Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
Most jobs are not considered to be fun yet people seem to survive. It is not the money that makes some miserable but the high stress nature of a job.
Plumbers, garbage men and mailmen have at times a very messy or repetitive job to do yet they seem to do it with a smile. A roofer once told me that it takes three years at any job to get past the boredom and to get your body use to the strain of it. After that it becomes easy to show up for work.
Pilots for some reason expect to have fun at work, enjoy status and to make a lot of money. It doesn't usually work out that way. I have had some very high stress flying jobs but there was no money that came with it.
SkyHigh
skyhigh: I'm not speaking against you, just using your post to build on
You know, it's interesting that pilots will pursue a career field with such determination only to complain about the pay. I wish pilots were paid as much as other professionals (i.e. doctors, lawyers), however we're not. Most of the time money is what you make it to be. Many don't realize that if budgeted and invested wisely a $35k income can reap the benefits of a $60k income. I enjoy every minute of flying even when en-route 4 hours.
Most other people have just fallen into their "careers" (i.e. mailmen, garbagemen, store manager). We have planned and prepared to be where we are.
Also, I'd like to add that pilot pay is better without crazy student loans. Flying will always beat my past jobs (i.e. waiting on tables full of red-neck nascar fans in Daytona who don't understand what a tip is). Most pilots don't even understand hard work, and how good they do have it-regardless of the pay. What if they were still that kid throwing the baggage into the plane, struggling to support a family not even able to afford the time off to go to school to better his income.