Old 11-24-2018, 10:30 AM
  #24  
SkyHigh
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Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Default Hi Josh

Originally Posted by GoldenGooseGuy View Post
I appreciate your helpful commentary.

Being out of sync is a good way to describe it. It seemed like while flying, everyone was always trying to get home, but it was an endless negotiation of trying to minimize life disruption and lost time.

Another interesting point you make is with earnings. Many pilots I flew with argued that no job had the earnings potential of an airline career, but there are many opportunities that have a higher income potential because they aren't capped by seniority pay scales of an hourly trade job.

The only area I differ is that I don't miss the flying career. While I enjoyed the camaraderie, coming back to the real world felt to me like returning from being deployed in the military. I've made phenomenal friends in my new workplaces, and the work itself has been more challenging and fulfilling without those level-off career points in the airline where I'd start feeling bored and stale.

It sounds like you were forced out, while I voluntarily left after a solid 6+ years. If I had to guess, that might be part of the reason you're still torn between careers?
Josh,

I too flew for the airlines for six awful years. My last part 121 position was as a 757 first officer. During that time we had to live places we did not wish, lives we did not like for low wages below that of a mailman. On my last day after the company shut down, I was elated and sad.

It seems that an aviation career is closer to a religion than a rationally considered career option. One's association with their aviation persona often exceeds the obvious benefits of a career in the real world. Aviation demands a massive investment in cash, personal risk, low wage years of experience building and lifestyle corruption. It seems that the airlines are well aware of this phenomenon and are eager to exploit it. Until recently they enjoyed a positive pressure feed of zealots who gleefully put themselves deeply in debt for a career that holds a thin promise of ever being able to recover the investment. All these things are obvious to those who care to look.

I have proven to myself many times over that the best path for my family, finances, and lifestyle is through my pursuits outside aviation, so I hold the course. As a business owner, I command my days and most everything I touch or work on. Today I sit in a back office while the staff takes on the heavy lifting of the operation. I own a plane and fly as a corporate pilot and for fun.

However, I still think about my airline dream. As a regional pilot, I noticed that those who entered the career already retired were the happiest. The airlines are best experienced as a working hobby than as the entirety of one's financial support network. It would be fun to go back in that capacity after the kids are grown, the house is paid off and retirement in the bank.


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