Originally Posted by
Itsajob
The entitlement mindset is a big contributing factor, not the only reason. The stepping stone companies have always been a bad place to be. I sure don’t miss the days of sleeping on the floor in a crash pad with a bunch of other guys, the old reserve regulations where you were continuously in rest until they called you so you could start your 16 hour day, horrible maintenance, extremely low pay, fly or you’re fired, failed sim and you’re fired, much harder training, and the list goes on. Even then there was a much larger pool of people willing to do their time because they knew that it would most likely pay off in the long run. Today people don’t want to do that. The pay still stinks and life at the regionals is no bed of roses, but you’re still flying modern equipment, most with some form of union contract, better maintenance, etc. Times have changed. People don’t want to do all of that work and deal with low quality of life in the process. They want good pay, great work rules, and a defined path to the majors. The path to the majors hasn’t changed, people’s willingness to go down that path has. That is where the entitlement mindset comes in.
Calling it entitlement in this case is simply wrong.
Demanding that things be the way they should have been all along is not indicative of a sense of entitlement.
Further-walking to school uphill both ways does not really wash in the real world. It is at best great bar talk for someone who no longer has to make that walk.
Times have changed in more ways than most industry veterans realize. The student loan debt carried by many industry rookies absolutely demands better wages.
As far as doing the crashpad thing and commuting-I remember quite a bit of beeching and moaning back in the day when I had to do it. I guess everyone in that crashpad with me had a a sense of entitlement? Or perhaps we did it and beeched and moaned about it, just like kids are doing now. The difference is social media has made them more aware of options and given them a much louder platform from which to beech and moan.
Please don't put rose colored glasses on when using hindsight. It is a shame to look back on the dues you paid and not also appreciate the beeching and moaning you were most likely doing.