February Question of the Month - Join the conversation and receive a badge

Iseward

I always that that I wanted to be a lawyer. When I was in high school I had the opportunity to internship for a criminal lawyer and realized that I really didnt like it. I then went on to eventually work for a government lawyer. Again it wasnt what I was interested in but I always really enjoyed working for the police department. I eventually went back to work at the police agency I started with and that is where I currently am. I love it and it is by far the most fulfilling career.

Jim Wilson

Back in third grade, we were asked to draw a picture of ourselves as adults. I drew myself as a teacher. I even have a Master's in Education. Yet, here I am in IT, at a University, and have spent many years programming. Now I am doing project management and enjoying what I am learning using Smartsheet.

Mburg07

When I was a kid I wanted to be an engineer, my dad was one and it always just seemed soooo cool, as I was growing up I stuck with it till high school where I realized how math heavy it was. I ended up going into a communications degree where I interned working on grants at a farm of all places and just moved on to a job working on grants in healthcare! So nowhere near what I thought id do as a kid but its something that just clicks for me and makes sense and definitely doesn't rely on math skills!!

Bruce Case

Growing up, I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps as an accountant. Even after taking career courses in High School, and getting an early placement job after schools working in the office of a Car Dealership, I was still thinking I was heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, it turned out the Car Dealership ownership was family owned and it didn't take long for me to feel like an outsider. A family friend introduced me to the travel industry. Once I arrived and got an opportunity, I was able to apply my accounting background. Long story short, I went from doing QA type work at an agency, I can say I will celebrate my 40th year anniversary with them -- and now in our IT Department as we find new ways to automate manual processes --> including the use of Smartsheet! Having used Smartsheet for 10-years, I just hope our current financial budget cuts do not eliminate our Smartsheet Licenses --> or I might be looking for a company were I can continue using Smartsheet. Thanks all!

Laura McDonald

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a bank teller. Yes, I sound like the lamest kid ever, but I was surrounded by a family of bankers - my Mom was a bank teller, then a loans officer. My Grandma was a Branch Manager. Many of my extended family were bank tellers. I obviously moved on as I got older, but always knew I wanted to work in an office setting. I got a co-op placement at a local auto parts manufacturer, where I got involved in quality and exposed to lean & continuous improvement and fell in LOVE with it! Move on to after college, and when I was applying to jobs, one happened to be at the local credit union. I applied, and due to my family connections and extensive 'bank' knowledge from growing up being surrounded by it, I ended up getting the job! Fast forward to now, and I'm still working at the same credit union 17 years later, but I'm now a Process Excellence Specialist, with a focus on our branch cash operational processes - my role really has merged my original 'bank teller' goal with my later found passion for quality and continuous improvement - every day I get to work on making sure we have the best processes that deliver high quality to our members.

Angela Rodriguez

As a kid, I wanted to work in beauty industry & I currently work as a Business Analyst who supports Operations & Implementations for Enterprise. I'm still focused on customer experience & love to help create efficiencies.

Christopher Tirro

I wanted to be an astronaut - I know that's kind of cliché - but it's the truth!

I think things changed when I realized I was slightly afraid of heights and physics class wasn't my best. I also found football and got too tall.

Now I manage strategic initiatives and make sure our company is focused on the right projects and resourced appropriately. Not quite the moon landing - but it's still something I'm enjoying!

jfifield

I always wanted to be a neurosurgeon or cardiosurgeon growing up, until I realized in later high school years how bad at math I was (LOL). I then decided I may want to go into business in college, majored in International Studies, & am now in project management with my Scrummaster & PMP certifications. And I LOVE Smartsheet!

Jake Gustafson

As a kid, I wanted to be 1) a professional athlete, because I love sports, or 2) a teacher, because that was largely what I was around and knew. In college, being around a faculty advisor, I realized that 'teacher' wasn't the path for me and I'm glad that I came to that realization. Now I'm do quite a bit of process design, project management, change management, and data analysis, so there are lots of opportunities for training (similar to teaching) to help those impacted gain comfortability and efficiency with what they are executing. I still play sports and love the competition, help coach teams that my kids are on, and am able to bring various aspects of competition and tutelage to both work and pleasure.

Salèha El D.

I always wanted to join the French Army ' l'armée de Terre', and this up to when I was a teenager. At the time, it was not the thing to do for a girl, and because the National Service was not open to women either - needless to say that I had a huge attitude against what I saw as unfair - I got quickly over it and I reviewed my plans.

Now, I am working in the events industry as a Project Coordinator / Continuous Improvement & Change Management.

Lisa Chandler

I wanted to be a Librarian - I used to loan out my books to friends and made a a system to track the items on loan and when they were due back - and fines if they were late! A mindset which took me on to be a Project Manager and bibliophile in adulthood.

Will Jeffords

As a kid, I wanted to be an architect...I loved drawing buildings with fancy stencils and using math to try my best to calculate things to scale, etc.

Now I manage business operations, but I think my approach is influenced by those childhood dreams. I love lining widgets up in a dashboard just-so...and I also get a weird thrill from finding new formulas to include in my Smartsheets! Love seeing all these responses...makes me take closer note of what my own children are doing and thinking these days as worlds are wide open!

Ashley McAdoo

In high school and college, I really loved my Economics classes and I wanted to work for the Federal Reserve Bank. The never happened, but I started improving processes at all the places I worked, and that led to Smartsheet, which is what I focus on now.

Susan Ross

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a lounge or night club singer. Not sure where I got the specific location idea. Today, I'm a project manager at a community college, very far away from the night club scene.

Lauren Dominique

I never had a dream job as a kid, but I did have an appreciation for teachers and veterinarians (until I realized veterinarians have to put animals down sometimes, and that was the end of that for me). Flash forward 20+ years, and I am doing project management & continual improvement work at a non-profit children’s hospital. While none of the three are remotely related, I think there’s a theme of wanting to help others. 🫶🏻