"I am a pastry chef and I have no idea how I became one", is that accurate?

No.

I am pastry chef and I became one by making pastry.

I first practiced making a simple shortcrust pasty using flour, shortening (fat), water & salt. And learnt to vary the proportions of those ingredients "by eye" to achieve the requirements of different recipes, shortenings and flours.

Then I moved on to adding an egg and some sugar to make Pate brisee; and then more sugar to create Pate sucree.

Then I spent ages learning to "roll in butter" before I mastered making Puff Pastry. Then more pain to avoid the pitfalls of trying to do the same with a yeast dough for Danish pastries.

Then I tore my hair out trying to master the art of stretching a simple flour and water dough to transparent thinness to make philo pastry. And went through the pain once more with the different consistency of flour, shortening, egg and vinegar dough to make strudels.

Hot water crust and suet crust came fairly easily, but I still haven't mastered Pâte à Choux. That's pure friggin' alchemy as far as I am concerned.