Questioning this profession...

[Freight Dog]

Steer him towards the military and let uncle sam pick up the tab for college and flight training.

He's leaning that way, and I'm encouraging him to think military aviation and away from the airlines.

 

[Linedriver]

I agree with the military thing. If he has the eyes and wants to fly, let the government pay him to do it. Put in his 20, get out with retirement and start a business. By that time he will see the other options and be less starry eyed about the whole industry.

Time, age and maturity seems to change things and we all end up working for money. Right? The older I get the less BS I put up with.

That is why the airlines do what they do - it's because pilots continue to put up with it.

 

[Propsync]

Flying jets is OUR JOB. IT IS OUR Career.

No, it's not. I have no allegiance to jets or my career. You should enjoy your job, that's it.

That said, how can a 30 year old that's married possibly try to keep this as a career. I know a few will get lucky here and there, but that's it. The vast majority will be out of work for a long time. Say 5 years. On top of that, you've just built another big RJ bubble. So qualified guys that are out now will not be able to compete with RJ guys in a few years. You mean to tell me to make 10k a year as a flight instructor for the next 5 years to try to get hired and be junior on reserve somewhere? No thanks.

Most of the people I know have thrown in the towel. Better to start over now and do what you can to save for retirement than to chase a handful of crappy jobs that are open. Once realistic career progression is gone, your career is over.

 

[JoeMerchant]

No one cares about Pilots except pilots... and many pilots seem to be self defeating...

Many times pilots don't care about other pilots.....Most pilots only care about themselves....

Until we collectively take ownership of our careers we will continue to get screwed... by gov't, corporations and unions.

We get screwed by unions? How so? Say it ain't so...
:laugh:

 

[JoeMerchant]

Look at it this way.... who do you want flying jets in the US? Your son or some third world pilot.

Flying jets is OUR JOB. IT IS OUR Career.

This is the way it should be in the USA.

US registered jets, owned by US companies and most importantly FLOWN by US citizens and residents.

Yeah like Mesa, Pinnacle, and TransStates.....Good high paying jobs in US registered jets, owned by US companies and most importantly FLOWN by good US ALPA members.... :laugh:

 

[Dan Roman]

He's leaning that way, and I'm encouraging him to think military aviation and away from the airlines.

Seems to me the military would be an great option to start a career in aviation, he could make it a career or move on if he so desires.
That said, if he really wants to fly and loves it, he will and there always will be flying jobs. If he isn't really into it, than yes it's a bad choice no matter what happens.
This industry is and always will be cyclical.

 

[acpilot]

Wages won't go up while there is a surplus of pilots. A strong union can only do so much (and it may even help a little), but then it's back to the basics - supply and demand curves. You can't just say, "pay us more or we don't work," because then there WILL be foreign pilots flying US RJ's. Believe me, I want to be able to make money flying big jets 121 as much as the next guy, but until then, it's Air Attack for me.

I don't want to preach, but I think it's high time a lot of us [pilots] start thinking about solid MBA or serious masters programs if we qualify for them. The only sure way to guarantee personal marketability is education. That little piece of paper can do a lot for you.

If you can't (or don't want to) go back and get a degree of some sort, look for specialized flying...it's out there and it's profitable.

As far as pilots screwing pilots out of jobs, it happens and it probably won't stop. In a perfect world, there would be unity but I'd say it's unlikely in this industry at this time.

Good luck either way...

 

[EWR_FO]

I would absolutely, positively welcome foreign ownership, cabotage and all that fun stuff under stipulation provided everything is reciprocated, and their airlines open doors to hiring Americans with our licenses.

To do the same job you do now for 30-50% less? No thanks.

 

[Whine Lover]

Bruce Springsteen said it best. This ( so-called profession ) is YOUR hometown:

"Now main streets whitewashed windows and vacant stores

Seems like there aint nobody wants to come down here no more

Theyre closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks

Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they aint coming back ...

To Your hometown, your hometown, your hometown, your hometown "

YKMKR

 

[hockeypilot44]

To do the same job you do now for 30-50% less? No thanks.

That actually does not sound too bad. The regionals are doing our jobs for about 75 percent less.