@DoctorOW Yeah, but that was just a couple years ago, wasn’t it? When I was a kid, a computer filled a room and was serviced by old bald guys in white lab coats and thick glasses who fed punch cards into it. Didn’t look too exciting back then. Fortunately, by the time I reached college age they became a bit more ubiquitous/accessible.
@Salanth As I’ve grown older and more neurotic, I’ve given up on the idea. Even if I could afford to go as a tourist, I think I’d have a claustrophobic fit in a present-day spaceship.
I used to be answer 1, but over the last couple years, I have been working on making little changes to get me back on track. Not for my original answer of “a dinosaur,” of course, but for one of my slightly later childhood answers. Still, not sure I’d pass if given the chance to be a dinosaur. Just, you know, in case anyone is asking.
I just wanted a job that was not traditionally held by women. I couldn’t see myself as a teacher, nurse, etc. Or even a mom. I’ve worked in IT my whole life.
@Fuzzalini I’m a mom and a data analyst (I do SQL coding), so not quite on the database side. I did used to have admin access to our state’s Medicaid database though. I’m fur-baby free too.
@Fuzzalini, I have a large dog and even then I sometimes struggle with the responsibility of having him. My last job I had to travel A LOT so that was tough with having to make sure he was taken care of while I was gone.
@kittykat9180 You wound up with the more interesting career.
I remember in middle school, they polled us kids about what jobs interested us, and over the next few weeks, brought speakers in to talk about the handful of most requested occupations. A woman from some modeling agency/school came in and she asked girls to stand up if they were interested in being a model. One-by-one, she pointed to them “you’re too short”, “you’re too short”, “you’re too short” until I think there were one or two girls left standing. I understand establishing realistic expectations and conveying the minimum height requirement, but was it really necessary to call out all those girls individually? Even as a guy, I felt embarrassed for them.
@DrWorm, wow, that’s actually a pretty crappy thing to do.
Things are different now in many modeling areas as companies strive to represent the population. Now models are short, tall, fat, thin, pale, dark, freckled, etc. But if you want to make the real money you still need to be tall and thin–with a few notable exception.
Somehow I realized that being a baseball player wasn’t entirely realistic, but thought being an astronaut was. Even though at the time, there were only 16 astronauts (and less than 350 to date in NASA’s entire history)
I wanted to be a soldier, perhaps a sailor (my grandpap said the food was better in the Navy). I’m a pastor now. I guess I’m still in the fight, but entirely different kind.
@capnjb Not sure how to parse this. Does “vet” refer to animal doctor or your retirement from being a space cop? If the later, does a “vet chef” prepare meals for animals, or meals for humans using the animals that don’t make it on the operating room table?
@DrWorm You ask too many questions. Stay away from my space police station restaurant at the end of the universe. Unless your llama needs something. But no more questions.
@blaineg@DrWorm Come over for dinner and figure it out yourself. I’ve got a nice case of Scott Harvey wine inbound from Casemates. Should pair nicely with some fava beans.
@lisaviolet Don’t feel bad. I was an awful student basically because I had ADD or some variation of it which caused me to be all over the place and not being able to focus or stay still. My mother threatened me will all sorts of things like putting me in reform school (yes-she did). Never thought I would be interested in anything enough to make a career out of it.
Got my first A in college in Intro to Accounting and figured this must be what I am good at. So I majored in accounting. Got either Bs or Ds in my accounting courses and probably knew less about accounting than anyone who ever graduated with a degree in it. But low and behold, was working in an accounting office while I was in law school (don’t ask) and all the things I had learned in school but never understood finally started to make sense to me. Been a CPA for almost 50 years.
So there is hope for anyone and everyone.
BTW-our son inherited my ADD and in dealing with that took at test as to whether I had it or not and got 7 our 10 answers right so bingo. They listed a number of the professions one should not go into with ADD as they required a great deal of organization. One was accounting. Now they tell me.
The first occupation I remember wanting to have was a brain surgeon. I was a data analyst for 11 years and just recently moved to a vendor & project coordinator position - but hey, at least I work at a hospital!
When I was in 9th grade I took a test called the Kuder Preference Test which matched my answers to others in professions who took the test. It turned out the test showed I had the most in common with an accountant or a mortician and that is where my interest lied. Luckily and maybe more surprising I ended up being a CPA.
I wanted to be a scientist of some sort when I was a kid - a paleontologist or astronaut for preference. But I’m not patient or mathematically-inclined enough for the sciences, and my terrible eyesight precluded the military path to space. Then I wanted to get into journalism or acting in high school, and actually got to do the latter professionally for just long enough to realize it wasn’t for me after all - what they don’t tell you is that unless you’re an A-lister, 85% of the work is looking for your next job. I’ve wound up a handyman, homesteader, and aspiring vintner, and love it.
@Star2236 I feel like it’s the first thing I’ve tried that combines my love for both science and creativity. Don’t know if I’ll be able to make a go of it, but the plan for now is to build up slowly and make a final decision when I’ve reached the limits of what can legally be done as a hobby.
@tinamarie1974 I remember the first CPA firm I worked for there were very few women and the first staff associate I took out to a client to help me with the audit, the client asked me why I needed to bring a secretary out with me to help me. Now more than 50% of the staff at CPA firms are women. It was even worse in law school.
@Felton10 I can relate. I have been cornered in warehouses, had a guy lift my skirt in the office, have been ignored by salespeople who try to talk to my date at events b/c he must be the SC person. Had a manager try to give me back rubs.
I look really young for my age, so I have even gotten the oh so what experience do you have sweetheart from sales people…had bosses who would literally take my ideas after I say them and take full credit, they just acted like they didn’t hear me.
Have had to go to cigar clubs, places short of strip clubs, etc because the customer or the boss wants to go and was told to suck it up, it is expected.
All opportunities to build character. Just happy things are better today than they were 25-30 years ago.
@tinamarie1974 Some of the things that went on back then in the 70s and 80s by both sexes wouldn’t have been tolerated as appropriate work place behavior.
There was this one situation where this manager who took a liking to a young staff member who was right out of college 10 years his junior. He was married with a newborn and very religious. She was probably flattered by all his attention. Well, I saw them kissing in the parking garage one day and all hell broke loose. Long story short, he left the firm, divorced his wife and married this girl.
@Felton10 I saw that in the 90’s and very naive. Walked past my boss in the backseat of a car with one of my team members. I gave a wave and kept on going…grandma was in the hospital (cancer) and I was on my way to see her.
I was surprised when my boss started blowing up my phone. Finally answered and he felt the need to over explain what I did NOT see. He also asked that I not mention anything to my teammate because she was embarrassed. It was that moment I realized what I walked past. Ooooohhhhhhhh duh!!! Nothing happened, nobody thought it was a big deal. Different times
@tinamarie1974 Instead of going to the one of the partners-told another manager who was female (I was a manager also). She talked to the girl and I talk to the guy-did not good. He left the firm shortly thereafter. After I left the firm, saw her at a tax seminar some years later and found out she had married Walter (no relation to my Walter).
@Felton10@tinamarie1974 Yeah, it used to be you’d just warn the new women when they started about “that guy”. Or some women took their private revenge - like a woman who told me that she and another waitress at a certain place slashed their manager’s tires because he’d corner them in the kitchen and grope them.
@Kyeh@tinamarie1974 Things that everyone did back then including females wouldn’t be allowed today. For example-one women found a funny IRS form called a “Male Reproductive Organ Tax” where you had to pay a tax or get a refund based on the length (you get the idea). She made copies and passed it all around the office to both males and females and everyone had a good laugh over it.
@Felton10@tinamarie1974 I met my (future) wife while working at a major tech firm. She was hired fresh out of college with an EE degree and I thought she was smart and nice and attractive (and one of the very few non-administrative women in the department at the time) but we were both married to other people at the time. Eight years later, we both found ourselves single and decided to try dating. There was some gossip but no serious repercussions work-wise. We were married the next year and will celebrate our 30th this summer.
I’m not sure that things could work out quite the same in today’s business environment.
@macromeh@tinamarie1974 Good for you-always wonder what happened to Walter and his younger wife-bet she was cast aside when someone younger and prettier showed up. She looked like hell when I saw her that time.
@macromeh@tinamarie1974 I met my wife at single week in the Catskills even though we lived 30 miles apart. (approx 500 miles away from where we both lived). She was the most geographically desirable person I met there.
@Kyeh@macromeh@tinamarie1974 It was the truth-we were 500 miles away from the DC area-most of the people there were from the NY area and she lived 30 miles away from me.
@jitc I had that problem also. Luckily I found something (or stumbled onto it) that didn’t bore me to death, could make a reasonable living and I was good at doing.
When I was like 3-4 I was hugely fascinated with great whites and wanted to swim with them. I had a shark book that my parents should never let me look at bc it was full of people getting bitten, just not appropriate for a little kid. Then in elementary I wanted to be a dancer. After that all I remember Is wanting to work for the FBI.
I did teach dance for the community enrichment program type thing for about 5-6 years. I got my BA in Criminal Justice and was all set to be a Probation/Parole Officer, even went on interviews but them I got permanently hurt at my work. I still love shark week and would go cage diving with great whites if I had the chance.
@Star2236 Great White Northern Rhino? Turns out they are virtually extinct; just 2 females left, neither capable of supporting a pregnancy. Interestingly, there appears to be a variety of Northern White Rhino sperm collected before the last few male examples died.
Or perhaps you were talking about great White Elephant gifts under $25? Different subject altogether…
@capnjb
I remember going up north (in Michigan) for time. My boyfriend took me to the bar to show me all the famous sturgeon (a type of fish that gets massive) that people had caught over the years from the lake were about to go on. Getting into the water to this day up there I still nervous.
I wanted to be a zoologist. I love all animals, even the disgusting ones. But, after working in a rural farming community as an apprentice blacksmith, I ended up in the Air Force as an aircraft machinist and spent 21.5 yrs working as an aircraft metals technologist. After the AF I used my degree in Metallurgy and applied it to a DoD Research Laboratory career. Now 16 yrs later, still work for the DoD. Just recently transferred to the US Space Force! My title: “Space Guardian”
@accelerator First of all, thank you for your service! I spent about a decade with DoE as a contractor and had an offer from DoD but Energy threw me an offer to stay that I couldn’t walk away from. Heh. Now I work for a bioA lab and my PPE game is the best it’s ever been. I just wish I was able to use ‘metallurgy’ in casual conversation. You must be the coolest kid at school
Around 8th grade I decided a career in intelligence work (spy stuff) would be interesting. After HS joined the Army and became an Intelligence Analyst, but got assigned to the Pentagon doing often boring stuff. So I went to college, majored in comparative religion (mostly eastern ones) and later became a radio DJ and talk show host. Makes sense to me. (I’m still doing radio at 72.)
I wanted to be a astronaut, or at least Major Matt Mason. Then I wanted to be Spock. I thought he was a lot more interesting than Kirk.
Later, when electronics & computers caught my attention I wanted to work for Industrial Light & Magic (Star Wars, etc.) or Evans & Sutherland (computer graphics pioneers).
ILM never came close to happening, but I started at Evans & Sutherland right out of school, and spent ten years there. E&S did the Wrath of Khan starfields and the ship computer displays a few years before I started there.
I wanted to be independently wealthy.
@yakkoTDI Your parents should have named you Marigold - name and ambition in one word.
I was always interested with computers and TV. Now I do work with both.
@DoctorOW Yeah, but that was just a couple years ago, wasn’t it?
When I was a kid, a computer filled a room and was serviced by old bald guys in white lab coats and thick glasses who fed punch cards into it. Didn’t look too exciting back then. Fortunately, by the time I reached college age they became a bit more ubiquitous/accessible.
I wanted to be like Batman, Wonder Woman and Evil Knievel. Or Nadia Comaneci.
I wanted to be Jeannie, Samantha Stevens, and/or Wonder Woman. I am none of those
@ivannabc We have something in common. I wanted to be married to each of them. BTW-Barbara Eden looks amazing for age 89.
I was born a poor curmudgeon. 60 years later, no change.
I still want to go to space.
@Salanth As I’ve grown older and more neurotic, I’ve given up on the idea. Even if I could afford to go as a tourist, I think I’d have a claustrophobic fit in a present-day spaceship.
I used to be answer 1, but over the last couple years, I have been working on making little changes to get me back on track. Not for my original answer of “a dinosaur,” of course, but for one of my slightly later childhood answers. Still, not sure I’d pass if given the chance to be a dinosaur. Just, you know, in case anyone is asking.
/giphy rawr
@mbersiam Always be a dinosaur. Or Batman.
I wanted to be an architect. Now I’m a software engineer, so I architect code! I’m going to call this a win.
@dptalia I wanted to be a cowboy, now I’m a bit wrangler.
I just wanted a job that was not traditionally held by women. I couldn’t see myself as a teacher, nurse, etc. Or even a mom. I’ve worked in IT my whole life.
@Fuzzalini, and did you become a mom? I opted out of that.
@kittykat9180 Heck no. I’m child-free. I’m currently fur child free as well, but that’s not going to last.
@Fuzzalini I’m a mom and a data analyst (I do SQL coding), so not quite on the database side. I did used to have admin access to our state’s Medicaid database though. I’m fur-baby free too.
@Fuzzalini Couldn’t land that men’s room attendant gig, eh?
@Fuzzalini, I have a large dog and even then I sometimes struggle with the responsibility of having him. My last job I had to travel A LOT so that was tough with having to make sure he was taken care of while I was gone.
I wanted to be a model (I’m 5’1”) but ended up being a scientist.
@kittykat9180 You wound up with the more interesting career.
I remember in middle school, they polled us kids about what jobs interested us, and over the next few weeks, brought speakers in to talk about the handful of most requested occupations. A woman from some modeling agency/school came in and she asked girls to stand up if they were interested in being a model. One-by-one, she pointed to them “you’re too short”, “you’re too short”, “you’re too short” until I think there were one or two girls left standing. I understand establishing realistic expectations and conveying the minimum height requirement, but was it really necessary to call out all those girls individually? Even as a guy, I felt embarrassed for them.
@DrWorm, wow, that’s actually a pretty crappy thing to do.
Things are different now in many modeling areas as companies strive to represent the population. Now models are short, tall, fat, thin, pale, dark, freckled, etc. But if you want to make the real money you still need to be tall and thin–with a few notable exception.
Somehow I realized that being a baseball player wasn’t entirely realistic, but thought being an astronaut was. Even though at the time, there were only 16 astronauts (and less than 350 to date in NASA’s entire history)
@DrWorm you didn’t want to be a drummer?
@DrWorm @enville Especially if you can handle criticism.
@dannybeans @DrWorm @enville At least everyone here calls him DrWorm.
I wanted to be a soldier, perhaps a sailor (my grandpap said the food was better in the Navy). I’m a pastor now. I guess I’m still in the fight, but entirely different kind.
Space cop vet chef.
@capnjb Not sure how to parse this. Does “vet” refer to animal doctor or your retirement from being a space cop? If the later, does a “vet chef” prepare meals for animals, or meals for humans using the animals that don’t make it on the operating room table?
@DrWorm You ask too many questions. Stay away from my space police station restaurant at the end of the universe. Unless your llama needs something. But no more questions.
@capnjb, maybe you can still be a cook for Space Force. Then after EAS you’ll be a vet as well.
@capnjb @DrWorm My take was the chef prepares meals made FROM vets. But are they caged or free range veterinarians?
@blaineg @DrWorm Come over for dinner and figure it out yourself. I’ve got a nice case of Scott Harvey wine inbound from Casemates. Should pair nicely with some fava beans.
Not a kid.
Never had any dreams of being anything. Probably because I had a pretty weird childhood.
@lisaviolet, now I am curious.
@lisaviolet Don’t feel bad. I was an awful student basically because I had ADD or some variation of it which caused me to be all over the place and not being able to focus or stay still. My mother threatened me will all sorts of things like putting me in reform school (yes-she did). Never thought I would be interested in anything enough to make a career out of it.
Got my first A in college in Intro to Accounting and figured this must be what I am good at. So I majored in accounting. Got either Bs or Ds in my accounting courses and probably knew less about accounting than anyone who ever graduated with a degree in it. But low and behold, was working in an accounting office while I was in law school (don’t ask) and all the things I had learned in school but never understood finally started to make sense to me. Been a CPA for almost 50 years.
So there is hope for anyone and everyone.
BTW-our son inherited my ADD and in dealing with that took at test as to whether I had it or not and got 7 our 10 answers right so bingo. They listed a number of the professions one should not go into with ADD as they required a great deal of organization. One was accounting. Now they tell me.
Always knew computers were the wave of the future. After I realized astronaut meant military, computers became my focus.
The first occupation I remember wanting to have was a brain surgeon. I was a data analyst for 11 years and just recently moved to a vendor & project coordinator position - but hey, at least I work at a hospital!
When I was in 9th grade I took a test called the Kuder Preference Test which matched my answers to others in professions who took the test. It turned out the test showed I had the most in common with an accountant or a mortician and that is where my interest lied. Luckily and maybe more surprising I ended up being a CPA.
I wanted to be a scientist of some sort when I was a kid - a paleontologist or astronaut for preference. But I’m not patient or mathematically-inclined enough for the sciences, and my terrible eyesight precluded the military path to space. Then I wanted to get into journalism or acting in high school, and actually got to do the latter professionally for just long enough to realize it wasn’t for me after all - what they don’t tell you is that unless you’re an A-lister, 85% of the work is looking for your next job. I’ve wound up a handyman, homesteader, and aspiring vintner, and love it.
(That’s the short version. There have been a lot of dalliances and digressions along the way.)
@dannybeans Oooo… let’s hear about the dalliances
@dannybeans
I had to look up what a vintner was, as I thought it might be something with wine. That sounds like a cool job.
@Star2236 I feel like it’s the first thing I’ve tried that combines my love for both science and creativity. Don’t know if I’ll be able to make a go of it, but the plan for now is to build up slowly and make a final decision when I’ve reached the limits of what can legally be done as a hobby.
I wanted to be a paleontologist. I’m studying to be a psychologist
@Hrairoo
My brothers a psychologist. I call them talking drs (no offense towards you), he loves it.
@Star2236 no offense taken! That’s pretty accurate, really! Lol
I wanted to be a vet, kinda wish I would have. I do love my current career, but no where close
@tinamarie1974 so what did you end up doing-something you like I hope.
@Felton10 I work in global supply chain and absolutely love it…most of the time
I am a woman in a mans world. Until recently I have always been the token woman. Usually it worked out well, but I also have some interesting stories
@Felton10 @tinamarie1974 we like stories
@tinamarie1974 I remember the first CPA firm I worked for there were very few women and the first staff associate I took out to a client to help me with the audit, the client asked me why I needed to bring a secretary out with me to help me. Now more than 50% of the staff at CPA firms are women. It was even worse in law school.
@Felton10 I can relate. I have been cornered in warehouses, had a guy lift my skirt in the office, have been ignored by salespeople who try to talk to my date at events b/c he must be the SC person. Had a manager try to give me back rubs.
I look really young for my age, so I have even gotten the oh so what experience do you have sweetheart from sales people…had bosses who would literally take my ideas after I say them and take full credit, they just acted like they didn’t hear me.
Have had to go to cigar clubs, places short of strip clubs, etc because the customer or the boss wants to go and was told to suck it up, it is expected.
All opportunities to build character. Just happy things are better today than they were 25-30 years ago.
@tinamarie1974 Some of the things that went on back then in the 70s and 80s by both sexes wouldn’t have been tolerated as appropriate work place behavior.
There was this one situation where this manager who took a liking to a young staff member who was right out of college 10 years his junior. He was married with a newborn and very religious. She was probably flattered by all his attention. Well, I saw them kissing in the parking garage one day and all hell broke loose. Long story short, he left the firm, divorced his wife and married this girl.
@Felton10 I saw that in the 90’s and very naive. Walked past my boss in the backseat of a car with one of my team members. I gave a wave and kept on going…grandma was in the hospital (cancer) and I was on my way to see her.
I was surprised when my boss started blowing up my phone. Finally answered and he felt the need to over explain what I did NOT see. He also asked that I not mention anything to my teammate because she was embarrassed. It was that moment I realized what I walked past. Ooooohhhhhhhh duh!!! Nothing happened, nobody thought it was a big deal. Different times
@tinamarie1974 Instead of going to the one of the partners-told another manager who was female (I was a manager also). She talked to the girl and I talk to the guy-did not good. He left the firm shortly thereafter. After I left the firm, saw her at a tax seminar some years later and found out she had married Walter (no relation to my Walter).
@Felton10 @tinamarie1974 Yeah, it used to be you’d just warn the new women when they started about “that guy”. Or some women took their private revenge - like a woman who told me that she and another waitress at a certain place slashed their manager’s tires because he’d corner them in the kitchen and grope them.
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 Things that everyone did back then including females wouldn’t be allowed today. For example-one women found a funny IRS form called a “Male Reproductive Organ Tax” where you had to pay a tax or get a refund based on the length (you get the idea). She made copies and passed it all around the office to both males and females and everyone had a good laugh over it.
@Felton10 @tinamarie1974 I met my (future) wife while working at a major tech firm. She was hired fresh out of college with an EE degree and I thought she was smart and nice and attractive (and one of the very few non-administrative women in the department at the time) but we were both married to other people at the time. Eight years later, we both found ourselves single and decided to try dating. There was some gossip but no serious repercussions work-wise. We were married the next year and will celebrate our 30th this summer.
I’m not sure that things could work out quite the same in today’s business environment.
@macromeh @tinamarie1974 Good for you-always wonder what happened to Walter and his younger wife-bet she was cast aside when someone younger and prettier showed up. She looked like hell when I saw her that time.
@Felton10 @tinamarie1974 I always say that I went for a younger woman after my divorce. New wife is 4 days younger than the first one.
@macromeh @tinamarie1974 Well you are moving in the right direction.
@Felton10 @tinamarie1974 I definitely married up, in every conceivable way!
“Wise man marries second wife first.”
@macromeh @tinamarie1974 I met my wife at single week in the Catskills even though we lived 30 miles apart. (approx 500 miles away from where we both lived). She was the most geographically desirable person I met there.
@Felton10 @macromeh @tinamarie1974
Seems like the basis for a good Cole Porter type song.
@Kyeh @macromeh @tinamarie1974 It was the truth-we were 500 miles away from the DC area-most of the people there were from the NY area and she lived 30 miles away from me.
@Felton10 @macromeh @tinamarie1974
It seems like it worked out pretty well.
@Felton10 @Kyeh @macromeh sounds like it was meant to be!
@Kyeh @macromeh @tinamarie1974 I can’t remember-that was 49+ years ago.
When I was a kid? I dunno if I really had aspirations of a career as a kid. At least not consistent ones.
@jitc It didn’t want to grow up either. Life was much simpler then. My wife can confirm that I haven’t grown up.
@Felton10 it wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to grow up, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do once I was grown up.
@jitc I had that problem also. Luckily I found something (or stumbled onto it) that didn’t bore me to death, could make a reasonable living and I was good at doing.
I wanted to help build a space station.
Today I work in aerospace industry, but mostly doing aero & very little related to space.
When I was like 3-4 I was hugely fascinated with great whites and wanted to swim with them. I had a shark book that my parents should never let me look at bc it was full of people getting bitten, just not appropriate for a little kid. Then in elementary I wanted to be a dancer. After that all I remember Is wanting to work for the FBI.
I did teach dance for the community enrichment program type thing for about 5-6 years. I got my BA in Criminal Justice and was all set to be a Probation/Parole Officer, even went on interviews but them I got permanently hurt at my work. I still love shark week and would go cage diving with great whites if I had the chance.
@Star2236 Great White Northern Rhino? Turns out they are virtually extinct; just 2 females left, neither capable of supporting a pregnancy. Interestingly, there appears to be a variety of Northern White Rhino sperm collected before the last few male examples died.
Or perhaps you were talking about great White Elephant gifts under $25? Different subject altogether…
@compunaut
Great white sharks
@Star2236 My parents let me watch Jaws when I was 7. Water is ruined for me now.
@capnjb
I remember going up north (in Michigan) for time. My boyfriend took me to the bar to show me all the famous sturgeon (a type of fish that gets massive) that people had caught over the years from the lake were about to go on. Getting into the water to this day up there I still nervous.
Scientist until I found out about the math part.
I wanted to be an Astronaut. I work on rocket components.
I wanted to be a zoologist. I love all animals, even the disgusting ones. But, after working in a rural farming community as an apprentice blacksmith, I ended up in the Air Force as an aircraft machinist and spent 21.5 yrs working as an aircraft metals technologist. After the AF I used my degree in Metallurgy and applied it to a DoD Research Laboratory career. Now 16 yrs later, still work for the DoD. Just recently transferred to the US Space Force! My title: “Space Guardian”
@accelerator ummm, I mean it seems interesting…
@accelerator I am bitterly disappointed that they chickened out on Space Cadet.
@accelerator First of all, thank you for your service! I spent about a decade with DoE as a contractor and had an offer from DoD but Energy threw me an offer to stay that I couldn’t walk away from. Heh. Now I work for a bioA lab and my PPE game is the best it’s ever been.
I just wish I was able to use ‘metallurgy’ in casual conversation. You must be the coolest kid at school 
Aqua Man - primarily because I couldn’t swim
Around 8th grade I decided a career in intelligence work (spy stuff) would be interesting. After HS joined the Army and became an Intelligence Analyst, but got assigned to the Pentagon doing often boring stuff. So I went to college, majored in comparative religion (mostly eastern ones) and later became a radio DJ and talk show host. Makes sense to me. (I’m still doing radio at 72.)
When asked I always said “older”
I wanted to be a astronaut, or at least Major Matt Mason. Then I wanted to be Spock. I thought he was a lot more interesting than Kirk.
Later, when electronics & computers caught my attention I wanted to work for Industrial Light & Magic (Star Wars, etc.) or Evans & Sutherland (computer graphics pioneers).
ILM never came close to happening, but I started at Evans & Sutherland right out of school, and spent ten years there. E&S did the Wrath of Khan starfields and the ship computer displays a few years before I started there.
5’7”. Seems I’m still trying to grow up.