Originally Posted by tomgoodman
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.
Those 9 to 5 slaves get a lot in return. It is easy to be smug as an airline pilot. We easily coast above rush hour traffic and consider ourselves as the "smart" ones. However I don't think that most people are stupid as such. They choose to live within the rules of the 9 to 5 society for many of the perks that it offers. Regular people work when others are at work or school and are off when everyone else is off. Their lives are in sync and because of that they can have a better social life and enjoy more family time than the pilot. Pilots can count on missing most holidays, birthdays and important school functions in trade for a lonesome hotel room. It would be pompous and unfair to assume that the non-flying public have a lower happiness factor than pilots. In fact I would hold heatedly argue that the reverse was the case.
SkyHigh