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Train drivers

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labbats said:
Try living in San Francisco as the sole bread winner on $50k. It's not supply and demand, it's cost of living.

Well the airlines don't seem concerned about cost of living for their pilots in New York, San Francisco, or LA for example.

And I'm sure their are tons of people that would love to drive trains around for a living as well, but the laws of supply and demand don't seem to apply with those jobs. I was thinking about professional athletes as well. I mean there are millions who would love to play games for a living for a fraction of what those clowns earn. And many, many people out there are capable of throwing and catching a football, hitting a baseball etc. You might not see quite the level of play or steroid inflated statistics you see today but the games would still be just as competitive with some great plays being made. Think back when football had the strike back in the 80s. I didn't see much of a difference. I just can't figure this airline industry out. It makes no sense at all to me!
 
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You never earn what you deserve, you make what you negotiate. Unfortunately we as pilots have agreed to work for less. We bought all that bs that management was spewing and now work for a fraction of the total compensation that pilots traditionally made.

Notice that airline managers are nowhere near as gullible as the typical line pilots. Us Airways for example has been bleeding money yet each year they give out massive retention bonuses to keep the "talent" around. Those same middle managers that steered them into ch11. When Ual pilots took their huge paycuts the management employees took a cut of somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 percent. Yet too many of us seem to think that taking bread off our family's table is somehow going to save an airline. It's just going to lead to the next fare sale...

Remember the dockworker strike in Seattle. Those longshoremen make 150k per year! Hopefully pilots will wake up and realize that 100k is no longer "good money" if you want to live in a decent neighborhood.

My rant is over.
 
Working for a freight railroad equates to not having a personal life. A person works 8 or 12 hour shifts and then is off for 8 or 12 hours. This can go on for 7 days a week. Basically, like someone previously posted, it's like being on-call all the time. Even the railroads post a disclaimer in their job ads that working for a railroad could take a toll on personal relationships. The money is good but not the schedules.

If one was to work for a railroad, I've heard BNSF is probably one of the best. Possibly Canadian Pacific too (they operate here in the US). I'd steer clear of the UP and CSX.

Think long and hard before accepting a conductor or engineer position with a railroad.

Peace

SF
 
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I had a neighbor in FL who worked commercial marine. . . 200 footers in the Gulf of Mexico. He and his wife both worked 2 weeks on / 2 weeks off and made decent money. My understanding is that the first year you're a "swabbie", then you specialize into Engineer, Captain, or some other specialty on the ship.
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I'm a conductor for CSX based out of N.C. about 1 hours east of CLT. Pay can be pretty good if you are willing to put in the hours. I put in 4,074 hours last year and on pace to put in 3,700 plus this year. Most conductor/engineers 1-5 years of service can make an average of $50,000 to $65,000 working an extraboard on call 24/7. Crew members with more than 5 years can make $60,000 to $95,000 on average. The more you choose to make the less home life you have.
 

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