Why the &%#* do you work there?

[WhiteCloud]

With all the new TA's and poverty level wages being proposed and actually being considered, I just have to ask why you work where you do. Is it to get qualified for a better job? Flying is fun? Chicks dig it? Earn a living? Have a nice lifestyle? Is it the only place you can get a job? Easier than a desk job? Why?

 

[FL000]

It's pretty simple: I get paid to do the one thing I love most. If you can find someone to pay you to do your hobby, you'll never work a day in your life. Though I'd love to make more, I'm far above the poverty level. I'm quite comfortable, in fact.

I don't think that this job is easier than my old desk job, but it's a heck of a lot more fulfilling. I could have made it all the way to the top of that company and not been as happy and satisfied as I am right now. Having served in the cubicle jungle definitely gives a different perspective that life-long pilots don't usually have.

 

[bigD]

I'm not a professional pilot yet, but I just got off the phone with a CFI buddy of mine, and it made me think of this thread.

He and I took turns whining about our jobs today. He's out at the airport right now buzzing around with students in 100 degree weather, and I'm complaining about sitting here in my cubicle writing code on Sunday to meet a Monday deadline. I'll probably be here most of the night, surrounded by a maze of empty cubes and bathed in flourescent light. So my CFI buddy says to me, "Yeah, but you're making 4 times what I do, and I'm sweating up a storm out here in this heat with pilots that are constantly trying to kill me."

I said, "True. Wanna trade jobs?"

"Not in your life!!!"

 

[FSB99]

i'm not attacking anybody in particular, just rambling my mind...
i am so tired of hearing people say they do this job because they Love Flying.
don't get me wrong, i love flying too, i just wish i could do it as a hobby.
i've noticed that most people i've heard say they stay in this game because of their love of flying are either fairly senior in their company, seat and base; or are relatively young and junior, not experienced enough to know how rough it gets.
i am still in this job because, it's the only job i have. i was one of those foolish ones who went to school, majored in aviation science, and have had only jobs that are aviation related. so i have no real world experience with anything but airplanes.. flying them, washing them, managing them, etc.
yes, taking a job outside this industry would be something completely new to me, and not sure i would like it. i know money's not everything, and sitting behind a desk 40 hours a week doesn't much appeal to me. however, although money isn't everything, money is a necessity. if my wife gets pregnant, or for whatever other reason, is unable to work her 40+ hours per week, our bills won't get paid. going back to school is a financial impossibility for me.
so until i get furloughed, or we strike the company out of business, i'll be stuck in my seemingly dead-end job "doing what i love to do."

 

[wil]

As a kid, I remember picking up my Father at the airport. My Father had a large sales territory so my Mom and I were at the Airport every other week. I loved the Airport and still do, the hustle and bustle of travelers on their own adventure. Of course, I'm being romantic as the traveler of the 70's is not the traveler of today! ( I remember wearing a suit for our vacation flight to Hawaii!) Obviously I love flying but I find some weird solace in this job. There is a true "innocence" to our job that is hard to find. You've got your crew on board, fresh coffee, a crisp USA Today and your mission is to get these people who have placed their trust in you to their destination on time, or a few minutes before! Think of the society scum a Police Officer has to deal with, the contract Lawyer drawing up paper to wipe someone or some company out, the salesman who is always one sale away from being shown the door! The real world sucks, I am blessed to have a job that I love and quite frankly, this is the most money I can make for the least amount of effort! Now, back to studying for my 6 month Procheck-yikes!!

 

[qwerty]

i like to fly and my company is not a bad place to be.

i ain't rich but if i had a real job i would spend most of my money on flying anyways and in the end take home about the same money.

 

[FlyDeltasJets]

You do have a real job. Perhaps we would be compensated more for it if we were not constantly selling ourselves short.

 

[blade230]

For me, it's about those few sweet moments right before touchdown.

 

[Skull-One]

I love to fly, but I could have done other jobs to fulfill that (Flight Instructing, U.S. Customs Service, DEA, Border Patrol, Corporate). I chose the airline business because there was an outside chance of making $250K a year and having 20 days off a month someday in the future. No longer.

It's still fun and I still enjoy it, but now I do it to pay off the debt I incurred to get here and hang on for the first two poverty-level years. I don't feel like going out and looking for another job, either!

I should also mention the fact that the folks here at Chautauqua are the best bunch I have ever had the privilege of working with. I can't imagine finding another job with a group like this. They are fantastic and I'm proud to be one of them.

 

[Wiskey Driver]

Most of us were bitten by the same poisonous bug, that bug who's poison is so strong it turns into what is almost like an addiction. We all have a love affair with flying and though we complain about the current state of affairs we contiue to do what we do!! I have a wife, two boys and 88lbs dog and a healthy mortgage, what does this have to do with anything you ask? I absolutly love to fly it's what I have wanted to do since I was seven years old, I struggled thru adversity and made to the 121 level but if this career ever put the aformentioned in jepordy I would leave it in a NY miniute. The fact that we are pilots would indicate that we live by a higher code, it takes a great deal to make it as a pilot at any level and thus we could do other things if it came to that. For now I will just continue to do the job and complain about the wage decline that other carrier started knowing that if I need to make a change I will...

WD.