Teacher…..did it for 40 years…high school science.

I did work as a graphic artist for about a decade so I really enjoyed that. It was before everything got computerized. We did everything by hand back in those days. Now any savvy 12 year old can create on the computer what we artists used to do.

I did do old fashion p/u & m from ?late '75, definitely 76 - part '80. Extrenely rare on & offs after that.

And a one week stint in '86 filling in for the Art Department of a small Cataloge House w it's own in-house photography studio. I did jewelry set ups from the designs the art department sent back to us.

They knew I had a background in it; so when the Art Director went on vacation...guess who got dragged up the big hallway to the physical front part of the company (photography was in the big 2 story high room in the back) to do the p/u & m's. Ugh! 🙄 😑 😄
Actually I think I designed one small several page "catalouge". 🤔 Other stuff might have been semi-prepped by the AD before he took off.

I worked as the artist at a commercial printer and not only did some logo design, page layout, illustration and pasteup, I learned commercial camera operations, stripping,proofing, even some plate making. I became a journeyman after 4 years.

It was a fun place to work, out of about 12 employees in my dept. only two of us were women and since it was union, we made the same money as the guys.

Cool - you learned just about all the jobs involved. AND got paid the same as thecguys. Union, yes!

🤔 I think i might have mentioned in Art College I took a course in photo lithograph commercial printing. We went from our college down to one of the then printing houses areas, not too far away. Great teacher, part, or full owner of the company!

In Art College ('70-'74) doing some graphic design, or photo silk screen stuff I'd get the Kodalith, and sometimes strip in with the transparent red tape various items. Then tilt the Big air vacuumed frame up vertically, adjust the vertical rods on either side in front of the frame, walk away and turn on the Arc Lights! BRIGHT!!!

It was replaced not long after I started there. Made you feel like you were in Dr. Frankenstein’s lab!

I did one silk screen project in college.

Fun times!

Lots of people would have no idea what we were talking about! 😄

Instead, worked in disability advocacy for 40 years including in Washington, DC.

I hope my work aided many people and communities. Many good lawyers and advocates provide important services everyday to reduce discrimination and barriers disabled individuals and families.

Not nearly as much fun.

and wanted to turn professional when I graduated from high school, but along came military duty and marriage. After my Air Force days, I spent most of working career as an office worker and thoroughly enjoyed it.

office job to enjoy.

usually had very nice co-workers, and bosses!

until I realized I had the grace of a hippo.

...would have been, had I realized that such a job exists. What a blast it would be to design toys for kittens and puppies, and then watch them play to see which ones they like. I can't imagine ever having a bad day at work if that were your job.

Born in 1951, when the usual choices for girls were nurse, teacher, and secretary. My mother and her mother were both nurses. I always liked science and animals, and started college as a biology major thinking I might like to study animal behavior. Switched to nursing, and had a largely happy career as a pediatric nurse practitioner from 1976-2021. Didn't care for in-hospital bedside nursing - not enough independence.

like you , I didn't have a whole lot of choices.

...that I feared I had made a career mistake. While I was in nursing school, it was pretty obvious that the med students were held in high regard for their intelligence, much more so than we were, so I decided I would finish the nursing degree and then apply to med school. I made the mistake of taking 2 semesters of organic chemistry in summer school right after graduation and only got a C. Back in the early 1970s, organic was the "make-or-break" class - if you didn't get an A, no school would even look at you. It scared me off.

My first nursing job didn't seem to care much about what I knew, just how fast I could move. How many bed baths and bed changes could you get done on the morning shift before the breakfast trays came up from the dietary department? Not much of an intellectual challenge.

The NP role offered me the independence and problem solving opportunities that my brain craved.

needed an A to get into Medical School. He also took it twice--same grade. He ended up getting a PhD in Chemical Engineering. But he still wishes he was able to get into Medical School.

One of my sister's longtime friend is. She's retiring a few years.
Glad it went rmostly well for you.👍

Idk if it would make you sad...but maybe you should design some toys now for your own fun.

...and civilian private practices doing well child care and sick visits. What I meant by independence was I was the one to see the patients without any involvement of my physician colleagues - take the history, do the exam, order labs if needed, make the diagnosis and choose the treatment. There was always one of my doctor colleagues in the office seeing their own patients, and available to me if either I or a parent felt the need for a quick second opinion if something peculiar was found.

I liked being the one to basically do the detective work of figuring out what was wrong and what to do about it without having to wait for a doctor's orders telling me what to do.

...were new heart murmurs that no one had previously documented. I never had any extensive cardiology training, so I didn't feel comfortable being the one to decide on the level of seriousness of a murmur. I have excellent hearing, so I was really good at hearing murmurs, some of which were so faint that my colleagues often referred to them as "Martha murmurs" because they were so faint they might not have noticed them.

"Bad" murmurs usually sound bad, and with the very faint ones I was usually 99% confident that they were not serious, but there is no good way to say "heart murmur" to a parent, without seeing a look of terror appear on their faces. I thought parents appreciated having the additional reassurance of one of my docs also listen.

But I would have to have had a piano in the tower so I could practice. I figured that would be a problem so I let it go. But it was a nice dream.

who has done the fire lookout tower things for a decade or so now.

I took six years of Modern Dance and my instructor (who studied under Martha Graham) thought I had potential. But one year I thought horseback riding lessons would be cool and the folks said "pick one."

In retrospect, I think I was too naive for Broadway... and would likely have been taken advantage of.

Thank you for sharing with us. Nittersing.

One of my first memories is of watching the last Moon landing on TV in first grade. I told my teacher that I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. She told me that I couldn't, because I was a girl. (Hey, it was like 1971.) I've always been interested in space and science fiction.

There's this little "fear of heights" thing that would have disqualified me. I always wanted to work at NASA. But, I went and worked at the organization with one less "A" in the name.

"But, I went and worked at the organization with one less "A" in the name"
😄 👍

We're the same age - 72. So like in 6th grade or so she expressed that desire ..

The response? :
"Silly, girls can't be astronauts.".
😬 For her, and you!

Instead, I ended up in the restaurant business, waiting tables, tending bar, etc. for 24 years. I decided to go back to college and pursue my lifelong dream of being a teacher but after a few classes, for some reason, I just lost the spark for it. I became more interested in the law and thought being a paralegal would be interesting. I signed up for the first introductory class to see if I had an aptitude for it and I was hooked. I sailed through all the other classes until I got my degree. I couldn't get enough of it. So after 26 years of being a legal assistant, I retired. If I had to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would've gone to law school and become an attorney. That never even entered my mind when I was a kid!

I still have the utmost respect for teachers.

I still would like to be a cowboy, but I'm a little old to start learning how to ride a horse.

At least until my aunt, my nurse idol, talked to me about it. She told me there was more to it than caring for people. She explained that the career included long hours and body fluids. That kind of put me off.

teacher.

...and other substances that gross most people out.

Health care careers are not for the faint of heart.

As kids we romanticize things, and I loved and admired my aunt. She knew I wasn't looking at the career honestly and so hit me with some truth.

Switched job categories when the job wasn’t fun anymore. Best decision I ever made.

Engineer.
Teacher.
Tech SME / Consultant.

Most gratifying jobs were the lowest paying:
Youth counselor.
Rural home repair/ rebuild.
State technology director.
National technical service.

Saw too many work jobs they hated but developed a lifestyle they couldn’t afford. Many ended up with dis-functional livers, OD’d or basket cases.

Sea mammals fascinate me and studying the universe…. just wow!

And I was lucky enough to be able to do that job for 20 years

I wanted to be a dancer in the chorus line on Broadway. Mind you, I didn’t dance.

but my wife says Democrats aren't allowed to be one!
Dang!

... like my grandfather. I assumed that too.

In college I decided I really didn't like hanging out with engineering students, nearly all men, so I changed my major to evolutionary biology which really wasn't a practical career move. I later got a job as a science teacher, which is how I met my wife, so it did work out well.

Teaching was the hardest job I've ever had. I had a lot of trouble "reading" the kids so I had to be really strict and I didn't like it. I wanted to run an easy-going classroom like some of the teachers I remembered fondly, and as my wife did, but that takes a lot of skills I don't have. I couldn't discern what minor mischief could be laughed off as opposed to misbehavior that would cause a class to spiral out of control so I had to be heavy handed about ALL mischief, which is not my nature. It didn't help that the school was underfunded, overcrowded, and a lot of the kids did not have much security at home, a few of them even homeless.

Later my wife was accepted to the graduate program of her dreams in another state and I followed her. After that, besides being the stay at home dad, I've had work reflecting my technical skills, which is sort of like being an engineer I suppose.

would.

In college, thought about switching to dentistry. Even took the DAT. Got a 29, with no section below 26.
Did one interview at Loyola (the school I ended up at for graduate school in chemistry).
The interviewer really turned me off. He made the biggest deal about a B+ in Literature, keeping my GPA below 3.95.
I was so turned off, I purged the idea and went back to what I had planned.

Lived my dream. Did have a job at a big corporation that included lots of different things. I put my ADHD to work and always had other side side jobs. Real Estate sales person, store owner, college student, and in sales.
Retired from that main job 23 years ago and still doing a lot of stuff, some things that pay too.
No regrets.

For an Arts organizatipn for ?2 yrs or so bc my sis vworked there, and liked my stuff. Did the designs, illustrations, and paste up & mechanicals, and also a neighborhood non-profit 4 page arts newsletter for which I did all of the above as well for a year.

Never in the glorious color I wanted to do. Took around a thin ink (Rapidiographs) outlines w watercolors portfolio. O bites. Actually, there may have been a colored pencils, and water color one first. Then got inspired by someone, and heavy pressed colored pencils onto colored papers using that a background color depending on subject matter. That didn't work out either.

I still get quite sad about it on rare occasions, then mildly sad relatively more often.
But never gave my art up at home
So I guess that's something postive to be said about my creativity that way.

please,

I did do some good stuff for work. So I should give myself some credit.

I plan to try some painting in acrylic after I buy a few more colors, and some vetter brushes. I'll have to be very patient with myself (ha!), though as to the results.

practice...Practice...Practice!!!
patience...Patience...PATIENCE!!!

Ohhh, boy. 🙄
I don't know ow how "relaxing" it'll be as I'm still more critical than I should be, but less critical than I was waaay earlier on.

One "artistic foot" in front if the other. Hopefully determination, and some fun along the way to improvement will keep me going however off & on it is.👍

Me and my siblings grew up in a house full of art and artists.

My parents never advocated a profession or trade that would might prove especially lucrative, only those that left time and energy and enough spare change to pursue one's own art and interests.

In college I remember all the students in engineering or pre-med biology classes whose families were putting tremendous pressure on them to be engineers and doctors. I think that would have killed me.

And how interesting how they approached the "day job dilemma". Lucky for you! 👍

Some of my aunts, and uncles appreciated the visual, and other arts! Several of my cousins had various art, art related, or photography jobs.

Warning: waxing poetic. 😄
One aunt was an incredible wood printmaker in B&W, and multi-colored prints. She did the ?reduction method" for multi-colored prints.
Instead of multiple wood blocks she'd print the color w the biggest area first, then carve away for the next one etc.
She was so fantastic! Did etchings, several small run children's books for various ages. Later even collaborated w one of her kids. 🤔 I think she did the line drawings, and he added color on the computer. She also did some wonderful paper cut outs. Multi-talented!

She invited me to make art for 3 werks, and paid for the trip to her and my uncle's beautiful house in a small West Switzerland village by the Jura Mountains. She had a gigantic art studio! 🥰 It was anazing! I still have all the art I did.
Bc she had parkisans, my uncle stated doing the cooking some years back. He became quite good! One my favorite things was him bringing local, and even just over the French border village cheeses! Love cheese!

And she took me, and one of her grand kids to Paris for 4 days - bc I asked if I could take a day trip by train to Paris! She'd/they'd been there a fair amount.
This was my first (probably only, and that's ok) trip to Europe.

The Lourve, Museum Or'say and a museum dedicated to some Monet's biggest Watelillies paintings! The Musée de l'Orangerie. Omg, was besides myself w amazement, and joy!

Almost 10 years ago. What an adventure!!!

You must decide how many prints you are going to make before you start the second carving.

Yeah, that's what I want, an art studio in Switzerland! Just as there may be somebody in Switzerland who wants an art studio in California. ( Well maybe not until Trump is gone... )

I enjoyed your waxing poetic. Thanks for your reply.

and then one of our dogs got hit and died and I couldn’t handle it.
I was 10.

number one. I wanted to be a pediatrics nurse. Then I found out I had to an amount of time in different parts of the hospital, I just could not do it, Thank you my friend for sharing with us.

The scale tells me I may have made it.

As a career, not promising, for a 14-16 yo kid, pretty great.


And I worked in recording studios for 20 years. That was pretty good.

I like bug, insects and such!

It’s a consolation

Instead I joined the Air Force where I met my hubby. I separated and became a stay at home mom until my youngest started 1st grade. Then I went back to college and became a logistics Coordinator. Now I’m happy retired.

I saw a caboose today. Tomorrow my wifeand I are going to see some lighthouses.

the the machinery operator that filled railroad cars with grain. For some reason, positioning the chute the grain slides down into the railroad car and then filling it fascinated me.