I didn’t really know what I wanted to be, but in hindsight it’s mostly because I didn’t really know any options. In a small town in the 90s it was finish school, then go work in a shop (girls) or a factory (boys). That was the assumption and basically the whole career “advice” setup at my school.

So it kinda makes sense that nobody there seemed to have any ambitions.

Thankfully, I eventually found out that you’re allowed to work with computers. Maybe someone would’ve mentioned that to me earlier if I’d been male but again, 90s. I taught myself web development, made a living off that for a while, eventually had enough and pivoted into being a small-time craft YouTuber!

Never had one. I’m 35 and still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

Kid me had two things I wanted to be. Homeless and a soldier. I really liked war and I liked the idea of wandering around the city and being able to build a little hut wherever I wanted.

I wanted to be a lawyer to fight for the oppressed

When I was a little kid people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I simply answered “Happy”.

As I got older I learned what I enjoyed doing and I had some ideas.

First I wanted to be teacher, then I wanted to be an engineer, then I wanted to be a teacher again, then I became homeless so I had only the dream of getting enough of a job to get a roof over my head.

Then life got harder once I left highschool and basically all the support I was getting went away. I was homeless and I had a job that I was dumping all of my money into going to school to try and make it work. I really wanted to be a teacher.

Then some stuff happened causing life to get even harder and I dropped out. What little support I had went away.

I still had dreams of being a teacher as soon as I could get my life together.

Then my life fell apart further.

And further.

Eventually I got my life together enough to try again. But then life got hard again and I had to make a call. Risk homelessness again or drop out again.

I drive a forklift now… I have for nearly a decade and I’ll probably drive it for a long long time more.

Sometimes I think about becoming a teacher, but finances being what they are nowadays I could never afford the schooling and rent. And with what teacher’s salaries are if I took loans I’d never be able to pay them back.

pilot

Im afraid of heights

I wanted to be an astrophysicist, then I realize that I suck at theoretical maths, so I became an engineer and worked on rocket engines manufacturing, but I realize that working on aerospace projects is way too much paperwork.

Now I’m working with a small windows and doors manufacturing company to modernize their processes and I love it!

Don’t worry bout it bud. Some ppl know what they wanna do and some ppl gotta find it. You’ll find it eventually.

You can change careers in your 40s/50s if you want.

It’s likely easier to get into the field you want once you’re established, have resources and work experience even if it’s not relevant.

So don’t freak out haha

But personally when I was 11 we got a PC. My parents put it in my room. Which tbh irritated me at the time.

But I got super into it and started looking around the program files folder and at all the weird files in there.

I decided my dream was to make an application that needed those weird files. Which I did about a year later haha

But I fell in love with programming. I chose all my secondary school and college classes so I could get into university for it.

I actually did Games Technology but realised I didn’t enjoy that as much as general programming.

So I was lucky that i had the computer in my room and found something I was good at when I was young. And even luckier that it pays well.

Your future isn’t generally decided by a couple big decisions but 100s of small ones.

If you’re worried just start trying different things and you’ll likely find something you enjoy and/or have a talent for.

anything related to dinosaurs or Egypt

A cashier because people throw money at me all day. Also a scientist because science is cool. Now I spent 5+ years studying my favourite sciences only to realise the job I’ve been studying for is a cashier… Yeah I should probably go for a PhD

Fighter jet pilot, but without the bombing or fighting or anything.

Business man wheeling and dealing in a suit … seemed like fun.

I wanted to live in a van down by the river.

When I was in school I remember one day we had a lesson about jobs, we each had a worksheet with some jobs listed and we had to pick out one we liked. There was one option that stood out to me right away, I can’t remember the exact title they had but it was the one computer-related job on the sheet. I distinctly remember the teacher telling me that job wouldn’t be needed in the future. Why even have it as an option if it’s the one “wrong” choice?

Anyway, I’m in software now. I’m incredibly lucky that I’ve always known what I wanted and managed to build a well-paid career in a field I like. Very few people get to say that.

I wanted to go into space - which is a bit hard, as Australia doesn’t have a space program.

My second choice was to be a pilot. Aside from the fact that I don’t have 20/20 vision (laser correction wasn’t a thing in the 80’s), I discovered from doing gliding for a bit that I preferred looking out at the world to actually doing the flying.

So I ended up being a computer nerd. Something that is far more socially acceptable today than it was 40 years ago.