Donnie Gamboa Career Goals

My career goals have changed quite a bit over the years. At the tail end of my active-duty
career, I had every intention of going back to work at a Fortune 500 Company in Corporate
America. Sight unseen, I was receiving dozens of offers, through my LinkedIn portal, from
companies like Amazon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and the like. All of my peers experienced
similar phenomena, and immediately went to work after retiring as Captains from the U. S. Navy.
I, however, was having second thoughts. I was 48 years old when I retired, and my mom had
recently passed away at what I considered to be a relatively young age (for an old person). I
experienced severe nostalgia at how much of life I had experienced in the Navy but realized how
much of life I had yet to experience post-Navy. At 48, I was young enough that I was still
extremely athletic, agile, strong, and healthy, and I didn’t want to spend the next 20 years of my
life doing something that, although it would pay me well, was something I didn’t particularly
enjoy. For the next few years, I embarked on a journey to discover what I was going to do with
myself until my family “put me in the ground.” I stumbled upon CCBC and decided to pursue a
degree in Professional Pilot - Fixed Wing utilizing my post 9/11 GI-Bill. I used my newly acquired
education to become a professional flight instructor in multi-engine aircraft for a few years. I
then decided to pursue Professional Pilot – Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). At this point, my
career goal is to be a professional student. As long as I have funding (GI Bill or otherwise), I will
continue pursuing degree after degree. I have my sights on Law School after I finish up at CCBC.
I have no intention of becoming a Lawyer or going back to work. I have a thirst for knowledge
and skills that may never be satisfied.