Just to play the advocate here;
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
I don't even know where to begin...
I'll start with what's good about it, since that's a relatively short list.
(1) I'm at a big firm so the pay is good, though I'm making 20% less than I was making last year. They stopped the 401k match this year too. And what I pay each month for health insurance doubled this year. It all kind of makes me feel like a seasoned airline pilot.
Good for you as far as feeling like a pilot. For those of us still lucky enough to employed, couple years ago I took a 100% paycut via furlough. When I got a job, it was 65% less than the job I got furloughed from. Now, after a displacement, I'm making 48% less than I did last year. And what I was making last year wasn't even six figures.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
(3) For the most part, I like the people that I work with so I'm very lucky. If you work at a place where you don't like the people, you will be miserable. Unlike the airlines, you don't switch crews every trip so if you work with people you don't like, you are stuck with them until you find a new job or they find a new job....
That can depend on the size of the domicile, or fleet you are on in the airlines. Also, by some weird coincidence, if you are are reserve you can end up flying with the SAME people over and over again. For a reason.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
What I don't like about the job... I'll try to just focus on the big ones.
(1) I think my number one complaint is that my job does not does not end at a certain time. I have to cancel dinner plans all the time because something comes up at work late in the afternoon that needs to get done. So I don't have as much control over my schedule as I would like.
Weather, junior manning, weak CBA, etc.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
Also, when things are busy, I frequently work on the weekends. My mergers and acquisitions practice gets very busy in November/December b/c clients try to get their deals done before year end. That means I work Christmas Eve and Christmas nearly every year. Since I'm salaried, I don't get overtime for any of this.
Don't think this this any different in the airlines. Being too junior to hold weekends, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Having to bid a weekend line because you may have needed a set of weekdays off and now being stuck working EVERY weekend of the month because you can't trade/drop it. As far as getting "overtime"/holiday pay in the airlines, in most cases, forget that too. Thought you were going to be home for dinner but because of weather you're getting home at midnight but didn't fly more than you were scheduled too, guess what? No overtime pay.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
(4) Much of the work I do is very boring. No, I don't think that working in a different area of the law would be more exciting. I think it's all pretty boring.
As opposed to doing a 2+ hour flight somewhere?
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
(5) Now some things that I hate about the job are just relevant to office jobs in general, and not necessarily specific to law firms. Ever seen Office Space? Do you think that movie is a gross exaggeration of what it must be like to work in an office? It's not. I've actually hid under my desk before when I heard my boss coming so I didn't have to hear him recite Shakespeare or tell me about Greek mythology followed by him telling me I'm a philistine when I express disinterest.
I had a commuting issue recently where I found I wasn't in compliance with the contract. EVERY time I walked by the chief's office, I walked as fast as I could, or flat out avoided it at all costs.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
And then there was the old guy on my floor that was wearing collared shirt, tie, dress shoes, and SHORTS. When I was unfortunate enough to run into him in the kitchen and inquire about why he was wearing shorts, he said he had a skin condition on his leg and couldn't wear pants. UGH!!!!
Gross. You just can't make this stuff up.
Don't think that eccentric weirdos with dress problems don't exist in the airlines. Believe me, there's plenty of odd balls, whether it's how they wear their uniform, run their cockpit, how they interface with FA's, gate agents, rampers, mechanics, hotel staff, etc.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
(6) There are a lot of non-billable things that you are expected to do, such as marketing event, bar luncheons, etc. These things sound like they could be fun, but not when they are cutting into your billable hour time. So then you have to make up for the billable hours you missed.
See what you're saying as far as taking away from time you could get paid for, but.......
Preflights, endless jepp/CFM/FOM revisions, 12 hours of duty and getting paid for 5, interfacing with MX/DX/gate agents/rampers/scheduling and often in the process doing their job for them, waiting on the hotel van on an 8 hour "rest" period, etc. As far as making up for "billable hours", some airlines don't pay their pilots for cancellation. Others only pay their pilots for the scheduled time. IAD to LGA/JFK/EWR may be scheduled for say 1:30, could take you 4 hours to get there, you get paid for 1:30.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
In general, the quality of life just isn't all that good and the pay isn't worth it.
Kinda like an airline job.
Again, I'm just playing the advocate here, not trying to pee in your cheerios or be a debbie downer.
A friend of mine quit his engineering job, couldn't stand the cubicle/office/9-5/boredom/bureaucracy, whatever. Went to a flight school and everything, got a job at a regional. Stuck with being an eternal FO, with no upgrade in sight, bringing home $1900 a month on reserve after two years, guess what? He's now taking a leave and going BACK to his engineering job, for the reason you said, the QOL isn't there and the pay isn't worth it.
Originally Posted by
ufgatorpilot
My mom and sister are about the only people that seem to enjoy their jobs and never complain about work at all. They are both in the airline industry....
Sorry, but with this crowd, you can't put that bit of info in there without saying in which capacity and which employer.