This is yet another re-tread of the same things he always says when he starts talking about this. It is well known that owning and running a small business can be a fantastic way to build wealth. It is also well known, that working as an employee doesnt often yield the same results, particularly in an entry level position. It seems to me that he makes an "apples to oranges" comparison.

I worked one summer as a construction laborer. It didnt take long to realize that most of the people that I worked with were drunk, stoned or sometimes both. Believe it or not, I worked for one of the more reputable contractors in my area. Maybe construction workers on the west coast get paid well, but in my area, the only people that take those jobs these days are Hispanics. If these jobs were the fantastic paying jobs that he thinks they are, there would be much more competition for them. Obviously, regional differences have an impact. Any construction worker that makes a reasonable living can also expect to be making more or less the same wage his entire career with no possibility of career progression. At least in aviation, there is a chance that some pilots will make it to the next higher level.

The police officer analogy is also weak. Even when police officers are off duty, they are still often carrying their guns and badges with them, as they are required to provide assistance if they encounter something.

UPS and FedEx delivery drivers can also make a reasonably good living. However, as others have already pointed out, they work *very* hard for that wage.

 

I am currently married and we are happy. I am far from a loner, and your belief that it is impossible to have a successful marriage and family with this job is proof that your head is in the sand. It is proof that you live in denial. You are correct in the fact that there are pilots with failed marriages. But guess what...there are policemen, lawyers, doctors, construction workers, garbage men, grocery clerks, dentists, teachers, contractors, etc with failed marriages as well. They can also live in a world of denial. Perhaps the only way you deal with the fact that you left something you love is to continually talk down against it and subcontiously tell yourself that you don't miss it. Perhaps that is the only way you can deal with what you feel was a mistake. Everyones life is different, and that is something you cannot deny.

 

His arguments are weak. He uses the same examples and same situations in every post he makes, and it is impossible to cover the many different situations that pilots in America experience. I got all of my ratings for less then $20,000. Thats a fifth of the so called $100,000 debt that everyone apparently has. Many of the occupations he states make more in fact make far less than I do where I live. And good for him that he found a business that works for him, but not everyone can or wants to do that. Once again, he bases many things on his individual situation and thinks thats how everyone elses life is.

 

The irony of this thread going off on a tangent is its one that takes place on an almost monthly basis around here just under a different title. I think Skyhigh gets his rocks off by throwing flame bait out there and watching everyone just go nuts on him.

 

I dont even know what that means Kool Aid drinkers.

 

The time before (wife, kids,mortgage,car payments, cub scouts, soccer, etc) I guess?

 

I want a job that's not too demanding
Like where you do a lot of standing
No way to be an elevator operator
No way a salesman, no way a waiter
Cause I'm a gentleman, gentleman of leisure

The classified ads got nothing too appealing
I don't know, but I just got the feeling
I might take a while to find a position
With a pretty secretary, time to do some fishing
Cause I'm a gentleman, gentleman of leisure

I'm a gentleman
Gentleman of leisure
Set me in the sun
Gentleman of leisure
Let me take my time
Bet you I can please you

Forty-hour week - can't you make it thirty
No heavy lifting - you get yourself dirty
Beautiful office - thirty-seven floors
Paintings on the wall
Title on the door says,
Gentleman of Leisure

I look nice in a clean white collar
Take-home pay, O say a million dollars
I'll keep looking, never say die
Somebody, somewhere is looking for a guy
Who's a gentleman, gentleman of leisure

by Jesse Winchester
Performed byJimmy Buffett
©Musique Chanteclair Inc

 

Did you go to ksu?

 

I understand what you're saying but it would cost me far more to move to my domicile than commute and commuting cost me less than $150 per month. PHX is a strong market for my wife's career and there're 29 daily flights to my domicile of DEN. Here soon I’ll be able to hold TUS which is only a 2 hour drive for me.

Also, I don't know anyone who has $100K in student loans, unless you're including college and even then they are only around $80K. Most all of my friends spent in between $30K-60K, I personal spent 42K on my FLT training and $23K on college. I worked for 5 years in sales and was very successful. I was able to pay for most of my training out of my own pocket and I invested wisely with the rest. Our future looks great regardless of my position and income.

Everyone's situation is different and that is what everyone needs to understand.

 

Sky puts his crazy posts here because no one else cares to discuss the deeper significance in aviation, like how it might affect us as human beings and what it is in aviation that makes us what we are. His musings are wry, thoughtful, impassioned, genuine, and topical if not statistically correct. He is prone to exaggeration but it is clear that he is interested in what others have to say, and he cares about the airlines or the image of life they supposedly represent. He's not just a case of sour grapes, because anyone who likes an exchange of alternate views, a discussion of values, an appraisal of the status quo, and has experienced multiple lifestyles deserves an open ear and reasonably commands one. Keep up the good work! (And how about getting back on with Alaska?)