It depends who you fly for. UPS and FEDEX are good companies, but there are bad (worse) cargo companies too.

Keep your current job and go to college at night or part time. Get the degree (not an aviation degree). Learn to fly now while you have an income. Get your Private pilot certificate and see how you like flying. I got hooked on it and never stopped. I love my job (I fly passengers by the way). There are many good and bad flying jobs out there, but they are all better than most non-flying jobs to me.

Do not take this the wrong way. It's intended as encouragement not a slam.

You are exactly what the industry is interested in as far as future airline pilots are concerned. Many nay sayers took a much longer route to the job. They think since they did it, you should have to do it. I fly with guys with very diverse backgrounds. A former car painter would think the job is heaven where a MIT grad who turned down an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of Google (after consulting with his peers who went to Google) is so upset about the pay decline I would not leave the flight deck to use the lav. (I'm not kidding). He will never be happy with the job. It's all about expectations.

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...ad.php?t=15705

Good luck!

Expectations
 

He is absolutly right. If you expect to be respected, have a good family life and to earn a real living then you have a lot of pain ahead.

SkyHigh

sadly, with the way things are looking these days an the Age 65 debacle, SkyHigh is not nearly as ignorant and silly as I once thought, I actually respect the man:o

Bingo. Pretty soon all airline pilots will be ex toilet scubbers that went through an accelerated 100 hr pilot program(soon to be FAA approved). These people will think that being away from home for 18 days a month and $60,000 a yr will be great. I'll add that when an emergency happens the family members of all onboard are automatically notified of the deaths, because their survival chance will be 1:1,000,000,000.

Wow
 

Gee, I kinda got some warm fuzzies over that one. :eek:

SkyHigh

It's taking us all a while to realize he's right. This industry is unfixably f&%^ed.

Time invested
 

It takes someone 2000 hours of classroom supervision to become licensed to cut peoples hair and 90 days and possibly as little as 100 hours to become a commerically rated pilot.

Just last night on Mythbusters they proved that a novice could land an Airbus with very little instruction. The Simulator teacher told the camera that modern airliners could virtually fly and land themselves.

Yesterday I read on the internet that airline pilots were among the "top ten most overpaid professions". Even after the cutbacks of 911 they still claimed that airline pilots are overpaid.

Companies will lower minimums before they raise pay. Modern Jets do not require much in terms of skill. Some regionals, I have read on this forum, are considering opening thier own cadet programs.

The future is bright for those who merely wish to fly a plane but miserible for anyone who intends to make a living and have to a life while doing it.

Skyhigh

Hey...you went to the same school of life I went to! I agree with you. I've had other jobs, I never said 'I love this job' until this one.

Honestly
 

Every day I long to return to aviation and one day I will, but it will only be after I am financially independent and when my kids are grown and gone.

All logic and rational thinking will lead you to the eventual conclusion that this career is foolish and can not even afford to pay for itself let alone support a middle class family life. (SWA, UPS and FedEx pilots are of course exempt from this statement. ;))

Resist and prosper.

SkyHigh