Dream job?

[benjy]

If you could start over, what would you do?

I’m at a mid-career transition of sorts, and the thought of sitting at a desk 40hrs/wk again buried in spreadsheets makes me nauseous.

Maybe the sabbatical was a bad idea

 

[Greg]

I like rocks... geologist.

 

[Kevin B.]

Something with adventure. I've always thought underwater welding would be an awesome career. A bush pilot somewhere very remote would be fun. More realistically, getting a geology or archeology degree and working as a ranger for the Forest Service sounds rad, but I may be underestimating the ratio of bullshit desk work to cool field work there.

A job like Greg's would have been fun, when I was younger. I'm too old to try and get started in that field now.

My favorite job has been wildland firefighting, and if it paid better I'd still be doing it. But you pretty much have to be a smoke jumper to make a proper living in that field, and you can't be a smoke jumper with a reconstructed ankle. But if you like the woods and like to hike and don't mind putting in work, wildland firefighting is rad. If you're bored and have nothing else on your plate, give it a shot this summer.

 

[The_Lobbster]

I went to trade school immediately after high school for HVAC back in 2013. Although it pays the bills, and being at a state college has its perks, it kinda sucks at times.


I often say I would’ve done machine tool or welding if I could do it again.

 

[TRD270]

Fly an airplane!

 

[Cody]

Probably law school or something in corporate finance

 

[Pike2350]

I probably would've gotten I to construction and eventually open my own remodel/reno co.

 

[STAG]

Inventing/mechanical engineering/entrepreneurship, with a side hobby of marine biology. I’m at a weird point in life and I know that what works for my life does not work with many of yours, with lots of you having kids and family and stuff.

But I fully intend to spend the next decades of my life only doing things that bring me happiness, instead of just a paycheck.

This jobsite I’m on now may very well be my last heavy equipment job that I do, and I’d be okay with that.

 

[N-Smooth]

Something in the trades for sure. I’ve been in an office for 20 years now and I’ve hated the great majority of it. I’ve been in banking for 10 years this July and I think I hate it the most. Being a grown-up sucks.

 

[Thursty]

I love history and being outside - Archeologist

 

[Rot Box]

I’m a maintenance technician and while it does have its days overall I enjoy my job. I don’t know what else I’d rather do it’s all I’ve ever done.

If I had to choose I’d say controls engineer but I’d have to figure out a way to become smarter 😂.

 

[Hickey]

Trust fund playboy

 

[Stephen]

Trust fund playboy

This. I've always said I'd be a very good rich person. I have the right eccentric tastes, enjoy fine wine, good food, and I'd have spectacular yachts and architecturally interesting beach houses and ski chalets.

You guys would love reading about my exploits. 😎

 

[Kevin B.]

Trust fund playboy

I could very happily be a kept man. I need a sugar momma.

 

[Herzog]

Trust fund playboy

Only because you couldn’t have the dreadlocks to be a trustafarian.

 

[Hickey]

Only because you couldn’t have the dreadlocks to be a trustafarian.

My beard could be my dreadlocks. 😂

 

[Tebbsjeep]

My grandfather and Dad ran two cattle ranches before I came into this world. Unfortunately I missed that life by about ten years. I would've loved the opportunity to continue on that legacy. The price of entry to that life now will bar me from that career field though.

 

[Spork]

 

[TurboMinivan]

Waaaay back in high school, at the end of junior year, my entire class was given a lengthy standardized aptitude test. There were what felt like hundreds of questions asking about your preferences, likes, etc regarding a vast array of topics. Each student's results were then fed into a computer, which would then spit out The Answer <tm>. This answer told you what field of employment best suited you, and we were all encouraged to follow its suggestion. My result said I ought to be a forest ranger. I scoffed.

Fast forward 35-odd years. I'm a member of the Red Rock 4Wheelers, and I participate in each year's Easter Jeep Safari as a trail official. As you all know, beginning last year I went one step further when I landed my dream EJS assignment and became the trail leader for Elephant Hill. I absolutely love guiding people along that trail... introducing them to the Jeeping hobby in general, showing them Elephant Hill's spectacularly unique scenery, teaching them about proper 4WD etiquette/land preservation/etc, and so on. If there was some way I could earn a living doing that, I'd move to Moab tomorrow.

Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't have scoffed at those test results so long ago.

 

[frieed]

Graduated high school in 1979 and wanted to be an electrical engineer, never a moment of "what should I do?". 45 years later, I still love what I do.