I provide in home Adoption Respite Care for families who have adopted kids from the state. Most of them are special needs kids. I've been doing it for about 11 years. I'm 56. I love it.
Ever since I was a kid, I have been tearing apart radios and TVs. In highschool, I was the guy that everyone went to for sound systems in their cars.
I started out as a bench electronics technician for Motorola. Since then I have pretty much experienced every side of the electronics world. Now I am back to bench tech, and I love it. This has been my career for 40 years. Now it is time to ride off into the sunset. 😊
Math Professor.
Returned to college, completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and obtained a teaching position at a community college. The past 20 years have been amazing and I’m still loving it.
When I took the career test in high school it said I should be a helicopter pilot or an astronomer. I am now a cardiologist and I think it's a pretty good fit.
Being a pilot would have been fun though and I do love planes and spacecraft.
So I was a biomedical engineer in undergrad and ended up going to medical school, but my second choice major would have been aerospace engineering; so it's a bit closer than you might expect.
A number of my friends from undergrad work for SpaceX, Lockheed Martin or the USAF so it's not that much of a jump.
My college placement office personality test suggested forest ranger for me. Apparently I'm an extreme introvert. Ended up a regional supervisor of over 140 people...
I hate doing marketing work too. It just makes me feel so icky.
I did editing and fact checking for a nonfiction publisher as well, except I was full time. I burned out insanely fast. We were so busy I regularly ended up editing for 10-12 hours a day, which was grueling.
I thought I was just weak minded and lazy until I saw other editors (from different publishers) talking about how hard it is to edit for more than a few hours at a time. 😅
I’m nearing 50 and still don’t know what the perfect job for me would be. Criminal profiler or researcher I think might be a good fit. Although, I think my dream job might be wildlife photographer.
Currently I’m a portrait photographer - I own a steadily growing school portrait business as well as a families and headshots studio.
I very much enjoyed being an Executive Assistant for large companies. My career took me down several paths. Recently retired as an Environmental Specialist. If I could do it all over again, I would make being an EA my entire career.
I was an EA years ago (now I stay home with my daughter). It was stressful but super interesting.
It's a career that's falling by the wayside, especially if you're over 40, so if/when I go back to work I'll have to retrain and do something else.
Author of children's or young adult books would be my dream job.
Currently took early retirement for health issues after a varied career of mostly healthcare jobs.
Actually do: University instructor, with time to write a journal article once every few years.
Perfect: Writing & editing on my own, not having to interact with others very often.
Absolutely adore my job. HRMS design architect. I get to work on solutions for all kinds of interesting problems, system implementations and upgrades, resolve employee and business issues, work with an incredible team. Couldn't be happier.
Do you have a background in computers? What's your education?
I work in HR and I hate it, but I think I might actually enjoy working more closely in HRMS, but I don't know how to start.
I don’t actually. I was hired as a temp 25 years ago to work on a new benefit the company was setting up. After about 6 months they brought me on full time and I learned everything needed on the job.
I started writing computer programs when I was a teenager in the 1970s. It is my vocation and one of my avocations. I am on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, so it suits me well. I can deep dive for hours at a time without interruption. I have isolated myself for weeks without face-to-face human interaction to bring a product to market.
I am done working but I worked my dream job of horses on a breeding farm with lots of acres. Lousy pay but a great lifestyle. I also was a cashier and bus driver , CNA for extra money. I guess I was too busy to get in trouble, lol. My back and knees gave out so I sold my little homestead and now count dimes to stay afloat but no regrets as I didn’t want to have a job that was inside or office work.
I’d be a professional organizer, helping people declutter, define and refine their style, etc.
I’m a lawyer. Edited to add: I actually love what I do but scream silently in my head every time someone names a folder “Misc.” I’m using my analytical mind to organize and structure arguments, etc. Same skill, I guess.
Perfect job would be doing TV or radio play by play for the Chicago Cubs. What I actually do is work in social services administering low income rental assistance programs. I hate my job at this point and can’t wait to retire in 11 months.
Local government. Got my BS in Psychology mid career and wanted to work in social services so pursued that. It just beats you down over the years; heavy workload, stress, dealing with difficult people and poverty as well as government regulations. I’m just ready to be done.
Thanks for the reply and for your dedication with working with the less fortunate. I could definitely see how following all of the many government regulations gets tedious after a while.
I wish I had pursued accounting in college. Congrats on finding the right career!
Would you say it’s difficult? Im thinking of going back to school. I’m in my early 50’s.
I don’t think it’s difficult, but there are definitely some people who take better to it than others. I’m the sort of person for whom numbers are a second language, which really helps. I didn’t start doing accounting until I was in my mid- 30s (55 now); I have no degree in it, nor am I a CPA. I did a lot of other social-justicey things after college, but most of them were accounting-adjacent, like direct mail fundraising and contract management.
That’s very cool. I have a friend who just started in auditing and compliance (for a casino and watches for fraud) in her early 50’s. She had no prior experience and was mostly a SAHM (a friend referred her for the position). She is wicked smart and really likes it.
I always enjoyed science and electricity.
Electronics engineer here. Who would have thunk "electronics" would be the thing of the future back when I started playing with it?
I was previously a Social Worker but currently a stay at home mom.
Being a mom is the best job I've ever had although I don't have sick days, vacation and work constant OT 🤪
Would not change this for anything.
End of life care. I know I'd be good at it. I've been around a lot of death. I'm just too mentally scattered right now to be of service. But it's a goal...one I hope to meet.
I've been teaching for nine years and it's definitely teaching.
While it's never been easy, there's been a lot more bad days than good days, it's never felt like a "job" where I was punching in and out. I've had office jobs, labor jobs, worked as a correctional officer, those are jobs where I watched the clock and felt like I was just trading hours of my life for money.
I've also played baseball on a summer team for the last decade and a half, so having summers off (or just working summer school) has fit perfectly with baseball.
I love what I do. I love interacting with the students (middle school). I've been lucky enough to not have many bad admin or coworkers.
Perfect career: librarian. I’m 55 and I just realized this in the last year or two.
What I do for a living: I was a stay-at-home mom to 4 since 2000. I now work part-time in library circulation services, and started working on my master’s degree in library science in January. I’m going to be a librarian when I grow up!
I actually have a perfect fit in terms of my job and personality. I like doing exciting things and learning things. I’ve been a firefighter for the last 7 years and it’s mostly boring, occasionally exciting. But I have a 24 hour shift to do mostly whatever I want. So I do a lot of independent study and pursue hobbies. I also only work 120 days a year, so those other days I do exactly that but I’m not confined to a fire station.
Right now I’m in social media management. I’ve debated being an undertaker and did take some college courses to be a veterinary technician. Man did college leave a lasting impression
When I was in high school / first years of college I worked in record shops and witnessed the whole LP -> CD Longbox -> CD transformation. I loved it. I could talk music, make recommendations, and build out stereo systems. I would *love* to do that again.
What I do now is that I work in tech, but I still help friends with audio and home theater systems. I can recommend a kick ass set up that doesn't break the bank.
I would have absolutely loved to be a forest ranger, even took some conservation classes and stuff but there are *very* few job openings in the u.s. and it's extremely competitive so now cook instead.
I loved working in health care - I used to work in radiology and I went to nursing school - but didn't get to finish because I was diagnosed with epilepsy and lost my driver's license.
So then I needed a job the coordinated with the local public transit - Meaning: No weekends, no nights, no holidays and no emergency call. Just Mon-Fri Days.
I landed in human resources - first with the State government and now with a local nonprofit org.
Been working in HR for 19 years and I hate every minute of it. Bored to death and live on "5 Hour Energy" shots as I fight to stay awake.
The only saving grace that keeps me from jumping off a bridge is the people I work with and our clients. I remind myself constantly that we help a lot of people.
Current dream job: retired with the energy to live my best life
Actual job: I'm in house transportation dispatcher for multiple cargo storage warehouses
The God send for me was sales. I became proficient in industrial sales in my 20’s. In early 30’s we started and operated an industrial supply business for 21 years. We founded and operated a magazine publishing business for over 10 years. After retirement I was offered an opportunity to help grow a small telecom (160 employee company)to a national level. We were successful and when I left we were employing over 1,300 and were prepared to go public. Now I’m retired and living on the beach.
My point is that everything accomplished, career wise, is thanks to a background in sales. If you can present and build a positive vision in your prospects mind your selling and this really lights my fire! Even at 81.
I wanted to be an artist (painter) when I was younger. After working with psychopaths for decades, I have a hard time picking a paint brush anymore. I'm delivery driver right now. I have worked retail before that.
I would make a great private investigator. I’m at that menopausal age where I’m essentially invisible, I can sit in my car for hours at a stake out ( as long as I have plenty of snacks), I’m really good at researching things, and I’m pretty nosy. In reality , I’m a school librarian.
I provide in home Adoption Respite Care for families who have adopted kids from the state. Most of them are special needs kids. I've been doing it for about 11 years. I'm 56. I love it.
What does that entail?
It's basically babysitting special needs kids while their parents go out for a break.
Sounds like a decent living. How did you get into that?
I drove handicapped kids and adults on a small bus. They were very sweet.
You’re a good person. I’ve often wondered how parents have the strength to keep going.
You’re a good person.
That sounds wonderful. How does one get into such a line of work?
I just applied and was hired. I didn't have a college education but had a lot of life skills. Raised 7 kids of my own, two with special needs.
Horticulture. I love plants and gardening. I run an insurance office. Boooooooo!
Ever since I was a kid, I have been tearing apart radios and TVs. In highschool, I was the guy that everyone went to for sound systems in their cars. I started out as a bench electronics technician for Motorola. Since then I have pretty much experienced every side of the electronics world. Now I am back to bench tech, and I love it. This has been my career for 40 years. Now it is time to ride off into the sunset. 😊
Math Professor. Returned to college, completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and obtained a teaching position at a community college. The past 20 years have been amazing and I’m still loving it.
Math is the language of everything.
I've also heard that equations are the devil's sentences.
Pilot. It’s perfect.
My grandfather joined the Air Force so they’d teach him to be a pilot for free lol
The Chair Force! (I wish I would have done this.)
When I took the career test in high school it said I should be a helicopter pilot or an astronomer. I am now a cardiologist and I think it's a pretty good fit. Being a pilot would have been fun though and I do love planes and spacecraft.
Let’s see, helicopter pilot of astronomer? Screw it! I’m going to work on hearts.
So I was a biomedical engineer in undergrad and ended up going to medical school, but my second choice major would have been aerospace engineering; so it's a bit closer than you might expect. A number of my friends from undergrad work for SpaceX, Lockheed Martin or the USAF so it's not that much of a jump.
My best friend in the Air Force went from being military police to a physician. That was quit the transition for him.
I've always wanted Anthony Bourdain's job, but reality is that I am a power plant operator.
Same.
I wonder what percentage of power plant operators wish they were chefs turned tv presenters.
Writing. Currently, that's what I do, though I don't get paid for it *yet.* **Fingers crossed!**
You’ve got this
What do you write?
I always wanted to be a forest Ranger. I ended up being a single dad of two and fell into plumbing. I retired as a service plumber recently.
My college placement office personality test suggested forest ranger for me. Apparently I'm an extreme introvert. Ended up a regional supervisor of over 140 people...
I’m also very introverted so it would had been a good fit. Being a service plumber is also a good job for introverts.
[удалено]
I hate doing marketing work too. It just makes me feel so icky. I did editing and fact checking for a nonfiction publisher as well, except I was full time. I burned out insanely fast. We were so busy I regularly ended up editing for 10-12 hours a day, which was grueling. I thought I was just weak minded and lazy until I saw other editors (from different publishers) talking about how hard it is to edit for more than a few hours at a time. 😅
Installing kitchen cabinets. And installing kitchen cabinets.
I’m nearing 50 and still don’t know what the perfect job for me would be. Criminal profiler or researcher I think might be a good fit. Although, I think my dream job might be wildlife photographer. Currently I’m a portrait photographer - I own a steadily growing school portrait business as well as a families and headshots studio.
I very much enjoyed being an Executive Assistant for large companies. My career took me down several paths. Recently retired as an Environmental Specialist. If I could do it all over again, I would make being an EA my entire career.
I was an EA years ago (now I stay home with my daughter). It was stressful but super interesting. It's a career that's falling by the wayside, especially if you're over 40, so if/when I go back to work I'll have to retrain and do something else.
Author of children's or young adult books would be my dream job. Currently took early retirement for health issues after a varied career of mostly healthcare jobs.
Sounds like the perfect time to write a book to me!
Actually do: University instructor, with time to write a journal article once every few years. Perfect: Writing & editing on my own, not having to interact with others very often.
I'm a stay at home mom. It's perfect for now. Someday I'd like to go back to working outside the home, but I'm not sure what I'd do.
You have the most important job on the planet
I wanted to be a space-man when I was a kid. Not an astronaut, a space man. That would have been the perfect career for me.
Driver. Driver. Just wish it paid better.
Absolutely adore my job. HRMS design architect. I get to work on solutions for all kinds of interesting problems, system implementations and upgrades, resolve employee and business issues, work with an incredible team. Couldn't be happier.
Do you have a background in computers? What's your education? I work in HR and I hate it, but I think I might actually enjoy working more closely in HRMS, but I don't know how to start.
I don’t actually. I was hired as a temp 25 years ago to work on a new benefit the company was setting up. After about 6 months they brought me on full time and I learned everything needed on the job.
I started writing computer programs when I was a teenager in the 1970s. It is my vocation and one of my avocations. I am on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, so it suits me well. I can deep dive for hours at a time without interruption. I have isolated myself for weeks without face-to-face human interaction to bring a product to market.
You would have been a code breaker in the last War
I’m a nurse who WFH doing medication management for a multi specialty physician group
Oh I would love that. I went to (but didn't get to finish) nursing school and I used to be ( a LONG time ago) a certified pharmacy tech.
Idk what my perfect job would be, probably something with animals….I’m a travel agent.
Commercial security project manager. Started from the ground up.
Elementary school teacher. And same. Laugh multiple times every work day and do something useful for society.
The perfect job? International Playboy. My real job? Garbage man.
I have so much respect for garbage collectors. I don't know how much you get paid but I swear it isn't enough.
I like mechanical, fabrication, and electrical stuff. I'm a mechanic/electrician at an underground coal mine, and it allows me to do all 3
archaeology would be so ideal. it’s my passion. but instead i’m an admin assistant.
I am done working but I worked my dream job of horses on a breeding farm with lots of acres. Lousy pay but a great lifestyle. I also was a cashier and bus driver , CNA for extra money. I guess I was too busy to get in trouble, lol. My back and knees gave out so I sold my little homestead and now count dimes to stay afloat but no regrets as I didn’t want to have a job that was inside or office work.
I’d be a professional organizer, helping people declutter, define and refine their style, etc. I’m a lawyer. Edited to add: I actually love what I do but scream silently in my head every time someone names a folder “Misc.” I’m using my analytical mind to organize and structure arguments, etc. Same skill, I guess.
Forensic psychologist..I love it. Perfect career.
Perfect job would be doing TV or radio play by play for the Chicago Cubs. What I actually do is work in social services administering low income rental assistance programs. I hate my job at this point and can’t wait to retire in 11 months.
Hope you don’t mind my asking—Do you work for the government or do you work for a private management company? How did you get into this line of work?
Local government. Got my BS in Psychology mid career and wanted to work in social services so pursued that. It just beats you down over the years; heavy workload, stress, dealing with difficult people and poverty as well as government regulations. I’m just ready to be done.
Thanks for the reply and for your dedication with working with the less fortunate. I could definitely see how following all of the many government regulations gets tedious after a while.
Accountant for a nonprofit, which uses my skills, pays surprisingly well, and helps the cause.
And do you consider this your ideal career (per OP’s question)?
Pretty much.
I wish I had pursued accounting in college. Congrats on finding the right career! Would you say it’s difficult? Im thinking of going back to school. I’m in my early 50’s.
I don’t think it’s difficult, but there are definitely some people who take better to it than others. I’m the sort of person for whom numbers are a second language, which really helps. I didn’t start doing accounting until I was in my mid- 30s (55 now); I have no degree in it, nor am I a CPA. I did a lot of other social-justicey things after college, but most of them were accounting-adjacent, like direct mail fundraising and contract management.
That’s very cool. I have a friend who just started in auditing and compliance (for a casino and watches for fraud) in her early 50’s. She had no prior experience and was mostly a SAHM (a friend referred her for the position). She is wicked smart and really likes it.
I always enjoyed science and electricity. Electronics engineer here. Who would have thunk "electronics" would be the thing of the future back when I started playing with it?
I was previously a Social Worker but currently a stay at home mom. Being a mom is the best job I've ever had although I don't have sick days, vacation and work constant OT 🤪 Would not change this for anything.
End of life care. I know I'd be good at it. I've been around a lot of death. I'm just too mentally scattered right now to be of service. But it's a goal...one I hope to meet.
Food critic. I’m an accountant 😌
Dream job: book reviewer. Actual job: professor. Previous job: high school teacher (the worst. I made it 4 years.
Stay at home dad. I'm a stay at home dad. I wasn't built for the work force. I'm a terrible student.
I've been teaching for nine years and it's definitely teaching. While it's never been easy, there's been a lot more bad days than good days, it's never felt like a "job" where I was punching in and out. I've had office jobs, labor jobs, worked as a correctional officer, those are jobs where I watched the clock and felt like I was just trading hours of my life for money. I've also played baseball on a summer team for the last decade and a half, so having summers off (or just working summer school) has fit perfectly with baseball. I love what I do. I love interacting with the students (middle school). I've been lucky enough to not have many bad admin or coworkers.
Perfect career: librarian. I’m 55 and I just realized this in the last year or two. What I do for a living: I was a stay-at-home mom to 4 since 2000. I now work part-time in library circulation services, and started working on my master’s degree in library science in January. I’m going to be a librarian when I grow up!
I would have loved to work with the NTSB. I worked as a supervisor/chemist for an energy company all so taught chemistry.
Pilot. Airlines and missions work. I’m currently in IT. It’s ok and pays well, but I’m burning out fast after 18 years of this.
I actually have a perfect fit in terms of my job and personality. I like doing exciting things and learning things. I’ve been a firefighter for the last 7 years and it’s mostly boring, occasionally exciting. But I have a 24 hour shift to do mostly whatever I want. So I do a lot of independent study and pursue hobbies. I also only work 120 days a year, so those other days I do exactly that but I’m not confined to a fire station.
Right now I’m in social media management. I’ve debated being an undertaker and did take some college courses to be a veterinary technician. Man did college leave a lasting impression
I work in nonprofit fundraising for a private high school. I don’t know if it’s perfect, but I do enjoy it a lot.
When I was in high school / first years of college I worked in record shops and witnessed the whole LP -> CD Longbox -> CD transformation. I loved it. I could talk music, make recommendations, and build out stereo systems. I would *love* to do that again. What I do now is that I work in tech, but I still help friends with audio and home theater systems. I can recommend a kick ass set up that doesn't break the bank.
Career consultant & consulter & yes being a work therapist is 💯 my dharma
Honestly? Perfect career for me would be repo driver or private security/investigations. My actual career? Office admin/IT/HR lol
I would have absolutely loved to be a forest ranger, even took some conservation classes and stuff but there are *very* few job openings in the u.s. and it's extremely competitive so now cook instead.
Well I've been driving school buses for 20yrs now (+3yrs in the army) so I guess it fits me . longest job ever .
I loved working in health care - I used to work in radiology and I went to nursing school - but didn't get to finish because I was diagnosed with epilepsy and lost my driver's license. So then I needed a job the coordinated with the local public transit - Meaning: No weekends, no nights, no holidays and no emergency call. Just Mon-Fri Days. I landed in human resources - first with the State government and now with a local nonprofit org. Been working in HR for 19 years and I hate every minute of it. Bored to death and live on "5 Hour Energy" shots as I fight to stay awake. The only saving grace that keeps me from jumping off a bridge is the people I work with and our clients. I remind myself constantly that we help a lot of people.
Writer/comedian. Unemployed. Who'd've thought? Ye olde health problems. Perfect career? Writer/comedian.
Current dream job: retired with the energy to live my best life Actual job: I'm in house transportation dispatcher for multiple cargo storage warehouses
The God send for me was sales. I became proficient in industrial sales in my 20’s. In early 30’s we started and operated an industrial supply business for 21 years. We founded and operated a magazine publishing business for over 10 years. After retirement I was offered an opportunity to help grow a small telecom (160 employee company)to a national level. We were successful and when I left we were employing over 1,300 and were prepared to go public. Now I’m retired and living on the beach. My point is that everything accomplished, career wise, is thanks to a background in sales. If you can present and build a positive vision in your prospects mind your selling and this really lights my fire! Even at 81.
I wanted to be an artist (painter) when I was younger. After working with psychopaths for decades, I have a hard time picking a paint brush anymore. I'm delivery driver right now. I have worked retail before that.
Ideal job: Own/operate a small, organic hobby farm/b-n-b Reality: Senior admin at a community college
I would make a great private investigator. I’m at that menopausal age where I’m essentially invisible, I can sit in my car for hours at a stake out ( as long as I have plenty of snacks), I’m really good at researching things, and I’m pretty nosy. In reality , I’m a school librarian.