In 1975 I decided that there was no future in flying (airline jobs were impossible to get, and who wants a job where you are judged only by seniority?) and headed off to grad school.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I didn't get on a plane until I was 23, after I left Oxford and was teaching at Lucy Clayton Secretarial College in London.
I wanted to be my own boss. I was fascinated by airlines and how I could change travel for the average person. Then I wanted to diversify.
I wanted to be a doctor at one point and I also wanted to be a pilot. I think if you grow up in a dodgy area, reality often beats down those ambitions as you get older. But with me that never really happened.
I learned to fly an airplane, and had my own airplane during the 1960s.
I was a naval officer and aviator. I tested airplanes and got selected to be an astronaut later on.
My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to get myself a job where I could travel. I did it for two years and had great fun.
Eventually I lost the idea that I could have a career. I thought I was too old.
I always liked airplanes, and I decided I was going to go to school to study them.
When I started flying, I realized how enjoyable it was, and flying became my main focus while engineering went on the back burner.
The great thing about arriving at this age is that I don't even care about my career anymore.
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