Being Pro-active about this industry.
- Thread starter ahsmatt7
- Start date
futurepilot1
Well-Known Member
As a newbie myself, I can agree that you should look outside 121. When i first got the bug to become a professional pilot about a year ago, I had airline on the brain. I, like you, am a research-aholic. I have learned a lot from the people on this board. The biggest thing I have taken out of it, is that if you are doing it for the love of flying, keep your options open. There are other avenues besides the airlines that give you the priviledge of flying for a living and, in some instances, a better QOL.
rdsoxpilot
Well-Known Member
Oh man Freebirds is unbelieveable. Buddy of mine lives in Houston, took me there a while back.
juan valdez
Well-Known Member
All this talk of freebirds. I just m ight have to take advantage of the one down the street for dinner tonight.
Quite possibly the funniest South Park in several years.
Bernoulli Fan
Controller
I agree with this in principle, but were you working last year? Job availability wasn't such that many pilots could stand on principle if they expected to even keep up with their credit card bills. When I got my CFI even two years ago, I searched for a month for a job that paid me what I thought I was worth, but I ended up having to settle for much less.
Then last year came the economy. I could have walked away from the industry for ten years, but what else could I have done? Most industries were in the same boat as aviation due to general economic problems. I could make $9/hour, 40 hours a week at Chipotle, or I could make $20, 17 hours per week at the flight school. Might as well fly.
Finally, and this is not the case at the airlines I'm sure, but they did lie to me when I took my current job. The pay scale was "revised" last year so the company wouldn't go out of business.
Again, I agree with you in principle, but sometimes real life dictates otherwise.
ahsmatt7
Well-Known Member
I wish I got paid $9 bucks an hour. lol I was easily making enough to fly once a week, but that was over four months ago. With my luck, right when I needed the money to knock out my x-countries(which i still have my long solo one to do), my store started cutting hours. With my luck, when I have the time to get hired for any flying job, the govt. will put in some reg saying one needs two left feet and brown shoes to be a pilot. haha
I agree about desperate times call for desperate measures but I still am very unsure about taking a job with any company who thinks im worth so little when inreality I am apart of a group who is the sole backbone AND deciding factor of how much they rake in a quarter.
jrh
Well-Known Member
Yes. I actually did pretty well last year, which surprised even me.
Maybe that means it's time for those pilots to do something other than piloting then.
You didn't "have to settle" for less. You convinced yourself, or maybe came to the realization, that you were worth less than you originally thought. The fact that you showed up to work means you were worth whatever they paid you. Nothing wrong with that...just saying, that was the decision you made.
If I can sell a car for $3000, it's worth $3000. If I can find somebody willing to pay $10,000 for the same car, it just became worth $10,000. Same principle applies to employees.
I agree. And I would've come to the same conclusion had I been in the same spot.
But don't say, "What else could I have done?" as though you had *no* options whatsoever. You had plenty of options. Those options might not have been desirable (Chipotle, homelessness, etc.), but they were there. So don't complain about being in a spot you put yourself in.
People who get shot while walking down the street minding their own business, or people who get randomly struck by lightning....victims of circumstances completely outside of their control...ok, they might have the right to complain. But employment? I don't think so. We aren't slaves.
The decisions I'm talking about aren't one-time decisions. They happen every day you report to work. Once again, by showing up, you're declaring, "This is what I'm worth," at the current compensation level, regardless of how many times it might have been "revised."
Now, that's not to say there aren't intangible benefits to a job...experience for the future, the possibility of future advancement...those are important things to consider. Maybe taking (or keeping) a job with lower pay in order to advance your career in the future is worth it.
But don't confuse "I really, really like the intangible benefits, therefore I'm willing to work for lower pay" with, "I'm a slave and have to be here."
You can do whatever you want. As for me, *I* dictate what happens in my life, not fate, or circumstances, or anything else.
Bernoulli Fan
Controller
jrh
Well-Known Member
ahsmatt7
Well-Known Member
I can't say that I don't agree.Happiness is up to you!
Bernoulli Fan
Controller
Happiness is up to you!
I'd like to see one of those inspirational work posters. At the bottom, it will say "Happiness is up to you!" The picture will be a homeless guy with epaulets. His thought bubble will say, "Thank god I walked away from it all!"
:laff:
moxiepilot
Well-Known Member
And if you do get furloughed, how long will it have been since you used the skills applied in your degree?
If you haven't graduated, how can you claim it affects your life more significantly than the fella without one?
I have to chime in here. How many of you are speaking from experience that a degree provides:
-increased marketability
-in furtherance of a job
-in the specialization of your degree?
IMHO many jobs are acquired through personality, networking, references and determination. The only part a college degree contributes to is perhaps the networking aspect of it. A degree may be a box to check if you're going into a particular part of aviation, but a degree is not the end all option in spending money.
I would love to hear how many people are in the field they went to college for, and - as a separate query; if a college degree is essential to the job function they currently perform.
My money is on few and no.
Just another opinion...
ahsmatt7
Well-Known Member
[/QUOTE]And if you do get furloughed, how long will it have been since you used the skills applied in your degree?[/QUOTE]
Can't say. I havent been in that position...yet. Who knows, I may have enough time one day to have a business on the side. Not a big one by any means. But big enough to put my degree to some use. I have plans for plans for back up plans.
I can understand where your coming from. Sadly though, you can't say that this country values someone without a college degree the same as someone with one. People may not go to college to get a degree in something they plan to do for a career. They go to college knowing that if they can take tests well and get great grades, people will look at them like they are some shining star even though they could be as dull as the bottom of a shoe. Thats a discussion for another day though.
Can't say. I havent been in that position...yet. Who knows, I may have enough time one day to have a business on the side. Not a big one by any means. But big enough to put my degree to some use. I have plans for plans for back up plans.
I can understand where your coming from. Sadly though, you can't say that this country values someone without a college degree the same as someone with one. People may not go to college to get a degree in something they plan to do for a career. They go to college knowing that if they can take tests well and get great grades, people will look at them like they are some shining star even though they could be as dull as the bottom of a shoe. Thats a discussion for another day though.
Patrick
Well-Known Member
I have a degree in Finance, that I got in 04. I worked briefly in the securities and insurance world following graduation. Now, going on 6 years later, my licenses to sell securities and insurance have lapsed, and a good portion of the knowledge required to function in that world is beyond rusty. So, could I walk back into Morgan Stanley and ask for my job back tomorrow? Probably not.
Does my degree help me in my current point in life? Absolutely, though in somewhat indirect ways.
All that being said, I wouldn't trade my time in college for anything. It is an experience in and of itself, where one not only gets educated, but also matures. At the end of the day, for many of us, it is simply a requirement for a box to check now in life, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a useful experience in one's life development.
Does my degree help me in my current point in life? Absolutely, though in somewhat indirect ways.
All that being said, I wouldn't trade my time in college for anything. It is an experience in and of itself, where one not only gets educated, but also matures. At the end of the day, for many of us, it is simply a requirement for a box to check now in life, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a useful experience in one's life development.
germb747
Well-Known Member
Matt,
I think you're doing things the right way. Never underestimate the importance of a real four-year degree. You picked a good major, and not only will it help make you a well-rounded person and more marketable, but I've found that my degree has been foundational to the other opportunities I've had. Some may look it as a way to fill a square, but let me tell you, nothing has opened more doors for me than my university degree. I flew in college, for fun, and by the time I graduated, I was much more mature than I was when I was right of high school and in a much better position to decide how to pursue my long-term career goals. Heck, at 18 I probably would have signed up for anything if you told me I had an opportunity to fly. By 23, I had learned that aviation is just like any other business where people look for countless ways to transfer money from your pocket to theirs. Now at 30, I'm skeptical of just about everything, except for the college degree.
Good luck,
Jeremy
ahsmatt7
Well-Known Member
Matt,
I think you're doing things the right way. Never underestimate the importance of a real four-year degree. You picked a good major, and not only will it help make you a well-rounded person and more marketable, but I've found that my degree has been foundational to the other opportunities I've had. Some may look it as a way to fill a square, but let me tell you, nothing has opened more doors for me than my university degree. I flew in college, for fun, and by the time I graduated, I was much more mature than I was when I was right of high school and in a much better position to decide how to pursue my long-term career goals. Heck, at 18 I probably would have signed up for anything if you told me I had an opportunity to fly. By 23, I had learned that aviation is just like any other business where people look for countless ways to transfer money from your pocket to theirs. Now at 30, I'm skeptical of just about everything, except for the college degree.
Good luck,
Jeremy
Thanks Jeremy for the motivation. Also thanks for the C-5 visit. Let me know if you want to get a San Antonio M&G together or something of that nature.
Matt