S/O: If you could go back in time, what career would you choose?

[twowhat?]

I've thought about this a lot. I don't have a career that I'm all that excited about. It's just a job, but I'm grateful I'm in a position where it's flexible for me right now. But knowing what you know now about kids, family, your own personal goals, etc, would you choose a different career?

If I could go back in time I would love to be a physical therapist (decent income, fairly recession-proof so far, regular hours, get to help people and stay active). Of course I say this without any in-depth knowledge of what it's actually like to be a PT though I have a couple of friends whose DHs are PTs.

[cindys]

Court Reporter or Paralegal....

I love CourtTV :)

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...21, 6 & 3 :love-retry::love-retry::love-retry:

[bigsis]

Teaching! I am always dreading summer vacations, winter vacations, Presidents' Day b/c I have to figure out who I will leave the kids with without breaking the bank. I'm sure that teaching entails a lot of work, but at least for my small community, they are very much appreciated. I work for a small company. We haven't received a raise in over 4 years, our vacation was cut in half, and benefits are non-existent. :( This is how all my hard work has been "recognized." But I digress....

[mommylamb]

Ok, not a family friendly job at all, but sometimes I wish I'd gone into international diplomacy.

[zag95]

Nursing. My dad was a nurse. It would have been a great job to get started in plus, I could have flexed my time when I had kids.

So many options- acute care, clinic, working for insurance or drug companies, you name it.

[roseyloxs]

teaching. Had this thought while in college but they didn't offer much of a teaching degree so I just stuck with engineering since they said I can do anything I want with one including teaching.

[codex57]

Pharmacist. Clinical pharmacist, not retail. Basically, doing what DW is doing.

[Giantbear]

Super hero.... I always wanted to fly http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/character/smiley-vault-character-208.gif

Or attorney

[cindys]

"Super hero.... I always wanted to fly http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/character/smiley-vault-character-208.gif"

I think you already have this covered :)

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...21, 6 & 3 :love-retry::love-retry::love-retry:

[Pyrodjm]

Assuming I have the exact same skills and abilities that I had when I graduated high school I would still choose a career in special education. I like what I do and it's a great fit for my personality and lifestyle. If I had somehow managed to overcome my struggles with math, I'd be a nurse.

[Giantbear]

"Super hero.... I always wanted to fly http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/character/smiley-vault-character-208.gif"

I think you already have this covered :)

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...21, 6 & 3 :love-retry::love-retry::love-retry:
I tried to fly when i was a kid ...... it hurt....

[edurnemk]

I'm a Chemical Engineer and I love my career but it's not very family-friendly. I would go for Psychology if I had to do it again.

[marymoo86]

Pharmacist. Clinical pharmacist, not retail. Basically, doing what DW is doing.

This exactly. So much you can with this degree.

[BabbyO]

probably something in the women's health or pediatric field. Probably not DR, but maybe nursing, LC

Someone convinced me I needed to make $$ and that engineering was the way to do that. I hate myself for listening.

[smiles33]

While I never practiced law and sometimes regret going to law school, I LOOOOVE my job working with law students and even my prior nonprofit job managing programs for high school and college students. I'm a total people person and love counseling, so if I could do it over, maybe it would have been nice to earn a different degree more directly applicable to my work but I'm thankful I ended up in the right place despite getting a JD anyway.

[AnnieW625]

If I was better at math or science probably a nutritionist, pharmacist, or RN.

With my current skill set and degree in television and film I probably just should have taken better advantage of researching tv internships on a national level than I did, and found a way to work in the tv business. Hospitality or sports management would have been another interesting career. I have always thought it would be cool to be a travel agent. My ideal state govt. job would be working for the California Film Commission, but there are about 10 people who work there state wide.

[ilfaith]

When I first read the title of this thread, I saw the "go back in time" part and thought I don't know, maybe a pewter smith, stone mason, or farrier.

But having looked at the other responses, I realize I don't need to go quite that far back. So if I could do things over, I would have done something in healthcare...probably nursing. I do think about going back to school, but by the time DS3 is in school full-time I will be 45 or 46, which seems so old to start all over. On the other hand, I don't see myself returning to my old career (in magazine publishing)...so maybe it is time to gain a whoe new skill set.

[cvanbrunt]

I'd probably just tweak what I did. Instead of PhD in Psychology I would have done one in Neuroscience then gone into industry/pharma instead of academics. Way better pay and there's some really cool science going on in drug companies.

I was this close to going back to medical school once with plans for neurology but I was just so burned out on school.

[DietCokeLover]

Event planning. I would love to plan weddings and parties. Especially using other people's money!

[lhafer]

I'm a NICU nurse, and while I loved my job, I no longer have a passion for it. If I could go back, I would become a real estate agent. I actually plan on getting my license soon. It's just not really a kid friendly career, and I will only be able to do things part time until my kids are a little older. But I absolutely love real estate and houses, and trying to find that perfect house for someone.

[gcc2k]

astronaut

Though that is a completely un-family-friendly career.

[theriviera]

i love what i do, but it's not all that family friendly (at least the current path that i am on).

i like the idea of PT as the ones I know are able to work part time and have more control over their schedule. however, i didn't like science so I'm not sure how much i would enjoy it.

right now, i am wishing that i had a "job" vs. a "career". the expectation is that i can make international moves and work lots of hours and i can't, and i don't want to. uggh.

[brittone2]

I wouldn't change my career choice (PT) but I don't practice and haven't for a few years. My license is still current and I take some cont. ed. I never wanted to go into nursing, but now that I've had kids midwifery is very appealing. I never, ever would have considered it as a high school grad entering college, and certainly never thought I'd use a MW let alone have an interest in being one ;) However, I have absolutely no idea how I could ever realistically juggle it with kids in the house...they'd have to be old enough to be home alone periodically or DH would need a more flexible job. His job is already flexible, but not that flexible! I have also known a few midwives who burned out quickly (on call too often in a small or solo practice), so I think I romanticize the idea and like the idea more than the reality.

There are some downsides to working as a PT-it can be tough on the body at times even with good biomechanics (I had a lot of thumb problems, for example), in some settings weekends or evenings are required, in some settings the paperwork is more bothersome or tedious than others. On the upside, there are many practice settings and you can find ones with more 9-5 hours or "school" hours, part time is a possibility, there is still good demand, and it is very rewarding.

eta: if I was starting over though, I am not sure I would have picked PT now that programs are moving to the DPT. WHen I attended my program, it was a 5 year combo bachelor's/master's degree (had to have a minimum of a master's to sit for boards) and tuition and room and board was about 25K a year. Same program is now 6+ years (maybe longer?) and 46K per year. I knew I didn't want to commit to the length of time med school would take, and didn't want the loans in case I decided it wasn't for me. The current tuition prices and length of time to complete a degree would have been very discouraging. I always considered it a degree that had a pretty good return on investment, but I'd probably think twice if I was paying 46K+ per year. In my state the two state schools that offered PT were not my cup of tea, and neither had as good of a reputation as the school I attended. I was just discussing this with ILs, because we were talking about the deterioration in the # of jobs where you have good earning power, security, etc. without taking on insanely large loans. If I was paying 46K/year, there would have been no chance for me to SAH. I never planned on SAH, but I'm thankful it was an option and that my loans were relatively modest (parents footed most of the bill, some loans, decent merit scholarship).

[baymom]

I've thought about this a lot!! Either a pharmacist (studied science in college, so could have gone that route) because I believe it to be interesting and family friendly. Or, an architect because it would be a creative outlet for my love of designing floor plans. I've been regularly doodling floor plans since HS, for fun, and really wish I'd gone in that direction in college. I'm not sure if it's a family friendly profession, though....which would be a must for me.

[mackmama]

A lawyer.

[wellyes]

Event planning. I would love to plan weddings and parties. Especially using other people's money!
Doesn't pay jack :(

I would like to be a librarian.

[California]

Occupational Therapist. Didn't even know this job existed until I was student teaching and the occupational therapist would take students out to work with them.

[lhafer]

I've thought about this a lot!! Either a pharmacist (studied science in college, so could have gone that route) because I believe it to be interesting and family friendly. Or, an architect because it would be a creative outlet for my love of designing floor plans. I've been regularly doodling floor plans since HS, for fun, and really wish I'd gone in that direction in college. I'm not sure if it's a family friendly profession, though....which would be a must for me.

I said real estate agent. But in reality, I second the architect aspect. I also create floor plans all the time, and love coming up with new designs. So it would be a toss up between an agen/broker and an architect.

[scrooks]

Pharmacist. Clinical pharmacist, not retail. Basically, doing what DW is doing.

Ditto this!

[weech]

I would like to be a librarian.

It's not all its cracked up to be... :)

I wanted to be an astronaut and later on a aerospace engineer. In college, I was sure I was going to be a professor of Islamic Studies. Turned out to be a librarian desperately searching for a full-time gig!

[elbenn]

Politics--not a politician, but the behind the scenes work. I went into law instead.

[ellies mom]

Scientist or Mechanical Engineering.

[brittone2]

Occupational Therapist. Didn't even know this job existed until I was student teaching and the occupational therapist would take students out to work with them.
OTs have a very cool job. I majored in PT but didn't understand all of the things OTs were involved with until I was out on internships. Many people who aren't in the medical field assume they do "work hardening" types of therapy because of the name of their job. I knew what they did with adults before I interned, but didn't understand all that they are involved with in pediatrics prior to interning. This is one of those fields that I wish more high school grads with an interest in the medical field would look into, and maybe spend some time shadowing. What they do is very different from what most people perceive or assume.

[niccig]

I'm back in school now to be a SLP. I wished I had looked more at health careers. Maybe SLP, or PT or something else in medical field.

[waitingforgrace]

Maybe something in the medical realm like SLP or OT.

Or maybe a career counselor since it's something I wish I had had more access to in high school and college. I also love reviewing and helping people revise their resumes and write cover letters.

To this day I feel like I don't know that much about my career options or where my skills and interests would best fit.

[Corie]

Something with babies or old people. (nothing medical though)

Is there a job where I can sit and rock babies all day?

[maestramommy]

Librarian.

There are so many careers I never heard of until after I became a parent.

[BabyBearsMom]

I sometimes wonder if I should have been a teacher. I started out as an Ed major in college but switched Junior year to accounting. But I don't think teaching would be a good fit for me and they are so underpaid. I actually really love what I do and feel really well compensated. My current job is flexible and I have great job security so I don't think I would go back in time and change anything.

[hellokitty]

I'm an RN, but unfortunately, my DH's job makes it difficult to have a job that is so irregular with hrs (ie: 12 hr shifts, scattered on different days of the wk and rotating wknds, plus holidays suck since DH is on call a lot, so we would have hardly any family time together) . Plus, I had complete burn out after only being in the field for 5 yrs and honestly loathe the idea of returning to the field of nursing where you basically get treated like a doormat by everyone (hospital administrators treat you as if you are the cause of their budget crisis, certain patients/families and dealing with a number of docs who are just jerks), get underpaid for doing the work of five ppl and your body has to put up with the physical consequences of the job (ie: back breaking work, you also risk your safety with certain patients, and my hands have never been the same since becoming a nurse, my legs used to just kill, even with comfy shoes after a 12 hr shift). A job with a more typical 9-5 may have worked out better in regards to childcare. I often wish I would have gone the OT or SLP route. I also wish, now that my kids are school aged, that I would have considered the teacher route, so that I could have breaks off the same time as my kids. I'm thinking that when DS3 starts school, I may end up looking into being a substitute teacher, since childcare wouldn't be an issue. I really still feel like I don't know what I want to be when I, "grow up." Right now, the most logical thing for me to do is to become a lactation consultant with my nursing background and LLL leader background, but in our area, there isn't enough business to earn a living doing a job like that, it would basically be like a glorified hobby.

[SummerBaby]

I wish I could have been an FBI agent. I never pursued it because at the time (pre-LASIK), I didn't meet the vision requirements. Now I'm way too old- and it's not very family friendly. Oh well...

[lhafer]

OTs have a very cool job. I majored in PT but didn't understand all of the things OTs were involved with until I was out on internships. Many people who aren't in the medical field assume they do "work hardening" types of therapy because of the name of their job. I knew what they did with adults before I interned, but didn't understand all that they are involved with in pediatrics prior to interning. This is one of those fields that I wish more high school grads with an interest in the medical field would look into, and maybe spend some time shadowing. What they do is very different from what most people perceive or assume.

I thought about going back to become an OT. Very cool job. I used to work with OTs and some PTs when I was a NICU nurse. Loved the OT's job with the babies - usually teaching babies how to feed, etc.

OTs teach people life skills (eating, walking, etc) and PTs work more with injuries/specific parts of the body.

[lhafer]

Something with babies or old people. (nothing medical though)

Is there a job where I can sit and rock babies all day?

It's not a paying job, but you can volunteer at hospitals to do this. When I worked in the NICU, we LOVED our volunteers because they could hold and rock our crying babies so the nurses could take care of their other patients. They are awesome!

[lhafer]

I'm an RN, but unfortunately, my DH's job makes it difficult to have a job that is so irregular with hrs (ie: 12 hr shifts, scattered on different days of the wk and rotating wknds, plus holidays suck since DH is on call a lot, so we would have hardly any family time together) . Plus, I had complete burn out after only being in the field for 5 yrs and honestly loathe the idea of returning to the field of nursing where you basically get treated like a doormat by everyone (hospital administrators treat you as if you are the cause of their budget crisis, certain patients/families and dealing with a number of docs who are just jerks), get underpaid for doing the work of five ppl and your body has to put up with the physical consequences of the job (ie: back breaking work, you also risk your safety with certain patients, and my hands have never been the same since becoming a nurse, my legs used to just kill, even with comfy shoes after a 12 hr shift). A job with a more typical 9-5 may have worked out better in regards to childcare. I often wish I would have gone the OT or SLP route. I also wish, now that my kids are school aged, that I would have considered the teacher route, so that I could have breaks off the same time as my kids. I'm thinking that when DS3 starts school, I may end up looking into being a substitute teacher, since childcare wouldn't be an issue. I really still feel like I don't know what I want to be when I, "grow up." Right now, the most logical thing for me to do is to become a lactation consultant with my nursing background and LLL leader background, but in our area, there isn't enough business to earn a living doing a job like that, it would basically be like a glorified hobby.

Preach it sister!! I'm in the exact same boat!! I sure miss the babies, but I don't miss ANYTHING else related to nursing. I won't be going back either, and now I have to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up".

[kittymom]

I am a physical therapist. Ive done pediatrics, acute care, acute rehab and have now been in outpatient for the past 8 years andspecialize in pelvic floor rehab. I love what I do and work part time with my choice of hours. No more weekends either which is nice. I love the flexibility and have good job security. It not a job I could do full time anymore as another poster said Bc its really hard on the body and burn out is likely. If I had to do it again I'd probably do PT again or maybe physician asst. I grew up in a very medical family full of physicians and I see my dad and the rest of them work like crazy. Medicine is hard to do part time so PA or PT is a good compromise. I do like PT though Bc its more active and you get to work with people on an ongoing basis until they get better.

I was pre med in college but decided against it Bc I wanted children and I wanted to be able to be home too. Sometimes I go back and forth but ultimately I'm happy with my career. Maybe someday ill do something less physical and hard on my body but I don't know what that is yet

[swissair81]

Preach it sister!! I'm in the exact same boat!! I sure miss the babies, but I don't miss ANYTHING else related to nursing. I won't be going back either, and now I have to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up".

I don't want to go back to floor nursing either, but I'm still excited to start my midwifery program. Hopefully I won't look back one day and regret it. I'm far too excited about it to reconsider. If I wasn't doing that though, I would probably go into Maternal Fetal Medicine. With my 5th on the way though, the thought of going to medical school is going to have to remain a nice dream.

[jent]

Is there a job where I can sit and rock babies all day?

Yes! Hospitals often need "cuddlers" for their NICU babies, or sometimes just a volunteer to be with the babies/young kids when the parents can't.

[elephantmeg]

I wonder now if I shouldn't have continued on and become a NP before having kids/or gotten my masters and taught nursing. But now I would have to take a pay cut to teach (???!!!) and really don't have the energy/inclination to get my NP at the moment. Maybe some day!

[JMS]

A residential architect.

[dcmom2b3]

I think I'd have taken the CIA job rather than going to law school.

[ZeeBaby]

Event planning. I would love to plan weddings and parties. Especially using other people's money!

I would like to be David Tutera!

[hellokitty]

I wonder now if I shouldn't have continued on and become a NP before having kids/or gotten my masters and taught nursing. But now I would have to take a pay cut to teach (???!!!) and really don't have the energy/inclination to get my NP at the moment. Maybe some day!

I have had the same exact thoughts. However, I don't want to get my masters to make less. The thought has crossed to try to get a job teaching at a LPN or AD program. Ultimately, I would like to teach, but investing more time in education and tuition kind of sucks, knowing that I'd get paid less. It's weird how they say that they need more nursing instructors, yet they don't want to pay them squat. I always planned to get my NP, but at this point, I'd lean more toward getting my PA over NP, just b/c I am sick of nurses not getting any respect.

[DrSally]

Yes! Hospitals often need "cuddlers" for their NICU babies, or sometimes just a volunteer to be with the babies/young kids when the parents can't.

Omg, how fun would this be?

[hellokitty]

Oh, I just thought of a good job for myself. I would love to be a voice actress. I would make a good cartoon character voice, since I am one of women who deals with telemarketers asking if they can speak to my mommy.

[sweetsue98]

dentist

[jent]

I think I forgot to put mine...

I would've gone for my PhD instead of MD. Or perhaps an MD/PhD... but the point is I wished I'd realized I would have enjoyed research, which didn't necessarily need to be medical.

Although, I am doing a subspecialty fellowship now, and starting on my research portion. Time will tell if I'm able to be successful, and realize my dreams...

[kijip]

The Senator from Washington State of course. But I have totally lost interest in politics. So that would be terrible.

The host of the show Clean House.

If I was in an alternate universe where I had no kids to feed and could move wherever there was a job, I would have enjoyed being an academic in physics or maybe mathematics. Every science prof I ever had tried to get me to change my major to physics.

I have some mom friends in federal law enforcement which I find strangely appealing.

And of course, a feminist punk rocker.

Every so often I contemplate getting my CPA instead of a masters in my field as planned when F is a bit older.

[essnce629]

I never wanted to go into nursing, but now that I've had kids midwifery is very appealing. I never, ever would have considered it as a high school grad entering college, and certainly never thought I'd use a MW let alone have an interest in being one ;) However, I have absolutely no idea how I could ever realistically juggle it with kids in the house...they'd have to be old enough to be home alone periodically or DH would need a more flexible job. His job is already flexible, but not that flexible! I have also known a few midwives who burned out quickly (on call too often in a small or solo practice), so I think I romanticize the idea and like the idea more than the reality.

Yes to all of this! My end goal has always been to become a home birth midwife, but I know it will have to wait till the kids are older (middle school maybe?) It's definitely not possible now with DBF working 95 hours a week and having no family around to help out! You really need a good support system and childcare plans with plenty of back up plans! I actually started out as a biology/premed major in college with plans to be an OB/GYN since I've wanted to "deliver babies" since I was a kid. I had never even heard of a midwife till I was in college! Then I read the book "Gentle Birth Choices" and decided I wanted to be a midwife, so I switched my major to nursing to become a CNM. A year into nursing school I started looking into midwifery programs only to realize that CNM don't attend home births and not a single nurse-midwifery program even offered any experience in attending home births-- only hospital or birthing center births. So that made me feel like I had wasted 3 years and I realized I needed to attend a completely different 4 year midwifery program to become a licensed or certified professional midwife. I planned to withdraw from nursing school and apply to a 4 year midwifery program in either Oregon or Washington, when I found out I was pregnant with DS1! Oops! So those goals were put on hold. I had never wanted to be an RN, but decided to finish the nursing program anyways, so I had to go back to school full time when DS1 was just 3 weeks old since they were closing the nursing program the next year so it was finish now or never. Needless to say, going back to school full time with a 3 week old didn't go so well since DBF and I weren't living together at the time and I had no family around to help out. After getting straight A's my whole life, I ended up not passing two of my classes and since the nursing school was closing I couldn't retake them and had to withdraw. I went back home and became a SAHM when DS1 was 4 months old. I later became a birth and postpartum doula instead since it allowed me to attend births without having to attend 4 more years of school. And since I had my mom around to help out and pick up DS from preschool when I was at a birth it worked out great. But like a midwife, I can't work as a doula with DBF working such crazy hours and having no help, so that's been put on hold as well. I figure I can work as a doula or midwife till I'm an old lady so I don't mind waiting till my kids grow up first! I do have a birthing center down the street from me that offers an advanced doula and midwifery assistant class that starts in two weeks that I plan on looking into since DS2 is starting preschool next month. I'd also like to get certified as a breastfeeding educator some time.

[BabyDahl]

I would have loved to be a theoretical physicist, but the lifestyle and job prospects didn't seem ideal to me...so I majored in chemistry instead of physics, then eventually became a clinical pharmacist. Currently I work 3x12hr shifts in a large academic hospital in a job I really enjoy. I get 2 full weekdays to spend time with DD at music class, at the park, napping :love-retry: I'm a lucky lady.

Now I watch Science channel and re-re-re-read Sagan or Hawking to get my occasional fix of physics.

[kali]

If I didn't need to worry about income or family responsibilities:
-Long haul truck driver (I still fantasize about this)
-Flight attendant
-Police officer

If family was in the picture:
-Defense attorney
-Social worker
-Occupational therapist

[lhafer]

I wonder now if I shouldn't have continued on and become a NP before having kids/or gotten my masters and taught nursing. But now I would have to take a pay cut to teach (???!!!) and really don't have the energy/inclination to get my NP at the moment. Maybe some day!

I was in NP school and ended up dropping out when I decided I didn't want to do patient care my whole life. One of my good friends who was a nurse with me in the NICU continued on with the program. Some days I'm a little jealous that I didn't continue on with the program. As a nurse I was making about $65-70k a year working full time on the day shift.

She is a Family NP but continues to work only with the gut-issue babies, works part time (2-3 days a week with Mondays and Fridays off), is never on call or works holidays, works normal clinic hours, has nurses that report to her and works with a PA. She sees patients throughout the day and does some paperwork. She makes ~$50,000 a year working part time doing a sweet gig. I guess working in the largest medical center in the world has some benefits!! :)

Sometimes I second guess my decision. But I wouldn't go back now. In order to teach in a nursing program, I would have to go back for my master's (one of the main reasons I wanted to go forward with the NP program) only to make about $40k a year! So it wasn't worth it to me in the end.

[marymoo86]

Something with babies or old people. (nothing medical though)

Is there a job where I can sit and rock babies all day?

Yes - my DD. If you can get her to sleep and stay asleep I will pay you loads of cash!!!!!:bowdown:

[Meatball Mommie]

Pharmacist. Clinical pharmacist, not retail. Basically, doing what DW is doing.

:yeahthat:
Except the wife part ;)

I am kicking myself that I didn't go to pharmacy school right after college. I had a friend, who had the same major as me (chemistry), do it...back then, it was 1 year additional schooling. Now, it's a pharmD degree which is a whole lot harder...

[hellokitty]

I was in NP school and ended up dropping out when I decided I didn't want to do patient care my whole life. One of my good friends who was a nurse with me in the NICU continued on with the program. Some days I'm a little jealous that I didn't continue on with the program. As a nurse I was making about $65-70k a year working full time on the day shift.

She is a Family NP but continues to work only with the gut-issue babies, works part time (2-3 days a week with Mondays and Fridays off), is never on call or works holidays, works normal clinic hours, has nurses that report to her and works with a PA. She sees patients throughout the day and does some paperwork. She makes ~$50,000 a year working part time doing a sweet gig. I guess working in the largest medical center in the world has some benefits!! :)

Sometimes I second guess my decision. But I wouldn't go back now. In order to teach in a nursing program, I would have to go back for my master's (one of the main reasons I wanted to go forward with the NP program) only to make about $40k a year! So it wasn't worth it to me in the end.

See, my best friend got her NP and hated it so much (she worked urgent care), due to the pressure to pump out a high volume of patients, that she let her NP lapse and is happier as an RN. After her experience, I've been a little bit weary of whether or not NP would be what I thought it would be. It would be nice though to work PT and make about as much as a full time RN, to me that would be the biggest benefit. My biggest problem right now, no matter what I do is lack of support for someone to watch my kids and DH's screwy hrs (he takes call 50% of the yr and there is no rhyme or rhythm to it, and other than hiring a nanny, I am not sure how we would handle childcare). Most spouses in his profession have to be sahp, unless they don't have kids, and the logistic of childcare is why it makes it almost impossible for both parents to be working.

[TxCat]

Orthodontist. Good financials, good hours, no nights, weekends, or holidays.

[AngB]

I have my teaching degree. (And my mom has been teaching 20+ years so it's not like I didn't have a good idea what I was getting into...) :thumbsdown: to that, never again.

I am going back to school to be an ultrasound tech, hoping to go into OB and especially high risk OB/MFM/Perinatal centers.

Out of high school, I originally wanted to go into PT, but I'm glad I didn't. If the job market for librarians was better, I would strongly consider getting my master's in that.

[mom2ethan]

My big regret is that I didn't become a pharmacist. Both of my parents were pharmacists and my grandfather. I got my undergrad degree in chemistry and then a PhD in physical chemistry, but it's not my passion. At all. I wish I could have realized this earlier.