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.

 

[Hosed COEX]

I find there to be a huge difference between those who have done other careers before this one and those who went into aviation right out of college. Those of us who have had other careers seem to appreciate the airline career quite a bit more since we know what it's like to sit behind a desk with 8 days off a month only to go home at night to eat dinner and watch TV until we fall asleep, only to get up and do it again the next morning.

The airline pilot life, while not as glamorous as many people think, has made me feel much more alive and young at the age of 29 than when I was 24 with a beautiful 4-bedroom home, all the money I needed, and a much more stable lifestyle. Even though I am possibly facing my second furlough and having taken a 75% paycut from my last career, I have never once regretted the decision to become an airline pilot. Those who got into this solely for the money or the flight attendants will continue to drop out of this industry making way for those of us with a passion for flying and a lifestyle that most people will never have a chance to experience.

 

[Skull-One]

Those who got into this solely for the money or the flight attendants will continue to drop out of this industry making way for those of us with a passion for flying and a lifestyle that most people will never have a chance to experience.

Says who? I don't see many dropping out by choice...those that I've seen bail have gone on to other flying jobs. Besides, just because people do this for the money does not mean they lack a passion for flying. People don't get into this business without passion. It simply requires too much to do without some love behind the effort.

Bottom line: If you're going to do something, whether you love it or not, you might as well make a decent living out of it.

 

[T-Gates]

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."

You may be tired of hearing it, but I do what I do because I do love to fly. Nothing beats the feeling. It only looses it's luster when you let your buisness life get personal. Every industry has negatives. Flying just has more than most other career choices.

Just my .02,

--03M

 

[mach none]

Chicks Dig It

 

[Anaconda]

The airline pilot life, while not as glamorous as many people think, has made me feel much more alive and young at the age of 29 than when I was 24 with a beautiful 4-bedroom home, all the money I needed, and a much more stable lifestyle.

what were you doing?

 

[SuperPilot]

I recently heard someone say something about the current events in our industry that I think hit it right on the head. "What is happening now is like what was happening in the beginning of aviation. It was very low pay. No work rules. No security. And very dangerous. But those guys went out every day because they loved to fly. That is how it is for most of us today (except for the danger). We still do it for the passion of flight. I believe it is our time to take the career of flying back up to the glory days it was not too long ago. If you have read FLYING THE LINE, you should see a lot of similarities to today." Now all those guys who are bailing out because of money don't really want it (and they are making more space for the rest of us who do) and are going to do nothing but bitch about it. And I agree there is quite a bit to bitch about, but that accomplishes nothing. We need to get together and make it the best **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** job in the world.

Sorry for the rambling, just had to put in my .02.

 

[bigD]

Chicks Dig It

Man, you must be doing something I'm not!

 

[spitfire1940]

Hey Superpilot,

I appreciate your happy attitude, but give me a break.

The guys bitching about the pay are often guys with wives and kids who have bills to pay. For a lot of us, "the money" is not about getting rich, it's about knowing how you're going to pay the mortage for the next few months and put food on the table.

And then there's the basic principle (or lack therof) of a company like ACA asking FOs who are making less than $30,000 a year to make wage and quality of life concessions.

Excuse me, but have you checked what the CEO of ACA earns??
Or the management SOBs at any of the majors?? Cutting a couple strings of their golden parachutes would more than make up for all the cuts the pilots are being asked to make.

I live in the DC suburbs and the guys stocking shelves in grocery stores earn more than you do flying that Beech 1900. Yeah, yeah, the view is better from the 1900 and you get that nifty uniform, but for people in their 30s (or more) with responsibilities and obligations--that ain't cutting it!! (I'm assuming your single or have a working spouse and no kids.)

I know a woman who's a cashier at a supermarket who makes $45,000 a year. Now consider how long it takes to make that kind of money at a regional. Maybe pilots ought to contact the cashiers' union!

Does that sound right? Let's see, the person standing at a cash register earns the same, or more, than the person flying an RJ. Hmmm, is it just me or is there something fundamentally F@#$%^! up about that?

Fact is that a lot of us are forced by this industry to ask when enough is enough, when our love for jet-engine noise and fancy avionics is hurting our families.

If the commuters would just start FOs in the low 30s I could tolerate it. Why can't they do that? Why can't someone who's (partially) responsible for a $20 million aircraft and the lives of dozens of passengers get paid at least a decent middle-class wage? (and that's LOWER middle class where I live--you can't buy a house here for under $250,000.) I know that rat bastard Kit Darby would tell me to move ...

The reason the airlines don't pay more is because they don't have to, because there are plenty of people willing to work for peanuts because flying so so much fun.

Dude, not even prostitutes--at least not the good ones--sell themselves so cheap!!!

Where does that leave us???

 

[Cadillac]

I think its great when someone says they love to fly. What I hate is when they use that as an excuse to work for poor wages. If you love to fly as a professional, then you should be paid as a professional. If you just love to fly, take off the polyester airline uniform, get a job outside aviation, and fly your 152 on the weekends. The rest of us who have chosen this as a CAREER need to eat.

 

[greyhound]

Still not an airline pilot yet, but...
I think most stay for the love of flying AND.....
they want to gain seniority in their company of choice.
Flying, and career progression is what keeps us going.
Nobody truly likes to make $18K a year to do something that took you $40K to learn to do. But it is still done because we feel that eventually we will make more money, have more time off, become a captain or an instructor and things will be slightly better.
You can't find an easy cure to take away the love of flying, but take away career progression, and YES, pilots will start bailing out...