The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!
It’s June already, and many people in the UK (and I’m sure other countries as well!) are doing end-of-year exams, which made this topic jump out to me. Over in the forum, Miriam (Facella) suggested we ask about what people’s dream jobs might be. If money, skills, education, etc, didn’t matter (e.g. you could magically become qualified), what would you like to work as?
What would you like to do if you could do anything?
Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I never really knew how to answer, and I guess I still don’t. I’m basically a perpetual student. I started out in English literature, then moved into science, and am currently trying to finish up my MSc in infectious diseases, via distance learning. Next year will be my last year, and then… Well, then most likely I’ll take a break for a year or two, and then study something new.
It’s not that I don’t love the subject—I’ve loved many subjects! And it’s not that I haven’t been good at the subjects I have studied. I just thrive best when I’m learning new things. So if I could get paid to do that, to just accumulate knowledge, that’d be really nice. But if we’re being more realistic, then the actual job I’m most interested in is science communication. It’d weld together a lot of the skills I do have: communication, research, and the ability to understand the science. (As long as it’s biology or closely related, anyway.) Something like writing for New Scientist would be very cool—or writing books like the Object Lessons series or Bloomsbury Sigma…
Anyway, that’s enough daydreaming from me—what about you? What would you do, if you could snap your fingers and make it happen now? We’d love to hear from you in the comments, but you can also write about that on the postcards you write this month!
45 comments so far
I want to be an ice road trucker before everything melts.
I want to be 60 years younger, move to Kenya, and work with the orphan elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Fund.
The words "dream" and "job" don't go together. I mean, if money didn't matter, I wonder who would want to work if they didn't have to? I wouldn't. :) But I'd certainly have tons of hobbies!
Lighthouse keeper - definitely!
I started out wanting to be an airline hostess but my school counselor that’s just a glorified waitress. So I studied to be a veterinarian but realized I couldn’t stomach seeing injured or suffering animals. So I got a degree in elementary education. I loved teaching nursery school most. And in my 50s and 60s I was Miss Vera, story time person in my local library. These jobs didn’t pay much, but they satisfied my love of books and children and gave me room to be creative too. No need to dream on.
I would like to work as a lighthouse keeper far from my country.
I would like to work in an astronomical observatory
I had two and was able to do one of them. When I was a kid, after one trip to Disneyland, I wrote this ride called the Jungle Cruise, where you ride this boat through the jungles of the world and the skipper tells you these silly puns and jokes along the way. I wanted so bad that I would go home and pretend I was a skipper, fast forward to 1997, I got hired to be a skipper on the Jungle Cruise. Worked for Disney until 2006, I also learned other attractions.
My second dream job is to work as a tour guide for the National Park Service. So I'm close, I work for a state agency in the parks. So maybe one day I will reach my 2nd dream job.
After collage I pretty much worked in my dream industry; the music industry, entertainment journalism/ film critic with my own column but I retired at the age of 50 and opened my own art education- teaching academy. So now I am involved in my dream career in the second half of my life.
If I could have any job and it would support my life for sure, I would go back to working as a florist!
I loved making arrangements for weddings, holidays, corsages and boutonnieres for homecoming dances and prom, birthdays and special occasions... I loved caring for all the indoor/outdoor plants we sold too.
Sadly, it's a job that can't pay the bills, so I had to move on from my dream job.
Hi, I was a nurse and changed later on to Recreation Therapist. With all my love, I work my lifework only with seniors who are suffering from memories lose....I like my job BUT my dream job was/is always to be owner from Flower Shop. This job stays a dream because I turned just 60 and like to retire at 65....
A deaf interpreter.
As a child I really wanted to be an Archaeologist or Paleontologist but that never eventuated. When I was older I wished I had gone to University to study History but now I work in Aged care as a carer.
To be honest, I really want to be a rock star with my own band and we can have many tours around the world . Alright, I know it’s silly😂😂and I never talk to anybody!
I will have a exam next year to choose a university, god I know it’s hard, but I still dream of major in Clothes Designing and Engineering in a university.
My dream job is to travel every country in the world and make a journal about my travels! I think being a digital nomad is also a cool job!
An interesting topic, I hope I get a lot of postcards about it :) I would like to have my own small restaurant somewhere in a beautiful corner of the world, by the sea. We would prepare traditional seafood and vegetable dishes for our regular guests and tourists. I would be the owner during the day (purchases, accounts, organization) and the waiter in the evenings, chatting with people and smiling at them. My restaurant would be small, warm, cozy and homely, where everyone knows each other and is always friendly.
Je voudrais être garde-forestier pour replanter des arbres et rencontrer les animaux.
It's interesting to read the comments! I would like to open some kind of tea house
Dream jobs (as I have a few)...
Broadway performer
Opera singer
Deaf education teacher
Saving endangered animals (Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior ship was high on my list in high school)
Own and run a dog rescue shelter
Professional mascot...oh wait. I just retired from that dream job after 5 years. Dreams do come true later in life!
I would love to be a professional singer. (Sadly I can’t sing at all)
A small selection from my list: Museum Curator, Navy Admiral, Chocolatier, Voice Actor...
I have my dream job as an Artist. I can work anywhere in the world! It's a delight to make all my own post cards...you can see them if you want to go to my WALL, then click in SENT! I adapt my art to whatever application is needed. BLISS abounds LOL!!!
I found my dream job at 61 yo. Being a grandmother. 👵 I was a teacher for 32 years and a lot of years I liked it a lot but the last 10 years were a struggle. Now I am retired and can be a full time granny and just love it. 🥰
I would love to drive the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile all over this great country to see the sights and bring smiles to the faces of children and adults who visit.
I would like to own and operate a small bookstore with a tea shop next door. To be among books all day would be absolute bliss!
If everything was possible, I would like to be a dolphin trainer/caretaker, or rescue wounded seals, turtles, dolphins.
My dream job would be a landscape architect - no hard physical work, just making plans and drawings to my liking.
My dream job is to write, coach others in getting in touch with their creative selves, guide people through the practice of yoga (with an emphasis on journaling), traveling, and settling into a cozy cottage somewhere in Europe, probably France or Italy, where I can practice my French or Italian (I'm teaching myself both), meet new people, and embrace different cultures.
Dream job: got it. Weighed down by some administrative and other hassles, but the actual “work” is perfect. See the ad my employer has for me, in my profile. I am truly blessed and thank my Lord.
I think I have my dream job (unpaid as it is) I'm retired, my days are my own, I have a huge Village library to organise so I have 100's of books for my reading pleasure and I get to spend someone else's money to purchase new books all the time plus I get to have a lovely cup of coffee every day at three o'clock. And my mailbox, most days, has cards in it for me to treasure. What a wonderful job!!!
I wanted to be a whale researcher when I was younger, but one of my teachers said something like "everybody wants to do that, you'll never get that job" and that was that, I never tried. I recently learned about a woman who inspires the hell out of me, Ingrid Visser, she is protecting orcas in New Zealand. She tries to free orcas who live in tanks and raises awareness for their suffering. I would love to join her and do whatever I can to support her work.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a repair man! I did this for a good 15 years too, but its a throw away society and all. I made my money repairing scientific equipment, because when the device costs 15M$, folks are still inclined to have it repaired. R&D isn't too bad either. sometimes. like big budget high rollers is awesome. Guys waiting on grant money, or experimental product design kinda sucks, you might be waiting 6 months to get paid.
My imaginary dream job would be to take the little mail carriers to all the countries in the world.🤩
Very sweet thoughts. A dream job would be a guide. But not in one place, but great knowledge about the local country and culture, anywhere in the world :D. And of course, fluent command of the local language would go with that. Or if I couldn't become a guide, maybe then a truck driver
I want my boss’ job,
My dream job since second grade was to be an elementary teacher. When my youngest son turned 10, I graduated from university after 10 years of study with a degree in elementary education. I spent 18 years in my dream job before retiring. Everyday was glorious, my favorite word. That was my class word. My job was a dream.
I am currently working as an economist. But if I had the opportunity, I would like to study brain science at the Serbsky Institute in St. Petersburg. Or become a veterinarian and help animals.
The truth is, I wish I didn't need a job. I can think of soooo many things I'd like to do and work takes away my time, my energy, it just drains me.
But what would NOT feel like a job at all would be, if I were a marine biologist. I would do my research without harming any animals or plants though! It would be very hard to drag me out of the water, once I'm in it!
I wanted to be a writer when I was 10. I am good at writing then. After I grew up, I realized that I might not be so talented as to be a writer. I worked at an international company after graduating from college as a saleswomen. 7 years later, I quit and be a bank clerk now.
Well I think the truth about the dream job is I didn't need a job. I can do whatever I want and go travelling for years.
Being a Gemini I love many things so Don't have one dream job, my 3 major ones are Being a Genealogist, Crerate beautiful paperpads and working in a quilt store surrounded by beautiful quilt fabric and finaly learn properly how to make a quilt.
I would love to work in a library.
I would love to be an Airline Pilot ! And used to visit every country's Post Office to drop a letter ( with cards) to all countries ranking 1st postcrosser respectively.
I can relate with the author. I have two bachelor's and a master's degree. The first one is Teacher education, major in Communication Arts in English, and the second is Nursing education. I finished my masters in Geriatric nursing last year. Right now, I'm working shifts in a hospital. In a parallell universe, I'm working in a library or a bookstore. That would be nice. :)
My dream job, growing up, was to be a feature writer for magazines and/or newspapers. In fact, during highschool and college, I had assignments with my school papers and my favorite function was interviewing those on campus. One article topic for teachers was "What I wanted to be when I grew up (before I ended up teaching X)" and the results of their dreams were often 180 degrees from their eventual reality.
My most memorable encounter with a student was learning how a Chinese exchange student earned his tuition by playing Flamenco Guitar. Talk about a cultural connection!
These days many print newspapers/magazines no longer exist; however I remain curious about people and their passions and find myself "interviewing" those I meet...even through postcards.
I love meeting postcrossers through the Postcrossing Blog.
I already have my dream job. I'm a novelist. But in my dreams, it pays better.
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