To the OP; I'd give anything to be in your situation. Try being in mine. Not gonna go into any details, but there are some here that know what I'm talking about. You're in a good position my friend.....hang in there.....perservere.




atp

 

While I agree with you, I feel the exact opposite (whatever that means). I flight instructed for over three years and have been at my airline for nearly five. All the "dirt" I have eaten so far makes me appreciate the hard work I've put in so far and gives me motivation for continuing to plug away. While there are many here with very valid reasons for getting out, I think there are also many pilots who were able to get an airline job at a very early stage in their career who are too willing just to give it up when times are tough. While the outlook at the moment is not pretty, I'm not willing to give it up at this point because I do think there will be an improvement. Perhaps we all have different thresholds but at any point I don't think this can be a satisfying career, I'm out and can feel good with that decision.

 

If you are getting burned out after only a couple of years, put yourself in my position. Been flying for 36 years, CFI for 34, part-time albeit. You can read my short life story on this and getting into the regionals, and getting out, on another thread in this line. (Stay or get out?) Did not mean to bore anyone.

 

First off, we have ALL been there. ANNYONE with a career has been there. That said, I think the guys who DON'T have to "eat any dirt" and had it "easy" are the ones who are the most miserable when they get to the airlines (not to mention some of the biggest toolbags with the least perspective...but I digress). Having had two other "careers" and nearly 3 years of flight instruction on my way to the regionals I just have to shake my head and laugh when some of these guys and gals start whining. A three hour sit? OH NOES!!! The INJUSTICE! Try standing behind a bar for 10 hours to make $12 in tips along with your $3.50/hr pay. They rolled your day off and now you only get 13 days off instead of 14?! How will you ever SURVIVE!? I remember being busy with flight instructing and having 2-4 days off per MONTH. I guess its different when you do it to yourself? Keep in mind most working stiffs only get 8 or LESS days off per month. A 5am wakeup call?! Do those schedulers think we're MACHINES?! My girlfriend (high school teacher) is out of bed at 0515 and out the door at 0615 EVERY MORNING. With a quick stop at the gym, she is rarely home before 6pm to enjoy 3-4 hours of grading and preparation before doing it all again the next day.

So in summation, things may appear bleak and miserable at times but try and have some perspective. If you can stay positive and make the best of situations that are less than ideal, you are lightyears ahead of the miserable stooges in this business (or any business for that matter). This job can be one of the easiest and most rewarding jobs out there. It can also grind you down and burn you out if YOU let it. Maybe a week or two off will refresh you and let you approach instructing and the career with some new enthusiasm.

 

freezingflyboy...well said

 

It was not too long ago that after completing a four year degree it was common to flight instruct for a few years to then be followed by a few more years of flying night piston cargo or part 135. To then have to figure out how to pick up some turbine time somehow before getting the privilege of flying for a regional one day only then to be stuck in the right seat for most of a decade.

By the time you started to make school teacher wages you were in your mid-30's and had been in the profession for more than ten years. As the best days of your life go down the drain your friends are getting married having children and buying houses. We most likely will be getting back to those conditions as the recession begins to sort itself out.

A pilots ability to accept even more hardship is not so good after crawling though the mud for so long. Eventually the reality sets in that this is how it is going to be for the rest of your flying career. The object of your greatest passion begins to turn on you and become the biggest obstacle to your overall happiness.

Or maybe not. In any case I think it is a delicate combination of sacrifice and reward. Anything outside of that, too easy or hard, and a pilot can be miserable.

Skyhigh

 

So you want to be an airline pilot? No offense, but you already HAVE an airline lifestyle. 115degree heat with no APU, stress of endless checkrides, 4 flights a day for 12 hours of work, sitting around the airport on your days off, lower-middle class pay with student loans, and early burn-out! That sums it up pretty well, only you get to see exotic places like Cleveland, Fargo, and Midland Odessa at the regionals (we have all-u-can-eat cookie snacks and sodas too).

Don't mean to be Debbie-Downer here, but hey, you're employed in a lousy time for aviation. It may not seem like it, but you're blessed.

 

Easy on Cleveland. It was exotic today. 62 degrees in mid-November and no snow?

Yea, imagine raiding the galley cart to get the big packages of Biscoff cookies because it will be so late by the time you get to the hotel, that you will have nothing to eat. A big bottle of water (the same kind you can buy at Big Lots btw) and some cinnamon ginger cookies really hits the spot after a 14-hour day.

 

while i agree with a lot of your post im going to staunchly disagree with your acceptance of these two arguments.

it is never kosher for a company to take away scheduled days off. what happens when that 14th day that disappears in someone's wedding, an important birthday or something else that is important to you.

second, i have never accepted the argument of comparing the days off we as pilots get compared to that of the normal worker. while others may get only 8 days off, they get to go home every night kiss their wife and kids goodnight and sleep in their own bed. while i dont have a wife and kids i think about that reality someday (hopefully still years away ) and think of the difference between the two situations.

 

And while I also agree with both of your points, I don't think they are fair comparisons. I agree that scheduled time off should NOT be taken away by management. However, what if time off where you work is awarded based on nothing more consistent and transparent than first come/first served and/or who has a better relationship with the manager who does the scheduling? Or whether or not you can afford to take the time off and still achieve project benchmarks so as not to get your ass canned.

I also don't think its fair to believe that in most 9-5's work actually ends at 5 and is "turned off" the same way it is in this business when you get home and take off the uniform. Maybe I was raised by workaholic parents and live with a workaholic girlfriend but it seems to me that a lot of work is done after-hours at home, taking away from time with friends and family. This was true of both my parents (project management and software consultants), one of my other careers (IT network design and implementation) as well as the current girlfriend (high school teacher). Don't even ask about my friends in finance and software design, I never talk to them any more So I think that at best, having 3-4 solid days off per week is comparable to a 9-5 where a couple of hours at home each night and on weekends is devoted to work. In addition, at the risk of sounding cliche`, my girlfriend and I both feel that the time apart strengthens our relationship and makes the time we do spend together that much more enjoyable and intense. Guess that's why it has worked for as long as it has.

Disclaimer: I do NOT commute and have a very independent, understanding significant other who LOVES to travel