It started furtively – I would spend secret Saturday afternoons near the airport, standing under the ILS towers, head thrown back, watching the lineup coming in to land, staring at the bellies of 737s and 767s and little regional jets as they roared overhead; would crane my neck every time I passed Boeing field, hoping for a glimpse of one of the flagship planes; would skulk around the backside of Boeing, on Marginal Way, tramping around the parking lots, seeking better views, closer contact. I lurked on professional pilot message boards – never having anything to add to the discussion, but loving all that airplane talk.
I’m not sure why I was so secretive about it – I wasn’t buying porn, or conducting drug deals. Maybe it was because it was so far from anything I had ever been interested in before, or because it’s the purview of young men and boys, and middle-aged men, and some women, but not usually women like me – not middle-aged desk jockeys.
But, the thing is, I never dreamed of being a desk jockey. It was what happened when I followed the money, which was the right thing to do, given how little of it I used to have. That said, for me the main reason to make a lot of money was to broaden my range of choices. The money wasn’t the end in itself, and the things money can buy stopped being exciting after the first rush of new wore off.
It was the freedom I was after and after a while I had it – not whole lifetime’s worth, but enough to step back and assess and go in a new direction. When I realized I had some freedom, I started thinking – what do I do when no one is paying me? I write, I ride my bike, I play music and I obsess about airplanes. Of these interests, what could be a living?
Someday I might be paid to write. No one will ever pay me to perform music or mountain bike (really, I’m just being practical here). And then there are the airplanes. What living can be made with airplanes? Well, for one, they need to be maintained and repaired. And, sometimes they have mishaps, which need to be investigated.
So, I am making a big career shift. I am leaving Microsoft, where I have worked for 12 years, and enrolling in aircraft mechanic school. My last day of Microsoft will be March 22. (Yes, THIS March 22!) I’ll start school at the beginning of April and plan to complete the two year program and pass the FAA exams that will enable me to work on any aircraft.
From there, I will go find an airline to work for. But, that’s all a ways away – for now, I am saying goodbye to a great run at Microsoft and getting excited about school. Auspiciously the first day of class is my birthday – and it’s the best birthday present ever!
I will continue working on my fiction, and I promise, if school yields up any interesting stories, I will share them here.
Jennifer Lesher 
I just love that you’re doing this! I am getting so much vicarious pleasure from you living your dream.
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I hope I don’t disappoint 🙂
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Congratulations! I wish you all the best on your exciting new adventure! 🙂
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Thank you Erin!
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Congratulations, Jennifer. Proud of you!
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Awwww, thanks!
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Well done! I wish you all the best. The grandest part is that you are leaving on your own terms with your own goals in mind.
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Thank you Eric.
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This is going to be a fascinating journey on so many levels!
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I agree, and I wonder how much the Lesher genetic material factors in.
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yay, yay, yay.
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Echo, that’s exactly what I have been saying all week.
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Live your dream while yet you may.
Life has no need of reasons.
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Well put.
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All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. -Walt Disney
(I am so happy for you Jennifer! You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. -C. S. Lewis
so…do what makes you happy! Congrats and good luck!!)
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Thank you Tyra! It seems like you have done the same in your life, and it seems to be working out well for you.
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Amazing Jennifer…..must feel great just going for what you want in life! Wish my sister would do the same and jump off that microsoft ship!!! Best wishes…..
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Thanks Aimee! I find people jump off the ship when the time is right – don’t give up on your sis.
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[…] little over a year ago, I stepped off. I had been working at Microsoft, where I had a predictable paycheck and a pretty interesting job, […]
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