Who else is tired???????????????
 

Anybody else want to give up and go find another job where we can easily make more then we do as a regional pilots, not to mention weekends off? If it isn't bankruptcies or oil, its who is going top buy who blah blah blah.

The flying is ok, the schedule has potential to be great ( I love day trips and 4-day weekends), EVERYTHING else...well kinda blows....

If you guys think there will be a pilot shortage in the next 20 years, you are kidding yourselves, if it isn't for the miserable Age 65, or the airlines with 1,000's of pilots about to be out of a job, looking for a new one, it will be the ridiculous Multi Crew Pilots license.

If only I went to Riddle, I could of went from Graduation day to A320 Class.........

Flame away my good friends, flame away

Doing what i love doesn't get tiring... gotta suck it up!

well, I love to fly J-3' on a lazy summer day, but airline flying really isn't all that fun, you must be new ;)

hey saabaroowski im sure nobodys begging you to stay in the cockpit man. the world needs plenty of bartenders, so if you hate it so much hang up the headset and save us the whining.

Im tired of it and I am at a company in a position where the big F is in my eyes quite a bit away. I am looking to do something else. I have contacted colleges about returning and getting a degree in orthodonics and opening a practice.

I personally like flying but the biggest bonus (for me) in this career is the ability to move where ever I want. I get tired of living in the same spot after about 2-3 years and like to move to a completly location for a diffrent lifestyle. If your willing to commute any place is almost possible. This is something I have to discuss with the wife because once you open a practice thats where you stay.

My guess is a 300 hour guy.

Oh and SAABaroowski thanks for starting this thread I think its a good one.

Isn't it kind of early for jack-and-coke? Or are just wrapping up last night? ;)

Hey SAAB, must be all that boring jet cruise time. Come back to colgan and back to "real" flying in the SAAB. It's calling your name. You have to admit, Colgan sucks but was it ever boring?

Last summer I moved, and watched the movers labor in 100 degree plus heat to unload a 53 foot 18 wheeler full of stuff.

This is just one of many many examples of jobs that i think to myself...no ..freaking..way

I can't see myself doing anything else, not do I want to do anything else.

We all got the sickness...

I am not very new and I still enjoy it.

haah Yeah, Its been on my mind as of late, like I said I love the company and I "love" the job, but for the amount of cash,stress,heartache, aggravation, BS you put up with, there is no guarantee you'll ever make it to another carrier etc......and if you do, well whos to say after years of being there, BOOM airline is bankrupt and you are on the street LOOKING FOR ANOTHER AIRLINE JOB making...............you guessed it, less then 40,000.00. I am young and can bounce back, but I feel sick to think about what these guys and their families at ALOHA, ATA, SKYBUS (I feel for them too), possibly Frontier, MESA, SkyWay, are gonna do. You used to "pay your dues" and you were rewarded in the end, but in this industry, at least the past 10 years, its been nothing but heartache and misery.

I have only been doing this 121 thing for 3 years, I know I have a lot to learn, but it is hard to watch my friends move on, get married , buy a house, have kids, and here I am wondering what hell is going to become of my industry. I am 27 and I barely am getting by, sure I have enough money to buy a few toys/stuff here and there but Savings account is practically non-existent.


PS Like I said, We all love the job and that actually may be the problem, we don't mind working for low-pay. I am just a little disappointed of what the Industry has turned into, we all deserve better, just sick of paying for managements mistakes.

i worked in a steel mill for about 6 months over the summer, right out of high school. 3 rotating shifts, and the temperature averaged about 125 degrees every day in there. i think i job like that puts things into perspective. theres nothing else id rather be doing, because i figure a couple of hours of boredom one day in a cockpit beats laboring in heat haha.

Sadly I dont think we will ever see "the good ole days" again. My personal opinion is that Asia is going to be the new economic superpower of the world. Its only a matter of time. If we want our lifestyle and wages back you are going to have to be willing to be an expat and never look back. I personally am one of the guys willing to do this and am working as hard as I can to get a foot in the door somewhere over in that part of the world.

I wonder if dog really tastes as good as people say it does? :)

yes, I understand that, however not every job is working in a steel mill, or a farm. I have a buddy that works for a marketing firm in Manhattan, makes well over $100,000.00 and also loves his job. If he loses that job he will find another making close to that. Think about what it takes to make six figures in the airline world.

Hard Labor blows, but Airline flying is hard on your personal life, along with a million other negative things, point is we have a huge responsibility up there, a very unstable career ahead of us, I just think the the money needs to start to climb, or many people including myself will say, "the hell with this". I don't know how much I am willing to sacrifice to make it to a major, probably a lot, I am just afraid of the cost.......personal life finances etc.......

It would be nice to have a career with some SECURITY. In this industry there are WAY too many things that can screw you over. And its not like you can go find another job and make the same amount right off the bat.

exactly and the lack of job security is one thing, but combine that with pay, its depressing

i wanna move to europe and fly

I just wanna be a pornstar. How much does that pay? and no I will not do gay porn.

I was gonna ask if you are a male or female. If your female go for it!! IF your male, i can tell you from personal experience that your better off as a rj FO at skywest.;)

HAHAHA... you might be on to something.. hmm

Funny how everyone assumes you're new if you love your airline job these days... just doin what i love no complaints... dont hate cause u cant say the same

Hey SaaB, Been doin this 18 years now and looking back I feel your pain. I have to agree with you and frankly I am at the breaking point. The flying is great; all other stuff you mentioned couldnt be more true. I'm with ya on this one.

wow.....wow

It seems like the rest of the world treats airline pilots right...however here in the US they're treated like a truck/bus drivers (no offense). Almost every other country pays their pilots well, gives them good work rules, and treates them right. I just understand why the US airlines cant do the same...Are there simply too many pilots here???? Plus you dont hear about too many foreign airlines going out of business or furloughing hundreds of pilots...why is it only happening here????

Too many pilots chasing jobs and willing to do it for minimum wage. Every company out there nows they can treat you like crap cause someone else is waiting to take your job and even do it cheaper.

You are new. SJS maybe?

You love 13 hour days? You love 8 hour reduce rest overnights? You love being junior manned? You love thinking you're going home, only to get extended? You love 4 hours productivity sits? You love 10 days off a month? You love seeing your family 2-3 days a week? You love getting the run around while on reserve? You love getting pressured to finish a trip when knows its illegal, then get threatened to miss trip you? You love having to take a pay CUT to move to a major?

None of this apply to you? Just wait til you upgrade or move on to a new airline.

Thanks Spooled> I just honestly didn't have the breath to try and keep an argument going. HAHAHA

I couldn't have said it better myself.

You guys who haven't done anything but fly sure can complain about a pretty good job and life style. Saab just try and get a $100,000 a year job with no experince. Every job is just a job they all get old after awhile and none of them have any real securety. All the manufactureing jobs are going to china and theres always somebody waiting to underbid your service jobs.
If you want a real taste of a job that sucks quite flying and try to find a good paying entry level job and have at it.

That's true. I don't love this job, but it's the only thing I can think of doing that pays okay and isn't incredibly boring. I took a non-flying job for a couple months back in 2004. It paid a little better, but not much...I quit after less than 2 months because it was sooo damn boring and the managers kept micro-managing everybody.
I'll stick it out in this industry until I get furloughed or my health goes.

Stap Weining girlyman!

I am in the Air Force stuck in a cublicle. I cant even quit my job to go and follow my passion and fly due to my commitment to the Air Force. You can ALWAYS quit your job! I cant or I go to jail!

Plus, there are tons of opportunities in aviation. Just look for them!

I like what I do. I don't like the headaches, but having done other forms of work that supposedly pays well, I can say that no matter where you go there will be frustrations with pay and management. My biggest fear and complaint with this industry is that nasty effect of our seniority system. If you lose your job, you go back to the bottom with respect to pay and schedule. If I lost my engineering job at Boeing, there is a good chance I would have landed another job paying similar or more (for my experience gained at the last job). In this world, none of that experience matters. That is what scares me. I see where you are coming from SAAB.

I appreciate the insight of a guy with your experience. I am going to ask my girlfriend of 5 years to marry me soon, and the thing is we talk about all these plans, and the future, and in the back of my head I am thinking "Sweety for all you know I could be an F/O at another regional, making 20k or even be without a job when our first kid comes, and here we are talking about private vs public school". My girlfriend makes a lot of money, but I don't want to be the bum husband ya know?

and to the comments about entry level jobs, here in the NYC Metro area, you can get a sales/marketing job with your personality alone, making way more to start then any regional guy out there. I just feel like I am wasting my talent sometimes. I am very personable and know if I worked for a corporation I would bust my A** and move up within the company, or with another company, (all under your control) each time making more and more money. In the airlines (WE HAVE ALL WITNESSED THIS), It does not matter how good of a person/pilot you are), your Seniority dictates everything. Look at the SCABS at CAL, or I know here at Express, there are a few pilots that literally banged a wingtip with a 10kt crosswind, and guess what???????????? They are over at CAL now..........

Just figured I would throw this stuff out there for discussion the more guys I talk to/fly with share the same feelings, Interested in what you guys thought

Saab-
I feel your pain, we all have had those same thoughts at one time or another. I appreciate your honesty, the truth for many of us is that if we could all go back in time maybe many of us would have taken a different career path. It will get worse before it gets better but maybe after a coup;e more years the sun will shine through on this industry for all. Currently though, yep, would not recommend this career to any one.

HOLY CRAP ARE WE TWINS!?!! Its like looking in a mirror. Been at a regional now for about 3 years. Just got engaged to my girlfriend of 5 years. Minus the fact that mine makes crap for money its kind of weird.

I can't wait to be the bum husband. My wife finishes up her nursing degree in the fall. I told her from then on, the family's income is on her, I'm just going to work for the flight benefits, haha!

My wife is almost done with her teaching credential. Soon I can drop my schedule down and start working the ramp for UPS. Maybe.

my wife makes me look like a bum too.

But this is one of the reasons I try not to ***** too much about my life.
we bought our house in college, our debt we do have is very well managed.
she makes life at a regional liveable.

I do feel for some that cannot afford first year pay by themselves. I for one could not have done it without my wife.

But that is how QOL goes for two different people within the same company though.

Reeves

So I guess this is the thread that we all **** and moan about our choices. I just got off a 16 hour duty day waiting out a line of thunderstorms...in a Shorts you can blast through and take your chances(I'm too old for that stupidity) or you can wait and make a long day longer(still think I'm too old for that stupidty). Yes I am a low time pilot flying cargo in a Shorts. Been doing it for 4 months. Strange thing is I had a pretty good sales job, worked for a company for ten years making good money(not great but good) and working about 30 hours a week(included time spent at bars or golf courses with customers). For some reason I decided to quit and get a job flying. Guess I was bored. Not bored anymore. Tired, underpaid, and treated like a dog by my company. Why do any of us choose this profession? Guess I'm not too old for stupidity.

For what it's worth, I'm generally happy. I'm cognizant of reality, and that tempers the happiness somewhat, but overall I can't complain.