Originally Posted by
kansas
But I don't want to be any of those. Should I go be a teacher just so I can have the summer off? Should I go be a firefighter or cop just for the pay? Where do you get this information? Keep in mind that most of the general public thinks that pilots make huge sums of dough and have a great number of days off. Have you fallen into this same trap in appraising the careers that you mention?
As a disillusioned airline pilot I had a few years to examine other lines of work and still do. As with flying I have tried to compare careers in the most unbiased manner possible. Compensation rates of other professions are public record.
Pilots like to manipulate the facts in order to support a reality that doesnt exist. They falsify incomes by counting things that they shouldn't in order to support a fantasy. Unless you fully take stock of what you earn against other similar professions it is difficult to know what your true value is.
A simple test is to see how people with other comparable careers live versus a typical regional airline pilot. To me this acid test is proof positive. Pilots I know work constantly and live in starter homes if they are lucky. The firefighters whom I am friends with have speed boats, families, dirt bikes and live middle class lifestyles. Only you can decide if the sacrifices are worth it.
SkyHigh