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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What did you want to be as a kid compared to what you do as an adult.

97 replies

Whattheactual20201 · 02/12/2020 06:28

I’m in hospital and my kids are not allowed to visit was just talking to my DD 7 on the phone and she was telling she wants to a ambulance driver when she is older.
It got me thinking about what I wanted when I was younger.
As a young child I wanted to be an astronaut, as I got older but was still at school I wanted to be a lawyer.
At 28 ( now ) I am a pretty successful make up artist and stylist but miles away from the child/ teen aspirations 🤣
What about you ?

OP posts:
dexterslockedintheshedagain · 02/12/2020 08:39

I wanted to be a vet, or Debbie Harry.
Ended up working for a bank for 12 yrs, and have been a police officer for 20 now.
Which means I have been working for longer than a good deal of the officers I deal with have been alive....

mdh2020 · 02/12/2020 08:42

I always wanted to be a teacher. I went to uni in my early 30s and taught in secondary school for 10 years. I then moved into working in Higher Education where I was much happier. I think I discovered that I don’t much like children!

OfTheNight · 02/12/2020 08:43

Really wanted to work in hospitality or run my own hotel. Even considered working in race course management. I loved watching horse racing with my dad.
I’m a teacher, but I’d still love to get into hospitality. Think it’s a bit of a pipe dream, but who knows!

CherryPavlova · 02/12/2020 08:46

Very similar but have now moved up so not in front line role I envisaged. Our children are all in jobs they wanted from childhood or teenage years.
Admittedly, as a toddler, our son wanted to make bricks, work the bridge in Lowestoft or be a robber. He didn’t follow any of those career paths.

GoodbyeToCare · 02/12/2020 08:46

I wanted to be a nurse. Ended up working in admin for years but retrained and I'm a teacher now.

Spidey66 · 02/12/2020 08:58

@dexterslockedintheshedagain

I wanted to be a vet, or Debbie Harry. Ended up working for a bank for 12 yrs, and have been a police officer for 20 now. Which means I have been working for longer than a good deal of the officers I deal with have been alive....
Ha! I wanted to be in the Human League when I was in my teens but my dad said the pension plan wasn’t very good!😆
Original poster
Whattheactual20201 · 02/12/2020 09:56

Hahah I move how many time’s a luxury hotel reviewer has been mentioned 🤣

OP posts:
Chickenwing · 02/12/2020 10:10

I wanted to be an actress but I'm now an administrator. :(

nokidshere · 02/12/2020 10:13

I always wanted to work with children and have done so for the past 40yrs in a variety of settings.

Metalhead · 02/12/2020 10:16

I wanted to be a fairground ride assistant, followed over the years by nurse, ice cream cafe owner, florist and horse trainer!

In the real world, I ended up as a b2b journalist and now a charity debt adviser.

TheBakedPototo · 02/12/2020 10:18

I wanted to be a prison officer from about 5... no idea why! I ended up being a probation officer.

LadyFidgetAndHerHandbag · 02/12/2020 10:19

I could never decide on anything for very long. I went through phases of wanting to be a teacher, actress, singer, cricketer, pilot, nurse. I ended up teaching till I was 30, switched to finance and worked for a large IT company where I spent most of my time chasing people for receipts or payments. Gave that up at the beginning of the year and now work full time in my previous hobby as an artist. My dream now is to convince my husband to move to Australia with me and run my dad's farm with him.

AriesTheRam · 02/12/2020 10:26

I wanted to be a teacher and I'm a dinner lady.At least I work in a school Grin

welshweasel · 02/12/2020 10:29

I’ve wanted to be a doctor since the age of 4. Never wavered. Love my job and can’t imagine doing anything else.

Youcunnyfunt · 02/12/2020 16:41

I was always changing my mind! I wanted to be an actress, explorer, writer, photographer and filmmaker.

I work in the photography industry which ticks quite a few of those boxes :) I've ended up modelling a bit over the past couple of years which satisfies my acting desires! I do explore a fair amount, but no one's ever paid me to do it. Grin

ChickensMightFly · 02/12/2020 16:51

I wanted to be a vet or a guide dog for the blind trainer. My childhood want conducive to making a success of life so I was lost for a long time bumbling along in sales roles. Currently I am not in paid employment but am building my own house, the whole thing, no contractors so I'm happy with that for now. Not sure what I'll do next.

nancywhisky · 02/12/2020 16:53

I wanted to work in film and TV and for a good while that's what I did.

MedusasBadHairDay · 02/12/2020 16:54

I wanted to be an artist - turns out I love producing art, but hate doing it to someone else's specifications. Grin So now I'm in IT

iklboogeymum · 02/12/2020 16:55

Wanted to be a paleontologist. Now I work for a regulator as a complaints manager.

mummyoneboy19 · 02/12/2020 16:58

I wanted to be a nurse and a mum.

I’m a care assistant and a mum, so not too far off!

Itmaybeus · 02/12/2020 17:04

Wanted to be a nurse am a nurse.

Bobtheshark · 02/12/2020 17:06

I wanted to be a nurse or vet! but also wanted to earn money straight out of school So got a secretarial job like every other girl back in the eighties at my school. Life got in the way and there was always a reason not to do it. I’m nearly 50 now and feel life passed me by.

Strokethefurrywall · 02/12/2020 17:11

When i was little I wanted to be a vet, then a travel writer, then singer, then a music manager.

Worked in the music industry for a year and utterly hated the brown nosing wankers so went into Pr and then into law.

I'm a manager in an offshore law firm now. Still sing though.

Next on my career bucket list is hypnotherapist and corporate life coach.

Butchyrestingface · 02/12/2020 17:16

Child: famous actress
Tween: nurse
Teenager: writer
Adult reality: interpreter
Adult dream: retired and disgustingly rich.

nokia3210567 · 02/12/2020 17:21

To be happy