We all had dreams of where adulthood would take us; and for most people the career they have now is not the one they imagined as a kid.
Don't get us wrong, John! We love working here at JH, but didn't know this place was going to exist, so it wasn't in our dreams.
We asked a few team members to share their childhood dream jobs. Let's crack open the JH yearbook and look at what could've been ...
When I was a kid I really wanted to be a forensic scientist. I joined clubs, was obsessed with the show CSI, and loved using microscopes. It wasn’t until college that I realized I was terrible at chemistry and science. Oops!
I was literal days away from becoming a fighter pilot! I grew up at Bear Field as my dad was in the Air National Guard. I was able to be up close and personal with the F-16s on the base, it was awesome. I was planning on going to Purdue University for Aerospace Engineering and from there I was to join the Air Force and start the process of becoming a fighter pilot. But about a week or so before I graduated and set myself on that path, my other childhood passion popped up and I learned I could take a course on Game Design, and the rest is history. Now I work at JH as a Web Developer and fly virtual fighter jets at home!
I wanted to be a doctor. My first post-college adventure was in respiratory therapy, so I kind of got there! After 14 years, I moved on and obtained a few more degrees. Fast forward to now, in addition to my role at JH, I teach to medical professionals who would like to manage a division or medical office so it's kind of come full circle.
I wanted to be an Architect. I focused on math, science, industrial arts, and drafting in high school for this end and had a few early jobs related to this field. I even began to study architecture in college before deciding to switch to mechanical engineering as my major. I did so because I became more interested in designing structures and physics than in art.
At a young age I was interested in sports trading cards and keeping stats for my older brother's teams had me convinced being a sports announcer was a great way to turn something I enjoy into a career! This lasted quite a few years when playing and watching sports wasn't so serious, but as I grew older I realized public speaking was not a love of mine, and this might not be the path for me to continue on.
And now for all the team members who wanted to be astronauts ... we're not kidding, we have a lot of space enthusiasts here at JH!
As a kid, I really wanted to be an astronaut. The original Star Wars was huge when I was young and the sci-fi movie genre had plenty of space pictures. The idea of actually being in outer space was fascinating. Obviously, the job of an astronaut is completely different from my role today, though there are broad similarities. Goal setting, problem solving, teamwork, discipline, accuracy, performance under pressure, and putting oneself in uncomfortable situations for growth are transferrable ideas to what I do today. While not becoming my childhood dream job, I still get my fix as I do still love Star Wars, Sci-Fi, and still want to go to space (which is not completely out of the question anymore)!
Growing up I always thought it would be really cool to be an astronaut; to travel through space and see our planet from that perspective with my own eyes. Set foot on the Moon or another planet in a different solar system, discover life elsewhere. Sci-Fi video games are the closest that’ll I’ll get and that’s ok.
I watched the Apollo launches on TV, and assembled models of the spacecraft that I imagined flying. I didn’t figure that Astronaut was realistic, so I enlisted in the United States Air Force. There, I served in the Space Command as an electronics and computer technician. Later, I worked at Kennedy Space Center as a civilian Network Engineering Analyst. Our workgroup celebrations included Space Shuttle launches! These days, I fly airplanes for fun, sharing my love of flying with kids through the EAA Young Eagles program. I spend my work days up in the clouds, building virtual computers and networks for JH.
While these team members aren't where they expected, we are sure are glad they landed here at JH!
