I was flying with a captain recently who told me his son wanted to become an air traffic controller. He asked me what I thought the young man should do to prepare himself for that career, but instead of giving him a direct answer, I told him a story.My very first job, one for which I actually received a paycheck and had taxes withheld, was at a restaurant. I was in high school and employed as adishwasher at a local pancake house. At the time I was also learning to fly, so every bit of my $1.50 an hour went toward the rental of a Cessna 150. I did my job and kept my mouth shut—which for me was a big deal—and I was eventually promoted to short order cook. There were a number of positions I would eventually learn in the kitchen, but the first position I had to master was the pancake grill. It didn't take long.
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