Originally Posted by
Pac12
Probably the most useful thread I’ve found in a month and a half of searching. I was 22 in 2012, and the spirit of this thread (doom and gloom) was strong. I finished my degree and moved on. I just turned 28 and it seems like a historically good time to start (2012 would have been better but that was hard to foresee). Anyone want to re-evaluate their posts from years ago? Or is it like the one post said a few pages back, “After 20 years, it’s the same BS; great job, bad industry”?
I could do ten lean years (I’ll be 38). Including 2 years to get trained and hired, am I just another poor fool who hopes he might be able to be at a Major before I’m 40? My main reserve is, that while things look so rosy right now, I view this through the lens of 2012 (a career with a terrible future). But I just can’t shake flying, I love it, always have, I’m young and single and the days away from home in different US cities sounds amazing to me, international would be even better. You guys lived through it. Please, impart some wisdom! What do you think about the current state and future for a low-or-no-hour pilot? Are we at the crest now, or were the last two decades just painful flukes?
I'm somewhat older than you and have just started in the industry flying for an excellent 135 operator. Home every night except for 2-3 overnights per month (if that).
To answer your question, I really think things will get even better, simply by looking at the MASSIVE number of retirements on the horizon that will drastically rise in just a few years and not drop off again until the mid-late 2020's.
Even though I'll be turning 40 in just a few years, I am single with no kids and have absolutely NO DESIRE have my own family. I see little chance of that changing and figure if I don't want a wife and kids now, the heavy odds are i never will.
Just like not going to a four year college right after high school isn't that unusual, just wanting to get married and have kids because "its the thing to do" shouldn't be looked upon any differently.
I mostly say that because I've seen what a pain my friends kids are, not to mention how much less free time they have with kids than I do without them. (I love them however when I can return them at the end of the day to their parents
). There is nothing better than coming home from a long day of flying and having a peaceful and quiet house. Furthermore, way too many of my friends (probably close to half) have been in very turbulent marriages that have ended spectacularly badly, so again I'm in no rush for that either.
Because of that, being away from home 13-18 days a month doesn't frighten me too much when I reach 1500 hrs and move onto the regionals. Esp since I live close enough where I can bid reserve.
To answer your other question, I believe that 9/11, age 65, and 2008 recession were the "perfect storm" for creating the worst decade EVER in this business. While there will still be ups and downs, I firmly believe that the down cycles in the industry for the foreseeable future won't be nearly as bad as it was from 2001 to 2012.
Hope this helped without going too far off topic. Best of luck