Maybe you are right. Perhaps this career is about unending sacrifice and hardship. Like I have previously said it seems like one is expected to give it all till there is nothing left of our lives but sleep and work. If you are comfortable with multiple furloughs, layoffs and shutdowns and still come back for more then my next question is that where does one draw the line? When do we start to respect ourselves? The industry sure will not. Not so long as they can kick someone to the curb for decades and they keep coming back.

I wish that for every one of these "get over it" types we could preform a full audit of all the choices they made in their life to remain in the saddle and tally up all the losses to go along with them. My guess is that it becomes easier to give up things that you care about the more you do it.

I would say that in years past it was easier to pick up another job that had at least a hope of paying the bills. Today that isn't so easy. Once you are bounced out with a family in tow there is little else to jump to.

SKyHigh

 

Sure, this is a fun debate that many of us have enjoyed many times here on APC. What do you suppose you would do if presented with an opportunity to more than double your regional pay and improve your chances at a major as well? As a regional pilot you are one of thousands of screaming turbine captains. Most will never leave their noisy props and 4:00AM show times. As a 757 pilot I was able to rise above the masses. My strategy would have worked except for 911.

Had National or my other goals worked out I am sure that my attitude would have been different. Now that I am able to see life from the outside I have a diffrent perspective. I wouldn't have known that had I been able to remain suckling a mind numbing pay check. In years to come I am sure that I will be even more thankful that I was able to get out.

SkyHigh

 

"what exactly do you respect about this industry"

I believe I said I respect the profession, not the industry. Do you see the difference?

 

[QUOTE=SkyHigh;166745]Maybe you are right. Perhaps this career is about unending sacrifice and hardship. Like I have previously said it seems like one is expected to give it all till there is nothing left of our lives but sleep and work. If you are comfortable with multiple furloughs, layoffs and shutdowns and still come back for more then my next question is that where does one draw the line? When do we start to respect ourselves? The industry sure will not. Not so long as they can kick someone to the curb for decades and they keep coming back.

Skyhigh:

Jeeeze...please point out a "career" that is free of hardship, fair and in recognition of skill, dedication and passion above all else and you'll be the pied piper of modern times. Of course I wasn't "comfortable" with furloughs and disappointments that had nothing to do with me...who is? I chose this career because it's all I ever really wanted to do. When income came up short, I picked up additional work (fortunately in aviation) until I got something better. I never burned bridges at jobs, never let my CFI expire and didn't treat those that some would consider "below me" below me, because beyond being a crappy way to live will deny you some good opportunities.

When puppies ask about starting out in this thing of ours I first ask why...really why they want to do it. If it's the "money", the "glamour" or flight attendant panties I strongly encourage them to go to business school and learn to sell junk bonds or raid airlines like Jet Blue. Because unless one lives the charmed life in this thing there WILL be setbacks that have little or nothing to do with you because anything less than a true love of flying for flying's sake will not carry you through those tough times, and in many cases innocent families may suffer so that somebody with the wrong motivation was playing airline pilot but didn't have the guts to see it through. By all measures, most would have quit if in my shoes 14 years ago, but since I didn't, combined with some good fortune (different than luck) I am in a great position and not inclined to apologize for it.

Nowhere in the brochure that I read did it say that my bosses would love me, I'd only work five days a month, make 500K a year and have all the women call me captain with adoring eyes. Maybe somebody should have given you the speech when you were a puppy and you could have gone to selling junk bonds, raiding Jet Blue and being called sir by employees who hate your guts but have families to feed. Some people just need to be cubicle monkeys I guess. Crap or get off the pot sport...somebody who wants it more is behind you.

 

ok so I'll repeat it again but slightly different

1. why
2. what exactly do you respect about the profession

 

"what exactly do you respect about the profession"

I respect my fellow crewmember that has busted balls to get here.
I respect my fellow crewmember that busts ball every year to stay here.
I respect those who have sacrificed before me to make this a great career.
I respect those with more experience than me, as they show me the way.
I respect my F/O who tries his darndest to keep me out of trouble.
I respect what it takes to persevere and succeed in the biz.
I respect those who bring the best they have to the game and don't quit under pressure.

I could go on.

Once again, if you don't respect the profession, you don't belong in the biz.

 

Sell AMWAY, you can make a killing . . . more $$$ than flying a metal tube for any airline. Plus, you can do it from home.

 

Yeah, but can you still look in the mirror in the morning?

 

In Russia before the fall of the iron curtain one of the most most respected professions was that of waitress. Afterwards the once most blessed of the communist workplace when they could only expect minimum wage plus tips they were extremely upset.

Once they started to earn less than the people who picked up the trash they began to loose respect from the community and eventually from them selves. We can all stand in defiance and shake our fists at the moon and claim that we are more than what the world will provide however in the free market skills are rewarded by their value to the workplace and not by what we would like to see.

Wages are like votes from the workplace. The world is what it is and not what we would like it to be.

SkyHigh

 

Life is about choices. The 9 to 5 guy may not be able to claim the funnest job in the neighborhood but is home every night and that is something of significance.

Skyhigh