I’ve been thinking about this lately. I wanted to be a doctor, but my family broke apart in my teens, which affected my mental health and, subsequently, my studies. I worked in construction and as a driver on the side for a bit before replacing the former with work as a personal trainer. Now I work as a bodyguard for a rich kid, which is de facto more of a surveillance, driving, and companionship role than a security one, since his dad has hardcore professionals for times when security is really needed. I didn’t expect my life to turn out this way, to be honest.
As a kid I dead-pan told my mom that I’d like to be a "white-collar office worker. Because I wanted somewhat of a predictable routine without too much unexpected things happening
Considering that this is already my second postdoc (somewhat of a scientist training… intern… thing) “job” (no employment contract btw) within 2 years of my graduation, during which I have moved twice including once across a continent, and once getting work-related anxiety so bad I got sick for a month… I think young me’s plan is preferable at this point