The Beginning.

My time at the Cegep was coming to an end. I only had a few days left to decide what my life would look like. I had been accepted in both aerospace engineering and physics engineering. Both choices were very appealing to me. On one side, aerospace engineering would later give me some very exceptional job opportunities and working conditions but it would require me to move elsewhere. I would probably have to live in the US. On the other side, physics engineering would open many roads and could bring me into aerospace engineering but it would require a few more years at the university. I had to make a choice, and it was not easy. What if I did not like the aerospace engineering world? Or what if I turned out to hate physics engineering and thus loosing four years of valuable time? Anyway I had to make a choice.

Choice 1 : Aerospace Engineering.

Choice 2 : Physics Engineering.

Aerospace Engineering.

Turns out aerospace engineering was the right choice for me. While studying, it gave me the opportunity to meet brilliant people from different backgrounds. I also had the chance to visit different places and discover that there are many places in the world that has way better ideology on education than us. But that is not what we are talking about. Now that I was done with my degree in aerospace engineering, I had to choose what I would do with it. I already had received two job offers. One from Bombardier and another one from NASA's JPL. The choice was hard. Should I stay in Quebec close to my friends and family or should I leave for California where I could get a once in a life opportunity.

Choice 1 : Building Rockets.

Choice 2 : Making Planes.

Physics Engineering.

Physics engineering: the best of both worlds. Engineering and physics all in the same course. However, this made me ask a couple question on our society: where are all the women. Only 13% of engineers are women. Why is that? This gave me the chance to work on a project that would make engineering more accessible for women and minorities. This was also great opportunity to meet people and discover places. I had the chance to discover many engineering professions. There were two that really interested me but I didn't know which one to take. I had the choice between aerospace engineering or nuclear engineering. I have already seen openings in California for aerospace engineers and in Europe for nuclear engineers. One is far away from home and one is even farther away. Which one should I choose.

Choice 1 : Making Nuclear Reactors.

Choice 2 : Building Rockets.

Building Rockets.

For the first few years, my life in L.A. was wonderful. I was working on designing Mars habitats. We had spent years building and testing different variants. The whole thing was over engineered to withstand the harsh climate of Mars. We had thought of everything. Or did we? The first crew got to Mars and installed their amenities. Everything was going well. One day, I got a call telling us that something went wrong. When I got to the control center, I saw that there was a minor leak in the system that could soon get out of control. We sent instructions but never got an answer. We had forgotten about the critical seven minutes transmission delay between Earth and Mars. On that day every member of my team lost his or her job. Who would hire engineers that overlooked such an important detail? What would have happened if I did something else of my life?

Choice 1 : The Beginning.

Making Planes.

Building planes was a lot of fun, and I was not too far from home. [ Working for Bombardier such a stable and well-managed company I was sure to have a great job security. ](Satire) Of course it was not. After ten years working for them, the company went bankrupt. We all lost our jobs and our retirement benefits. We could easily find new jobs but those were located far away. I am wondering how would have things turned out if I had made different choices.

Choice 1 : The Beginning.

Making Nuclear Reactors.

Living in Europe was wonderful. Working on this new nuclear fusion reactor was an experience of a lifetime. It gave me the opportunity to make our world a better place. However, after a few years the project was over and I found myself unemployed. Fortunately, I found a job at a prestigious research center that should have work for me for centuries to come. Sometimes when I am bored, I find myself thinking: what would I have become if I had gone into aerospace engineering.

Choice 1 : The Beginning.