I've noticed at my new airline that the professionalism here is severely lacking compared to my old airline. I don't know if it should be blamed on the poverty level pay, the bad work rules, or what, but the pilots generally don't seem to take much pride in what they do. Lots of people here don't shave during an entire 4-day. Their clothes don't fit them. They don't care about the passengers' wants and needs. They wear backpacks and have mismatched color bags.

This is not everybody at the airline, but it seems awfully prevalent. I for one still take some amount of pride in what I do and I try to iron my shirts before a trip, shave every morning, shower, and look my best. I don't wear my Ipod when I walk around the airport, though I do listen to it when I'm on a plane jumpseating or deadheading somewhere. Really though, I agree a little bit with everything that's been said in this thread. It does get harder to act professional with every month that goes by with horrible pay and work rules. The incentive is not there. At the same time, it's my personal motivations that cause me to try to act professional, regardless of the money I'm making. The big thing I'm guilty of is letting passengers know how little I make at my job. If they want to ask me about the airline pilot life, they're gonna hear the truth.