SkyWest, Not Paid in Training, et al

[realitycheck]

paying dues

100LL-

I like to think I came up through the ranks- paltry CFII/MEI trying to get multi time; flying passenger charter; flying scheduled passenger service 135; getting my first big break at SkyWest, etc.

But everyone has a different opinion of paying dues... some think you have to go military, others say flying checks, and even more suggest only instructors have paid their dues.

Yet I agree with you. I believe in paying your dues as well; for me, unless you had to instruct for a 1000 hours watching a student overfly final for the 100th time, you really haven't lived (oh no, I feel my hands getting hot already). Am I jealous of people with an extra $20k sitting around for a bridge program, certainly! Do I despise the person whose commercial is still wet, skips being an instructor, pencil whips 700 hours including a bunch of multi, and gets hired with a decent regional all in about 16 months (and you know who you are), OF COURSE!

But I try not focus on those things... it's all about me, and what I need to do to be successful in my profession. I could chase my tail thinking I deserve more...when in reality, perhaps I don't.

 

[BE20AV8R]

en garde'

Well, there always has to be one that assumes that hours make a better pilot.

Aaaaahhh yes, Dogg here, or should I say "chuck Yeager" because he flies a Metro and has 6000 hours!!! Let's all kneel down before the god of aviation himself! Puuullleeeeasseee!!!

Even if you weren't bagging on a fellow Skywester, I'd be jumping all over this! I've flown with pilots of all calibers and I can assure you that some of the scariest, most arrogant, situationally unaware pilots were high timers. On the flip side, some of the best were barely over the 1000 hour mark... I wonder where you fall....

As for the original post, I too was angry to hear that there was going to be a change to new-hire pay. Upon further review, I feel that it's a necessary evil. In this volatile world called aviation, it's refreshing to see a company being pro-active rather than re-active as seems to be the industry norm. I guess Skywest knows what they are doing, last year we celebrated 30 years, quite an accomplishment. Even more of an accomplishment as far as I am concerned is the fact that in those 30 years, not one furlough, WITHOUT union representation I might add...

I'm curious how all of the furloughed "union" pilots feel about there union and airlines now... I know several of them and am quite sure what their feelings are...

Having said this, I have an open mind (except towards narrow minded people). I am swayed more toward non-union because mgmt, in my opinion, has never given us a reason to be union. It's my humble opinion that holding the "union" trump card over mgmt is more powerful than being union...

In closing, we're all entitled to our opinions. Just because someone may not be as "experienced" as someone else doesn't mean their opinion is any less valid. Just because someone is and another isn't pro-union does not make them less of a pilot.

Good on ya realitycheck... look forward to seeing you on the line...

touche'

 

[LASvegas777]

This whole "not getting paided while in training is crazy"!!!!!!!!!! even at Mcdonalds they pay you for training. I dont know of any high paying job for any career that does not pay you day one your normal 1st year wage or salary at the start of day one!! If anything for us pilots in training we should get paided twice the normal rate until we fininsh since we are working 8 hours in Grd, School and then adding another 4-6 hours a night studying, working twice as hard to take in all the info we get in short amount of time. maybe hospitals and law firms should look at airline managment tatics with new hire pilots and follow suit. i am sure there would not be any DR. or lawyer who would say no i am not going to work since i dont get paided in training. every DR. and lawyer would take the entry level job without pay hoping that someday it will be worth it. Looks like we might be on track to the back to PFT ???

 

[Two-9-9-TwoSet]

REALITY CHECK is going after that management position after he's done with training.

 

[WhiteCloud]

If you are going to assume that a bridge program pilot pays out $20k to get a two-year jump, you must consider the cost of money.


If they have $20K cash, you must consider the loss of return on investment and sutract from the theoretical $400K 'extra' they could make by getting ahead two years.

If they must finance the $20K, then you must consider all the interest charges, THEN add the cost of money loss TOGETHER, and subtract from the $400K. There is, of course, no free lunch.


Plus, you must also consider cashflow. If the debt payments on the student loans cause a low enough cash flow early in the career, additional debt may have to be carried to buy basic necessities.

The 'extra' $400K can become very mythical when these unpopular but very real factors are considered.

There's more too. That extra $400K advantage makes the assumption that someone is not working at all at age 59-60. Most people will be making something during that time so only the amount over their projected salary (if they don't do it) would be the advantage. There is also the cost of not doing something else for a living that might generate more income than a typical pilot makes early on in a career. Working low paid pilot jobs at the regional airline or charter level for several years can generate huge paper losses if projected out to age 60. Ziggy1