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getting out of aviation
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dispatchguy
Dad is my favorite title
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2001
- Posts
- 1,569
I was referred to this thread by a friend, since I no longer monitor the board anymore.
I also got out of aviation altogether - was a dispatcher/ops controller, dispatch trainer, and ops control system admin for a regional - 3 jobs but getting paid for one, and paid crappy at that - a whopping 14.42 an hour. Commuted to it too, so if you eliminate the commute costs, I took home a whopping $7.50 an hour for the privilege of working 400 miles away from home, living out of a suitcase, living in a crashpad, and having a 100% a$$hole for a boss.
The company was very profitable, but the financial management types would squeeze nickels together to see what would come out; they were that cheap. People I worked with were good people, crews, schedulers, mx controllers, flight department management.
Throw multiple sclerosis into the mix, and the accompanying fatigue, due to the obscene schedules (0345 start time), and the fatigue just killed any desire I had to care. Schedule modification wasnt an option, for management wouldnt staff us to where that was a possibility.
Two weeks ago I left aviation altogether - no longer a hobby, no longer a career. I make slightly less on a per hour basis then I did at the airline, however, when you add up all the QOL improvements (much better schedules, shorter 20 minute commute, sleeping in my own bed every night, and eliminating the commute), I come out much better; both short term and long term. I lost the desire to travel about a year ago, once MS was confirmed; so the loss of the ability to jumpseat and pass-ride is a who-cares at best.
To insure that I dont get stupid at some point in the future and think of rejoining the biz, I voluntarily returned my ADX certificate to FAA OKC. I cut the umbilical completely.
Thankfully, I do have the wife with the killer job.
I dont even look up to the sky anymore and wonder where that contrail is heading to, and if the dispatcher did everything the right way, or is his office like my office was, and band-aided.
Congrats on leaving professional aviation; like war, its becoming a young kids game.
I also got out of aviation altogether - was a dispatcher/ops controller, dispatch trainer, and ops control system admin for a regional - 3 jobs but getting paid for one, and paid crappy at that - a whopping 14.42 an hour. Commuted to it too, so if you eliminate the commute costs, I took home a whopping $7.50 an hour for the privilege of working 400 miles away from home, living out of a suitcase, living in a crashpad, and having a 100% a$$hole for a boss.
The company was very profitable, but the financial management types would squeeze nickels together to see what would come out; they were that cheap. People I worked with were good people, crews, schedulers, mx controllers, flight department management.
Throw multiple sclerosis into the mix, and the accompanying fatigue, due to the obscene schedules (0345 start time), and the fatigue just killed any desire I had to care. Schedule modification wasnt an option, for management wouldnt staff us to where that was a possibility.
Two weeks ago I left aviation altogether - no longer a hobby, no longer a career. I make slightly less on a per hour basis then I did at the airline, however, when you add up all the QOL improvements (much better schedules, shorter 20 minute commute, sleeping in my own bed every night, and eliminating the commute), I come out much better; both short term and long term. I lost the desire to travel about a year ago, once MS was confirmed; so the loss of the ability to jumpseat and pass-ride is a who-cares at best.
To insure that I dont get stupid at some point in the future and think of rejoining the biz, I voluntarily returned my ADX certificate to FAA OKC. I cut the umbilical completely.
Thankfully, I do have the wife with the killer job.
I dont even look up to the sky anymore and wonder where that contrail is heading to, and if the dispatcher did everything the right way, or is his office like my office was, and band-aided.
Congrats on leaving professional aviation; like war, its becoming a young kids game.
MalteseX
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2005
- Posts
- 188
Not a Bad Move -- Seriously
Aviation today is not what it was merely a few years ago.
Nursing, on the other hand is also NOT what it was a few years ago.
Where aviation has declined, nursing has flourished.
My dad was an airline pilot and my mom was a nurse. He had a great schedule, very high pay and prestige, etc == you know the old captain wide body legacy carrier. My mom had long hours, low pay etc. Nursing of old.
Today, I am a pilot and my wife is a nurse. I have low pay, etc. , in other words all the crap you experienced in the original post.
My wife, only 3 years out of RN school, became a Nurse Anesthetist -- She made over 6 figures her first year and now makes in the high 100's in West Virginia. In other words, we could buy an average house there on her salary in a little over a year (OK, only if there were no taxes)..... In a major metropolitan area, it will be higher. Bottom Line, you are making a very WISE choice.
Plus, you are going to school in a field that has many females ..... not bad for meeting them if you are single.
Aviation today is not what it was merely a few years ago.
Nursing, on the other hand is also NOT what it was a few years ago.
Where aviation has declined, nursing has flourished.
My dad was an airline pilot and my mom was a nurse. He had a great schedule, very high pay and prestige, etc == you know the old captain wide body legacy carrier. My mom had long hours, low pay etc. Nursing of old.
Today, I am a pilot and my wife is a nurse. I have low pay, etc. , in other words all the crap you experienced in the original post.
My wife, only 3 years out of RN school, became a Nurse Anesthetist -- She made over 6 figures her first year and now makes in the high 100's in West Virginia. In other words, we could buy an average house there on her salary in a little over a year (OK, only if there were no taxes)..... In a major metropolitan area, it will be higher. Bottom Line, you are making a very WISE choice.
Plus, you are going to school in a field that has many females ..... not bad for meeting them if you are single.
GoingHot
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Posts
- 266
11thHour said:
I hear the same kind of b!tching from my three sisters, who are all nurses. They talk about how many nurses are leaving the profession. I'm not sure what is so bad. The pay is decent and getting better, due to the big shortage of nurses. The one on the low end of the pay scale makes $83k for three 12-hour days each week. It's 6 in the evening to 6 in the morning, but she gets four days (in a row) off. They also pay the full cost of her Masters program (on-line). One recruiter offered a rent-free condo, but she turned it down, because it had a two-year contract, and she didn't want to move to Tampa.
Metro752 said:
I've heard that before but If you haven't been $h!t on in aviation you haven't been there long enough! I'm still going to take my chances as a RN and as soon as I can get into a CRNA program I'm there. I'd rather wipe a few @$$'s for a couple of years and come out making six figures, and be able to get a job anytime, anywhere. Just remember this post in a few years when you see that REALLY pretty Stearman or T-6 taxi up on the ramp and some guy jumps out in a pair of scrubs, that'll be me!
Gorilla
King of Belize
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2005
- Posts
- 1,132
GoingHot said:
Are you serious? That's a great schedule. Most office types are doing 5 X 12 hours per week. The whole RN gig sounds good after reading this thread. Male nurse? Who cares. The whole gender issue with work these days means little. Imagine if as a single guy, the airline world was topsy-turvy with 99.5% females and only 0.5% male... it'd be heaven for a hetero guy.
Ignoring the female/male issue, though, it still sounds like a great gig. Specializing, like becoming a N. Anesth. would help keep you away from the rectal stuff.
Yup, I'll definately be back, IN MY OWN PLANE! lol. Why would I want to stay in a profession that caused me one divorce, and kept me broke for the past ten years. Like I said I still like airplanes, but if I can get the knowledge to make a living(a GOOD one at that) and have my own plane to fly when I want to, where I want to, and with who I want, why would I do it for low pay and the chance to be treated like a piece of crap. I'm glad your friend is happy at NJ's but I've worked in an emergency clinic years ago and it was a blast. I think I'll be happy.CaptainMark said:
RefugePilot
Paperwork Proficient
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2006
- Posts
- 283
Thought about it
I was down in San Antonio last week on my first free days and days off in about a month. I was down at the FSDO trying to upgrade my CFI rating to the "Gold Seal". The pencil pusher at the FSDO did not know what it entailed and after dissapearing in the back for 15 minutes or so he came out with a bunch of printed pages about the rating.
He said it is very complex and there is no one around today but himself and he just got called out on something important, could I come back at 2 o'clock. I know he just had a bunch of errands to run and needed to take a 2 hour lunch to accomplish them. I was told of a pilot shop to kill some time at.
The pilot shop was a few blocks away. When I pulled up to the shop there was a white T-shirt in the window. I could read only read the top, it said "I AM WITH the FAA." I assume most here knows what the bottom line said. I envisioned coming back after his 2 hour lunch to see me wearing my brand new t-shirt saying "I AM WITH the FAA and I AM HERE to HELP"
While driving back to the FSDO, after lunch, I passed SAT San Antonio International I saw a row of huge tractor lawnmowers, at the edge of the field . I was instantly inspired by the opportunity of a better life. Driving one of these I could allude to being the aviation industry while drinking in a bar, have a cush goverment job, make more money, better benefits, be home every night, and have a better QOL. How many years of training would I need to pilot one of these beasts.
Unfortunatley I still want to be a pilot when I grow up, so I went back to the FSDO, where my original FSDO employee was still at lunch. Fortunately another FSDO guy that knew what he was doing was able to find my paperwork and 20 minutes later I was a Gold Seal Flight Instructor.
Give up on aviation just after I this huge step up in prestige. I may even be able to make 5 figures this year.
I was down in San Antonio last week on my first free days and days off in about a month. I was down at the FSDO trying to upgrade my CFI rating to the "Gold Seal". The pencil pusher at the FSDO did not know what it entailed and after dissapearing in the back for 15 minutes or so he came out with a bunch of printed pages about the rating.
He said it is very complex and there is no one around today but himself and he just got called out on something important, could I come back at 2 o'clock. I know he just had a bunch of errands to run and needed to take a 2 hour lunch to accomplish them. I was told of a pilot shop to kill some time at.
The pilot shop was a few blocks away. When I pulled up to the shop there was a white T-shirt in the window. I could read only read the top, it said "I AM WITH the FAA." I assume most here knows what the bottom line said. I envisioned coming back after his 2 hour lunch to see me wearing my brand new t-shirt saying "I AM WITH the FAA and I AM HERE to HELP"
While driving back to the FSDO, after lunch, I passed SAT San Antonio International I saw a row of huge tractor lawnmowers, at the edge of the field . I was instantly inspired by the opportunity of a better life. Driving one of these I could allude to being the aviation industry while drinking in a bar, have a cush goverment job, make more money, better benefits, be home every night, and have a better QOL. How many years of training would I need to pilot one of these beasts.
Unfortunatley I still want to be a pilot when I grow up, so I went back to the FSDO, where my original FSDO employee was still at lunch. Fortunately another FSDO guy that knew what he was doing was able to find my paperwork and 20 minutes later I was a Gold Seal Flight Instructor.
Give up on aviation just after I this huge step up in prestige. I may even be able to make 5 figures this year.
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