How to get the young excited about aviation?

[adk]

The younger portions of Gen X, all of Gen Y, and portions of Gen Z had access to Microsoft Flight Simulator on mom and dad's computer in the den during their formative years. They could go fly the 172 out of Meigs whenever they wanted. Now, the flight simulation games are so complex that they seem to require a full-on gaming rig, so a lot fewer kids have access to flight games. I think playing flight sim after school is what got a lot of kids into flying.

 

[JustinS]

Was talking with some people this evening who do medium and long(er)-range forecasting in terms of staffing and it seems interest in aviation is at a generational low.

From the flying perspective, I still get kids in the cockpit, but I'd say at least half of them are pushed into the cockpit by their parents and just want a photo, whereas the other half have some interest in aviation.

Each organization I've spoken with has more or less echoed the same sentiment that people are generally less jazzed about aviation.

What do we do?

I mean, I know what we DID to make it an unattractive career field for many, but how do we turn the boat around?

Work pilots less. Pay them more. Treat them better. That will attract more people.... We've made it acceptable to be gone from our families half the year for compensation that in a lot of cases for new and junior pilots is very undesirable and a large hump to get over while other careers and industries provide the same or better pay for a lot better QOL even being a new guy.

With the advent of super realistic flight simulators for home computers/phones/tablets, easy access to youtube videos about aviation, and more avgeeks with cameras than ever before there's little mystery left... Technology and corporate profits have also sucked a lot of the fun out of it as everything is analyzed down to the smallest details and greatly simplified in many aspects.

I wish this career had more passionate pilots... At the same time more passionate pilots typically drags the industry down with SJS and pay to play programs chipping away at pay and QOL for everyone else... It's a double edged sword...

It's something I've discussed with many of my friends. I don't know if there's really a good solution... You can't force passion, and you don't want to have somebody flying your plane that doesn't want to be there in some way shape or form enjoying the job.

The younger portions of Gen X, all of Gen Y, and portions of Gen Z had access to Microsoft Flight Simulator on mom and dad's computer in the den during their formative years. They could go fly the 172 out of Meigs whenever they wanted. Now, the flight simulation games are so complex that they seem to require a full-on gaming rig, so a lot fewer kids have access to flight games. I think playing flight sim after school is what got a lot of kids into flying.

I disagree. I think flight simulator is now more accessible than ever before. Even United Airlines has a flight simulator game on the United app that's pretty realistic...

 

[SteveC]

While I certainly have a lot of issues with the behind-the-scene aspects of this high school, there are also a lot of pro-aviation aspects to this that are well worth looking at. Pretty unique:

Overview - WMAA

www.westmichiganaviation.org

 

[Murdoughnut]

Work pilots less. Pay them more. Treat them better. That will attract more people.... We've made it acceptable to be gone from our families half the year for compensation that in a lot of cases for new and junior pilots is very undesirable and a large hump to get over while other careers and industries provide the same or better pay for a lot better QOL even being a new guy.

With the advent of super realistic flight simulators for home computers/phones/tablets, easy access to youtube videos about aviation, and more avgeeks with cameras than ever before there's little mystery left... Technology and corporate profits have also sucked a lot of the fun out of it as everything is analyzed down to the smallest details and greatly simplified in many aspects.

I wish this career had more passionate pilots... At the same time more passionate pilots typically drags the industry down with SJS and pay to play programs chipping away at pay and QOL for everyone else... It's a double edged sword...

It's something I've discussed with many of my friends. I don't know if there's really a good solution... You can't force passion, and you don't want to have somebody flying your plane that doesn't want to be there in some way shape or form enjoying the job.



I disagree. I think flight simulator is now more accessible than ever before. Even United Airlines has a flight simulator game on the United app that's pretty realistic...

I don't know how Allegiant does it, but I'm one of those who opted not to go into the industry because my family situation isn't conducive to me being gone four days a week, every week. The G4 model of getting pilots home each night is the only flying gig that seems appealing to me on the airline side, but who knows how long that will last. There's no amount of money that really offsets being on the road that much for me.

 

[SteveC]

I don't know how Allegiant does it, but I'm one of those who opted not to go into the industry because my family situation isn't conducive to me being gone four days a week, every week. The G4 model of getting pilots home each night is the only flying gig that seems appealing to me on the airline side, but who knows how long that will last. There's no amount of money that really offsets being on the road that much for me.

That aspect of QOL (mixing the allure of flying nice airplanes with plenty of at-home time) is what primarily kept me at the operation that I retired from. I had numerous opportunities to make more money over the years, but that wasn't the most important factor in my decision making.

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

They know AI will be taking their job.

 

[Pilot93]

I just don’t think anyone is unaware of the career path. They just lack the interest. The upcoming generation simply isn’t as career-focused, and a job that requires years of terrible QOL and being on the road half to two thirds of the time isn’t appealing to them. The wonder of flight is generally gone, so people like us who were willing to sacrifice for it aren’t really around anymore.

I think lots of people are unaware of the various career paths one can take in aviation. Even when I started training in college I didn’t fully understand the different jobs one can do in aviation until a few months in. Unless you have friends or family in the industry I think it’s pretty difficult to be exposed to a realistic path to a career in aviation.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

This thread is a perfect demonstration of not understanding the laws of supply and demand and how they impact your career.

Do you see the AMA going out of their way to boost interest in medicine as a career path? Of course not. They do the exact opposite. They do everything they can to erect barriers to entry, because they understand that the fewer doctors there are, the better the compensation and quality of life for the people who get there.

Want to make 1960s era pilot wages again adjusted for inflation? Then let it be. Let this be the airlines' problem to solve, not yours.

 

[CFI A&P]

This thread is a perfect demonstration of not understanding the laws of supply and demand and how they impact your career.

Do you see the AMA going out of their way to boost interest in medicine as a career path? Of course not. They do the exact opposite. They do everything they can to erect barriers to entry, because they understand that the fewer doctors there are, the better the compensation and quality of life for the people who get there.

Want to make 1960s era pilot wages again adjusted for inflation? Then let it be. Let this be the airlines' problem to solve, not yours.

The problem with this logic is that legally speaking there is only professional doctors and nothing similar in medicine to recreational aviation. In order to get to professional aviation, you need some aspect of general aviation or military aviation. Creating more barriers to entry is already a problem for GA, and that creates a major issue of supply for the industry.

 

[Pilot93]

I suppose I don’t equate exposing people to aviation, or any career path, as taking away the barriers to entry. You still have to put in the work, spend the money, and jump through the hoops to get where you want to be in a career.

 

[Pilot93]

This thread is a perfect demonstration of not understanding the laws of supply and demand and how they impact your career.

Do you see the AMA going out of their way to boost interest in medicine as a career path? Of course not. They do the exact opposite. They do everything they can to erect barriers to entry, because they understand that the fewer doctors there are, the better the compensation and quality of life for the people who get there.

Want to make 1960s era pilot wages again adjusted for inflation? Then let it be. Let this be the airlines' problem to solve, not yours.

Does the AMA need to go out of their way? I’d argue that the average person is more likely to know someone in the medical field compared to the aviation field. If someone wants to be a doctor, I believe it’s easier to know someone in a medical field and talk to them in comparison to talking to someone in aviation about the path to becoming a pilot.

 

[Roger Roger]

I think lots of people are unaware of the various career paths one can take in aviation. Even when I started training in college I didn’t fully understand the different jobs one can do in aviation until a few months in. Unless you have friends or family in the industry I think it’s pretty difficult to be exposed to a realistic path to a career in aviation.

How many of those are true career jobs outside of the airlines tho?

 

[Kingairer]

Good question. I think commercial aviation has become some common that it’s really not viewed much differently than the bus. My kids like airplanes but I certainly don’t push them towards them and I’d really try hard to talk them out of it if they wanted to do it as a career path. As we talked about in the AI thread, many jobs are threatened by AI, but I can’t see how this job will look anything like it does today in 30-50 years which is what you’re asking a kid to sign up for today.

 

[NovemberEcho]

I don’t think a lot of younger people think pilot as a career will be around much longer and planes will fly themselves

 

[Roger Roger]

Also, for every racist/homophobe/misogynist/3x divorced captain that’s like 3-6 kids and step kids, plus all their friends, that see him and go “neeeeyooope”

(Only sort of joking)

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Also, for every racist/homophobe/misogynist/3x divorced captain that’s like 3-6 kids and step kids, plus all their friends, that see him and go “neeeeyooope”

(Only sort of joking)

I have a son who is not at all interested in flying. He knows too many stories from me and some of my friends he’s known all his life. He’s heard stories about multiple furloughs, relocations, starting over, eating ramen noodles and gas station hot dogs, crashpads, being gone for weekends and holidays and birthdays and anniversaries, waking up before the crack of dawn and sometimes working until the crack of dawn too.

He wants nothing to do with it… and if I’m being honest, do I really blame him? I love my job, but there’s no question that a lot of what is enjoyable about flying airplanes is ruined by doing it for the airlines. The financial incentives are finally there, but quality of life still has some ways to go.

 

[Roger Roger]

I have a son who is not at all interested in flying. He knows too many stories from me and some of my friends he’s known all his life. He’s heard stories about multiple furloughs, relocations, starting over, eating ramen noodles and gas station hot dogs, crashpads, being gone for weekends and holidays and birthdays and anniversaries, waking up before the crack of dawn and sometimes working until the crack of dawn too.

He wants nothing to do with it… and if I’m being honest, do I really blame him? I love my job, but there’s no question that a lot of what is enjoyable about flying airplanes is ruined by doing it for the airlines. The financial incentives are finally there, but quality of life still has some ways to go.

To be faiiiirrrr your experience is not exactly typical even of your generation….

I know at least one other member here who’s exact opposite, his son doesn’t have a great passion for aviation but has seen how dad has been able to make good $$$, lots of time off, trips to Hawaii etc so he’s going for the airlines despite not really caring about the difference between a Cessna and a Piper.

 

[Kingairer]

I blame the CRJ.

 

[scooter2525]

The younger portions of Gen X, all of Gen Y, and portions of Gen Z had access to Microsoft Flight Simulator on mom and dad's computer in the den during their formative years. They could go fly the 172 out of Meigs whenever they wanted. Now, the flight simulation games are so complex that they seem to require a full-on gaming rig, so a lot fewer kids have access to flight games. I think playing flight sim after school is what got a lot of kids into flying.

My kid has it on the Xbox with a yoke. Can play with friends. He’s uses it sometimes. Pretty easy and they do updates like jets from top gun

 

[Murdoughnut]

I have a son who is not at all interested in flying. He knows too many stories from me and some of my friends he’s known all his life. He’s heard stories about multiple furloughs, relocations, starting over, eating ramen noodles and gas station hot dogs, crashpads, being gone for weekends and holidays and birthdays and anniversaries, waking up before the crack of dawn and sometimes working until the crack of dawn too.

He wants nothing to do with it… and if I’m being honest, do I really blame him? I love my job, but there’s no question that a lot of what is enjoyable about flying airplanes is ruined by doing it for the airlines. The financial incentives are finally there, but quality of life still has some ways to go.

Someone on one of our FB pages the other day was complaining that more pilots didn't encourage their kids to fly. He thought I was off my rocker when I suggested that I didn't want my kids to fly unless they developed a passion for it independent of me. Otherwise, I'd rather them pursue what they want to do, learn about, etc.

I would absolutely encourage and support them if this is what they wanted to do. But as a hobby to make your dad happy? Too expensive and too much risk.