Flight Training

[Buzo]

LOL dude seriously you're clueless. And I don't know any mainline pilot that would recommend this job to anyone else. Haven't come across one yet. Forget even about pay, this alone should tell you something.

I love my job, and I have no desire to do anything else. I did all of my training at a flying club, and went from 0 to Major in 8 years. I make good money and I spend a lot of time at home with my family.

 

[777forever]

I love my job, and I have no desire to do anything else. I did all of my training at a flying club, and went from 0 to Major in 8 years. I make good money and I spend a lot of time at home with my family.

Thank you

He now knows his first mainline pilot that loves his job.

 

[LearLove]

I love my job, and I have no desire to do anything else. I did all of my training at a flying club, and went from 0 to Major in 8 years. I make good money and I spend a lot of time at home with my family.

Like the rest of us we all know you worked very hard to get where you are today, however you did not get to where you are in that little time in this (past 10 years) airline environment without some luck.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

Its funny you mention that. On other forum there is an XJT guy that went to law school when he got furloughed and had all the other pilots patting him on the back like "yeah! get out of this field! Go make some real money!" Turns out the XJT guy eventually found out the law profession is in an even worse state than aviation and that going back to being an XJT FO was not so bad after all.

To the OP, follow your dreams. If this is what you really want to do and it is truly your passion, by all means go after it. Many many people told me the same things that most of these FI guys are posting and I still came and I throughly enjoy my job and see a bright future. Its not a perfect job and there are some negatives, especially here at the regional level, but for me the positives by far outweigh the negatives. Especially if you like to travel.

Not many jobs where you can come home from work and the next day you're in 1st class in a 777 sipping champagne on the way to Dubai.

It's obvious you don't have a family you'd like to take along on your travels...Our travel "benefits" that used to be free and now cost money for standby are getting really hard to take advantage of if I actually want to go somewhere along with my wife and kids!
It's funny you should mention the guy at XJT that went to law school and "found out the law profession is in an even worse state than aviation". My younger brother makes about a 1/2 million a year, paid off his mortgage in an upscale neighborhood a couple of years ago, just paid cash for another vacation home in the mountains, and gets off 6 weeks of vacation a year(and doesn't have to try and get his family on flights sitting around standby and even uses his business frequent flyer miles to upgrade to first class for free).

 

[777forever]

It's obvious you don't have a family you'd like to take along on your travels...Our travel "benefits" that used to be free and now cost money for standby are getting really hard to take advantage of if I actually want to go somewhere along with my wife and kids!
It's funny you should mention the guy at XJT that went to law school and "found out the law profession is in an even worse state than aviation". My younger brother makes about a 1/2 million a year, paid off his mortgage in an upscale neighborhood a couple of years ago, just paid cash for another vacation home in the mountains, and gets off 6 weeks of vacation a year(and doesn't have to try and get his family on flights sitting around standby and even uses his business frequent flyer miles to upgrade to first class for free).

Well like LearLove said to Buzo above, your brother got lucky. Few aspiring lawyers will ever reach his level. Especially if you don't have a Passion for law. Impressive stats for your brother. But those same success stories are in the airlines as well. I have a friend at SWA, capt, makes about 300k a yr, and probably works about 25% of the time your brother puts in at work.

Stastically, the average lawyer makes less than the average airline pilot, even though lawyers top out way higher than pilots. That tells you how little 'lucky' lawyer jobs there are, and how many poor paying jobs there are.

Regionals maybe dragging airline salaries down, but there are still way more mainline jobs(including SWA, ATL, etc) than regional jobs. And when the geezers start to retire, it'll be a free for all!

 

[wrxpilot]

What a surprise... Somebody asks a question on FI, and is subjected to numerous bitter replies. I really don't get it... If you guys hate the profession that much, then get the hell out and do something else. I've done it (while working full time), and I've seen plenty of others do it as well. Although in my case I went from full time engineering to professional aviation. Let me tell you, you guys can have the engineering career... I was never so miserable in my life.

There's nothing more pathetic than watching somebody bitch and moan about their situation, while doing nothing to change it.

 

[777forever]

What a surprise... Somebody asks a question on FI, and is subjected to numerous bitter replies. I really don't get it... If you guys hate the profession that much, then get the hell out and do something else. I've done it (while working full time), and I've seen plenty of others do it as well. Although in my case I went from full time engineering to professional aviation. Let me tell you, you guys can have the engineering career... I was never so miserable in my life.

There's nothing more pathetic than watching somebody bitch and moan about their situation, while doing nothing to change it.

Well said my friend, well said!

 

[pilothouston123]

Plan on 15 years as an FO @30K while looking forward to 60K as a capt. after that, it just ain't what it used to be

 

[jppt2000]

Medical, Dental, or Law.

That's good advice, provided you have competitive grades and GRE, MCAT, or LSAT scores.
It's amusing to witness the pilots who fool themselves into thinking they can easily get into and stay in Med or Law school.
Making a 100 on your ATP written, or passing your CFI check ride on the first attempt, isn't gonna impress the interview-admissions committee very much.

 

[CX880]

Thank you

He now knows his first mainline pilot that loves his job.

Love and recommendation are two different things. Even a stripper loves her job.

 

[Jar Jar]

Love and recommendation are two different things. Even a stripper loves her job.

incidentally, they earn on average 2x-3x that of a regional FO.

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Stripper/Exotic_Dancer/Salary

 

[CX880]

Well like LearLove said to Buzo above, your brother got lucky. Few aspiring lawyers will ever reach his level. Especially if you don't have a Passion for law.

You mean like that XJT guy?? Seriously dude stop. You sound naive.

 

[777forever]

Just fair warning for all you blind money chasers(nothing wrong with chasing money, but blindly chasing it is silly) Dentists have one of the highest if not the highest suicide rate.

Quote from a dentist:

Yes its true, I would imagine its because all we try to do is run a business, help people and earn a living. But all we get is screwed by the government, moaned at by people who can't understand why things cost so much, moaned at by people who have toothache, moaned at by people who want an appointment NOW, and can't have one, moaned at by people who read the Sunday supplements and think they know more than we do, moaned at by people who look up stuff on the internet, and think they're a freaking dentist, moaned at by menopausal women who dont like their new teeth, even though there's nothing wrong with them,

People trying to sue you because they they obviously know more than you do about teeth,and you didn't do it right.
Staff moaning at you because they're also getting moaned at by patients all the time. Huge bills off companies that think because your a dental practice you can pay 10 times the true cost of something, and you get to the middle of your life, with a huge mortgage, a huge business loan, 3 kids to support, and an alcohol problem, and think to yourself, I don't want to be a dentist any more.

Its not helped by people who just cannot see the stresses that dentists are under, and think we all have a great life with everything we ever wanted.

Does that shed any light on the matter?

I think the above can be applied to all medical professions, even law.

 

[say again]

I love my flying job, though it's been quite a rough road. I'm just thankful that I didn't have a family to support at the time. Would I recommend this career? I wouldn't glamorize it, I'd tell them my experiences, and let them make their own decision. If that's what they want, then the best of luck to them. Aviation is a career that will certainly keep you guessing what's gonna happen next month, year, etc.

 

[Kalifornia]

What a surprise... Somebody asks a question on FI, and is subjected to numerous bitter replies. I really don't get it... If you guys hate the profession that much, then get the hell out and do something else. I've done it (while working full time), and I've seen plenty of others do it as well. Although in my case I went from full time engineering to professional aviation. Let me tell you, you guys can have the engineering career... I was never so miserable in my life.

There's nothing more pathetic than watching somebody bitch and moan about their situation, while doing nothing to change it.

One of the only realistic hopes IMHO to improve the super substandard pay at the bottom is that a true pilot shortage will occur when far less people choose to train to become a professional pilot. The primary way of doing that is by educating others about the current realities. You may have it good at your current airline position, but many more don't. And the many more who don't, just may fly your route in the future because of their substandard airline low ball bid. Get it. All the viral replies are other pilots doing something about it.