Here, let me break it down for you both.
People want information on what it's like. So we're telling it from our perspectives.
Now if you have a perspective based on first hand experience, don't "yeah that", tell us what you think. However if you haven't at least done the proverbial "walk a mile in the moccasins" of living a life on the road, it's probably better to avoid attempting to compare the life of a road warrior with that of some toothless dude laying asphalt.
That toothless dude laying asphalt is making way more than a first year FO! Being in the highway/construction business for years and having a father who hauls heavy equipment, I know in PA that the pretty girl holding the stop/go sign on a DOT job starts at $18 per hour, guy laying asphalt $25-30 per hour starting pay, and the guys on the equipment (roller, paver, etc.) are over $40 per hour. That is starting pay, with time and a half over 40 hrs per week and double time on weekends or holidays. But, hey, who wants to sweat their arse off out there in the summer? One thing I find odd in the aviation industry as opposed to other union jobs (such as Teamsters truck drivers) is the pay scale. I don't really agree that much with the way they do it, but if I were to start tomorrow driving the same equipment as my dad (who has been there 47 years at the same company) I would make the same pay as him after the 90 day probation period. The reasoning is, you are doing the same job and operating the same equipment, so you get the same pay. This is one reason I was never a real fan of unions, another being I saw the abuse of union contracts at food warehouses and car manufacturers that I used to deliver to. One reason that the automakers are in the fix they are in now is because the UAW is so strong and some of the workers are paid excessively for what they do. A quick example: The GM workers at the parts warehouse near Philadelphia were getting $26.50 per hour to load trucks in 1990 (a job that paid around $11 per hour at non union warehouses). Hey, those guys just took the job and had no control over the wages, but at lunch time and even 15 minute breaks you could see several of the workers downing beers in their cars, which were parked off property. The UAW was so strong that I heard of people taking GM to court when they were fired for drinking at work and the UAW defended the worker and kept their job, reason being, they were not on company property. Just rambling, sorry!
One other thing that nobody brought up is the time not paid, while working, not on an overnight. In case there are pilots aspiring to be airline pilots out there reading this stuff:
1) Check in one hour before your flight, get weather and flight release, do weight and balance, do preflight, carry your FA's bags up the steps (you all should), greet the passengers, deal with ground crews, call for a lav service and commisarry, check for you total passenger count, call for your clearance, set up the instruments, load the FMS....all for $1.50!
2) OK, now everything is done and you're at the gate and they give you a 3 hour ground stop....yay, $4.50 pay for three hours at the gate!
3) So now, 2 and a half hours later, you call to see that the hold is lifted, call the pax back, board them up, wait for the ground crew, hand out the paperwork and then....hopefully close the door and start the clock for actual pay.
4) After an uneventful flight to, say BOS, you now open the door, unload the pax, say goodbye to them, clean the plane with the FA, change the trash bag, do a walk around and head into the terminal for a 4.8 hour sit! All this for....$1.50 per hour! YAY!
Unlike some people who came out of school and went right into flying, I have had other jobs, in other fields. I worked in a cubicle, managed an office, was a diesel mechanic, drove tractor trailer, worked as a cook, and I own my own business, and the reason I am here is like many others, I love flying. The worst thing for me was to show up everyday and look at that desk that I would be sitting at for 8-10 hours. I love to travel, I love to see new places, and I have loved staying in hotels since I was a kid, but from the time I arrive at my domicile, to the time I am released is work to me, not off time. The old term "Time is money" rings true and if you look at this job like that, it will piss you off. You can work a 14 hour day sometimes and only get paid for 3 or 4 hours (plus your per diem)!
Someone in this thread said $480 per diem a month helped with their bills. Do you pack all your food for a 4 day trip? If you only spend $5 per meal (3 meals and no snacks) you would spend $60 on a four day, $240 per month just on your personal food on a trip. If you decide to go to the hotel bar and get a few $3-$4 beers, there goes more of the $240 you had left. As you can see, per diem does not really help when you have rent/mortgage, car payment, groceries for home, etc...
This is just an example, if you are like most of us, one or two of those meals per day will consist of peanuts or cookies and a soda or juice from the galley, because you don't have time to get a meal between legs.
Then there is that wonderful chance that you upgrade to captain, only to be displaced back to FO (at FO pay) or better yet, be furloughed and have to start all over again at some other airline. Ah yes, what a wonderful business!
