This profession can be absolutely brutal and the only thing that sustains those that finally make it is the passion they brought to their pursuit from the start. If that fire is not there to begin with, this career is probably not for them and trying to convince them otherwise does no one any favors. The path to the majors is littered with the disillusioned souls who spent a lot of time and money only to find out it wasn’t what the brochures said.

Kids have more access to information on their cell phone then we did with weeks of library research and Clinging to a fence at the local airport. To suggest that females and minorities don’t have the wherewithal or interest is an insult to them. The information and role models are a keystroke away. Financing via G.I. Bill, or student loans, is more accessible than ever. Who knew the government would take over student loans and then come up with a plan to forgive the first $50,000.

We are going to need every pilot we can get in the coming years (until we get automated out of the flight deck). I am all for providing more access and financing opportunities, just with the caveat that the candidate must show interest first and that every effort be made to ensure standards of performance and experience are retained.