If you weren't a parent, what...

[mommylawyer]

If you weren't a parent, what would you be doing - career-wise?

I would probably be a full-time attorney ... or if I had my "dream-lawyer" job - being a law school librarian.

[Remudamom]

I'm getting too old for my dream job, thank goodness I've had a few years to pursue it anyway!

[Amy in Orlando]

I cannot even begin to imagine. I would be an entirely different person than I am now. I imagine I'd be living in a large city - New York, maybe Boston - doing some kind of writing.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I would probably be an engineering professor. By the time I graduated with my BS, I realized that I really didn't want to work in the industry. But, I loved school! I probably would have just stayed in school forever, getting my MS, and my PhD, and eventually teaching.

[3blessingmom]

I would be singing on Broadway:lol:.....probably teaching music to grade schoolers, dreaming of singing on Broadway:tongue_smilie:

This life is so much better:001_smile: eta: my kids are easy critics:lol::lol::lol:

[Philothea]

I'd be a Spanish teacher, living with my 10 cats and travelling abroad in the summer-- and probably looking for a husband so I could have kids :)

[RebeccaC]

I would be an archaeology prof digging in the dirt in the summer and looking at bones. At least that was the grand plan in my late 20s and early 30s before service in Gulf War I interrupted life and helped me hear my ticking bio clock :D Never regretted hearing that clock and have gotten more out of hsing than I ever did doing anything else. I'm near 50 now and still have 4 more years of hsing and I do not think I will try and finish up that old dream. I'll find something new and easier on the knees ;)

[sdWTMer]

Be a workaholic! :D I would probably do something in the biology field. Maybe an entomologist.

[Brindee]

I have a bs in education and taught for 4 years. But I'm not sure I'd still be teaching. I know I'd be sad, cuz I always wanted to have kids!

Hmmmm, not sure....welllll, I always wanted to take ASL and interpret for people. I always wanted to learn another language. So maybe I'd be an interpretor?

[True Blue]

I'd be a private investigator. I love research and am incredibly curious. I'd love to get paid for what I already do in my spare time. I used to be an editor/journalist (although I do stink at grammar).

[WTMindy]

A teacher. :001_smile:

[milovaný]

I think I would be someone promoting new urbanism (http://www.cnu.org/) (living locally, pushing for multi use zoning, creating great neighborhoods, designing walkable living places, etc.). DH and I love living "in town" and love having a strong, vibrant city that we live in. We thought we'd build in the country but have changed our minds.

Or I would be doing Uppercase Living (http://darla.uppercaseliving.net) like I am now, only full time instead of part time, because I really love this business that I've gotten into! I've had the opportunity many times to do direct marketing (home party type businesses) but *nothing* has ever said YES to me like UL.

[mom31257]

Teaching definitely! Now the question is what!! I would want to teach high school math in a small, Christian school...or...math for GED programs. I think I would really enjoy helping adults finally "get math". I have a BS in math, but no teaching credentials. I would not want to do the TAPP program here in GA. It is for degreed professionals coming into the teaching field. You have to teach full time and attend classes practically full time. It's very draining from what my dh has observed. He teaches public high school, so I'd be inclined to want a school with the same schedule as him.

[newlifemom]

I would have pursued a degree in linguistics where hopefully spelling doesn't count and then beg the company to work for them even if I had to pay them. Next to the Bible and of course WTM it is my favorite book/s.:)

[chaik76]

Am I allowed to choose homemaker?:D
I've always wanted to stay home. I had my "dream job" before having children...and I hated it!

[eaglei]

Librarian.

[Michelle in MO]

I would be either a university professor, teaching an obscure subject like Old or Middle High German (with the study of ancient manuscripts); or, I would love to be the Latin and English teacher at a classical Christian school.

[Peela]

I would probably be living on a spiritual commune somewhere, maybe India, at least part of the year :)
Maybe I would have a naturopathic practice here.

[Parrothead]

I'd probably still be a cop and firefighter. I had to pick dh up from the montly fire meeting last week. The chief asked me if I wanted an application. I was torn, but after 24 hours decided that we made the best decision years ago to keep one parent out of the line of fire. At any time dh could go to work or go answer a fire call and not come home. So it is for the best that I have the "safe" job of being a SAHM.

[Plaid Dad]

I would be either a university professor, teaching an obscure subject like Old or Middle High German (with the study of ancient manuscripts); or, I would love to be the Latin and English teacher at a classical Christian school.

Michelle, sometimes I think you really must be my long lost sister! :D

I decided not to pursue a career in academia (teaching...Middle High German) because I looked around me and saw that the successful profs were single - often divorced - or spent almost no time with their families. I wanted my family, not my work, to be the center of my life. I also had no stomach for university politics. If I hadn't wanted a family, though, I probably would have stuck it out and have tenure by now.

In a month I'll be teaching Latin, Greek, and literature three days a week at a classical school. :)

[MyThreeSons]

but I now know that I would really like to be a tech teacher -- teaching drafting and other pre-engineering type courses at either the middle school or high school level. The gal who teaches the engineering classes at our co-op has this degree from Virginia Tech.

[Jennifer in MI]

Good question! When I had kids I left a great job in Human Resources. I LOVED it!!!! I kinda' fell into the position when I was looking for a job. I probably would still be in that field. I also would've gone back to school for a Master's Degree.

[elegantlion]

I'd be sitting with Rebecca as an archaeologist digging in the dirt.

[DB in NJ]

I'd be either a paralegal or a nurse. I was a paralegal for years (LOVE it!) and started nursing school but never finished (loved that too).

[Quiver0f10]

I have still to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe a nurse or a midwife or something with natural diet and nutrition. But all of those things were influenced by my life so far. Had I not had children, I probably would have gone a totally different route.

[BamaTanya]

and may have gone back for my doctorate in English.

Or maybe I would have gone into educational administration.

Or maybe I would have opened my own bookstore that would almost certainly have closed given the competition from the big guys.

Something in education or books, that's all I know.

[BamaTanya]

I'd be a Spanish teacher, living with my 10 cats and travelling abroad in the summer-- and probably looking for a husband so I could have kids :)

You and I could have been traveling buddies! But who would care for our cats while we were gone? Lol!

[Sixmeadows]

or I would be involved in education, it is so much fun and I just love learning.

Cheri

[Michelle in MO]

Michelle, sometimes I think you really must be my long lost sister! :D

I decided not to pursue a career in academia (teaching...Middle High German) because I looked around me and saw that the successful profs were single - often divorced - or spent almost no time with their families. I wanted my family, not my work, to be the center of my life. I also had no stomach for university politics. If I hadn't wanted a family, though, I probably would have stuck it out and have tenure by now.

In a month I'll be teaching Latin, Greek, and literature three days a week at a classical school. :)

I thought the same things about universities. Although I love to learn, I'm not sure I could handle the university politics or the pressure that I sensed where I went to school to conform to a certain line of thinking.

Still, it's nice to dream! Here's what one fellow student (http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/grotans1/) I knew is doing now. And, I love the old manuscript to the left! I could spend hours studying the signatures on that page. Notice the Christian cross, the many signatures which look to be in German, accompanied by "Ego" before the name. Perhaps early German converts to Christianity?

At any rate, I'm content doing what I'm doing now, which will soon include going back to school!

[Jeannie in NJ]

I have a degree in Geology and always wanted to be a scientist in Antartica. at least until I saw a special on being a scientist there. Each person is only allowed 2 showers per week and each can only be 90 SECONDS. My dd said "Why don't they just melt some snow to shower with?"

My second goal was to be a lighthouse keeper! Well, at least we do live on an island.

[Peela]

I have a degree in Geology and always wanted to be a scientist in Antartica. at least until I saw a special on being a scientist there. Each person is only allowed 2 showers per week and each can only be 90 SECONDS. My dd said "Why don't they just melt some snow to shower with?"

My second goal was to be a lighthouse keeper! Well, at least we do live on an island.

Oh, a friend of mine who homeschools is an atmospheric physicist and she spent a winter, pre kids, in Antarctica, and more in Alaska. In fact right now she has taken off with her hubbie and two kids and is spending 3 months in Alaska.
She wrote a book called Frost Bytes, with another woman, about her experience: (my friend is Gina, the one on the left)

http://coolcontinent.com.au/frostbytes/SINGLE/about.html

[Amy loves Bud]

I'd be practicing Ob/Gyn, probably in a large city.

[Soph the vet]

I would be living in Kentucky and working for Rood and Riddle as a world-renowned equine internist.

OR I would be the drummer for Jars of Clay.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I would be an entirely different person than I am now.

I wonder if this isn't true for myself, as well.

If eldest hadn't precipitated his father's going conservative and mad, I might still be with him, working part-time as his booking agent (he's a Celtic harpist and composer of Pythagorean music). Either way, I'd still be working full time as a tutor, and living in the Rocky Mountains or Dakotas somewhere.

[Lolly]

Teaching.

[JFS in IL]

I'd be hiding in a film archive restoring films made on nitrate stock.

[Happy]

Well...I was a professional portrait photographer before kids and during their early childhood. I quit to be a stay at home mom. I'd probably still be doing that, along with writing fiction and traveling to teach photography seminars.

[TXMomof4]

I said when I was in school I either wanted to be a doctor or a mom.

God definately gave me what I wanted.

When the kids are grown, if I end up going back to work I'll probably go for nursing. I had just been accepted when we found out I was pregnant with dd1. Decided I would rather just be a mom and DH worked hard to make sure it was and is a reality. What a man he is!

[CactusPair]

Cab driver.:auto:

[Mama Lynx]

I originally wanted to be a recording engineer/record producer.

OTOH, I started out in PR. Which I hated. I moved to publishing, which was better. I probably would have stayed in that field if we had never gotten pregnant. I might have eventually moved into teaching. I might have started a band ;-) I got rid of my guitars and keyboard after the 3rd child was born.

I had a lot of dreams as a teen, and then early on in college. By the end of college those dreams were being eclipsed by reality, and the desire to get married and raise a family.

Who knows? I do think that I would have ended up remarkably self-centered if I hadn't had children. This is not to say that all people without children are self-centered, but I certainly would have been.

[Milseain]

Massage Therapist. I keep my license up to date and I have clients every so often. ;)

[Ferdie]

I am a CPA, so I would be working 60+ hours a week for some corporation whose sole purpose, dispite their jolly mission statement, is to make money for their shareholders. I would spend way too many lunch breaks with co-workers who discuss nothing but sports, sports and more sports. I would take business trips where I would try to cram my extremely tall body into a too small airplane seat. And every month, at month end, I would have the joy of staying up until the wee hours of the night to close out the monthly financial statements and write variance reports which nobody reads.

Even in my worst stay-at-home mom moments, homemaking and homeschooling my kids is a cake walk compared to my working days. Can you tell I don't miss my "career" at all?

[Robin Hood]

If I weren't a parent? That's unconcievable. That was my career choice.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Even in my worst stay-at-home mom moments, homemaking and homeschooling my kids is a cake walk compared to my working days. Can you tell I don't miss my "career" at all?

I argue this point with myself often.

On the one hand, I really miss getting those reports back from teachers, "Wow! What are you doing? He's like a different kid!" I miss lunch breaks, going home at night and feeling justified in doing nothing, the camraderie in the office. Very often I miss the various long term securities that a decent hourly wage grants a person, you know, the stuff we talk about using capital letters: IRA, 401K, SSI. I miss knowing exactly what to do with a kid. Is it nostalgia, or was it actually easier to handle other people's kids than my own?

On the other hand, those kids were crazy. I taught learning strategies to LD kids. ODD was big when I was working, and I decided it shouldn't be considered a learning disability. It's more of a social disability. There were many sessions, maybe even most, that I walked away feeling all I'd done was keep a lunatic from injuring himself or anyone else for an hour. I remember being frustrated that I didn't have the ability to change those things which would really make a difference for my students: giving them more sleep, less preservatives, less television, more opportunities to climb trees.

So I go round and round. Raising my kids is better, of course, but which is harder? I don't know.

[Jennifer3141]

I would probably be looking for a job in this economy. Unemployed business/politcal science majors are a dime a dozen right now unfortunately.

If I had my dream job, I'd be a mariane biologist which is why I'm heading back to school. :)

Jen

[Kalah]

A librarian.

[Mekanamom]

I would be a veterinarian. I had the choice of going to vet school or getting married and moving to a state with no vet school. I chose, of course, the love of my life. Then came the kids, and homeschooling...

We have plenty animals right here at home, and very cool vets who totally don't mind letting me do most of the tech work with my own critters. Hee hee hee. I did work as a vet tech in another life, so I'm familiar with what I'm doing. I get to do almost all of the routine vaccinations and nursing care. (When needed- nursing them back to health is never very fun because it means one of my own is sick.) I also do all my own farrier work... it's physically demanding, but I think it's neat!! I love learning about hoof structure and all the internal workings, the latest theories... of course one of my horses HAS to be insulin resistant which makes him prone to laminitis... which keeps me on my toes.

My horse vet reminded me that I would hardly ever get to spend time with my own horses and family if I was practicing... so I think I'm pretty darn lucky as things are. :001_smile:

Still... there is a vet school just 2 hours from where we live now... as the kids get older, school for myself gets more and more tempting.

[Blue Hen]

I would not be as happy as I am right now, working as an engineer chasing the $$$$$$


Carole

[Kimberleigh]

I can't imagine not being a parent. Even if I hadn't gotten married, I'd most likely have adopted, either internationally or a special needs child.

Career-wise, though, if I didn't have kids, I'd probably just be doing more of what I do now. I'd write more books a year and travel a lot more to do research.

[cin]

Realistically, I would be a teacher. Elementary Education. Fantasy, I would be working in Forensics of some sort. With no kids, I would be pursueing a degree in Criminology at our local college, and (REAL fantasy now!) do an internship at the Body Farm and study at Quantico. I would love to do Profiling. I know it's not super glamorous, but psychology and the criminal mind fascinate me. Why do people turn evil? Why are they killing brown eyed, brown haired girls? What kind of person would do THIS particular crime? Notice that the crimes occur at the same time. It's a full moon, or it's the Ides of March. Whatever...it's like a puzzle to me. And I *LOVE* puzzles.

[SheilaZ]

If I couldn't have been a parent, I would be a research scientist in pharmaceuticals.
That would combine all my interests.

And DH and would be very lonely.

[Michelle in MO]

Realistically, I would be a teacher. Elementary Education. Fantasy, I would be working in Forensics of some sort. With no kids, I would be pursueing a degree in Criminology at our local college, and (REAL fantasy now!) do an internship at the Body Farm and study at Quantico. I would love to do Profiling. I know it's not super glamorous, but psychology and the criminal mind fascinate me. Why do people turn evil? Why are they killing brown eyed, brown haired girls? What kind of person would do THIS particular crime? Notice that the crimes occur at the same time. It's a full moon, or it's the Ides of March. Whatever...it's like a puzzle to me. And I *LOVE* puzzles.

She seems to be very interested in forensics and watches these types of shows on TV, although I've wondered at times if that's a good idea for a girl her age. It doesn't seem to give her nightmares, so I've allowed her to do this, just in case she ever decides to pursue something like this. My husband is interested in this subject, too! I suspect, though, that she'll probably go into a more literature-related field, as that has captured her attention the longest.

I love reading these boards and finding out what interests other people!

[Karen sn]

I would be a Willie Nelson groupie.

[Cathy in IL]

If I weren't a parent, I would be in the mission field. I had always pictured myself working with young girls rescued from pr*stitution in Thailand. I spent a summer in Bangkok, and some of the things I saw there have never left my mind. A woman in the market tried to give me her baby. The child was maybe 6 months old, wearing an oversized, dirty t-shirt. The mother held the baby out and asked me, "Please, please, take. Take to America." I will never forget that baby and the mothers look of agony. I often wonder what happened with that child.

[kls126s]

Well, prekids I was in IT and enjoyed it. I would probably still be there if I hadn't had dd and been shocked to discover I enjoyed being a SAHM.

However - dream job? Medieval History prof... it was my major before I realized that between dh and I, I had better be the one with a marketable degree and changed majors. :D It is still the bulk of my reading though.

[Erica in PA]

Marriage and family counselor. Or a missionary.

[Cadam]

I would be working in test kitchens. I love the chemistry of cooking and I think it would be cool to try recipes for a cookbook or something like developing food for the space program or military.

[LizzyBee]

I would be a partner in a CPA firm.

I would have pursued an MS degree in accounting.

[matroyshka]

Well, before I had kids I worked for software companies, doing international marketing, localization and graphic design, among other things. If I had not met dh, I had planned to work towards product management. But I really wanted a family, and to be there for the kids, so after I got married I had a plan to figure out a part-time career and did consulting in QA and graphic design.

But, once I had the kids I decided I was 100% happier and more fulfilled being a full-time mom! I had always thought I'd like tutoring, and well, what's better than tutoring my own kids (except that I dont' get paid :tongue_smilie:).

I liked my jobs before, but they were never my bliss. They were a way to pay the rent.

I've been thinking lately about what to do once they've flown the nest (to combat boredom and help pay for what are sure to be hefty college bills). I'm thinking I'd really like to do kitchen and bathroom design. I like working with people to solve problems, and I love the spatial aspect of designing things. I think that would fit my personality much better than the corporate world. And maybe I'll tutor on the side... should have lots of experience by that point!

Now, if I were completely impractical and had never worried about cost or how the career would fit in with the family life I always wanted to have ... I would've gotten a PhD in psycholinguistcs. Fun!

[GVA]

I was a disatisfied senior government employee when I got laid off during maternity leave per Al Gore's "Reinventing Government" initiative.

A year later I became an adjunct professor, which is what I do now and what I probably would have pursued if I hadn't been redirected. I also was thinking about a small business, which I actually started some four years ago and keep on with.

So I sort of kept on with what I really wanted to do...?

[Cadam]

If I weren't a parent, I would be in the mission field. I had always pictured myself working with young girls rescued from pr*stitution in Thailand. I spent a summer in Bangkok, and some of the things I saw there have never left my mind. A woman in the market tried to give me her baby. The child was maybe 6 months old, wearing an oversized, dirty t-shirt. The mother held the baby out and asked me, "Please, please, take. Take to America." I will never forget that baby and the mothers look of agony. I often wonder what happened with that child.

I can not even imagine how desperate she must have been. It simply breaks my heart to even think of.

[Laurie4b]

I'd be working with other people's kids. And I do!

[Amy loves Bud]

I would be a Willie Nelson groupie.

You really need to move to Texas, sister. :001_smile:

[Mom to Aly]

Teaching university, and writing, probably. But, gosh, what a boring life it would be!

[Tarheel Heather]

I'd have my nose in a microscope somewhere.

[Karenciavo]

I would be a letter carrier, making $65,000 a year or more, with 6-8 weeks vacation, plenty of exercise, and lots of time to read.

[clwcain]

On a stage in New York or London.

Or working in the Roman Curia, if I'd never gotten married.

[Tarheel Heather]

I would be a letter carrier, making $65,000 a year or more, with 6-8 weeks vacation, plenty of exercise, and lots of time to read.

I want that job!

[sweetbaby]

If I wasn't a parent.....I'd probably wish I was a parent. :lol: