Southerncowboyz

Skyhigh,

My immediate neighborhood is nice, but if you walk a mile in a couple of directions it's not so good. Seeing the things I see and hear about on a regular basis has proven to me I do NOT have the intestinal fortitude to be a cop. I've heard to many things from my friends and I have neighbors that are locked up. If they EVER get out of prison, I told my mom I'll load the UHaul myself! Maybe if I lived in Aspen or Provo, Utah it wouldn't be so bad, but cop material a lot of us are not.

As far as a fireman, I can't do that either. My dad became a fireman at a Navy base after he retired from the military (before he passed). My hat is off to the fireman and cops because they deserve what they make, but I'm sorry bro. Those professions dont compare with what we do.

If Bo Jackson the ex-football stare had of been worried about fear he never would have made it to the NFL. He had a short career and he had the promise of being one of the all time greats. It's a sad, sad story really, but he did what he loved to do and that was carry the pig skin. Same with Joe Theisman. It's tragic what happened to him on live tv, but he was living his dream. I'm living my dream as well ... being furloughed is just a part of it. There is nothing else I'd rather do.

This is my last post on the issue, Skyhigh. I wish you the best and I hope you find your Utopia and Shangri La. In closing, we have not suffered.
Yes, somebody needs to hear that aviation doesn't always work out, but in what career field does it really? We have not suffered relative to a lot of people in this nation let alone the world! Good luck.

J

SkyHigh

Yesterday I had a drywall worker approach me and in his broken English asked if he could buy a set of plans from me. He went on to tell me that next spring he was going back to Mexico for a visit and was planning to build a home and liked one of my home designs.

Curious I asked him who would live in it and he told me that his plan is to move his wife and three children down there since he would be retiring in a few years. I guess he plans on commuting till his retirement day at 35.

There you go. A minimum wage worker has figured out how to retire while in his 30's while earning minimum wage.

SkyHigh

Roll Inverted and Pull

LETTER FROM A RETIRED PILOT TO HIS PEERS:



Here is a home study simulator course for those who, deprived of "over age 60" (mandatory retirement) flying, still hunger for the romance and adventure of airline
flying. That "Romance and Adventure" will all come back to you if you follow the steps of this "practice trip" at home:



1. Stay out of bed all night.

2. Sit in your most uncomfortable chair, in a closet, for nine or ten hours facing a four foot wide panoramic photo of a flight deck.

3. Have two or three noisy vacuum cleaners on high, out of sight but within hearing distance and operating throughout the night. If a vacuum cleaner fails, do the appropriate
restart checklist.

4. Halfway through your nocturnal simulator course, arrange for a bright spotlight to shine directly into your face for two or three hours simulating flying an eastbound flight into the sunrise.

5. Have bland overcooked food served on a tray midway through the night.

6. Have cold cups of coffee delivered from time to time. Ask your spouse to slam the door frequently.

7. At the time when you must heed nature's call, force yourself to stand outside the bathroom door for at least ten minutes, transferring your weight from leg to leg, easing the discomfort. Don't forget to wear your hat.

8. Leave the closet after the prescribed nine or ten hours, turn on your sprinklers and stand out in the cold and "rain" for twenty minutes, simulating the wait for the crew car.

9. Head for your bedroom, wet and with your suitcase and flight bag. Stand outside the door till your wife gets up and leaves, simulating the wait while the maid makes up the
hotel room.

10. When your spouse inquires, "Just what in the hell have you been doing?" just say, "Recalling the allure of all night flying to romantic places" as you collapse into bed.

11. If you are a purist, make this a two-day trip instead of a turn-around, and do this two nights in a row.

12. Ask your mailman to tear your pension check into thirds and leave one of the pieces in your mailbox.

ChrisH

Funny thing is; I saw that same documentary, and I seem to remember it talking about more than United. In fact, it went on to say how a majority of Americans find themselves in the same situation. It is not just the airlines. It just so happens that this documentary was filmed around the time United was going through all of this, thus the reason for using them in the documentary. It doesn't matter what career you go into, almost everybody is facing the same problems.

Being a pilot is still a great career, and you can make very good money .. even at a regional, once you get past first officer. Comparing working at McD's to being a pilot is way off.

SC-7

That story blows a big hole in everything you've been warning the kids about in the aviation industry, doesn't it?

aero550

I was thinking the same thing. If a min. wage worker can do it at 35 (which is dubious, because we really don't know if he's actually properly funded for a long retirement), then the average pilot should certainly be able to retire somewhere north of 50, even after paying for school and training. Takes some creativity, conservation, and planning, but what in adult life doesn't?

SkyHigh

You are correct. The story mostly referred to UAL. However it was in regards to employees who lost a retirement. Future retirees will not have that problem since they will not have one to loose. In addition they will also have far less income with which to save for a retirement.

Though it is fun and self serving to make a broad statement like "everyone has these problems" it isn't true though. Most other professions don't start out as deeply in the hole as pilots and the ones that do pay much better.

SkyHigh

SkyHigh

We could all retire as pilots by 50 if we lived with two other families in a 35 foot long trailer for the next ten years and planned on moving to a small town in rural Mexico upon retirement.

We could also retire here in the USA if we were to move into a refrigerator box on first street. Figuring out how to retire is really easy. The question is will you be happy later with your choices today.

Skyhigh

ChrisH

You are correct, but I did say "almost everybody", not that "everybody" is going through the same thing. Not all pilots are going through the same thing, for that matter.

I think when you look at the general working American today, he, regardless of his/her career, is going to have a harder time than those retiring today. Retirement today, is something that the worker, himself, has to plan for, when before, the company played a MUCH larger role. On top of that, salaries/wages are down near 4% since 2004, which doesn't help in the situation.

Other professionals do not necessarily make more than pilots, or have it easier. Some do. Lawyers have an average salary of around $95K, which isn't outside of what some regional captains I know make. I know of doctors who went through 14 years of schooling, $200K+ of debt, and were making $35K as an intern, etc., before they finally moved into the six figures. Doctors salaries are way down from years ago -- they do not make what they used to.

I really think it is just a case by case basis. Some people go to ERAU and basically have a mortgage to pay on first year pay. Others, like myself, will go into it with no loans. Starting off in any career, you have people who are in different situations. Someone can go to a local community college and major in accounting, for next to nothing, and another will go to a college that has them taking out near $80K in student loans, for the same degree. Yet, both will start in the same position, making $40K.