How many of you stuck with the career you chose when you first started out!

Count me in on this one. I graduated high school, graduated the Naval Academy and then spent 30 years in the military. Our neighbor was our representative in Congress and he wrote a nice letter of recommendation that probably helped get me a seat at the Academy. I loved every single day that I went to school and then served my country. Today, I doubt if I would feel the same way. So much has changed.

I got to meet and shake hands with Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., Obama and Trump. Each time, except one, I met them in the White House. President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan were the most gracious. Mrs. Reagan gave me a hug and told me I reminded her of her son. I forgot myself and saluted her. Later, General Haig reminded me that I was not to salute the President’s wife. I said “Yes, Sir. The Lieutenant forgot. I apologize.” He was cool with it. I got a little smile and he said, “Congratulations on yor award.”

I never had a lunch like they served us at the White House. I felt like royalty on those days at the White House. General Colin Powell came over to our group and told us some great stories while he was growing up in Harlem. I tried to get him to speak about My Lai because being a student that studied American History and the Vietnam War, I knew he was there, but when I brought up the subject, he told me immediately to “Stand Down,” which meant shut up.
 

I graduated college with a degree in Engineering, and worked for 5o years in Aerospace.
I was never involved in any cutting edge discoveries, but I held a myriad of different types of jobs during my career. There has to be someone out there who is utilizing the technologies others developed.

During college, I worked at a company called Beta Electric, which made high voltage power supplies up to 250 KV. I also worked at Radio Engineering Laboratories on klystron transmitters for over the horizon communications.

After graduation, I worked for Hughes Aircraft on the MA-1 fire control system for the F-106 interceptor. The system used a magnetic drum memory and very small vacuum tubes for logic.

I then worked for ITT Federal Electric as a Field Engineer. This gave me a lot of real world experience in many places in the world. I worked on electronic navigational aids that are still in use today: TACAN, VOR, and ILS systems. I also worked on submarine antennas and had the experience of sailing on 2 Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines.

My next job was with ITT Gilfillan working on the SPS-48 long range radar. My previous experience during summer jobs working with high voltage and high power came in very handy.

Following that I worked as for Electronic Specialty Project Engineer on the ALM-40 and ALM 60 Test Sets for the ALR-20 Countermeasures Receiver for the B-52. I was also Project on a dispensable radar jammer to be used in Vietnam.

After that I worked for Litton Industries on the radar and IFF systems for the DD963 class destroyer. When that assignment terminated, I moved to the Reliability and Maintainability group performing predictions and Maintainability demonstrations.

My previous field experience came in handy in running these demonstrations and interfacing with military maintenance personnel.

Following that I worked for Teledyne Electronics as Project Engineer on the Advanced IFF Interrogator/Transponder for the F-16 Aircraft.

The final company I worked for was Whittaker Electronic Systems. During my over 20 year tenure I held many positions, from Project Engineer to Cost Estimator, to Senior Contracts Administrator. The main benefit from my breadth of experience was I was flexible and could perform many different tasks, which assured my longevity in the company.
 
Started out with a degree and job in Paper Science and Engineering, mostly at the recommendation of my high school science teacher. After 5 years I went back to school to get a degree in teaching math and a Master’s in Applied Math that allowed me to teach math at the community college, which I did for 29 years. I very much enjoyed teaching when I started out, but then less so as technology advances meant more time messing with technology as opposed to focusing on teaching the content. Also, as I aged, I experienced “Ageism” so teaching was not as enjoyable in my last years, but I suppose one would experience that in any profession in this day.
 
When I graduated from high school, that Vietnam War mess was in full swing, and I was close to be drafted into the Army. Instead, I joined the USAF, and was sent to a year of training in electronics. That training/service prepared me for a good career in computer repair, where I spent all my civilian working years. Now, we have a good defined pension plan from the company which supplements our retiree income nicely.
 
Old Salt said:
I won't bring myself into this just yet but I am curious how many of you just knew this is the job/profession I would like to stay with until retirement, when you first started out? And did you change your mind and switched to something else?
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Really great question.
No, I never had a career, just various boring office jobs. I'm glad to be retired.
 
In high school got a job as apprentice butcher after graduation I knew I didn't want to do that the rest of my life. Joined the Navy rose up the enlisted rank as quickly as was possible at the time. Got out of the Navy. From then until 1995 I worked at a variety of jobs, each of those helped build a decent resume. That resume was the key to my leaving a blue collar job to a white collar position. After 23 years with the same company & bored with the position, when offered an excellent retirement package at age 54 I took it & never looked back.
 
I didn't pick a career, it picked me.

Driving around town when I was nineteen, randomly stopping at businesses and filling out applications. Got hired into a machine shop, turned out I was very good at it. Worked hard, took classes, learned a lot, became shop foreman. Thirteen years at that job then I was hired by another company to run the manufacturing and engineering side of the business. Worked hard, made the business a lot of money, eventually acquired some ownership, retired at fifty seven.

No regrets with my career path.
 
As a kid I was always interested in investing and graduated from college with a degree in economics. This was pre-Vietnam, but I was draft eligible. Figured that an employer couldn‘t get too excited about me knowing I would probably be drafted, so I enlisted In the Navy to get it over with. 5 years later I turned down a career, left the military, and got a job with a brokerage firm. The firm was employee owned until it was bought by what had the trappings of the Mafia. A former big shot with the company called me and offered a job with a bank he was then working for. I tore a page off my calendar, wrote I Quit on it, signed it, tossed it on the personnel officer’s desk, and walked out. 28 years later I retired from the bank.
 
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I stuck with the same one from beginning to end - but it was not my original intent. I wanted to get into the science part of NASA so I set out to get a degree in astronomy. But one day, in college, I was walking down a hallway and saw a door with a sign that said "Academic Computer Center". Curious, I cracked the door open to look inside. Suddenly, there was gigantic sucking sound as I was pulled forward into the room - and never escaped. From telephone support to software engineering it was IT for 42 years.
 
After graduating high school I entered college hoping to be a career artist, possibly in advertising and book illustration, or at least in graphic design. Textiles, preferably. A troubled marriage and then becoming a single parent changed everything, including my attitude toward work. Parenting came first. My children's happiness was my only priority. My time and energy and presence belonged to them first, my employers second.

That's not to say I didn't excel on the job. I did. But I was more dedicated to giving my best at home.
 
Started out as a teacher, taught in elementary school for about 10 years, then we moved and there were no teaching jobs on my level. They only wanted beginners at minimum pay. I offered to accept that, but they said the teachers' union wouldn't allow that.

I got an entry level job in this newfangled field called computer programming, and ended up 11 years later as a senior programmer analyst.
 
bowmore said:
I graduated college with a degree in Engineering, and worked for 5o years in Aerospace.
I was never involved in any cutting edge discoveries, but I held a myriad of different types of jobs during my career. There has to be someone out there who is utilizing the technologies others developed.

During college, I worked at a company called Beta Electric, which made high voltage power supplies up to 250 KV. I also worked at Radio Engineering Laboratories on klystron transmitters for over the horizon communications.

After graduation, I worked for Hughes Aircraft on the MA-1 fire control system for the F-106 interceptor. The system used a magnetic drum memory and very small vacuum tubes for logic.

I then worked for ITT Federal Electric as a Field Engineer. This gave me a lot of real world experience in many places in the world. I worked on electronic navigational aids that are still in use today: TACAN, VOR, and ILS systems. I also worked on submarine antennas and had the experience of sailing on 2 Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines.

My next job was with ITT Gilfillan working on the SPS-48 long range radar. My previous experience during summer jobs working with high voltage and high power came in very handy.

Following that I worked as for Electronic Specialty Project Engineer on the ALM-40 and ALM 60 Test Sets for the ALR-20 Countermeasures Receiver for the B-52. I was also Project on a dispensable radar jammer to be used in Vietnam.

After that I worked for Litton Industries on the radar and IFF systems for the DD963 class destroyer. When that assignment terminated, I moved to the Reliability and Maintainability group performing predictions and Maintainability demonstrations.

My previous field experience came in handy in running these demonstrations and interfacing with military maintenance personnel.

Following that I worked for Teledyne Electronics as Project Engineer on the Advanced IFF Interrogator/Transponder for the F-16 Aircraft.

The final company I worked for was Whittaker Electronic Systems. During my over 20 year tenure I held many positions, from Project Engineer to Cost Estimator, to Senior Contracts Administrator. The main benefit from my breadth of experience was I was flexible and could perform many different tasks, which assured my longevity in the company.
Click to expand...
I think we gave some F-16’s to Ukraine. Old technology. The F-16 was quick and it’s maneuverability was good and it was fast enough to outrun a SAM, but I’ll stick to the F/A-18.
 
Went to secretarial school and got a job as a clerk typist and worked my way up to a health claims analyst. At 31 went to college and graduate school and worked as a social worker.

5 years later changed careers after a second master’s degree to vocational rehabilitation. Obtained a PhD before retiring and after retiring taught at the University for 8 years.
 
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