The_Russian said:
You are all morons with nothing better to do than bust up fellow pilots!
Try less than a third of that 150K debt. And I am paying for ERAU out of pocket which is very difficult. I don't want return, I want to fly airplanes. Return comes at the legacy carriers. Our hope is to make it there and have good jobs. If not, I am content with what I get. The only thing I regret is not being able to fly in the military.
I can't believe that you just wrote that. First off, I asked you what you SPENT/ARE SPENDING, not how much debt you've accrued. I *know* for a *fact* that your total expenditures at ERAU and GIA are more than $50k. I asked what the price tag on Riddle+GIA is costing you. Are you getting scholarships?
I've gathered from your other posts that you aren't making financially sound career decisions. In another post, you say that GIA people are NOT what is wrong with the industry. Those of you with the attitude that you will do *anything* to fly airplanes *are* what's wrong with this industry. If your attitude didn't exist, GIA would be forced to pay somebody to be an SIC in a B1900, the on-demand 135 operators would pay people a living wage, and the regionals would pay enough where people weren't always "trying to build time for the majors" and consider their career a failure if they never "made it."
And with this "anything to get to the majors" attitude, well... What's left? The industry is in shambles. Unprecedented numbers of airlines are in BK court, contracts have taken a large hit, pensions are being raided, US is on the verge of liquidation, and no telling what ATA is going to do. There is a ton of overcapacity, driven by many factors that I won't get into here. There is going to be a huge realignment of this industry, and there's no telling how it's going to shake out. Will there be fewer, but better paying jobs? Or lots of jobs that don't pay very much? Who knows. Yet, you're willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on "dream" jobs that may very well not even exist. You claim that you'd be content flying whatever airplane you get your hands on. Well, why do think there is so much b!tching going on on these boards? It's not because guys are happy or content making sh!t wages at places like Great Lakes or Trans States. $50,000 in loans means you're paying off in the neighborhood of $350 (give or take) a month. Have you thought about what happens if your dream job at the majors doesn't materialize, or if you get furloughed? Truly, seriously thought about it, and have a Plan B like any good pilot should? You're not making enough money to have much sitting in the bank for a rainy day.
Yes GIA pays GTA pilots 8 dollars an hour for their flying. It is only because 121 pilots must be compensated by regulation. Please dont try to twist the meaning of the FO program to be employment. Because it is definately not employment!
Ever stop to think why Part 121 requires pilots to be compensated? It's rather strange to have it written in there as a reg for no apparent reason.
The GAA model will never take over the industry. It is only there to supplement timebuilding for those who dont want to instruct. I would rather have a well trained GAA grad next to me than someone who built time flying around in circles in a twin. And I kow that because I am an instructor myself. There is nothing wrong with the GAA program becasue there is no "standard" way to train in the industry. There are hundreds of pilot mills and also the military, timebuilding, pipeline, banner towing, traffic radio, etc. It will never become the norm. And it will never go away because all the regionals are hiring our guys and they love them because they ARE well trained.
Hey dude... A few years ago, PFT *was* the norm. What makes you think it won't come back? Sure, they didn't kick you to the curb after 250 hours, but they sure as he!! charged your @ss a bunch of money, and the only reason they got rid of it was that they couldn't get enough pilots to fit that model. No matter how you argue it, you are exchanging money in order to occupy a seat that ordinarily would have gone to somebody GETTING PAID to sit there. GIA management loves that, no doubt. You're right -- it isn't going away... Not as long as people are willing to shell out that kind of dough. The GIA model may not take over the industry, but it's close cousin, PAY FOR TRAINING (oops) I mean, pay the airline for the ground school and sim training they provide (dammit, that's pay for training) may very well come back and take over the industry. It happened once, why wouldn't it happen again? That model went away only because, well, there was a shortage of pilots willing to pay the dough.
Yes, I enjoy pumping fuel. However, I wasnt willing to get stuck there. That was about to happen to me. No flying for 6 months. I got in a rut like that before and I wasnt going to let my life slip away.
Me neither. It's good enough to get me other places, but it's no career. I got in a big rut like you (even worse) and it made me think about what I want to do. Fact is, I don't have the financial resources or the credit rating to compete with you guys who drive industry wages down by being willing to bend over and end run the system or subsidize these expensive places to flight train.
