Pokryshkin was born in Novonikolayevsk (now Novosibirsk) in Tomsk Governorate, son of a Russian peasant-turned-factory worker. He grew up in a poor, crime-ridden part of town, but unlike most of his peers he was more interested in learning than in fighting and petty crime. His nickname in his early teens was "Engineer". He caught the "aviation bug" when he was 12 years old at a local air show, and the dream never left him. In 1928, after seven years of school, he found work as a construction worker. In 1930, despite his father's protests, he left home and entered a local technical college, where he received a degree in 18 months and worked for six more as a steel worker at a local munitions factory. Subsequently, he volunteered for the army and was sent to an aviation school. His dream finally seemed to be coming true. Unfortunately the flight school was suddenly closed, and all students were instead transferred to be trained as aircraft mechanics. Dozens of official requests were denied with a simple explanation: "Soviet aviation needs mechanics just as badly".