我的皇家空军梦

by Katy Jones

Science is so exciting. You learn something new every day！ Both of my parents work in chemistry. I have grown up with science and never really found it boring， so Ive always dreamed of using this to help me find an exciting job.

Over the past few years， weve been advised to focus on choosing subjects that would lead us to the right university and our future careers. As much as I love academia[学术环境]， I dont think university is the right path for me as I would like to enter into something that guarantees[保证] a career at the end， and not just a job.

I had already decided to study BTEC注1 Applied[应用的] Sciences， P.E， Drama and Maths at A Level注2， but when I was looking for courses on the web with my mum， I stumbled across[偶然发现] Women into Science， Engineering and Construction.

科学让人如此兴奋，你每一天都能学到新的东西！我的父母均从事化学行业，我从小就在科学的氛围下成长，从来不觉得它无聊，所以我一直梦想着靠科学找到一份刺激的工作。

在过去几年，我们得到的建议是要认真选好科目，以便日后能升读合适的大学，找到未来的职业。尽管我喜欢学术研究，但我觉得大学并不适合我，因为我希望接下来深造的地方，最后能确保我得到一份能够作为事业的职业，而不仅仅是帮我找到一份工作而已。

我已经决定学习英国商业与技术教育委员会（BTEC）的应用科学课程，以及普通教育高级程度的体育、戏剧和数学课程。然而，当我和妈妈在网上查找课程的时候，我碰巧看到了“女性参加科学、工程学及建造”计划。

They offered the chance to spend a week with the RAF注3 to learn about engineering. And there was a lot of information about technical roles for a young woman within the Air Force.

None of my family have ever been in the armed forces， but this is the kind of exciting career that I want and not the nine-to-five daily routine of working in an office.

So I applied[申请]—alongside quite a lot of people—and was the only girl chosen from my school. We were asked to write about our hobbies， interests and career ambitions[雄心] and entered into a tough selection process[过程].

It helped that I was already on the school hockey team， tennis team， athletics[运动] team， because they werent just testing our brains. I was so excited when I found out Id got through！

Ive heard the usual stereotypes[固定的形象] of what the RAF is like and that it is a “mans world，” but I wanted to see this for myself—and Im glad I did. Its not every Thursday afternoon that you get to sit in a real life Harrier jet注4.

While we were there， we discovered how the fast jets and helicopters work， and we even got to do some hands-on engineering， by removing the flaps[副翼] from a jet aircraft， and also by designing and building gliders[滑翔机] with three-metre wingspans[翼展]. This was no ordinary school trip！

The week was fantastic， and the experience has definitely changed me.

My plan now is to apply to be a pilot， possibly a fast jet pilot， like some of the female RAF Flight Lieutenants[空军上尉] that I met. I want to travel and see the world， but see it from a different perspective[角度].

他们提供机会，让参加者在皇家空军体验一周，从而学习工程学的相关知识。那里还有很多适合年轻女性的空军技术岗位信息。

我们家还没有人加入过军队，但这个刺激的职业正是我想要的，它不是那种坐在办公室、朝九晚五的工作。

于是我报了名——一起申请的还有很多人——我是我们学校里唯一选上的女生。我们按要求写了自己的爱好、兴趣和职业抱负，然后进入严格的筛选过程。

我之前参加了学校的曲棍球队、网球队和田径队，这帮了我的大忙，因为他们测试的不单是我们的头脑。得知通过选拔后，我激动得不得了！

我听过人们对皇家空军的种种成见，说那里是“男人的世界”，但我想亲眼看看——真高兴我确实做到了。不是人人都有机会在每个周四下午坐到真正的鹞式战斗机上哦。

在那里学习期间，我们明白了喷气式飞机和直升机的工作原理。我们甚至动手参与了一些工程方面的工作，如移去一架喷气式飞机的副翼，还有设计并建造翼展三米的滑翔机。这可不是普通的学校旅行！

那个星期太美妙了，这次经历无疑改变了我。

我现在打算报考机师，很有可能是喷气式飞机的机师呢，就像我在皇家空军遇到的那些女空军上尉一样。我想环游世界，看看这个世界，但是是从不同视角去看。

注1：英国商业与技术教育委员会（Business & Technology Education Council）的简称。

注2：英国普通教育高级程度证书（General Certificate of Education Advanced Level）是英国（不包括苏格兰）的普通中等教育文凭，供16至19岁的学生修读，通常为期两年。

注3：英国皇家空军（Royal Air Force）的简称。

注4：一个军用喷气式战斗机系列，能够垂直/短距离起降。