like what did you dream for in the future or wanted as a job for when you became an adult. what did you end up getting stuck with?
i dident really have a dream as a kid, those were the years when i messed around and learned. now im in high school struggling with life and being paranoid for dumb reasons.
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!
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.
First I wanted to be a barbarian.
Later I wanted to be an actor solely playing corpses.
And then I wanted to be an undertaker.
That's as a kid-kid. As a teenager I wanted to be an actor, because I didn't want my then life and was into psychology for the same reason, but with no real intentions of pursuing it.
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
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.
Wanted to be an inventor since I can remember, kinda like George Gearloose.
Managed to set fire to my dad's Lego train by bypassing the controller and sticking the rails directly into the wall socket at age 4. Told ya fuckers that the cable for the radio matched the cable for the rails! But would you listen? Oooh no, you wouldn't. Had to wait all the loooong time for mom to go to the toilet to try out my idea. And yes, I did cry a lot afterwards.
Currently I'm an engineer on master level working with startups, but haven't gotten around to get a doctors/PHD yet, if I ever choose to attempt one.
Now, my sister was different, didn't have any real idea what she wanted to do, probably something with art? So back when I just started learning about C I made a simple project with her, where I did the programming, and she decided on the user interface and did some simple copy pasting. Contrary to me, she very much likes making and solving patterns, such as sodoku, and since has become a frontend engineer, combining work with people, arts and design, and programming.
What I'm trying to say is, that you might find your interests reflected in unlikely places. It can be hard to find them, but keep looking until you find something that catches your fancy. And don't expect this choice to always be sunny and fun. Even those who have their work laid out for them at birth struggle and question themselves every now and again. :)
Librarian. Author. Then game programmer.
Now I'm a senior fullstack software developer. And it is honestly fun to chase bugs, no matter if they're my bugs or someone elses. Also I didn't need any university education for this. Went IT trade school, learned programming myself, got job as 1st line phone support, then was promoted to developer when I found and fixed bugs before it reached the devs.
Still would have loved to go the librarian path too. Maybe in the next life.
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 be a reporter when I grew up. Beyond that I wasn't picky. I have vague memories of my Kindergarten teacher asking everyone to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up and almost falling out of her seat when I drew the Fox News studio in full detail because it just came to my little mind.
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.
