Why I Left an Airline Pilot Career

jynxyjoe said:
Don't forget the major tenant of wokeness: we demand everyone learn whatever new wokeness weve come up with this week AND we demand perfection or you'll get trashed. Be forever learning AND also have a perfect knowledge. Both! At the same time.
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It's easy to squirm and wring one's (or, an organization's) hands, and make superficial changes to terminology than it is to actually do something meaningful to make an actual, systemic change.
 
Autothrust Blue said:
It's easy to squirm and wring one's (or, an organization's) hands, and make superficial changes to terminology than it is to actually do something meaningful to make an actual, systemic change.
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A friend of mine, director of innovation at a life insurance company, was getting input from a coder doing different AI algorithms about which words to use. Specifically he wanted to know what they wanted to use instead of "Craftsman" when likening good code to crap code (code for $$ pushing people to write six lines of code when 2 will work fine). So she checked around trying to make sure everyone was still good with craftsman as an adjective and everyone was. For me she asked how much pushback had he got on that word. "Way more than I ever thought and it's been going on for a few years" was essentially the answer.
 
jynxyjoe said:
A friend of mine, director of innovation at a life insurance company, was getting input from a coder doing different AI algorithms about which words to use. Specifically he wanted to know what they wanted to use instead of "Craftsman" when likening good code to crap code (code for $$ pushing people to write six lines of code when 2 will work fine). So she checked around trying to make sure everyone was still good with craftsman as an adjective and everyone was. For me she asked how much pushback had he got on that word. "Way more than I ever thought and it's been going on for a few years" was essentially the answer.
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Easy, snap-on.
 
Looking back at the original topic, I recently came across one of the more extreme versions of "Why I left an airline pilot career". When I was a teenager I would watch those World Air Routes/Just Planes videos where they ride with a crew on a trip in the cockpit. At the time I thought they were so cool and my favorite was the United 777 from ORD to Heathrow. This was around 2001. I recently came across the shortened version on Youtube and it brought back a lot of great memories. I always thought the captain on the trip looked really young so I did some research out of curiosity to see if he had retired yet. Come to find out he was 43 when the video was shot and ended up leaving United in 2003 at 45 years old to take a job as a salesman for a printing company. Even with all the turmoil at United after 9/11 he was to keep his left seat in the 777. However, he decided it was a good time for him to leave the industry as he had lost his love for it. Below is a quote from him. I was floored when I found this out as he was he was somewhat of an idol for me as a teenager when I was working on my PPL (like @Derg!). And, quite ironically, I am a salesman in my early thirties often wishing I had become an airline pilot like I had intended. Mind blown!

"It's not as cool to tell people I sell printing, but I think I'm happier," the 45-year-old said. "For me, the romance of it was gone. If I was going to secure a future for my family, this was my chance."
 
AA34 said:
Looking back at the original topic, I recently came across one of the more extreme versions of "Why I left an airline pilot career". When I was a teenager I would watch those World Air Routes/Just Planes videos where they ride with a crew on a trip in the cockpit. At the time I thought they were so cool and my favorite was the United 777 from ORD to Heathrow. This was around 2001. I recently came across the shortened version on Youtube and it brought back a lot of great memories. I always thought the captain on the trip looked really young so I did some research out of curiosity to see if he had retired yet. Come to find out he was 43 when the video was shot and ended up leaving United in 2003 at 45 years old to take a job as a salesman for a printing company. Even with all the turmoil at United after 9/11 he was to keep his left seat in the 777. However, he decided it was a good time for him to leave the industry as he had lost his love for it. Below is a quote from him. I was floored when I found this out as he was he was somewhat of an idol for me as a teenager when I was working on my PPL (like @Derg!). And, quite ironically, I am a salesman in my early thirties often wishing I had become an airline pilot like I had intended. Mind blown!

"It's not as cool to tell people I sell printing, but I think I'm happier," the 45-year-old said. "For me, the romance of it was gone. If I was going to secure a future for my family, this was my chance."
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Cool related story. I bought a few of those DVDs back in the day. Got hired on at one of these companies and one of the captains on it did my type oral. Plus we flew together a couple times later.
 
AA34 said:
Looking back at the original topic, I recently came across one of the more extreme versions of "Why I left an airline pilot career". When I was a teenager I would watch those World Air Routes/Just Planes videos where they ride with a crew on a trip in the cockpit. At the time I thought they were so cool and my favorite was the United 777 from ORD to Heathrow. This was around 2001. I recently came across the shortened version on Youtube and it brought back a lot of great memories. I always thought the captain on the trip looked really young so I did some research out of curiosity to see if he had retired yet. Come to find out he was 43 when the video was shot and ended up leaving United in 2003 at 45 years old to take a job as a salesman for a printing company. Even with all the turmoil at United after 9/11 he was to keep his left seat in the 777. However, he decided it was a good time for him to leave the industry as he had lost his love for it. Below is a quote from him. I was floored when I found this out as he was he was somewhat of an idol for me as a teenager when I was working on my PPL (like @Derg!). And, quite ironically, I am a salesman in my early thirties often wishing I had become an airline pilot like I had intended. Mind blown!

"It's not as cool to tell people I sell printing, but I think I'm happier," the 45-year-old said. "For me, the romance of it was gone. If I was going to secure a future for my family, this was my chance."
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interesting story and after doing some sleuthing his last medical was in 2002 and left UA in 2003. I would guess he had a medical reason for leaving that forced him out. Crazy he was hired at UAL 3 years after college in ‘85 and was such a young 777 capt and Dir of Flight Ops Control.

If it was a medical issue that afflicted him, it’s nice to know that it’s not the end of the world and guys can have a new career outside of aviation late in the game.
 
Skåning said:
interesting story and after doing some sleuthing his last medical was in 2002 and left UA in 2003. I would guess he had a medical reason for leaving that forced him out. Crazy he was hired at UAL 3 years after college in ‘85 and was such a young 777 capt and Dir of Flight Ops Control.

If it was a medical issue that afflicted him, it’s nice to know that it’s not the end of the world and guys can have a new career outside of aviation late in the game.
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People lose sight of the fact happiness and fullfillment don't come from the same place for everyone. Flying a 777 around the world is awesome, but if it's not making you happy with life at the end of the day (and I can fully understand why it wouldn't, even as awesome as it is), being happy in life is the most important thing. I feel like there can be a lot of pressure to constantly be like "this is awesome!" and never acknowledge the downsides of this career.
 
jynxyjoe said:
A friend of mine, director of innovation at a life insurance company, was getting input from a coder doing different AI algorithms about which words to use. Specifically he wanted to know what they wanted to use instead of "Craftsman" when likening good code to crap code (code for $$ pushing people to write six lines of code when 2 will work fine). So she checked around trying to make sure everyone was still good with craftsman as an adjective and everyone was. For me she asked how much pushback had he got on that word. "Way more than I ever thought and it's been going on for a few years" was essentially the answer.
Click to expand...
Evaluating programmers based on LOC as a productivity measure is dumb, because, well, fewer instructions is almost always mo-better. And if the assignment is to optimize then you get to put funny stuff like "-2000" in "lines of code written this year."

The guy who put the 'Quick' in 'QuickDraw' can tell you all about it.
 
I’ve only been at the airline game for five years and the pandemic has put a lot of pressure on whether I love this career. It has been a slog this year with frequent five hour outstation sits in rural America, 35 hour overnights also in rural America with even less to do than before, and constant empty airplanes. This, after like so many others I was on my way out the door to what I believed to be the retirement gig. A lot of my pay these days comes from the duty rig at the company so 12 hour day, six hours of pay.

Yesterday, doing the visual into Missoula, dropping flaps and gear out and then slam dunking it into the valley reminded me that I do indeed love this job. But there’s no denying, it has been a rough year for most in this profession.
 
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Skåning said:
interesting story and after doing some sleuthing his last medical was in 2002 and left UA in 2003. I would guess he had a medical reason for leaving that forced him out. Crazy he was hired at UAL 3 years after college in ‘85 and was such a young 777 capt and Dir of Flight Ops Control.

If it was a medical issue that afflicted him, it’s nice to know that it’s not the end of the world and guys can have a new career outside of aviation late in the game.
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Is it because he left United in 2003 and then no longer needed to get medical certificates anymore so his last was 2002?
 
Skåning said:
interesting story and after doing some sleuthing his last medical was in 2002 and left UA in 2003. I would guess he had a medical reason for leaving that forced him out. Crazy he was hired at UAL 3 years after college in ‘85 and was such a young 777 capt and Dir of Flight Ops Control.

If it was a medical issue that afflicted him, it’s nice to know that it’s not the end of the world and guys can have a new career outside of aviation late in the game.
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Good point - hadn't considered the medical route. Who knows...
 
JordanD said:
People lose sight of the fact happiness and fullfillment don't come from the same place for everyone. Flying a 777 around the world is awesome, but if it's not making you happy with life at the end of the day (and I can fully understand why it wouldn't, even as awesome as it is), being happy in life is the most important thing. I feel like there can be a lot of pressure to constantly be like "this is awesome!" and never acknowledge the downsides of this career.
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Got to use this one twice!
 
AA34 said:
Looking back at the original topic, I recently came across one of the more extreme versions of "Why I left an airline pilot career". When I was a teenager I would watch those World Air Routes/Just Planes videos where they ride with a crew on a trip in the cockpit. At the time I thought they were so cool and my favorite was the United 777 from ORD to Heathrow. This was around 2001. I recently came across the shortened version on Youtube and it brought back a lot of great memories. I always thought the captain on the trip looked really young so I did some research out of curiosity to see if he had retired yet. Come to find out he was 43 when the video was shot and ended up leaving United in 2003 at 45 years old to take a job as a salesman for a printing company. Even with all the turmoil at United after 9/11 he was to keep his left seat in the 777. However, he decided it was a good time for him to leave the industry as he had lost his love for it. Below is a quote from him. I was floored when I found this out as he was he was somewhat of an idol for me as a teenager when I was working on my PPL (like @Derg!). And, quite ironically, I am a salesman in my early thirties often wishing I had become an airline pilot like I had intended. Mind blown!

"It's not as cool to tell people I sell printing, but I think I'm happier," the 45-year-old said. "For me, the romance of it was gone. If I was going to secure a future for my family, this was my chance."
Click to expand...

Medical or not, I hope this guy is doing well, and has enjoyed all the success in the world. However I reluctantly point out that, in 2003, he left the captain's seat of a 777 at age 45 to ensure the security of his family with a hopefully more future-proof job in... printing. I hope he can still say his decision was the right one for him.
 
Hey now, I see plenty of value in that line of work! After all, I used to work for a newspaper that, well, used to exist. I'm merely expressing concern at the gentleman's choice of safe harbor for the last 17 years.
 
You can't really claim that United in 2001-2003 looked like a great, stable bedrock to secure a future for your family either, in hindsight it was probably a LOT less stable looking than printing at the time. Hell, I keep reiterating to my wife that just because I wasn't furloughed yet, we could still be in for a really rocky couple of years and need to be prepared for the worst.
 
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