Originally Posted by
johnso29
That's a broad definition that will vary for a lot of people Sky. You simply CANNOT define this for everyone. Your definition of success is NOT the same as everyone else's. You have a grudge against aviation. We all get that. We understand why. But why do you constantly attempt to get people to leave aviation? Do you do the same for other fields? Do you tell the guy behind the coffee shop counter that he is unhappy & needs a new job because he doesn't make enough? Or what about the doctor that works 70 hours a week an rarely sees his/her children? Do you tell them they need to get a different job?
What defines happiness & success in life is different for everyone. That's something you need to understand.
Johnso29,
I believe that most people share the same basic hierarchy of needs. We all need access to the same things in regards to overall happiness and feelings of success in life. My position is that it is possible but not probable for the average person to obtain the basic elements required for a happy life as a pilot.
A lot of the time it seems to me pilots let the years go by without calculating the opportunity cost for themselves only to realize later that they have blown their best years on a dead end. I saw a lot of miserable pilots wondering how they got to that point in there lives. Trying to make amends without much effect.
My aim is to get some to stop and do the math for themselves. I have many converts here and am credited with averting many career mistakes on APC. Aviation wages a high cost to the average lifestyle. Young people commonly do not think about the consequences of an unorthodox lifestyle. They are making decisions when they are young and impressionable that will effect them for decades down the road.
Lastly I write from the perspective of a new career entrant. I don't try to get
everyone to leave aviation. If someone already has a good job at a legacy airline then that is all fine and good. I would not dream of suggesting a change. However if you have a few decades ahead in the profession I would put some thought into a second career now. You never know when you are going to need it.
I could go into greater detail on this subject but I bet that you are not all that interested.
Skyhigh