Originally Posted by
diseda
Skyhigh, I agree that your opinion is valid and appreciate that.
However, I am having a hard time understanding what your objective is. Are you trying to gain assurance or attention to the fact that you are right? Or are you trying to increase awareness?
This is an honest question and is not meant to be negative towards you.
I am struggling with my career choices just as I am sure that many of us here are. I don't regret the path I have chosen however, I don't need someone telling me that I made the wrong one.
I like your cat picture.
Others do need to be told.
Pilots are great at deluding themselves into thinking that the outside world has it the same or worse. They hear people complain about their jobs but then admire their new car, vacation pictures or home that they live in. Pilots live in a microcosm and their thinking gets polluted over time.
After spending most of a decade working up to earning 40K per year pilots begin to think that it is a lot of money when the guy who picks up the trash on Thursday makes much much more.
I think that it is imperative that pilots stop on occasion to survey where they are and where they are going in life to see if it matches with their life plans and expectations. They also need to measure their progress against others in a truly fair manner.
Per Diem isn't Pay.
Over time doesnt count.
The entire and full
opportunity cost of college and training needs to be included in the tally.
Time Away From Base is still work.
Furloughs and layoffs need to be considered.
Base changes and moves are expensive.
Commuting is costly and takes away from QOL and needs to be considered.
Crash pads and food on the road is a real cost.
It is humiliating to be forced to eat Top Romin and other brought food out of your suit case at 33 years old because your profession can not afford anything better.
I am here to say that an average aviation career is inferior, to a large degree, to most other forms of employment when taken in an honest light. I think that most pilots know this someplace deep in their thinking but refuse to acknowledge it.
Skyhigh