Is it worth it?
 

I know that this has prolly been posted many times before and is a totally opionated question (or answer) but I feel like I am at a fork in the road and dont know wether to go left of right. I have the time to go to the refionals (1300TT, 220ME) but am not sure if that is what I want to do. I am married and I think that that will play a factor in it, altough my wife is a nurse and can find work anywhere, but anytime I talk to a REGIONAL pilot or any airline pilot for that matter and tell them that I am thinking about putting my resume in they cringe. Not really the feedback you want. Why do I want to go make 17000 a year and have to sit in a crew lounge at the airport all day waiting for my phone to ring? The job I have now is good and I am fortunate to be where I am at but to take the plunge is pretty serious. Their has got to be a better way. :(

If you find a better way, please let me know.

A guy I was flying with the other day said it best. "This is a great job, but it's a ********y career!" If you do not unequiviqably (sp?) love flying, and want to do it more than anything else in life; you'll probably be miserable. If you're asking yourself that question now, I think you have the answer. You can't make lateral transitions if you get furloughed or lose your medical. You're screwed if you're older and that happens, with kids and a house payment.

Now, if you (successfully) sell real estate on the side and have family money, well then, heck, rock on. It's a fun job. But there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You don't have permanent euphoria as you fly a jet. It's cool, at first, but being away from home is being away from home. Is your wife the kind of person that enjoys you being away? Does she have a large firend or family network to keep her content when you're gone? If not, double doom on you if you do the airline gig.

And that's the no-shi**er.

Tough for me to say if it is a sh..ty career or not, I have only been flying 121 for a year and a half. If you talk to any legacy carrier pilot, of course they are going to bad mouth it because look at just what happened to them!

I USUALLY look forward to going flying and only sometimes does it feel like WORK. Fox 1 said it pretty well. I know if I had to be around my wife more than four days a week she would kill me! I would definitely give it a try as you have come this far to see what "livin' the dream" is all about. I believe the industry is figuring itself out for the next 10 years and hopefully the guys at the majors get the standard back up as they all have contracts coming due in the next 3- 5 years.

You obviously have the time to get on with a regional, so MAKE SURE YOU GET ON WITH A QUALITY REGIONAL!!!!!!!!! I can't stress that enough and I think most would agree. Go to a crappy company (Mesa, TSA, gojet) and you will find a way to hate flying. When all you hear is how the company sucks and all of the other bs along those lines, you will not look forward to going to fly. Find a company like SkyWest, XJT, AWAC, RAH, Horizon, and you will have a good time.

At least give it a try before you quit. That way you can at least make an educated decision before giving it up. And wait until you get a line before quitting, reserve sucks no matter where you are at! Of course, unless you live in domicile!

Stay
 

If you are happy where you are at then save yourself the misery. Stay where you are and enjoy life.

Skyhigh

If you really love to fly, find a job that pays you enough to own your own airplane.

I do also agree however that you should take the plunge, if you are willing, no matter how brief and give the airlines a try. You will quickly realize that what many people say on here is not far from the truth. 10 years from now, you won't have to look back and wonder "what if..."

So much of this job is not actually flying. You really have to be in love with the lifestyle to be in love with this job. If it is just the flying you love, then find a way to make a living and fly when YOU want to and where you want to.

I have a friend that instructed, flew charter went to a regional, became a captain and left after a couple of years. He fell back to his degree, (computer science) and is now writing software for a large company. He makes an outstanding living and owns a Comanche 260. He has a hangar and sometimes after work will take his wife and fly to Chicago for dinner. They go to Colorado for the weekend skiing. They fly to visit college friends and distant family. He loves to fly. He did not love the airline lifestyle.

I am in a similar situation. I am a police officer making $39K a year. I recently quit to go to CFI school and focus on it and then get a job as a CFI making around $20K. The key is becomming an independant CFI and you dont have to give part of your money to somebody. You do have to be proactive and market yourself though.

ANyway, like was said eariler. If you truly love flying then go for it. I figure if it doesnt work out then I can always go back to policing. But at least I can say I gave it a shot. If I dont at least try I wil regret it for years to come

regrets
 

It is impossible to go through life without regrets. You can use logic and reason to avoid bigger regrets like "man I sure wish I hadn't done that aviation thing".


Don't use the old "regret" excuse to talk yourself into making a even bigger regret.

Skyigh

Love to fly
 

I love to fly and was not crazy about the lifestyle either. I disliked the pay and future prospects even more. Today I am much happier owning my own business and am looking forward to buying a solid plane to play with someday.

I noticed from your title that you are looking to get out of the regionals or did I read that incorrectly?

SkyHifh

It is such a shame that the pilot profession blows @$$. Many others I know that have passions for something live a great life working, giving it all, and getting a return. It seems that it is a waste to do the same in this industry, for it does not give back and it shows no mercy.

Who says it blows? I think it's great. As I said earlier, it's a great job, but very few people will be in the job for 20 years and not be furloughed, sold, merged, or some other stressor. The reward is putting your heart into it. Is there anyone else that knows the airplane better than you do? If yes, then hit the books. Do you have the respect to be a check airman? If not, quit being a dick, and start being respectable, and submit your application. Are you on any professional standards committees or emergency response teams? Why not?

Any job is boring if you have no intention to excel.

Boredom
 

I don't think that flyerNy was talking about boredom. He was referring to the open ended misery, loss and hardship that a career in aviation can offer in return for a lifetime of devotion, sacrifice and love.

To someone who got their dream job at 25 the industry might seem just and rewarding. The reality and future prospects for most is not so savory.

SkyHigh

I wasn't talking of boredom either. I was giving examples of devotion, sacrifice and love. It sounded like FlyerNY was suggesting that those "who have a passion for something" enjoy their jobs. it assumes that people that fly do not have a passion; that you put in your dues at a regional and then coast through the rest of your career without any passion anymore. My point is that the passion may change forms, but even 30 years into the job one can still be passionate about it. Indeed, if you have more passion about something else, by all means pursue it. but don't make a blanket statement about flying blowing a$$. It doesn't.

What kind of plane are you thinking about? I highly recommend an RC-3 seabee. :D

I'm really surprised that SkyHigh's "business" makes any money with him being on the forums so much.

it just seems like anything that comes out of his mouth is pure diarrhea.

You guys complain way too much!!! you guys all chose your own profession and I know I was told from day one what to expect, and that if I don't really love flying quit now because it won't get easier blah blah. Everytime I read these everyone is complaining about pay and how they get treated. be more positive and be happy with your job or quit:)

I love the pilot profession.Problem is when people think of aprofessional pilot, they think airline pilot. They dont think of law enforcement pilot, or AG pilot of Flight Instructor. Those are professionals as well.

I think we all love the actual flying, but the problem is the lifestyle sacrifices that become too great and destroy us in aviation.

Military, be it USAF, Marines, Navy, or Coasties.

"...and am looking forward to buying a solid plane to play with someday."

Sky- Glad to hear it. Perhaps you can recover some of the joy of aviation you once knew without any of the tribulations associated with the flying industry. For those like me who were never burned by it, flying is a joyful experience. I live for it and look forward to it. You could do many useful things with your ratings and certificates.

SkyHigh, what kind of business do you own? I ask this because I have always been interested in what others do to make money for themselves. Geniuine question, no flame. I haven't and won't flame you.

Maybe he knows this and gets a rise out of it. By the way, I love old vee dubs! German cars in general. I just sold my old jetta to pay for my IFR rating. :-( They only made a few like the one I had.

Great idea but often for the “working stiff” plain wrung out and no time left for flying. Ideally if a compadre who likes to fly can fly and make a decent living – why that’s the ideal, because of the time factor.

Sound counsel. You don’t get time back...

yeah well Im jealous of my buddies Porsche:o, He is jealous of my uniform, and how much my job helps with leaving the bar with a girl..................."Wow your a pilot" hahah I hate to say it fellas, but works everytime

Business
 

I am in real estate investment and development on a small scale. I buy land, build houses and I buy older houses to renovate and rent them to predominantly to college students at a high price.

SkyHigh

Shucks – never found gals particularly persuaded by flying nor uniform.


So’s gotta be yer infectious smile, SAAB!:D

Do it for the love of flying, ha ha love that one. Just finished a 4 day and landed a whopping 5 times. Total flight time hand flying about 1 hr, total time logged 27 hrs. Spent 50 hrs in a hotel alone.

Talked to a buddy of mine the other day who I instructed. He now is a Forman on a construction crew and makes more than I do and is home every night. He asked how flying was going; I explained that this is the most boring job I have ever had. And I have done some really boring ****.

I discourage anyone thinking about flying professionally. Not cause I don’t want them to fulfill there dreams but its just not that much fun these days. Oh and the pay sucks to.:D

Dangerous Waters
 

If I were to have posted something like that there would be a dozen anti-postings by now jumping my case about it. What is the deal? :confused:

Perhaps you should mention that during the 50 hours in a hotel room you mostly ate Top Ramon that you brought with you since it is too expensive to eat on the road?

You could also bring Woolite to wash your shirt in the sink so you wouldn't have to bring a spare with you. That way you could bring more food.

It is a great way to spend your days on planet earth. Stuck in a "B" grade hotel room eating rot gut microwave food while reading a used USA today watching free HBO and bored to tears. That sums up most of my time as an airline pilot.

Live the dream !!

SkyHigh

HAHAHAHA.......yeah baby !!! :D:D

Just ruin the day why don't you.....:(

Sorry my friend, some like the lifestyle, I don’t. Just know what you’re getting into. It’s not all bad, but if I could do it over I would not have become a professional pilot.

On a positive note, we soon will have to pay for our travel benefits. :D

Watching HBO and the USA today? Common, man! There's plenty more to do than that. I guess it depends on your goals but....Go for a run or something. Use that boring time to train for a marathon or Triathlon maybe, minus the biking. I know a few pilots who bring their snowboards with them when they have trips to Steamboat, Aspen or other snowy destinations during the winter months. Even though the layover isn't that long, a couple of hours of night skiing is better than HBO. Just some thoughts on how to pass the time out of the hotel room. I'm not trying to bash here. ;)

Like others have said, the flying soon loses it's 'fun' factor, and it just becomes another grind. However, all in all, it's not a bad way to make money. It's nice not worrying about deadlines, sales quotas, etc. I find myself liking flying not so much for the fun of flying, but moreso for not having to deal with what others do to make money. On the other hand, as we all know we sacrifice far too much for the low pay we get. It's pure hell on the family, and the stress of being away from the family, and commuting, or moving to domicile away from where you grew up with friends and family..etc, etc On top of that, in any other career if you were to be laid off, etc, you don't necessarily start back at the bottom, your experience negotiates a higher salary. Not here though, your airline goes under, you have to start all the way at the bottom. Experience doesn't mean squat in this backwards industry.

Then throw in the assanine protocols of the TSA, and how we as pilots are apparently the enemy, rude, demanding passengers that don't bother to thank you for flying them through the storm safely but rather ***** you out for a bumpy ride... sigh, this career is very thankless. This post probably came off as negative, but I didn't mean for it to. Each career has it's ugly sides and downfalls. You have to choose what is best for you. Personally, I'd slit my wrists if I had to report to a desk every day, so overall I'm happy doing this. Ask me again in 10 years and I may have changed my mind though!

Isn't that just a kick in the tennis balls!?! I'm not flying for a regional yet but the paying for travel benefits is an outrage! Will you have to pay full price or is it a discounted rate? I know at UAL they have a discounted rate but it's still ridiculous. I see it this way, if there are empty seats, what the hell is the harm in filling them? The company wasn't going to make money on those seats anyway so why not just fill them with someone who has travel benefits? It doesn't make sense to me.

Money
 

All of that takes money and for a married guy hanging out with co-workers can get you in trouble. After a while it becomes easier to simply stay in your room.

SkyHigh

If you look outside of the 121 market, things can be different. I spent 20 yrs flying with the military and did some things you couldn't even read about, but even that became a job after awhile. The fun cards do get used up after a few thousand hours. Look for something that will support where you want to live and the non-flying life you'd like to have. If that's in place... the flying will be much more rewarding. If that means part 135, corporate, or government. The salaries are all about the same unless you can work yourself into one of the majors. The rush of new RJ jobs are actually prior major jobs that are being turned over to the regionals, so don't get your hopes up. It really is a younger man's game now.. Who can deal with the BS longer wins. If you're young enough.. try the military. After 10 yrs you're making six figures and a retirement at 20 yrs.

You have to admit it's nice coming in on final over a 5 mile rush hour back up of cars. I know when I'm stuck in traffic all I want to do is take off! :)

(I'm definitely being bias here) Not for me. With the exception of sitting in the airplane for hours, when I get off duty I am going for a jog, swim,, jump rope, shadow boxing and the gym if the hotel has one. I'm the type that has to keep moving or I'll feel like crap the next day. Even after a 16 hour duty day, I'll be doing something. Doing basic cardiovascular calisthenics does not take money. I can't remember the last time I paid someone to go for a swim, a run or do some pushups. Anyway, like I said, just some thoughts on how to pass the time.

What happens if you break your leg? Is that workmans comp?:D

LOL! If you're on reserve, maybe? :D