Originally Posted by DavidCYWPilot

You know KSU-Salina has a professional aviator program. ; )

What I like about the career is:

I get paid to layover on the beach in GIG, HNL, OGG, NCE, BCN,...when it's freezing back home in the RockChalk state. Once after getting sun burned on a nude beach I phoned home looking for sympathy only to find out that due to an ice storm the power had been out for a couple days.

I get to help folks fulfill their dreams every day I am at work....couples on their honeymoon, folks going to funerals, carrying businessmen and servicemen, families on their dream vacations.

I meet some of the best pilots in the world at work...skill wise, intelligence, personality, intellectually....

I've seen St. Elmo's fire, plasma lightning, the aurora borealis, Noctilucent clouds, and many other things most folks never see.

I look good in a uniform...at least that's what turns my wife on.

When I'm off work....I'm off, way off...no call, no phones, no problem. My wife is on call 24/7 with her job.

I take a dream "once in a lifetime" vacation at least once a year. I vacation better on a typical international layover than my brother ever has.

I shop during the middle of the week when the lines are short.

Sure, it was very, very hard at first. Sure, a job is what you make of it. Sure there's a lot of stress at times (physicals, training, being away from home), but it beats actually working for a living. There are many other reasons I love this career. It's not what it used to be, but that is both good and bad. I try to keep my perspective by thinking that the company only pays me for the nuisances of the job, and that I get to fly multimillion dollar airplanes for free.

There is also a great sense of satisfaction after making a perfect landing on a wet or snowy runway; or, that sense of power taking off in a 757; watching the sun come up twice in one day; jetting through wispy pink sunset clouds....

Guiness is better in Dublin. German beer is better in Germany. You get a new sense of respect when you see large predators in their natural environment. You get a better picture of life on this planet and the peoples of this planet if you travel and pay attention and quit worrying about the pettiness in your own life...and the pettiness in these forums.

I've met and flown famous and talented actors, musicians, and politicians too numerous to mention.

Although I don't always feel this way; but, when I am thinking clearly about the career as a whole, it's hard to imagine one better. Even the Richest people in the world want to make more money, have less responsibility, and enjoy more freedom. When asked how much money it would take to satisfy J. D. Rockefeller, he replied, "Just a little more." Those mental traps will never go away for any of us. Sure, I make less than I did in 2000; but, I still sleep indoors, eat too much, and have a better career than most. Doing some mission work or relief work in a third world country every few years keeps me appreciative.

One trap many pilots make is chasing the dollar. They live beyond their means and are therefore frustrated, so they bid up to higher paying positions with less seniority and more hassles. Our home is paid for. Our newest vehicle has +120,000 miles on it. Life is pretty good! And, I owe a lot of it to my career.

Sadly, the divorce rate for airline captains in my category is about 90%. The typical pilot personality is attracted to sexy gold diggers who are attracted to glamorous pilot types. That's a combination destined for disaster. Pilots then change airlines, airplanes, and operations so it makes sense to change wives while chasing the dream of personal happiness. It is phunny how many male pilots trade half of all they own plus $60,000 in attorney fees, plus half of their future earnings to be with someone younger, sexier, or more likely to stroke their ego. Good luck with that one.