capt. megadeth
Metal Momma!
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2003
- Posts
- 2,898
Very well said.
FurloughedAgain said:I believe that PilotYip's signature says the following:
"Fly because you love it, because if you're in it for the money you will be dissapointed."
As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. There was a time when an aviator's skills were valuable and highly sought after. As a result pilots were well compensated.
Those days are gone. Today airline managers are well aware that there is virtually no limit to how little a pilot will be willing to work for.
They have mastered the art of the whipsaw, forcing each pilot group to fight one another. Regionals compete with legacies. Regionals compete with other regionals. Airlines rise and fall. Careers are destroyed and yet flight schools and Kit Darby preach "pilot shortage" and still speak of vast compensation and retirement. Those, unfortunately, are nothing more than recent history.
Today -- and, I believe in the future -- there is no such thing as a flying "career", but only rather a flying "job". Furloughs, bankruptcies, etc. are unlikely to stop as oil prices continue to rise. We will become an association of 10,000+ hour newhires... continuously starting over.
No airline is immune. Even the a powerhouse such as Southwest will face the invisible hand of the economy before long. They are now the highest paid 737 pilots in the western hemisphere. I can't imagine it staying that way indefinately.
So, as much as I hate to admit it, I think Pilotyip is right. Fly because you love it. Pay yourself first each month. Save as much money as you can and, if possible, learn another trade.
Learn from the mistakes of those who came before you and, most importantly, when the cockpit door closes... leave all of this stress on the ramp.