# If you could change, what profession/career? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396 "2012-02-10T09:37:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/1 "2012-02-10T09:37:06Z")
If you could magically change your profession/career, what would you want to be doing for living? I’m in the arts and consumer electronics commerce business but I’ve always thought it would be awesome and fulfilling to be a research Physicist/Astronomer… or as my anthropology professor once told me how wonderful it is to be a research archeologist/anthropologist in southern France. Or Doctors Without Borders moves me too, so perhaps a doctor… but I don’t do well with sight of blood though. How about you? Or are you completely satisfied with your current job/pursuit that you never fantasized about having any other career? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/2 "2012-02-10T10:39:34Z")
Well, my fantasy career is to be a wildly successful stage and screen actress. That sure ain’t gonna happen in this lifetime! I did do the mid-life change of careers, though. Or rather, I’m one of those Gen-Xers who took forever to figure out what to be when she grew up, working “jobs” as opposed to a career, until my 30’s. Went to nursing school at 35. Love nursing. Short of wildly successful stage and screen actress, there’s not a profession I’d prefer - although I look forward to working in different jobs within the nursing profession as my education and career progresses. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/3 "2012-02-10T11:55:22Z")
I am happy with what I do. If I had chosen differently, I would now be the somewhat eccentric social studies teacher at the local high school. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/4 "2012-02-10T14:56:36Z")
I already made the change (to visual artist). If I were to change again, I’d be a classical composer. Obviously I’m not someone who values a steady source of income. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/5 "2012-02-10T15:13:43Z")
More than anything I would love to be a writer. If I were young and in good health I would love to work with animals in some capacity- horse trainer, a zoo, zoologist, something like that. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/6 "2012-02-10T15:20:02Z")
I think it would be a hoot to be a foley artist. Or in more general terms, a sound designer for movies. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/7 "2012-02-10T15:35:59Z")
I would love to be a country singer. Since that takes a lot of luck, my more realistic dreams are: Professional organizer Disney World vacation planner Neither of those pay nearly as much as I make now and I do love my job so maybe it will be something I can do when I retire. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/8 "2012-02-10T15:50:11Z")
I would really like to be a paleontologist or other field researcher. Would have done it too, but I couldn’t make it through the math courses. Which is a shame because I’d make an excellent field researcher. I wish there was another way into the field other than through school. ---
**Author:** ![simsimian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@simsimian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simsimian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/9 "2012-02-10T16:18:07Z")
fantasy -\> create my own web comic. 🙂 (and have it pay me enough to live on - that is the fantasy part. Oh, and for me to be creative enough to pull it off - that is fantasy also. But you did say ‘magically’.) ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/10 "2012-02-10T16:58:01Z")
Probably a veterinarian or a vet tech or crazy-cat-lady–animal-hoarder. Or something in the medical field. Or something that heavily involves science. ---
**Author:** ![ballardfam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@ballardfam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ballardfam)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/11 "2012-02-10T17:00:23Z")
Well, if I leave out all the unlikely/fantasy careers like being the third employee at microsoft (after Gates & Allen), I think I’d be a bookkeeper. I know that sounds blah to most people but I worked in the field in high school & college & enjoyed it. Right now I’m going through a spell of really disliking aspects of my job which have to do with dealing with human beings (I’m a nurse). Working alone with numbers in a remote office sounds really nice. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/12 "2012-02-10T18:23:33Z")
I changed from law to business at 30 but if I could go back? I’d just have gone to med school like my parents begged me to do. For that matter, I’d have combined a quant-qual double major. Yes blahblah I know it’s hell but my sister just signed a contract with a famous hospital where they’re paying her a 40 hour a week salary for 32 hours of work (she’s a hard to find specialist & published in academia wahwahwah so, maybe not necessarily the average) with full benefits. She basically told my brother-in-law to quit work and take it easy because he put her through med school and the residency and they still get three day weekends with each other. I mean DAMN. Meanwhile I have the same loans as her and still make less (though hilariously more with my master’s than JD, go figure). ---
**Author:** ![FasterThanMeerkats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@FasterThanMeerkats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FasterThanMeerkats)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/13 "2012-02-10T18:58:08Z")
Physicist or chemist… or something sciencey. 😛 Course then I’d just wish I’d gone into business. So at least I can mooch off of my mirror world double’s envy. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/14 "2012-02-11T11:26:39Z")
Based on what I’m paying now… Dermatologist. Your patients never die, and they never get better. Seems like the perfect gig. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/15 "2012-02-11T11:41:30Z")
I still think I would have been a good researcher in an industrial setting (my goal when I set off for grad school), but hey, ChemEng turned organizational consultant ain’t bad. There’s actually a lot of tasks in common: figuring out things, documenting what you’ve figured out, teaching others how to do it… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/16 "2012-02-11T11:44:23Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > I would really like to be a paleontologist or other field researcher. Would have done it too, but I couldn’t make it through the math courses. How much math is needed? That would be one of my alternates, too, but since my IRL studies were in physics, I wouldn’t be too worried about the math. 🙂 But, of all the choices I might have made, probably architecture. I always liked that, and used to doodle with designing homes when I was bored in class. Plus, I’ve always been fascinated with buildings and building. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/17 "2012-02-11T16:42:50Z")
I would love to be an artist full-time. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/18 "2012-02-11T17:23:58Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > I would really like to be a paleontologist or other field researcher. Would have done it too, but I couldn’t make it through the math courses. Which is a shame because I’d make an excellent field researcher. I wish there was another way into the field other than through school. I could be wrong but didn’t Margaret Mead start out as a wannabe? Just kind of “set up shop” in the area she wanted to study, then _later_ became accepted in her field. Could you maybe do stuff like that in your free time and get enough experience under your belt to approach somebody who’s doing something you’re interested in? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/19 "2012-02-11T17:34:31Z")
I always wanted to be a lawyer and have been told by many people that I should be one. If I could go back and make different choices, I would have found a way to go to college and then law school. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/20 "2012-02-11T18:18:35Z")
I would love to be an editor and proofreader, full time. I do apply for those jobs. Unfortunately, there are not that many of them and apparently many applicants. I have been trying to work my way into health occupations in the meantime. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396.md?page=2)