"The Space Bug" is something unlucky people catch when they're young (I caught it when I was 5 years old). It's a bit like herpes simplex, i.e. once you've got it, you're never rid of it. Really unlucky/stupid people are afflicted with an extreme form of this disease causing them to make aerospace their profession. They end up spending too much time in university and then getting paid a fraction of the salaries of .MBAs, lawyers and physicians. Job security is nonexistent. Almost all aerospace engineers get laid off or fired at least twice in their careers. Technical aerospace engineers are among the brighest people on the planet. Managerial aerospace engineers are arguably the most cynical and idiotic. The dreams of space exploration are a bit like reaching the speed of light. You spend your whole life striving for it but never reaching it. Most aerospace engineers love their jobs but are quietly relieved when their children show no interest in airplanes and Space Exploration.

Gary