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How about creating products that help improve people's lives? You get a decent paycheck and fulfill what you want to do. It's what kept Steve Jobs going. He wanted to improve life for the general population at an individual level.
Easier said than done. Outright stealing is the norm. You have a window of about 6 months to perhaps a year to actually make any money on your little idea before someone steals it. After that, you better have something new in the pipeline. Creating the idea is half the battle anyways. When it comes to manufacturing your goods, it's all about how cheap and efficiently you can make it. Actually making something is the easiest part. And patents don't mean crap, and they are extremely expensive to defend. Once an idea makes it to China, where patents aren't recognized, your idea is no longer yours, and you will see very little financial reward after that. More than likely, you will loose more money than you will ever make.
Basically, I realized long ago, being the little guy anyways, creating products just doesn't pay. Some get lucky, usually for small little trinket ideas that are simple, yet marketable. I've had more luck making high end products on my own time and selling them. For the cost of the material and my time, I was basically working for about minimum wage, but it's still something I enjoy. It's a loosing battle when a company in China can make a product cheaper than I can even buy the material. The system has been rigged against us in the States for years. That's why all the common household items say "made in China" on them, and for the most part, the idea was actually born here in this country. If we ever have a free market again, I would invest more time, but these days, I can do much better at my own job.
Easier said than done. Outright stealing is the norm. You have a window of about 6 months to perhaps a year to actually make any money on your little idea before someone steals it. After that, you better have something new in the pipeline. Creating the idea is half the battle anyways. When it comes to manufacturing your goods, it's all about how cheap and efficiently you can make it. Actually making something is the easiest part. And patents don't mean crap, and they are extremely expensive to defend. Once an idea makes it to China, where patents aren't recognized, your idea is no longer yours, and you will see very little financial reward after that. More than likely, you will loose more money than you will ever make.
Basically, I realized long ago, being the little guy anyways, creating products just doesn't pay. Some get lucky, usually for small little trinket ideas that are simple, yet marketable. I've had more luck making high end products on my own time and selling them. For the cost of the material and my time, I was basically working for about minimum wage, but it's still something I enjoy. It's a loosing battle when a company in China can make a product cheaper than I can even buy the material. The system has been rigged against us in the States for years. That's why all the common household items say "made in China" on them, and for the most part, the idea was actually born here in this country. If we ever have a free market again, I would invest more time, but these days, I can do much better at my own job.
I hear ya. I'm in software, so I don't think about all the additional things to consider with physical products. With software, you can develop in parallel, prototype ideas, and test markets so cheaply. As a result, i don't consider it an obstacle. And "Made in China" doesn't mean the same thing with software, lol... especially since once you get it write, you just copy it.
Many of us haven't quite fulfilled our dream career yet. We're hoping that we're still on the right path and that your journey will eventually get us there.
1. What do you currently do?
2. What did you originally want to do?
3. If different, what do you want to do when you eventually grow up (figuratively speaking, ofcourse)?
1. I own various small businesses, but my core job is software consulting.
2. I originally wanted to work in computer forensics.
3. When I grow up, I want to do research in Human-Computer Interaction (either academically or in the private sector).
1. Stock broker.
2. Coffee ship's owner.
3. Pretty childish but when I'm around 13, I want to become the ruler of underground. Well, no one force you to take a loan shark or use drug or gamble. So if you decide to do that then take responsibility of your action. Of course, I will make sure the client can at least qualify on something because needlessly killing is bad for business. I can organize crime, give job to poor people, create pressure on the corrupted government about insurance, tax and most of the things that can give everyone at least a decent life to start with. Ideal of mafia world. I should move or born into Russia instead of Asia, lol.
Many of us haven't quite fulfilled our dream career yet. We're hoping that we're still on the right path and that your journey will eventually get us there.
1. What do you currently do?
2. What did you originally want to do?
3. If different, what do you want to do when you eventually grow up (figuratively speaking, ofcourse)?
Currently: work in education at a zoo, educational consulting, taught high school science for 17 years
Originally: doctor, then science teacher
Future: more informal science education-get more time at the zoo, work at a science museum as well, work at or own a company that does science parties or animal parties for little kids
1. What do you currently do?
2. What did you originally want to do?
3. If different, what do you want to do when you eventually grow up (figuratively speaking, ofcourse)?
1. I'm an unemployed investment manager
2. Film Production or sports announcing
3. I just want to make enough money to support a family and eventually retire. My situation is a disaster, so at this point, just stop the bleeding.
Many of us haven't quite fulfilled our dream career yet. We're hoping that we're still on the right path and that your journey will eventually get us there.
1. What do you currently do?
2. What did you originally want to do?
3. If different, what do you want to do when you eventually grow up (figuratively speaking, ofcourse)?
1. I own various small businesses, but my core job is software consulting.
2. I originally wanted to work in computer forensics.
3. When I grow up, I want to do research in Human-Computer Interaction (either academically or in the private sector).
1. Part-time work providing social, cultural, and correctional services to young offenders. It's not very solid in terms of hours...
2. Ever since I was a child I wanted to be a Novelist. I still want to be a novelist, and would love to create a best-selling book. The latter probably isn't too likely, but I think the former will happen in the next 2-3 years. I've already got one book finished, but my real bread and butter "hopeful" is still in the works. I feel good about its chances. With regards to my degree, i wanted to work as a probation, parole, or community officer.
3. marine biologist, farmer, philosophy professor, or Secret Service Spy.
[quote=NJBest;22011482]Many of us haven't quite fulfilled our dream career yet. We're hoping that we're still on the right path and that your journey will eventually get us there.
1. What do you currently do? Proposal Coordinator (sales support)
2. What did you originally want to do? Marketing Manager
3. If different, what do you want to do when you eventually grow up (figuratively speaking, ofcourse)?
Growing up I wanted Beyonce's job. I wanted to sing, dance, act, write, produce perform. But I had terrible stage fright and decided on college and a "stable" career instead. Probably one of the biggest regrets of my life because I am so unhappy, lost and confused career-wise. I think in the end, I am not cut out for corporate America.
1. Translator (English/Persian)
2. Physician while growing up but then decided I don’t want to sell my soul to the medical system, then a therapist but then decided I don’t want to deal with other people’s problems, then a linguistics researcher but didn’t what to sell my soul to academia, then a translator/interpreter.
3. Free-lance American Sign Language/English interpreter for the deaf-blind and tutor for blindness and deaf-blindness independence skills
Never had an idea but wanted to save the world in some way. Couldn't do algebra, which cut out a lot of ideas (vet, ecologist).
Loved house design and carpentry, was terrible at both.
Lucked into an editing job and didn't know how to or want to parlay that into a journalism career (from which I'm sure I'd be quite laid off long ago).
Ended up working in mental health, and looking forward to retirement, or at least maybe part-time with benefits in three years.
Dunno what I'd like to do after working for so long to make a living. Do nuthin' as long as I felt like it to learn if I can be self-motivated. I'd like to do something helping animals or rescue groups (besides adopting multiple old mutts as I do now). Might like to teach ESL or tutor literacy but only as a volunteer, that is, want to work with refugees and not foreign students.
I love geology and geography and have no idea how to be involved in that except my current chosen path, which it to take horseback trips in the Mountain West on vacation.
There's no earned living in anything I really like, or I have no skills in areas that I really find of interest.
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