Originally Posted by chrisreedrules

It's a different generation nowadays... Most younger pilots I see that get into aviation have a lot of help and support from their parents. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just different than many who started out 10 or 15 years ago.

I didn't experience the industry the way many of you did back then. But this is a second career for me. My first career path started when I was young. I had no support from my parents and I apprenticed for a full year with ZERO pay (industry norm) and putting in 14 hour work days. I lived on friends couches and ate off the dollar menu at McDonalds. But you know what? I wanted it bad enough that I made it work. And then when that industry started changing (for better and worse) I saw young kids come in and essentially have it handed to them compared to what I experienced. And it will make you a little bitter.

Times have changed and so has the industry. Change is a part of life. And every generation complains about the one that comes behind it in just about every facet of life. One day the young kids around now will be the old guys, and they'll tell the new guys stories of flying with the old regional CAs who were screwed by the industry and bad timing. And so on and so forth.