Flying, a dead end career?

[AerroMatt]

Make this a sticky! #1 all-time best post on flightinfo.com!

Ditto

 

[RJP]

It sounds to me that you're stuck in the "121" mindset. n that case what you're saying is absolutely true. In the corporate segment, it doesn't apply at all. The unions have screwed you 121 guys. 91 guys typically don't have to deal with seniority. If you change jobs, you take your experience with you and if you've got the qualifications to fly the left seat you get the left seat and left seat pay. Personally, I can't see the attraction to any 121 job, especially those flying RJs.

'Sled

While I agree with most of your point, I did fly corporate for a time. I flew with a total scumbag captain that was only interested in saving his own ass all the time. It didn't last and they screwed me and a couple others in the end. All for the sake of taking care of number 1. The ironic part was that his speech was always about 'taking care of the crew' and 'mutual trust' bs.

The sad thing is that a unionless job in an 'at-will employment' state is almost as bad as making $20k a year. Almost.

Oh, and to all the folks that posted in giant font, thanks for letting me read a post without eye strain.

 

[SPilot]

Until WE PILOTS stand up for what the job should pay or walk away from this career path, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

No way I'll do that unless everyone else does it too. Who will loose by "standing up" all alone?

joke: if you could make the FAA consider low pay a safety issue (dealing with stress and worry over bill payments etc.), and incorporate wage demands as part of pilot training...maybe you could see some changes.

"You want that biannual flight review? How much ya makin'?"

 

[FN FAL]

joke: if you could make the FAA consider low pay a safety issue (dealing with stress and worry over bill payments etc.), and incorporate wage demands as part of pilot training...maybe you could see some changes.

You want the government to negotiate your worth with your employer? Where you people come up with this crap?

 

[Metro752]

You want the government to negotiate your worth with your employer? Where you people come up with this crap?

In Communist Russia airplane negotiate paycheck for pilot.

 

[Goose Egg]

Paying your dues is bullsh*t, plain and simple. How much did you spend to become "employable"? Figure a minimum of 40K so you can check the "college degree" box, and easily another 40K to acquire all your ratings and flight time.

$80K eh? I did both for a little over a quarter of that. I'm not saying I'm typical, but there are ways to beat the cost. In other words, you shouldn't just surrender $80k without doing any research or exploring other options.

DADDY'S LITTLE KID SITTING WAY UP HIGH IN THAT REGIONAL JET AND BRAGGING HOW HE IS AN AIRLINE PILOT ON MYSPACE....PERFECTLY HAPPY MAKING 20K A YEAR DOESN'T HELP EITHER!!!!!

My dad is an admirable man, but he doesn't fly, and he didn't pay for my college. And when the time comes (in the not to distant future), I'll be actively seeking employment with companies who fly turboprops. No autopilot? No problem. I'm not "above" that.

-Goose

P.S. What's myspace?

 

[Goose Egg]

You get the experience through quality time in the left seat. And it takes time to get the experience. I've seen guys with three or four thousand hours of dual given who think that they are somehow qualified for a "real" flying job. The problem is that ofttimes they have little or no real world experience. (Even with an ATP certificate in their pocket.) They way you get real world experience is by flying in the real (as opposed to the "training") world. Period.

I think any of us who have been in the training environment for any length of time all know "that guy." The trick is not to become him.

-Goose

 

[AA717driver]

Part of the problem with this being a "crappy career" is expectations. I "expected" nothing. I hoped to be at a major by the time I was 40. I beat that by 10 years. As for what I should have made in pay, well, it was tough sitting by making $3.50/hr. working the desk at the FBO or making $800/mo. in the right seat of a E110 while my college friends were making $40k/yr. starting out (in 1984 dollars). It was the price of doing what I wanted--NEEDED to do in life.

I paid my dues. I didn't make $100k until I was 42. I don't think I made $40k until my 5 year point at TWA. Oops! Should'a been a surgeon... Now, (after the furlough) I'm back to scraping to make ends meet (tuition doesn't help). Easy come, easy go.

It seems that too many people think they're washed up if they don't end up captain at FedEx by the time they're 30. Somehow, it's everyone's right to make it to the top. Actually, it's only your right to have the opportunity to get in at the lowest level and bust your a$$ to try to make it to the top.

As far as QOL goes, most of it is how you perceive your situation. You can turn a marginal job into a good one or a crappy one--it's up to you. Most people seem to choose the latter.

Good luck.TC

 

[AGuyThatFlys]

JEEZ!!!!! Quit your biatching. It's not "The Man's" fault. We are our own worst enemy in this business. Doesn't matter what part 121, 135, 91, or Fractional. Major 121 guys preached "max pay til the last day" and look where they are now. Regional guys have screwed themselves (and in turn the major guys) since the inception of the "commuters" by working for poverty wages and hoping to one day grab the brass ring which is no longer there. Dip $hits doing the 135 thing to build time and fly for fast food pay are the bane of that sector and should be publicly flogged along with the scumbag operators they work for. The Frac guys have been taking it in the pooper since day one but have finally seemed to crawl their way out with NJA's new contract. And lets not forget the 91 guys, granted there are many excellent corp. jobs out there, but all you have to do is look at each months Pro Pilot and you're sure to see some half a$$ group doing stupid things like sleeping on a Lear in the "berthable" seats or then there's the guy who says "hell I'll work for $20k less" just to get the job (believe it, I've seen it happen). Complete D'bags like this should be banished to the lowest level line job dumping lavs for the remainder of their aviation careers.
Until WE PILOTS stand up for what the job should pay or walk away from this career path, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

AMEN!

And don't forget those "trust fund babies" who see no problem spending $60,000+ at flight academies with guaranteed interviews, so they can get those $20/hr. airline jobs. Sheesh...

 

[gkrangers]

Isn't the light at the end of the tunnel being a DE, putzing around the pattern, making $600 bucks a day, cash?