"The Glory Days Are Over"...

[BenderGonzales]

Well heck yeah i'm going to stop at Wal-Mart on the way home. Have you seen the price of gas???

One stop and I can get my oil changed, a haircut, all of my groceries (at a significant discount over more traditional grocers), photos developed, some fertilizer for my lawn, & food for the dog.

On my way out I pay for gas with my Discover Card and save .03 cents per gallon and head home.

I'm not making any kind of political statement. A penny saved is a penny earned - and when you're furloughed every penny counts. If it will make you feel better i'll switch to Target, but I have a feeling that they don't pass the "left-wing nutjob" litmus test either.

"Target Tells Chicago: Veto Living Wage Law or Lose New Stores"
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/15193268.htm

 

[AGuyThatFlys]

Nobody needs a college degree to fly an aircraft safely. However, finishing college (while it may have been the most drunken 4 years of my life and it was a great time) proves that a person can set his or her mind to something and complete it. And no high school isn't the same. You are pretty much forced to go to high school. You have to sign up for college, and by doing so you are making a four year commitment (maybe more in the case of some of my friends!). If you finish that commitment, it shows a certain level of dedication, and I think that is a big part of why some companies want a college degree. It certainly doesn't make you a better pilot. But when a company gets six thousand resumes, there has to be a way to filter through the ones who are worth calling. College is one of those filters. I think it's funny that you never hear anyone with a college degree saying that it's B.S. that companies want you to have one before they'll hire you. Take it for what it's worth, but we live in a competitive society. All you can do is make yourself as competitive as possible and then see what happens. Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

Dirk, you're preaching to the choir. I've got a B.S. and a Master of Engineering. I planned on being and engineer, started post-college adulthood that way, but always wanted to fly...you've heard the rest of the story.

As for predicting the future, I'm just calling it the way I see it.

 

[pilotyip]

Less important in the future

There is an existing worldwide shortage of qualified pilots that has not yet shown up in the US. As the pool of quality pilots continues to be absorbed by hiring, the need to fill slots will be driven by qualifications over the college degree. It is already starting at the bottom; weather it will ever drift up to the FedEx level is unknown. But in the next few years the college degree will become less important in selection at most airlines. Remember that right now great airlines like SWA, AirTran and JetBlue do not let the absence of a degree stand in the way of hiring the right pilot.

 

[Hootie9750]

I rode home on mesa the other day next to a 6 year mesa flight attendant. She said that the F/As had gotten a memo to refer any pilots they knew of. Id say you could call that a pilot shortage. But I think a more accurate term would be a shortage of uneducated people willing to pay 50k for a job that pays 17k a year. note I didnt use the word whore because that would degrade prostitutes who are paid to work and can afford to buy food and gas and other items of utility.

 

[suupah]

But I think a more accurate term would be a shortage of uneducated people willing to pay 50k for a job that pays 17k a year.

Yet here we are showing up everyday to do it!

Let me ask you this.....would you go to a store that sells its goods at a loss? Heck yes! if they are dumb enough to do it, i will buy!

that is how the airlines are looking at the pilots. if we are dumb enough to pay 50k for a 17k/year job, then grrrrreeat!

 

[pilotyip]

But the 17K is an entry-level pay, you move up from there if you want. 100K is still doable by your mid-20's if you pursue your career, which means moving a lot, changing jobs a lot, and forgoing QOL pursuit until you get a career job. There is a pilot shortage out there on the entry level and there is going to be a lot of opportunities to move.

 

[Hootie9750]

Yet here we are showing up everyday to do it!

Not me. Im finishing up school so I can get a job where I am hopefully paid livable wage and can live where I want. I also didnt pay 50k for flight training, Ive never had a crashpad, never commuted, never worked for 17k, and never moved 2000 miles for an "opportunity" in bumf*k virginia.
To each his own.

 

[AirBill]

Now I know many of you guys are going to want to throw up "near misses at LAX" and such. From the airline's perspective however, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN AND THEIR SAFETY RECORD IS JUST AS GOOD IN THE PUBLIC'S EYES AS IT WAS BEFORE !!!!!

Not really a flame, but are regional pilots the only pilots who have ever had a near-miss at a major airport? Anyone who would throw this out to prove their point that regional pilots are less skilled really should take a course in logic.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

If you come into this profession with a measuring scale metered to the past you willonly be disapointed. Showing up on the proprty and saying "Where's mine?" will only make one disgruntled.

Schiff is living in the past.....like the Rev. Jessie Jackson.

The Professional Pilots of the new millenium will come up with innovative ways to make flying a viable, respectable and enjoyable career.

Focus on the future, take pride in the past, get involved...