If I were doing it all over again, I would be...

If I were doing it all over again, I would be...

Either an orthodontist, a geologist, a Porsche mechanic, or a firefighter (sooner, 18-25).

What would you be?

(Kids: Consider this a public service announcement)

I would first try pro auto racing. Then when I failed at that, I would go into music education.

Edit - It would seem useful to also know what people do now. I'm an engineer.

If I wasn't going to be a mechanical engineer, I would want to be a professional soccer player or race car driver but I am lacking the skills to do that so I guess I would still do what I am doing.

Hedge fund manager. Be retired by now with my own track, big ass garage and lot's of vacations

Cooler and better looking?

bravenrace wrote: I'm an engineer.

I tried that, but it didn't take.

Auto painter. Aftermarket specifically. Love paint and colors. Putting together an artistic design and laying out on that metal for the world to see... that's something special.

In 1961 my high school guidance counselor encouraged me to go to a business school in Pittsburgh to study a new field called Data Processing. This was based on the results of some tests I had taken.

My father went ballistic. I was going to a college not some @#$% buisness school. So I went off to college and became a shop teacher.

Today Point Park Business School is Point Park University. And after 28 years of teaching I got an AA in Data Processing from the local community college and got a job as a Programmer/Anaylst.

I often wonder how my life would have turned out if I had done what the counselor recommended.

I wanna be an actor I'm a cube dweller for a large ins corp right now.

I would have done better research to find out engineers don't design cars - designers design cars - engineers just make them work. And with that knowledge I would have focused more on arts and getting into the correct design schools (probably in CA) to get into some sort of automotive design studio.

Instead, I went to engineering school and despite seeing the misery that was to be my future and dropping out to try journalism (more misery, less pay), I still ended up back in engineering.

I'd go back and not be a stupid, lazy teenager. My life would be a lot better, I can tell you that.

I'm an auto tech and the only thing I wish I got into earlier in life is racing. Whether it be part of a pit crew, R&D, or just catch a break and get a spot in the driver's seat when they found out how awesome I am/was behind the wheel

Having a wife and kids kills any thought of packing up my E36 M3 and following a race team around the country/world.

If I could still have my wife, baby, same friends, etc., a gigging geetar player, a race car driver, or, I dunno, any number of jobs that pays 7 figures. I'm pretty happy right now. If I can get my business expanded to the point where I'm on the way to 1% status, I'll be even happier.

One of my very, very few regrets in life is not pursuing a career in art or music more diligently. Lesson learned. I will foster my children's interests.

In reply to Woody:

Single.

I would have worked at Dell when I was 16 (1996) for company shares and not money, live with my parents and all that stuff for 5 years. Then I'd sell it all in early August of 2001 and invest it all in Google when it went public. I'd be a Billionaire.

Maths...
Dell in Nov. 1996 was at about $5 per share, available to employees at $2. We'll say I was getting it at $7 averaged for 2 years. We'll say that's 4,200 shares per year x 2 years. Well Dell split Dec 9, 1996 [2:1], Jul 28, 1997 [2:1], Mar 9, 1998 [2:1], Sep 8, 1998 [2:1], Mar 8, 1999 [2:1]. That doubles my shares each split. Dell also maxed out around $60 per share around August 2001. So we'll just say I had around 25,000 shares before the splits. That comes to 800,000 shares after the splits. That's $48M. Google opened at $85 per share. That didn't last long, so we'll say I got them at $100 per share. That's 480,000 shares of Google. Google is at $609 per share this morning. That means I'd be worth $292,320,000. Not quite a billionaire, but you get the drift.

I would be in a different field of engineering, but still mechanical.

I guess there were a couple of things I would do different, even though the career turned out OK in the end:

• Ignore the naysayers and try to get into film school
• Probably looking at learning a trade that seems to have a perpetual shortage of tradesmen.

bravenrace wrote: In reply to Woody: Single.

Funny, I was gonna say "not single". Spent too much time working my butt off, traveling the world, staying up all hours of the night to make deadline... and here I is, a crazy cat lady with a fleet of busted old cars.

I wouldn't change a thing...because I wouldn't have what I have now.

This one is sadly very easy for me. I would have kept my damn appointment to the Air Force Academy and been flying balls-out in F-22 Raptors right now. Sigh

I would have wised up and decided engineering ain't worth it and gone to nursing school first.

After receiving the wisdom upgrade via the 2x4 of knowledge.... Probably finance. I was interested in business back then, so learning how to manipulate money probably would have been a good choice.

I'd have gotten in to the world domination thing earlier. I'd be ruling a good part of the world by now if I hadn't given up on the The Ascend2Heaven Ray Gun© to go work in factory automation/instrumentation and ended up a code monkey (software engineer).

Become a math genius and taken/passed all the Actuary tests and enjoyed naming my salary in any number of industries.

JFX001 wrote: I wouldn't change a thing...because I wouldn't have what I have now.

This.