Sky,

What is exactly your experience level? How long were you in the industry and what type of companies did you work for? I am sure in your many posts this has been covered but I missed it. Just trying to get an idea on how your attitude towards aviation was formed.

My story
 

I am the classic aviation dreamer college kid followed by several years as a flight instructor. Then I moved into Alaska bush flying for more then five years to be followed by time as a corporate/charter/medivac jet guy. Eventually I made it to a regional and after two years moved onto a Low Cost Carrier as a 757 FO for three years before they imploded.

I did everything I could to make my dream come true. Knocked on doors and took the best jobs that I was offered. I sent out applications and resumes to every airline I knew of and regularly attended job fairs across the country. I networked with all my friends. It was a long and hard road. Most of the time I was miserable. As a professional pilot my quality of life was worse than when I was in college. I slept in hangars and on couches. And was poor most of the time.

Most of my flying jobs were filled with high adventure though that was not my goal. My dream was to fly for Alaska Airlines and I eagerly would have traded my time as a smokejumper pilot and all the rest to have gotten a job with them long ago. I got as far as a two interviews before I was laid off from my 757 job and the market tanked. By then I had a wife two kids and one on the way.

We had hardly moved into our first starter home as a family when we had to leave it and go back to living in a two bedroom apartment on $1300 a month of unemployment. No health insurance and no job prospects. Everyone that I knew at the time was unemployed also.

Having a family in tow changes your perspectives a lot. I was tired of packing my family into a rusty old UHaul every few years to move to yet another dead end job. By the time I was 36 and after nearly two decades of effort it was becoming obvious that I was getting nowhere in life as a pilot.

Skyhigh

I used to find SkyHigh's negativity annoying, but he has pretty much been spot on, and I think he's lucky he got kicked out. I do think he misses the job, just not the career ;)

Looking back
 

Looking back I think that my biggest career complication was the nagging thought that I could do better. After more than a decade of daily dedicated effort, a perfect career record and four years gaining an aviation degree the best I could do was $492 every two weeks as a "respected" regional first officer.

Some seem content to accept whatever aviation wants to dish out. They aimlessly devote themselves to an unfair system and seem unconcerned with letting their lives blow around to wherever corner of aviation fate wishes to take them. I could not become comfortable with that. My future belongs in my hands. As an average line pilot the most we can do is to keep a clean record and continue to show up for work. Upgrade and advancement is at the whim of management, the economy and the system.

There is little we can do to effect where we end up as pilots. I did not like being limited by circumstances that were out of my control.

Skyhigh

Yea
 

I miss flying and my dream but not the career. You guys are all that I have left of my airline career. :)

Skyhigh

Sky doesnt represent all the experiences in the airlines. If it were up to him, no one would be happy in aviation.

I personally know of many respected regional first officers that DEFINITELY make more than $492 dollars every two weeks. The experience is different for everybody folks, take what Skyhigh is saying with HALF a grain of salt.

The writings on the wall.....an entire generation is getting ready to retire. A whirlwind of movement is getting ready to happen, all that is left to figure out is how soon this attrition storm will start.

Wow, really your friends are respected that much to make more than $492 a week?? Hate to break it to you but from what I see most people do make more than that. Regional FO's sure aren't making $2000 a week, but they should. Respected as individuals by the public and us maybe. Respected by the airlines themselves not so much so in my opinion :rolleyes:

There may be a shortage of pilots willing to work for meager wages in the future. So yeah, there may be alot of jobs available. Question is whether the new vacancies will be regional jobs or mainline? 20,000 empty pilot seats doesn't mean much when a majority of them are $20,000 a year FO seats. In my opinion, I'd rather have 1 ferrari than 20 kia's in my driveway.

Yeah, back when everyone was hiring and the industry was looking bright I think we all thought Skyhigh's negative posts towards this career were annoying to say the least. Unfortunately, they are accurate for the most part as we all have seen too many experienced pilots kicked to the street to either stay in the industry and be forced to start over financially or quit the career all together. There is no way to sugarcoat it, this career just isnt worth it anymore from a financial standpoint.

Hold on to your dream
 

$492 every two weeks is what I made as a regional pilot. I certainly hope that pilots today make more however from what I read about Colgan pilots it does not sound like they make much more.

Keep dreaming about retirements. The same thinking got me though a lot of dark times as a pilot, and it might still come to pass, however it does not necessarily translate in a better future.

The real question is if the jobs will be worth having by then. Is it really worth it to go through all this to finally make it to a legacy and earn slightly more than a mailman?

Skyhigh

Have you not been paying attention? Is that a serious question? I suggest you read this entire thread before interjecting your opinion.

Where do you think the majority of the Age 65 retirements are going to happen? An entire generation is getting ready to retire from many mainline carriers.