When you were kid , what did you want to be when you became an adult?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the childhood aspirations of participants regarding their desired careers when they grew up. The scope includes a variety of professions, ranging from whimsical to serious, and reflects personal experiences and changes in interests over time.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants wanted to be traditional roles such as a doctor, forest ranger, or professional athlete.
  • Others expressed whimsical aspirations, like wanting to be a mad scientist or a shaman.
  • Several participants noted changes in their aspirations over time, such as moving from wanting to be a movie star to a CEO or from a paleontologist to a different field.
  • Some shared humorous or light-hearted reflections on their childhood dreams, including wanting superpowers or to be a garbage man for the fun of it.
  • A few participants mentioned parental influence in shaping their career choices, particularly discouragement from pursuing certain fields like mathematics or engineering.
  • There were discussions about the realities of certain jobs, such as the physical demands of being a garbage collector or the challenges faced in medical professions.
  • Some participants reminisced about specific experiences that influenced their career aspirations, such as helping a dentist or enjoying science kits as children.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally shared a variety of individual experiences and aspirations without reaching a consensus. Multiple competing views on career aspirations and the influence of childhood experiences remain evident throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants expressed nostalgia and humor in their reflections, while others highlighted the impact of external factors, such as parental guidance or personal experiences, on their career choices. The discussion does not resolve the differing perspectives on the value or appeal of various professions.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those reflecting on career aspirations, childhood dreams, or the influence of personal experiences on professional choices.

  • #31
A fireman.
 
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  • #32
I've always wanted to be an astrophysicist. My stepfather would talk about stars, black holes, space-time, gravity and so on. He'd speak about it in an easy-to-understand way so that I could have a decent picture of what was going on. I'm now working toward my dream.
 
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  • #33
As a kid I wanted to become a genius inventor because what better way of demonstrating my genius by inventing something extraordinary? Now here I am in my early twenties, just a few months away from said goal. I may be the guy after all or just another crackpot.
 
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  • #34
When I was a child, I had wanted to become either a hotshot lawyer (probably from watching old reruns of Perry Mason) or a doctor. By the time I went to high school, my interests switched to more interest in the sciences.
 
  • #35
As a kid, I realized the responsibilities that adults (my mother, in particular) had, so I wasn't in a hurry to stop being a kid.

I idolized some sports figures, but I was only somewhat above average at sports, so I knew that I would never come close to being a professional athlete.

From age 9 to 13, I wanted to be an astronomer, from age 13 to 16, I wanted to work in electronics, and, influenced by Euclidean geometry and a BBC program called "Key to the Universe", from 16 on, it was a toss-up between theoretical physics and pure maths.
 
  • #36
Geneticist.
I think I just wanted to make real superhero...turns out making x-ray vision is a bit harder than I thought when I was 7.
 
  • #37
wukunlin said:
In North Shore in New Zealand, garbage trucks are operate by one person in each, he will drive in front of a house, hop off, grab and throw the bags of rubbish (we don't use trash cans there for household rubbish) to the compressor at the back, and then hop back onto the driver seat, drive to the next house then rinse and repeat. Does that sound closer to what you were interested in?

That is much more efficient and modern that the career I had in mind. Back when I was a kid (long, long ago), garbage truck operation involved at least three men. There was the driver who did nothing but drive in short bursts, the can emptier who tromped around in the trash on top of the pile in the back of the truck and received the thrown cans of loose trash, and (my dream job) the guy who jumped off the truck, picked up the can and threw the lid of the ground (with some damage, if he was good at his work), threw the can up to the man on top and then caught the returned can before jumping back on the running board to ride to the next house. What could be more fun than that?
 
  • #38
HizzleT said:
...turns out making x-ray vision is a bit harder than I thought when I was 7.
The trick is that you have to disable the safety interlocks on your microwave oven so you can turn it on while your head is in there...

Dr.D said:
What could be more fun than that?
I can think of at least 2 things.
 
  • #39
Weird - I wanted to be a mad scientist ... I had the Professor Brainstorm books.
 
  • #40
historian or musician
 
  • #41
Silly me. I wanted to be a god! But then again i always got reminded by my nun teacher to get serious. That didn't go well..
 
  • #42
julcab12 said:
Silly me. I wanted to be a god!
So did I, but I realized that it would be pretty hypocritical of me as an Atheist. And really... what good could I be to anyone else if I didn't believe in myself?
 
  • #43
Danger said:
So did I, but I realized that it would be pretty hypocritical of me as an Atheist. And really... what good could I be to anyone else if I didn't believe in myself?
I am, therefore I don't exist? o_O
 
  • #44
Airline pilot
 
  • #45
Borg said:
I am, therefore I don't exist? o_O
Perhaps. I'd have to confer with Heisenberg to figure that one out.
 
  • #46
Danger said:
Perhaps. I'd have to confer with Heisenberg to figure that one out.
Maybe time is messin' with you or... :nb)
 
  • #47
julcab12 said:
Maybe time is messin' with you or... :nb)
I'm not sure about "messing with me", but it certainly hasn't been kind to me.
 
  • #48
Danger said:
I'm not sure about "messing with me", but it certainly hasn't been kind to me.
.. And still, you collapsed as expected;)
 
  • #49
julcab12 said:
.. And still, you collapsed as expected;)
Not precisely as expected. I don't believe in Superdeterminism either.
 
  • #50
Danger said:
Not precisely as expected. I don't believe in Superdeterminism either.
lol. Fair enough..
 
  • #51
Proctologist.

Mainly because I didn't like math.

Then someone explained to me what a proctologist was.

Suddenly I discovered a love of math.
 
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  • #52
BobG said:
Proctologist.

Mainly because I didn't like math.

Then someone explained to me what a proctologist was.

Suddenly I discovered a love of math.
But don't you have to proctor? It's basically the same thing only you don't ask for consent.
 
  • #53
Maylis said:
Airline pilot
Same with me, but back in high school on career day I went to the aviation section, only to find that I was the only guy there:D which didn't help me stay focused on flying.
Later went so far as solo flight (20+ hours) but was not able to go far enough to get the license.:L
 
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