Originally Posted by
RemoveB4flght
You mention a desire to avoid drama in your working environment. While I’ve seen enough YouTube cop cam videos to have a sense of what a patrol officer comes across on a given shift, working for an airline, no matter how prestigious the name on the tail is, is far from a drama-free experience. I have the benefit of a very nice schedule and lots of days off, and there are still days with operational issues, passenger difficulties, weather diversions, maintenance delays, and all the other things that keep you on your toes.
I've worked in several other fields, mil and white collar, and have plenty of buds from the mil reserves who are cops... FBI, Deputies and everything in between.
Airline aviation is essentially zero drama compared to most other careers.
In the old days I did used to intervene in the cabin, usually with the intent of smoothing feathers, talking down down BOTH an FA and a pax, avoiding delays, and getting everybody where they needed to go.
Not anymore, after all the youtube and twitter shenanigans 99% of airline pilots just stay in the cockpit, lock the door if necessary and call for customer service and LE if needed. Goof off on your phone will other people deal with drama.
Drama with cabin crew? Don't date them, avoid most of them on layovers, and be nice to them. Even the ones with chips on their shoulders who are looking for drama. Nasty FA ignores your request for coffee, etc? Grin and bear it. The bad ones cannot pick fights with EVERY pilot they fly with or they won't have a job.
White collar office politics is toxic, and you usually have to play the game... if you get outmaneuvered it can sideline your career, or get you on the layoff list (there's ALWAYS a layoff list, and the economy will turn south eventually). It's simply unavoidable, and the sociopaths thrive in it.
LE is treading a very fine line between getting shot, getting jailed for murder, getting fired and losing their cert, and getting sued for everything they're worth. Go online and watch videos of all these entitled, outraged karens who try to turn every routine traffic stop into a kent state massacre and federal civil rights case.
Originally Posted by
RemoveB4flght
My point is that while there are some opportunities today that may not have been available more than ten years ago, it’s still the same job it was back then. Jumping from cessnas to Spirit shouldn’t be the deciding factor in your decision. We could have blue airplanes by the time you are eligible to apply. Outside events have shifted the course of this industry multiple times throughout history, and they will again at some point. Make sure you consider all possible scenarios and your contentment with one’s that may not go the way you would prefer.
Yes, make sure you have more than one path to success.
Also if you're going to do it, get on with it and hustle... the retirement wave is peaking, and the current unprecedented opportunities will not be available for too much longer (it probably won't stop suddenly, but rather taper off into the next decade).
Don't make the mistake of thinking it's safe to stay at a regional, despite the astronomical pay raises, that business model is in serious question. If you have 25 years are are 59 years old OK I get it. But under 40 (or 50) with no seniority skin in the game needs to focus on majors.