who is John Galt?

 

Ask Ayn Rand

 

It is a very long road from PPL to 777 CA. The time it takes to get there can be 20 years if you are lucky or never if you are just an average airline pilot. Medicals, furloughs, career jeopardy do multiple factors does not make this job easy. Day to day line flying can be mind numbing but throw in a couple geese on departure and this job becomes really hard and that is what they should be paying you for. Pilots earn their pay when sh@t hits the fan not for straight in visual approach backed up with an ILS. Besides being a bus driver is easier than being a pilot and yet their pay is better...

Pilots in the USA should stop justifying their low pay and should start demanding a little more just their counterparts overseas do. Was flying any harder 10 years ago when some CA's got 300k a year. What did you say about pay and difficulty level of this job back then?

 

(The worst part is, I'm below you on the seniority list.) So let me get this straight; you started flying AFTER 9/11, have been at OH since 2006, and you thought you'd be either Capt. by now, or at a major? Is that why you say you feel entitled? (saying this knowing all too well I'll probably have to swing the gear for you someday)

Honestly, I'm sure you know people at our airline like I met at initial training...One WAS a Capt. @ ComAir who left for United, got furloughed and came back as a new-hire F/O...another, 57 year old 757 Capt. @ ATA, another, military helo pilot at first airline, etc...and they were all furloughed before you in an economy that doesn't care how experienced you are, there are just too many guys on the streets.

I took a temporary hard-labor job right after furlough, and during one of the 10minute breaks, I sat in the field watching the jets fly over and thought, "They've just reached cruise and are just starting to b@#ch about ___ (PPAS, JM'ing, fill in the blank)!"

This isn't a job, it's a lifestyle you either love or don't...take the voluntary next time!

 

Bryis would you have complained if he had said "better than a disconnected.....lonely cold life on the range driving cattle?" Some people just don't like to sit behind a desk. I am one of them. A cockpit is in no way a desk. You'd probably say that I could paint guages all over my horse and saddle and come awfully close to the job as a pilot.

 

The APA website tells me I am entitled to pilot number 2500 by the time I retire. What it doesn't tell me is there will only be 2501 pilots there.

 

Far more entitlement is shown by the RJDC types, and last I checked they weren't in their 20's.

 

You make valid points about the career. I'm talking about the job. The tasks, duties, knowledge, and physical skills required.

You can agree that the job of a "major" pilot flying a larger jet is very similar, if not identical, to that of a pilot flying a smaller "regional" jet. And the distinction of regional/major is beginning to blur as well with the new Midwest events.

But look at the basics. Pilots do not need a degree, at all, to be a pilot. The difference between a major airline applicant and a regional applicant is experience. 3,000 Hours TPIC versus 0 hours TPIC.

The pay issue lies in the fact that many pilots will take low-paying jobs (doing very similar work) for the sake of that experience. Now, I'm not stupid. You could insert any career field and place of the underlined word, and it would be true.

However, pilots are one of the few professionals I've seen that will take jobs below a living wage, long term, half the continent away from their homes, just to gain experience.

Pretend if I made a job posting on the internet saying that was hiring for a King Air job that payed minimum wage for hours worked. And you had to relocate at your expense. Let's be honest, I'd be flooded with applications from people, many with college degrees, and most with the the proper certifications. That doesn't happen in every industry. My big question is this: How low does a pilot job have to pay before no one would apply?

My bet: As low as is legal.

 

Excellent post !

I'm sorry SkyHigh but just because one put in several years of their time and spent thousands of dollars on ratings and building time doesn't mean they are "entitled" to a damn thing.

It's an investment in a dream that's not unlike buying stock in a company. You invest with hope of a good return on your investment but there is no "entitlement" to a good dividend or a return on your investment. I hate to say it, but the present economic conditions dictate that your stock may have lost value just as your investment in an airline career may have. As harsh as that may sound, it's cold, hard reality! What do you do with a bad investment ? This industry is and always has been cyclic. Will it improve ? Absolutely, but to think that a white knight is going to come riding over the hill and things will go "back to normal" is ludicrous. This industry has changed forever and it's your decision whether to ride it out or "hit the silk" and punch out. No one can make that call except you.

G'Luck Mates

 

First want to apologize for my rant a few days ago. Little drunk that night and got banned for 3 days to cool off.

Just frustrated with this profession. Just hit 3 years at comair. I know that's not long. I dread going to work now. The bs you have to wade through to get to the airplane has made this job worse. I will always love flying. I have made the decision to walk away from aviation. Currently in the running for a desk job in the shipbuilding industry. I would trade flying for stability right now. This has been the worst investment I have made.

This job has been ruined by passengers who expect to be spoiled after thay paid $20 to fly non stop from JFK to LAX or where ever. Flying used to be a privelege. Now it's become as arbitrary as riding a bus. Pilot pay reflects this attitude as well.

I hope this industry recovers. I wish my fellow pilots the best of luck. I am giving up the fight. Worn out and burned out.