‘This Is Us’: 5 Times Jack Proved He Was the Best Dad in ‘Career Days’

1. Taking a Desk Job He Never Wanted

We finally got to see what it is that Jack does for a living — sort of. When the kids were first born, he worked construction and seemed to absolutely love it. He had a huge smile on his face at work with his colleagues. As the kids got older, he realized that the family needed more money, so he left the job he liked to work a desk job with better pay. Not every father would take a job they weren’t interested in with no question like that.

2. Dividing His Time Between the Big Three and His Wife

We saw that when Jack would come home from work everyday, he was bombarded with hugs, requests to play and requests for help from all three of his kids. He made sure to always greet each one of them equally and show huge amounts of affection to his wife. Jack clearly became very conscious of making sure that no one in his family felt slighted, especially after the incident when Kevin almost drowned in the pool.

3. Deciding What Was Best for Randall’s Future

When he first found out that Randall was gifted and had the opportunity to attend a school for more gifted kids, Jack didn’t immediately jump on the opportunity. While it may have seemed that the reason for this was because of the extra cost it would have on the family, Jack sincerely wanted what was best for his son. He felt that Randall already felt like he didn’t belong, and placing him in a school with even fewer black kids than the already small population of black kids in his current school might make him feel like he stuck out even more. Jack was very conscious of this and didn’t want to do anything that would make his son unhappy — his number one priority.

4. Telling Randall, “Don’t Be Afraid to Be Different”

Even after he realized that Randall needed and deserved this opportunity, Jack didn’t follow through on it before he spoke with Randall. He made sure to get to the bottom of why it was that Randall was hiding how smart he was, and it was just as he suspected. Randall didn’t want another reason to feel different. Jack handled this beautifully, telling Randall what a great thing it was to be different. He also decided in this moment to stop treating his kids all the same and to focus on and embrace everything that makes the three of them different from each other.

5. Putting His Dreams on Hold for His Kids

After Jack realized that putting Randall in this special school was the best thing for his future, he knew what he had to do career-wise. We saw all episode long that he aspired to leave his job and go out on his own, starting a company called “Big Three Homes” (further proof of how much he loves his kids). Financially, it was a huge risk, especially considering the promotion Miguel was offering him if he were to stay at his current job. Emotionally, Jack didn’t like his job and wanted to do something like this that would make him feel fulfilled. At the end of the day, Jack knew that his kids’ happiness fulfilled him more than anything else would, so he sacrificed his dream and took Miguel’s promotion over going out on his own.