GLD Direct
Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2005
- Posts
- 12
My fellow aviators,
The following is my first post, so please bear with me. I am a 70 year old retired airline pilot who had the fortune of having a long, established, and relatively stable flying career that brought me much joy and satisfaction. I like to think that I may have some valuable insight to contribute to the "conversations" that occur on this web site.
I assure you that I wholeheartedly embrace the concept that everyone is entitled to their opinions. I am not trying to discredit anyone's thoughts or viewpoints.
Having addressed this principle, I feel compelled to state that a frequent FlightInfo poster's autobiography on the Jet Careers website to be rather offensive and misleading. In the airline business, it is imperative that a pilot makes a concerted effort to show humility and grace, especially when interacting with his colleagues. Although I think this young man showed tremendous courage in posting his brief and uneventful career saga on the Internet for the world to see, it is my impression that his intentions were to boast of his good fortune rather than to truly inspire.
I am certainly glad this young man was able to find success at such a young age. He may very well deserve it. However, I hope he realizes that the flaunting of his abbreviated career path will aggravate many of his colleagues. The majority of pilots work longer and harder, flying in less than ideal conditions to obtain their goal of flying for an airline.
Of course, once in a while, someone will get a break such as this young man did and be able to take advantage of an opportunity. We all know this happens. Yet to any pilot who had more experience than this poster when he was first hired at an airline (which is nearly every pilot out there), the Jet Careers piece can easily be construed as a slap in the face. The subject should be thankful that he was in the right place in the right time, but for his own benefit, should try to keep his good fortune to himself out of respect for other pilots who haven’t had the same opportunities.
One day, this young man will become a captain, and when he does, he will have the responsibility of earning the respect of his co-pilots. It is very probable that his co-pilots will have more experience than him, especially in today’s industry with many furloughed pilots from the majors now flying for the regionals. During my career, I often flew with gentlemen who had worked for four (or more) different airlines and had much more experience than myself. These individuals certainly did not want to hear about my good fortunes in a business that hadn't been so kind to them.
To this young man, I wish you the best in your career endeavors. Please just keep in mind that humility and integrity are two of the most important virtues a man can possess. I urge you to keep this concept in mind as your career progresses. This business is a small enough community where it can be very damaging to have a negative reputation following you around.
Thank you to everybody for reading. I wish you all the best in this unpredictable and volatile business.
GLDdirect
The following is my first post, so please bear with me. I am a 70 year old retired airline pilot who had the fortune of having a long, established, and relatively stable flying career that brought me much joy and satisfaction. I like to think that I may have some valuable insight to contribute to the "conversations" that occur on this web site.
I assure you that I wholeheartedly embrace the concept that everyone is entitled to their opinions. I am not trying to discredit anyone's thoughts or viewpoints.
Having addressed this principle, I feel compelled to state that a frequent FlightInfo poster's autobiography on the Jet Careers website to be rather offensive and misleading. In the airline business, it is imperative that a pilot makes a concerted effort to show humility and grace, especially when interacting with his colleagues. Although I think this young man showed tremendous courage in posting his brief and uneventful career saga on the Internet for the world to see, it is my impression that his intentions were to boast of his good fortune rather than to truly inspire.
I am certainly glad this young man was able to find success at such a young age. He may very well deserve it. However, I hope he realizes that the flaunting of his abbreviated career path will aggravate many of his colleagues. The majority of pilots work longer and harder, flying in less than ideal conditions to obtain their goal of flying for an airline.
Of course, once in a while, someone will get a break such as this young man did and be able to take advantage of an opportunity. We all know this happens. Yet to any pilot who had more experience than this poster when he was first hired at an airline (which is nearly every pilot out there), the Jet Careers piece can easily be construed as a slap in the face. The subject should be thankful that he was in the right place in the right time, but for his own benefit, should try to keep his good fortune to himself out of respect for other pilots who haven’t had the same opportunities.
One day, this young man will become a captain, and when he does, he will have the responsibility of earning the respect of his co-pilots. It is very probable that his co-pilots will have more experience than him, especially in today’s industry with many furloughed pilots from the majors now flying for the regionals. During my career, I often flew with gentlemen who had worked for four (or more) different airlines and had much more experience than myself. These individuals certainly did not want to hear about my good fortunes in a business that hadn't been so kind to them.
To this young man, I wish you the best in your career endeavors. Please just keep in mind that humility and integrity are two of the most important virtues a man can possess. I urge you to keep this concept in mind as your career progresses. This business is a small enough community where it can be very damaging to have a negative reputation following you around.
Thank you to everybody for reading. I wish you all the best in this unpredictable and volatile business.
GLDdirect
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... scary....
