We were lucky to catch up with Lanae Lang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lanae, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Before my career as an Air Force officer, I had a lot of little odd jobs here and there in high school and college growing up. These ranged from lifeguarding, being a swim instructor, working at a hair salon, being a special needs camp counselor, hosting little kid’s birthday parties at Sky Zone, and even Photography!

Even though these were all wildly different, I’m glad I worked all those jobs because it helped me understand people, made me well rounded, and also showed me which fields I wasn’t best suited for.

Lifeguarding taught me how important attention to detail, being alert, keeping up with your training and always being on your A game really is. It’s the difference between saving a life! Being a special needs camp counselor helped teach me patience and compassion. Photography taught me organizational skills, marketing, and the importance of showing up. At my college, there were a lot more skilled photographers than I. But because I was reliable, willing to put in the work, and open to feedback, I was more successful and got more customers than my peers. I was constantly booked out!

All of these things I firmly believe have laid the groundwork to helping me be a successful leader!

Lanae, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I became an Air Force Officer by attending Ohio University on an Air Force ROTC Type 2 scholarship.

I loved the ROTC program and recommend it for anyone that qualifies. It gave me the best friends in the entire world, afforded me free college tuition and travel opportunities, taught me leadership and management skills, and set me up with a stable job after college!

Have you ever had to pivot?

While I am only a 2D LT, my career has already not gone exactly to plan. My biggest advice for anyone looking to join the military is to do their own research and remain open minded. You have to join because you want to serve rather than because you want one particular job. There is always the chance you won’t get the job you want, or the base location you want, or the unit you want.

My schooling and Air Force career has pivoted several times. I changed my major 3 times in college, from Nursing to Sociology Criminology to Communication Studies. And this is okay! Sometimes it takes a little bit to figure out what is best for you.

When it comes to Air Force, I really wanted Public Affairs. I also wanted to be assigned somewhere warm, near a beach. Safe to say neither of those happened, but I’m so grateful for how my life has turned out, and not getting what I thought I wanted ended up being the biggest blessing.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I recommend anyone and everyone to read Rich Dad Poor Dad, the Psychology of Money, The Military Money Manual (for my fellow military members) and Love People Use Things.

These books have been game changers in my personal finance & self growth journey :)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Lanaeslife1