Pilots Not Professionals ?

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Very interesting thread. And very important. I am disapointed to those who stated that they don't care what others think. Our pilot image and perception is critical. It gives leverage at the negotiating table and money in your pocket.

Doctors are considered professionals because they can go to the bank as an individual and get a BIG loan that day and set up a practice tomorrow. One person, one skill, generating revenue. Now, this one man show has no regulatory agency. He/she is trusted to study, prepare, make personal sacrficies for the good of the public, etc. We trust doctors to self police.

This is the most important point that was mentioned in two other post...

Professional means self policing, self correcting and self monitoring. This in turn instills trust in your patients, passengers and customers

When it comes down to it, we are blue collar labor. When it comes to determining how we work, how we get paid, etc., we have more in common with a factory line worker and a hotel maid than a doctor.

I know, I know, the B777 Capts. don't like this, but it is the truth and knowing who you are is the first step.....

We are unique. Very unique. Would you rather be thought of by your passengers as blue collar hourly workers or professionals at the doctor level?

The choice....is largely ours.... in our appearance, attitudes and behavior. Act and look like blue collar labor.....get paid that way.... Act like you are highly trained and you can do something no one else can. And get paid and respected accordingly.

Thoughts?

 

[urflyingme?!]

So what about that kick asp Great Mistakes pilot who packs a fat lip(Tobaccy) as the passengers board with the full beard?(Who is coincidentally my hero, wether it's right or wrong)

 

[Maggie]

You know what people think pilots are (taxi drivers in the air). With the pay pilots make today taxi drivers probably make more money. Someone needs to realize that pilots are professionals and should be paid well considering the lives they are responsible for and the education required to do the flying.


Just my 2 cents

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

avbug, I gotta tell you THAT is hilarious! Sad, but hilarious. And you're right, WHO cares?

 

[enigma]

.................

Doctors are considered professionals because they can go to the bank as an individual and get a BIG loan that day and set up a practice tomorrow. One person, one skill, generating revenue. Now, this one man show has no regulatory agency. He/she is trusted to study, prepare, make personal sacrficies for the good of the public, etc. We trust doctors to self police.

......................

Thoughts?

Good point. We may never resolve the "are pilots professionals" question, be that as it may, I can't just set up a sole practice as a pilot. In that, I can understand why some consider us blue collar workers. We can't be stand alone production units, we can't succeed without a large infrastructure. Even so, I still consider myself a professional, and will do so until I start doing this for fun only.

enigma

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Good point. We may never resolve the "are pilots professionals" question, be that as it may, I can't just set up a sole practice as a pilot. In that, I can understand why some consider us blue collar workers. We can't be stand alone production units, we can't succeed without a large infrastructure. Even so, I still consider myself a professional, and will do so until I start doing this for fun only.

enigma

We are blue collar. We are dependentant on our employers for income. In addition, the gov't and company creates policy that we must adhere to, legally. Whereas, the true professional doctor sets up his own code. There is the ALPA Code of Ethics. The dcoument has value, but most pilots haven't read it or shun it.

I consider Air Line Pilots professional as well. Because we self police beyond the lowest common demoninator standard. But it is like Andre Agassi said. Image is everything! It is what the public, gov't and company believes.

We are taking hits like never before in this industry. And it is very difficult to maintain the high professional standard when your getting furloughed or jaw dropping pay cuts. Rather, when times are good and we're all making six figures and you've trading in your boat for a bigger one, there is more time and motivation to keep the high standard.

But that is what it is all about... keeping the high professional standard regardless. If we give in, then we give up.

And the doctors don't have it any easier.... Mal practice insurance is causing some communities to have no local doctor. What up with that?

It is a complex dynamic, that involves culture, economics, personalities, technology and history. There are no easy answers or smoking gun to point to. But there is a small area of control; our own behavior and attitude. The professional label on Air Line Pilots is a personal choice. We have two paths. Embrace the blue collar worker image or the professional doctor image. While many don't care, and that is too bad, I'd like to be known as the latter.

(cheesy I know..... )

 

[100LL... Again!]

Just one small pedantic point:

While it s true that you can't go into private practice as an airline pilot, I know of a VERY small number of pilots who pay for their own annual flightsafety training and rent themselves out as contract pt 91 guys.

Certainly the market for this is small, but maybe these guys are the only 'professionals' in that sense of the word.



Just another skilled labor worker who exhibits professionalism. 100LL.

 

[avbug]

But it is like Andre Agassi said. Image is everything!

Now wait JUST A MINUTE!!!

The sprite commercial tells us image is nothing!

Obey your thirst.

 

[bobbysamd]

Pilots as professionals

As far as I'm concerned, any person who earns money, or barter, is a professional. If you work for free, you're an amatuer. If you work for something of value (i.e., not for free) you're a professional. It's pretty simple.

I make money by flying airplanes, therefore I am a professional pilot.

The concept that some occupations are of more value is an elitist idea, perpetrated by ivy league types who feel superior to most everyone else.

Good analysis, as always, from Enigma.

In the olden days, lawyers, doctors, accountants, etc., perhaps professors, anyone in a learned profession, were considered to be "professionals." Since then, the definition of "professional" has been expanded, as you can see from what I found on an online dictionary:

pro·fes·sion·al

adj.

1. 1. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
   2. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.
2. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.
3. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.
4. Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

n.

1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession.
2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house.
3. A skilled practitioner; an expert.

So, according to this definition, in particular, #3 under noun, of course, pilots who receive pay for their work are professionals because they are skilled practitioners. Moreover, it still takes a certain amount of learning and experience to be a pilot.


(Sorry, outlines copied and pasted from websites don't always carry forward in posts.)

 

[100LL... Again!]

True, but that is one contextual use of the word.

I think the white vs blue collar definition is at the heart of the debate.
Again, llok at police. Traditionally defined as blue-collar, there are many elements of the job that require much intelligence, education, and lead into white-collar type activities.

Pilots, like cops, are kind of caught between the two definitions.