I can't understand the low pay

[Brett Hull]

4 year degree

I don't have one (but I'm working on it) and I've had three job offers and declined an interview with Comair (because of the pay), all since last July.

 

[bobbysamd]

What?

see that is why a 4 yr degree is so improtant in a pilot's career.
Why without a 4 yr degree he might not have gotten the job.

Objection, Your Honor, irrelevant.

Perhaps the degree doesn't help a pilot get a job in an overt way, but maybe in more subtle ways, such as just being able to list it on a resume. It probably was noticed and it gave you the edge over other applicants. Not to mention that having an education might help you present yourself well.

I second Thomas Petzinger as more suggested reading for WifeofPilot.

 

[328dude]

I'm going to guess he/she fly's for Airways which did not request furlughed pilot's to give up senority if they came to a wholly owned. I don't have a clue about Delta or the other majors and how they worked out senority. I think the affiliates did, which begs where your husband/you are flying a RJ at if he is flying at Airways.

Heck, I have a two leg commute to and from work that take's me 6 hours each way on a good day, don't give me this crap about being to busy. It's not as bad as you make it sound.

 

[wifeofpilot]

Nope not Airways... guess again!


Two leg commute--yikes! I'm glad the commute doesn't bother you.

And this is wife of pilot logged in under her own log in.
Home computer defaulted to my husbands.

I am new to the board.

 

[328dude]

I'm not guessing anymore. If you want people to know then just tell us. Enough of these games. I hope it's not Eastern.

I never said the commute didn't bother me.

 

[JohnDoe]

quote from saabcaptain:

"Your husband is furloughed from a major right? He went back to a $19,000 a year FO seat regional job right? Why didn't he get a non-flying job that paid better until he got recalled? Maybe it is because he loves to fly so much the very thought of not flying, even if he made more money by not doing so, got him to take that $19,000 a year job?

If what I said is accurate then there goes your whole argument. As long as people won't walk away from flying because of the low pay there will always be the low pay. "



saabcaptain and others hit the nail on the head..........As long as people are out there willing to work for 19k a year, they (employers) are going to pay 19k a year. If you don't like it, you have a choice not to do it.


P.S. I agree with your response to pilotyip's post about 4 year degrees....he tends to ramble on about them for some reason.

ifly4food....you need to relax a little.....md80 automatically equals Delta??

 

[wifeofpilot]

Why should my husband, who's flown since he was 17 and done nothing else, HAVE to resort to "SOMETHING THAT PAYS BETTER?"

DOESN'T THAT SOUND RIDICULOUS! THAT'S MY POINT!!!! YOU GUYS ARE HIGHLY SKILLED AND SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR CAREER BECAUSE THE PAY IS IN THE TOILET.

MY POINT IS BEING MISSED HERE. IT'S NOT ABOUT FINDING A JOB THAT PAYS BETTER...IT'S ABOUT GETTING A "FAIR" WAGE FOR DOING A JOB YOU ARE TRAINED FOR.

Actually he would be a stay-at-home dad if he didn't take
the RJ job because I fortunately make good coin in a great union job. But at 33 years old, he isn't quiet ready to throw in the towel for 8-10 years until recall.
Also, why can't people who are hired into a regional try to make the changes? Meaning , they may not agree with the money, take it, and hope to be part of a change.

 

[Wats]

I have been off for a while so I hope you are still keeping up with this thread. A big part of the problem is the scope clause that the major guys negotiated back in the 80's. They told mgmt we will let you farm out the small plane flying. That's not the problem. The problem came when they failed to stipulate that the flying could only be farmed out to ONE connection partner. Mgmt can have as many affiliates as they want so when a group starts to get big enough to have some negotiating power, mgmt gets another group and plays them against each other. Can that problem be fixed? ALPA is currently talking about brand scope so maybe, but until that happens (and it will require negotiating capital from the majors) you can expect the downward pressure on compensation for everyone to continue. Jmho.

 

[hyperboy]

seeing is believing

The pilots are getting screwed as many managements take advantage of us in some tough times. How do they sleep at night? Just as a shakespaerean plays HERO has a tragic flaw so does a pilot. They display their flaw on this website day in and day out. Our flaw is we love to fly. Management knows it but many pilots (usually the younger or lowtime) don't care for themselves and choose to be stupid and use....... What do we do if we stand and lose our jobs?
What lil' whiners!!! Why don't you think for yourself and do something for a change rather than you letting management determine how well you can feed yourselves. There are other jobs out there that pay better like the ramp agents, and customer service agents who make more money than you and certainly will continue to do so for a long, long time if you keep this up. Why don't they take more pay cuts like pilots continue to do? THEY DON'T HAVE TO, THEY DON"T LOVE TO FLY, LIKE YOU DO!!!! Management knows this......Shocked are you?
I decided to go back to Flight instructing. This is one option if you love to fly. $21-$30 an hour, I average 37 hours a week...You do the math.. For now it'll serve a purpose. If you don't love to fly....certainly you are not doing it for the money?! So why wouldn't you stand up and fight.
Most of us have a college degree and flight training let's say that the avg. pilot has $35,000 in debt for the above mentioned. You will never be debt free going backwards in wages. We deserve a better wage ask PAX's they believe we are underpaid. Handle your business. We should be able to get along, but we try and blame others for our own decisions. Choices have consequences make the right choice. Be responsible rather than creating a scapegoat. I'm out!!!!!


__________________

 

[pilotyip]

4 yr degree thing

I have nothing against the 4-yr. degree, but this board has a narrowly defined success role for new entrants into the market. It is a one-course track that leads t o major with a 4-yr. degree. I am only trying to present what I have seen that defines success in my eyes outside of that track. Chief pilot for a fortune 500 company at over 100K/yr, company car, stock options and a 2 yr. degree is not failure I have know him for years, he worked his butt off, made friends easily and is great pilot. Captains at AirTran and Spirit who were former employees of USA Jet made it without a 4 yr. degree, I wish I was younger I would have followed them. I know the recruiters at both airlines; they could care less about a 4-yr. degree. If you were working toward a clear goal when others were in college most companies hiring pilots will give you a shot. If a guy wants be a pilot and not go to college, who on this board has the right to tell him he will not succeed. We have become somewhat of an elitist society that measures someone by degrees they have and not what they can contribute to society. My brother in law is a high school graduate, no college, but he went to a trade school became an auto mechanic, owns his own muffler shop makes over 200K per year, lives in neighbor hood with Doctors, lawyers. Etc. Is he a failure because he doesn't have a college degree? I meet on a regular basis pure morons with college degrees from out of the way places; they wasted their time and money. The major predictor of the person's ability to be a good pilot is the intelligence test, (we give like a mini SAT to judge this) if a pilot candidate scores high that test, they have a high percentage of being a great Captain, the college degree has nothing to do with this. As I said before I have nothing against a college degree, I only want to present an alternate view to potential pilots reading this board.