Complex Numbers

Rocket Surgeon

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Old.

Oh, sure, I went through the usual list for a kid. Firefighter, astronaut, policeman, Olympic athlete, pirate captain, actor, musician, doctor, spy, whatever.

Then I figured, well, I'll become a writer! That way, I can at least imagine what it's like to be those things.

I did that, in a way, but I've never made a living off it. Not even a dime. Well, a few Gift Points sometimes, and that's nice, but it's a hobby, not a profession.

I don't remember when I first decided I'd become an engineer. Other engineers, you know, they played with Lincoln Logs or Legos or some sort of building toys, and they'd create imaginative things, but I was never that imaginative. I got pretty good at model rockets, though. Which reminds me, I now have less than 2 months to build a Saturn V model before the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Will I do it? Probably not; the kit is sitting there taunting me. What if I fuck it up (again)? I can follow instructions quite well, thank you, but there are artistic aspects to the build that might be beyond me.

I also have a Lego one to put together. That's more likely.

Anyway, I kind of fell into engineering. At first I thought aerospace, naturally, but at the time, job prospects were limited - the government, or a private contractor working for the government. Today, of course, you have companies in the mix, doing their own thing, and that's pretty exciting, but having achieved my primary goal ("old"), it's not like SpaceX would hire me now. I'm not exactly a rocket scientist.

I didn't switch to civil engineering until I was already in college; you only had to declare a specialty after the first year or so.

Well, such is life. As much as they tell you you can do anything, be anything, the truth is, you're limited - and you just have to do the best you can with what you have.