is it safe to say that many people opt out of the airlines because they dont want to put life on hold for the duration they are right-seating at a regional? i can see how it is tough to do especially if you are only making 22K a year and flying your tail off.. combo that with school loans, being in debt already from flight training and timebuilding... i would like to hear the perspective of people who have worked all the way up the ladder (from right seat at Colgan or the like, and now in a 75/6/7 for a major)

as a college grad, i would see it as being impossible to put my life on hold for 5+ years just to try and get a good paying job somewhere down the road... the industry itself discourages pilots because of the lack of vertical movement... everyone can fly regionals if they can sufficiently fly an airplane and know their stuff well, but you need to have someone die or retire to get a major job.. hardly seems fair

UConn,

You are smart to pick up on this. I have friends who have put off things like home ownership, marriage, children and many other very important things in life awaiting a coveted major airline job. The last time I looked the average age of a new hire at the majors is 37. Add to that another three years wait to get off probation pay and to build some seniority for even close to a normal life and you are getting up there. I choose to go ahead and start a family and have sacrificed my career for it. Others who have done the same are stuck at the regionals. Often though the ones who do make it stop and realize that they have left behind some very important things in life and regret it. It is a ruff decision though.

SkyHigh

I would like to know what people do when they leave aviation. If you don't have any other skills besides aviation, what is one to do that will make them a liveable wage? I have worked another job and would shoot myself in the head if I knew that I would have to go there 40 hours a week for the rest of my life. Starting a family really isn't going to do me a lot of good when I cannot feed the kids and I am miserable going to work.

I do think it takes long to get to a good flying job. I also think that people want instant gratification and when they don't get it, they give up. I have put off marriage and children for this job myself. My fiancee is understanding (he is in the industry) and I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't. We can always get married.....what is the big dang hurry? As far as kids....I do get nervous sometimes that I will wait too long but if I just went ahead and had some and quit flying, I would be miserable. Everyone is different though.

Well, regardless of what statistics show, there are a lot of jobs out there that pay decent. You just have to know how to get them. There is a retired navy pilot I know of, worked for Delta, got furloughed, became a Cinncinati police officer and probably would not go back to aviation if he was recalled. Everyone just has to find their own niche I guess.

Everyone is different. In life there is a huge opportunity cost in the path not taken. Since the airlines I have been building houses and am shocked by what other simple professions can earn. After pounding my head into the brick wall of the airlines everything else seems easy by comparison. I have airline friends who now are cops, build decks, firefighters, computer network executives and many other professions. Their lives quickly turned around after leaving the airport. They now own homes are building families and taking vacations for the first time in their lives. In addition now that my life is in sync with the rest of the worlds my social life has hugely improved. Just last weekend my family and I went on a four family camping trip. That never would have happened if I was still flying. I think it is important for everyone to periodically take stock of what the costs are and re-evaluate if it is still worth it to stay flying.

SkyHigh

I'm sure that he would love to know just how commited you are to him

Why would anybody want to be with a partner who is not understanding?

I know you don't like me from the other thread but let's not make little jabs at people especially when you have no idea as to our committment to eachother. I would tell him this to his face, K? Unlike probably 90% of couples out there we are honest with eachother and news flash.....you have to be understanding of your partner or else it will never work out.

I actually would like to follow this path as well. I don't know much about renovating houses, however I am looking at 'working' at a habitat for humanity project to learn to ins and outs of construction. I then plan to work construction part time in my days off, and learn even more. If I can scrape up enough to purcahse a slightly rundown house in the next few years I would like to renovate it and use the extra $$ to purcahse another, etc. etc. In fact, my long term goal would be to work for an airline, stay on reserve, and use the time off to renovate. I personally like the option of guaranteed income coming in, even if it's not much.

That was my plan exactly and it has saved my A$$.

SkyHigh