Being a pilot is cool.

WacoFan said:
A million times this.

I kind of laugh when I hear (younger) people yammer on about "being happy with your career" and "fulfillment at work" and "I would hate to do xyz so I'm glad I'm doing abc".
Click to expand...

Amen sister. Worse yet are the bosses who say "Money shouldn't be what motivates you, enjoying what you do should be your motivation." Every time I hear that crap I think, "easy for you to say ass bag, you make a ton of money". Teling that to the rest of us, who have gone without raises for years and had benefits cut in the name of cost cutting had our work load increased do to layoffs done under the guise of "efficiency" then brag about the success we had last quarter which we all know translates into a fat bonus for you, doesn't motivate your work force.

You being one of those bosses....we hate you and will burn you at the stake. :D
 
I honestly don't think i would be happy doing something else. Could I do something else if I had to in order to support my family or I lost a medical? Sure, but I would have to be making some serious cheese to give up flying for another job not flying.

Goal: Win the lottery so it is not really a "job" anymore that I have to rely on for food, just something I love to do. :biggrin:
 
There is something inherently wrong with a pilot having to drive 2 hours, even an hour to find affordable living.
 
MikeOH58 said:
There is something inherently wrong with a pilot having to drive 2 hours, even an hour to find affordable living.
Click to expand...

Millions of Americans have a 2+ hour commute every single day for their entire working lives. Pilots usually have to drive to the airport once or twice a week, not 5 times, yet you think it's an undue burden for pilots to drive the same distance? :confused2:
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Millions of Americans have a 2+ hour commute every single day for their entire working lives.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and quite a few kids who I went to school with had parents that worked in Manhattan. They did it because the jobs were very desirable and high paying, but 2 hours EACH WAY five times a week would really get old. I'd imagine they'd wake up at 5AM to be on the train at 6AM to be in NYC at 8 and head home at 4-5PM and be back at their actual house at 7-8PM, with nine hours to go until the alarm clock again. It would take a lot of money for me to be willing to do that, but it might just be worth it for a few years of $300K+ I suppose.

If MikeOH58, you mean that a pilot is one of the professions that ought to be able to afford to live in the upper third of a region's real estate options, then I agree with your statement. The pay ought to provide that option even in the northeast or SoCal.
 
MikeD said:
I imagine it wouldn't be bad......... I mean, if one couldn't be Air Force. :D :D (mandatory interservice ribbing requirement)
Click to expand...

My dad was a Russian linguist in the air force before moving onto a career with the DOD. When people ask him if he was in the military he says "no, I was in the Air Force"
 
Screaming_Emu said:
My dad was a Russian linguist in the air force before moving onto a career with the DOD. When people ask him if he was in the military he says "no, I was in the Air Force"
Click to expand...

Ha! Very true there regards the Air Force's ongoing identity crisis.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Millions of Americans have a 2+ hour commute every single day for their entire working lives. Pilots usually have to drive to the airport once or twice a week, not 5 times, yet you think it's an undue burden for pilots to drive the same distance? :confused2:
Click to expand...

My dad has driven 2 hours each way to school & work for almost 20 years now. It's just the way it's worked out. They wanted to make sure the family farm stayed in the family, so they purchased the farm from my grandparents when they were no longer able to farm anymore. My dad is not a farmer though, and he's driven 2 hours to go through his A&P school, work as the DOM for a flight school and then teach the A&P program at the same school he had attended. Not going to find opportunities like that closer to home.
 
My wife likes telling people that her husband is a pilot, but in Europe it seems to have a bigger "cool factor"/mystique than in the US. For real though, her friends get excited that they now "know a pilot" and all want me to take them up, but General Aviation is much smaller around here so it is less common for people to get these kinds of opportunities compared to back in the US.
 
I have to drive about 2 hrs to get to work. There's no way I could do a round trip each day for 5 days per week. I also get bored really easily though.


This post brought to you by beta from my iPhone.
 
These kinds of threads are awesome. They always devolve into the "cool factor/mystique" issue. It makes me giggle. I'm glad you like your job. But...the mystique is gone. ATP and other pilot-mills feed on the mystique but can you really say that today? Now, Sully has cool-factor. He had to ditch an Airbus to attain it, but he has it. Other pilots have it. Many do not. Either way - if you are young and reading this:

Do not pick a vocation on how cool you think it is, or the people are. Or whatever "mystique" it had when airlines were flying Connies. In a job, you are selling your time for money. Period. If I could make more money cleaning septic tanks, I would clean septic tanks. If I could make more money running carnival rides, I would run carnival rides. Whether you are a prostitute or the CEO of Goldman, you are selling your time for money. At the end of the day, you make your own mystique.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top