Ever considered dumping your current career for something you’ve always dreamed of?
I think a lot of people who would either jump at an opportunity to join showbiz, or start a business, if only they had the means and the guts (not to mention the talent) to do so. But we all know that these kinds of things have some sort of high barrier to entry in them, and that’s why not everybody becomes a rock star.
But what if those barriers were, all of a sudden, lowered?
A few weeks ago, the Philippine Daily Inquirer published an article where Cebu Pacific talked about how they were addressing the exodus of Filipino pilots for higher-paying offers overseas — that is, by coming up with a year-long training program, instead of the usual four to five years. This is made even more possible by Cebu Pacific’s purchase of a full Airbus A320 simulator, eliminating the need to use their existing aircraft for training purposes.
And the reason I’m excited about all this is that my dream career shift is becoming a pilot.
Ever since my early adolescence there wasn’t a time the home PC wasn’t loaded with an aircraft simulation game. I even invested on joysticks to make the experience more realistic. My obsession was to the point that when playing those games, I always studied how to land the plane manually (e.g., I land the virtual plane by controlling it myself, and not relying on auto-pilot landing), which is probably the most difficult (as well as most crucial) maneuver that a pilot has to perform. I “crashed” a lot of “planes” in the process, but I get a kind of high when I get to do it perfectly the first time.
So why didn’t I pursue flying? Well, aside from the fact that traditional flight school was prohibitively expensive, my vision is rotten as well; I have short-sightedness and my vision is 250/20 on my left eye and 50/20 on my right. I never even brought it up with my parents.
Lots of things changed since then, the key change being laser-eye treatment that is routine these days. And now Cebu Pacific comes up with this scheme — and my daydream is starting to become tangible.
So should I pursue it or not? I’m not really taking it seriously at the moment, but I just might wake up one day and change my mind.
How about you? What’s your dream career shift?
3 responses so far ↓
1 Prudence // Jun 30, 2007 at 2:01 am
I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. It’s the thought process by which a doctor is trained to use is what attracts me to it. But I also want to be a writer. Yes, of course, a popular writer who writes bestsellers! Not all bestsellers are simply about pop culture anyway. But, if given the chance and the time to do so, I’d like to write books and not just books on topics concerned with my profession.
2 Jon Limjap // Jun 30, 2007 at 8:25 am
Prudence,
A prolific writer such as you won’t find it too difficult to write a bestselling book. :p
Now if only someone could give you that break…
Goodluck
3 Prudence // Jun 30, 2007 at 11:07 am
Thanks! Will be waiting for that awesome “break”
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