10 Surprising Facts About Your Childhood Dream Jobs

Growing up to be a firefighter is a classic kid fantasy. Between getting to drive the big truck, spraying the giant hose, and saving people’s lives, it’s easy to see the appeal. But despite their title, firefighters don’t spend all day fighting actual fires. In fact, putting out blazes accounts for just a fraction of their regular duties.

As a retired fire captain told Mental Floss in 2015, firefighters need to act as “plumbers, electricians, psychologists, and mechanics” depending on the scenario. For many situations—such as broken pipes and gas leaks—911 dispatchers default to sending the local fire department. Medical emergencies actually make up the majority of their calls, and today’s firefighters are expected to double as EMTs and sometimes paramedics. They also do rescue the occasional cat from a tree, though not as often as they do on television.

In the latest episode of The List Show, Mental Floss editor-in-chief Erin McCarthy covers one fascinating fact about 10 jobs that many of us, as kids, envisioned as our adult careers. But as it turns out, it can be hard to make childhood dreams a reality. Many a Millennial who watched The Voyage of the Mimi in school dreamt of being a marine biologist ... until they realized that studying ocean life isn’t as easy as befriending some aquatic creatures at the local marina. The career requires a serious science background in subjects like ecology, zoology, and biochemistry. And kids who wanted to be astronauts probably never thought about what it would be like to do a No. 2 in space, which is way more complicated than it is here on Earth.

Watch the full episode above, and don’t forget to subscribe to Mental Floss on YouTube for more fact-filled videos.

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