You are probably right. Especially in jobs that are global in perspective. A city firefighter probably has more negotiating power than in international airline pilot. Why would UAL pay more than BA or Air India?

SKyHigh

 

JC is a bunch of screaming children. They revel at how masterfully they can put each other down. There is no way to have an intelligent debate with that bunch of screaming hooligans.

I prefer to post here and to enjoy and exchange with people who actually have life experience and something valuable to say. It has more value to those reading as well.

Skyhigh

 

Following up on block30's argument.....Exactly Right, which is why it's disingenuous for a senior guy to pawn off the realities of the brave new world to the young guys as if it was (as always, the tired mantra) a function of hard work, perserverance (the 'you can't hack it' argument) and mere time.

Late Gen X'rs, Gen Y's and beyond will never see the industry of 20 years ago, it'll never get better, so essentially the only people who would be able to be content with the current gig will have to be those that 1) do not need the income and 2) those who can accept the lifestyle and inelastic work force as it is offered. In that respect Skyhigh is doing a great job at providing a sobering look at the realities for the median.

My biggest gripe in college in my formal field of study was that everybody signed up after the big ol speech from whoever at Lockheed Martin or Boeing, talking about the great 20 year career, when during the whole 45 minutes everybody had selective hearing about the fact he was project manager yet actually didn't even go up the ranks of industry, was actually a late bloomer and his career was more fucntion of chance than effort. Yet instead of realizing the complexities of how this gentleman came to be at the place he was, people chose to presuppose in their minds that what that gentleman did was what they all stood a chance at doing when they got done with the college racket. And pilots are just the same way. Everybody looks with depressing short-sightedness at what they wish their day to day would entail, when in reality they are just aspiring to an ideal state that statistically few can hold at any one time. Yet instead of accepting that cost they turn back at people like skyhigh who recognized the full cost and call him a whiner. I don't expect people in de's position to recognize skyhigh's circumstances as legitimate, it falls outside of his working construct, therefore only a quitter could have bestowed upon himself sky's fate, but for people on here who are NOT banking like DE's , YOU are the exemplification of the problem, because you choose to look at the conman selling you sh$t in a bag and you eat it anyways because you believe that success is a matter of proxy rather than chance, and you're too chicken to about face the industry that's treated your household so poorly, and do something to better your financial situation instead of dragging your feet and chasing every which crap job that keeps you current. Functional addiction I call it.

 

If you say you can't succeed, you're right.






.

 

"I prefer to post here and to enjoy and exchange with people who actually have life experience and something valuable to say."

Skyhigh, today.

"To whom I address when I write a post is really the 18 year old kid with an ocean of life's paths to choose from"

Skyhigh 3/14/08

Maybe I could tolerate Skyhigh's threads a little better if I could figure out what he's trying to do. So many contradictions.

When I hear he's "saving the newb from an airline career", I point him to the place he could do that but he's never interested. So much for that idea...

 

One thing to remember guys is that all of you are arguing with totally different perspectives on aviation.....what I mean by this is that I can honestly say that I and a majority of the guys that I flew with on the airbus pretty much looked at it as a "job" because we did the same thing over and over, push back, sat there for 2+ hours, landed, hotel, beer, sleep...then maybe a little more beer. There were times I don't think I even looked outside during cruise for the entire 4 hour flight to LGA.

I can remember when I was a cfi and landed my first jet job in a lear, I thought I was king kong and then came the RJ, oh man 50 pax, I am finally a real pilot. Finally the airbus, I thought I had finally made it. 1000 hours later I am starting to feel like the little guy again parked next to the 777.

I am totally cool leaving because I got to make it to my goal. You have someone who might be a CFI right now arguing about how great aviation is with someone like SKY who has been there done that. Not to say others on here like UPS who are extremely qualified, but he is in a great spot and with his situation it works for him.

Its just funny to me to hear so many different arguments about aviation when half of the guys on here are in so many different levels in there aviation career.

I bet if we got 10 senior captains at a major airline to all come on and give us there perspective it would be interesting, but I would guess that majority would tell us to do something different.

 

Absolutely. One perspective is, "I left the profession because it can't be done." The other perspective is, "We're living proof it can be done." I think one perspective is far more legitimate.



I get the same feeling taxiing the mighty MD-11 around Narita or Incheon or Osaka. With a ramp full of nothing else but 747s, we're the little guy. I thought you said you were bored? How's that possible?




I doubt that.






.

 

"I bet if we got 10 senior captains at a major airline to all come on and give us there perspective it would be interesting, but I would guess that majority would tell us to do something different."

Well, that maybe. The longer you're in the biz, the more you think "the grass is greener" doing something else and you complain about having to go to work at all. I think that's human nature. In the end, you still have to convince me to bash a career where you can make 100K working half the month. It's not for everyone, but I think it's a pretty worthy way to make a living, especially if you like operating large machinery.

 

"taxiing the mighty MD-11 around Narita or Incheon or Osaka. With a ramp full of nothing else but 747s, we're the little guy."

HAHA...you should try it in a 76. Talk about feeling small....

 

TonyC my point was you have a guy here who is single and has 500 hrs and is trying to make the argument that aviation is a great career and those that are leaving have no idea what they are going to miss.

I respect the opinions from those who actually know what it is that I am going to miss and those who have taken the bold step to do something else.

TonyC, have you ever heard the saying if it sounds too good to be true than most likely it is? That typically is aviation. Not always, but has proven to be the case just when you think life is great, aviation has another plan for you 1,2,5 years down the road. The difference is that I don't want to be starting over at 55 years old, I would rather leave while I have time to establish myself in a new industry.