Business and Blogging

19 opinions for What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? (Win a Gift Certificate)

• Bob Younce at the Writing Journey
  Apr 7, 2008 at 10:31 am

  I fell into my career as an Internet writer quite by accident. After I was fired from my job in Information technology, a friend asked me to write some articles for her web site. The rest, as they say, is history.

  Today, I write on the Internet exclusively, and make a comfortable living that supports my family of five.

  Getting fired from that old job was the best career move I ever made.

• Laura Spencer
  Apr 7, 2008 at 12:22 pm

  Thanks Bob!

  It’s interesting to hear how everyone got started…

  In my case, freelance writing was a deliberate decision that I made in order to get more flexibility in my work schedule.

• Linette
  Apr 7, 2008 at 4:50 pm

  I spent 10 years working in the corporate world, high stress and lots of hours. I’ve always been creative, not power driven, lol. So a few years after my son was born I decided I’ve always loved to write and looked at the possibility of making a living from it.

  I started with other types of writing, but in the last two years I discovered blogging and fell in love. So I guess (after trial and error) that’s what I want to be when I grow up:)

• Liz Fuller
  Apr 8, 2008 at 3:25 am

  Hi Linette,

  Thanks for sharing - Are you now making a living blogging? (and congrats on leaving the corp world and following your passion!!)

• kellys
  Apr 8, 2008 at 8:05 am

  I wanted a job that didn’t require a lot of thinking and had a lot of repetition. I knew I wanted to be a SAHM eventually so I wasn’t looking for a career. I thought taking pictures of bones (radiology) would be pretty easy. So glad I didn’t get a hospital tour before I started my classes or I would have never begun! General radiology classes led me to the Cardiac Cath Lab and I have been hooked saving lives ever since. I have been registered in Invasive Radiology for over 10 years now and am loving it.

  Now I have 2 kids and only do it part time, but I love it and, if I have to work outside the home, I am happy doing what I do.

• Liz Fuller
  Apr 8, 2008 at 8:18 am

  Hi Kellys

  That’s really interesting. I’ve never known anyone before who was a radiologist (and have never been in a position to make small talk when I was in need of one!!) So - did the job turn out to meet your requirements of :having a lot of repetition and not requiring a lot of thinking”? Or did you change your goals along the way?? And are you comfortable with the balance of being a part-time SAHM?

• Laura Spencer
  Apr 8, 2008 at 9:16 am

  Hi Kellys and Linnette!

  Thanks for sharing your career choices! I think one lesson from both stories is to discover what you want and start there.

  Linnette wants to be a blogger - so she is following that. Kellys wanted a job she could do part-time and found radiology.

• Explain How You Chose Your Job and You Could Win!
  Apr 10, 2008 at 9:47 am

  […] you leave a comment explaining how you chose your job on this post over at Business and Blogging, then you just might win a $25 Barnes and Nobles gift […]

• Robert Hruzek
  Apr 10, 2008 at 1:48 pm

  OK; you asked for it!

  I decided to become an engineer because of two things: freezing weather, and a manlift! Yep; that’s right - I was working outdoors in a freezing rain, on a manlift about 30 feet off the ground. It was the moment I made the decision to finish my engineering degree and get back into the warm, comfortable office!

  You can read the whole story right here.

• Laura Spencer
  Apr 10, 2008 at 6:31 pm

  Thanks for sharing that Robert! Isn’t it interesting how we all came to the paths that we are taking?

• Esther
  Apr 11, 2008 at 9:26 am

  I want to be like my father - an unknown and unappreciated writer who despite all his troubles, loved life and those around him.

• Laura Spencer
  Apr 11, 2008 at 1:03 pm

  I hope that you get to do it, Esther. Thanks for leaving your comment.

• Amanda England
  Apr 17, 2008 at 10:29 am

  I remember wanting to be a veterinarian for the longest time as a child, and then I fell in love with writing and chemistry in high school. I let my mother talk me out of trying a career in writing at first and went off to college with the notion I’d become a biochemist and write for the fun of it. Then, I discovered I’m too much of a klutz to handle volatile chemicals halfway through my first semester.

  I swapped majors to English and kept a minor in biology with the idea of becoming a journalist. I did work in the media for a short while before becoming a mother and deciding to stay home with my daughter.

  My final decision to begin a part-time career in sales while continuing to stay with my daughter and hunting for an agent was born out of necessity thanks to the rising cost of, well, everything.

• Shannan P
  Apr 17, 2008 at 10:37 am

  My story bears a striking resemblance to Bob’s.

  I worked as a retail manager for a very well-known women’s clothing company. The company went out of business in 2006 and I locked the doors for the last time 10 days before giving birth to my middle son.

  When the severance package and unemployment ran out, I was having a tough time finding a job that would pay me enough to bring in what we needed, plus pay daycare.

  After looking at quite a few “too-good-to-be-true” work at home jobs, I found a forum of writers who worked from home. I have always had an interest in writing, but never looked at it as a career. I posted an introductory post and within a few hours, someone offered me my first gig.

  From there, my confidence grew and so did my business as a freelancer. Today, I couldn’t imagine going back to the “real” world or putting my kids in daycare!

• Laura Spencer
  Apr 17, 2008 at 10:41 am

  Hi Amanda and Shannan!

  Those are great stories. It’s interesting how circumstances and necessity affect our course.

• Diane Penna
  Apr 17, 2008 at 1:03 pm

  I was a stay at home mom because I couldn’t afford to have two children in daycare with what jobs were currently available. I decided to earn a degree in Paralegal Studies while at home, via distance education at the University of Maryland. At the same time, I replaced my daily journal writing with blogging about family and life, and the financial struggles we were going through.

  I was approached by a content writer who loved reading my blog, and she commented on how our writing voices were similar. She gave me a few assignments to complete and well, my freelance writing career began from there.

  My goal is to have a book published (in print) before I die, but I’m so happy with what I do, and that I get paid to express myself through writing.

  My eight-year-old daughter now says she wants to be a writer, and you know, I think she’ll be better at it than I.

• Deadline Reminder: What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up Contest
  Apr 18, 2008 at 10:06 am

  […] If you haven’t already done so, be sure to leave your comments on this post. […]

• Carolyn
  Apr 20, 2008 at 6:00 pm

  I left college when I realized journalism was not going to be the right career for me. I floundered for a few years writing for magazines, writing copy for advertising, and working in marketing in various capacities. About the same time, my brother-in-law was considering a career change, and the angst he went through — nothing was prestigious enough yet satisfying enough yet lucrative enough — lasted months, and we spent many hours listening to his dilemma.

  When someone then suggested I might do well at court reporting, thinking of my brother-in-law’s endless vacillating, I said, “I’ll try it.” I made it through school in record time, even having a baby halfway through, and have never regretted it. I’ve been a free-lance court reporter for 15 years and have done well enough financially to support my familiy of four. Court reporting allows me to observe human nature in many forms, I meet people from all over the world (even travel around the world sometimes), and hear many, many fascinating stories. I learn a little about a lot of things since one day we might be deposing a cancer researcher, another day a CEO at a Fortune 500 company. In essence, it encompasses many of the things I loved about journalism.

  I could go on and on about why I love my job, but I think the moral of the story is be open to experience and if you’re lucky, you’ll fall into the right career.

• Laura Spencer
  Apr 21, 2008 at 1:40 pm

  Hi Carolyn!

  Your answer was actually chosen as a potential winner. See this post: http://www.businessandblogging.com/what-i-want-to-be/

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