MY DREAM JOB
WRITTEN 10/15/18
After doing some research and contemplating future life choices, I was able to determine my dream job fairly quickly. It's something that has always been in the back of my mind, even while working at many different jobs from the age of 12. Though even before that age I had already been heavily working for my dad on the ranch that I grew up on. Tending to the cattle, horses, chickens, and rangeland were my daily tasks, and I loved every second of it. After doing some self-reflection, I decided that in the future, I want to get back to my roots. So, for my dream job, I would love to become a rancher and be able to tend to my land and farm animals on a daily basis yet again. These next few paragraphs will convey how I plan to accomplish this dream.
Everything will officially start once I obtain my bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University. A few short months after graduation I will be shipping off to the United States Air Force ‘Officer Training School’ in order to become an Air Force officer. My reasoning for joining the Air Force is because for all the years I’ve been in college, I had contemplated what I would do after graduation, and becoming a helicopter pilot is the lone occupation that stayed with me through the entirety of my college career. This decision is easily said, but not quite as easily accomplished. I will endure what seems to be years of never-ending training to accomplish this goal. The main drawback to this choice to become a pilot is that I have to sign a 10-year service contract. This is a tough decision to make right out of college, but I know I’m ready.
Initial officer school will take place in Alabama for 9 weeks of intensive training to make sure I’m fit to lead. Next, I’ll have to head off to flight school to become a pilot. This training lasts around 54 weeks. I don't know exactly where I’ll be headed for flight school until after basic training when they give me orders as to what type of aircraft I will be specializing in. After flight school, I will get stationed wherever the military determines my skills are needed, whether that be close to home in Texas or at an international base in Germany or the Netherlands. Finally, I will humbly continue to serve as a pilot until I’m allowed to retire from the military 10 plus years down the road.
My goal following the military is to move back to Texas and start a civilian career flying helicopters. There are a few routes I could potentially go down when I get to this point. A couple choices at the top of my list would be to fly “med-evac” (medical evacuation) for a hospital, or to fly pipeline and transport for a major oil and gas company. Although, requirements for these positions are slightly different. In order to become a med-evac pilot, I will be required to have at least 2000 hours of logged flight time, whereas an oil company only requires 1000-1500 hours of logged flight experience. Hopefully, this will not be a factor for me because I should accrue plenty of flight experience hours while in the military. Whichever company I end up choosing to fly for, I plan to stay at until I’ve earned a full retirement after 20 years. With that being such a long commitment, I have to make sure to do plenty of research to determine which path will best suit me and my overall life goals.
Finally, after 30 plus years of hard work, I will hopefully be receiving two healthy retirement checks a month, and will then be able to finally start my dream job. I’m going to be saving money all throughout both of my careers in order to be able to purchase a large ranch right by my dad’s in south Texas. The size of ranch I’m looking to get is about 1500 acres. This will be large enough for me to start a quality cattle operation, but small enough that I will be able to maintain it all mostly by myself and with the help of my family. At this point in my career, I will have finally started my dream job.
I have a long hard road ahead of me, but I have a motivated mindset to accomplish the goals that will get me to exactly where I want to be. I’m truly looking forward to joining the military, becoming a pilot, seeing new places, and then flying civilian aircraft afterward. I’ll know that every day passing by is a day closer to me accomplishing my dream job of becoming a rancher. I yearn for the day when I will be able to sit on the porch at my ranch and watch over the beautiful creations my Lord and Savior has provided for me. Until then, I’m going to enjoy every step of the way.