Commercial Pilot Career is a sinking ship.

My old car ....the LS.460 ....you mean with the sticking accelerator?
http://www.10news.com/news/20831532/detail.html

I drive an S550 now.....?:beer:]

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Three things:

1. Good name. :D
2. Nice car!
3. Want to trade jobs? :bandit:
 
Agreed. Any time anybody asks me when I think airplanes will be completely automated I respond "the day that we have computers smart enough to land an A320 on the Hudson River after a complete power loss." It will be a long time before AI develops to the point of creative decision making, which is necessary in aviation given the endless ever-changing variables present on each flight.

I think that we will see automated cars before we see automated aircraft and we are still a long way off from automated cars.

Agreed. When I retire in 30 years, airplanes (both passenger and cargo) will still be flown by two human pilots. I have no doubt about that. I could see a UAV application for things like pipeline patrol, as someone else mentioned, but that's about it.
 
Parallel parking a car is a static situation. Flying a plane, on any level you look at it, is extremely dynamic.

Wouldn't NextGen increase commercial pilot jobs? The system would be more efficient and would allow more aircraft in the air at once with little delays.
 
Parallel parking a car is a static situation. Flying a plane, on any level you look at it, is extremely dynamic.

Wouldn't NextGen increase commercial pilot jobs? The system would be more efficient and would allow more aircraft in the air at once with little delays.

Dunno. I'd much rather fly than parallel park. :bandit:
 
"All physicians do now are write prescriptions thanks to pharmaceutical advances."

"The internet has made legal work so easy a monkey could do it."

"Online learning is equivalent to brick-and-mortart education in every respect."


Yes, our world is changing, and there are a lot of professions/institutions that are getting hit. There will be fewer high-paying jobs in virtually every human endeavor. However, the bottom line remains the same: work hard, diversify, network, and succeed. Yes, you need to be wary of the negatives. However, if you love the work, have the drive, and never stop learning, you can write your own ticket in aviation. Will success mean the left seat of a major for some? Yes. Will it mean supervising UAS operations over a major metropolitan area for others, still finding time to enjoy the "flying" aspect of the job? Yes.


You're right: we are on the verge of a complete NAS revolution. But to dissuade those that are interested in this field who read these boards - high school and college kids - is a complete disservice without mentioning potential opportunity. Why continue to focus on the negative when there IS potential in this industry, albeit in a different form?


J.
 
Parallel parking a car is a static situation. Flying a plane, on any level you look at it, is extremely dynamic.

Wouldn't NextGen increase commercial pilot jobs? The system would be more efficient and would allow more aircraft in the air at once with little delays.

Yep, but fewer of them will be RJs. The thing is that it doesn't make sense to run an RJ on a run that a Navajo/402/Baron/Caravan can do. It doesn't even make sense to run many turbo props on those runs. Especially not with the current cost of fuel. Smaller is better when you're talking about shorter runs. This may or may not create more jobs, but I suspect it will, they just won't pay as well as they should. The regional model is this: smaller airplanes with increased volume to destinations and drastically lower costs. That trend can only logically continue, and it only makes more sense for the modern regional carrier to look to outsource its flying to even smaller companies. I envision a world where you buy a "Delta" ticket online to go from KSCK to KJFK. You show up for the first "Delta" flight at KSCK, and jump into a Navajo or even a 210 (operated by Bob's Flight Service) for the first leg into KSFO, from there, you jump in the CRJ (operated by Skywest) to go to KSLC, then and only then (if that flight too isn't outsourced) do you get onto the actual Delta flight to go to KJFK.

NextGen combined with super efficient booking software has the potential to change how airlines do business. We have a microcosm of this in SE Alaska. NextGen is essentially in effect, we have ADS-B services, combined with synthetic vision and moving map GPS, if we were allowed to, the potential is there for every airplane around to be able to operate in IFR conditions all the time. The only thing that's stopping us is the lack of useable approaches, and the safety of flying in icing conditions. You could approach "big airline reliability" with little airplane costs. I actually foresee the level of safety dramatically increasing in smaller 135 operations as well. With the synthetic vision system we have installed, I know that the margin for error in weather conditions has been dramatically increased, and the ability to safely operate in a high traffic environment is unparalleled. NextGen will change everything, but not in the way you think it will (my $.02, from a guy who just spent the last year essentially using the system).
 
Hi!

Jynxyjoe:
Find me a beech 1900 outfit that pays six figures, or even a king air job homeboy. I'd drop this dumb effing RJ in a heartbeart.

Twin turboprop capts at Wilson Airport in NBO earn $8K-$20K per month. Tanzania the same thing.

cliff
LFW
 
This unfortunately seems to be the case. U.S. Pilots are the worst paid around the globe.
Surely it can't have anything to do with; Too many pilots, too many pilot factories and not enough people willing to turn down a (notso) shiny jet.

Severe :sarcasm:
 
Surely it can't have anything to do with; Too many pilots, too many pilot factories and not enough people willing to turn down a (notso) shiny jet.

Severe :sarcasm:

Completely agree, but wanted to add. We're seeing a new trend in attrition - junior FOs leaving the industry. I think a lot are turning the jet down "posthumously."
 
Completely agree, but wanted to add. We're seeing a new trend in attrition - junior FOs leaving the industry. I think a lot are turning the jet down "posthumously."

Just as Roger Cohen wants it....... A revolving door keeps costs low. Doesn't matter if pilots move up or out as long as they go away and do not climb the payscale.
 
The realy question now is simple. where do we go, as pilots, to end the misery of a sinking ship. we really have no experiance doing anything else, our qualifications are to fly airplanes and for those of us with degrees like "aviation science", what the hell do we do with this? I am ready to leave the airlines, I can't wait! but where now?
 
The realy question now is simple. where do we go, as pilots, to end the misery of a sinking ship. we really have no experiance doing anything else, our qualifications are to fly airplanes and for those of us with degrees like "aviation science", what the hell do we do with this? I am ready to leave the airlines, I can't wait! but where now?

You probably will not find a good answer here. Not trying to rub salt in your wounds but for those yet to get a college degree, this is EXACTLY the reason the consensus here has always been; Get your college degree in something OTHER than aviation.
 
The realy question now is simple. where do we go, as pilots, to end the misery of a sinking ship. we really have no experiance doing anything else, our qualifications are to fly airplanes and for those of us with degrees like "aviation science", what the hell do we do with this? I am ready to leave the airlines, I can't wait! but where now?

If you figure it out let us know. For those of us in midlife... with mortgage, family, kids... going back to school is really not much of an option.
 
I know a civil engineer who can't find work and is going back to school.
A lot of professionals are facing many of the same challenges as pilots.
I chose to leave aviation to focus on my relationship and get married in 2008 (although I am currently hoping to get back in soon) and currently work for the government. They liked the fact I was a pilot, thought my undergraduate education (Aviation) was indeed worth something and I earn enough money to keep flying.
Aviation is a tough game and to some it is worth the hard times and to others it is not. Always maintain a positive attitude and remember to work to live and not live to work.
 
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