Announcement/GUT spilling time LONG READ!

[Bog]

Jeremy: great idea to share what you're feeling. You sir, are NOT alone in those feelings.

When I decided to change careers in 1998 and go into professional flying, I was 27 and hopelessly single. I was starting to feel like I'd never get married, so I figured "why not?" I had no-one to leave behind, I was single & free.

I went through ATP's program in San Diego, answered the phones in JAX, instructed in San Antonio, got hired by Mesa/Air Midwest, and proceeded to bounce around 5 more states over 4+ years. A few months after upgrading, I got bounced outta PHX and went to Nashville. Shortly after getting there, I started dating my now-wife. When she and I met, I had officially given up on ever getting married. She changed that.

7 months before we got married, I changed jobs. The new schedule is 8 days on, 6 days off. Engaged, but not married, it didn't bother me at all being gone for those stretches. That changed as soon as I hit the road after the wedding. Perhaps I still need to get used to the idea that I'm "leaving my wife behind." Perhaps something inside of me really does want to be home 24/7. At this point, I wonder how I'm going to feel when we start having children. Can I really do this for 30 more years? We'll need the Magic 8 Ball for that.

For the last few months, I've been open to a new line of employment. If I can find a job that will allow us to pay the mortgage, eat, and put a few dollars into savings, I'd leave the cockpit. I have one "iron in the fire" for a job like that, and am waiting for the company to start hiring. Perhaps I'll peruse the classifieds to see what's out there. I realize, though, that once I leave the flight deck, it'll be hard to get hired back.

I can't tell you what'll work for you. If you can find a well-enough paying instructor job, that'd keep you home at night. Perhaps a good corporate or charter pilot gig would work. It's a tough call, whatever you choose. I wish you all the best in figuring that one out, because it won't be easy.

-Bog

 

[3green]

I'm surprised people compare being a doctor to being an airline pilot. I have never heard of a doctor starting back at residency salary or seniority when(or if they ever) get let go from their job? Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in that assumption???

Working long hours and being home for a couple hours, beats being on the road by a mile. If you have kids their birthdays, school events and special occasions will be scheduled on days your on the road and can't be there. I don't care if you have 20 days off a month you will miss important events because of the job. Its just a question of what people are willing to put up with...

All of us have been there trying to "live the dream". In the end, I think we all had to find out on our own if it was worth it or not. I'm betting(especially in these times) that its becoming painfully true it ain't all what its cracked up to be.

 

[Michael95U]

I'm surprised people compare being a doctor to being an airline pilot.

Being a doctor these days is not all it is cracked up to be. Take your internship and residency. You are basically slave labor. There are not really any work rules (though they might have instituted some rest rules recently, buy I don't know if they were hospital/university specific or universal). The hours are long and typically very stressful in the first 5-10 years. I would have to say there is a pretty high rate of divorce. Is the payoff good 10 years down the road? Maybe. Do you get on with a good practice? Are you in a field with easy hours, little to no on-call, big money, and low malpractice insurance?

I would say being a doctor is very similar to being a professional pilot. A lot of sacrifice and hard work in the early years with the potential for a nice payoff later. While airline pilots worry when the next furlough/bankruptcy/merger is going to occur, doctors are worried about the next death/lawsuit/FDA ruling/etc etc.

Bottom line is this: every job out there is tough at the entry level. I know this personally. Prior to getting into aviation, I tried getting a job as a Wildlife Biologist. Most employers were looking for people with PHd's!!!! Those jobs paid $18k/year!!!! I couldn't get a job with my credentials and I couldn't live on that salary. Sound like any posts you guys have read on JC?

Michael

 

[learflyer]

There are a few reasons I am not flying the line and have stayed in GA. Scheduling was one of the very big reasons I am not in a full time aviation career.

I am very familiar with sacrifice to achieve personal goals and being proud of what has been accomplished. The only way to avoid the "wish I would have" or "what would my life be like if I just stuck it out" questions later in life is to finish the ratings and go from there. If being away from home and family is not what can be handled, pick a different way to feed the aviation need. You cannot be content and happy in life unless you are content and happy with yourself, not filled with self doubt and regret.

Toria, what did you do before, and what are you in now? Medicine? PM me if you want.

 

[Toria]

I'm surprised people compare being a doctor to being an airline pilot. I have never heard of a doctor starting back at residency salary or seniority when(or if they ever) get let go from their job? Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in that assumption???

My residency (Anesthesiology, mid 1990'S) paid 24K to 28K per year and required me to live in New York. A studio in New York that was not rat and roach infested ran approx 2.4K per month. I was in the hospital 24/7 most of the time. My call schedule was MIC (mandatory in-house) every other night and every other weekend for three years. We had fully scheduled day cases and then took MIC at 15:00 to go overnight and on to another full day of cases, then went home to sleep (around 20:00). Yes, new rules have been adopted, mostly due to liability. They have not ablated long hours entirely. My first job as an associate was 32K per year and had only one night a week less call. Second year was at 36K. It takes a while to buy into partnership and get better hours, and better pay.

Interns were treated worse than the garbage boy. Interns were paid 19K per year. Seems similar to the "crash pad" stories. Undergraduate and med school: 268K combined for tuition, fees, books. Studying was a minimum of 40 hours per week in addition to attending classes, every day, no matter what. Med School classes are M-F 08:00 to 17:00 and anatomy lab all day Saturday.

I cannot see how MIC day after day is so very different from line trips except that I am not in the air when I work. I am still directly responsible for the lives of my patients. Making a mistake by a single decimal place can cause serious complication or death. There is no one designated to double check me most of the time. One single, inadvertent mistake can end my career. I think there is plenty of pressure for perfection in both careers. My patients cannot afford for me to be less than absolutely 100% all of the time, no matter what.

If you want to play golf every Wednesday, have no call or emergencies ever, and get paid a terrific wage, one can choose to become a Dermatologist .

By the way, I love my job and am very happy doing it. As far as I am concerned, all of that was worth what I have professionally today.

 

[3green]

Nice post Toria, great insight into your profession. It sounds alot like the path an airline pilot takes in paying dues. But, as I mentioned in the quote you selected I don't believe that a doctor/medical professional starts back at intern/residency pay if they leave their current job? Am I wrong in that assumption that a doctor does not go back down to residency salary if they start at another hospital? Not trying to be difficult, but just trying to make sure I'm not arguing a point that isn't true...

Thanks for posting your experience, very eye-opening about the medical field. And your right medical professionals do carry alot of responsibility just like airline pilots. Too bad the average traveller treats us like we are all overpaid and they don't realize their lives really are in our hands...

3green

 

[Matt13C]

The thing is, I'll bet you don't quit. I'll bet you decide to soldier on to Live The Dream. And I'll bet we'll get to hear you regret it, sooner or later. Because no one ever, ever listens when it comes to "should I be a pilot!?" posts. Ever. Not once. Which means that I'm wasting my time by typing this. Crap.

Can't say no one, because I listened, a few times. I was a few short weeks away from packing up and leaving for ERAU and acquiring the 150k in debt that goes along with attendance. Luckily I found this site and after many hours of reading realized it was not worth it.

Unfortunatly I had already quit my job so I was contemplating a trip to ATP for the 90 day program, hey it is half price of ERAU, what a bargain I thought! Again, I did some reading and again I was saved a boat load of debt by the folks of JC.

I began my search for a good FBO flight school and instructor I felt comfortable with and began my PPL. After a few months and many late nights reading any and all posts on JC I came to the realization that aviation is a career best entered slowly and with some caution. I have since found a new day job, I am flying on the weekends and paying as I go. When and really if I choose to get into aviation as a career it will be on my terms. I will go in because I found a job I will enjoy, not just any job because I have to pay my student loans.

I have people like you who tell it like it is to thank. Some may say you are crushing their dreams or pissing in their cheerios but in reality you are being honest. You may not talk people out of the career path, but if they go in with a realistic view they will be much better off.

Keep up the good work! :rawk:

 

[Toria]

Nice post Toria, great insight into your profession. It sounds alot like the path an airline pilot takes in paying dues. But, as I mentioned in the quote you selected I don't believe that a doctor/medical professional starts back at intern/residency pay if they leave their current job? Am I wrong in that assumption that a doctor does not go back down to residency salary if they start at another hospital? 3green

No, generally you do not go back to residency salary when changing jobs. A decrease in pay is possible, or a cut in benefits; however, salaries paid during house officer years are not competative once boards are passed. The hospital does not pay your salary, it is your group that attends there. Don't even ask me about billing and insurance reimbursements.......:banghead:

 

[rjmore]

It seems these days that a full time CFI can make a pretty good living out there. Sounds to me like this could be your calling. Another would be flying Grand Canyon tours where you are home every night. Have you thought about helicopter flying? I bet the news chopper guys are home every night too, as well as the med guys.

You like to fly but hate being away. That could mean that you need to focus on something other than airline or corporate flying. There is nothing wrong with being a career instructor.

Just some food for thought...

 

[skydog]

All transportation operator jobs, pilot or otherwise, carry with them the requirement to be on the road and thus away from home. However, the time away from home can be minimized in certain ways.

Some career options for you to consider

Flight Instructor (full or part-time)
Corporate Pilot
Charter Pilot for a local company (not a fractional)
Medevac pilot (helicopter or airplane)

another option is to get on with an air carrier that has a crew base in your area. With enough seniority, you may be able to get day trips that allow you to come home at the end off the day.