MoHawk

Also study in my free time towards a university degree. The way the industry is moving it seems we need a plan b.

Pilotpip

There are so many barriers (internal and external) in aviation that everyone should have a plan B. Then again, I think this applies to all fields.

SkyHigh

I like it ! I disagree however with your assessment that all careers share the same hardship. It is true that it makes good sense to be flexible in nature to ones professional outlook. However most professions that demand as much of an investment as aviation does usually come with better assurances of success.

I don't care how much fun an endeavor may be it is not rational to blow a small fortune on college, flight training, and wasted years of experience building unless one was nearly assured of being able to amply earn that investment back. In regards to aviation it should be common for most to be able to get hired at a legacy airline while still on your 20's.

Cordially;

Skyhigh

harrier1231

And the option for lateral transfer, and/or transferable skills if your plan A doesn't work out.

There are folks on this thread saying hang in there, things will get better, but that's not the bottom line. The guys at the majors that came in during an upswing aren't necessarily happy. You have no control. Take the guys at United that got pranged by the merger. 16 year FOs still on reserve. Bases still close. Crew scheduling and management still mess with you. The pilots at AA and US Air hate Parker as much as any regional pilot hates their CEO. The things that make this job tough will never go away.

I sit jumpseat cross country twice a week, minimum. I hear the crews from AA, Virgin, United, Delta, etc complain. It's not bubblegum and unicorns for them. You know what they say to me every time I tell them I have an advanced degree in a non-aviation field? "What are you doing here?!"

If you invest what we do into law, medicine, business, engineering and find yourself in a position or at a company you don't like, you look for new work and move on, almost always to increased pay. If you stay in this field, you will most likely work for the major you get hired on at for the rest of your life, no matter how bad it is. Unless you want to start over at the bottom. If your company furloughs or shuts down, well... you have no choice but to start over at the bottom. That is a huge risk in my book. One I am no longer taking.

Packrat

Exactly right. Even if its GREAT, it can go downhill over time. Management changes can either be good or bad and you're stuck with it unless you want to go to the bottom of someone else's seniority list.

flynavyj

I consider this one of the most accurate posts I've read in quite a while.