I typed out a long story of all the hard work and dedication I had to put in in order to land my dream job. But then I realized that my personal story was not unique nor was it interesting, so I started over. My path to a major was about half luck and half hard work. The few years after I graduated high school were not fun. I flight trained or flight instructed all day and went to college all night. My reward was 6.5 years at a regional and a job at a major starting at age 26. Total time from my first flight to being hired at a major was 9 years 11 months. Not exactly record time. Total cost for my flight training, college and room and board until I was hired at the regional was approx. $70,000.

Personal sacrifice? In order to get to the airlines as quickly as possible I felt like I had to forgo a traditional university experience. I was one of the few fortunate to be hired at a regional around 20 years old (with a college degree). I don't regret the position that choice put me in. 20 at a regional and 26 at a major isn't half bad. The sacrifice I feel like I need to be compensated for is the fact that I am a highly educated, highly trained professional. I have to spend days at a time away from my family, and I have to miss out on the little things in life (holidays, birthdays, etc.) Perfection is demanded and expected while I'm work--if I'm a part of a crew that makes a major mistake, people can die. This job is certainly routine, but every year when I go in the sim, I am reminded of the nuances that make this job a challenge.

When I'm eating my breakfast, sipping on coffee, and enjoying the sunrise at FL350, I feel so fortunate to be paid for what I love. When I'm making an approach and landing at a short field when it's raining sideways and almost perfection is the minimum standard, I feel like we are all SO underpaid.