Av8tr1

There has never been a more accurate post about the career than this one right here. Out of the millions of pilots who try less than 5% (totally made up number) are making those multi six figure salaries while working less than 7 days a month. Aviation is the perfect pyramid scheme. Although I don't agree with "poor kid vers rich kid", lots of people such as myself got here through the military. My parents weren't rich by any means so it is possible but the number of people that "make it" in this industry are exceptionally small.

senecacaptain

I have different opinions but the SAGE/OLD advice of "get a degree" and especially "get a degree in something useful" has rang true for 50 years.

geosync

With the caveat that a skill doesn't necessarily mean a degree, and a degree doesn't necessarily mean a usable skill. And, like flying, proficiency also helps. Nobody will hire me with a finance degree if I'm 40 and have never worked in finance. Better than nothing? Absolutely.

senecacaptain

A skill = ability. Excel spreadsheets, computer repair, foreign language translation, flying an airplane

Degree (in theory) = education, knowledge or understanding of a subject in which some certified body awarded a certificate

Most job applications have Education Level. any degree allows you to be in the "college degree stack" versus the "I only have a high school diploma" stack.

my opinion on how I see things.

Bahamasflyer

I agree. MANY other white collar jobs, just like the majors, view the degree as a box to check, and could care less what it's in. Obvious exceptions of course.

Hell......upwards of 75% of my non-pilot friends work in fields that have NOTHING TO DO WITH what their degree was in!

senecacaptain

Yep. And don't sell yourself short. "Soft skills" and "Emotional Intelligence" are big in corporate America. Pilots are great (usually...) at teamwork, crisis management, finding efficiencies and solutions, empathy, and other stuff.

good luck

kevbo

All the degree means is that you are qualified to work in the house. No degree means you work in the yard.

Valiant

My brother in law with masters in Business Analysis from a government ivy league(UIUC, IL) is having problems finding jobs. That too with tons of experience.

In this coming recession EVERYONE will have trouble getting jobs from truckers(power to the brotherhood!!) to rocket scientists(figuratively). Except maybe technical trades like lawyers, doctors, nurses, plumbers and the like.

Most pilots who post doom and gloom here do not take that into account in their calculations. Yes pilot hiring/jobs will suffer. But so will everybody else too.

Yes the airline industry is especially hit hard this time. Because of total stop in all sort of movement even in cities. Forget air travel no one is leaving their homes.

*I bet uber/taxi driver forums are also lingering in their doom and gloom. It already is like that on trucker forums*

SonicFlyer

In '08 lawyers were not doing well because there were fewer and fewer transactions happening. A ton of the legal industry is tied, directly or indirectly, to real estate transactions. On the other hand bankruptcy attorneys were making bank (literally).

Plumbers I suspect were the same... if there is no new construction then there is not as much demand for plumbers, electricians, etc.

Valiant

Well there ya go then
You basically further support my main idea i.e EVERYONE is going to suffer and have a hard time. Not just pilots

Side Note
Pilots on this forum whine just as much and are grumpy/negative/bitter/angry just like truckers on trucker forums. BOTH are right about their industries that they are cyclical. Hehe

What I've learned in my brief time as yet in US tranportation/logistics industry is that Pilots/Truckers complain that they don't get paid enough for ALL that they do or about seniority or progression or QoL etc. Management complains about thin profit margins, operating costs and hoard money for risks/contingency. Unions used to be strong back then but now they pretty much yield to company's needs.