Originally Posted by
Freightpuppy
That's great. Whatever field you are in I am sure has the same kind of terrible stories that some pilots have. Just because you are happy now, doesn't mean the bottom won't drop out in the future. It's the same thing for me - things are good now but who knows? In any field, you don't really know if you made the right decision until you retire. Can we agree on that?
I agree that nothing is certain in life. However it is obvious to anyone who cares to look that the airline pilot profession has been in decline since deregulation.
Years ago I had to ask myself "why is it that airline pilots expect to earn so much"? The skills are not hard to come by and there are plenty of eager soles to do the job. In the free market wages and working conditions will continue to fall until they reach the balance point at where people will stop showing up for job fairs. I think we have a ways to go before reaching that point.
Real Estate has its market swings but just as sure as the sun will rise eventually it will be worth more. Professions come and go but if real estate takes a huge fall then we all are in trouble. Believe me I wish things were different. It was my biggest dream to become a grand respected and well paid airline pilot, but my motto has always been to understand and to adapt. There is no hope that aviation will return to its highs. Every time the pendulum swings pilots will loose more.
Though I love flying as much as anyone my desire to succeed in life forces me to search elsewhere to invest my career efforts.
SKyHigh