Tell Us About Your Childhood Dream Job and We'll Tell You What Job is Perfect For You as an Adult!

By: Zoe Samuel

5 Min Quiz

Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

As kids, some of us dream of changing the world, others of working with people, and yet others of avoiding people in favor of numbers. Some want to be creative, others prefer things more predictable. Tell us your dream, and we'll tell you what adult job might make it come the most true!

Did you dream of ordering others around?

Yes, I wanted to be an Air Force pilot.

No, I wanted to be a lumberjack.
No, I wanted to be a painter.

Yes, I wanted to be a theater director.

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Did you want to be creative?

No, I wanted to be a general.

Yes, I wanted to make video games like King's Quest.
Yes, I wanted to make movies.

Yes, I wanted to be a con artist.

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Did you want to change the world?

No, I wanted to perfect it.

I wanted to change the way we interact with it.
I wanted to change the way it looks.

I wanted to change the way we think about it.

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Did you want to work with people?

I wanted to tell people what to do all day.

I wanted to be away from people.
People, but also heavy equipment

I want to work with new people every day.

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How about numbers?

I'll use numbers to work with people.

All I care about are numbers.
Numbers are important to many jobs, but they aren't the point.

I don't care about numbers.

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Did you want to make a lot of money?

Money was all I cared about.

I would like a steady living.
I don't mind as long as I'm in the union.

I don't mind being poor.

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Did you want to disappoint your parents?

I wanted to impress my father.

I wanted to impress my mother.
I wanted to disappoint my mother.

I wanted to disappoint both of my parents.

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Did you want to outdo your siblings?

Yes, I must crush them!

No, I will never measure up to them.
I would like to, because we were competitive.

I was an only child.

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Did you want to get out of the office?

No, I wanted to get in.

I wanted to work in a warehouse.
I wanted to work out in the world.

I want to work anywhere and everywhere.

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Who was a hero of yours?

Ivan Boesky

Bill Gates
Martin Scorsese

David Copperfield

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Did you want to travel for work?

Yes, I did.

No, I did not.
I would travel sometimes, sure.

I would go anywhere to achieve my dreams of being an Astronaut-God.

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Did you want to be a freelancer (if you knew what that was)?

Yes, it affords freedom.

No, I wanted to be a cog in a big machine.
I'm not sure if "want" is the right word.

No, I wanted to be a prophet.

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Did you want a steady job or one with lots of variation?

I wanted both.

I wanted steadiness.
I wanted variation.

I wanted cyclical variation.

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Did you like computers?

They were useful for getting term papers I could copy off the internet.

I loved them.
They were okay, but I liked to be hands on.

They were cool, but not cool enough for me.

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How about building things with your hands?

Not really

I liked building computers! Does that count?
I liked building things with wood and metal.

I liked building little things.

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How innovative were you?

I think I was very innovative.

I was very creative in the areas where I applied myself.
I stick to the script.

I break all the rules, every rule, all the time.

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Did you mind being uncool?

I mind.

I don't mind.
I care a bit, but not much.

Cool has no meaning to me.

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Did you mind not having a lot of friends?

No, because my friends are quality over quantity.

No, because it has always been that way.
I like to have a lot of close friends.

I like to have a lot of friends who barely know me.

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Were you smarter than the other kids?

I sure thought I was.

I was.
I thought I wasn't, but I was.

I was smarter than the adults.

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Did you use humor as a defense mechanism?

No

Yes
I tell one particular kind of joke when I feel stressed out.

I use humor as an offensive weapon.

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Did you watch a lot of movies?

No

Only anime
Only the big Hollywood movies

Loads

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Did you ever put on Mommy or Daddy's suit?

At every opportunity

No
Just their work boots

I put on their hats.

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Did you want to be a hero?

I did.

I just wanted to be Bill Gates.
Tesla was my hero.

No

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Did you play on any sports teams?

Football

No
Volleyball

Wrestling

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What about other teams like debate or chess?

Debate

Chess
Robots

Comic books

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Did you play an instrument?

The guitar

The piano
No

A woodwind

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Did you dream of stardom?

No, just wealth

No, just satisfaction
No, nothing of the sort

Yes

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Did you feel sorry for all the corporate people in their matching suits and cars?

Nope

A little
Very sorry

I thought they were all fools!

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Did you want to be president?

Of a major corporation

Never
When I was three years old

Only in high school

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What sort of place did you want to live?

I wanted to travel the world.

San Francisco
LA

New York

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