Described by chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch as a champion in the making, Pattinson admitted he was surprised to be offered one of 25 Cricket Australia contracts for the next 12 months.
But, having enjoyed a brief taste of international cricket, the 21-year-old is hungry for more.
"I got picked in the Twenty20 last year and the one-dayers and I've been on a couple of Test tours so I'm hoping that I can be a contributor to all forms of cricket for Australia," Pattinson said at the MCG.
"I'm ready to go and play Test cricket right now if the opportunity comes my way.
"It does give you extra confidence knowing that you're thereabouts and in the mix.
"Obviously I'm not there yet, but I've got to keep working hard."
A baggy green for Pattinson would go nicely alongside the Test cap his elder brother Darren received for representing England, the country of his birth, against South Africa back in 2008.
James said Darren, who is still playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire, was one of the first people he called with news of his contract.
"I rang him first to tell him, I was a bit over the moon, but it was five o'clock over there in the morning and he had a bit of a go at me for waking him up," Pattinson said.
"He rang me back a bit later and said 'well done'."
Recently returned from the Indian Premier League, Pattinson worked closely with Brett Lee and Wasim Akram at the Kolkata Night Riders, and his education will be stepped up in the coming months at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane under the guidance of Australia's new bowling coach, Craig McDermott.
"I'm a big swinger of the ball and I try to swing the ball," Pattinson said.
"He did the same sort of thing, so if I can get consistently doing that and follow in his footsteps that would be great."
Asked about Australia's new 'pack' of pace bowlers which includes 18-year-old Blues quick Patrick Cummins, who also won a CA contract, Pattinson said: "I was looking at the contract list this morning and there's only two bowlers that are over 30 and we're all good mates.
"The way the selection panel's gone, they've picked a lot of young blokes in the squad.
"They're looking forward and pushing towards the next Ashes and upcoming series to obviously put Australian cricket back on track and win the Ashes and bring it back home."
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