Does anybody like Being an Airline Pilot?
04-29-2007, 05:42 AM
#121
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: Left Seat
Posts: 279
Originally Posted by SkyHigh
Hey, if we all could get hired at our dream jobs before we are too old to care anymore (goal aircraft, Plenty of days off, good pay, upgrade before we were too old to care about it anymore, great schedules, base where we live) It would be a paradise.
The reality is that it does not happen like that all to often. Most will get to fly something but your base might be 2000 miles away the pay stinks and you are gone all the time.
If you are a go no place 20 something who has never had a girlfriend in his life then even the worst job would be great, for everyone else a flying career can be different shades of hell. Maybe it will get better and maybe it wont. We all would like to think that our superior skills or decision making will spare us hardship but it simply isn't true.
Fate, circumstance and luck have the biggest impact on a pilots future. Determination can help but it can also make you blow the best years of your life. We all sit down at the card table and play a few hands. If you win the pot then go home happy. If you loose too many hands eventually wisdom says to only bet what you can afford to loose. The rest stay till there is nothing left.
Life isn't a Disney movie. The hero doesnt always win.
SKyHigh
The reality is that it does not happen like that all to often. Most will get to fly something but your base might be 2000 miles away the pay stinks and you are gone all the time.
If you are a go no place 20 something who has never had a girlfriend in his life then even the worst job would be great, for everyone else a flying career can be different shades of hell. Maybe it will get better and maybe it wont. We all would like to think that our superior skills or decision making will spare us hardship but it simply isn't true.
Fate, circumstance and luck have the biggest impact on a pilots future. Determination can help but it can also make you blow the best years of your life. We all sit down at the card table and play a few hands. If you win the pot then go home happy. If you loose too many hands eventually wisdom says to only bet what you can afford to loose. The rest stay till there is nothing left.
Life isn't a Disney movie. The hero doesnt always win.
SKyHigh
04-29-2007, 06:05 AM
#122
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Statistics show
The statistics prove it. Currently there are over 8000 new commercial pilots made every year. UPS, FedEx, SWA, CAL probably are currently hiring around 1000 collectively per year, and this is after 5 years of hiring drought. (There are perhaps as much as 40,000 commercial pilots fighting for 1000 good jobs.)
I am not alone in my opinions. This web site is not a representation of the average airline pilot. It is mostly populated by two kinds of pilots; eager wannabes and egotistical career lottery winners. Everyone else has been beaten into a corner and would never come to a place like this out of shame and the fact that they don't wish to be reminded about their situation.
It is not a coincidence that only UPS and FedEx pilots arrogantly post such opinions and fairytale foolishness. I am happy for them. I wish I could have reached my career goals too and came very close. Our cargo pilot friends live in a world where everyone makes good money and lives a great lifestyle. I must feel great. Just a few years ago flying for the cargo operators was considered to be a losers dead end. Fate alone has transformed them and their situation. We should all be happy but the truth is that there is not a fairy tale ending for most of us.
Flying is like a pull of the slot machine. Every year we take another pull and see what happens. Asking a big name cargo pilot about an aviation career is like asking a lotto winner what he thinks about gambling. They won the jackpot, but it would be a false expectation to think we will win too.
Success in this industry is a moving target. By the time you get there it is someplace else. Hiring preferences change faster than we can position ourselves to accommodate them. It use to be that the big named legacy companies were the place to be. Overnight a lot of fairy tales came to an end. No one is safe, no one has the answers. The best plan is to pick a career course and hope you are holding a winning hand before you run out of money and time.
SkyHigh
I am not alone in my opinions. This web site is not a representation of the average airline pilot. It is mostly populated by two kinds of pilots; eager wannabes and egotistical career lottery winners. Everyone else has been beaten into a corner and would never come to a place like this out of shame and the fact that they don't wish to be reminded about their situation.
It is not a coincidence that only UPS and FedEx pilots arrogantly post such opinions and fairytale foolishness. I am happy for them. I wish I could have reached my career goals too and came very close. Our cargo pilot friends live in a world where everyone makes good money and lives a great lifestyle. I must feel great. Just a few years ago flying for the cargo operators was considered to be a losers dead end. Fate alone has transformed them and their situation. We should all be happy but the truth is that there is not a fairy tale ending for most of us.
Flying is like a pull of the slot machine. Every year we take another pull and see what happens. Asking a big name cargo pilot about an aviation career is like asking a lotto winner what he thinks about gambling. They won the jackpot, but it would be a false expectation to think we will win too.
Success in this industry is a moving target. By the time you get there it is someplace else. Hiring preferences change faster than we can position ourselves to accommodate them. It use to be that the big named legacy companies were the place to be. Overnight a lot of fairy tales came to an end. No one is safe, no one has the answers. The best plan is to pick a career course and hope you are holding a winning hand before you run out of money and time.
SkyHigh
Last edited by SkyHigh; 04-29-2007 at 06:11 AM.
04-29-2007, 06:21 AM
#124
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Depression
Originally Posted by shamrok
Sky, Something bad must have happened in your life or you need medication to pull yourself out of your deep depression. I have read many of your posts that all make one feel that flying for a career is a bad choice. Every job is what you make of it and ones ability to soldier on through tough times. It sounds as if you are against anyone that wants to pursue a career in aviation. Because you tanked your career you dont want others to suceed. If your so sick of it why do you linger in these forums like a fart in the cockpit? Move on with your new found life in polpulation again. There are many of us that will continue on happily regardless of your negative comments as well as your devoted followers comments. Just let it go. No matter what you say , believe it or not, people will still pursue a flying job somewhere, and be happy. Maybe not rich, but HAPPY. And believe me, I know we all have bad days, every job does. But you make it sound as if hell is a better place than being a line holder. I think you need to see how bad life really can be before you bash the life at an airline. And I do not define bad as not being able to buy a 65 inch plasma tv. But maybe being away from home for 17 months in a hell of sand and bullets. Then you might appreciate your time doing something like flying an airplane for a living a little more. I am sure you will have all the answers to this post. But I wont give it an ounce of credit. Love it or leave it, but done waste your time here.
I am not depressed. I am not a hermit. I enjoy a full, satisfying and happy life. I have a beautiful wife and four young sons. I live in a style and manner that I always dreamed of and am my own boss. Life is not about being the richest guy on the street. It is about being able to fulfill your needs. I have accomplished that but at no thanks to aviation.
Flying is just a job and a poor one for most. My views are contrarian to most here but they are positive in intent. Get out and live your life. Aviation is addictive and can cause you to give up far more than you could receive. Each one of us needs to take an honest view of ourselves and of the industry before moving forward.
I am here because I enjoy writing as a hobby and feel I have something of value to pass on to others. Thank you for your service to our country but you don't have to spend time in a war zone to be able to recognise what a bad time is.
SkyHigh
04-29-2007, 06:26 AM
#125
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Winners
Originally Posted by TXTECHKA
persistence pays off no matter what your career. Quitters can't get ahead because they quit rather than doing what it takes to make it.
Sure,, anyone can make it, but what are you willing to loose in the process? If I were willing to pass up getting married, having children, enjoying a life full of old friends, family and building a financial future I too could be putting on a white shirt with epaulets every morning. I choose to have a life instead.
I choose a different path. I made a change and in the process I lost a career but won much more. Flying can blind you from the way to a good life. To me it is no different from alcohol or drug abuse.
Skyhigh
04-29-2007, 06:53 AM
#126
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Four
I have a son who turns four today. In years past while working as a pilot would have enjoyed the event though emailed pictures, faxes and phone calls. Most of the important events of my life took place without me present. I was never in any of the pictures because I was never there.
I am still not in many of the pictures but now it is because I am usually the guy behind the camera. Some here have accused me of shorting myself from life's bounty by missing out on another ILS approach. I however think differently.
SkyHigh
I am still not in many of the pictures but now it is because I am usually the guy behind the camera. Some here have accused me of shorting myself from life's bounty by missing out on another ILS approach. I however think differently.
SkyHigh
04-29-2007, 07:24 AM
#128
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: Left Seat
Posts: 279
Sky, I wish your son a happy birthday today! I see your view and commend you for doing what you felt was the right descision for you and your family. However, that was the right move for you. Everyone has a different situation and different values. Like you said, flying is just a job. But so is every other career. And yes, I know all about the pay and such. If your the sole provider in your houshold then I dont see how one coud survive on early year FO pay. I am 36 and have a wife and 2 yr. old little girl. I am fontunate that my wife has a good career and loves her job, otherwise I would not be able to provide for my family very well. But my wife accepts what I am doing and she see's the smile I have from ear to ear. To us, thats important. I owned my own small building co. and the money was excellent, but my free time and stress levels were not good. I was working 7 days a week, and decided that the money was not worth it. I discovered that I could be happier with less money and doing something I already knew I loved, flying. Thats just my situation. Could it change? Sure. But for now my wifes happy, I am happy and my daughter is happy and we are all living in a nice area in New England, and we are smart enough to plan ahead with the money we do earn. We are not rich , but happy and enjoy the simple things in life. You seem like a good father so go enjoy the birthday party!
04-29-2007, 08:43 AM
#130
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Posts: 125
Originally Posted by Freightpuppy
I don't understand why you are broke. Doesn't your wife work?
Are you a capt? If you are, there is no reason you should be broke. 130 credit hours should have you making pretty good money. If you are an FO, why didn't you upgrade yet? It's less than a year on the Brasilia. If you have been there a couple of years, you could be a jet captain. Either way, you should be a captain already getting PIC time to get out of there.
Are you a capt? If you are, there is no reason you should be broke. 130 credit hours should have you making pretty good money. If you are an FO, why didn't you upgrade yet? It's less than a year on the Brasilia. If you have been there a couple of years, you could be a jet captain. Either way, you should be a captain already getting PIC time to get out of there.
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