Pilot Supply
 

It is hard to imagine the pilot supply going down soon. In the world education it is still a good deal to become a pilot. I think in the future the college requirement will be dropped and pilots will come out of vocation style schools. It only takes six months to become a commercial MEL. The current generation has proved that you can put a new low time pilot in the right seat of a modern jet and they will not kill themselves. It takes less time to become a pro-pilot than to cut hair.

In addition, we have all heard the legend of the retirement wave that never materializes. I imagine that even now we have enough pilots on furlough to cover expected retirements at most companies for the next decade at least.


SkyHigh

iflyjets4food:
quite an interesting outlook you have on things, quite a bit of bitterness... i recently got back from an NWA team charter to WVU and sat with the pilots for about an hour at the hotel and they offered advice exactly opposite of yours... they are not bitter people like some people (wont name names) and one is a civilian and one is former USAF, but they offered some good thoughts on the prospects of the industry... they believe that NWA will end up merging with Delta and that the crews will join, leaving many many people out in the cold, forcing them to either work cheap or leave flying... they said if it were them, the second choice is more practical... you cant expect someone to go from a $70K right seat spot with seniority to just drop and go to the regionals.. it wont happen
as for a guy like myself, they are pleased that young pilots are stepping up.. they are more pleased to see a 21 year old like myself coming into it with a good head and good heart for it, then someone who switched out of a deadend job at age 40 and wanted something "new".. (sorry if i just offended anyone, im just quoting here)... im not chuck yeager over here, and like all good pilots, all my ratings are just a ticket to learn, so i wont go tell a line holder for 10 years about whats good for the industry.. however, from the extensive list of people i have spoken with, they all say the industry is about dealing with the turbulence of the business world...
the best advice ive heard yet came from the FO: "if you dont like it, dont do it, there is always someone who wants your job. if you can come to work, not worry solely about the money, and remember why you started flying in the first place, you will be happier at work, more appreciative of your job, and have a long career doing what you love"
do i deserve a jet job at 600TT, most likely not.. does it mean someone with that time is an inferior pilot, no... just means they havent been around the block as long... im not only speaking for myself, but give the young guys a chance here... maybe your jealous because it took you $xxxxx to get your right seat at a regional and now it is much cheaper because of lower standards, but for christ's sake, if you have a job, enjoy it, and pass your enjoyment onto someone from the next generation

Skyhigh,

I've never met an unemployed barber? Have you?

-LA

Uconn
 

Uconn,

Your story didn't sound so uplifting to me. It sounded like those pilots told you that half or more of the pilots at DAL and NWA were going to loose their jobs if they were to merge. They are probably right about that too. Keep in mind that though there are tiny moments of occasional joy flying an airliner it is still very much a job. It is work and much of it is unfun. And it takes some serious blow to keep a family and real life going. If things keep getting worse I am sure that you and your generation will have the industry all to yourselves very soon. Consider barber school as a back up. The guy who cuts my hair lives very well.

SkyHigh

UConnQB14-

I couldn't have put it better myself. I understand that most people out there that fly have to support their families, but I also get the feeling that there is a little bit of a hatred for the young pilots coming up today. I don't see why soo many people bash us (me being 23 years old I read a lot of these articles and have to bite my lip) just because we are doing what we love. Just like you said and I couldn't have put it better myself, "If you have a job, enjoy it, and pass your enjoyment onto someone from the next generation!!!!"

Not a hater!!!!
 

I have no hatred for young pilots, I am only 25 years old myself. What does drive me crazy is that starry eyed pilots who have 500 hours in a Cessna 172 and 100 hours in a Piper Seminole believe that they are now owed a spot on a regional jet with 50 paying customers in the back. I'm not saying that at 600 hours you are not capable of being a crewmember on a larger airplane, but it takes someone who has really learned outside the norms in their 600 hours, not just beating around in a trainer. As a crewmember on a regional jet you should be every bit as capable of operating that airplane as the captain you fly with. You should be a resource to said captain, not a liability. Now, that completes my rant. I understand that management in this industry is willing to hire the starry eyed 600 hour 'wonder' into their regional jets, and I also understand your side of things that if you could fly a regional jet or a 172 you'd rather have the regional jet with the 'bump' in pay that you'll get no longer instructing. Just be extremely careful. You are not owed that job, and you do not deserve that job. There are plenty of pilots who are out of work who are much more qualified than you. Oh, and I do like to fly, I just see this career from all sides, and the financial one is a valid one.

Young Guins
 

No one is blaming you for taking an opportunity. We are just mad that it is there. Back when we started it was common to be a CFI well into the 2500 mark. The appearance of young people being hired with low low time is in indicator that the industry has permanently changed for the worse. Companies have learned that they can hire young pilots, pay them minimum wage and they will not complain for a while. They are not willing to pay for experience anymore. Someday you will reach 30 and ask yourselves "How did I get here" and "Why do my friends all have nice houses and clean new cars to drive while I sleep on the floor with 4 other guys in a one bedroom apartment and have boxes for furniture"? When its time for you to move to a good company they might even be into the low time hiring game. You could be passed over because at 30 you will be considered to old and demanding. Mark my words you don't get something for nothing in this life and current events will come around to bite you in the a$$ as well.

I also think you have a greatly overrated view of what the job really is. I wouldn't say that airline pilots "enjoy" the job. Maslow's hierarchy of needs explains that your primary needs must be met before you reach career happiness. Most pilots are too focused on surviving a life of poverty to "enjoy" the career. Most of the time they are to angry, sad and frustrated. The plane becomes your beast of burden. It offers little fun or satisfaction. If you get on with a regional then you will quickly understand what I mean. Even now whenever a Dash 8 drones by overhead my stomach cramps up a little. It took years to get away from the dry heaves whenever I saw or heard one. It was very embarrassing.

SkyHigh

so what you're saying is to forget flying entirely, buy my own twin, and live life that way, buried in a cubicle at an 8-5 job, having some pain in the ass tell me to come work on saturday morning, file TPS reports (with cover letters of course), and go blind on paperwork and get a callous on my hand from hitting the stapler so many damn times... the way you guys make it sound, i might as well go play around in traffic on the Jersey Turnpike during rush hour


********** depressing

Depending on what you wear, it might pay more than that regional would!

I'm not saying get out of flying. If it is what you love, do what you love. All I am saying is that after you've been at it for awhile, and you've visited ATL twenty times over the last 6 days, the SJS (shiny jet syndrome) will wear off. If you love it more power to you. I like flying more than I would like to sell shoes, but it too is a job that provides food on my table and a roof over my head.

so the bottom line is...
do it?
dont do it?