Why did you choose your profession?

[MaisOuiMadame]

So I wish I could like, no love the above comments to infinity. Yes and yes and yes.

Speaking for my dh and I as a couple (I am not judging other relationships just speaking about ours) our marriage would never have worked/continue working so well if my dh and I didn't consider ourselves equal.

What do I mean by equal?
Not that we do everything equally well because we don't.
He is a better chef than I and he cooks and I don't. So not equally skilled in cooking as an example.
There are things he does better and there are things I do better yet we still consider ourselves equals in the relationship. He earns more (always did and now I am retired so my earnings in dollars are zero) but he never considered himself better than me nor did he spend more than me or have more of a say over how we spent our money just because he earned more than me.

We are equal partners in this marriage. And it has nothing to do with who does what better or more etc.
We are a team. We support each other. We put each other first. We trust each other. We love each other. We are best friends. And there is no one I would rather argue with lol.

Truer words were never spoken!

 

[Dandi]

I have always had a fascination with all things medical/anatomy/physiology, and chose nursing with a view to becoming a paramedic. I happened upon a placement in the operating theatre as a third year RN student, and I was completely hooked. I love the amount of many different specialties, and as a scrub/scout and anaesthetics/recovery nurse in a large hospital that performs most kinds of surgery (neuro the only exception), I get so much variety and am constantly learning, which I love. As morbid as it sounds I thrive in crisis and emergency situations, which we get our share of in theatre. 18 years into my career I have no intention of changing specialties, and adore my work. It's also very family friendly, I can pretty much choose the days I wish to work. My husband's business has soared in the last 5 years, so I feel fortunate that the 2 days a week that I work are more than sufficient...we would do without the income, but those days are my mental health days! With our kids still small (7 and 4) it is a really good balance.

 

[Slickk]

I could say I chose my job for the summers off but that isn’t wholly true.
I really love working with ‘tweens’ and have a great rapport with the younger population I work with. I love those ‘A-ha’ moments when my students finally get a concept we’ve been teaching.
I did stay home with my two children for about eight years and went back when they were in school full time. Since I work in a neighboring district, I was able to work around my kids’ similar school schedule. I am happy with my chosen profession.
Great thread idea. I’ve enjoyed reading the responses.

 

[SapphireLover]

I applied for medical school and didn’t get in as I missed the grades. Shortly after my mum was in hospital and I looked at the nurses and thought “oh, I could do that instead”. After graduating my parents were desperate for me to reapply for med school but I didn’t want to. 15 years later I’m doing my masters to be a nurse practitioner and my manager (a doctor) suggested I should try med school again. Still a nope. Love being a nurse, proud of being a nurse, wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

[Niffler75]

@SapphireLover then you get to a point when you gain so much experience you are training the doctors. I previously worked as a nurse consultant and I think it was quite eye opening for some of the doctors starting out in the speciality to sit in on my clinics. But my job was never about the qualifications/ pay etc. It was always about the patients. It's why I went into nursing!

 

[SapphireLover]

@SapphireLover then you get to a point when you gain so much experience you are training the doctors. I previously worked as a nurse consultant and I think it was quite eye opening for some of the doctors starting out in the speciality to sit in on my clinics. But my job was never about the qualifications/ pay etc. It was always about the patients. It's why I went into nursing!

Definitely! I am actually classed as part of the medical team now (am an ACP). I do a lot of training for them but, I am not a doctor and proud of it. My approach with my patients is very different!

 

[SapphireLover]

I grew up finding I was naturally good with people (and can talk the hind legs off a donkey ). I had a great interest in the sciences so nursing was a logical choice. I trained in London and specialised in surgical nursing.
Unfortunately in my early 30's became v unwell and had to have brain surgery. After a period of rehab i realised physically I could not return to hospital shift based work. I retrained and started working with vulnerable people with drug and alcohol addictions. Then I completed my masters degree and worked as a nurse consultant running my own clinics, prescribing medication and generally trying to support some of the most vulnerable members of society.
Then decided to become a mum via adoption!

Just read this, what a wonderful inspiring story. To get over your surgery and complete your masters is incredible. Congratulations on your adoption!

 

[Niffler75]

@SapphireLover That is really kind of you, thanks! x

 

[NickiBlue]

My career found me, as opposed to the other way around. I went into a clerical based administrative role after I finished education, and it turned out I was good at it - within 2 years I was running the department I started in & had 5 clerical staff underneath me. The business was Engineering based, which suited me as I'm from an Engineering family of very high achieving, logical brained people.

After 9 years & working my way through to being over 2 larger departments with 62 staff combined, I moved to New Zealand from the UK. I had been offered a role as an Operations Manager for a large engineering company in Wellington & after a few very successful years, I returned to the UK to work as a Project Manager for an Engineering Department developing IT software. From there I went into being a Studio Manager for EA Games, overseeing everything from technical equipment to building maintenance issues. It was here that I met my husband, and when our eldest was born we decided that I would stay at home, as continuing my work would have taken me away quite a bit, not to mention the unreasonable & unpredictable hours of game development.

I went back to work part time when my youngest started school 5 years ago, retraining in Safeguarding and First Aid, and have been based at my childrens Primary School for the last 2 years of that. I oversee these areas for 2 hours each day, before during & after lunch, to allow the few teachers that also do these roles to leave site for meetings or just eat lunch without interruption. It's very different, but one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. It also allows me to drop my children off each morning, collect them each afternoon & get them to after school classes where necessary. My husband still works in Gaming, so still unpredictable hours & spends a lot of time in the US. Having 2 young children & us both working in that industry just wouldn't work, so this is a very happy solution. To me, whilst the children are young then THEY are my job, and they are very grateful that I never miss an assembly or performance, i'm here for all school holidays, around to walk across to feed the local farm animals & horses, help with homework & supply cuddles on tap. You're never too old for mummy cuddles

This is nice to hear! I'm an attorney and went back to work part time after we had our first child. I'm kind of at cross roads/personal conflict now - more children, throttle career back up. Currently my husband travels a lot for work (sometimes he's several time zones away Mon-thur), so we can't both simultaneously have demanding jobs [like we did before the kid]. It's nice to hear you find your new role and being there for your children rewarding! There's so much outside pressure on women to have super careers while also being supermom.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I applied for medical school and didn’t get in as I missed the grades. Shortly after my mum was in hospital and I looked at the nurses and thought “oh, I could do that instead”. After graduating my parents were desperate for me to reapply for med school but I didn’t want to. 15 years later I’m doing my masters to be a nurse practitioner and my manager (a doctor) suggested I should try med school again. Still a nope. Love being a nurse, proud of being a nurse, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sometimes i think nurses are underappreciated until someone or someone one is close to, gets really sick
Doctors diagnosis, nurses heal

 

[NickiBlue]

I'm an attorney. My dad is an attorney and in high school I wanted to be a lawyer. In high school I was good at math and science, but in college in became much more prevalent that those were my strong subjects. So I got an engineering degree. But my junior year I realized I was not into advanced technical engineering, so I took the LSAT. I worked as an engineer for a few years and went to law school. Now I'm an attorney in a field that utilizes my engineering background.

If I were to do it over again, I'm not sure what I would do. I would certainly major in STEM field, but I may have focused on chemistry or geology and instead of going to law school after college, and taken a job that required interesting travel opportunities while I was young. I didn't particularly like the practical engineering applications, although, on the job I enjoyed project management/procurement/scheduling/budgets etc. Being an attorney is more analytical than a lot of people realize, and it does have its rewarding mental challenges. The difficult part of being an attorney is dealing with unreasonable clients and opposing counsel, but its a profession where you develop great practical life skills. I've definitely come out ahead buying houses, cars, negotiating hospital bills etc.

 

[GliderPoss]

Wow so many interesting careers! I sort of fell into mine. I wanted to work in Agribusiness originally, especially focusing on marketing for Australian Wool. It was what I grew up with and was very passionate about it. Did first year of my degree at uni then met my husband and (perhaps stupidly) dropped out to move away to Sydney with him.

My parents wisely encouraged me to go to business college instead and I loved it! Tried to get into marketing once I graduated but sort of fell into Administration roles and 10 years later I'm still here... I've been lucky to work in a wide range of fields in many different ways - PA, EA, legal secretary, project coordinator, business development etc. Turns out I'm great at organising people! I kept thinking I'd retrain as "something else better" later but it hasn't happened so far and I'm actually very happy in my job.

 

[Ally T]

This is nice to hear! I'm an attorney and went back to work part time after we had our first child. I'm kind of at cross roads/personal conflict now - more children, throttle career back up. Currently my husband travels a lot for work (sometimes he's several time zones away Mon-thur), so we can't both simultaneously have demanding jobs [like we did before the kid]. It's nice to hear you find your new role and being there for your children rewarding! There's so much outside pressure on women to have super careers while also being supermom.

It's definitely a career game changer when children come along! For us it was at least, and we've made it work. I love being with my girls & they are bright, polite, peaceful & healthy little creatures. The full on investment from me into them when they were little is paying back 10 fold, and I have yet to meet anybody who isn't besotted with them & cannot believe how happy & well behaved they are. Sure, they have their moments & certainly push boundaries as they enter new stages of growth, but no ultimately means no & they are intelligent enough to reasonably discuss issues & see both sides of an argument.

I think everybody is different though. My SIL chose not to give up her senior career position, so still travels over to Europe each week, whilst my brother does most of the childcare. He is also a very busy Engineer, so they have to plan diaries well in advance, and the girls get dropped off at Breakfast Club at 7am & picked up from after school club at 6pm. I would never judge another's choices, but it's a very long day for them, they are eternally tired, have behavioural issues & tempers. But for them, this is life & they are happy with their decisions.

Live & let live, I say! Do what works for you & your family!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I chose my first career in second grade because that's what my best friend at the time wanted to be. In the end, it wasn't for me. I like to think I was called to second career. I think most people in social services would agree. It's since evolved into management which is a great experience and opportunity. Still means so much when old patients e-mail letting me know they are doing well.

 

[missy]

I chose my first career in second grade because that's what my best friend at the time wanted to be. In the end, it wasn't for me. I like to think I was called to second career. I think most people in social services would agree. It's since evolved into management which is a great experience and opportunity. Still means so much when old patients e-mail letting me know they are doing well.

@Tacori E-ring that is great that you have a wonderful second career and you got so much satisfaction from your first career.

Speaking of second careers-
You know what I would LOVE to do as a second career? Hugging baby pandas. That would be a special and wonderful job indeed.

The Best Job in The World Involves Hugging Baby Pandas

Yes, it's a real profession with a real salary.

www.womansday.com

or perhaps becoming a professional cat cuddler? Hmmm, that would not suck.

Looking For A Job? This Company Will Pay You For Cuddling With Kittens All Day Long

Drop whatever you're doing this moment and hand in resignation letter to your boss - one vet clinic in Ireland just announced they are hiring a full-time cat-cuddler. This may be the chance you've been waiting for all your life!

www.boredpanda.com

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Missy, both sound like a great job! Cuddling a newborn isn't too shabby either!