Am I Crazy

[AZFLYER]

Hey Everyone,
So here is the story and I may have brought this up before in the past. I used to fly professionaly a few years ago and I left for what I thought was greener grass. I now hold an office job in the accounting world and make an ok salary but with good upside. I now make around $50K but will make a nice bonus of around $5000 in December. I am married and my wife works and she earns around $35K. We live in Phoenix and with a combined income of around $85K we have a nice life. So here is the kicker...I am miserable at my job. I hate it. I am miserable when I wake up and while at work I count down so I could go home and be miserable again tomorrow. So I want to go back and fly. Am I crazy? I don't know if my wife will take the news well. She comes from a wealthier background and I feel that I have to provide financially. First year pay at a regional is not even $30K and I am afraid we may not even be able to pay the mortgage. So what to do? Any advice/suggestions. I'm thinking of applying to all the regionals and taking a flying position but I don't want everything to fall apart around me. I am currently at around 1400TT with a few hundred multi. Thanks.

AZFLYER

 

[trip]

Life is short- you should have left yesterday!

 

[steven-o]

hey man i feel your pain. at one time i worked for a large accounting firm making a good salary with great upside. i too hated it. i decided to quit and pursue a career in aviation. it was the best move i have ever made. i know some people think it is crazy to give up a good paying, stable job for this crazy industry but i have no regrets. life is too short to hate the place where you have to spend most of it.

i did have one advantage to you though. i did not have a family or mortage to worry about. talk it out with her and try to make it work.

best of luck

 

[Flyer1015]

Hey Everyone,
So here is the story and I may have brought this up before in the past. I used to fly professionaly a few years ago and I left for what I thought was greener grass. I now hold an office job in the accounting world and make an ok salary but with good upside. I now make around $50K but will make a nice bonus of around $5000 in December. I am married and my wife works and she earns around $35K. We live in Phoenix and with a combined income of around $85K we have a nice life. So here is the kicker...I am miserable at my job. I hate it. I am miserable when I wake up and while at work I count down so I could go home and be miserable again tomorrow. So I want to go back and fly. Am I crazy? I don't know if my wife will take the news well. She comes from a wealthier background and I feel that I have to provide financially. First year pay at a regional is not even $30K and I am afraid we may not even be able to pay the mortgage. So what to do? Any advice/suggestions. I'm thinking of applying to all the regionals and taking a flying position but I don't want everything to fall apart around me. I am currently at around 1400TT with a few hundred multi. Thanks.

AZFLYER

Hey AZ,

I hear ya!


I'm single, 22, and an engineer fresh out of college making $58,000.

However, like you, I don't find my work meaningful/fulfilling.

I can't wait to switch over to flying commercially. I hope to interview with regionals pretty soon.

It will suck to give up $58k to start at $20k as a first year regional F/O

 

[svcta]

Slow down for just a second. Take it from someone who's been on both sides of this fence: A job at the regionals can be an unmitigated disaster. Long hours, short pay, 20 days a month away from home for the first couple of years maybe, etc. Try and think of some other options; some of them may prove to be easier on a marriage and the wallet.

Example....I flew cargo in twin cessnas(based in the southwest) for more per hour than I made flying an RJ. It was fun, safe, and it took me all over this hemisphere. Top it all off....I was home A LOT. And that can get you more and better experience for the next step up....

Also, look in to the corporate climate where you are. I left the regionals for a corporate gig and have never had a better job. I'm happy, my employer likes me(and pays me accordingly), way better benfeits package than the airlines gave me, and I'm home 28 days a month and still flying jets.

Now, I know it can be hard to break in to the corporate scene and jobs like mine aren't a dime a dozen, but there are many good jobs to be had outside the airlines that will make you feel like more of a person at the end of the day. Working for a regional carrier almost became an embarrassment toward the end of my days there. If my friends really knew what I made in return for all the time they saw me leaving or what I had to put up with at work(crappy hotels, scheduling, short nights and early rises, crew meals[or lack thereof], etc) they would have thought I was just stupid.

I grew up in an airline family and I always thought that it was the best job in the industry. Well, maybe not anymore. I'm learning to love the corporate side of things and have learned that there is stability here, there is pay here, there are some great conditions here. I'll leave it at that for now.


Just don't think that the airlines are your only option for a flying job. With my experience at the airlines I just can't steer anyone there..once the honeymoon is over it is a sh!t job, save the occasional sunrise/set or decent overnight. But you know what? I get those where I am now. And all my overnights are good.

 

[pilotyip]

Az, you have to be fibbing, from what I read on this site everyone outside of aviation makes a minimum of $200K/yr year. Pilots works for dirt wages in the mid $100K/yr

 

[dvmthwsvan]

My school counselor once asked me what i would do if i had a million dollars. and whatever you answer is what you are supposed to do for a living.

 

[Metro752]

My school counselor once asked me what i would do if i had a million dollars. and whatever you answer is what you are supposed to do for a living.

screw chickies all day would be my answer if i had a million dollars, so I guess I would be a porn star. sweet

 

[errrriiic]

Two chicks at the same time.

 

[RJET]

Try changing your attitude towards your current job and rent an airplane on the weekend.

 

[PunchTheClown]

You want to give up being home every night and a decent standard of living for what has become a dead end job? Regional flying is so bad that it will make you wish you'd never taken your first flight. I know its done that to me. Dont consider the 121 world. There are many better ways to make a living with airplanes. If you find one, please let me know.

 

[wickedpilot]

... First year pay at a regional is not even $30K and I am afraid we may not even be able to pay the mortgage...
AZFLYER

Not even $30K??? Try not even $20K...it's more like $18K. But if your wife comes from a wealthier family, maybe she can pick up the slack for the first 5 years or so until you start making decent wages again.

 

[Quimby]

Look for a local freight/135/CFI job to get back into it. Unless you can get a regional job out of PHX, where you can avoid commuting.

 

[AZFLYER]

Try changing your attitude towards your current job and rent an airplane on the weekend.

I know that is a good idea but it is very hard to do. I have to come here everyday for the next many decades. Maybe not this office exactly but this line of work. Trust me that when you hate your job the minutes seem like eternity.

AZFLYER

 

[bentpilot]

Do you want to have kids anytime soon?

 

[theskyking]

I don't know what kind of experience you have, but if you do get yourself current, a viable option would be one of the fractionals. Try the fractional area and see what you think. I made the jump from regionals and couldn't be happier.

 

[TAWS]

Don't come to the regionals!!!!!!!!!!!

Try getting into the corp/frac side _ I have buddies that do that and they are treated WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better!! All you have to do is schmooz better and actually give a sh!t about customer service.
Try keeping current with your old job e.g. additional licensing, as this will be your fall back, if your flying job tanks. I keep up with my old job and will always have those skills to help out should the airline I'm with hit the crapper!

Also, tell your wife to get off her lazy arse! 30K is not gonna keep you in the lifestyle to which you become accustomed!!!

 

[AZFLYER]

Do you want to have kids anytime soon?

No plans for kids anytime soon.

 

[AZFLYER]

Also, tell your wife to get off her lazy arse! 30K is not gonna keep you in the lifestyle to which you become accustomed!!!

She is finishing her degree now. She will make more when she graduates. She is earning a degree in Healthcare Administration and can make a descent living once done and hired at a hospital.

AZFLYER

 

[Metro752]

She is finishing her degree now. She will make more when she graduates. She is earning a degree in Healthcare Administration and can make a descent living once done and hired at a hospital.

AZFLYER

You got your sugar momma, whats the hold up

 

[av8er2]

You may end up not being very happy at a regional after a year or so. The grass is not greener. There are many pilots at the regionals that are as unhappy as you are. I am at a regional looking to leave. I will not leave for a job I won't like, I will be picky.

 

[pilotyip]

Go to the regionals, you have to build time to get the next job, it is part of paying your dues. It is always easier to find a flying job when you have flying job.

 

[FORESTGUMP]

You may end up not being very happy at a regional after a year or so. The grass is not greener. There are many pilots at the regionals that are as unhappy as you are. I am at a regional looking to leave. I will not leave for a job I won't like, I will be picky.

or...you may end up being very happy. I left corp. America after 11 years with a "great" company and couldn't be happier at my regional.

 

[capt. megadeth]

What's crazy is that you think 50K with a $5000 bonus is good money.

With all the b!tching about how pilots don't make enough money on this site, what's crazier is that noone has said what I just said. Yes, regional pay is low, but if you can suck it up until upgrade, you will make close to that if not more once you are a captain. Depending on where you go, you could upgrade within 2-3 years. Tell the wife to buck up and carry the load while you are doing that. If she expects the man to be the money maker and provider, that's bad news IMO. A marriage should be a partnership, not a vehicle for one person to solely take care of the other (unless an unforeseen circumsance or something). Good luck.

 

[AZFLYER]

What's crazy is that you think 50K with a $5000 bonus is good money.

With all the b!tching about how pilots don't make enough money on this site, what's crazier is that noone has said what I just said. Yes, regional pay is low, but if you can suck it up until upgrade, you will make close to that if not more once you are a captain. Depending on where you go, you could upgrade within 2-3 years. Tell the wife to buck up and carry the load while you are doing that. If she expects the man to be the money maker and provider, that's bad news IMO. A marriage should be a partnership, not a vehicle for one person to solely take care of the other (unless an unforeseen circumsance or something). Good luck.

Your right that $50K is not great but it is also a starting point right now. Next year I will make about a $12K bump and be in the 62-75K range for a few years. The upside to my line of work is good but the hours do suck. Very long days and sometimes weekends as well. As for making descent money at a regional in a few years is attainable the problem is still how do we survive for those few years with the house payments and the car payments, and who knows what else. Feels to me more like wishful thinking to get back into aviaition. I don't think I will be able to do it even though things currently suck for me right now.

 

[FlySacto]

Your right that $50K is not great but it is also a starting point right now. Next year I will make about a $12K bump and be in the 62-75K range for a few years. The upside to my line of work is good but the hours do suck. Very long days and sometimes weekends as well. As for making descent money at a regional in a few years is attainable the problem is still how do we survive for those few years with the house payments and the car payments, and who knows what else. Feels to me more like wishful thinking to get back into aviaition. I don't think I will be able to do it even though things currently suck for me right now.

Make the change!!! I left the "Dilbert" life behind making about three tiimes what I make now as an FO. Here's the kicker. Can't you still work on a consulting basis/part time accounting. There are a ton of guys with side jobs and bid down their line. Get your flying fix, travel bennies, and still make enough money on the side to eat when you go to europe for free

 

[VABB]

Hey Everyone,
So here is the story and I may have brought this up before in the past. I used to fly professionaly a few years ago and I left for what I thought was greener grass. I now hold an office job in the accounting world and make an ok salary but with good upside. I now make around $50K but will make a nice bonus of around $5000 in December. I am married and my wife works and she earns around $35K. We live in Phoenix and with a combined income of around $85K we have a nice life. So here is the kicker...I am miserable at my job. I hate it. I am miserable when I wake up and while at work I count down so I could go home and be miserable again tomorrow. So I want to go back and fly. Am I crazy? I don't know if my wife will take the news well. She comes from a wealthier background and I feel that I have to provide financially. First year pay at a regional is not even $30K and I am afraid we may not even be able to pay the mortgage. So what to do? Any advice/suggestions. I'm thinking of applying to all the regionals and taking a flying position but I don't want everything to fall apart around me. I am currently at around 1400TT with a few hundred multi. Thanks.

AZFLYER

I would either stay put or find a better/similar job at a different company in the same field. If you want to fly, I would do it strictly as a hobby. Try working part-time on the weekends/evenings as a CFI and let someone else finance the hobby.

If it were me and I were in your shoes, I would look at this strictly from a finance perspective. I understand that some jobs realy suck, but when push comes to shove a job decision HAS to be a business decision. A good paycheck pays the bills and builds wealth, and that should be your goal.

 

[FlySacto]

I would either stay put or find a better/similar job at a different company in the same field. If you want to fly, I would do it strictly as a hobby. Try working part-time on the weekends/evenings as a CFI and let someone else finance the hobby.

If it were me and I were in your shoes, I would look at this strictly from a finance perspective. I understand that some jobs realy suck, but when push comes to shove a job decision HAS to be a business decision. A good paycheck pays the bills and builds wealth, and that should be your goal.

Here's an idea. The two of you swap jobs for six months and decide what to do. I spent enough time doing everything my head told me to do when my soul said to do something else. I'm a much happier person and my family lives better today than it did in the past with me making way more money. I've wanted to fly since I was four years old. The grades in school might have been better if I didn't kill all that time reading the aviation rags in the library. Eventually you realize one day that your either dead or too old to change your path. Now instead of blowing $180 on a big dinner and wine every two weeks we might do Thai once once a month for $30. Two people with a plan can make it work. Just make sure to take turns to make your dreams come true.

 

[myq2u]

I am miserable at my job. I hate it.

Unfortunately, your only choices might be:
1) You’ll be miserable at your job and you’ll hate it (that’s where you're now)
2) Your wife will be miserable with your decision and she’ll hate you

If you decide to go back, make sure you have your wife's support, otherwise you’ll be saying hello to flying and goodbye to your marriage before you know it. Personally, I hope you’ll have a very understanding wife and that you’ll be able to do what you like the most.

 

[climbhappy]

good money is 80 to 100k , 50k just pays the bills. can't take vacations on 50k if you have kids.

AZ,

you can always be an accountant. everybody needs one . just like a doctor giving you an enema. can she move around with you. as an entry level admin person, I would think she could.

yep, you should go for it, see what works out for you. there are no gaurantees, so do your best and see where it leads.