BootsnAll Travel Community

If you could create your ultimate career, would you do it? What would it be?

If I could combine travel, photography and the outdoors, I'd be one happy girl!

A job that involved a beach, a scuba shop, and a wife that cooked for me and took care of me. I think that about solves it (the scuba shop would be my house too).

I think it depends on how one defines "career".

Lifelong single job at a single firm? Some say that's just for the "old folks", yet a lot of those "old folks" are doing quite well on a gazillion years of pension/retirement accrual .

Lifelong involvement in a chosen profession/field, changing companies every so often? Stay in the same field, do the same thing or change up through a variety of things w/in the same general area, yet do so for a different firm? A lot of people add variety to their lives w/ this, teaching comes to mind..teaching elementary school in the US, teaching abroad, teaching college, etc.

Professional backpacker, professional student,etc.? Working at whatever, whenever, wherever needed to keep basic bills paid while jumping thru classes or hostels...I know an Australian carpenter who's doing just that...he's probably repaired & rebuilt half the hostels on the planet by now...

Well, I'm 39 and have tried lots of different careers and continue to search for the blinking neon sign. I think for me, part of the problem is that I don't actually like working. What I'd prefer doing is volunteering. Several years back, I spent a few months volunteering in a 2nd grade and a 4th grade classroom, about 20-25 hours a week. What I liked was the lack of pressure....the teachers loved having another adult in the classroom to help out, the students loved having attention from another adult, no one was judging or grading my performance, and I could call off whenever I wanted without any problem. Unfortunately, the lack of pay that goes along with volunteering wasn't sustainable long-term.

Own a hostel (a real hostel, not a guesthouse, that has only dorms, a bar, a pool table, a big screen tv, etc etc) in Luang Prabang. That place is in serious need of one.

vs.

Foreign service officer somewhere in Afica or the middle east

I have found my ultimate job as a truck drive.
I get to travel a lot around my country and it is a bit of outdoors work as well.

And the best part is i only work 8 months a year so i have 3-4 moths i the winter that i con spend on traveling!!!

I enjoy the Foreign Service so far, but I think I'd prefer to work with animals. I'm just not sure in what capacity yet.

quote:

Originally posted by skobb:
I enjoy the Foreign Service so far, but I think I'd prefer to work with animals. I'm just not sure in what capacity yet.

Monkey Poo!!!

There are plenty of ways to work with animals, however not many of them pay very much. I'm currently weighing becoming a high school bio teacher (undomesticated human animals) or finding a new way to work with animals with my zoology degree. Depending on what you're doing 'working with animals' can dictate where you live and your lifestyle pretty heavily. I'm still figuring out what my ideal career would be.

quote:

Originally posted by skobb:
I enjoy the Foreign Service so far, but I think I'd prefer to work with animals.

No reason you can't do both. Just get yourself transferred to Naples.

quote:

Originally posted by Not the First Continental Op:

quote:

Originally posted by skobb:
I enjoy the Foreign Service so far, but I think I'd prefer to work with animals.

No reason you can't do both. Just get yourself transferred to Naples.

I prefer less hairy animals.

If I could be a coffee shop philosopher who was paid to dispense all sorts of advice, that would be my dream job. I couldn't just do this at one cafe, though, it would have to be an international arrangement.

My advice would be of the useful, suck-it-up sort, not a crying festival sponsored by Oprah.

While this sounds great, I have a feeling that there is no real dream job available for me -- I tend to need a change of scenery every few years or so. I see many jobs in my future....

Dream job...

Gosh that is hard! I would love to live a dozen lives and dedicate each one to being something fantastic! Jack-of-trades you know...

But I guess in this life if I could, I would love to be an artist cum writer cum traveler.

Actually, I am hoping to achieve that Life is long and unexpected right? Who knows, maybe I will be one of fortunate few to live my dreams...

WOW AJV - Coffee shop philosopher sounds cool. That's an idea that could make for an interesting TV show haha.

But, I'm with you on the "seeing many jobs in my future." I have too many interests, and maybe slight ADD because I can't just stick to one idea. Of course any of us on these boards would LOVE to do anything with travel. In a perfect world, I'd be a rock star.... and tour internationally.

Yep, photography and travel with maybe a dash of writing, that would be the recipe of my dreams.

Where's the genie who's granting these wishes?

My dream job would be the job Smantha Brown has on Travel Channel. Man she is ONE LUCKY LADY. Traveling, staying in nice hotels. and Getting paid and fam for doing it? Whats better than that ?