Am I Crazy

[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.

 

[dvmthwsvan]

[Peter, Michael, and Samir are chatting as they hang around the printer]
Peter Gibbons: Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what you'd do if you had a million dollars and you didn't have to work. And invariably what you'd say was supposed to be your career. So, if you wanted to fix old cars then you're supposed to be an auto mechanic.
Samir: So what did you say?
Peter Gibbons: I never had an answer. I guess that's why I'm working at Comair.
Michael Bolton: No, you're working at Comair because that question is bull*hit to begin with. If everyone listened to her, there'd be no Mesa pilots, because no one would sleep on plywood if they had a million dollars.
Samir: You know what I would do if I had a million dollars? I would invest half of it in low risk mutual funds and then take the other half over to my friend Asadulah who works in securities...
Michael Bolton: Samir, you're missing the point. The point of the exercise is that you're supposed to figure out what you would want to do if...
[Master Caution starts beeping]
Michael Bolton: "EFIS COMP MON"? What the **** does that mean?

 

[capt. megadeth]

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.

Hey, I am glad you didn't take my post the wrong way. I didn't mean to sound harsh (even though I am good at that). If you are concerned about making it work money wise for the first few years, look at your situation....can you refinance your house for a lower rate? if one or both of your cars are almost paid off, try to pay them off asap. Basically, see where you can cut costs. Can your wife work 2 jobs for a while? My fiancee and I both worked 2 jobs for the first 4 years we were together, we didn't take vacations, go out to fancy dinners, etc. My point is, is where there is a will there is a way. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

[capt. megadeth]

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.

When push comes to shove, chances are you will be working for 30+ years. You have to decide....do I want to work at a job that sucks and I hate for 30+ years or do I want to remotely enjoy going to work for 30+ years? I agree that a job decision is a business decision but not to the extent that I would pick a better paying job that I hate over a lower paying job that I like. If you do that you are just setting yourself up to be miserable your entire life.

 

[AZFLYER]

So my wife and I had a discussion about this last night. It started out well enough. I told her my dreams and goals and that I am really unhappy right now. I think she missed the point. Turned into a huge argument which lasted a few hours and got us no where. So I am still at square one. Tempted to apply but scared that I will actually get a call and be hired. Then what. She does not want me being gone for a few days at a time and so forth. Thanks everyone for the encouraging words and opinions.

AZFLYER

 

[flyer172r]

The upside to my line of work is good but the hours do suck. Very long days and sometimes weekends as well.

The hour at a regional suck a lot too. After a very long day at the office you get to go home to your wife and sleep in your own bed. After a long day flying at a regional you get to go to some hotel that may or may not have a decent restaurant nearby, and since you probably won't get a commutable line quickly you'll be spending around 6 calendar days on the road at a time. And you will be working every weekend for a while. Can you and your wife handle that?

Can you teach at all? If so then maybe you should consider part time flight instructing. It'd be a good way to get paid to fly, you wouldn't be away from home all the time, and it'd be a good way to start meeting people in your area that could maybe get you something better.

 

[gunfyter]

Dont do it!

Get rich and get an airplane and fly it for fun.

Or join the Military and fly there.

 

[pilotyip]

You will have more quality time with your family as a pilot than you will as management. Yes you will be gone more nights, but when you are home you are home for days at a time. I have been on both sides. The glamour that pilots talk about of getting up at 0600 every day coming home at 1830, to have dinner, watch a sporting event on TV and go to bed a 2300 to repeat th cycle five days a week, makes those 24 hours of being home 12-15 days per month look pretty good.

 

[THE GRX]

Aviation is not a job....It is a lifestyle.......Find an alternative to the sweatshops that Regional Airlines are becoming.

 

[GeneralAv]

So my wife and I had a discussion about this last night. It started out well enough. I told her my dreams and goals and that I am really unhappy right now. I think she missed the point. Turned into a huge argument which lasted a few hours and got us no where. So I am still at square one. Tempted to apply but scared that I will actually get a call and be hired. Then what. She does not want me being gone for a few days at a time and so forth. Thanks everyone for the encouraging words and opinions.

She's scared. Change is scary. Try to keep the dialog going and calm. Give her some time to adjust to the idea. Maybe she'll come around and be supportive.

 

[DrunkIrishman]

AZ-

You began as a pilot and decided you did not like it. Then you changed to accounting and hate it. Is it possible that you will be unhappy in whatever you do? (sounds like pilot material to me) Anyhow, I advise you to go and get in a couple of counseling sessions to get your head right before you go making career decisions - again - that will affect you and your wife.

Good luck