Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Non Traditional Careers for gifteds

I remember not wanting to rebel against my parents for any reason, being that rebellion was a form of moral evil. At that age, I was aiming for moral perfection more than anything else.

My goal was basically to execute their will and to do what they wanted.

Of course, then they died and/or fired me, so it became a moot point.

My DS7 would like to be a Paleontologist after his career in the NBA.

Baby Knee Surgeon would be an awesome band name.

DD has wanted to be a teacher for a long time, but she also wants to be an ornithologist and an artist, and sometimes, the president.

My wife grew up wanting to be a teacher, but she was discouraged from doing it because teachers are generally "poor".

Now she wants to go back to school for it.

Go figure.

Right now with 2 kids in diapers, and one who is constantly trying to test his mortality, life is too demanding for my tastes. Back when I had one child, I was as excited to go home from work and spend time with her everyday as I used to be to go see a live concert from my favorite band.

Best laugh of the day. Thanks for that! If any of my patients are in need, I'll know who to refer them to ;-)

DD9 loves to do online surgery, too. A few weeks ago I walked in on her performing a cardiac catheterization and overheard her say, "Darn it, he needs angioplasty!" Warmed my heart!!

It doesn't surprise me that there aren't any online lawsuit simulators that kids like to play.

I think there has to be balance of course, between what you love and putting food on the table. But some of the most successful people that we all know and the ones I know personally have found success in their passion.

For example, I always loved nature. My dad always took us to natl parks and hiking, etc. So I was pretty surprised when he discouraged me from pursing a degree in Range Management. He always pushed 3 career options at me...nurse, electrician/computers or engineer. I have wondered often, why not say "Why stop at nurse, why not go for doctor?"

Now that I am a parent myself, I'm not saying you should PUSH them at a non traditional career, but rather give them support and the tools to see how their passion CAN become a rewarding and fulfilling career. Not everyone's idea of success is the same. My husband finds his job extremely satisfying, enjoys the people he works with, but is still super happy to come home to us. Me, I bounced around from job to job, always having the same problem that people thought I was flip or insolent when I used advanced language or tried some problem solving. That is looked down upon in "cog-land". So, I chucked it all and follwed my first love of sewing and fabrics. And while I am not rich, I know I model job satisfaction and career/fmaily balance to my kids. I set my own hours and don't have to worry about performance evals, etc.

I personally know SEVERAL people who are even high school dropouts with very successful businesses, etc.

It's just supposed to be a fun thread about what your gifted kid and how their quirks might make them more successfun in a nontraditional career

FYI-DD8 reports wanting to be an author, illustrator and wildlife vet...so when she keeps drawing and drawing then decides to go to vet school, I will be right there, backing herr up

DD4.5, on the other hand, says she wants to be a "rock star, scientist, super model princess" lol!

I think this is a very sad perspective to have. I have worked at a number of things where I liked what I did, and even when a majority of the actual tasks weren't exactly intrinsically rewarding, I was able to make it interesting, and I've always been able to feed my family. That said, my most enjoyable times working have certainly been when I have worked for myself, and I have pretty much decided that I am willing to sacrifice a certain amount of money to avoid having to work with/under impossible people.

I seriously urge anyone who is interested in deciding on a first career or looking to make a change to take a day to browse O-Net.

Pay special attention to the section on tools. They are available for free download, and link directly across to the occupational titles in the O-Net database.