Aviation was my calling as well. Yesterday I was an auto shop having a discussion with the shop manager about the performance of graduates from well known auto mechanic academy. He told me that those with a natural interest and aptitude do better than someone who decided one day to become an auto mechanic.

As a young person I had a life long interest in aviation. I took my first lesson at 14. In college it was as though I did not even have to study. I absorbed the information easily. I had an natural aptitude and lifelong interest. Why then is aviation different? The reason is that an auto shop is willing to pay more for those with true ability. The airlines and aviation are free to hire people based upon a wide range of traits not limited to true aptitude.

As a pilot hard work or natural ability does not assure you of anything. Many decades of disappointment and loss forces one to see the situation from a different vantage point. I don't think that it can be classified as negative but as being more honest.

A lot of pilots go through their careers with an approach similar to beaten wife syndrome. The more aviation dumps on them they keep popping back up with a forced smile on their face. Others can see the black and blue marks but the pilot faithfully soldiers on.

I would rather take an honest view of the situation and make a new plan for success in life. In that capacity I am not here to be a sad sack and ruining everyone's state of denial but to help others who are interested in trying a different approach. The difference between a pilot and a mechanic is that good mechanics are rare. Auto shops will pay more and strive to promote a good mechanic.

Skyhigh