Originally Posted by
tomgoodman
Cycle,
Most of us probably agree that Skyhigh made the right decision for himself and his family. By 2002, he had discovered that almost no pilot job was likely to provide the income and lifestyle that he sought, at least not within an acceptable amount of time. His personal requirements in these areas were more stringent than most of us insist upon, but they should be respected. The layoff triggered his decision to seek a different career, a decision that, based on his posts, he would eventually have reached anyway.
Had I been able to get hired by a career destination major airline before I was 35 and had a family to think about I could have made it work. However when you have to start over yet again from zero with responsibilities it is a game changer.
I love flying and am the right man for the job however it became difficult to continually make the sacrifices needed to extend the possibility of reaching the majors to only make 60K per year as a FO. Pilot wages have reduced to the point where it is difficult to justify all the risks and sacrifices when there are jobs advertised in the local paper to work at the dump for 48K. No commuting, no college education, and no flight training.
The path to the airlines has become a war of attrition. If you can not transition to a good job while you are still young enough to absorb the sacrifices you will get pushed out. It does not mean that we were not right for the job just that the cost to getting there is becoming to high for people with responsibilities.
Skyhigh