sixth form), he asked me for help and within an hour I'd found suitable courses for him at 4 places.

What's stopping me - Again lack of education and my terrible people skills.

Social researcher for a think tank or charity

What's stopping me? I keep getting rejected for lack of experience

I'd like to open and run my own therapy centre for children who have experienced severe trauma. Giving them access to lots of different alternatives to talking therapies including equine therapy because I love horses and would need to incorporate them into my dream job somewhere.

What's stopping me? Money and lack of opportunity.

This thread is a bit depressing but I’m glad I’m not the only one to not have made my dreams a reality. I hate my job

I would love to work in musical theatre but I am too old,too fat and I can’t sing well !

A professional musician, probably orchestral. I'm not good enough / lack confidence and drive. Maybe if I'd had it laid out to me as a teen you need to do this, this and this and apply here, speak to these people, and had support with all of that maybe there'd have been half a chance (or not!).

Wanted to be an actor and/or singer.

Can't act or sing despite training in both.

I’d love to work in the archives of a museum, particularly the Smithsonian in Washington DC. I didn’t realise that this was what I wanted to do until I was already established in my current career. Changing now would be too great a drop in income (if I could even get into the industry) and I have ambitions beyond my career which are/may be made possible by a good salary.

I always wanted to work with horses, I haven't ridden now for 20 years & have a mortgage to pay so that ship has sailed.

Retirement job dream is to run a cat cafe somewhere pretty that encompasses rescuing & re-homing the cats

1. Singer. I enjoy it. I'm good at it. But I was too embarrassed to put myself 'out there' also, I'm too old now, probably.

1. Writer. I enjoy it. I'm ok at it. But I, like the singing, am too embarrassed to put myself out there.

1. Historian. Probably a bit too stupid.

My dream job is an illustrator.

When I was younger I never thought I was good enough to make a living doing something purely creative, so I went into a marketing job instead.

However, recently I've had some success at selling my own greetings cards on Etsy so I feel like I'm fulfilling my dream in a small way.

And maybe it's for the best that illustration isn't my full time career, as doing it as a hobby means I still love it and don't have any of the stress and pressure to make a living from it.

I want to own and run a deli. Fear and finances have stopped me!

I'm probably dong my dream job now, but only because I'm in my 50's and not too fussed about socialising : I look after dogs in my home, when people go on holiday or need doggie day care.

Most days I have 6-8 dogs here. The first few years were very hard, because a lot of the dogs were really badly behaved (chewing, excessive barking, crying in the night, pooing indoors etc), which is way more stressful than it sounds!

But after a few years of weeding those ones out, I'm left with a brilliant bunch of about 80 dogs, who are absolute super stars.

My day starts at 6.30am, when I let out any boarding dogs in to the garden for a pee. My first dog arrives at 7am for day care, and then another few turn up around 8.30am. We go for a nice walk around 10am, and then they play or sleep until about 4pm when we start to think about dinner and the next walkies.

So I really don't have much to do between 11am and 4pm, apart from letting them out frequently, having cuddles etc.

It pays my bills and then some. I'm my own boss. I don't have targets. There are no overheads. I take my holidays whenever I choose (pick around my DH's dates off work).

In my opinion, if you are in a job you don't like, it's very hard to pack that in and "try" something else, because that means making yourself unemployed and losing a salary, based on a whim!

In my case, I was working for Bank and was offered VR. The pay out was good, so I took it, and then tried my hand at this, by advertising on Gumtree and Facebook, and leafleting the area. It actually didn't take long to build up a good client base, and then a few years in, I stopped advertising and didn't take on any new dogs.

About every 3 years, I do open the doors to new dogs again, because of natural wastage - dogs die, people move house etc, it takes me a few months to have enough rotating dogs again, and then I pull up the drawbridge again.

It's a bit solitary, compared to being in an office, but I have great customers who I have a laugh with, and I do not miss the daily commute and having a boss to answer to!

Have my own cafe / do some sort of pop up supper clubs. I'm actually a bloody good cook as well as being a decent baker.

I also like events management and running events. I'd love to do that for big events - helping people plan and then run the day. I actually have a bit of experience as well and am good it.

The thing stopping me is I'm in a very well paid job and couldn't afford the pay hit .

I've always wanted to run a cat sanctuary / rehoming centre.

I am a police officer

Oh, and what's stopping me? Those cats can't go out and earn money to pay my mortgage

Really good thread. I too am at a crossroads with my current job and am starting to feel pretty miserable.
My dream job would be to work in a safeguarding capacity but I have no idea how to go about it or the steps I need to get there. Alternatively something to do with advocating for others. I'm on okay money at the moment but seriously need to start looking at change of career.