A.k.a. the job you never applied for
Growing up I wanted to be a primary school teacher, just like my mom. She quickly talked me out of that though (I think being surrounded by screaming kids all day drove her crazy – she’s works at the Ministry of Justice now and deals with screaming adults instead). Then I wanted to become a fireman, a journalist or a communication advisor, just like my dad (who actually was/is all of the above, legend!). After side jobs as a waitress at a Greek restaurant (I still owe them about 300 plates), nurse (rewarding yet heartbreaking), rose picker (boring and painful at times), editor-in-chief of a student magazine (meeting B-list celebrities was pretty cool) and cigar seller (yuk), many years of studying and my first adult jobs as communication manager and later on civilian in defence, I was still lost as to what I wanted to be when I grew up…
Military partner was definitely not on the list of dream jobs though. And a job it is, that’s for sure: it requires a certain skill set, involves executing many organisational, financial, administrative, logistical and social support tasks and entails major responsibilities. After all, if the home-front is not running well, or the relationship is not going strong, or – most importantly – you’re not taking great care of yourself, it is going to have a negative impact on your serving member. And in turn: if their mental state isn’t optimal, their performance out in the field is going to be affected. Particularly during training or deployment that could be disastrous. So even though I never applied for it, and it certainly was not what I wanted to be when I grew up, I most definitely take my Mipa job seriously.
After having been in ‘the job’ for coming up to a year now, I find it comes with many perks including major personal growth, a partner with a hot uniform and sexy six-pack, a stronger relationship and paid domestic flights (got to love them ‘reunion travel’ policies), just to name a few. But probably the most important one is that it finally gave me the nudge to go pursue my actual dream career… When my current manager asked me ”what would you really like to do next year when you guys get your first posting?”. I looked at him surprised, went blank and realised I simply had not taken the time to stand still and ponder what I would really like for me. The focus had 100% been on Man, his training, and the fact that he was starting a new career. But being a good Mipa and supporting Man most definitely does not mean having to ignore my own needs and wants. What a simple but happy realisation! I could be whatever I wanted to be! And after some reflection, I realised what really makes my heart sing is training and educating people. So back to square one: becoming a teacher/trainer (but mom is relieved, as I decided to go into adult education rather than the screaming kids version). I started a part-time study in Training & Education, from which I will graduate in a few months, and will hopefully find a training job when we get our first posting next year. Because being a Mipa is a wonderful, challenging, difficult yet rewarding job, but it’s not a full-time one 😉
PS: if there ever was such a thing as a vacancy for the job I never applied for, I think it would look something like this:
