All Airline Pilots MUST READ

[B737G]

JetPilot500, why do you always reference what the average man or average working person is making or what percentage their pay has increased over the years? I do not know what it took you to get where you are but, I can tell you it took me a four year degree in AE, flight instucting in college while gaining seven licenses and ratings two years pilot training with the military three years at ASA and countless physicals, orals and writtens. The average working man in this country does not have a college degree nor does he operate a 50 million dollar piece of equipment on a daily basis. It may sound elitist but, I am not the average working man. I worked my ass off to put myself in a position to avoid being just Average! I too have seen the study saying our pay has not kept up with inflation over the past 30 years but am not sure of the source so I cannot truthfully say. I would hope you have more respect for what you do for a living and not focus on the average person so much as he should in no way dictate our pay.

 

[MetroSheriff]

The average working man in this country does not have a college degree nor does he operate a 50 million dollar piece of equipment on a daily basis.

I wonder how much a giant dockside gantry crane costs. Or a supertanker, or an offshore oil rig. Do they have college degrees, I don't know.

College degrees are a dime a dozen, as are pilots. Supply and demand. More people want to fly for a living than there are jobs available.

It does sound a bit elitest. It really is just a job driving a peice of equipment from A to B.

The issue is not how you view your job or station in life, but the way that management views your job. To them we are nothing more than union labor. Plain and simple. How much school you have or how hard you worked to get where you are at does not change mgts perspective that you are nothing more than a necessary evil. A cost of doing business, one that has an over inflated ego, and costs them too much money.

 

[CRJ200FO]

I wonder how much a giant dockside gantry crane costs. Or a supertanker, or an offshore oil rig. Do they have college degrees, I don't know.

Yes, but a dockside crane operator is not entrusted with the lives of dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. That's what a pilot's job really is. We don't deserve the money because of the job itself, it's because the responsibility we have. With your take of supply and demand, you seem as though you would be willing to work for minimum wage to fly a 50 million dollar aircraft. After all, pilots are "a dime a dozen" you say. It's amazing how little you think of yourself and the position you have.

 

[CRJ200FO]

OMFG!!!!

I just got done reading this thread start to finish. Wow!!! I have met a few know-it-all, pseudo-salty-dog, Ernie K. Gann wannabes in the last few years. But CRJ200FO, hands down wins the prize.

A Gulfsteam whizkid beating on SWA. WOW!

Born in 82 and giving out the history lessons. WOW!

Lecturing everyone on ALPA with how many years of ALPA experience? WOW!

I find it curious that you attack me personally rather than trying to refute anything I said based on facts. Where was I wrong on my historical facts? Where was I wrong about ALPA history? And don't give me your opinions about ALPA, tell me where the facts I stated are in error.

 

[MetroSheriff]

Yes, but a dockside crane operator is not entrusted with the lives of dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. That's what a pilot's job really is. We don't deserve the money because of the job itself, it's because the responsibility we have. With your take of supply and demand, you seem as though you would be willing to work for minimum wage to fly a 50 million dollar aircraft. After all, pilots are "a dime a dozen" you say. It's amazing how little you think of yourself and the position you have.

I didn't say, nor do I think we should work for minimum wage. I think of myself just fine, and I enjoy the job I do. That is not at issue. My point is what MANAGEMENT thinks of us. They think we are a dime a dozen.

If you think I am wrong, go take a look at the stacks of applications every airline has on file. Thousands.

That doesn't even include the carriers that require pilots to pay for their right seat time, like Gulfstream. I wonder what Gulfstream thinks of those guys.

 

[banned username 2]

Yes, but a dockside crane operator is not entrusted with the lives of dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. That's what a pilot's job really is. We don't deserve the money because of the job itself, it's because the responsibility we have.

Using solely that logic a Cruise Ship Captain should then make about 10 times what a 747-400 Captain makes, since he is entrusted with the lives of over 4,000 people (about 2,500 passengers and 1,500 crew)... Oh and a Cruise ship costs a LOT more than a 747-400 too!

But I don't know too many Cruise Ship Captains making $3,200,000.. per year (ten times what a UAL -400 Captain makes) As a matter of fact, the documentary on Cruise Ships said thier Captains make somewhere around $150,000 per year...

Just my $0.02

 

[MetroSheriff]

I find it curious that you attack me personally rather than trying to refute anything I said based on facts. Where was I wrong on my historical facts? Where was I wrong about ALPA history? And don't give me your opinions about ALPA, tell me where the facts I stated are in error.

Your facts are largely correct and your statemnts and opinions are very much on target.

I was just getting a kick out of the delivery. That is all.

 

[MetroSheriff]

Yes, but a dockside crane operator is not entrusted with the lives of dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. That's what a pilot's job really is. We don't deserve the money because of the job itself, it's because the responsibility we have. With your take of supply and demand, you seem as though you would be willing to work for minimum wage to fly a 50 million dollar aircraft. After all, pilots are "a dime a dozen" you say. It's amazing how little you think of yourself and the position you have.

Alrighty then. How about a nuclear power plant technician. How may lives do they hold in there hands and how much do they make?

Perhaps we could discuss an enlisted sailor on board an nuclear sub. He could ruin a lot of folks' day, and he is knocking down about a grand a month. Even the Captain of that sub, or an a/c carrier is making 100,000K MAYBE, and them big ol' boats cost in the BILLIONS.

Catch my drift?

What you think of yourself and your path to the cockpit doesn't matter a tinkers sh1t to management. You are a gear monkey with a seniority number to them, and there are thousands more that want your job. THAT is the mindset that matters to us in our fight to improve and change things in this industry.

 

[CRJ200FO]

Using solely that logic a Cruise Ship Captain should then make about 10 times what a 747-400 Captain makes, since he is entrusted with the lives of over 4,000 people (about 2,500 passengers and 1,500 crew)... Oh and a Cruise ship costs a LOT more than a 747-400 too!

But I don't know too many Cruise Ship Captains making $3,200,000.. per year (ten times what a UAL -400 Captain makes) As a matter of fact, the documentary on Cruise Ships said thier Captains make somewhere around $150,000 per year...

Just my $0.02

I never stated that pay must be proportionate to the number of people carried. A cruise ship captain deserves a decent paycheck also because he does a similar job to what we do. But I never stated that someone deserves a certain number of dollars per person carried. Both jobs carry a lot of responsibility, and both jobs deserve good pay.

 

[MetroSheriff]

BTW,


GREAT THREAD Everyone!!!! I love it when they roll like this.