Originally Posted by
JohnBurke
A hundred thousand isn't necessary to become a pilot; not by a long shot.
Many are willing to invest in becoming a pilot.
Not so many are willing to fly for a regional. There are other career paths, generally chosen by the more savvy who don't wish to prostitute themselves for the sake of "hours."
Those who hire on with the likes of Great Lakes know what they're getting into; pick up one end of the stick, pick up the other. Nobody puts a gun to their head and forces them to seek, or accept employment there. People get employed there because they think it benefits them, period.
As for Riverton...there's nothing in Riverton. There are plenty of places in Wyoming where people must drive a fair distance to get a flight. I lived closer to a town that GLA served, but drove the extra distance to hit Cody or Billings, instead. More choices, better service, better equipment, better companies.
That's kind of calling the chicken before the egg. We go to college to learn HOW to critically-think and we discussed in another thread how the human brain isn't considered to be fully developed until about the early 20s or so.
With that in mind, you are assuming someone "does all the research" and "makes all the right choices" before they really have the ability to do it, from a cognitive ability and information perspective. What is happening to a large extent in our industry is people are making the decision to become a pilot before this point, becoming "committed" to that course of action financially, and then realizing the folly of their path, after all the information (aka, "experience") is known.