“Movie star” and “pop star” have been there almost since the beginning.
“Influencer” covers all of those.
That’s a common flaw in any sort of list of top whatevers: It depends on how finely you slice things, and if you’re slicing everything to the same fineness.
My husband used to tell everyone he wanted to manage a bowling alley. At the time, that’s what his Dad did.
Since our son is rather forceful about people doing what he wants, to the point of micromanagement, we like to say he has a promising career in middle management.
He’d definitely make a fine lawyer though. He frequently gets me on technicalities.
(And come to think about it, he’s always asking me about various laws and regulations. He’s fascinated by the very idea of laws. “Tell me another law! Tell me another law!”)
And once we were talking about DNA evidence and he immediately asked about planted evidence.
So …lawyer or clever criminal. Time will tell.
I always liked Paula Poundstone’s joke about why adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up – they’re looking for ideas!
Anyway, I don’t remember ever wanting to have a dream job when I was a kid. The closest thing I can think of was I had once got a book from the library that talked about how helicopters work, and I thought being a helicopter pilot might be cool, but didn’t ever pursue it. I guess I just didn’t have much imagination as a kid.
About 10 years ago I started using the line:
Me: I’ve finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up.
Them: Oh really? What?
Me: Retired.
It turned out I was right. It’s by far the best job I’ve ever had. So far at least; the hard part is still out there in the future somewhere.
Born in 1961. From the ages of about 5-8, I wanted to be a teacher. From 9-14, I wanted to be a veterinarian. While I was in high school, I don’t think I gave it much thought! I ended up working in business. Which I’ve always been fine with.