“You’ve got a college degree? What are you doing here?” My coworker Mitch asked me. We had worked together from the beginning, as we started orientation on the same day, and often worked the same hours. He was a very kind person, however not the sharpest tool in the shed. He was a few years older than me, and had a job as a welder for a ship building company. However, during his 3 weeks off of welding, he worked with me at McDonald’s.

“Yes, I know. I have my bachelor’s degree, but it’s in aerospace engineering.” I replied. “It’s a lot easier said than done to find a job building spacecraft, especially when you have no reputation in the field.”

“That’s true, man, but you should at least give it a shot! You want to be stuck working at McDonald’s the rest of your life, when you could be building space ships? I sure wouldn’t.” He said back, trying to encourage me to quit.

A customer at the drive thru window overheard our conversation and yelled at us “Can y’all quit talking about aerospace engineering? Just put the fries in the bag, bro.”

I turned to Mitch, who had the ‘I told you so’ face, and said “You were right bro, I’m done with this job.”

I debated on waiting until the end of the shift to quit, but I decided I’ve had enough of the job, and quit on the spot.

I got home and sat on the edge of my bed for about an hour, thinking. Thinking about what I was going to do with my life. I thought about what Mitch had said, and it made me angry. Not angry at Mitch, but angry at myself for taking so long to realize I was wasting my life away working at McDonald’s.

I got up and opened my laptop, and I immediately saw an advertisement for a space exploration company. I clicked on the ad, which took me to the company’s website: SpaceX. I scrolled through the website for a few minutes, before reaching the bottom, where I found a banner saying “Hiring Aerospace Engineers NOW!”

My heart leaped with excitement. However, I was unsure if this site was credible, so I researched about the company, and did not find much information. I was a bit skeptical, but then I remembered that I didn’t have a job, and so I applied.

I waited. Days passed, then weeks, then nearly a month went by, and they finally responded to my application through an email. By the time they responded to my email, it was already May of 2004. The email had nothing but an address, and a note that read “Thanks for applying. Congratulations, you’re accepted!” Once again, I was hesitant to proceed with the next step in the process of working for this company. Then I remembered how painful it was working 60 hours per week at McDonald’s, and decided to go for it.

I arrived at the jobsite. If you would even call it that. It was a plain white warehouse. At least it is in good condition. As I walk closer to the front doors, I hear machines buzzing, and metal clanking. I put my hand on the handle: What have I gotten myself into? As I opened the door, I received my answer: The best job I would ever have in my life. I stepped into the building, and all of the machines stopped, and all of the metal workers stopped hammering away. A kind, yet awkward looking man approached me and said “Welcome, Thomas. I’ll show you your new office.”

I followed him up a flight of stairs to a hallway with many offices, and he led me into mine, with my name already shown on the door. He opened the door for me, and there is an exceptionally clean office that seemed to have all top of the line equipment, including a brand new computer.

He explained to me my job, and I understood everything he was saying from my college experience and learning. I was supposed to design a spacecraft that could deliver cargo to the International Space Station. I named it Dragon. Over many years, I failed. I failed so many times I wanted to quit. But Elon was always there for me, being the most supportive boss I could ask for. Eventually, something worked. I had the first step to building the spacecraft. Then the next, and the next. After a few more years, I had designed the entire spacecraft, and the workers had pieced it together.

Now there was only one step left: The launch. Everybody at the company was there in Cape Canaveral for the launch. I mean, who would miss it. I was so nervous leading up to the launch, I could not stop shaking. However, when the countdown began, I stopped shaking completely, and the nervousness turned into excitement. The countdown hit 1, and the rocket boosters drove with all of their power, trying to push the spacecraft into the air. It worked! My spacecraft had successfully launched, and later on we received the news that the spacecraft had docked at the Space Station. I helped design something that would change the world, and it was all because of some McDonald’s employee named Mitch.