Majors guys still like the job

[HA25]

You might want to ask this question on the regional section also if that is your career path. You could be there for years. Many guys over there waiting for there shot but having to make it work. Some will never leave the regionals for a major. Esppecially if older and want any QOL. Unfortunately lots of people get into this business and all they look at is the pay for a major airline pilot captain flying a 747 and not the pay scales for the 25 years leading up to that point. I was a career changer and had good luck, good timing. You fly wit some guys who have been in this business for 15 years and never broke 50k or gotten off reserve.

I agree, due to the 9/11 downturns, I spent a total of 14 years wondering the "low pay, and instability" wilderness of pilot jobs before I got on with a reputable "legacy" airline.... and even as good as the pay is here relative to the others, it's still on par with many of my friends who graduated in Engineering 15 years ago are making now... I know a guy that has his Masters in EE and makes $175,000 at Intel working M-F 9-5... Pilot pay isn't what it used to be... maybe one day it will return, but not in the short term.

Take a job because you like it, and let the money come with it...

 

[HA25]

The timing may be lining up- you won't have 9/11 or 65 stagnation to deal w/-
But yes- agree with the above, how much you enjoy it depends on how you're wired and how much you tend to take things for granted-
For me, I love every second as long as I'm not kept away from home too long- I'm really lucky to have that job-

this may well be true, and from what I can see, retirements are due to spike in the next 7-10 years.... should time well for him.

 

[xjhawk]

Having worked in Tech for a long time before getting my chance to fly for a living let me tell you this; it Effing rocks. It was worth it; with three caveats:
1) Don't give up.
2) Don't stop at the regionals.
3) Start right now. Make your move, and run with it; don't let anyone talk you out of it.

Tailwinds.

I think he is planning on going right to the majors given that he has so many hours..........

 

[General Lee]

There is no doubt this has been a rough decade or more thanks to 9-11, BKs, and then age 65. But, those old guys that have been hanging on will eventually go, in floods too. Consolidation will create a few mega carriers that will keep fares higher, allowing more stability due to more consistent profits. There will still be ups and downs, but not as many BKs and huge pay cuts.

The question is, will senior RJ Capts who now have families and are used to their current pay, be willing to take a 1 or 2 year paycut and head over to a Major when the time comes? First year pay may be a bit lower, and reserve away from your kids may not be on their wish list. But, if they get on in the beginning of a hiring wave, life could be great within a year or two, with quick advancement and equal pay or better within 2-3 years, and then getting better after that. If that doesn't happen, RJ FOs will probably be next on the hiring list. Good luck.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[C-150ETOPS]

Flying for most majors is like meeting 3 really hot looking super model chicks in a bar who want to take you back to their super yacht.

After more than a few drinks you stagger onboard, and have another drink just high on life. Slowly but surely as they slowly remove their designer dresses, you make the horrifying discovery that they really are drag queens.

Too late, you're handcuffed face down on the bed. Enjoy your career.

(not from experience, but my airline career has been similar)

 

[fareview]

You will progress quickly if you are willing to work overseas...where quite frankly - life is pretty good.

fv

 

[727gm]

Posted by grog_sit_reserv:

Having worked in Tech for a long time before getting my chance to fly for a living let me tell you this; it Effing rocks. It was worth it; with three caveats:
1) Don't give up.
2) Don't stop at the regionals.
3) Start right now. Make your move, and run with it; don't let anyone talk you out of it.

Tailwinds.

Grog, best summary I've read here. Yes, there is some luck involved in where you end up. Sometimes, despite your best efforts and crystal-ball-gazing, you end up at an airline that folds, or get stuck at one that shrinks as fast as people retire, and you stagnate. But for the majority, the overall result is a career that we love and enjoy. I think there's a larger number of complainers on web boards in general, so being here can give you a skewed view of what the career is really like. So if you want the career, go for it, with an eye on the reality that it may have problems. But chances are, it's going to be fun.

HAL

Agree....I left engineering. Good Career, but no travel... made the change at a bad time, took too long(avoided the regionals ["commuters" then])....but I'll still never go back!

when I'd show up to instruct on an evening or weekend, full-time CFI's would say, "Did you quit yet?"
Reply:...uhhh, no-o-o.....?
"In 10 or 20 years we'll be major airline captains, and you'll still be flying 152's on the weekends. YOU HAVE TO QUIT or it will never happen"

Took two years to finally go for it, but it's been worth it.

 

[check six]

I have the MSEE and what FMS speed is talking about. Also like C-150ETOPS comments about the 3 super models. Like most guys have said here, it is a crap shoot. I have a good friend at "U aint leaving" airlines. He has an aerospace eng degree and USAF A-10 time. He is bugging me to get him a cushy engineering job so he can quit his job because he got bumped back to bus FO after 9-11. Grass is always greener. LOL.

 

[Whine Lover]

" Grass is always greener..."

True Dat.

I think one of the best gigs going is Bong Hitting Slacker with a medical marijuana card living in a sunny welfare state like California.

Wake and bake and "surfs up" before retiring to your subsidized housing to collect your Obama Bucks while eating Cheetos and playing Rad video games on your $4000.00 souped up Mac...We could have been real contenders.


But NO....we all just had to play with airplanes.






YKW

 

[JOPILOT]

Yep, I love the job when I am there and I love my time off when I am home which has been about as much as you like lately with low hours for fall flying and some seniority on reserve. Thought I would help coach some soccer for the kids and work on our dogs' obedience. Also, been riding the mountain bike a whole bunch! I don't know a lot of other professionals in the area that have these options.

Of course there are ALPA politics and the usual bitching at work if you would care to get involved and the pilots that have to fly max to pay extroadinary self created bills etc... But, if you live modestly and try not to be away from home too much, this is most certainly the best damn job around!

JP

 

[jonjuan]

Flying for most majors is like meeting 3 really hot looking super model chicks in a bar who want to take you back to their super yacht.

After more than a few drinks you stagger onboard, and have another drink just high on life. Slowly but surely as they slowly remove their designer dresses, you make the horrifying discovery that they really are drag queens.

Too late, you're handcuffed face down on the bed. Enjoy your career.

(not from experience, but my airline career has been similar)

So, you enjoyed it, eh?

 

[Carl S.]

If you enjoy going to work, you found the right job for you! Do not count on money to make you happy, but QOL is what matters in the big picture...You can take memories with you, not the BMW's or boats...The past is history and count on the legacy carriers to be nothing like the past, but I enjoy flying on my terms.... that means nice trips and weekend and holidays off instead of 40k extra to upgrade...my kids will only be young once if I do this right.... Mark

 

[jonjuan]

If you enjoy going to work, you found the right job for you! Do not count on money to make you happy, but QOL is what matters in the big picture...You can take memories with you, not the BMW's or boats...The past is history and count on the legacy carriers to be nothing like the past, but I enjoy flying on my terms.... that means nice trips and weekend and holidays off instead of 40k extra to upgrade...my kids will only be young once if I do this right.... Mark

Sure, but an extra $40K for 5 or so years compounded will certainly allow for a happier, earlier retirement and then being able to do more with your kids. I don't want to have to work to 65. NFW.

 

[Tail Gunner Joe]

As the years go by, I'm something straight out of a Dilbert cartoon: I love my job, but dislike my company. My coworkers are great, but nowadays the policies and decrees coming down from "the corner office in a skyscraper" just leave me scratching my head.

/Or ... maybe the business was always like this.
//Or, maybe I'm getting cranky in my old age.

 

[Carl S.]

Jonjuan, 40k before taxes to never have off a weekend, holidays or school vacations? Money is not the driver in my life, live within your means and life is way easier in my book. A Porsche is nice, but my Hondas work just as well and do not depreciate as bad in the long run... But I did have a Porsche before the wife and kids so go figure. My kids will be teenagers soon and the magic of sub-10 year olds will be over then I will take the hit and move up. Lots of tax free money available on deployments for Uncle Sugar, but not so good for the family life also. Family or money, I will always take the kids first.