One morning many years ago, I looked down on a rush-hour traffic jam and mused: "Wonder how many of those folks are really happy with the jobs they're going to?" The wise old Captain said: "5%, maybe 10% at most. We are very lucky."

What percentage of pilots are happy with their jobs today? It's certainly fallen recently, but I'd guess it's still higher than the percentage for non-pilots of the same age, education, etc. Perhaps our friends who love their "ground" careers are simply more visible to us than the great numbers who work only because they have to, would quit if they could, and rarely even talk about their jobs.