Originally Posted by 8HourPilot (Post 837215)

Since we are picking on backpacks....

Does the CEO that wears a backpack and takes public transportation seem unprofessional to you?
Does the man/woman that finds a living on Wall Street (that has a back pack) seem any less professional to you?
Does the White House worker that lives in a suit/tie/backpack seem any less professional to you?

I'm not saying that the backpack argument is unfounded, I'm saying your (Legacy Pilot Tough Guy) overall argument is unfounded. Am I wrong? Come listen to Charlotte Ramp between 7pm and 11pm and tell me how wrong I am. Go listen to DCA ground on any given day and tell me how wrong I am. Hang around ORD and just watch. In some form or another, we all act like a bunch of kids. It's sad.

Leading by example, mentor-ship, offering good, sound advice......that's professionalism.....not racing my RJ to the corner of Foxtrot and the ramp.

I don't have a backpack that I take to work, but if you (insert bitter mainline pilot that sneers at me as I try to be proud of my career choice) told me that it was unprofessional.....why would I even listen?

As far as I am concerned, there is a growing majority that fail to care one bit about how the "new-young pilots" are brought up but that same majority is the quickest to point out how malformed we are. If I am wrong, come forward and let's build something. I've been in the regionals for 6 years now (a comparatively short time) and worked under the umbrellas of 4 different "mainline" products. My left seat time is short at a year and a half. Clearly I have much to learn.

Until someone proves to me that I actually ought to respect the opinion of the guy that cuts me off, taxi's at what can only be described as a ridiculously unsafe speed (757 if you wondered) or the guy that blocks frequencies just because he can, I will continue to mentor, be positive (as much as I can) and hopefully teach the guys/gals that sit next to me. I will wait for you to cross, I will most likely taxi slower than you, and I'll wave at you.....and when you flip me off across a ramp full of your anger, don't be surprised when I have an inherent lack of respect for you.

Want to talk backpacks now?

Originally Posted by Ewfflyer (Post 837686)

I'm a farmer(part-time) on top of being a pilot.

Originally Posted by OldSF3Dude (Post 837078)

I think the word "professional" is so over used now-a-days that the word has really lost it's true meaning. Everyone thinks they are a professional. Everyone thinks they work in a "profession". Being professional is equated to a garb of clothes and a nice hair cut.

Recently I was asked in an interview what a professional was. I could have just given another canned answer, but I tried to explain my thoughts more along these lines...

In the most basic sense a professional is someone who works for money, is not an amateur. That can be anyone of any character. Prostitution is "the oldest profession" after all. I doubt that when most pilots think of being "professional" they equate themselves to prostitutes, however.

Many equate "professionalism" as somehow always being wrapped in appearence and/or the public perception of them. This seems to be a very common theme, or, at least a major part of most definitions. Although, unlike the prostitutes mentioned above, an attractive appearance in this case is taken as a moral virtue. Personally, to me, appearance is appearance and I don't see a spiffy pilot as being any more virtuous than a nice looking lady of the night.

To me a professional is someone who engages in a profession. A profession is a vocation in the branches of science or learning (as defined in the dictionary). A doctor is the usually one of the first professions that comes to mind, but you could include many other jobs in there that require life long expertise and learning. I would submit to you that a professional requires a college degree. Preferably an advanced degree. But beyond that other life long learning, obtaining of new skills, certifications, etc.

Professionals have their own governing bodies that govern their own affairs, requirements for entry, dismissal, ethics, standards, etc. Individuals in the profession are also expected to independently maintain high standards of conduct and learning. They are given greater latitude in this regard than workers outside of a true profession. There is a great societal trust to maintain.

AND professionals profess. In other words they teach. They mentor. They associate. They pass on knowledge. a

I say if you want to be a true professional then you got to have the whole package. If you can't independently maintain high standards, then you're not a professional. If you are not committed to obtaining a degree, flying skills and working life long to improve, then you are not a professional. If you don't associate and profess (teach) to bring up the next generation, then you are not a professional.

I think that good pilots are all these things. We deserved to be lumped with doctors, professors, scientists, lawyers, military officers, the clergy, etc.

P.S.- Do any of the other professions wear back packs? Does it really matter in the big scheme of things? Would you not go to a doctor if he wore a back pack to work? I'd be more worried about where he went to med school, his experience and his reputation.