Originally Posted by
JMO127
Thats a well thought out statement and I agree with some of the items you said. However, think on this for a minute. I know its a 'shocker' but not everyone wants to be at the airlines/regionals/majors or to hurry and get a seniority number. There are other options for folks than going to the airlines. I often reject the notion that if you don't go to the airlines, you somehow make the wrong decision in aviation. Headed down a seemingly negative path as a career choice as it is often said and described above. There are other paths in life that don't go through the airlines. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE AIRLINES. I just don't understand why that is such a hard concept to grasp. I have never been one to chase an airframe or anything else for that matter in aviation. It's not all about the jet and the status of being an airline pilot. Yet somehow, folks like me are viewed as the black sheep in the business by those who choose to go there. If you don't go to the airlines/regionals you are looked down as less educated, less focused on your career, and have a general lack of understanding in life. Currency doesn't equal proficiency. Just my thoughts. It's the other side of the coin.
That's really well put sir. I too have experienced this stigma as a jump pilot. It's obvious many folks in my social circle and in the aviation community find my profession to be inferior to their CFI careers. I'll admit they're making more money than me, and that major airlines like their time more than mine. But I would not trade a single day blasting holes in the sky and chasing divers to the ground in my trusty turbine 206 to sit right seat in a 152 in the pattern with a fresh faced kid. Not for the better pay and better QOL and certainly not because they say so. If I could afford to, I'd love to do BOTH. But I'd pick the jumper dumping over instructing, and I have.