# What's the most unusual career change you've ever seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2023, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091 "2023-03-13T03:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/61 "2023-03-13T20:00:45Z")
Teller, the quiet half of Penn and Teller, used to teach high school Latin. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/62 "2023-03-13T20:08:32Z")
> [@NinthAcolyte](#): > > a cremation operator for a mortuary This reminded me – I have a friend, whom I just saw in person the other night, for the first time since COVID hit. She had been a museum educator and docent for a decade, then spent several years as a bartender at Medieval Times, before deciding that she was really interested in mortuary science. She went through a training program for it, and started working at a funeral home about a year ago – she feels like she’s finally found her life’s calling. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/63 "2023-03-13T20:13:20Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > According to his bio on Wiki Shaq worked as a rapper and a wrestler after he retired from basketball. Although I feel these were just PR stunts. You mean Officer O’Neal had previous jobs? [![](https://people.com/thmb/SmgjRypmiYChQXAgOtusZr-3EVo=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(621x0:623x2)/shaquille-oneal-1-618581523b3c42f4b0e261156e37176b.jpg) ](https://people.com/thmb/SmgjRypmiYChQXAgOtusZr-3EVo=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(621x0:623x2)/shaquille-oneal-1-618581523b3c42f4b0e261156e37176b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/64 "2023-03-13T20:22:01Z")
My cousin got a degree in biology, then decided she didn’t like it that much. She went back to school and got a degree in history. She’s now a tenured history professor at a small college. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/65 "2023-03-13T21:35:20Z")
I loved hearing during the Oscar telecast last night that Jame Hong began his working life as a civil engineer. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/66 "2023-03-13T23:01:44Z")
Farm laborer, roofer, punch press operator, landscaper, lifeguard, Air Force officer, field botanist, HS science teacher, rare plant propagator. Hey! That’s me!!! ---
**Author:** ![cincinnatus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cincinnatus/32/7990_2.png) [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/67 "2023-03-14T01:50:08Z")
I was a chemist, transitioned to news reporter then editor, then to systems analyst, and publisher of software mixed in. ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/68 "2023-03-14T03:19:29Z")
One of our Dopers, **BeepKillBeep** , is transitioning from an AI scientist making killer robots, to being a professional singer instead (and I wish him the best of luck in his new venture). First announced in [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-my-job-eventually-for-not-science-tm-c-r/941602), and then he provided updates on his journey in a couple of other threads since then. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/69 "2023-03-14T04:12:04Z")
I went from pharmacist to physician to website designer. The pay ain’t great anymore, but it’s fun, and I can work from home and play with my 6 cats. 🐈 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/70 "2023-03-14T04:17:08Z")
Lance Henriksen was an illiterate Navy vet turned carpenter when he landed his first acting gig in a play he’d designed the set for. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/71 "2023-03-14T07:10:42Z")
While in Oxford, England on vacation, I went into Saint Mary Magdalen Church which was having a sale that day on donated books which were laid out on pews. I went to pay for the books I picked out. The woman taking the money for them asked me where I was from, since she could tell by my accent that I was an American. I was about to explain where precisely I was from that was in the Washington, D.C. area, but she said that she knew exactly where I was talking about because she was born in the U.S. She worked as a staff member in the U.S. Senate for awhile. Then she was a pop singer for awhile. Then she became an Anglican priest working at that church in Oxford. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/72 "2023-03-14T12:01:43Z")
Thanks for mentioning me. 🙂 Like quite a few of the other people being mentioned on this list, I was an army officer before going to graduate school. And I worked in software development before that. Keep in mind, the killer robots are still coming, but now they’ll be singing a tune in 4-part harmony while they eradicate humanity. _Beep_ ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/73 "2023-03-14T12:29:37Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Teaching is the initial or fall back career for a huge chunk of the college educated population. A friend of mine was an iron worker. He can point out Pittsburgh buildings and tell you how many floors he built. When he could no longer physically iron work, he got a job teaching. He had a decades old college degree which was all he needed. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/74 "2023-03-14T12:33:26Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > I went from pharmacist to physician to website designer. I knew a bitter guy who was a physician. He realized he hated working with people. He returned to school and graduated with a degree in Veterinary Medicine. He thought he’d be working with animals, but it turned out they were owned by people. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/75 "2023-03-14T12:41:45Z")
My college roommate became a physician. During the specialty rotations he realized he really hated dealing with uncooperative patients with chronic conditions. Or really patients in general. But medicine itself was totally cool & fascinating. So he went into emergency medicine and is still working in EDs in both comfy suburban and gritty inner city hospitals to this day. As he put it to me memorably late one night after a few single-malts: > **Dr. X** : They come in desperate. An hour later I’m done with them. They’re either going upstairs, downstairs, or back out the front door. But whichever way it is, they’re gone and I don’t have to mess with them again. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/76 "2023-03-14T14:58:19Z")
I was a paralegal for a few years before going back to grad school and ultimately getting my Ph.D. in mathematics. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/77 "2023-03-14T15:04:43Z")
About 30 years ago I worked with an engineer who quit his job to become a race car driver. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/78 "2023-03-14T15:09:03Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Then she was a pop singer for awhile. This reminded me: I used to have a colleague here at the ad agency, who, like me, was a strategic planner – our role is to understand the consumer, and help our teammates create ads that will resonate with, and motivate, the consumer. (She now works at Google, in a similar sort of role.) But, prior to working in advertising, she was a pop singer, and competed on “Ireland’s Got Talent.” ---
**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:** [March 14, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/79 "2023-03-14T15:12:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I knew a bitter guy who was a physician. He realized he hated working with people. He returned to school and graduated with a degree in Veterinary Medicine. I had a friend who, too, had gone to medical school, and realized that he didn’t much want to interact with people. So, he became a radiologist, reasoning that he’d spend most of his time analyzing and diagnosing based on x-rays and CAT scans, rather than seeing patients. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/80 "2023-03-14T15:27:23Z")
My doctor used to be a pediatrician. He said he loved the kids, but couldn’t stand the battles with anti-vax parents (this was 25 years ago). He changed to internal medicine, with an older patient base.Two years ago he was in the anti-vax battles over COVID. He lost quite a few patients he feels unnecessarily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091.md?page=5)