What did/do you want to be?

[budafist]

What did you want to be when you were a kid? A high schooler? A grown up?

Do you have a "one day" career change?

For me, when I was a kid I wanted to be an architect. My dad was a draftsman so I guess that may have rubbed off on me.

Then I wanted to be an artist. But there wasn't any money in that I didn't want to be a struggling artist so at about age 14 I decided a graphic designer was way cool. I did some work shadowing and fell in love.

I'm 25 now and one day I would like to be a children's book illustrator and in another life I will be the Art Director for a food magazine. My drawings are geared towards kids as they are and I could look at food photography all day. Actually, I do look at food photography just for fun. May as well get paid for it. :D

[martyng]

Graphic designer was the first sensible thing I remember wanting to be. Before that it was, footballer, movie god, rock star etc :D

Dunno if I'd like to eventually run my own company, or be part of a big one. I have an interview on Monday for a better job though \o/

[eugenetyson]

I never knew what I wanted to do. We had student counselors in high/secondary school to talk us through our college/university options and talk about career choices and goals. My meetings never amounted to anything.

At one point I wanted to join the police force (garda here in Ireland) but I was about 1/2 inch too short (they've done away with the measurement thing now grrrr)

But I wasn't too keen on it. I would have done it but due to lack of want to do other things.

I was always keen on design, my eldest brother was into DJing and he regularly DJ'd at discos locally. I would do up posters in Word *gasp :eek: * and print them off, later I used Serif +.

I never really knew that there were jobs for graphic designers. I thought everyone did their own stationery and books. I didn't think there was a career in it.

When I was 17 I was offered a summer job at a print house, my friends Grandmother got me the job. I had just left school and had no ambition to go to college. So I continued working there for almost 3 years (2.5 roughly).

Then I decided I'd like to learn the graphic side of things. And here I am.

I just fell into this. And I couldn't be happier. Unless I win the lotto, if I win the lotto I'll be happier.

[PrintDriver]

An artist, a veterinarian, a Marine, a marine biologist, a plant taxonomist, a movie miniatures modeler/scenic matte painter, a theatre lighting designer, industrial designer, an illustrator....
The thing came full circle I guess, though I never did get to enlist. That wasn't on the parents' agenda at the time it would have been proper to do so....

Graphic design was not on the agenda either. Still isn't.
But I like the work I fell into. Kinda combines the art, theatre, and natural history studies nicely with the production end of the design stick.

[CkretAjint]

I ALWAYS wanted to be some form of an artist...

First, I wanted to be an animator for Disney. But then I realized that if I was I would draw eye brows for 50 years before I got a promotion.

Then I wanted to be a comic book inker/colorist. That didn't pan out because i didn't want to move out of state to go to college for it.

Then I became a Graphic Designer, even got my degree. And I SWORE I wouldn't get into web design and coding up web sites.

Now I am a Web Designer, designing and coding up websites! :p

[CCericola]

At first I wanted to be a teacher, but then I found out I hate kids.

[Red Kittie Kat]

I always wanted to be a nurse ... it took a year of nurses training to change my mind ;)

[eugenetyson]

I always wanted to be a nurse ... it took a year of nurses training to change my mind ;)

I'm constantly nursing hangovers, but I'd rather be hung over a nurse ;)

[Typically]

i wanted to be a professional bass fisherman for awhile when i was a kid :D art was always something that i had a big interest in though (i had 3 art classes my senior year!!). so after i graduated high school i didn't really know what i wanted to do so i went to the community college and took a photography course and a typography course. from then on i was hooked :D hand lettering and using prisma color markers is what had me coming back for more and more.

i'd still love to be a professional fisherman though :D

[Virgo Nightingale]

In my adolescent days, I wanted to be a rock star. Like Pat Benatar or Ann Wilson. Then when I did a couple performances, I got lots of good reviews but the stage fright I experienced really kept me from pursuing it.

I ended up going to college and getting a degree in Music Industry, that way I could still work in the rock n' roll field, but in the background of it, like a concert promoter or band management or some crap. I soon realized that the music industry was a little too cut-throat, image-oriented, money-driven and 'who-do-you-know-in-the-business' for my tastes and never really ended up getting a job in the field.

Waitressed for a few years after that and eventually decided to fall back on my original love and skills for visual art. Went back to school for an Associate's and here I am.

[Yossarian]

Like so many boys, up until about the age of 12 I was going to be a paleontologist. After that I considered "commercial art" and architecture and industrial (especially automotive) design. I ended up doing my first year of college in engineering and then changed majors to graphic design.

In another life I'd be a custom carpenter or maybe an independently wealthy playboy millionaire.

[CkretAjint]

Like so many boys, up until about the age of 12 I was going to be a paleontologist.

Funny, I always thought I would be a female g-spot inspector! ;)

[cornfed]

When I was about 8, I looked up at a billboard and told my parents that I wanted to be whoever it is that makes those signs.

Other than that, I wanted to be a veterinarian, artist, psychologist or photographer. Those are the things I wanted to be. Most people in the meat world think I should have been a doctor because I'm super good with medical stuff. I did go back to school and work on my masters in psychology. I have about a year to finish but probably never will. If I do, it'll only be because I miss my schizophrenic patients and the interest they added to each day. I love graphic design, though, and figured that out after I sunk so much money into grad school!

[Virgo Nightingale]

I forgot to list my desired future endeavors! :o

The only plan I have so far is to live somewhere a bit more rural and away from the city, buy a house on a hill with a rooftop deck, get a big-ass telescope and be an amateur astronomer. I don't plan on making any discoveries really, just looking at stuff in the sky and maybe taking pictures.

[PrintDriver]

When you said "up on a hill" and "big-ass telescop" the first thought through my head wasn't stars... LOL.

[tZ]

When I was in elementary and middle school all I wanted do was be a animator working for Disney. Back in the day where everything was drawn, colored and animated by hand. Once I took a tour of the Disney Animation Studio at Disney World and from there on out all I ever thought about becoming was an Animator young in life. I would draw, sketch and make my own characters as hobby all the time.

I'm not even sure where in life I decided to turn from Animation to Graphic Design. However, I'm sure it was in the late middle school to yearly Highschool that the transition began. I believe in the beginning I was just interested in Art and this Design thing just seemed perfect based on my love and interest in Art at the time.

Another transition took place from around 10th to 12th grade where I began taking a visual technology course alongside a Art class in place of a drafting course. Prior to this I had been taking Drafting courses and enjoyed them. However, I don't believe I ever thought of becoming a drafter. With that said, the visual technology class became the catalyst for my decisions following Highschool.

Which Resulted in attended a Design College and graduating with a Design Degree. However, in college or I should say during yet another transition took place where I really began getting interested in the web side of things outside of classes. I started small with HTML and CSS. However, that for me wasn't enough so I began furthering my knowledge in everything web related. Soon to realize that it wasn't design that I was interested in but programming.

Today I would call myself a Web Developer. I know design and programming well, but my true enjoyment lies in everything code related. While I respect, understand and hold a graphic design degree from a decent school the last thing I really want to be is a designer.

Eventually, after a few years working I'll probably go back to school and make yet another transition to a programmer. However, for now this whole Web Developer thing is going decently. However, I'm the type of person who always wants more and becoming more educated is that next step to reaching my full potential and more comfortable living.

[eugenetyson]

When you said "up on a hill" and "big-ass telescop" the first thought through my head wasn't stars... LOL.

They're all way over your head anyway

*gets coat*

[mojoprime]

you know, when i was growing up, my sisters were always better artists than me, and would pick on me for coloring outside the lines, grinding their crayons down to nothing or using up all the ink in their markers.

i thought i wanted to be a comic book artist, but shit, those guys are good and i never really learned figure drawing well enough to do that. (proportion and perspective? what's that?). volunteered at our zoo for several years, and thought i'd be a vet, but they have to go to more school than MDs.

then, i thought maybe i'll do the rock and roll thing, except i never played that well. back in high school, i thought i'd work for a big advertising agency (thanks, "nothing in common" with tom hanks as the ultimate ad guy) and went to school with that in mind.

ran into a an old high school buddy who had a design firm, and he had mentored me in high school on layout, cartooning (i suck) and management. went to work with him and i've never stopped looking back, trying to figure out how the hell i got down this road.

i love the work. it's a puzzle, figuring out the answer to the question of design, and i like a good puzzle. i've been doing it over 20 years, and i'd like to go and teach -- have some great ideas on that -- but while everyone else was in school, i was working in the field to pay my bills. i learned from trade pressmen (god, what a waste when they were replaced by imagesetters, but progress marches on...), who brutally tore apart everything i did until i got it right -- or got it close. learned informational design, layout and balance, perspective, all of that...i had so many good teachers and mentors, and still do.

it;s like you guys. my peers are my teachers and mentors now. age is not an issue; talent is the key. and learning from you lot is exciting, even for an older fart like me. :)

rah rah. now get back to work. ;)

[WannaBrie]

I was always interested in art, but as a child, I trained to be an olympic swimmer. I got all the way to the state championships when I was 14 (Third in the state in 50m breaststroke), but injured my knee and that was the end of that. After that, I wanted to be an architect, but my first mechanical drawing class proved that the math was just beyond me. Then it was fine artist, but after realizing that I didn't want to be a starving artist, I settled on Graphic design. Somewhere in there, I have always thought I'd be a good teacher, and I guess that's where my future is headed now.

[eugenetyson]

rah rah. now get back to work. ;)


Work doesn't finish for another 1.5 hours. I can't wait. I'm just sitting here trying to look busy. It's Friday and I want to go home and get my beer on.

[eugenetyson]

Oh my other career option was a Martial Arts Instructor. I trained from the age of 17 to 25 or so to black belt. I was then offered semi-pro fights for money. And I was offered a chance to run a dojo full-time but never took up the chance. It was graphic design or martial arts instructing. I don't do martial arts any more but I'd love to go back to it. I really miss all the people and friends I made and all the trips I made all over the world learning and teaching martial arts. Sigh.

I'd love to go on the road as a traveling trainer for InDesign. Going to peoples place of business and teaching them to be efficient in their workflow.

I like teaching people.

[mojoprime]

Work doesn't finish for another 1.5 hours. I can't wait. I'm just sitting here trying to look busy. It's Friday and I want to go home and get my beer on.

no fair being ahead of us by six hours or however many it is... :p

[eugenetyson]

no fair being ahead of us by six hours or however many it is... :p

It's 4.10 here and I finish at 5.30

In fairness when I was in work you were in bed... prolly.

[Typically]

that's what lunch beers are for!

[eugenetyson]

that's what lunch beers are for!

I've to drive 20km on my motorbike later. Can't be drink driving, especially on the motorbike, it's too awkward to get it past the visor.

I also make vroom noises when on I'm on my bike, the bike makes them too, but imitation is the highest form of flattery, I'm just not sure who's mimicking who these days.

[Typically]

i was talking to mojo sorry :D

[mojoprime]

lunch beers make me do things like forget the way back to the office...

[cornfed]

Hey WannaBrie, I used to be quite the swimmer, too! I still love to swim, but gave it up as a team sport many years ago. It was the only sport I ever showed any interest in.

[eugenetyson]

i was talking to mojo sorry :D


I was eavesdropping :D

[Pix_Z]

A writer, a market researcher, a computer programmer, and oh, one of those CIA research nerds...

[Silence04]

I wanted to be an illustrator for comic books when i was little.
It wasn't until High School that i realized i wanted to get into packaging design, and now that's what i do. :)

[salsa]

As a kid, I never really had any dreams about becoming something. I was a lazy teenager and would joke that I wanted to be "retired" when I grew up. I was a dork.

For awhile in my 20's I was serious about joining the Foreign Service or something in international relations.But that didn't work out.

Art was always a hobby, and I liked working on computers, and I was searching for a job I enjoyed. If I was going to spend 40 hours a week doing something for the rest of my life, I wanted to be happy about it, dammit. So that's how I decided to go into graphic design.

Now, I think I'd like to be a type designer. Maybe someday.

[budafist]

i wanted to be a professional bass fisherman for awhile when i was a kid

I don't think I have ever heard that before. What made you want to do that as a kid?

Funny, I always thought I would be a female g-spot inspector! ;)

At age 12?

I was always interested in art, but as a child, I trained to be an olympic swimmer. I got all the way to the state championships when I was 14 (Third in the state in 50m breaststroke), but injured my knee and that was the end of that.

That sucks Brie but I guess our lives turn in funny ways.

After that, I wanted to be an architect, but my first mechanical drawing class proved that the math was just beyond me.

Yeah, I don't do maths at all. I think that may have been one of the reasons I didn't go that way.

Now, I think I'd like to be a type designer. Maybe someday.

Do it! I don't think I've ever met anyone that wanted to be a type designer.

[disneyhippie]

Like Salsa, I never had grand dreams growing up. Maybe a teacher. I always loved to draw and color and was always asking for art supplies.When I started my first art class in high school, I also wanted to be a Disney animator.
I got so tired of people asking about college that I told my mom one day that I wasn't going to college, I was going to stand behind a counter and say "Do you want fries with that?" I had no idea what I was going to do, except I knew it was going to be art. People told me I should do graphic design so that's what I did. I hated it until my last year. Either because they finally got rid of the teacher I had a mutual hate relationship with or I actually started enjoying the projects, but I digress.
During school I had the opportunity to hear and talk to Disney animators. This is when I realized how tedious it is and knew I didn't have that kind of patience. Then I set my sights on the Disney Design Group. Missed a chance to apply for an internship due to their cutbacks at the time.
I'd still love to work there, but I've come to terms with knowing my work isn't quite up to par. Now I'm trying to convince my self to try some freelance.

[BeautyNut]

I'm still deciding. ;)

Very interesting stories!

[salsa]

Do it! I don't think I've ever met anyone that wanted to be a type designer.

Thanks! I've never actually gone through the tedious process of designing a typeface before, so I don't completely know what I'm talking about.

[garricks]

I wanted to be...






A Lumberjack! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg)

[urstwile]

My first audible career aspiration, as told to me by my mom, was that I wanted to be a Schrafft's waitress. We used to go there when I was a kid, and it was such a treat, since were usually too poor to be able to afford eating out, that I thought the waitresses must have the most glamourous jobs. Needless to say, my mom was quite disappointed by my choice. Fortunately, I was 5. :D

I can't recall much about what I wanted to do, although I used to have plans and schemes for making money when I was a kid. When we visited our relatives in Indiana (lol, I almost spelled that InDiana! :D ), across the street from my grandmother's house was this empty barn that she owned. I had the idea that our whole family could move there and sell various arts and crafts to passersby. This idea was quickly shown to be of not much merit after my mom pointed out the road that passed by only got about 12 cars per day, so not much profit to be had there, I'm afraid.

In my teenage and early adult years, it was all about something in the music business. Either as a performer, a theoretician, or a teacher (which was where theory was supposed to lead me). None of that panned out. And then I ended up applying for a job at a typeshop, back when computer type was still in its infancy, and ended up where I am today.

As to future aspirations, I'd love to be a librarian, or a paleontologist, or a writer. Or all three!

[willy_flew]

I wanted to be 17 forever but my mother continually told me to go play in traffic. I guess destiny stepped in and now I count cars.:D

[Red Kittie Kat]

lmao Willy :D

[CkretAjint]

At age 12?

Don't try and tell me what my dreams were and weren't! :p

[vibrant_echo]

From age 5 until 16 or 17 I wanted to be a lawyer...then I discovered John Grisham novels. :rolleyes: I declared Political Science as my major my freshman year of college - I have no idea why, anymore. Flunked out of college and have been making my living as an administrative assistant for the last 10 years while trying to discover my true career path. I don't consider myself particularly artsy or creative, but I am fascinated by the concept of branding, corporate identity and marketing. You know the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars"? I love that someone(s) got to think up, and then create, all that pretend advertising. :D

[skinnyhb]

I've struggled with this a lot over the last few years. I thought I wanted to be an architect, a fireman, a lawyer, a psychologist, a cop, a bodyguard. Now I'm trying my hand at screenprinting and graphic design while bartending at night. It is interesting to me to think that before I got in the "go to school -> go to college -> get a job -> work your way up -> retire -> then enjoy life" mindset, I wanted nothing more than to be an artist or cartoonist. When I was 10 or 11, I spent all of my time drawing and taking summer classes on drawing. But that was never presented to me as a viable career option. So now, at 24, I am trying to rekindle my artistic skills and creative thinking. I'm also making the least amount of money for as busy as I am, but I am more content than I have been in a long time.

[budafist]

I don't consider myself particularly artsy or creative, but I am fascinated by the concept of branding, corporate identity and marketing. You know the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars"? I love that someone(s) got to think up, and then create, all that pretend advertising. :D

I remember thinking about it when a local tv programme where looking for a graphic designer. It is a hospital drama and I never thought, but every drink label, magazine cover, book, chocolate bar wrapper, hospital form etc had to be designed so that it looked legit on screen. Of course, you could make up the small print and be silly, as long as it looked legit on screen. Imagine being a graphic designer in a fictional world?

[garricks]

I think about that often, buda. I'd LOVE it!

[budafist]

It would be fun, but I think you would lose touch with what being a designer is about - pleasing a client ;)

[Oldat29]

At one point I wanted to join the police force (garda here in Ireland) but I was about 1/2 inch too short (they've done away with the measurement thing now grrrr)

Me to, i was 16 "and 6ft 3" and went to the tallaght garda station, but after talking to them for a while i was told i was to placid, so i got jobs in nursing homes to bring money into the home........... I never got a chance to be creative or do what i wanted being in a family of unemplyed people.

But me dreams were to design for movies, the advirtising side of it.

Now i'm 30 with 3 kids and i'm unemplyed and have a diploma.lol....great.

[Ned]

When I was young and in High School, I wanted to be a motorcycle mechanic or a farmer. I had a background in computers and was building PCs back in middle school for about $20/hr. (per machine, which took about an hour each). Not bad coin in the 80's for a middle schooler. lulz.

But then I decided one day I didn't want to be stuck in a chair behind a computer, and that I only wanted to work with my hands instead. I sold all my computer equipment and hit the road, living off the back of a motorcycle (well, 8 of them in total until I settled down) for 8 years while touring North America. First few years I was doing what I liked at the time, mechanics, farm work, landscaping, painting, and arborism. My jobs that didn't involve physical labor were primarily in the Entertainment industry, working lights and sound for theatrical and musical productions.

Then I moved into Key West, and once again decided I didn't like what I was doing anymore, and made another 180 change in career paths. It was probably that I got tired of working in the hot sun - in Canada we work hard to stay warm, lol. I decided this time to stick with Entertainment, working pyrotechnics and other show setups, as well as being an on-air radio personality for WAIL99 and the Bill Hoebee Show.

I kept on with that path into Chicago helping my girlfriend, the red-headed blues diva Liz Mandeville Greeson, on the road with road managment and audio setup tasks. That's when I started my short stint in modeling, working with a wonderful sweetheart of a lady with a modeling school in Chi-town, Joan Sassano.

After that I moved back to my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, deciding that I need to settle down a bit and go back to school. That's when I went into Graphic Design, taking my post-secondary in the multimedia design field as a mature student, then settling in with strictly print design.

During that time I started into commercial photography, which has now become my sole passion and I am ready to make yet another career change as I get myself out of design and into full-time photography instead, no longer working just b2b (which is all I did for ad clients in the past) but now also b2c and in fashion/editorial.

I have worked so many careers and industries in my life, but they all seem somehow inter-connected. The computers, entertainment, fashion, photography, were all ever-present elements in my life, even though I went so many years without using them.

[WannaBrie]

I love this thread! Its great reading about what got us where we are today! good stuff! :D

[Red Kittie Kat]

Oh I also I wanted to join the Air Force too .... I was completely smitten with the glamorous side of Top Gun! :D

I even went to Plattsburgh Air Force Base and had a complete tour ... even getting to sit in a FB-111 ... I was in love :D

But then everyone was telling me I was crazy and that was no place for a girl :rolleyes:

So I didn't join :(

[CMYK girl]

This is an interesting thread, good reading.

In High School I got to attend a Vocational school full time and took retail marketing because my Dad wouldn't let me take Commercial Art! Had a job in a national retail chain with a Buyers job promotion lined up starting 3 months after I graduated HS. But always wanted to be an artist so I decided to go back and get into art school and even took classes in printing press printing. I've been in this all my life.

First I decided I wanted to know how to paste up (yes before computers!) so I did that for a time, then moved into Pro photo lab work doing Transparency Retouching on films with chemicals and cutting masks by hand for national Ads, which led me into cutting designs and sandblasting on glass. Then I went into some freelancing, working on a variety of things, machinery exploded views drawings (erg getting all those bolts' threads perfect), landscaping design, Interior design for utilities plants, pharmaceutical sales lit, all kinds of things.

I took off a summer and concentrated on painting in Water Colors. Have a few that still hang up in the house but being used to Oils I didn't like it and wasn't going to make a living doing that so went back to work Freelancing again.

Worked retail advertising mostly at different in house and agencies for a while. At that time I took over a large church art department for many years till I went back to retail Freelancing. Did a stint in a couple Ad agencies working as Print Production Manager and learned a lot about running an agency. Went into Account Exec handling retail again.

Started my own business with a writer about 15 years ago. We work on retail, automotive aftermarket, foods and B2B. I've recently tried learning Code to build the websites I design, really hard to wrap my mind around it. But I'll keep trying...

[CMYK girl]

Oldat29, what is the outlook for future employment in this field for you?
Eugene and Oldat still want to be policemen?

Ned, just wondering, which state in your travels did you like best? lol FL keys too hot.

[Ned]

Ned, just wondering, which state in your travels did you like best? lol FL keys too hot.

I guess Florida, which is still like home to me. ;) I also love Cali though, Arizona, and Louisianna.

[Oldat29]

Oldat29, what is the outlook for future employment in this field for you?
Eugene and Oldat still want to be policemen?

Ned, just wondering, which state in your travels did you like best? lol FL keys too hot.

Nahh, its to rough for me...lol...

Im a 6ft 7in softy.... Would still love to do nursing, but im going to try get into the movie side of Ireland.
Future employment might be cleaning toilets, or doing door security until i can get to where i want " if ever".

[eugenetyson]

Oldat29, what is the outlook for future employment in this field for you?
Eugene and Oldat still want to be policemen?

Ned, just wondering, which state in your travels did you like best? lol FL keys too hot.


I'm not that interested in being in the police force anymore. After 10 years of martial arts and many world titles, I've had my fill of fighting and stuff like that.

I'll be quite content if I never get into an altercation ever again.

I'm only 5ft 8 1/2


Oldat appears to be nearly a whole foot taller than me :confused: But I'm as hard as nails :p

[Oldat29]

I'm not that interested in being in the police force anymore. After 10 years of martial arts and many world titles, I've had my fill of fighting and stuff like that.

I'll be quite content if I never get into an altercation ever again.

I'm only 5ft 8 1/2


Oldat appears to be nearly a whole foot taller than me :confused: But I'm as hard as nails :p

You know what they say about small goods....... :)

[CMYK girl]

Hang in there Oldat, do what you have to do. Hope it gets better. Ned, all southern states lol no northern? I guess up here we are pretty similar to Canada eh? Never been to FL but CA is beautiful.
Eugene, not even a good RGB vs CMYK spat? ;)

[eugenetyson]

Hang in there Oldat, do what you have to do. Hope it gets better. Ned, all southern states lol no northern? I guess up here we are pretty similar to Canada eh? Never been to FL but CA is beautiful.
Eugene, not even a good RGB vs CMYK spat? ;)

Oh you don't want to get me started :D

[Ned]

Ned, all southern states lol no northern? I guess up here we are pretty similar to Canada eh? Never been to FL but CA is beautiful.


Yeah, I'm a Southerner at heart. ;) My fave part of Cali though is the northern redwood forests... Especially along the Paul Bunyan Trail and down by Big Sur beach... *sigh*

[hewligan]

I wanted to be an astronaut.

But then I found out they hardly ever get into space-battles with laser guns.

[NTLemon]

When I was young like 8ish I wanted to be an inventor, and then when I was like 12-14 I wanted to do concept art, then I wanted to be an industrial designer, then an architect.

After taking 2 years of architecture courses I was dissatisfied with it, partially as a result of the courses I was taking and having realized I enjoyed creating the presentation boards more than designing buildings so I transferred schools and switched majors. My grandparents also owned a printing company so I worked for them during the summers too which influenced my decision.

As of now, I'm a bit undecided as to what I want to do specifically in graphic design but I still have a while to figure it out while I'm in school.

A secondary dream I still have though - and this is carried over from architecture I guess is that I still want to design and build my own house. I might even go back and finish my architecture degree afterward.

[Tea]

I can tell you what I didn't want to be...stupid. That's how I'm feeling today!

[budafist]

A secondary dream I still have though - and this is carried over from architecture I guess is that I still want to design and build my own house. I might even go back and finish my architecture degree afterward.

I would love to build a home too. My husband is also keen on it. My little sister is an architect and her boyfriend is a builder so maybe one day we can do it with them leading the way. My brother in law (husband's brother) once said to me that if he won the lottery, he would give us money to build a house for ourselves because it would be the coolest house ever. Isn't that the sweetest thing?

[disneyhippie]

I'm really enjoying this thread. I love hearing - er, reading - everyone' career paths.
Ned, I'd love to do what you did. Except probably in my jeep, not a motorcycle :D Key West is one of my favorite vacation spots. Every time I visit I come up with a new idea of what I could do when I move there. LOL This year it's a scrapbook boutique. People can leave their pictures with me and I'll make their scrapbooks :)

[salsa]

I'm jealous of Ned's adventures too. Traveling around the country on my own time is one of my little "would love to do this in another life" kinda dreams, though 8 years sounds like a long time! I bet you have some great stories, Ned.

[Typically]

I don't think I have ever heard that before. What made you want to do that as a kid?

i loved bass fishing :D i would wake up early on saturday and sunday just to watch the fishing shows on tv. maybe if i win the lottery i'll give it a go :D

[budafist]

Mmmm....lottery.

That would be another interesting topic. Would you still do graphic design if you won the lottery?

[eugenetyson]

Mmmm....lottery.

That would be another interesting topic. Would you still do graphic design if you won the lottery?


I would never work again.

[budafist]

You wouldn't buy the world's coolest design gadgets to play with?

[WannaBrie]

You wouldn't buy the world's coolest design gadgets to play with?


I think I would. especially if it was just for fun.

[garricks]

Mmmm....lottery.

That would be another interesting topic. Would you still do graphic design if you won the lottery?

I would. But on MY terms. :)

[Typically]

i would but i'd do it for fun. i enjoy design when i can do whatever i want... it's when people start telling me what to do it turns into work :D

[garricks]

^^Presaktly. :D

[eugenetyson]

I would never work again.

You wouldn't buy the world's coolest design gadgets to play with?


Nope. I'd be gone like lightening. I'd just hand in my notice. Leave amicably.

I'd have absolutely no interest in working ever again.

The Irish lotto only starts at €3.5m and rarely goes above €10m. I have already worked out I could live on €3.5m for the rest of my life. No problem.

Not as much as if I won the Euromillions though, that starts at €15m and can go up to as much as €120m. Which is nice.

I've been playing lotto for 11 years, €18 a week (18x(52*11) = €10,296) it's a friggin investment at this stage. I can't quit playing until I recoup what I've invested :D

[Audentia]

Question 1: I always wanted to be a broadcast journalist in the midst of some sort of awesome war or natural disaster reporting on site. (I totally envy Anderson Cooper's life). But then someone told me they get shot... a lot. lol.
I always knew it would be something media related I've always loved media.

Question 2: I would likely volunteer, maybe do some side jobs. But maybe I could then have the chance (and time) to look into my other aspiration, which is to design cross stitch patterns. (yep I'm a dork, deal with it).

This is an awesome thread btw. :)

[salsa]

That would be another interesting topic. Would you still do graphic design if you won the lottery?

I'd say buh-bye to my present job. Maybe I would do some graphic design for fun. More likely what I would do is get back into fine art, set up an oil studio and buy a letterpress and an etching press and do that sort of stuff. Travel. Buy a fancy camera and learn how to use it. And I'd buy a big telescope and learn how to take pictures with that too. That would be awesome.

[tZ]

That would be another interesting topic. Would you still do graphic design if you won the lottery?


Open on or two a Little Ceasers sit back and relax. Perhaps eventually go for a degree in Business to open more businesses such as a Hotel. How cool would be to say this is my Hotel! ,lol

All you need is 150K net worth including 50K down and Little Ceasers has a 99% success rate. Calculated annual income for a decent Little Ceasers is around 200K take home.

I wouldn't spend it on stupid stuff, but invest in my future.

[Virgo Nightingale]

If I won enough money to quit my job after: purchasing my dream house, a big-ass telescope and whatever musical instruments my husband wants; taking care of any and all debt we have; paying for the nieces' & nephews' college funds; ensuring my parents' and my husbands' parents' retirement funds; and investing the rest so I could live off the interest comfortably...

I'd likely still do graphic design at home pro bono strictly for non-profit organizations and charities whose objectives were in line with mine.

[Typically]

wow little ceasers. we had one up here but it only lasted about a year. too many REAL pizza places around :D

[Yossarian]

If I won the lottery I'd stay at my current job long enough for them to find a replacement. Then I'd build a big place in the country with no neighbors for miles around. I'd be doing traditional arts more than graphic design. Then I'd putter around with woodworking, sculpture, metalsmithing, and restoring old cars. If we're talking super-super wealthy I'd probably have a garage to rival Jay Leno's.

Oh I almost forgot. I have a long-standing agreement with a buddy of mine that if either of us becomes super wealthy the other guy gets to move in and be the houseboy. Mostly the houseboy would just screw around, but there would still be a few menial tasks involved. :D

[eugenetyson]

Oh I almost forgot. I have a long-standing agreement with a buddy of mine that if either of us becomes super wealthy the other guy gets to move in and be the houseboy. Mostly the houseboy would just screw around, but there would still be a few menial tasks involved. :D

I've got a long standing agreement that if any of my friends or I win a large amount of money on the lottery we have to build houses and call the street "Easy Street" and me and all my friends would live on this street, along with family of course. If I win I'll have the biggest house.

[garricks]

Oh I almost forgot. I have a long-standing agreement with a buddy of mine that if either of us becomes super wealthy the other guy gets to move in and be the houseboy. Mostly the houseboy would just screw around, but there would still be a few menial tasks involved. :D

Heh. Sounds like the plot of Entourage.

[CMYK girl]

I've got a long standing agreement that if any of my friends or I win a large amount of money on the lottery we have to build houses and call the street "Easy Street" and me and all my friends would live on this street, along with family of course. If I win I'll have the biggest house.

That's so funny. I've got a long standing agreement with a girlfriend that if either one of us win we will buy a house in Hawaii for each of us. It has become such a well known fact that the other day her son said, "If I win the lottery I will buy you guys a condo in Hawaii and then get myself....." ha ha. Got them trained right!

[disneyhippie]

If I won the lottery, I'd first have to pay off all my debts. Then I'd buy my dream house complete with darkroom, wrap around porch, big yard, and hammock. Get me a nice new camera and learn to use it;get all the new tech toys my friends laugh at me for drooling over.
I'd still want to do design, but probably very part time if I were working for someone else or just creating a little business for myself. I'd also do more volunteer. I have to keep busy; can't sit still long.