Originally Posted by
ChrisH
Become a game tester, and you can stay at home and play your XBox 360, and fly your 150. I don't know how much that pays.
Truthfuly, I see the point you are trying to make, but I disagree with it. I know plenty who are pilots who make a good living, and it makes them happy doing something they love. Becoming a pilot does not destin someone to a life of poverty, at all. Becoming a pilot has as much, or more income potential as almost any job. Going into another career, isn't going to guarantee money, any more than becoming a pilot. I guarantee if first year FO pay at the regionals wasn't so low, and people didn't focus on that, to refer to this as a $20K job, then you wouldn't see near the complaints. rickdb and I both have friends/family in the industry, and both of us are getting a completely different story than the one told by the negatives of these message boards. It is nice to hear both sides, but there are two sides to every career, not just being a pilot.
I am open to the idea of other careers, in the event that flying for a living doesn't provide what I want.
I have known lots of happy pilots. They may be happy now but times change, people change and companies go under. I too was once a happy pilot however the industry has changed and so have I.
As a father and husband I need income, security and some QOL. It use to be that by the time a pilot reached 30 or so you had something to believe in. Right now there are a few thousand guys on the street with family's to feed and a wallet full of type ratings and no where to go.
Just because you know a few pilots who are happy does not mean that they shall remain that way. All it takes sometimes is a few small changes from management to transform a dream job into a nightmare.
Skyhigh