I had visions of a medical career until we had biology classes at school. Then the only visions I had were the bottom of a toilet bowl ....once I had come round of course.
Settled for a career as an auto technician (motor mechanic back then!). I spent 13 years in a garage where I took my apprenticeship, then 12 years at a main dealer as a service manager before being self employed when we bought a fish & chip shop. Had the shop 10 years and had a stop gap of just over 2 years on the phones at O2 (some of you customers are real pollocks!) before moving into banking at the credit card centre of a major bank.10 years there took me up to retirement.
Proud to say that I was never unemployed, always someone wanting a good looking, sweet kinda, honest, hard working lad 
@Cleoriff wrote:Funny thing is @Anonymous, I only went into nursing to make my Mum and Dad proud.
My sister was a teacher, and limited opportunities to me, meant it was a factory, a shop or a cadet scheme in Nursing.
I chose the latter and spent 3 years as a cadet which was part school, part secondment to various hospital depts.
At 18, I then went into nurse training. I loved it more than I thought I would as I had no expectations of becoming a 'Florence Nightingale soothing fevered brows'.
It was a job to start with and then became a vocation....much to my immense surprise.
I am well indebted to the NHS, my small family & me that is so I have utter admiration for you @Cleoriff you will know this Cleo
Me & work ? ... well I always wanted to be a teacher, got my A levels & place at Teacher Training College in Lancaster with Art & Design / Geography as my main subjects ... however ... I just couldn't get the theory, even with extra tuition ... sooo ... back to the family home in West Yorkshire = drifted into office work
Longest period in one job was about 9 years as an Assistant Tax Collector = hated it
After getting married did filler-in types of office work because my then husband was regularly / frequently changing jobs to go up his career ladder as a Landscape Architect / Urban Designer
After divorce & updating my office skills enjoyed having my own office in a firm of accountants as a general dogsbody / gofer for 3 years ... however ... fired on a sick note = 1st I'd presented to the company = via ACAS settled out of court ... the town Business Mafia black balled me from then on 
That's truly awful @Anonymous 
@jonsie wrote:Proud to say that I was never unemployed, always someone wanting a good looking, sweet kinda, honest, hard working lad
So tell us.. how was Soho back in the day?
@Anonymous wrote:
@jonsie wrote:Proud to say that I was never unemployed, always someone wanting a good looking, sweet kinda, honest, hard working lad
So tell us.. how was Soho back in the day?
I went there once, scared the life out of me when I was an innocent 20 year old
@jonsie wrote:That's truly awful @Anonymous
Yeah ... my Mum advised me before I started work to Keep My Own Counsel ... & ... not get involved in any Cliques ... however ... when you don't Toady to the Boss = you just get on with your work, you become an easy target
When I went to collect my things, there was the daughter of one of the Boss's gold club cronies in what was my office ... I shuffled out of the building 'with my tail between my legs' as-it-were
These were people I'd socialised with after work ... but ... I got them where it hurts, via CAB, in their bank account with a bit of compensation money, not enough mindst, but some.
@gmarkj wrote:
....My old boss summed it up nicely - unless you are moving for more money and/or to work closer to home don't do it.
Seems good advice, but I would also add that you do need some job satisfaction 
