How many of you are......

[Snakum]

So Snakum is that your final decision ( bad joke, I know) are you leaving the ITT world?

Yeah ... I think so ... another year or so to finally get all my ratings finished and build some multi.

It's a gamble, not knowing whether or not I'll ever be given a shot. But as I said ... I don't wanna look back and wonder 'what if'. And whomever does finally give me a chance will get an employee who works with the same determination, displays the same motivation and attitude, and shows the same kind of loyalty that I have always shown my current employer. I believe if you want something bad enough, there will always be a way to make it happen.

The harder I work ... the luckier I get.

Minh

 

[ILStoMinimums]

If you get some more multi, I'm sure you'd get on much quicker. However, it is difficult to obtain at times.......good luck.

 

[FlyingSkip]

Well---depending on how a few things work out for me in the next few days/weeks, maybe you can have my spot! I'm hearing the little guy on my shoulder say the same thing that I'm hearing from some of the guys on here....I got out of aviation for 10 years and came back because I missed it so much, and now I'm happy but poor instead of financially comfortable and miserable! I think the "experiment" as my buddy calls it, is about to end because I have to think about college tuitions, retirement benefits and all as I get older. 23 yos can just look at crash-pad wages and the promise of one day flying big shiny jets to keep them going, but as somebody said on here already---the glory days that everybody dreams of reaching are dead and buried! When the best wages in the industry are being paid by freight haulers rather than the majors, there has been a drastic turnaround. Does anybody think that the profit margins will return, that the unions will have the power they once did, that the flow of young talent will stop and take the pressure off the older guys despite their experience? Maybe you do---I don't. There was a thread on here not long ago about the "professional" aspect of piloting---the sad truth is that the public doesn't view pilots anymore as professional, knowledgeable men (and women) with whom they place their trust and their lives---they view us as guys (and gals) who sit behind highly-automated controls and monitor gauges while semiconductors and silicon chips do the lion's share of the work; with that line of thinking goes the high wages that go with "professional" employment. I'm not saying that the perception is correct, all you about to jump down my throat, I'm just saying don't deny it's out there! People see stories about how the military will soon not place fighter/attack jocks in harm's way, but instead sit a guy behind a control panel in a van and let him fly a remote-control aircraft to do the dirty work---you don't think that maybe they think the airlines should do that as well, and if not now maybe they shouldn't someday....

It's a simple rule of economics, when you get down to it----supply and demand. There is a finite demand for pilots to fill positions, and based on the romance, the adventure, the fun, the possibility of reward, etc there is a constant supply of gleaming-eyed young people (and even a few middle-aged ones like Snakum above!) that are willing to jump through the hurdles, endure all the training and put up with all the hassles for the chance to grab the gold ring. The problem is exactly what was mentioned above---we never know the truth until we have so much time, expense and emotional collateral involved that we don't feel like we have any option but to continue forward. A person I greatly respected told me years ago, it's always easier to go in the direction you're already heading than to fight the tide and head off in a new one. We all just have to wake up every day and decide if and when and at what cost comes that decision to plot a new heading....

Good luck to us all, no matter what decision we make.

 

[COEX-FO]

over 40 and trying to get your first job flying after accumulating hours from flight instruction? ....
I was mostly curious to see how many people are over 40 and trying to start out in this crazy industry.

While some of the above posts are right on in many ways (love the crack cocaine one), I was hired by Express at 50 and I'm happy I did. Sure, I lived through 9-11 and kept my job and now recently upgraded. I have 5 years to go and could not be happier!

Express will hire the person, not the age. If you meet the mins, are willing to work for the published pay scale, then apply. Age is not an issue at all.

If this is what you want to do, then by all means do it and never look back.

 

[Jetboy]

If you enjoy your current gig, even if you just tolerate it, I would strongly caution you against coming to aviation, especially the airlines. 91/135 can be better, but a lot are worse. For a low time guy, the good ones are nearly impossible to find and unfortunately, time isn't on your side to jack around.I have spent my entire life working towards this career, and have found myself flying jets to exotic locales (seriously and sarcasticly) in both drivers seats. I thought that would be the pinnacle of my career. I make decent money, flying good equipment, and literally have two thousand pilots under me on the list. However, I am planning my departure. I can't stand the thought of 30 more years of missing birthdays, weekends, holidays, and the "wonder years" of my kids. The job has also turned something I used to love, flying, into something that is a bore, and worse of all, just a way to earn a paycheck. I hope eventually after I quit flying professionally that the excitement will return and I believe it will. I plan on flying for me as long as they can prop me up in front of the controls. I am not a quitter, but life is too short to spend it inside the confines of a hotel room while it passes you by. Guess where I am now....in a hotel. If you are a recluse and have gypsy blood, this may be for you. It isn't for me. I wish you the best in your truly important deciscion.

As for laying on my deathbed wishing I had done something: I would have no regrets for time I spend with family and friends, but will never get back all the time wasted in a sleazy hotel room.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

While some of the above posts are right on in many ways (love the crack cocaine one), I was hired by Express at 50 and I'm happy I did. Sure, I lived through 9-11 and kept my job and now recently upgraded. I have 5 years to go and could not be happier!

Express will hire the person, not the age. If you meet the mins, are willing to work for the published pay scale, then apply. Age is not an issue at all.

If this is what you want to do, then by all means do it and never look back.

Well said.........pretty much sums it up.

 

[Purpledog]

Go fly frieght

Yeah 'cause it's a blast. <sarcasm>

 

[Snakum]

If you are a recluse and have gypsy blood

I just looked that up in the dictionary, and it was a picture of me.

I should clarify ...

I have already been there for all the birthdays, family get-togethers, etc. and I am glad I was. I don't regret having to wait, really, because being a parent has been the greatest gift I have ever been given. I loved it ... still do. And if I had younger kids I wouldn't be taking another stab at aviation. You are correct when you say that being there for the family is more important than flying to exotic locales in shiney aircraft. So I guess in some ways, I am lucky because I have already done the family thing, and now have the luxury of doing something just for me.

If I do make it ... I guess I can say I got to have my cake and eat it too.



Minh

 

[skyaddict]

"As for laying on my deathbed wishing I had done something: I would have no regrets for time I spend with family and friends, but will never get back all the time wasted in a sleazy hotel room."

Very well said. I feel the same way. Desperately looking for backup options to escape the asylum ASAP. I am even thinking about returning to instructing and doing some odd jobs, just to be at home in my own bed every night instead of that incredible waste of our lives the industry does with the overnights. That said, if one lives in ones' domicile (and actually *wants* to live in that domicile), the job is tolerable in many ways. If one is senior enough to hold day trips to boot, then even better. If one commutes, it's a complete waste of one's life.

Furloughed from a good regional, hired on at a very crappy regional.

 

[pilotyip]

"As for laying on my deathbed wishing I had done something: I would have no regrets for time I spend with family and friends, but will never get back all the time wasted in a sleazy hotel room."

There are two sides to this street; you will find those who retired and look back at opportunities never followed. In hind site they wish they had followed their heart. If you like flying the goal of $100K in 10 years is doable. It will not be waste of your life if you are making a living doing something you like, a job where you enjoy going to work. If you don't like flying then it could be an incredible waste.