Mod hat off:

Well, it simply seems to me that the guy likes his job, likes his choice, and seems to think the future is worth giving it a shot. Making cracks about his ego is pretty out of line....if you ask me....

Some people will find satisfaction in this career at 50K. Others need 200K or it's no deal. Others need a base in some crazy place like Ellensburg, WA, or it's no deal.

I simply don't see how it's proper to put your shoes into the other guys foot. To each his own. If you don't like it, then leave. If you like it, then stay. But telling someone they are a fool for staying ignores the reality that everyone has different goals and different expectations.

Feel free to educate the masses on what you think our goals should be. But don't berate those who disagree....

You are correct sir. I extend an apology to the poster in question, I did not intend to make him personally a pawn while making my point, and wish him once again the benefit of good timing.

That is the same load of crap that I heard when I came back from the charter outfit during furlough. I was glad to be back to the professional training, work rules, better pay, etc. at NWA.
It doesn't mean I wasn't writing to my reps when I was forced to fly 95 hours every month. It doesn't mean I wasn't calling in fatiqued when I hadn't seen a washing machine for 10 straight days out on the road.
There were and still are certain aspects of working at NWA that are better than working at some third rate charter outfit. I quit pointing out the positive to guys I flew with on the -9 because they were so miserable, they used the same lame line above. Curious, I didn't notice them volunteering for union work to make things better.

My job, while currently iffy at best , has been overall a great ride with a potentially not so happy ending but I still enjoy it. If I'm feeling a little self pity I think of the farmers I know who get up at 0 dark thirty to milk the cows and get on with their work day. There ain't no sick days for them, those cows need milking no matter what. But, guess what, there are people who love it. Thank God.

70K and time on the road if that sounds good to you then go for it. Just don't expect 200K and 17 days at home. The cards are stacked best of luck.

I came to the conclusion there are those that find the career rewarding and those that don't. If you place your priority on flying and that's what you want to do, the other stuff such as missed holidays, friends and family, job stability can take a backseat. Plenty of guys/gals live for the career. For those(including myself) that put value on other things, the career was/isn't as rewarding. Does it mean any of us are better than others for having different priorities? Nope. It just means people are all different and looking for different things to fullfill their lives. Some enjoy the view from FL 350 everyday and the lifestyle, others enjoy walking in the door everyday and seeing their dog, kids or sig. other. More power to whichever lifestyle someone decides to choose. Nothing wrong with either one as long as your happy.

I agree with this quote and a lot of the previous ones in this thread...me, my dad, and my grandpa have all had that pilot desire in our blood since day one...but somehow the "October Sky" environments of our lives have hindered all three of us...my grandpa just died last month, so it really makes me want to get into it, knowing that he missed out on his chance...but you raise a good question that the whole board has been toggling for quite some time. I think part of the reason so many people get into after family members is because family members get the chance to ride in a plane like I did, because family members are pilots. I wouldn't have wanted to become a pilot had I never experienced the thrill of flying, and realizing that, "Hey, people actually get PAID to do this"

Forgive my ineloquence, what I meant was a perceived notion that flying is "fun." That's why people get in and hang on through the bumps. Let's be real here, flying is often referred to as 'a dream' or the 'the dream.'

Arguably the main "dream" of many jobs is not the job itself, but the paycheck. As for flying, the converse seems to be true, barring organized labor drives.

(I beg everyone's forgiveness for speaking generally)

The Dream
 

I remember well going to a Air Inc. job conference in the late 1990's and listening to a speech that was being given by a newly anointed DC-9 captain for a well known legacy. At the time he explained that he was 47 years old and had just spent 14 years in the right seat before getting his chance to commute half way across the country to his new base as a reserve captain. Before that he explained that he had been a commuter pilot for nearly a decade prior.

As he mundanely told his tale with disinterested gusto my mind was traumatized as his story sunk in. I couldn't believe that he had stuck it out for so long and for what seemed like a pittance in the shadow of what he had to go through. Had I known that his story was a common one I never would have taken my first flight lesson. I couldn't accept that this could be my fate as I slowly climbed the ladder.

I often wonder how that guy felt as his pay was nearly cut in half a few years later. The "dream" is much better than the reality. Some will find the career as rewarding though under the current circumstances I can not. Some people glide through this industry as if they were born on a star. The rest of us are destined to grind along in the mud while hoping for a break. I dearly wish that things were different.

The DC-9 captain I listened to that day would be nearly 58 now. I hope that he has at least advanced to the left seat of a 767. The dream most often is the paycheck, and there are much easier ways of making a living then that.

Skyhigh

And my apologies for being over sensitive. Ranching/farming is another career where people do it for the love rather than the paycheck. I don't know how many years we lived on loans from Farm Credit!