# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/21 "2012-02-11T18:51:21Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > 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? I want to own a children’s bookstore, very very much. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/22 "2012-02-11T19:08:10Z")
I’m an animal caretaker and I love my job except for the low pay. My dream job? **Emperor of the Universe** would be nice. Hey, if you’re gonna dream, dream big! ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/23 "2012-02-11T19:21:23Z")
I’m quite happy currently working in the aviation industry. I think working abroad as ambassador for Canada would be a fascinating career. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/24 "2012-02-11T21:01:32Z")
An appreciation for nature and in general a love of the land has steered me into a career in forestry and agriculture. It’s been personally satisfying but not financially rewarding. And being a “boots on the ground” sort of guy, I’ve never really moved in those circles where the large decisions are made. I would not want to work in an entirely different field, but I do wish I’d aimed a little higher on the career ladder. Specifically, if I were doing it again, I’d shoot for an advanced degree in Geography and a career in land use planning or landscape architecture. Or just possibly in resource or environmental journalism. SS ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/25 "2012-02-11T21:27:46Z")
I’d try to learn how to grow truffles. There just aren’t enough people in the world that know how to grow them, and that is why they are so damn expensive. But this has not always been the case. The art of truffle cultivation was extinguished in the early 1900s by the two world wars. I have never eaten a truffle before, but the idea of being a truffle grower is appealing to me for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/26 "2012-02-11T23:22:03Z")
Best-selling genre (horror/urban fantasy) author. I’m a writer now so it’s not a complete career change, but since the writing I do involves documenting software, I think it’s enough of one to count. I also think I might enjoy being a coroner. I used to think I’d like to be a CSI, but I’m sure the real version isn’t nearly as interesting as the TV version (not to mention a lot more tedious, and I don’t deal well with tedium.) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/27 "2012-02-11T23:35:05Z")
I should have been a pair of ragged claws, scuttling across floors of silent seas. That, or something in IT. ---
**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 11, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/28 "2012-02-11T23:42:32Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > 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? Possibly, the issue is that anywhere there is actually something _interesting_ to research, it is already snapped up by a recognized authority. The few exceptions are really, really, far away and I don’t have that kind of money for travel. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/29 "2012-02-11T23:44:17Z")
> [@Sam\_I\_Am](#): > > I would love to be an artist full-time. I’m one and I wish that too; people in general won’t leave you alone… I often hear “I have to work for living and why should you get away doing _nothing_?” (yes I do spend enormous amount of time staring blankly). Since I do _nothing_, I often end up doing endless favors for people “who’s busy working to make a living”… or I’m a horrible selfish bad person. “You are not doing anything, are you?” :dubious: . ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/30 "2012-02-11T23:52:28Z")
I work in market research, and really enjoy it (particularly since changing jobs last year). My fantasy careers would be a writer (swords-and-sorcery fantasy), a role-playing game designer, or a radio DJ. My “realistic” alternate career would be meteorology. It’s what I’d wanted to do from about age 6, until around age 15, when I discovered just how much math and physics was required, and I chickened out. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/31 "2012-02-12T00:37:08Z")
A wealthy particle-physicist professor/rock star/TV personality with a swipe card to get into CERN. Damn. That know-it-all Brian Cox stole my big plan. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/32 "2012-02-12T00:43:16Z")
Philanthropist. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/33 "2012-02-12T00:48:51Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > A wealthy particle-physicist professor/rock star/TV personality with a swipe card to get into CERN. [Kakupage](http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6928/pagekakucombo1146x129.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/34 "2012-02-12T01:11:26Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > [Kakupage](http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6928/pagekakucombo1146x129.jpg) Yeahbut, can he play Melancholy Baby? [**Oh, wait.**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku) > [@](#): > > At Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, Kaku assembled an atom smasher in his parent’s garage for a science fair project. Guess he doesn’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/35 "2012-02-12T05:00:59Z")
I recently changed my career to one that is, apparently, my ideal job. It didn’t feel as momentous as it ought to have, though. I used to be a website designer, but it grew away from me. I decided to turn to developing my hobby, and concentrated on learning 3D character modelling and animation. It took a couple of years, but I am now a full-time 3D modeller and animator. I’m not sure if I could hope for anything better. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/36 "2012-02-12T10:47:13Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Possibly, the issue is that anywhere there is actually something _interesting_ to research, it is already snapped up by a recognized authority. The few exceptions are really, really, far away and I don’t have that kind of money for travel. I don’t know, man, the stuff in Freakonomics is all pretty close by, but what made it different and groundbreaking was the approach - the revolutionary notion that “only because it’s close by, that doesn’t mean we know it well.” Different field, but one of the most important features in the work of an Agricultural Engineer professor I know is that he keeps testing “old farmers’ wisdom” which his colleagues despised - so far, the amount that’s turned out to be true outweighs the falses about 19:1. And one of the most fascinating chemistry articles I’ve read was on “why does pasta stick”. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/37 "2012-02-12T11:41:57Z")
Copy editor. I’ve always had a passion for language, and am utterly anal regarding grammar/spelling when the occasion calls for it. But I went to a science/engineering university, and was persuaded by my family and friends that computers were the future. So I changed majors before starting my first semester, and I ended up hating the career path and myself. Also, if I’d known then what I know now about student loans, I would have chosen to attend a liberal arts school. Libarts majors were widely denigrated by students and even faculty at the school I attended… it just wasn’t a strength that the school was known for, and I was too big a chicken to break the mold. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/38 "2012-02-12T16:48:56Z")
I want to get my MD/PhD degree and then become a writer, making the fascinating history of disease, biological research, and medicine more accessible to the average person. But I don’t see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/39 "2012-02-12T22:02:01Z")
I would either be a writer or a professional bowler. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliothecarius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bibliothecarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliothecarius)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396/40 "2012-02-13T13:47:44Z")
History professor. Or archaeologist. Or paleoanthropologist. Or librarian. Or bookstore owner. Or writer. Or, preferably, all of the above. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-change-what-profession-career/612396.md?page=3)