Number 41

In 1977, Michael left school on a quest for the perfect job. He hadn’t planned on it taking forty years and forty attempts, but he wanted to be sure. This is a candid and humorous account of a rollercoaster journey that would include living in his car and working as a cleaner, to being Captain of a ten million dollar ship running five day cruises out of Brisbane, Queensland. Michael is able to see the funny side of most jobs, even the instant poverty, or wealth, of being a futures trader and making the equivalent of $12,000 an hour - or losing it. Even, a few years later as a 51 year old, standing in the dole queue feeling just like – a loser. At times, his wife and children were confused about what he did for a living – such was the rate of change. The search continued for that elusive perfect job – number 41 – because, after all, isn’t that what we are all searching for?