Originally Posted by
talldorknhansum
Dang Foxcow...
I am nearly in the same position as you were when you posted this except in reverse. I was going to become an airline pilot in 2011 untill I read too many horror stories about the state of the industry. So I went and got my Masters Degree in Information Systems with an emphasis in software development. Currently, I am working for the state of Hawaii as an Applications Developer and I still cannot get flying out of my head. Especially when I can see the planes pass by the window after taking off from HNL.... I know I have kerosine in my veins. This is not a "what should I do?" post. I just want to know what it was about flying that made you go this other route. I am just interested to find out what the life style is like from someone who doesn't sound vitriolic and bitter. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.
talldorknhansum,
Mostly, it was the volatility of the industry and the schedule. I left about a month before I became a father and was not sure how we would have coped with me being gone so much. In 08 things were looking good. I was in the left seat, gaining seniority until the end of the year. I was downgraded and displaced (lived in my initial base) but fortunately not furloughed (~ 150 from the axe). Commuting was not ideal but I was senior in the other domicile. I was able to bid back to my home domicile but I was super junior and was on reserve. I spent my last year and a half on reserve and my schedule was completely unreliable and folks on reserve are abused pretty badly, but I wasn't commuting anymore.
I had enough experience to go elsewhere but not enough left seat time to go where I wanted. I actually interviewed and was hired at another place but it would have been a lateral move at best. The most frustrating thing about the industry is your experience and seniority is tied to one company. As a captain at one airline, if I choose to go to another company, I would start over at the bottom of the seniority list and pay scale. Its another lever that management use against us.
As an engineer, I work 6:30 to 15:00. I'm home
every night. I can work from home anytime I wish. I am well payed and experience is company agnostic. Also, my relationship with management is no adversarial which is quite a change and I'm still getting used to it.
That being said, I miss flying terribly but there is a lot of baggage thats tacked onto the job that I'm not willing to put up with for how little we are compensated. There is a reason why the industry is having an increasingly difficult time finding qualified candidates. I think managements are aware of the coming storm but will not start to address the problems until they have to (major impact to schedule).
Thats my .02