jhugz
Well-Known Member
*First off, I’m typing this on my iPhone so excuse any grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, and run on sentences.*
As many know, I do a good amount of work mentoring pilots both within my legacy airline’s ecosystem but also outside of it too. I’ve been noticing a trend throughout those in the industry that have less than 10+ years of experience that is a little troublesome that I wanted to talk about. That is dealing with the aviation industry down cycles. Over the past couple of years we’ve seen unprecedented growth. People going from CFI to legacy in 5 years or less. Street CA’s being hired at the regionals and jobs galore. Many in the industry only know the good times. Things have slowed down over the past year or so, but we are still seeing amazing growth. Most of the legacies are still hiring or plan to in the near future. Not all regionals are hiring but some still are. Things are getting more competitive but pilot hiring and progression are still very healthy.
Things may have slowed down some, but the amount of “depression” in mentees and others in the industry doesn’t seem proportional. Things can and will get worse at some point in your career. You need to accept that, and figure out how you will cope with that or you will be miserable in this profession for the rest of your life. Ask older pilots about Age 65, the recession, 9/11, etc. These were dark, dark, times in the industry. I hope we never see these events again in our life time, but statistically it’s probably unlikely. If you’re unable to cope with the industry now, how will you for one of these black swan events?
Take care of yourself, especially your mental health. That’s first and foremost. Stop comparing your career to someone else’s. It’s not a race. Have a life outside of aviation. If your whole identity is aviation and your career is suffering in a downturn, it’s incredibly difficult to maintain any resemblance of positivity in your life. Have a support network with friends and family. When things get tough, lean on them.
I’ve seen/heard/read too much talk about how awful this industry is. It’s a tough business but also incredibly rewarding. Not everyone is cut out for it and that’s ok.
Looking back on my career to this point and it’s been a wild, crazy, stressful, infuriating, rewarding ride. I loved every second of it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
/endrant
As many know, I do a good amount of work mentoring pilots both within my legacy airline’s ecosystem but also outside of it too. I’ve been noticing a trend throughout those in the industry that have less than 10+ years of experience that is a little troublesome that I wanted to talk about. That is dealing with the aviation industry down cycles. Over the past couple of years we’ve seen unprecedented growth. People going from CFI to legacy in 5 years or less. Street CA’s being hired at the regionals and jobs galore. Many in the industry only know the good times. Things have slowed down over the past year or so, but we are still seeing amazing growth. Most of the legacies are still hiring or plan to in the near future. Not all regionals are hiring but some still are. Things are getting more competitive but pilot hiring and progression are still very healthy.
Things may have slowed down some, but the amount of “depression” in mentees and others in the industry doesn’t seem proportional. Things can and will get worse at some point in your career. You need to accept that, and figure out how you will cope with that or you will be miserable in this profession for the rest of your life. Ask older pilots about Age 65, the recession, 9/11, etc. These were dark, dark, times in the industry. I hope we never see these events again in our life time, but statistically it’s probably unlikely. If you’re unable to cope with the industry now, how will you for one of these black swan events?
Take care of yourself, especially your mental health. That’s first and foremost. Stop comparing your career to someone else’s. It’s not a race. Have a life outside of aviation. If your whole identity is aviation and your career is suffering in a downturn, it’s incredibly difficult to maintain any resemblance of positivity in your life. Have a support network with friends and family. When things get tough, lean on them.
I’ve seen/heard/read too much talk about how awful this industry is. It’s a tough business but also incredibly rewarding. Not everyone is cut out for it and that’s ok.
Looking back on my career to this point and it’s been a wild, crazy, stressful, infuriating, rewarding ride. I loved every second of it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
/endrant
