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Manual Labor
Someone here asked if I have ever worked a manual labor job before and yes I have. Outside of aviation construction is the only other profession I have. It was a hot day on the job site that inspired me to go to college and better myself. The problem was that after the effort I wasn't better. In fact I was making less than if I had stayed as a construction laborer.
Most of you seem to gloss past details like that however they always bothered me. Why is it that the Seattle Times runs a huge front page article about how the Seattle Police are hiring high school kids and paying them 3300 a month as a trainee while regional airline pilots spend over 100K in training and education and perhaps 8 years in school and initial experience building to reach the same point? The reason is that people will fall on their sword in order to be able to say at parties and high school reunions that they have an interesting sounding job while in fact they live in poverty. In the past jobs that required education, were complicated or needed a high level of expensive vocational training earned the higher wages. Today it is the jobs that are difficult or not so glamorous that are becoming the big bread winners. I believe it is because our country has an overly efficient university system and now we can get student loans for just about anything. Currently I build houses and rent them out. Most days I sit at home and make phone calls or do some paperwork; not much really. On occasion I have to crawl in the mud and dig under a foundation or get covered in paint from head to toe. I don't do manual labor that often but it does commonly occur. My job is not glamorous or overly difficult but it has taken my family and I from being reduced to a two bedroom apartment, after I was laid off at my last flying job, to living like a old style major airline captain. I have been able to earn more in one year than during my entire 16 years as a professional pilot combined. We all sacrifice a lot for the interesting "sounding" job and to fly. As you all know I miss flying every day. It hurts to have to watch as my career passes me by, but all I have to do is to remember how badly it hurt to be among the working poor. I recall the 3:30 AM get ups and the all night red-eyes. I remember how miserable it was to be a junior pilot at an LCC or regional and it all comes back to me. Today I get up when I feel like it and spend my days doing whatever I want, with a few exceptions. Not a bad trade. All I had to do was to give up a dream that I wasn't meant for anyway. Life is good as an airline pilot if you get hired at one of the better majors while still young enough to get someplace. Outside of that it is daily torture. SkyHigh |
We’re talking about wages in areas like Seattle, SF and LA. Yes you have to get paid higher wages than the national average because it cost so much to live there. My brother is a Police Officer in Bowling Green, KY and after 5 years on the force he is finally around 45K a year. If you're an airline pilot you can live almost anywhere if you’re willing to commute. So you live in Louisville or Cinncy where is costs 25% of what it does in SoCal or NorCal to live, your money now goes a lot further. I live in PHX and it cost about half of what it does in SoCal. I spent 10 years in KY where it cost 1/2 of what it does here.
And my wages don't change based up where I live. |
Another lucrative alternative to being a pilot: farming!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZuB...elated&search= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-v1z...elated&search= |
Originally Posted by sflpilot
(Post 124036)
It's very sad, but most pilots really don't care what they get paid. They just want to fly. I would bet that even if some of them were homeless they would not complain as long as they could keep flying.
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while regional airline pilots spend over 100K in training and education and perhaps 8 years in school The reason is that people will fall on their sword in order to be able to say at parties and high school reunions that they have an interesting sounding job while in fact they live in poverty. In the past jobs that required education, were complicated or needed a high level of expensive vocational training earned the higher wages. Today it is the jobs that are difficult or not so glamorous that are becoming the big bread winners. I believe it is because our country has an overly efficient university system and now we can get student loans for just about anything. Currently I build houses and rent them out. Most days I sit at home and make phone calls or do some paperwork; not much really. On occasion I have to crawl in the mud and dig under a foundation or get covered in paint from head to toe. I don't do manual labor that often but it does commonly occur. My job is not glamorous or overly difficult but it has taken my family and I from being reduced to a two bedroom apartment, after I was laid off at my last flying job, to living like a old style major airline captain. I have been able to earn more in one year than during my entire 16 years as a professional pilot combined. We all sacrifice a lot for the interesting "sounding" job and to fly. As you all know I miss flying every day. It hurts to have to watch as my career passes me by, but all I have to do is to remember how badly it hurt to be among the working poor. I recall the 3:30 AM get ups and the all night red-eyes. I remember how miserable it was to be a junior pilot at an LCC or regional and it all comes back to me. Today I get up when I feel like it and spend my days doing whatever I want, with a few exceptions. Not a bad trade. All I had to do was to give up a dream that I wasn't meant for anyway. Life is good as an airline pilot if you get hired at one of the better majors while still young enough to get someplace. Outside of that it is daily torture. SkyHigh |
Originally Posted by Ellen
(Post 124487)
If no one applied to the airlines starting today, because of low wages, I would bet that within 3-6 months wages would increase 25%-40%.
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Commuting costs money
Originally Posted by JetJock16
(Post 124466)
We’re talking about wages in areas like Seattle, SF and LA. Yes you have to get paid higher wages than the national average because it cost so much to live there. My brother is a Police Officer in Bowling Green, KY and after 5 years on the force he is finally around 45K a year. If you're an airline pilot you can live almost anywhere if you’re willing to commute. So you live in Louisville or Cinncy where is cost 25% of what it does in SoCal or NorCal to live, your money mow goes a lot furthure. I live in PHX and it cost about half of what it does in SoCal. I spent 10 year in KY where it cost 1/2 of what it does here.
And my wages don't change based up where I live. Depending on your commute a pilot can loose one to several days a month to commuting. Time that could be better spent with family or earning more at something else. Commuters commonly have added expenses of crash pads, airport cars, hotels, cab rides and the normal added expenses of being on the road. Often these added expenses can add up to a lot, if one were to take the time to look. We fool ourselves into thinking that we can cheat the high costs of living in urban areas by fleeing to depressed regions to make our crummy pay checks make sense. Few take into account lost days and the other associated expenses. These false assumptions are another tool that management uses to cut the pay even more. Overlooked Truths about aviation: Per Diem isn't pay A pilot earns only what his stated base pay is. Selling your days off and vacation time is sacrificing the days of your life for a miserable return. It does not count as being paid to be a pilot for the company and should not be counted as such. Commuting costs a lot. It is another way we can sell even more of out time off. Lets not forget that often the "cop" does not have 100K in student loans and looks forwads to a good retirement. And, they also have the ability to work overtime that pilots love to overlook. Skyhigh |
Originally Posted by SkyHigh
(Post 124456)
Currently I build houses and rent them out.
I've been going to Habitat to learn the ins/outs of construction as it's something I want to get into on the side. I like flying but the inherent value of creating something out of nothing like you can in construction really can't be beat if you know what you are doing. That's my problem though - I have no idea what I'm doing :D!! |
Sacrifices
Originally Posted by johnso29
(Post 124504)
Do people really spend this much...I think this is the extreme case. I spent nowhere near this much time or money. Everything in here is YOUR life and YOUR case. Just because this is what happened to YOU does not mean it is what will happen to everyone else. Many others will move on to meaningful careers which they are happy with and enjoy. Others will be unhappy and try different things. Everyones life and case is different. There are many different circumstances for everyone. Some have sick parents or grandparents or children. Some live in expensive parts of the country, others have inherited debt. My point is that everyones life is NOT LIKE YOURS, so good for you that you found something that makes YOU happy. Flying makes me happy. I have no children, and I live in the Midwest so cost of living is not even close to Seattle, therefore I do not consider my choice to fly to be selfish. My current income is right on par if not higher than most jobs in my area. It certainly beats police officers, UPS Drivers, and Garbage Men. Flying makes me happy, and YOU WILL NEVER CHANGE THAT!:D
Go and be happy. If your dream in life is to be a loner recluse then you have found the perfect occupation. One day if you are lucky you might get married and have children and if that day comes the sacrifices you are currently making will become painfully obvious. You are right. I do make assumptions based upon my own life. I assume that others have similar desires as to myself. I assume that most wish to have a full and balanced life, that they are concerned about their own financial well being, that they value time at home and to have the ability to pursue outside interests. My guess would be that others desire to have their efforts be fairly compensated and to enjoy at least a middle class lifestyle after so much effort, education, training and expense. Anyone with a rational bearing on the future should have some kind of retirement concerns as well. I am consistently proven wrong about my assumptions. Some seem to have their heads in the sand, they don't seem to take an honest measure of their returns. Their actions are in compatible with what most rational people would do or ecpect. They live in a well fortified world of denial and those people are called airline pilots. How else can they be comfortable with the current situation? SkyHigh |
Pm
Originally Posted by fosters
(Post 124517)
How do you do this? Do you buy the land, and hire the contractor to build the home, and build with a construction loan/HML? Why not just buy homes and rent them out? Can it be done cheaper with you building it? Are these SFH or duplex/apartment "homes"?
I've been going to Habitat to learn the ins/outs of construction as it's something I want to get into on the side. I like flying but the inherent value of creating something out of nothing like you can in construction really can't be beat if you know what you are doing. That's my problem though - I have no idea what I'm doing :D!! SKyHigh |
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