Retiring NWA Captain Sums It Up

[waka]

Wow. To all those grumpy pi$$ed off pilots out there......

Please retire or quit. Don't sit here unitl you're 65. I don't need to sit hear and listen about how much you hate your job and company.

Flying for a living has nothing to do with WANTING to be gone from the family, WANTING to eat meals in 30 seconds, WANTING to live in hotels half your life, WANTING to have reduced rest.

Flying is supposed to about doing it because you love it. Because you don't want a 9 to 5 job in a cubical, because you want to see the world, because it's fun, because your passion and your job are one and the same.

If you hate flying, hate your company, hate your life style, then leave. I'm soooo tired of seeing and hearing grumpy pilots. Leave. If money is the only thing you care about, go be a plumber or what ever. There are too many guys out there who would kill to fly for the airlines or have a professional flying job. I don't need to see any of you guys in the flight deck anymore. Leave the flying for the guys who want to be there.

Life is what you make of it, and not what it makes of you. Yeah things get rough, but you always look for the silver lining.

I agree in general. However, many of those same people that would kill to fly for airlines and have a professional flying job are also willing to sell their soul due to SJS and fly for peanuts. We have to keep this in perspective and fight the downward spiral of wages and QOL.

 

[wrxpilot]

Ok. My friend works for a major aerospace company heading up a system design group for a new aircraft. He works 57 hours per week on average. Last year, in his BEST month, he had 6 days off. Usually he had 4 days off per month. He is at work 10 -12 hours per day every day, and his stress level is commensurate.

He's been an engineer for 15 years. He just got a promotion and a 16% raise. He said "Now I'm in range of making almost $100k" - with 10 to 15 hours of overtime per week!! That would equate to $35.85 per hour. ($95,000 per year / (53 hours * 50 weeks)). That's lower than everything you quoted above!

Yeah, He's home every night! Just enough time to eat, have a few beers, and go to sleep.

Ya' know what? It's a job! Just like flying! Some people like it, some people hate it. But the cool thing is, you don't have to continue doing it! That is why I am not sitting in the cubicle next to my friend any more.

My advice is: If you don't like this job, don't waste any time. Find something you do like and go do it!

I'm a former mechanical engineer that worked in aerospace, cubicle and all. Your post is 100% spot on.

I remember getting emails from my managers that had timestamps indicating 11:30 pm, 5:30 am, Saturdays, Sundays, etc. I received emails from these guys when they were on their two weeks of "vacation", tied to their blackberry. The project managers (engineers who moved up) were frequently out of town on business, sometimes for weeks at a time. Several of the projects required staying on site for months, with paid visits home about once/month and 60+ hr work weeks.

Two years ago this month I quit engineering and started flying for a living. I still haven't matched my old salary, but I'm much happier at work and as a person in general. I have full benefits, salary, and I work about 1 week with 2 weeks off on average. So I may not get paid as much, but I have WAY more time off.

Regarding the original email - Service advisor for Sears? YGTBSM... I worked at Grease Monkey for 4 years during high school and the first 2 yrs of college. It was by far the best motivator for doing well in school that I ever had. That line of work just flat out sucks. It's hard work, doesn't pay well, you deal with idiot co-workers and customers all day, and you have to take all kinds of stupid s### from customers while holding a smile. No thanks!

 

[DTW320]

He flat out says he was making $93/flight hour, and that don't jibe for an NWA CA.

As one said it did a few years ago, not now.

OK, here's the deal guys....the original post was by AA767AV8TOR. He is not the NWA guy that retired. He is re-posting something. Within the post itself the writer never says he was a Captain. AA767AV8TOR put the word "Captain" in the header of his post.

At the lowest contract point in BK, NWA DC9 Captain pay was $124/hour(12-year), $115/hr at 2nd year pay (never been a 2nd year DC9 CA at NWA). My guess is that you would have to go back at least 30 years to find a sub-$100/hr NWA CA hourly rate.

The writer of the email mentions his EAL uniform...he is clearly a former EAL pilot who came to NWA in the very late 80's or early 90's and probably retired in 2005 as a senior A320FO which paid......wait for it.......

$93/hour in 2005!!

 

[Fly2Scuba]

The egos here amaze me. Here is a guy who is doing us all a favor by discouraging a bloat of shiney jet syndrome pilots and people bash him.

 

[bubbers44]

Exactly what I thought. At AA when we took over MIA flying with Eastern routes we ended up with a lot of their pilots, most still FO's. I can see why he is bitter but most of them got over it and were happy to have a job.

 

[glasspilot1]

and you have to take all kinds of stupid s### from customers while holding a smile. No thanks!

Sounds like a F/A's or ticket agents job! I never understood how they could do it!

 

[StopNTSing]

I'm a former mechanical engineer that worked in aerospace, cubicle and all. Your post is 100% spot on.

I remember getting emails from my managers that had timestamps indicating 11:30 pm, 5:30 am, Saturdays, Sundays, etc. I received emails from these guys when they were on their two weeks of "vacation", tied to their blackberry. The project managers (engineers who moved up) were frequently out of town on business, sometimes for weeks at a time. Several of the projects required staying on site for months, with paid visits home about once/month and 60+ hr work weeks.

Two years ago this month I quit engineering and started flying for a living. I still haven't matched my old salary, but I'm much happier at work and as a person in general. I have full benefits, salary, and I work about 1 week with 2 weeks off on average. So I may not get paid as much, but I have WAY more time off.

Regarding the original email - Service advisor for Sears? YGTBSM... I worked at Grease Monkey for 4 years during high school and the first 2 yrs of college. It was by far the best motivator for doing well in school that I ever had. That line of work just flat out sucks. It's hard work, doesn't pay well, you deal with idiot co-workers and customers all day, and you have to take all kinds of stupid s### from customers while holding a smile. No thanks!

Same career shift for me as well. Best decision I ever made in terms of $$$$$ or job satisfaction. My wife is an architect and has a VERY unsympathetic ear when I do sometimes bit$h about my job. On a good week she only puts in 50 hours at the office & job site. She's been in the business more than ten years and made just over $50K last year.

There are definitely worse gigs out there....and nobody seems to be getting paid what they're worth anymore.

 

[Cobraair75drvr]

Upper mgmts have been getting paid what THEY deserve. Remember, you have to "PAY TO KEEP THE TALENT". How many times did we hear this during the airline ch11 rapings? Now we are hearing it from the banks. WE as a country have idly sit by and allowed this transfer of wealth from the working people to the robber barrons. This has been going on since the 80s.

Same career shift for me as well. Best decision I ever made in terms of $$$$$ or job satisfaction. My wife is an architect and has a VERY unsympathetic ear when I do sometimes bit$h about my job. On a good week she only puts in 50 hours at the office & job site. She's been in the business more than ten years and made just over $50K last year.

There are definitely worse gigs out there....and nobody seems to be getting paid what they're worth anymore.

 

[eaglesview]

for all you with this guys attitude....retire already. You are right, but it was you and your union who was at the helm who caused all this crapola we are living with now

Another chest thumping post by a guy that was probably still in high school when 9/11 and the rest of the fallout occured

 

[av8tor4239]

thanks for not dragging your old beat up bitter a$$ to the fractionals