avdrummerboy
New Member
I was planning on electrical engineering for my degree. Not aviation. Well as long as you suffer through the first year you are pretty good what about the next years? Better?
Airline flying- worth it?
- Thread starter avdrummerboy
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wheelsup
Well-Known Member
avdrummerboy said:
I know you said money isn't important, but seriously, it is. It impacts your quality of life (QOL) in so many ways. Having no money is such a stressor on your life and relationships you can't even imagine.
Don't let Seggy's post scare you - I personally haven't ever had to sleep in a crashpad with 8 people (I've lived in my own apartments or rented town homes), I've had enough money in the bank to avoid living paycheck to paycheck, etc. He sacrificed his QOL now in hopes of a quick upgrade. You don't have to do that. You have a choice.
And it's not just 1 year. We're talking suffering thru college, CFI'ing days, and then your first professional flying job, at least year 1.
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
jtrain609 yeah I'm a drummer.I'm not into marching band as you were, I tried it my fresman year and hated it, that wasn't for me. So basically, yes I am into the indoor sceen; drum set is more of my speciality. Haven't seen what RCC or any of the other "majors" have been doing for a while. Now there is a tough lifestyle; playing drums for at least 8 hours a day and then learning to march around to it.
Word. I marched (erm...sat?) Great Lakes Percussion in 2005 on drumset, we're PIW so we compeated against RCC and all the other cool kids in Dayton.
Cav
Former Maddog Whisperer
I'd like to expand a little here on what DE said because he is dead on but at the same time airline flying doesn't have to mean being a divorce statistic. I've always felt that pilots often marry the wrong person. Hear me out here. While this lifestyle does make relationships more difficult it is different for different people. In my situation my wife is very independent with her own career and goals. I think this is the important part. I'm hardly saying that a stay at home wife couldn't work, because obviously many work this out with little or no problem, however having an independent spouse is the key. My wife was with me from the time I took my first flight to the time I started working for XJT. She knows exactly how much this career means to me and how hard we all work to get here. She also is painfully aware that many of the stereotypes regarding the pilot's lifestyle are simply untrue. I've said before that in a wierd way I think my wife and I enjoy missing each other. It keeps things fresh. But I realise not everyone is like that. I know you probably aren't looking for this sort of answer about the lifestyle but you seem to be asking mature questions for your age and understanding airline pilot family life should be something anyone considering this career addresses. Good luck!
chris6387
New Member
Make sure you're really interested in it or really smart because, as I'm finding out right now, it ain't easy.
Cav
Former Maddog Whisperer
Amen to that. If you don't have any fun doing this job it definitely isn't worth it!
OldTownPilot
Well-Known Member
As they say the journey is the best bart of your career, not the end flying the heavy metal
Seggy
Well-Known Member
Very true. I am sacrificing a lot of things for a hope at a 16 month upgrade. Money has made the decision for me to live in a crashpad with eight guys. I can get a single for 400-500 a month but can't afford it. With eight guys tripping all over each other its about 125 a month
Just to let the poster know that it is out there, you do have a choice, but if you make that choice this is what happens. More in another post.
Seggy
Well-Known Member
Its years. Remember guys at Comair and Mesaba thought they were sitting pretty after their second year!
avdrummerboy
New Member
I know it's all about seniority and it takes an ungodly amount of time just to even get to captain, hell it probably takes long enough just to start getting noticed. But as many of you have said if you like what you're doing then you might as well do it.
avdrummerboy
New Member
What are the thoughts on corporate flying?
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
You want to talk with C650Captain about that one. In fact if you ever get a chance to meet with him DO IT. He's one hell of a nice guy and is all about chewin' the fat with guys that are up and coming with this from what I've experienced. Ok with that being said I don't know anybody on this site that hates talking about flying with up and comers.
All that being said, I've been told that if you can find a great corporate gig it can be great. But if you find a crappy corporate gig, it's gonna suck BAD.
All that being said, I've been told that if you can find a great corporate gig it can be great. But if you find a crappy corporate gig, it's gonna suck BAD.
avdrummerboy
New Member
Thats what I figured. If you can get in with the right corporate people then it's GOOD (the ones flying G-V's and BBJ's) but if you're stuck with little places it probably won't be nearly as good.
skydog
New Member
jtrain is right. in 10 or 15 years you will NOT be the same person that you are today. Perhaps a better way to say it is that you may come to find that you will value different things in life. When I was first starting out, aviation was all I thought about. After a few years, I realized that I did not want to spend the rest of my life living this way. For me, the airline lifestyle was not worth it for the money I made working at a regional. It might have been different if I was pulling down major airline cash, but prospects for getting on with a major were slim to none.
Which brings up another point. There are more people NOT working for a major than there are working for them. Keep that in mind.
Which brings up another point. There are more people NOT working for a major than there are working for them. Keep that in mind.
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
skydog brings up a good point. Everybody keeps saying, "I'll just go and work for United/Delta/Southwest/Jetblue/name your carrier here in a few years of sacrafice." But what ya'll don't realize is that for every 90 seat RJ that rolls up at your carrier giving you a quick upgrade, that's one more 737 that's not coming back online thus killing the job that you're hoping to get. And let's say you can even get that interview, do ya'll realize how hard it is to get a job at a major?
wheelsup
Well-Known Member
I think more people realize this more than you think.
Not to mention, in general it's the senior CA's that want the bigger planes vs. the junior FO's. They just want a bigger plane to increase their paycheck because they aren't going anywhere. The FO's I know could care less about bigger planes. I personally would rather have the 328 back.
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
I think it depends on that people that you're around. I'm used to reading that crap from kids on here or hearing it from guys that buy their time.
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
My airline recently went through a vote about brining 90 seat aircraft on property. While I think everybody here was willing to fly the 900s (even if they should be mainline aircraft), the people that were most disapointed about not getting them were the very senior guys (who are not trying to bring in the IBT in the hopes they they will get us the airplanes) and a few junior FOs who are only looking for the upgrade and believe that they will be able to slide to FedEx at the 1000 PIC mark. Everybody in the middle (and many of the junior guys) were willing to take the aircraft but only if compensated for them.
wheelsup
Well-Known Member
I just read that the world is flat!
http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forums/
So your perception on bigger aircraft at regionals is based on stuff you hear from message boards or from people that PFT? I must say, that is *probably* not the most accurate gauge.
EDIT: As a side note, my company did operate larger aircraft (86-100 seats). However the pay was consumerate with the airframe. I think that's that beef here, isn't it? Or am I off base?