Musings About Careers And What Would Be My Dream Job

Published 1/10/08 (Modified 3/9/11)
By MoneyBlueBook

I left the traditional attorney job behind a few years ago and now do finance and legal work on a contractual basis. I've been doing this for more than a year now and so far it's been enjoyable, although not without its ups and downs. But then they don't call it a job for nothing. I probably can go on and on about how miserable I was working as an attorney but I think I'll save that for another day. Suffice to say, the legal field is overly saturated and the profession simply isn't the lucrative and inspiring field it used to be. I think most attorneys today, including myself would be wary about recommending law school to those contemplating a field of study. I am constantly trying to tell younger friends to bypass law school and do something more worthwhile and meaningful with their lives, but they never seem to listen. They'll know what I mean when they get out.

A Change Of Profession Is What I Needed

So here I am in my current job, working on a contractual basis in a field somewhat related to my area of study. The job security and rapid advancement opportunities may be gone, but my sanity and happiness have flourished ten fold. Working on a contractual basis, I now have the opportunity and time to develop and improve my various side ventures - things I'm quite passionate about. Of course, perhaps one day I will tire and choose to get back to the nitty gritty legal practice. Tax law and small business consulting maybe.

All in all, it was definitely worth the transition, although I do look back with tiny tinges of regret and musings of - what if? What if I had done something different with my life? What would be my dream job? I'm sure we've all pondered these questions at some point in our lives. Well here's a list of a few fantasy jobs I wanted to have during different times in my life, starting with the most recent and working my way into childhood:

1. Sports Anchor - I currently love watching and following spectator sports. I love playing fantasy football and I take it seriously, spending a lot of time researching and tracking player and team performance statistics. My dream job would be to become a sports commentator for a major network like ESPN or even for a local television station. Everytime I watch Comcast SportsNet I always wish I was sitting on the sofa in front of the camera sharing my thoughts and predictions about my favorite sports teams. I have so much to say but no group to call an audience. My girlfriend is not into sports although I think she enjoys watching me get all excited when I talk about how my favorite teams are doing.
2. Investigative News Reporter - I think I see a trend here. I really should have gone into journalism as I love to write and speak my mind. I've always envisioned myself walking the news beat exposing bad business practices, defective products, as well as cracking down on white collar computer crimes. I think I would greatly enjoy chasing perpetrators down to get the story. I would probably focus my first investigative pieces on exposing online scammers, and those who engage in phishing and other illegal online activity.
3. Doctor - Like everyone else when they were young, I originally wanted to be a doctor - that is, until I realized how disinterested in the sciences I was. I started college as a biochemistry major on the pre-med track but ultimately shifted gears into computer science and finance. Eventually I went on to complete law school. I think if I had continued, I could have ended up becoming a doctor, although it would have been out of character for me. I'm simply not very passionate about medicine or the natural sciences.
4. Video Game Designer - When I got out of the pre-med track, I studied computer science for a year before I transitioned into finance. During the transition I initially wanted to become a video game designer. Ever since high school I loved playing role-playing video games and I always wanted to design them. When I was a kid I remember making my mom buy me an expensive computer paint shop program so I could dabble in graphic design. However I eventually grew out of it, although my interest for web designing and programming remained.
5. Pet Shop Owner - Okay, I know this one's extremely random but when I was very little I wanted to run my own pet shop. I've had a variety of pets in my lifetime, including a parrot that I still own today. At the time I thought it would be so cool to have my own breeding facility where I could raise baby animals. Of course that's before I got older and realized that I wouldn't be able to keep them forever and would have to give them up to paying customers. Well, it was whimsical while it lasted.

So, now you know my current and past dream jobs. What are some of your own? :)