Ask great questions - you never know where they might lead you

Once a year I go into our local secondary school to be quizzed by groups of Year 10 students about my career. How many GCSE's did I take? Which A levels? Which degree? What did I want to do when I was their age? How many jobs had I had? Why did I change jobs?

Each group of students would ask the same questions and each group would get the same answers:

- 12.
- Maths, physics, geography.
- Civil Engineering.
- To be an architect or a civil engineer.
- 6.
- For more money, for more experience, to change career direction, to become my own boss.

Until...

One young lady asked me if there was anything I'd wanted to be before I'd wanted to be an architect or civil engineer. GREAT QUESTION. Because, of course, the answer was "yes". When I was nine, I'd wanted to be an astronaut.

They looked at me. "An astronaut?".

"Yes", I said. "Neil Armstrong had just set foot on the moon, and I wanted to be an astronaut. But there were two problems with wanting to be an astronaut in 1969. Firstly, the UK didn't have a manned space programme. And secondly, the two countries that did - the USA and the USSR - only took people from their respective airforces.

"So I couldn't be an astronaut.

"But you could be..."

Puzzled looks. Sideways glances to their friends. And then a light bulb moment. Because, of course, they could be, if they really wanted to.