what’s your occupation

for me: i am a product manager and journalist. that means i work across engineering, design and editorial teams to finish projects while keeping the user in mind. my products include a website, newsletters, podcasts, and internal content management systems. i also reported and wrote breaking news for a few years prior — and now i write on the side.

did you expect this job when you were younger?

nope. i wanted to be a novelist. then an architect. then a web designer. i fell into journalism during college because i like writing. then, i made the switch to product to switch up the pace and to make more money.

do you like it?
yessiree, right now i can confidently say i like my job. it's a challenge, but not suffocating, and i can see a trajectory of growth for myself. i hope to keep growing and to achieve long-term financial independence for both myself and my parents. but we'll see. 🤞

i'm a researcher

do you like it?
- it keeps me from getting bored day after day so i'd say yes.

when did you go into this job/field?
little under a decade ago.

have you switched careers before?
nope! i entered a career and stuck with it.

did you expect this job when you were younger?
not when i was super young, but i could maybe see it at some point. both of my parents had a foray into academia, too.

do you want to stay in this job long-term?
i honestly don't know. i think i might if they keep me employed, because it's comfortable and fun enough, and i am not chasing a cool career.

what did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
to be a painter/artist or a writer. a creator, at any rate.

are you friends with your coworkers?
not really tbh. a couple i'd call my shallow friends or good acquaintances, but mostly i have my own other friendgroups that i talk with and meet up with instead, and keep work very separate from that. it works well for me.

what's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
least favorite part is that it gets dangerous at times (toxic materials or risky procedures). favorite is maybe that i get to create things and see results, be it devices and materials or publications. it's satisfying to see progress.

what job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
i've always kind of wanted to be a professional novel writer, but i seem to lack the long-term committment for finishing my written works..

how important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
actually not at all. sure, i picked the name "Doctor" here partly to motivate myself further to finish that darn phd already, but in general my work is so separate from the other things and people in my life that a career shift probably wouldn't change many of those aspects at all o: maybe that's weird?

I'm a journalist, working for an economic newspaper as the UK/US expert. I'm also doing a phd in economics.

do you like it? Yes, absolutely.

when did you go into this job/field? I studied journalism at uni and jumped into it straight away during my last year of uni, so... a decade ago? Ish.

have you switched careers before? Nope.

did you expect this job when you were younger? Actually yes. It was in high school that I got a clear idea that my ideal job was explaining things to people (which would also open the door to becoming a scholar as well).

do you want to stay in this job long-term? Yes? But I would be open to switching papers, specific areas of interest, or even focusing on becoming a professor once I get my phd. Maybe. In the future. Hell, I have a workmate who does both things at once.

what did you say your dream job was in kindergarten? I wanted to be a writer or a TV host. So very much on the same ballpark.

are you friends with your coworkers? As friendly as you can possibly be, although there's only one I specifically texted to wish a happy new year (my night-time mate, we kind of spend a couple hours per day rambling about football or nerding about pokémon).

what's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job? The worst thing is that, as I work at an economic newspaper, I have to find an economic angle to most news, which means I can't write as many strictly political articles as I often would wish to. Also, having to spend two hours editing other people's articles and getting them to upload them to the website, like, god damn, do your job, I have enough with mine to babysit you.
My most favourite parts are everything else, but mainly my schedule: a 16-24 shift means I can wake up at 9.30-10 every morning and not know what an alarm clock is.

what job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting? Teacher.

how important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life? I'm an unreedemable politics nerd so if I didn't do this job for a salary I'd do it on my free time.

I have everyone's dream job: retail.

More specifically, I dispense online orders at Walmart.

EDIT: I don't love it, I don't hate it. I make money for it, that's what matters.
Most of my coworkers are agreeable too.

I study psychology and hope to get into clinical psychology and one day be an actual therapist, but I am actually pretty fine even just stopping at being clinical psychologist tbh.


do you like it?
Ups and downs. Some things are extremely interesting, some other stuff is actually boring.

when did you go into this job/field?
Three years ago.

have you switched careers before?
Well, idk if this counts, but I was firstly studying computer engineering, but after a year I changed.

did you expect this job when you were younger?
Expect? Probably not. It was one of the jobs I wanted to do, but I changed a lot growing up.

do you want to stay in this job long-term?
I guess? Probably at some point I will feel it's too boring. I kinda realize there's definitely a small probability for me to change occupation at some point.

what did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
Veterinarian and if I was brave enough, that would have been my path. But I don't like seeing animals suffer and the more I grow, the most intolerant I become to the view of blood. So, yeah...

are you friends with your coworkers?
Uni companions, in my case. Just a few, I am the "new kid" in the class and I kinda got to know some people, but mostly I became friends with two people, who really just became 1. It wasn't and it isn't too easy to socialize tbh. To that add my being socially awkward and being extremely introverted. It doesn't help lol, but it's alright for me right now.

what job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
I think that it can be really stressing, but people who work in fashion are very cool lol. So yeah, fashion-related jobs and probably I'd say anything in the field of classical music as I am pretty interested in music.

I'm university teacher. I teach computer science and its didactics for primary and secondary schools. It means I'm preparing future teachers in how to teach computer science at primary and secondary schools. I love it. I've always wanted to be a teacher, because I wasn't satisfied with the education I got and thought I could do better. Then, when I was about to finish university, they told me they want me to stay there and teach.

Part of my job is to do research in my field, but it's something I'm still not really well versed in. But I also enjoy it.

Programming monkey for a middle class software house that produces modules for CAD applications that deal with sewage related planning and stuff.

do you like it?
I neither like it nor hate it.

when did you go into this job/field?
A couple years ago.

have you switched careers before?
This is my first.

did you expect this job when you were younger?
I did not expect anything because I never had any interest in any type of job.

do you want to stay in this job long-term?
Our system requires a "job" to pay the bills until one die. This does what it's supposed to do. And I don't want to sacrifice a hobby to that treatment.

what did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
"Dentist" was what I blindly repeated to all my relatives whenever they mentioned that it makes a lot of money.

are you friends with your coworkers?
They're ok but I'm not into Boomer/Millennial Boomer talk. I also have mental issues that work against my ability to make friends. ^^"

what's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
My attempts to circumvent the programming practices at my job have led to me learning a bunch of new things the others never thought about.
On the other hand: debugging, having to adhere to legacy code, especially in combination is just annoying. <_<

what job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
None

how important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
I go to work. I work. I go back home. And then the day is over and the next one is all the same.

YuGiOh Raidraptor master

with my sidejob being an IT support lad at a university

I deliver Glaceons all across the country!


Anyway, I work in Mail & Package delivery.

do you like it? when did you go into this job/field?

I've been working this job at this company for well over a decade now, and I'm still happy to go to work generally speaking.
It's mainly the weather on some days that makes me curse and mutter, given that I'm outside all day =P

have you switched careers before? did you expect this job when you were younger?

Nope to both.

do you want to stay in this job long-term?

Well I enjoy doing it so I don't see a reason to switch unless I'm forced financially.

what did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?

I don't recall.

are you friends with your coworkers?

I get along with almost all of them, but calling them friends would be a bit much imo

I'm an author, granted I'm only at the very beginnings of it. Two books out so far - one picture book, one novel. I'm working on my next novel currently. Only time will tell if this is a thing that will work in the long term, but I really hope it is.


Do you like it?
I do! I've always loved writing and telling stories and my brain would be conjuring up ideas whether I was doing this or not.

When did you go into this job/field?
I published the picture book in 2020, but I committed to pursuing writing as a job in 2021 to release the novel last year.

Have you switched careers before?
Yes. I used to be a dance teacher and was studying both further qualifications in coaching as well as primary school teaching with the intent to do both. But I got really sick in 2020 and ended up unable to really do most kinds of work as a result. I turned to writing as the only other marketable skill I have since I don't like depending on Disability from an unreliable government and want to contribute as best I can.

Did you expect this job when you were younger?
Hilariously, yes. When I was little author was my goal. By the time I was 12 I had shifted to wanting to teach and that stuck, but I never stopped wanting to write and release books.

Do you want to stay in this job long-term?
I'd love to be able to. If it doesn't pan out as something profitable in the long term though, I'll have to look for other things I can do in addition to it. I definitely don't see myself dropping it entirely though.

Are you friends with your coworkers?
I don't really have any. I work with people when I need to people - those people often being friends - but I don't really have any consistent coworkers.

What's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
Actually writing stories is great. I love coming up with different stories/worlds and piecing them together into a narrative. Unfortunately, I then have to edit and market. Editing isn't too bad really because I work with an editor when that's needed (at least after the first pass through or two), but marketing is a consistent thing I have to do that I both suck at and do not enjoy at all.

What job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
Choreography was one of my favourite parts of being a dance teacher. I'd have loved to be able to pursue it as a career (if that counts). Otherwise, I find psychology pretty damn interesting and I like to be useful/help people so I think I'd do well and enjoy that field.

How important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
Extremely, honestly. It's not making me rich (and for most writers it never does), but it gave me a sense of purpose at a time when my life was feeling pretty damn empty. Beyond that, I just love writing. Like 80% of my hobbies involve writing stories in some form anyway.

I study Psychology and aim to get a Masters in child psychology (so clin. psych with a child focus). However things turn out, I want to work with either children or animals.

Do you like it?
For sure, psychology is endlessly fascinating and can be applied to just about all aspects of life, no matter what your career is. Plus, a Bachelor of Psychology alone can get you all kinds of jobs -- even with directing the ethics of AI, which I think is really cool. I wouldn't say it's my ideal career... but it's 100% a worthwhile degree.

When did you go into this field?
I switched over from a degree in education in 2021, when I realised being a preschool teacher wouldn't get me anywhere since I'd have practically zero autonomy, terrible pay, and insane workloads lol. But I might still do a one-year TAFE course in early childhood education to have something to get me by while I finish uni (which will take several years). Just nice to have that option.

Have you switched subjects before?
Only from education, which I studied for... 1.5 years? before making the change.

Did you expect this career path when you were younger?
Not at all! I wanted to be a space botanist living in a greenhouse on the moon, or the next Steve Irwin or David Attenborough!

Do you want to stay in this field long-term?
Hard to say, as I haven't actually had any consultation training. Maybe it'll be too much for me in practice. In theory, well, I'm gonna be devoting the next 10 or so years to studying it, which feels super long-term for someone my age haha.

What did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
See above! Really though, I just wanted to work in nature / with animals in some capacity.

Are you friends with your colleagues?
I study exclusively online, far from campus, so nope, don't have any university friends! D:

What's your favourite and least favourite parts of your degree?
Favourite is... I'm always learning new things about human behaviour, many of which are lightbulb moments for me and help me to accept people for their faults a lot better. Including my own. It also gives insight into why I'm feeling particular emotions or why people we love can be total douches sometimes, and that helps so much with coping. Just understanding why it happens. Not jumping the gun like we do when we're at a loss.

Least favourite? My fellow students saying they're only in it for the money more than helping people. :P ALSO my family starting every sentence with "you're the psychologist" before wanting me to explain things totally unrelated to my studies hahaha.

What job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
I'm a curious person so pretty much anything that appeals to my interests.

How important is your career path in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
I would say incredibly important.

What do you do

What does everyone do for work? I'm curious to know what people do for a living. Something I've always been fascinated with…

How long have you been in the field?
Do you enjoy your work?
Do you plan on staying with your current employer or changing jobs?
What are your most and least favorite things about your job?

I'll go first. I work in law enforcement. I've been doing it for 10 years. I truly enjoy what I do and it's a passion of mine. I was hired into my first department at a young age and I am still with the same department. I have no plans of leaving and I intend to make a full career of it. My least favorite aspect of the job is the shift work. I've been working night shift nearly all of my career and I am forced to work every weekend and holiday. Sometimes I feel like I miss out on a lot of fun and social events. Now that I have my own family and kids I feel guilty about missing important events. It's also really hard to sleep during the day with little kids.

Currently, I work in data entry.

Do you like it?
It's a good job type for me.

When did you go into this job/field?
A year ago.

Have you switched careers before?
I was formerly a stocker, but chronic illness made that too painful to keep up.

Did you expect this job when you were younger?
If you told my high school self that she would be working at an office job in her 30s she would freak out. That was a nightmare of mine back then. But life changes.

Do you want to stay in this job long-term?
I intend to, but not forever.

What did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
I do not know. I know that early on I wanted to do something with drawing. That didn't pan out because my drawing talent peaked in my early childhood and could not develop further.

Are you friends with your coworkers?
We are acquaintances. We get along. Because I don't speak of my political beliefs or being non-religious.

What's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
Favorite aspects are that it's a desk job and thus it's not painful for me to do. Second would be the hours, it's my first day shift and I'm so much happier in that shift than anything else. Least favorite, well, I'll just keep that to myself for now.

What job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
I can't think of anything. Of course, I always wanted to be a professional musician, but I don't have the talent for that.

How important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
It's a job, that's all I can say.

Currently self-employed, but considering something extra - like art commissions - as a side gig. My main issue is motivation though, I like working at my pace so owing people artwork is tough. -sweats-

Software Engineer

Do you like it?
That depends. As it's very broad, it depends on the team, company, project. I'm about to start at a new company in a different country. I've worked at small companies of less than 50 people and the big ones that everyone knows their name. I didn't enjoy my last job, it was incredibly boring and the place it was wasn't somewhere I wanted to stay forever. I hope my new job will be much more interesting!

When did you go into this job/field?
I graduated in... 2017? I think. So then. But I had had an internship year so perhaps 2015 if you want to count that.

Have you switched careers before?
Nope. Other than a restaurant job, this is the only field I've worked in.

Did you expect this job when you were younger?
Yep. This is exactly what I wanted to do since as far back as I can remember.

Do you want to stay in this job long-term?
I guess so. I'd like to progress to management and beyond though. But ideally I'd like to get to a point where I don't have to work if I can. Then I can do fun stuff like gardening! As well as working on my own personal projects.

What did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
Well that IS further back than I can remember. But I imagine it would have been something to do with computers. Probably game development though at that age I imagine.

Are you friends with your coworkers?
Not on the whole. Some of them I would talk to about things beyond work. But mostly no, I get on well with people and consider myself to be social and go to all the meet up events, but I wouldn't consider them friends. They're colleagues!

What's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
My favourite part is the solving difficult problems and coming up with new solutions to things. My previous role was a brand new project at a massive company and involved a lot of problems that very few, if any, people would have tackled before which was cool.
The least favourite part would be the impostor syndrome and the workload pressure you can get.

What job have you never tried but you think it could be interesting?
Working in a book shop! Every time I visit one I always think how cool it would be. And "Skeleton bookseller Honda-San" has convinced me it is. But I can imagine there are some things about the job that really suck. If anyone works at one, please let me know!

How important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
My job is there simply so I can earn money to live and do things. It is the least important priority for me as long as it can fulfil that criteria. If I could stop tomorrow, I would!

Thanks for reading! It's really cool to see how varied everyone's lives are here!

I work as a janitor for an elementary school.

when did you go into this job/field?
7.5 to 10.5 years ago, depending on how you want to count it.

have you switched careers before?
No, this is the only line of work I've ever done.

did you expect this job when you were younger? do you want to stay in this job long-term?
No. Very few people, if any, get into this sort of work because they want to. Unfortunately I'm not a talented person, nor did I ever develop any skills, so I'm kind of stuck with this.

what did you say your dream job was in kindergarten?
When I was a little kid I wanted to be a paleontologist, but I later lost interest in that and never really thought of any line of work that I'd like to get into.

are you friends with your coworkers?
I wouldn't call them friends, though I like working with 3 of them and they're probably half the reason why I haven't quit yet.

what's your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
My favorite part is getting paid. My least favorite parts are my supervisor and the workload.

how important is your job in relation to the rest of the things in your life?
It's important in the sense that I live in a hyper-captialist country (the USA) and so if I don't work I basically just fucking die. But it's not something that brings me joy or gives me purpose in life, and so it's very not important in that sense.

I am currently building 2 blockchain start-ups

Yes I find it very challenging especially building projects from scratch.

I started this endeavour around February 2021

I have switched careers many times previous roles were in the finance, military and hospitality/retail

I didn't expect i would be building start-ups when I was younger.

I do say I wouldn't mind if this was a long term deal. I might be getting tired of shifting careers.

When I was in kindergarten my dream job was to be a policeman, influenced by tv and cinema

I do have a good relationship with my coworkers it is a young team and we are all about the same age which helps

Most favourite part is meeting new people and identifying ways we can collaborate with other businesses. The worst part of the Job is the slow development at some stages and possibly delaying the launch of our project

The current job is quite important as there have been quite the financial investment I put into it. However, I always leave time for family as that comes first.