Want to be an airline pilot, read this!!

[GravityHater]

Someone said to me once....

"You get to fly and you get to work fantastic equipment.
Expecting anything beyond that is going to disappoint."

T or F?

 

[Crizz]

Av8er2, I hear ya.

When I was in ground school for the Avro at Mesaba, we had to go over to the big classroom where the Saab class was, so that we could spend an hour or so with the ALPA union guys.

They bought lunch and it was a lot of fun getting brought up to speed on the union stuff, but we were a few minutes late getting back to our conference room for the remainder of that days Ops manual training. The director of training came storming into our classroom and started yelling at us for being late and quite frankly, his tone and language was not professional. He had veins popping out of his forehead and most of the young dudes in the classroom were recoiling from this barrage. It was all I could to keep my mouth shut and not jump across the table to web hand this fat toad in the throat.

Later on, I got treated to his training department's crap training program and the writing was on the wall, I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there.

What I saw in my short time there, was a TAF of what my life was going to be like working there...so, once again...I empathize with you.

When was this?

 

[semperfido]

I like the flying part, but all the BS that comes with the airlines is getting old.

.

unfortunately, you will find this the case in most any job. that is the "work" part part of the job. the flying is the fun part. i could retire if i had a buck for every time i heard the phrase " i can't believe we are getting paid to do this". i even remember it being said at an airline twenty years ago. over time things change- not always for the better. keep looking.

 

[FN FAL]

When was this?

About a year before 9/11.

 

[TIGV]

I'll be freeing up a slot here pretty soon, 15 years in, over 8000 hours 2 type ratings, 4-year, you name it, I got it, think someone wants it? Heck no and probably won't for another 5 years, so cheerio, it's been fun.

I'm thinking the above won't get me a reasonable wage and/or a reasonable retirement by the time I see the " big " iron, or is that " shrinking iron ".

So I'm forging ahead with my own business and freeing my slot for someone else, wish me the best and I'll wish you guys the best with al lthat flying 'n stuff.

 

[FN FAL]

I'll be freeing up a slot here pretty soon, 15 years in, over 8000 hours 2 type ratings, 4-year, you name it, I got it, think someone wants it? Heck no and probably won't for another 5 years, so cheerio, it's been fun.

I'm thinking the above won't get me a reasonable wage and/or a reasonable retirement by the time I see the " big " iron, or is that " shrinking iron ".

So I'm forging ahead with my own business and freeing my slot for someone else, wish me the best and I'll wish you guys the best with al lthat flying 'n stuff.

I've been toying with the idea of getting my FFL and Class II SOT, so that I may better serve the law enforcement and NFA community by taking in their unwanted cash.

The wife wants a house and I want a workshop with a lathe and a drill press in it...so I think it's up to me to give her what she wants.

So I may just keep my draggin ass caravan job and work out the details on the side business on the sly. Who knows?

I like looking at the bigger planes and wondering, but somehow I get the feeling that 15 years isn't going to be enough time to recoup the effort.

I know a guy that does 30K a year in NFA transfers with his Class III sales and I'd like to dip in and do the repairs and mods on all those transfers...in my spare time. Plus, I could probably call in some LEO markers to get the ball rolling.

Lots of pilots that I know are always turning gears on what to do for a side business...one guy I know got into running a bunch of bee hives on his property.

 

[cargoflyr69]

I've been toying with the idea of getting my FFL and Class II SOT, so that I may better serve the law enforcement and NFA community by taking in their unwanted cash.

could someone please put this into english for me?

 

[Metro752]

He's gunna get gun licenses n certificates n such so he can make fat cash in the gun shootin and moddin bizness

 

[TonyC]

I've been toying with the idea of getting my FFL and Class II SOT, so that I may better serve the law enforcement and NFA community by taking in their unwanted cash.

could someone please put this into english for me?

FFL - Free Fire License - - means he can shoot anywhere he darn well pleases

SOT - - Shoot Other Things - - means not restricted to paper targets. He can shoot at animals and people when the situations present themselves

Class II SOT - - better than a Class I (restricted to animals less than 18" tall, children under 36" tall, and bad guys that are running towards the shooter) but not quite as good as the Class III (unlimited - animals of any size, good guys or bad guys anywhere if it's necessary) Class II restricts the carrier to any adults, any animals, and only children that present an immediate danger to the shooter

NFA - - Not Forced Around - - people in this community rarely, if ever, are forced to do things they don't want to do. Once they show the FFL and Class II SOT, most guys run away.











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[FurloughedAgain]

Boy does this thread ever strike a chord with me. I know exactly how you feel.

First and foremost -- the young guys aren't going to understand. Heck, when I was 21 I wouldn't have understood either. Getting to the place where the job you've dreamed of since you were a little boy suddenly loses all of its luster takes several years and, more often than not, a lot of heartache.

To be honest, I envy you. The quick upgrade, the nice equipment. Sounds like you've had a pretty comfortable ride so far.

I think that before I started feeling the way you feel I was coming up on 10 years in the industry and my fourth (or was it fifth?) airline job.

Like so many others I had the brass ring for a while. Like thousands of other pilots I did everything right in the mid-90s and ended up with a major. And, just like everyone else, had that taken away shortly after September 11th. Trying to figure out how to recover from that event and still enjoy the profession has been a real challenge.

Worse yet, after my fourth industry furlough I started to feel like chicken little. I always feel like the sky is about to fall. Not a day goes by that I dont read the headlines in the paper and wonder if the axe is about to fall on my company or my position. I cant find anyone who understands why i'm constantly keeping my resume up to date and why I start looking for my NEXT job the minute I finish training on my CURRENT job. I can't explain it myself.

I guess it is my lack of any marketable skills. I have no real talent outside of aviation. I have no education outside of aviation. So the prospect of losing this job gets more and more frightening every day -- especially now as my resume stretches to two pages... 7 airlines...9 airplanes...4 furloughs...

My wife has been patient and understanding. She's moved twice since 09/11. She's put up with crashpads, and initial trainings, and interviews, and relocations after relocations. She's a good woman, but I can see this lifestyle wearing on her as well.

I dont see myself getting back to a major airline cockpit any time soon. The young guys will say that i've given up or that I dont "love" flying enough. I think i've given aviation all the love I have to give. She keeps kicking me in the nuts! Heck, I still love flying. But i'd give up most anything to find something else that I have a talent for. If only I had one more skill that a company might find valuable. Any plan "b" that I could be successful at without investing any more of my own time or money.

I love my current job. It's one of those pilot "dream jobs" you read about. 50 hours a month. Most weekends and holidays off. Home every night. Good pay. Great quality of life....and yet deep inside I cant shake the feeling that this job isn't going to be around for the next 25 years. I'd love to retire from here, but I cant help but to feel that it's unlikely. This is my first corporate job, but i've always heard about how corporations can sell the airplanes out from under you and "poof!" Then what? Another thread on this website talks about a Kodak pilot who was laid off after 29 years.

So I still read the headlines every day. And I still look for ways to provide for my family if all of this should go away...again. Always looking for plan "B"....nomatter how good things are at plan "A"

So yeah, I know how you feel. And if you're able to escape aviation -- maybe fly for fun once or twice a month -- and make a living at another occupation, well then I salute you. Because if you're successful then you're a hero to thousands of us who wish we could figure out how to do the same.

Good luck!

 

[funky]

Have you ever thought about going back to teaching? Maybe part-time or something that gives you enough time to spend with your family? You and your family can always find ways of getting by. I agree with you, time is far more important than money.

 

[Duderino]

Why don't you wait until you have some experience to comment. I for one enjoyed the post, and it reminded me that there are others out there with the same feelings I get on days where I want to strangle my Captain. Family is number one. I don't have a family to take care of, but I can't imagine how I am going to keep one together once I do. Kind of scary. I have been on the road for 28 out of the past 31 days, missed my best friends wedding in which I was the best man, and pretty much lost interest from a girl I am dating. I am completely fed up with my job, and to be honest, my profession. It seems like what ever job I have, the same crap happens.

Not to be a jerk here but I say leave. If you don't like your job... well that is too bad but I don't want to hear about it. I know many people (some just starting some high up at Major airlines) who love their job. If you go in thinking your going to be rich fast or things are going to be easy for you you are stupid. I just cant stand people who complain about their jobs. You have the option to do something about it... until then... keep it to yourself and I'm going to live my dream and like it.

But hey thats just my thought

 

[BluDevAv8r]

Boy does this thread ever strike a chord with me. I know exactly how you feel.

Great post. I enjoyed reading it. Have you ever read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad?" I think you'd enjoy it. Real estate investing might be a road for you to pursue on your time off.

I just turned 28 and am an RJ Captain. 6 years ago when I got hired at XJT I thought I would be at Delta by 25. Boy was I wrong. But here I sit pondering the same things most of you have...is this a career I want for the next 32 years? I love the flying. Don't love some of the other associated stuff. I've seen first hand the inside of a 3-labor negotiation process and it was ugly. I've seen the furlough of 400+ of my fellow pilots (I wasn't one of them). I've also seen a lot of the good side of this career and it is a great career provided, as someone said above, that you keep your expectations in check. That is the key element here. Not everyone will be 777 captains making $300k per year. So if that is the only thing that will make a pilot happy, then that pilot is in for a rough ride.

Nonetheless, good luck to you (and everyone else on here). Only time will tell what the best course of action is for everyone.

-Neal

 

[barnyard]

Not to be a jerk here but I say leave. If you don't like your job... well that is too bad but I don't want to hear about it(1). I know many people (some just starting some high up at Major airlines)(2) who love their job. If you go in thinking your going to be rich fast or things are going to be easy for you you are stupid. I just cant stand people who complain about their jobs.(3) You have the option to do something about it... until then... keep it to yourself and I'm going to live my dream and like it.(4)

But hey thats just my thought

1. You don't want to hear about it because you're currently working the WORST job in the aviation industry, CFI'ing. I feel your pain- I instructed through college and can't even imagine how much fun I missed because I was stuck CFIing every day of the week on top of my classes. When you hear someone that has your 'dream job' expressing dissatisfaction with this industry's QOL, you get thinking that maybe he's right and it's not going to be all sunshine and b.lowjobs...but you haven't got 'there' yet. I bet you're one of those guys that thinks once you get a regional and 'get' to wear that stoopid uniform that now you're 'living the dream'. But guess what, after that first paycheck comes in and you're making 19.02 an hour the stress of realizing what you can;t do while living off less than poverty wages, the buzz of 'being able' to tell people you're an 'airline pilot' is gonna wear off really quick. (I tell people I meet I'm a garbageman.) The point of this thread is- if you want to have a stable family and get happiness from the things that really matter in life, stay away from being an airline pilot.

(2) whaaaaat?

(3) We can't stand people that walk around with the perma-grin pretending everything is rosy every friggin day. You're probly the same type that would vote for a paycut in exchange for 'growth', bend over to take any reaming mgmt will give you, cross a picket line, etc. I bet you also think that doing an ILS to mins while in moderate or greater is 'fun'...done that yet?

(4) Come back and let's talk in a couple years.

-Barn

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

But when you get married and have kids, flying will be a lot different. It will be a JOB in a run down industry.

Yet another perfectly good career ruined by marriage. DTB and go have some fun.