The_Russian said:
My apologies for getting so heated.
Hey look...
It's okay to blow off steam, that's what this place is here for. Those that have gone to Riddle and on to other "Pay to Play" adventures are spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000. That's $120k at Riddle and then another $30k at places like GIA. My Riddle numbers might be off, 'cause I last looked at Riddle in '98. Come to think of it, flight training is on top of that figure. So it's more.
Personally, I cannot justify spending $150,000 to get a $20,000/yr job. If you don't come from money, that is *a lot* of money to finance. I don't want to hear any talk about "prospects" and "building time" and "stepping stones" or anything like that, because the only thing that is guaranteed is the debt that you just took on to finance that adventure. It doesn't go away, and you cannot pay it off making $20k/yr. Personally, if I could dig up another $20k to finish off my ratings, there's a particular 135 outfit I could get a job at and make more than first year airline pay. Is it a great job? No. Is it better than the airlines? Probably not, but I could build a lot of time quickly. It's definitely better than spending $30k at GIA. Period. Instead, I spent $3500 (half of what my PVT cost) to get a job that will pay me six figures by my 30th birthday.
Here's why most guys get upset over PFT/P2P (pay to play). Forget about the "stealing a paying job" bit, because if you weren't paying for whatever it is you're doing, there's no guarantee that a job would exist for somebody else to get paid for doing. The real problem is that in this day and age, a pilot will see MULTIPLE furloughs in his career. As a pilot group, the more we support airlines that require people to pay for training (by working for them and paying them money), the more airlines will require people to pay for their training. This means that every time you get furloughed, you'd have to pay yet again for another job, further encouraging you to take a beating during contract negotiations because they know you would not want to pay for another job. At the regionals, this was an industry standard a few years back. It is no longer. Why encourage them to go back to it? It is bad enough not getting paid in training or otherwise receiving substandard pay. By demonstrating your willingness to pay for any training beyond a CFI/CFII/MEI, you are encouraging the airlines to make this a less profitable career. You have to ask yourself why you would do that. When I go to the FAA academy in OKC, I will get a prorated salary of $25,000/yr, plus $60/day in per diem. Why should you settle for less than that?
As far as the heat you get for Riddle and GIA, you guys are paying $150k for the privelege and then running around thumping your chests like Tarzan yelling "Look at me! This is great!" It may be, but simply speaking, those of us who are less naive know that 1) ERAU is not your ticket to a golden career path and 2) You can get the same job you're trying to get without shelling $30k to GIA. In most places in the country, you can get a nice house for $150k. Why spend that on flight training when you don't have to?
