Now I'm a stay at home mom which I actually love though I never would have believed I would 15 years ago. I can't imagine doing anything else. Before that I was a Systems Analyst who specialized in computer support and network security but I wouldn't say that was a dream job. In college I went into that field because I was good at it, I enjoyed it and I could make good money doing it but the considerations were far more practical than not.
Now if I could do anything in the world with no thought to job security, money or anything else practical I would be a genealogist. I LOVE genealogy and have spent more than my fair share on Ancestry.com tracking down family lines. I love genealogy not to prove I'm related to some king or someone famous but because it proves a real peak at what real life was like at different times for regular people. I would love to really be able to research and hunt down family lines and records and all that. Plus I just love research and all the tedium that comes with it.
If you could be anything what would you be?
Honestly, I should have been a librarian. The whole deal. Instead, I have a degree in accounting, which is fine and which I am good at - details are easy for me - but which is horribly boring. I blame my father, who pretty much pushed me into it. Or rather talked me into it. Plus the college I went to (which he wanted me to attend - I was such a compliant child) didn't have the library science program. I could have gotten the master's later, but life happened and I didn't. I did work for a library system for several years in an administrative capacity and I have volunteered for various libraries for years and years and years. So, I understand what you say. I was a born librarian. I can do accounting. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh and I find genealogy very interesting too. Again, details.
DeleteI actually really enjoyed the accounting classes I took in college though I might change my mind if I did that for a living! I would like to volunteer at the library and I'm planning to after the Tornado starts school full time. But while I love books research is what really grabs me! Love details!
DeleteGenealogist would be an awesome career! I would love researching a person's past too, finding surprises they didn't know about. How cool. Ever since I read "The Restorer," I've wanted to go into cemetery restoration, though I'd have to get over my fear of spiders first. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCemetery restoration would be awesome! I love cemeteries and could happily spend a day just looking at stones and names and everything. But yeah you'd definitely have to get past a spider fear!
DeleteI've had several jobs in my lifetime, but my main career was working in Special Ed. in elementary schools, and I loved it because I love kids and also helping people. But what I wanted to be when I was in college the first time was an author and was encouraged by one teacher but my parents and some other teachers thought I should be practical. I am now retired early on disabilities, but don't regret my school career at all.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my son and husband are into different genealogy sites, one of them ancestry.com, and tracing our roots. They actually recently traced my husband's Irish roots on his father's side and my son visited the town and took photos and stayed in a B & B there. My husband is getting to experience it second-hand through it. A fun hobby!
When my older kids were in school I was a sub for awhile and really enjoyed it to the point of seriously considering going back to school for a masters in education.
DeleteI have a lot of Irish in my background as well and some I've been really lucky in tracing but one line has a lot of secrets surrounding it and I might never know. It drives me crazy!
I hope to start a knitting design this year. Otherwise I wouldn't mind working as a make up artist, or be in a bookstore, library, or yarn store.
ReplyDeleteA make up artist would be such fun! I'd love to learn how to knit and do more with my hands though.
DeleteI think being a system analyst would come in handy, seriously. I bet you make enough to keep yourself comfortable. Being a genealogist would be awesome. I love that idea. Thanks for playing along this week.
ReplyDeleteI made a pretty good living which was one of the things that attracted me to it. It wasn't nearly as much fun as genealogy though!
DeleteHow interesting that you'd want to be a genealogist! I think the research would be quite fun and rewarding.
ReplyDeleteMy dream is to become an author (unoriginal, I know). I've actually worked in a library, but that wasn't for me. I think I would prefer to be on the creating side of things rather than the supplying.
Not unoriginal! The creative side is not something that really grabs me but I'm very grateful for those that are!
DeleteInteresting! Like Kay, I probably should have been a librarian... although being a pharmacist is similar in some ways. We just deal with drugs instead of books ;-)
ReplyDeleteLol! I've never thought of pharmacy and libraries being similar but when you put it like that!
DeleteI was not expecting you to say you wanted to be a genealogist. I think that would be a really fun job, though!
ReplyDeleteI'm just full of surprises! Lol! I think I would really enjoy digging through all those records!
DeleteOh that is a fun pick!!! I wouldn't have even thought of that! I was an accountant - now at home with the kids. I think I would love to work in a small bookstore/cafe or librarian.
ReplyDeleteI really liked my accounting classes in college and I think if I did it again that would be the field I would go in. However if I could do anything I'd be digging through dusty records!
DeleteLooking back, I think I should have gone into publishing in some capacity or a librarian, anyway ....:) something to do with books.
ReplyDeleteSomething in publishing would definitely be really fun. I'd love working in the behind the scenes.
DeleteI would be a writer.
ReplyDeleteThat would definitely be fun! I'm so glad there are people really want to write!
DeleteWow... genealogy! Unexpected :) great!
ReplyDeleteI would be a dancer and an author :)
A dancer is definitely surprising! I'm really glad I don't want to be a dancer as I have zero coordination!
DeleteWe have yet another thing in common! I'm not sure genealogist is my dream job but it's certainly something I would and do enjoy. Hunting down family history and locating documents that prove or disprove connections and offer clues to the next generation - it's like a scholarly mystery or puzzle!
ReplyDeleteMy actual dream job now, if I worked outside the home, is probably librarian. Currently, I work from home, creating back-of-the-book indexes for various publishers and authors. (I freelance, as do most indexers.) It's challenging and sometimes very interesting, but at other times very dry and a bit tedious, depending on the book. After college, I worked in and then ran a bookstore for about 5 years (different stores in the same chain), and later taught English, so I've been working with books in one way or another for most of my life.
One of my sisters is big into genealogy; it's her main hobby these days. Growing up, I had many dream careers - a starship crew member (even back then I loved Star Trek), a librarian, an etymologist, a bookstore owner, a mythologist, and a teacher. Well, I achieved the teaching career but not the others. But, I do work with words and language between the blogging and the editing so, I figure I came close enough. :)
ReplyDeleteGenealogy eh? My dad is really into that as well. Is it bad that it's not something I really care about? :/
ReplyDeleteWith my upcoming unemployment I'm deciding if I want to go back to school. Ugh. I would love to work in publishing but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Guess I better figure my life out. Haha
Happy reading!
Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life
A genealogist would be interesting, Katherine! I love researching family history too--it's all so fascinating to me. I think that's partly why I like historical fiction. I love history.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what my dream job would be. I like the idea of being a librarian--it would suit me too. I love to do research and I love books. I like to organize and catalog . . . My favorite job was working in the university library while I was going to college. I wish I had gone that route sometimes. Then though, I wasn't aware of all the avenues open to librarians like I do now. Anyway, I guess I'd have to say librarian then, even though it's kind of cliche for us book bloggers. LOL
When I was looking into career choices all those years ago, I felt most drawn to social work. I wanted to be a child psychologist for the longest time, but after taking my first sociology class, I realized I preferred it to psychology and suddenly my career path changed. Getting into the child welfare field seemed like a natural progression, especially considering the federal grant I received that put me through graduate school. It seemed like a smart idea at the time (and it was) because it was almost like a guaranteed job after graduation (in exchange for the grant, I agreed to work two years for a child welfare agency). I just never left once those two years were up.
A genealogist would be interesting, Katherine! I love researching family history too--it's all so fascinating to me. I think that's partly why I like historical fiction. I love history.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what my dream job would be. I like the idea of being a librarian--it would suit me too. I love to do research and I love books. I like to organize and catalog . . . My favorite job was working in the university library while I was going to college. I wish I had gone that route sometimes. Then though, I wasn't aware of all the avenues open to librarians like I do now. Anyway, I guess I'd have to say librarian then, even though it's kind of cliche for us book bloggers. LOL
When I was looking into career choices all those years ago, I felt most drawn to social work. I wanted to be a child psychologist for the longest time, but after taking my first sociology class, I realized I preferred it to psychology and suddenly my career path changed. Getting into the child welfare field seemed like a natural progression, especially considering the federal grant I received that put me through graduate school. It seemed like a smart idea at the time (and it was) because it was almost like a guaranteed job after graduation (in exchange for the grant, I agreed to work two years for a child welfare agency). I just never left once those two years were up.