Quote:
Originally Posted by sealandair
Given I'm in my mid-40s and just now applying to regionals, I'm wondering if any of you are, or know any "lifers" that actually don't mind it. I always say there are two frames of mind... a positive one and a negative one. No matter the industry, you'll have whiners and complainers, and you'll have those that make what they can out of it. I'm in the latter group. Plus, I don't have kids so I'm a little more mobile when it comes to having to relocate, and my cost of living is minimal.
Sure, I'm still not too old to make it to a major or legacy, but I'll never get beyond F/O, or if I do upgrade, it'll always be a junior domicile and/or narrowbody.
Any regional lifers who still have some self respect left and a decent QOL?
SeaLand
My two cents. I am going to do what I criticize...offer opinions(not advice) regarding someone else's life decisions.
I am always puzzled at the certitude many pilots have as to what career/flying decisions other people should make, even though they don't know them.
There is no stability/security in any flying job. The only major airline I ever worked for shut down in the middle of the night while I was on a trip. Another airline used to brag how they had never lost money, even during the gulf war, then it was had never furloughed, then eventually bought by a leveraged buyout company (to avoid a takeover by another airline) then eventually sold and liquidated. Anyway, you get the idea....there are no "for sures" and history in this business suggests that this temporary period of prosperity will not last.
So my opinion....regional flying can be rewarding and satisfying. If it isn't so for a given individual, it is often due to looking into the future to the detriment of the present. There is much to be said for achieving contentment with having "enough". Most of us got into this because we love flying airplanes and have a love for the profession. Unfortunately we sometimes let other opinions as to what we should do diminish our enjoyment of what we are doing.
So...the world according to MaxQ(a bit of it anyway)...march to your own drummer, to thine own self be true.
Money doesn't mean much unless you don't have any.