India is DESPERATE!!!

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

I understand your resignation to DOT classification, I really do, and I believe it's part of the multiple reasons why we will NEVER be as well-compensated as this industry was in the past.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "You get what you negotiate"?

If people see themselves as blue collar skilled workers, similar to Electricians, Computer programmers, etc, then YOU'RE GOING TO GET PAID LIKE ONE.

However, if you see yourself as a PROFESSIONAL, you're going to demand compensation equivalent to that title and responsibility.

This is one of the core issues we, as pilots, have. We keep LETTING the government and our employers whittle down our expectations, because we're nothing but replaceable skilled labor, right?

Before long, if people keep buying into this mentality, we'll be lucky just to keep up with inflation in our salaries, much less get BACK to where they were in the 60's, 70's, and 80's in equivalent dollars.

So, I don't give a fu*k WHAT the DOT says I am. I know what I am. I know what I'm worth. And I demand that my compensation reflect it. Period.

If everyone else thought and worked this way, we'd be a long way towards making this career desirable again.

I think you need a reality check. First, make sure your buddies keep voting Republican if you want the erosion of pay and workers/unions rights to continue. Second, the public perception of our career is that of spoiled babies. I work at the same company as you. I make more than the average family of four in this country. So do you. And we both work less than they do. I hear rumors of informational picketing. What a joke. The public doesn't care. And frankly, I find many of your comments to be the spoiled baby type.

Further, I'm not suggesting that we don't negotiate for better pay and rules. I am suggesting that people be realistic, and many NPA people are not. And ,please, if it is so undesireable to be here, why did you come here? Quit. Go find yourself a profession where you will be properly "respected".

 

[Lear70]

I think you need a reality check. First, make sure your buddies keep voting Republican if you want the erosion of pay and workers/unions rights to continue. Second, the public perception of our career is that of spoiled babies. I work at the same company as you. I make more than the average family of four in this country. So do you. And we both work less than they do. I hear rumors of informational picketing. What a joke. The public doesn't care. And frankly, I find many of your comments to be the spoiled baby type.

Further, I'm not suggesting that we don't negotiate for better pay and rules. I am suggesting that people be realistic, and many NPA people are not. And ,please, if it is so undesireable to be here, why did you come here? Quit. Go find yourself a profession where you will be properly "respected".

And I find your comments to be insulting, both to the profession and personally.

Where is your pride?

I made $40k this last year. That is NOT enough for a family of four in a middle-income bracket, and barely pays a $175,000 mortgage, a car note, and all the other incidentals of life.

You think that is acceptable?

Secondly, if we are so unrealistic, why is THE ENTIRE REST OF THE INDUSTRY HIGHER THAN OUR PAY ??!!

Maybe all of THEM are wrong and you are RIGHT...?

There's only 2 carriers with lower F/O pay than ours. Everyone else is higher. My goal for pay here is right in the middle to upper 2/3 of the industry. Not the top, not the highest. If that's too lofty of a goal for you, maybe you should reevaluate your standards. Or are you the guy at the bar who goes ugly early?

Third, you are very typical of the person who can't debate without throwing the "if you don't like it, why did you come here / why don't you leave" card.

I came here because of the Quality of Life increase from a regional and the POTENTIAL of this company to be the next Southwest. I'm willing to work hard towards that goal, including doing my PROFESSIONAL job 100%. That's not the cry of a "spoiled baby", that's how this industry advances.

You have absolutely ZERO business telling me I shouldn't have come here or that I should leave. I'm not trying to run the company into the ground, I'm busting my butt doing my job and asking for a compensation package that's in the middle to top 2/3 of the industry.

Lastly, it's funny that you mention that so many other people have expectations you think are "unrealistic". Again, if you and a FEW others think you are worth less and the MAJORITY of the pilot group thinks we are worth more, including many of those in leadership of the NPA, maybe it's not THEM who's out of step,,,?

Just a thought.

 

[LaGarbage Man]

You know I came to this thread hoping to maybe learn something about the contract pilot side of things and instead end up wasting my time with the usual Flight Info. Bull Sh**. My bad I should have know better.
Commencing Beating Head Against Desk Chanting " IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT "
or should that be " Professional Idiot, Professional Idiot, Professional Idiot"
So many questions??

 

[Lear70]

or should that be " Professional Idiot, Professional Idiot, Professional Idiot"
So many questions??

Hey, at least you have something to shoot for now...

 

[capt. megadeth]

But most of the good jobs out there, if you don't know somebody, forget it. CAL, FDX, UPS, DAL....IMPOSSIBLE without a sponsor from within the company. NJA, CS, near impossible unless you get amazingly lucky.

Well, UPS has changed that recently. There have been people hired without recommendations. I don't know how long that will last though.

 

[AC560]

The bottom line is on paper most hiring managers are going to respect the individual with a 4 year degree. Without one you gonna have to make up quite a lot in life experience and charisma if you get called in for an interview.

As a management puke I have to agree with PilotYip on this. Degrees are over rated and it is the last thing I look for in hiring. Given a choice between a 22yr old with any kind of work experience or a 22yr old coming out of school, 9 times out of 10 I will go for the experience. For an adult in the work force it is completely irrelevant. First you aren't hiring a 40yr old into an entry level position. Second what they learned in school 20yrs ago probably was forgotten or no longer applies. Third I am again looking at their experience in whatever their background is and seeing if that knowledge and work ethic can help my company.

One of my biggest personal regrets that I intent to correct when I retire is getting my degree, but it had no effect on my career and if anything put me 4yrs ahead of everyone else in my field.

My advice to anyone in aviation would be get flying for $$$ at 18 and do the night school thing if you think the degree will help you.

 

[Huck]

If you have to wake up everymorning to Fox News, I can see how India/anywhere foreign would be terrible.

Funny you should say that - we've got guys who organize letter-writing campaigns to get Fox in each of our overseas hotels.....

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

And I find your comments to be insulting, both to the profession and personally.

Where is your pride?

I made $40k this last year. That is NOT enough for a family of four in a middle-income bracket, and barely pays a $175,000 mortgage, a car note, and all the other incidentals of life.

You think that is acceptable?

Secondly, if we are so unrealistic, why is THE ENTIRE REST OF THE INDUSTRY HIGHER THAN OUR PAY ??!!

Maybe all of THEM are wrong and you are RIGHT...?

There's only 2 carriers with lower F/O pay than ours. Everyone else is higher. My goal for pay here is right in the middle to upper 2/3 of the industry. Not the top, not the highest. If that's too lofty of a goal for you, maybe you should reevaluate your standards. Or are you the guy at the bar who goes ugly early?

Third, you are very typical of the person who can't debate without throwing the "if you don't like it, why did you come here / why don't you leave" card.

I came here because of the Quality of Life increase from a regional and the POTENTIAL of this company to be the next Southwest. I'm willing to work hard towards that goal, including doing my PROFESSIONAL job 100%. That's not the cry of a "spoiled baby", that's how this industry advances.

You have absolutely ZERO business telling me I shouldn't have come here or that I should leave. I'm not trying to run the company into the ground, I'm busting my butt doing my job and asking for a compensation package that's in the middle to top 2/3 of the industry.

Lastly, it's funny that you mention that so many other people have expectations you think are "unrealistic". Again, if you and a FEW others think you are worth less and the MAJORITY of the pilot group thinks we are worth more, including many of those in leadership of the NPA, maybe it's not THEM who's out of step,,,?

Just a thought.

First, I made 70k last year, on FO pay. Again, more than the avg family of four. I'm not getting rich, and don't expect to in this industry. I'm realistic. Let me next apologize if you took my comments to close to home. I was not trying to insult you personally. I do, however, think that most of the pilots in this industry, at majors, have lost touch with reality. Things like informational picketing do nothing but make us look like asses. The public does not CARE. They care about buying another Tahoe, and a new Louis Vuitton bag. They already think we make too much money, and their $89 flight costs to much. We will no garner sympathy, we will garner only resentment.

I'm not suggesting that we should not be fairly compensated, or even that we should not make more money than we do now. I am suggesting a realistic approach to all of this, without the chest thumping, and "I'm a professional!" Acting in a professional manner should go without saying. It does NOT CHANGE YOUR JOB CLASSIFICATION!

I do think that you need to put down the NPA KoolAid and review some pay scales. We are not the lowest. Not the highest either. We all need to be careful of falling into the United/Delta mentality.

As far as your comments about a majority; that's not what I said. I said many, meaning my own little non-scietific poll of people I fly with. And perhaps many was a poor choice of words. But, several have unreasonable and unrealistic wants and expectations. And as far as the NPA, almost no one I talk to is happy with them. I know I'm not.

As far as me being "right" or "wrong", too many people see too many things in black or white, neo-con or liberal, CNN or FOX, left or right, Ann Coulter or Michael Moore. There's a middle ground, a compromise, and I wish more people would focus on that in many aspects of life.

Now, I invited you to leave because you post continuously on many threads what you can and can not accept from the position you currently hold. It seems it's about nothing but money to you. All that I was suggesting is that maybe you should chase it. Go where the money is. That apparantly will make you happy. I was offering an alternative, that's all. You say you came because of potential.....well, potential does not always realize itself. Maybe you should have gone for the sure thing (FedEx, CAL, UPS, etc)

Sorry if I offended you...but this is not that bad of a place to work, and frankly, I'm tired of hearing that it is.

 

[skiddriver]

As a management puke I have to agree with PilotYip on this. Degrees are over rated and it is the last thing I look for in hiring. Given a choice between a 22yr old with any kind of work experience or a 22yr old coming out of school, 9 times out of 10 I will go for the experience. For an adult in the work force it is completely irrelevant. First you aren't hiring a 40yr old into an entry level position. Second what they learned in school 20yrs ago probably was forgotten or no longer applies. Third I am again looking at their experience in whatever their background is and seeing if that knowledge and work ethic can help my company.

Every company is different. When I got hired as my company's aviation manager (manage 15 fixed and rotary wing contractors) they wanted a 4-year degree, ATP, dual rating, and leadership and management experience. Missing any piece, no interview. Didn't matter that my BS in Math was 24 years old and my MS in Aviation Systems was 8 years old, they wanted to see a degree.

I just hired an assistant. Same requirements. Got a real quality guy.

This company is run by engineers and they put a lot of stock in credentials. If you don't have them, you don't get a chance to come in and impress at the interview.

Can you get a job without a degree? Sure. Will a multi-national company hire someone who has to work vertically in the organization from the very bottom to the top without one? Less likely. Why limit yourself?

 

[bravodude]

Give it a break Bravodude. Go study so you can pass your GED!
Mach8

Don't you have to go and complain about how your company sucks or you don't make enough. see ya. looooooser