# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/141 "2023-03-24T01:55:09Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > cordwainer The only reason I know it is because of sci fi writer Harlan Elison using the alias _Cordwainer Bird_ on works of his he disliked beig changed against his will. ---
**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 24, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/142 "2023-03-24T02:29:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Today I learned … Which reminded me, that when actor Daniel Day-Lewis took his first sabbatical from acting (from 1997-2000), he apparently spent eight months as an apprentice shoemaker, under the Italian shoemaker Stefano Bemer. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/143 "2023-03-24T03:30:11Z")
(which was mentioned in the post right above the one you referenced) ---
**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 24, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/144 "2023-03-24T03:49:53Z")
I clearly failed my Perception check. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/145 "2023-03-24T03:53:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Being a luthier, a maker and maintainer of lutes Luthiers make stringed instruments, not just lutes. The luthiers I know make violins. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/146 "2023-03-24T05:42:47Z")
It was specifically the lute that she wanted to learn to build, because she had played one for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/147 "2023-03-24T09:58:19Z")
A coworker had to change doctors because her previous PCP became a commercial pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/148 "2023-03-24T13:34:54Z")
He applied for a job at Hollywood Video. He had to do a computer application in store. It was a bunch of questions with the answer format: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree. One of the questions was “I can imagine a reason to take money from the cash register”. As he explained to me, “I have a good imagination, and yeah, I can imagine a reason to take money from the cash register. What if we’re being robbed?” Turns out there is really only one acceptable answer to that question… He is still the maintenance manager of a golf course. I could tell stories about this guy all day. He definitely has the ability to make his life harder than it needs to be. Always makes me feel better about the choices I have made. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/149 "2023-03-25T01:21:05Z")
I remember a story from my area about a physician who became a long-haul trucker. IIRC, she had put herself through medical school doing that during school breaks - at a time when there weren’t that many female physicians, never mind female truckers - and if she was in a state where she was licensed, she was more than happy to examine her fellow truckers and treat their usually-minor ailments if she could, again IIRC taking her payment in cash if they had it. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/150 "2023-03-25T09:46:20Z")
During the 1980s and 1990s the **Levi Strauss** company released a continuous flow of highly regarded cinema and TV adverts for their 501 jeans. Often featuring a classic music track such as **Heard It Through The Grapevine** and **Another Piece Of My Heart**. For the 1994 advert which became known as **Creek** they got a professional musician called **Peter Lawlor** to create original music and he combined some female choral with the then very contemporary Grunge guitar: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SV5plJ_pBuQ/maxresdefault.jpg "LEVIS: Creek") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV5plJ_pBuQ) The advert was so popular that people were asking about the music. To satisfy demand Lawlor extended the music and wrote lyrics making a full length single from it which he called **Inside** and created a band including singer **Ray Wilson** (later to sing with **Genesis** ) he called **Stiltskin** which then had a UK Number 1 hit with it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VuTVKO0RScI/hqdefault.jpg "Stiltskin-Inside (Original video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuTVKO0RScI) Lawlor soon left **Stiltskin** , who continued with Wilson but never had another big hit, and he continued making pieces of music for TV shows. But he had a side gig as an economist working in the City of London and academia before becoming Principal Economic Adviser at the German Stock Exchange. Let’s face it. Being lead guitarist in a rock band pays the bills and all that but who hasn’t dreamt of jacking it in and becoming an Economic Advisor at the Deutsche Börse? TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/151 "2023-03-27T13:48:01Z")
One of my cousins married a lawyer. Soon afterwards my new cousin-in-law decided she didn’t want to be a lawyer any more and wanted to be an early childhood educator instead. She now runs a preschool. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/152 "2023-03-27T13:52:59Z")
A friend of mine was/is 1. Technical theatre (stage manager, lighting, construction,etc) 2. Software development 3. Lutheran minister Brian ---
**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 27, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/153 "2023-03-27T15:58:37Z")
My daughter’s Montessori preschool had a very part time Spanish teacher who was a parent attorney. This was 10+ years ago. She was very disenchanted with law. Now she is the owner of a K-8 Spanish immersion school. Technically it is a nonprofit and she’s the Director but if you look at the financial filings it looks like she takes home all of the excess of revenues over costs as salaries and bonuses. ---
**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 27, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/154 "2023-03-27T15:59:51Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > parent attorney Was this mean to be “patent attorney”? ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/155 "2023-03-27T16:01:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > mean to be Was this meant to be “meant to be”? ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/156 "2023-03-27T16:07:52Z")
Yes. She was a chemical engineer, then patent attorney, then preschool owner and now school director. ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/157 "2023-03-27T16:12:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Was this meant to be “meant to be”? Spelling errors on posts about spelling errors are an important feature of this board. 😉 ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/158 "2023-03-27T16:49:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Spelling errors on posts about spelling errors are an important feature of this board. 😉 How many times did you proofread this post? I can tell you I proofread this one a bunch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/159 "2023-03-27T17:13:34Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Technically it is a nonprofit and she’s the Director but if you look at the financial filings it looks like she takes home all of the excess of revenues over costs as salaries and bonuses. Do you like this person? If you do, let it go. If you don’t, consider turning them in to the IRS. If the IRS determines that this person is violating tax laws and collects back taxes plus a penalty, you will receive a reward. Even if you dislike this person, you still might find it distasteful to rat them out. Do you know a tax attorney or accountant? (I am neither.) If so, before you do anything drastic, consider presenting this scenario to them as a “hypothetical” making sure not to identify the individual or school. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091/160 "2023-03-27T17:28:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@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. Hence the common veterinary term “DSTO”: “Dog Smarter Than Owner”. No joke, it’s often true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-unusual-career-change-youve-ever-seen/981091.md?page=9)