Originally Posted by
SoCal Flyer
I see so many pilots saying how bad it is.
So, should I not go for it? I don't care about not getting filthy rich...I just want to be able to make a DECENT living.
Will that be possible in a few years? Really, I've wanted to be an airline pilot since I was 9. 9 YEARS LATER, it's in the crapper.
I see so many pilots saying how bad it is.
I also know many pilots who would complain about a free lunch at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse too.
So, should I not go for it?
Should you? I don't think you are going to get a one-time definitive response from anyone here that will answer this question. The best I can offer is to take everyone's experience and comments into consideration.
I don't care about not getting filthy rich...
While your attitude is admirable, may I humbly submit that it also may change in the future? Money shouldn't be the ultimate goal, but neither should a willingness not to pursue wealth should you have the opportunity to do so. Many begin this career out of nothing more than a desire to fly and end up discouraged by low wages and/or career earnings.
I just want to be able to make a DECENT living.
YOU will have to define what is considered a decent living, because you will get as many different opinions as the number of people whom you ask.
Do you want a house? How many cars will you need/want? Do you want to retire sooner or later, and with how much? Where do you want to live? This is just a sampling of questions that you will need to answer first before you can have a quantitative definition of decent as it pertains to your wages.
Will that be possible in a few years?
Who knows?
Really, I've wanted to be an airline pilot since I was 9. 9 YEARS LATER, it's in the crapper.
In an historical sense it has always been in the proverbial crapper. From it's inception, the airline industry has never been a profitable venture. While there has been some good years over that time, it has certainly not been the prevalent norm. Every generation of pilots have had to contend with the possibility of a furlough, an airline bankruptcy, mergers, and downturns in the economy. Nothing new under the sun.