What Did You Want To Do When You Grew Up?

Recently, Crystal Clayton asked this question in her blog: "What Did You Want To Do When You Grew Up?". This is my response. What's yours?

Early on, I thought I might be a teacher because my parents were both teachers, but that didn’t last very long.

Then, for quite a while, maybe all through elementary school, I wanted to be the person who makes the models for a museum — the one who sculpts and builds and paints the dinosaurs and things like that.

And briefly, sometime in Jr High, I really wanted to be an Efficiency Expert. Truth.

Then I discovered Science and all through Jr High and High School and even parts of College, I assumed I would be a scientist. But it turns out I really do NOT like labwork.

In College I was torn between Science and Computers. When I met my to-be-spouse the computers won (he had an early Sun computer — pre-Mac graphics!) and I became a programmer. I love problem solving and I love technology. But over time, I realized I didn’t want to write software for people I would never meet. So I toyed with various alternatives: QA, technical writing, different kinds of programming...

But way way back when I was 12 or 13, I really wanted to be an Efficiency Expert. In the last few years, that's come together with the technology for me. I’ve currently reached a point where the things I like to do with computers — software, writing, and Wikis — come very close to meeting that early goal. I help other people get their jobs done.

I must be close to “when I grow up.”

What Did You Want To Do When You Grew Up? ( in category Show & Tell ) - posted at Thu, 19 Jun, 23:19 Pacific | «e»