Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Young Adults - The 20-Something Club What Do You Want to Be When You "Grow Up"?

I think it's very interesting seeing the different career paths of folks my age who suffer from the same or similar ailments. While we were all told growing up, "You can be whatever you want to be!", we have to face a harsher reality much sooner than most of our peers, I think. We have to consider our limitations, and potential future limitations for the near future, not just for retirement age. I think most of us still have the chance to do great, enjoyable, rewarding things with our lives, but we may have to alter our plans as time goes on.

I'm chugging along toward 2 separate but related career paths. I have a fairly broad degree plan based around a mix of art and technology. I'm gearing it toward both graphic design and photography as much as possible. I'm already a Jr. Graphic Designer part time for a retail company and I lovelovelove it. That being said, I love it even more when they assign photography tasks to me. Despite my title and being the youngest and perhaps weakest designer, I'm also the strongest photographer in our art department, so a lot of product photography gets thrown my way. I eat it up.

I want to keep building my design portfolio and resume because I think that's more likely to provide steady employment and I enjoy it too, but running my own portrait/wedding photography business full time is my dream. I have 3 weddings under my belt, and 4 more booked in the next 4 months. I love it. I love the adrenaline rush, I love capturing all the unbridled emotions on wedding days... but I do hate how my body feels after 8 hours on my feet with that much adrenaline pumping the whole time. I'm bad about ignoring my aches and pains in the moment, putting myself in bizarre positions to get the perfect shot... and I pay for it.

I think I can still make it work though. If I'm eventually shooting 35 weddings a year, I think if I get a comfier office chair for the many, many hours of editing in between, it will be doable. I'll have to commit to no more than one wedding per weekend for recuperation. Get the best weight-spreading camera strap, and the most supportive shoes. Maybe develop a style that doesn't incorporate the very heavy zoom lenses, or only sparingly, with a tripod during ceremonies or something. Hire a second shooter for the things I can't/shouldn't do. I will face physical challenges that most photographers don't, but it's my dream, and gosh darnit, I WILL make it work.

If you're not already on your career path, what are you considering? If you are into your career, what adjustments have you had to make?

Photography sounds like so much fun! I just got married and my photographer was great. I think that would be exciting to do but I don't have a creative bone in my body! It sounds like you know what your limits will be when you get on your own so that is good. I would say don't give up on your dreams and you just have to believe that you can do it which it sounds like you know this! Just try different ways that make you the most comfortable and also it will be nice that you can do your work whenever it is best for you..sounds like the editing can be done any time of the day. Good luck to you!

I think I picked a good career for myself. I am a dietitian at a hospital so I am sitting at a computer for some of the day then I walk around to see patients then I am back at the computer so I get to mix it up with sitting/standing/walking which works well for me. I do type a lot because we do computer charting but this doesn't bother me yet. When I am up and moving around I like to stretch some too.

My career has many job opportunities in lots of different environments and I know that if I needed to change where I work I could find something that gives me the flexibility to move around more or do different things throughout the day. I think that moving around a lot helps to keep me loose and I'm not sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day which helps with the back pain. I am going to look into getting some kind of support for my back I can put on my chair for when I am sitting just to help because some days I do get tired of sitting. If we have a slow day, I am more confined to my chair so I think that would help.

I hope that everyone can find something that they love to do and are able to work around the pain and this disease because I am happy with what I do and I think that makes a difference.

Britnee, that does sound like a good career fit with this disease. I have definitely regressed rapidly in my condition since I quit my retail/food service job where I was a shift leader- on my feet the vast majority of a shift, but with some respites at the back desk for counting tills, etc. Luckily, I do a lot of the "grunt work" so to speak for our art department. We do all our own printing, cutting, mailing etc. for the signs for our 100ish locations. When I can't handle sitting any longer, I knock out one or two of the more hands-on tasks at the standing-height production table. My boss had the company buy me some gel mats, so standing to cut signs and such is the best pain reprieve I get at work! The repetitive nature of the task is amazingly good stress relief too. :P

geez, mary you sound like your at the perfect ideal place that i would love to be in. im jealous! but in a music setting instead ofcourse. im happy you found a way to work towards your dreams with this horrible disease anyways. you give me hope!

but yeah, what i want to do "when i grow up" is go into the music business side of things. i want to eventually own my own studio and have a place where i can help people that are interested in music and have mentors available to help them out and tons of internships and what not. eventually work towards owning a small label or imprint from a bigger company. something along those lines. that is my ultimate goal/ dream!

for my career plans, i want to start out as an audio engineer. i want to go to school for it and work from there. ideally i would love to be staff at a studio where ever i end going to school. that would be sick . or you know do free lance jobs here and there. whatever i have to do really. i just want to be able to create music or help people create music for a living! its a tough business and super competitive but its also a very broad and you can do tons of things and still be in that field. so ill be happy either way really. as long as im doing anything that has to do with music and all that goes with it, ill be happy.

What I've wanted to be has changed over the years as my disease progressed. I've always been fond of reading and actually rather good at English, but I never thought I could make a career out of it. Before I got "really" sick, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist and work in conservation.

I went to college for about a year and had a huge flair, so now I am not in school. What I do want to do is go back as a part-time student and work part-time as well. I want to major in English and maybe be an editor or do some light writing.

I went to school to be a Medical Transcriptionist until I could figure out what I really want to do.

I did get a job and worked as an MT for 2 1/2 years but in July for many reasons, including a major flare that nearly incapacitated me plus ignorance on my company's part, I had to quit. Now I am really confused as to what I'm going to do....we shall see! Right now I am working on getting my health together and then I will see what my options are.

Good luck to everyone on their dreams!

I want to be a chef; thats all I've ever wanted to be. I've worked very hard to get to where I want to be. I did a 6 month externship at one of the top 5 restaurants in Manhattan, I worked 18 hours a day, six days a week, and I have a job offer from there upon my graduation in November. But when I was working their for my externship I did not have any symptoms of AS; I was for a breif moment in my life pain free(just got under control my very severe case of TMJ which caused horrible migranes, jaw pain and neck pain), and the next summer I was dx with AS and I've been trying so hard to overcome my AS and beable to realize my dream. But everyday I think more and more how I never am going to beable to do this and that I'm going to have to alter my career path. I've finally willed myself to talk to the career services people at my school, I made an appointment for this week so we'll see how it goes.

I LOVE science and experimentation. So I thought it would be really cool to become an astronaut. I am sure that most of you can see the flaws in this great plan of mine! Ha Ha

I had a fantastic physics professor who suggested that I become an engineer. Well I didnt even know what that meant. I thought he was telling me to drive trains! When I finally caught on I went to the aerospace department and filled out an application. Long story short I switched again to mechanical engineering and have my feet firmly planted on the ground now.

I went from wanting a career in space to having a career in new buildings that are being constructed. I am on construction sites about 60% of the time looking on large pieces of equipment and testing them. The other part of the time I have reports to write.

I am in the process of considering going part time due to my disease level. This is a very hard choice for me to make since I am so young. I didnt think I would have to make this decision ever! I thought I would be working full time until retirement but I guess that there are other plans for me. I just dont think I can keep pretending that this doesnt affect my job. I love my company and hope that they will understand when I tell them what I need.

I just dont have the energy and mental clarity needed. Anyway lots of things to consider.

Sunshine, I know it's a totally different industry and would require extensive retraining, but my software engineer husband has always said that many of the best engineers he has worked with came from a mechanical engineering background. It's more the thought process and problem solving ability that makes a good software engineer, I'm sure just like in other engineering industries. Just a thought. The hours are still brutal, but it's definitely a less physically demanding job. My husband has worked remotely from home for the last 5 years. It's an industry much more open to remote employees than most.

Of course, he's told me I'd make a good software engineer but coding makes me want to gouge my eyeballs out with a spork, sooo. Yeah. Not for everyone.

When I "grow up" (I think technically I'm already there :P) I want to be a farmer.

I've tried several job paths but I'm just not happy working for other people. Or the same thing day after day, six months of the same thing five days a week and I'm sooo bored lol

I'm hoping to get a loan soon and start raising beefers on my Dads farm and eventually getting my own farm. Hopefully with the more automated feeding programs I can do it.