I wanted to race. Got to do a bit of SCCA Auto-X in college, but that was it.

In HS I wanted to be an aerospace engineer, went to UT Austin for a year, completely unprepared, tanked my GPA & switched course.

10 years later, BBA in Accounting & have been in IT for the last 5.

Still want to race, but missing a key component: $$$

Dad was an Army pilot so naturally I wanted to be involved in aviation. loved the A-6 intruder so wanted to be a navy pilot. Got diabetes and there went that dream. While sitting in a burger king I watched two cops come in and deal with a crazy homeless guy with a sword. They talked to him like he was their best friend and solved the problem without incident. A police officer was shot at the University of Arizona while I was attending and I noticed a Rhode island state trooper who made the trip on his police bike for the officers funeral. I spoke with the trooper about driving 2000 miles on a motorcycle and was amazed at how often he used the term "brother." I have been an LEO for 25 years.

Marine biologist.
Health issue developed in my teens nixed that plan.

The plan was to join the Navy to learn both scuba and hard hat diving, then GI Bill for the University biology study.

I was on the high school swim team with eye on the Olympics as well.

Anyhow, challenges were presented and overcome.

All I ever thought about and ever wanted to do was work on airplanes. Started Jan 1968 and 50+ years later and retired, every minute was worth it.

Tinyman

Yeah cowboy, but I already was one growing up on a ranch. Astronaut until rheumatic fever ended that dream. Did land up working in the space program for a few years. Wanted to be a politician until I worked for a few. Retired for a year and a half and still don’t know what I aspire to.

Fighter pilot.

Things turned out better than alright, but when a single-seat jet flies overhead...

quote:

Originally posted by Scoutmaster:
So engineering, economics, fire fighting, law enforcement, AND blowing things up? Then continuing education. What do you do in your spare time?

In fairness, I’m a bomb technician at my job so I get to do a lot of my blowing stuff up at the same time that I’m doing my law enforcement stuff. I really only dabble in economics nowadays, reading a few articles here and there, keeping an eye on the markets a little, things like that. My engineering comes into my technical expertise at work, and I read articles and papers here and there. Lastly I don’t take more than one class a semester so I haven’t gone too crazy in the continuing ed stuff either.

As far as firefighting, that is kind of my therapy. Occasionally, I do good stuff as a cop, but alas I feel like I’m shoveling sand in the desert and outside of my explosives related and anti terrorism stuff and things of that nature I feel like I’m just the little Dutch boy with my finger in the dam. Firefighting when I can help out makes me feel like I’m actually helping people and helps me get some of my humanity back. So I’m fortunate enough that I can combine a lot of what I do into overlapping facets of my life. The way it all works out for me has kept me human and doing things that makes me uniquely me.

I wanted to fly, specifically rotary in the Army as no degree was required. Too many movies of hueys in Vietnam I guess. My poor eyesight ended that before it got started.

I've been working whatever crap job comes along since high school, til either I'm tired of them or they're tired of me. Industrial labor at the moment.

Baseball Player, I was a good defensive catcher always but just not a good enough hitter.

After H.S. when I decided to go to college, I thought that I might become a Lawyer, after my first quarter in college - I knew that there was no chance for that to happen.

Went through Army ROTC, served for 3 years on active duty then left the Army and entered Law Enforcement.

Started typing, realized that this would end up taking too many pages.

Reader's Digest response.
At 18 went into parts work in car dealerships.
Wanted to do something else by the time I was 21
Started making decent money by 20
Went into management by 24
Got out of management by 36, had enough.
Went back to counterman.Played Volunteer Firefighter/EMT between 29 to 38, almost became LEO at 33, wife got uneasy so that ended before it started.
Stayed in dealerships, retired 2017, GM exclusively,everything from Chevettes to GMC Brigadiers, it had parts I sold them.
Also started part time in Harley Davidson dealerships in 1999, received the Corona layoff in March, we will see when I get called back.

I can't complain, only twice did I have to find a job, both times the dealerships closed, every other time it was my choice to leave and always had something lined up before I left except for the first dealership in 1970. Survived the 73-74 Embargo and Recession, the 79 Embargo and recession, the Obama Depression, the GM Bankruptcy, always had work, until the Corona layoff in fifty years of working (not counting high school days)I never filed or collected unemployment, took a virus for that to happen.

I always wanted to fly. As I was growing up a friend of mine's Dad had a plane. He loved to fly and would take us with him a lot.

When I was in college I had a chance to get my private pilot's license through ROTC but I had just got married, was working 40 hrs. a week, and carrying 14 college hrs. and just didn't see how I could work that in.

An astronaut. I grew up during Gemini and Apollo.

Oceanographer
I was fascinated with Jacques Cousteau.
I didn't take that path in life but I imagine it would have turned out like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Speed Racer. James Bond. or a stunt man.

Kid: baseball player or rock star. By High School wanted to be a an airline pilot. Had heard of FedEx, never thought much about them. Never dreamed of flying boxes around in the middle of the night. Pax was for me.

Ended up in the CG, where my Dad had flown for most of his 30 years, and I followed in his footsteps. Still wanted to be an airline pilot eventually. When I got out of the CG in 2002 the pax airline situation was bleak. Turns out I'm an airline pilot but I fly boxes around in the middle of the night.

Weird how life turns out.

Laid

Either architect or veterinarian. I always loved drawing and creating, and was a fair hand at drafting classes in HS. Got to college and realized that calculus and I just don't get along, so I swapped over to pre-vet and never looked back.

The garbage truck.

I loved watching the garbage truck so much that i wanted to be it. Not the man.

The truck.

I too wanted to be Jaques Cousteau.

Then I figured out that most marine biologists don't make any money so I became a lawyer.

Now I know most lawyers don't make much money.

But I do have it good none the less.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigfan Roy:

Kid: baseball player or rock star. By High School wanted to be a an airline pilot. Had heard of FedEx, never thought much about them. Never dreamed of flying boxes around in the middle of the night. Pax was for me.

Ended up in the CG, where my Dad had flown for most of his 30 years, and I followed in his footsteps. Still wanted to be an airline pilot eventually. When I got out of the CG in 2002 the pax airline situation was bleak. Turns out I'm an airline pilot but I fly boxes around in the middle of the night.

Weird how life turns out.

I never did 121 but I have a fair amount of 135 in my log book.

In 135 I have schlepped boxes and people. Trust me, people create a lot more tsuris!