SkyHigh

I use to think the same thing, "sure every profession has its lumps". However with experience and maturity I began to realize that aviation isn't really a career. It is closer to a hobby since you most likely will never earn back the cost of your training or sacrifice. The dream shot is so limited that Delta Airlines might as well have their own "American Idol" contest to choose new hires. You are right every mistake is a life experience but this one cost me almost 20 years and untold hundreds of thousands in lost wages, education and training expenses. Outside of going to prison this was a big one.

SkyHigh

SkyHigh

I wouldn't wish to shatter your RJ self image. Someone has to do it. Lets just keep you in the dark.

SkyHigh

shackone

C'mon now, buddy. You've got a lot of advice for these folks. I'm sure they would like to hear what it's been like from someone who's been there. So how about it?

There's got to be more to you than someone who just needs others to share his misery. You gonna tell us what being a 'real pilot' is like or not?

WatchThis!

I hear it's almost like being a Simulator Instructor.

shackone

Heck no! That's just what some of us do when we hit the big 60. It's what we did before that point that was real.

WatchThis!

I understand your beef with Skyhigh now. As he cautions kids that becoming an airline pilot isn't all it's cracked up to be - he's potentially hurting your meal ticket.

Curing kids of shiney jet syndrome can't be good for your job security!

Seriously, it's not a bad thing for those wanting to jump into the industry to have a heads up of what to expect. That should include the good, the bad, and the ugly. The pilot mills are biased for obvious reasons, so it's important that there be some source of counter-point for kids to make informed choices.

SkyHigh

Shackone,

I don't get what you are after. If really all you want is a war story or two come over to the house and I will grill you a steak and tell you a few stories over cold beers. My point to my friend Skybolt is that perhaps he has missed out on some of the more challenging areas of aviation if he feels so strongly that it is difficult fly an airliner.

SKyHigh

shackone

What I'm after is a sense of balance in these posts.

You have shown little. All I see from you is someone with a bad case of 'misery loves company'.

Not everyone in life is going to succeed. Your attempt at aviation is proof of that if we are to believe your posts. But your experience is not the norm. Why you ended up the way you did is not really important. Bad choices, bad performance, bad attitude...who knows...or at this point cares.

The most that I can say for you is that you speak for yourself only. Your experience is not a barometer for this industry. It is only one person's take.

Every day that I got to work is proof positive that your malaise is yours alone. This afternoon I gave a type and PC to a new crew that nothing in common with your point of view. They like their job, and they are happy with their future. They put out the effort to get somewhere, and they succeeded.

In my military career (USAF fighters) and in my airline career (TWA), I saw folks with your defeatist attitude. People who gave up. People who when the wind blew strong in their faces, turned their backs. Such is life. There will always be those that won't rise to the occasion and who blame the system for their own shortcomings.

My advice to the young troops has always been to give life a go. Reach for that golden ring...if one doesn't make it, then at least he won't be part of the craven few who turn away from the wind.

Is an airline career unpredictable? You bet. My new hire classmates at TWA can tell you a thing or two about that. As can many more now from other companies. But we didn't give up. And we certainly don't blame the system.

As for your 'war stories'...you can keep them to yourself. I've got real ones to remember. I don't need your wannabe stories.

atash

I'm down for that.

2dotslow

There's a certain sadness in what you've said...kinda like the old farts who interviewed us during the hiring process years ago. You remember, some old ex-captain who asked you how you'd enter a holding pattern, then bristled when you said teardrop. While I don't always agree with Skyhigh's take on things, a lot of what he says could preclude one having (wanting, if you use the old saw about still feeling the "passion") to become a sim IP after age 60. Why not retire retire. Move to a golf community like Lake Jovita...whack the little, white ball around. That's what I'll do next year at 60, and I can't wait to close the hangar door when I leave.