Originally Posted by
HeavyDriver
I must have done something wrong.
No college...
No debt...
Not a Major Airline...
Been a captain on a widebody since my 20's...
6 figure income for 25 plus years...
Never less than 14 days at home a month...
Took care of my own retirement...
Own my home out right...
3 NORMAL grown kids with jobs and with grand children...
And I'm told constantly how much my career, QOL and airline sucks...
My next door neighbor...in debt, 4th wife, one kid in jail, and works at Home Depot...(Retired from Delta)...don't get me started on the retired United guy down the street...lol
I really screwed up and should have listened to everyone who knows everything about everything, instead of taking responsibility in my own future...
"Luck favors the prepared...darling" incredibles
Sounds like you're the exception to the rule, which is awesome but not typical today. You got on at your airline and started driving heavies much earlier than is possible nowadays. A heavy CA in your 20s? I don't know any heavy FOs in their 20s now. Not bashing you at all, just saying that things are different.
I've got a family friend that retired from SWA that says a lot of the same things you said here. But when I asked how he got there he said "Oh, I just got my pilots license and then got on at SWA." No degree, no crazy interview prep, no volunteer work, no 10 years as a regional CA, etc etc like people are having to deal with today.
The older crowd has a hard time feeling bad for all of us whiney regional guys now, and I get it. But things just don't go the way they did in this industry 25-30 years ago.