Do it all again????

[Oakum_Boy]

Guys dig chick pilots Uh, no. I don't.

 

[aviatrix]

Guys dig chick pilots

Oh my goodness, Where in the world did you hear that one??!!?!?!?

 

[Birdstrike]

I Tip My Hat

I wouldn't trade anything for having flown aircraft that have 'The United States of America' painted on the tailboom.

I would like to have flown Part 121 but could not at the cost already mentioned by many others, mainly the family sacrifices and financial hits.

Those that press-on in this industry, having already invested too much time, money, and sweat equity to go anywhere else (like my good friend Rich, a former Captain at TWA now flying right seat at American and even sweating that) have my complete admiration and respect. It could have been any of us.

 

[bafanguy]

350driver,

My next door neighbor, the surgeon, wishes he'd been an airline pilot...some people just aren't going to be happy no matter what. And HE has a career with redeeming social value !!

 

[VNugget]

The downward pressures on wages and working conditions will continue to deteriorate

Wait, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

 

[350DRIVER]

bafanguy,

It seems like many in other fields have these same thoughts and have that odd fixation but I think it is safe to say that these individuals are nieve to how this industry actually works and the south direction that it is heading. I think a properly informed and educated doctor would not trade places with you or I. . It looks glamorous from a distance but up close it is a completely different animal.


3 5 0

 

[Boeingman]

The downward pressures on wages and working conditions will continue to deteriorate

Wait, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

Whoops. Good catch. I'll correct it.

Long night.

 

[StaySeated]

The only thing I know for sure is if I am blessed with children in the future I will definitely NOT recommend an airline career to them. I don't spend my time complaining about my career choice, I actually really enjoy most of it. However, the reallity of the industry completely destroys any majestic dreams any newcomer might have.

 

[Boeingman]

Not a chance

The downward pressures on wages and working conditions will continue to deteriorate the hard earned contracts in place today. I feel the industry will never be back to what it once was.

After a while the novelty wears off and you realize there are much better ways to make a living. I started a business long ago which has been very lucrative that allows me to walk away anytime from the airline job.

Any fun flying for me now is with my own airplane.

 

[SDF2BUF2MCO]

Walk a mile in my shoes

While some on the ground may be "naive", I think that those who fly for a living (and have done it a while), may not "appreciate" how boring most ground jobs are. Not that flying is the most exciting thing in the world, but it is enjoyable. I'm fortunate enough to have an easy M-F schedule and make decent money for what I do but bottom line it is boring as can be. I'm just glad I get to do road trips every now and then plus smash bugs on the weekends.
Generally speaking, I would venture to say most people don't enjoy their work. At least with flying you have a fighting chance.

 

[cubegirl7]

doctor, lawyer, wall st exec, pilot, no matter what you do
at one point your going to wonder if you made the right choice.
nothing is perfect all the time. i know so many doctors that wish they chose a different profession because of all the law suits, etc.
also, i think it's very hard to know exactly what your career will be like until you get there. the best thing to do is continue to learn and always have a back up plan.

 

[dsee8driver]

Again..

I have been furloughed twice and thanks to my very supportive wife have been able to get back on my feet with minimal impact. I work a week on a week off and thanks to creative bidding and vacation time, twice a year I get 24 days off in a row. I'm ready to get back to work after a week or so off and I truly enjoy going to work. The day I wake up and I find it I do not enjoy it anymore I will look for another career. Life is way too short.
I guess the type of flying we do is somewhat different then the commuters or the majors. Where else will I carry 1 horse accross the pond for the Derby and back or killer whales or Pandas to China.

 

[slide33]

Sometimes I think they should call this site DepressingFlightinfo.com

Shoulda gone to law school? Yeah, but then you'd be a lawyer.

Do what you enjoy. My father has a good paying, 9-5, home on weekends/holidays job - and he hates every day of it. No thanks.

It's cliche', but like the Navy commercial says "If your life was a book, would anybody want to read it?"

 

[Swaayze]

I've tried to envision myself in some other job or career and it just doesn't seem right. Yeah, despite a decent IQ I'd do it again. In fact, at twice that age I'm starting over again in a couple of weeks. 3rd time's a charm they say! This time I'm trying real hard to prioritize things other than money and career progression, namely time and family. By utilizing what I know now to choose my path and appreciate what I do have, I'm hopeful that this will be a good job, possibly a very reasonable career, but at least eventually a decent living that provides for my family, allows me a fair amount of time with them, requires no commuting, and lets me fly very nice airplanes instead of a desk.

 

[Ailerongirl]

[BOh my goodness, Where in the world did you hear that one??!!?!?!? [/B]

Sheesh....joke!

 

[AV1ATRX]

I think cubegirl hit the nail on the head.

Yes, aviation is tough. But I know for me personally that flying is the only thing I'll ever want to do, despite all the bad stuff. I haven't had much success yet, but a lot of setbacks, and I still wouldn't change it. I don't know what it will be like when I finally get "there" (wherever that may be), but I do know that flying is who I am. There are some people who would judge me for saying that, and there are others who feel the same way. I was born to fly, and all of these "experiences" are just part of the package.

I think it's odd that so many women have responded to this post...

 

[JediNein]

"If your life was a book, would anybody want to read it?"

Only if they like comedies.

I'm no longer within waving distance of 18, but was glad I was already flying when 18 hit. The only things I'd change: 1. Get the CFI ticket at 18. 2. Quit the full time cubicle prison job, never take the part time airline ramp rat job, and be flight instructing full time at 18.

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

 

[Moonfly201]

Did it a little differently ....

Was waiting for my my USAF date to enter UPT (undergraduate pilot training) after ROTC. The Secretary of Defense determined the pilot candidates were not longer needed, as the Viet Nam war was over, and the few remaining slots for jet training were given to AF Academy grads, females and minorities.

During my short active duty retraining stint, I worked in an office planning sorties for the pilots of an F-105 Reserve Squadron. I never forgot a conversation with a group of F-105 combat veteran pilots who were putting together a partnership to buy a bonanza. Two of these guys were current airline pilots. I said, what are you crazy? You guys fly jets for pay, and you want to buy a bug-smasher? Their reply was telling, and changed my life. "From two hours before every flight, up to and including two hours afterward .... we are totally controlled. Where we go, what altitudes, headings, everything. A little bug-smasher is true freedom. Take the wife and another couple gambling to Vegas next weekend if we feel like it. The fun is in the freedom."

Nine years later I found myself a self-employed sales representative, driving and flying commercially around a ten state territory. I bought a third of a Cherokee and started using it for business. Then went to a third of a Mooney, then half a Mooney, and finally to my own Mooney. All this over the last 18 years.

Now I have changed my business to include manufacturing and sales, and am traveling nationally with the Mooney. But I need K-ice and turbos, and hope to buy a Seneca by next winter.

I would not change a thing. Find a job that requires instant travel to do product demonstrations and close sales. And leverage yourself into a plane to get you there.

 

[Hovernut]

Wish I did it at 19!

At age 19 in the mid-80's, I could've moved from St. Louis to Champaign-Urbana, ILL with my fellow compu-geek buddy and gotten a programming job with a little known company called Bruce Artwick Org, who made this quirky little program called Flight Sim, which was later sold to Microsoft. I instead opted to serve my country like the previous generations of my family and entered Uncle Sam's NAVY and learned how to operate a submarine nuclear plant.

I could be a retired Microsoft millionaire like my buddy is now, but as I look back on the last 20 years, the life experience I accumulated in the Navy, nuclear utilities, and working with some wild stuff at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, I have no regrets chucking it all for the job I now hold flying the CRJ. Now, I wouldn't mind having a fatter bank account, but I'm rich in life experience, family/friend ties, and in my faith.

Had I done it at 19, I may be holding a major CA seat right now instead of regional FO, but that 'book' would, in my opinion, be a little less of a good read!

Follow your dreams, or you'll always be looking back or up and wondering 'what if...' I just had to give my childhood dream a shot or it would've haunted me for the rest of my life.

 

[norskman2]

I wouldn't do it again in a thousand years.

Look, I'm not slamming you guys/gals who are saying you would do it differently if you could do it over. But I really want to know something before I get too deep into this profession:

Many of you who express profound regret over your career choice seem to be in the 3-8000 hour range. I assume that puts many of you in the mid-30s to mid-40s range, maybe even a little higher.

Why are you still an airline pilot? Maybe it's too late for med school, but if it's that intolerable, why didn't you bail at some point for a job where you could at least sleep at home every night and not be pushed around by crew scheduling during the day?

Nobody's forcing you to stay on until 60. What's going on?

Curious in St. Paul.