Make your dream a reality no matter what it takes

Fatima Jakoet, South African Airways pilot, and MBA graduate of Stellenbosch University. A

a pilot, a supermodel … and though she may not have ticked all those boxes, she has certainly already attained a few landmark goals. Now aged 36, Jakoet is not only a 2009

s a little girl growing up in Wellington, near Cape Town, Fatima Jakoet dreamed big: she wanted to be a doctor, a spy,

MBA graduate, but she has also been a pilot for South African Airways for the past five years. And in the days before she took to the skies, she spent six years working as a forensic scientist and crime scene investigator. She smiles as she relates how her unusual career path unfolded. “I wanted to study medicine, but I wasn’t accepted, so I studied chemistry. I worked in the field of forensic science for a few years, but my childhood dream of being a pilot was always in the back of my mind.” While confiscating drugs at a crime scene at Cape Town International

“At the most challenging times, it’s OK to feel despondent. Just don’t dwell on it for too long. Being able to work in a team is as important as being able to finish tasks on your own.”

Airport, she found herself mesmerised at the sight of a Boeing 747-400 close up and told a colleague, “Someday I’m going to be in control of that big machine.” Two years later, in 2001, Jakoet was one of 16 people accepted into a cadet pilot programme and spent 16 months in training in Australia before joining South African Airlink as a first officer (co-pilot). Today she’s an SAA senior first officer flying domestic routes – and she recently added another feather in her already impressive cap by completing her MBA degree at the USB. “I have always been greatly inspired

by a saying attributed to Islam’s prophet, Muhammad: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave’,” Jakoet says of her latest milestone, “When I started flying, I knew I wanted to give back to the community in a more ‘big picture’ way and I thought an MBA would be the perfect grooming tool to sharpen my skills, teach me new ones and prepare me to interact with people at a different level.” First she became a forensic crime scene

investigator, then a pilot and now she is also an MBA graduate. Completing an MBA while maintaining a demanding flight schedule wasn’t easy, but she remained focused on her goal. “My MBA books must be the most well travelled text books around,” she jokes. “I was flying international routes at that stage and I studied during the mandatory rest periods of a day or two before my flight home.” Jetlag didn’t help with her study timetable, though. “The combination of flying and jetlag meant it was hard enough remembering where I’d left my brain, never mind my books!” But graduate she did and Jakoet credits her MBA colleagues for helping her achieve another dream. “My classmates were very supportive and were happy to share notes, pool resources and give me a pep talk when I needed it.” So far, the skills she learned during her MBA studies have helped improve her performance as co-pilot. “ As the first officer, you’re always a captain-

in-training. While the captain makes leadership decisions, you are expected to have the skills to implement those decisions

60 Management Today | August 2011