Alternative Careers

I had a rather useless day at work since my computer decided it wanted a career change and turned itself into a doorstop. The help desk folks did bring me a new computer before the end of the day (and I used somebody else's to get a few things done) but I was still considerably less productive than normal.

I also ran across an interesting meme from qaqaq. To wit:

Say what your current profession is. Then list up to five professions that you might have pursued (due to your inclinations, abilities, whatever) had your life taken different turns than it has.

Defining my current profession is a bit complicated. I'm an aerospace engineer, but that isn't really specific enough. I'm essentially an advisor to a government department. I do some actual engineering analysis, but I also spend a lot of time writing background papers to help our senior leadership formulate policy positions. So I'm something of a "geek to English" translator. On my more cynical days, I tell people that I go to meetings and write email for a living.

As for other professions I might have pursued:

epidemiologist

yarn store owner

tour leader

neuroscientist

book conservator

In case somebody asks, the reason I did not include either storyteller or travel writer in that list is that I do get paid for doing those things from time to time. I will also admit that I don't want to pursue either full time (at least not prior to retirement) because of my unfortunate addiction to a middle class lifestyle.