(Akiit.com) As a child, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Most of us had childhood ambitions of jobs that perhaps seemed a little out of our reach.
However, making your childhood career dreams come true is totally achievable for people who gain the right qualifications.
The world is very much your oyster and life is what you make it – so they say. The dream jobs we aspire to as children are a window into our passions and talents. Identifying and understanding those passions are key to improving our performance and enjoyment of the jobs we currently do, even if they aren’t specific to the careers we dreamed of as kids.
Our families greatly influence our outlook on life and we often tend to be drawn to careers that beloved family members had, because of their association with them. 
The gender roles that our parents take on at home can also dramatically impact our childhood career choices. Our early experiences as a child can also have a bearing on what we see as the ideal job. Anything that evokes positive feelings and happy memories can lead to a desire for a certain role in life.
For many of us, our childhood notions and ambitions, often end up just being daydreams. However, for some, those dreams really do become a reality.
What you can do to make your aspirations turn into reality?
Get additional training and education
An informal career assessment may show that you need more training to achieve your childhood career dreams. Scope out the educational landscape to see what kind of classes or certifications you should be targeting to land the job of your dreams.
Volunteer
This can be a great way to get into the field that you want to eventually be paid to work in. Look for volunteer opportunities to enhance your skills and your resume, especially if your background is a little short on experience or credentials in your targeted dream field.
Change careers
If you’ve been on a career track that’s taken you far afield of the kind of work you dreamed about as a child, that could mean it’s a good time to consider a career change to get things moving in the right direction. If you’ve always wanted to pursue your daydreams of being a pilot, then you can see about enrolling at a flight school.
Target what makes you happy
We spend a lot of our lives working and it’s all too common for people to ‘live to work’, rather than ‘work to live’. Don’t give up striving for career happiness. If you can achieve a career that brings you satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, then it will improve your life dramatically.
Explore remote and flexible job opportunities
To truly broaden your job search horizons, look for career opportunities that don’t limit you to a specific geographic location. You may find a wealth of potential employers that can move you closer to finding your childhood dream job.
No matter how early you step on to that treadmill, it’s never too late to change the direction that you are heading. Often by thinking back to our childhood ambitions, it can help give some clarity on what aspects of our job that we love and the ones that we don’t.
Staff Writer; Terry Brown