Would you do it all over again?

[Nindiri]

This is how I decided to quit. Think about it, count up the amount of days that you will see your wife, family, kids, friends, dog, cat, gay lover, or whatever, and cut that in two. That is what it means to be a pilot. Now do you think that you are paid enough to make that sacrifice. Because that is what it is. Are you willing to see your loved ones half an much in order to push the autopilot button. I know that when it all ends and I am on my death bed I won't wish that I had spent more time away from the people that matter most.

I actually see them more. Instead of coming home tired at 6PM 5 days a week just in time to see the family for a couple hours before bedtime, I get half or more of the month off to spend with them. Works for me. If you're happier with the traditional everyday work schedule, fine for you too. Personally, I'm way to lazy to work a real job.

Oh and how many trips did you make to Europe last year.

8

Buy an experimental for $20,000 and go do loops until you puke.

No thanks. Why should I waste my own money on an airplane when I can get paid good money to fly someone else's airplane. I can always rent the Decathlon when I want to do loops. As I said, life is good.

 

[gliderguider]

How many of the Hell No's have worked a job outside of aviation to see how it really is? My guess is that many (not all of course!)of them work for XYZ regional which is their first real job after the parents wrote the checks for flight school. Even though I am just a CFI, I can say this is the best job I've had. I used to work a lot of crappy jobs like being a janitor in a flooring store to pay for flight training. I can spend a whole day instructing and never look at my watch except to make sure I'm not late for the next student. Not too many days at any other job could I go more than 5 minutes without checking my watch.

 

[pilotyip]

I like what I see here, a lot of guys who like their jobs, positive vibes

 

[Saabslime]

I would say probably not although I waiver on that from time to time.
At first, getting a real job at a regional was a dream come true. Then, like most things, the novelty wore off and I started resenting the pay, schedule, commute and what it was doing to my family and social life.

So I worked like hell to move on to a major where I thought everything would be different. Better pay, schedules, and I was moving to my domicile in a city I'd always wanted to live in so no more commute. For a while everything was perfect but just like before, the novelty of flying the "big" jets to the "cool" places was gone and it became nothing more than a paycheck.

For me, I actually envy my friends who have the 9-5 and can make plans to do things more than a month out at a time. I miss the social life that comes with the office type job. Most of the time I feel like I'm working with complete strangers and 4 days isn't really long enough to develop any real friendship. Once in a while I'll see a familiar face in the crew room but the people I do know well commute and so we never get the chance to do anything together. I guess I just feel like I had more friends when I wasn't a pilot for a living.

 

[Salty Pirate]

I would say probably not although I waiver on that from time to time.
At first, getting a real job at a regional was a dream come true. Then, like most things, the novelty wore off and I started resenting the pay, schedule, commute and what it was doing to my family and social life.

So I worked like hell to move on to a major where I thought everything would be different. Better pay, schedules, and I was moving to my domicile in a city I'd always wanted to live in so no more commute. For a while everything was perfect but just like before, the novelty of flying the "big" jets to the "cool" places was gone and it became nothing more than a paycheck.

For me, I actually envy my friends who have the 9-5 and can make plans to do things more than a month out at a time. I miss the social life that comes with the office type job. Most of the time I feel like I'm working with complete strangers and 4 days isn't really long enough to develop any real friendship. Once in a while I'll see a familiar face in the crew room but the people I do know well commute and so we never get the chance to do anything together. I guess I just feel like I had more friends when I wasn't a pilot for a living.

I agree, after 6 years of flying I hadn't developed a single relationship with a co-worker because you always cash them in at the end of the month. I would rather have co-workers I don't like, at least we have something to fight about, as opposed to never really getting to know anyone. It has be about 9 months since I left the game and I don't even think about flying anymore. It's sad that after 3 years working at a regional there is one person I contact regularly, and he and I were friends before I started at the company.

 

[Papps]

O.K i'm slightly drunk, anyone got a count on this one. Lets tally this crap up.

 

[Papps]

I was a hell no by the way

 

[WestHouston]

This is the most depressing thread ever.

 

[Tram]

It's just one more "I'm a whiner" thread at FI..

This whole message board is depressing..

You can't ask a question with out some uber witty guy throwing his 2 cents in..

It's like.. all the frickin cry babies of the airlines come here and piss and moan on each other..

Sure, there are alot of good guys here, but they are out numbered 20 to 1 by the tool bags...

Would I do it again?

Not sure.. I'm not that far into it..

I could see getting out of it.. and flying for fun.. but I have no idea what I'd do, other than fly.. Maybe if I could find some cake flying job, that lets me sleep in my own bed each night, sure..

Get some managerial job at Xyz and work 8am-9pm monday through friday? No thanks..

If you don't like it.. quit.. get off the list and let some guy who actually enjoys it take your spot..

 

[highnpressurize]

Durring college I worked more bartending and waiting jobs than I care to count. It wasn't enough, so I had to drop out and quit flying to work full time for a Bi-Polar accountant. With enough saved I was able to finish my degree and flight training. 7 years school/work on again off again to end up at a podunk flight school making $14/hour at 300hrs/year. I lived on black coffee and slept on the couch at the school many a night to save gas money (home was a 45 minute drive). The people I met there were all there becaused they loved to fly. None of us built time fast or made any money. One of the old timmers got me a job in Alaska. It was more than I ever dreamed it would be. Oh yeah, it paid 1000 bucks a month for the first three months and then 1500/month after. But I got free housing in my first real trailer park!! I left for my current position, but it was such a great way of life that I almost quit and went back. Now I'm here building PIC time in an old Metroliner. Does anybody even care about Turbine PIC time if it's less than 20K? Probably not. But the guys I fly with love it. We fly 5 days a week and some of us have weekend jobs. One guy flies travelair 4000's on the weekends, I'm looking for a banner tow gig just to get my tail-wheel time up so I can join him. Oh yeah, I'm pulling down the big bucks now $36K....2nd year Captain you know!!

Would I do it all again??? HELL YES!!!! Would I change anything? NO!!! (ok, maybe I would have pursued military aviation a little harder).

But hey, I've got a plan! All of you guys who are pissed off and wouldn't do it again....please!! PLEASE!! Go be Doctors, Lawyers, and Accountants!!! There seems to be a lot of you out there. If that's the case, and I remember my Econ 101......

The demand for pilots will remain constant, but the supply will drop by at least half (according to this thread). That will mean that instead of "price takers," the few remaining pilots will be "price leaders." We will then demand and recieve much higher wages for doing what we love to do. The dramatic increase in Pilot earnings will necesitate an increase in services from all of you new doctors (I still need a medical), lawyers (to write the purchase contract on my new landing strip in the country) and accountants (to help me figure out how to expense my warbird collection). Then we will all be rich......and afterall, if I am to believe all the complaints here, money does infact equal happiness!!

But, until ya'll start bailing, I've got to get out my leatherman and see if I can get this dang metro to stop NTSing!!