its kinda funny in a way ,i left the "nest" when i was 17
as i graduated early , i had all i could stand of school
i have alawys been the type to jump in and get my hands dirty( more brawn than brain ??..).
i stayed in ag. related business after i struck out on my own ,then in the 80s when the bottom fell out of agriculture
i started doing/working jobs that had very little to do with agriculture ,and by then i had came back to help on the family farm ,so after a little over 20 years ,i feel like i have finally found my niche in off the farm occupation ,as i truly enjoy welding .
Zeke

Good topic...Because I am a bit older, mine might be longer....I'm 46 now and still haven't decided on what I want to be when I grow up. :) When I was in middle school, I wanted to be an engineer for a electronics company since they were just taking off in the late 60's....by the time I was in high school and took radio and television production as a "easy A" and discovered I had a knack for talking to people from a stage, I thought that I might start my career as a DJ and work my way up from there...(Real DJs are dead now, see if you can find Tom Petty's song the last DJ sometime).

During high school I got into apprenticeship carpet laying and learned construction...as it got closer to graduation, I realized that my mom didnt have the funds to put me thru school without hardship so I decided to work for a couple years and save up some money....that got me no closer to college.

Fell in love, stayed in construction for a while...became a chemist at a oil refinery, then when it closed I ended up back in construction in Colorado...best money I ever made... Until they overbuilt and building stopped.

Moved back to Kansas to a depressed economy and my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer...I took a farm job. I have to admit it was long hours but somewhat rewarding. My livestock background from there led me to being an assistant manager of a 8,000 head Sheep feed yard...Did major surgery and posting there and that's when I thought that my calling should have been a Veterinarian. Still kick myself for not pursuing that. (thought I was too old..vets have to go to school as long as a lot of doctors)

The sheep yard went out of business due to low market prices and I sifted thru the want ads that were few and far between and found an HVAC job...been doing it for about 12 years now and I like where I am at, but it's not something that I want to do until I retire. What I do know is that I couldn't ever handle a desk job like I desired at an early age.

I've left out a few excursions that I have had in between like bookkeeping for a corrupt company and computer repair
but I guess the whole gist is that I still haven't grown up.

Joules, if that is your dream then you need to get to know others that are in similar businesses, read all you can and maybe find an older owner that might be looking to get out of it in the next few years....learn everything that you can, show them your ideas and make yourself an asset to them and possibly become a partner or buy them out later on.

See I rambled longer than you did :)

Zeke - I'm wondering how welding and farming are related ... welding farm equipment?

Tinmantu - a very "varied" past .... and you too were involved in farming. Really neat. Tonight I dissected sheep brains. Sheep - the only thing I collect (not live, but as in collectibles).
Thanks on the succinct advice on following my dream of becoming involved in the pet industry. Your suggestion of working with an established kennel is an angle I hadn't even considered - but will give it some consideration and investigation. I did get the schedule for our local SBA classes and a link to their website (with discussion forums) ... have a few hours to kill tonight, so that's where I'll be. Again - Thanks - really.

I'm 45 and I also don't know what I want to be when I grow up ....

Wanted to be an astronaut or vetrinarian when I was a kid. Went to college and switched majors 3 times and ended up with a marketing degree cuz I wanted to garduate and get a job.

The only job I found was waitressing, then managing restaurants.

Then my mother, who was working in real estate, told me to apply for a position in the mortgage company her real estate company was forming. Worked there for 16 years, am now with a major bank/lender, and have spent the last 10 years trying to find a way OUT of the mortgage business.

So I bought a farm... found out a long time ago that I can grow anything, and love gardens. So I now have a daylily farm where I sell plants in the spring/summer while still working my normal job .... can't figure out a way to make enough money from the farm to support the lifestyle/benefits, etc. I want.

I also took care of my animal fix, I have 2 dogs, 3 indoor cats, 1 barn cat, and 3 miniature donkeys.

SO I work my "normal" job to support the farm I love ... a comprise I guess.

Pam

i did throw a curve ball on that last post didnt i ??
i work as a welder off the farm for extra income .
its a job that i just sorta "fell into" last summer i had a fractured leg bone, so i went on light duty ,which i had to wear one oof those walking boots that went almost to my knee ,so after 3weeks of wearing that i was released to wearing a ankle brace ,and in that week i was asked by
one of the higherups if i would be interested in doing some welding in the barns and i liked enough that i put in a transfer and have been welding ever since .
Zeke

Hi I am Charlie.I just found this site a couple days ago.I normally post on the Daylily Forum.When I left high school I had every intention of being a Marine Biologist.After a summer working on a shrimp trawl collecting specimens in the Gulf I found out my nordic complection could not take that kind of life.I ended up with a steamship line and later as a railroad clerk thence a traffic manager for a west coast lumber co.In my spare time, my wife at that time and I ran and owned a small nursery.After retiring I did this full time on my own and now specialize in daylilies and canna. I have finally found what I really like to do.I do find time to do some deep sea fishing and beach combing.

Nice to see you back Pam.....and Welcome Charlie!....Joules, the thing that you have to consider is that if you are hesitant in just jumping into your dream, then get a taste of it...who knows, after you see what the owner goes through, you might not want to get into it after all...I have "tasted" a lot of trades over the years...deep down, I think that my final calling will be to write a book entailing my trials and tribulations. Surely I can find a few fools to buy it. I'll be working on titles but it might take a friday night rant to see what I can come up with.....again, welcome to all the new faces...I'm glad to see you

the bottom line is we all need job, but what we wanted to be is some how lost in translation between child hood and adult hood.
Myself, i don't have the luxury of being what i wanted to be eversince i was born. not exactly that i was born in the getto but it was some place like that. I am a forklift mechanic now, and i am doing that because i desperatly, gladly to have a job. My father said "love what you do, but don't do what you love!" somewhat, i think that is true to me because i am 35yrs and the last thing i need is career change, but if i force to find another job? then i just go find a new job, life is seem very simple to a blue color worker's life.

tuanh - I read your post several days ago and admit, it's left an impression on me. The "simple blue collar's life" .... I'm not certain I ever believed it was simple, but the idea that it could be is intriguing. I think that anyone who is happy and thankful for what they have in their life rather than worring about what they don't have is truly blessed. I'd be grateful to find that comfort zone ... maybe a few more years of high-school girls in the A&P courses will lead me back to what I'm doing now and being thankful for it!

Hi Joules, Thank very much for the complement.

Sure tuanh (first I spelled that tunah - like the fish, hahaha). Time for me to study for my next test - which I'll blow because I'm very distracted ....

hey joules that is no funny? that is an insult for think of me as a dummiest fish!:-) na just kidding! you are not the only one, my co-workers known me for 5yrs and every now and then they still come up to me and ask how i pronounce my name. althought, i answer to call that sound close to my name.:-). by the way, i am terible in remember people name and i ussually forget people name right after the the party 's over...:-)