Originally Posted by
Cubdriver
Maslow was a social psychologist who came up with this pyramid where each level of need supports the next. You have to satisfy the low levels of the pyramid to get to a higher level.
The lowest level of the pyramid includes physical needs, food, rest and the like. Second level is safety and security. If those two are satisfied, social needs may be fulfilled. These are things like having friends, giving & receiving love (lots of love in the case of APC). If those are satisfied then egoistic needs are fulfilled. Ego is subtle and includes developing self-confidence, striving for personal acheivement, receiving recognition from others, being competent in what one does for a living, and in obtaining status. I think airline flying attracts people for this. At the top of the ladder are the self-actualization needs, including realizing ones total potential, continuing your education, developing a creative side, etc.
Lots of posters opposed to SkyHigh. Well, I know plenty of pilots who got divorced due to this job, abuse alcohol due to this job, have a very unsatisfactory married sex life due to this job (me included), cheated on their wives/girlfriends due to this job, miss valuable time with their children due to this job. Is the sacrifice worth it? I thought so for the last 8 years but not anymore. I've given up that my marriage will improve enough for us to make it for the long run. Maybe my wife is not very suitable for this (not an ex FA who like sex for the sake of it, a farmer's daughter who resents her husband for being gone) but I'm not ready to get divorced while raising two daughters aged 3 and 7. In an act of Love and sacrifice she let me make this career change, now we're distant from each other, have little emotional intimacy and very rarely physical. Basically I'm in a sexless marriage with a bitter and resentful overweight spouse. And it's all my fault. Also, I have no time for hobbies and friends, am trying to remodel a house on my days off with my own labor, cause my RJ CA pay doesn't provide enough $ to pay someone to do it without jacking up our credit debt back up to $20K. And we live in low cost of living Iowa, have cars with 100K and 150K miles, have no HDTV, and one real vacation in the last 8 years. And a two leg forced commute, with one post 911 shutdown-furlough. I'm not miserable, but close.
In my case, Maslow has got it down right. Some of the basic needs aren't being met, so the ones at the top of the pyramid aren't being met as well.
I'm trying to get OUT, corp pilot home most nights or back to a mech engr job which would get me out on the factory floor some. I'll always have the memories of airline jet flying, something I have proven myself in, that I've done well in.