Job satisfaction -- scientific poll

[SharkLad2000]

Straw poll, gentlemen and gentlewomen. You are a professional pilot.

(a) Do you love/like/tolerate/dislike or despise your career? Choose one.

(b) What was your level of aviation "passion" when you first started down the pilot career path -- obsession/enjoyment/amusement/better than a desk job/better than unemployment? Choose one.

And (c) were you an adult career-changer (worked some non-flying gig for a while first) or have you always been on the pilot career track? Feel free to elaborate.

Answers appreciated, smarminess expected -- thanks!

 

[milleR]

https://www.surveymonkey.com

 

[esa17]

I love my job, my schedule, and my pay is better than average.

All I've ever been is a pilot. I remember the day I decided to be a professional pilot and I've been focused on that goal since that day.

 

[CFIT99]

a bunch of 91 flying including working the ramp and I put up with it to build time, then came 4 years and 3 regionals (1 furlough and 1 chasing upgrade) and life was miserable and I almost left the industry.

Then got picked up by a Fractional and it's a different world. Good pay, amazing benefits and decent to awesome schedule including home basing...

 

[Roger Roger]

I love flying. More now than when I started. Unfortunately only a small part of what I'm doing now is flying airplanes.

 

[GypsyPilot]

I was a mechanical engineer for five years before switching careers. I've been flying professionally for almost nine years now, and am very happy with the decision despite pretty bad career stagnation.

 

[SharkLad2000]

I love flying. More now than when I started. Unfortunately only a small part of what I'm doing now is flying airplanes.

Does that suggest you aren't logging many flight hours in your pro pilot gig or that the "flying" isn't really flying (i.e. autopilot management vs. handflying a Piper Cub sort of thing)?

 

[SharkLad2000]

I was a mechanical engineer for five years before switching careers. I've been flying professionally for almost nine years now, and am very happy with the decision despite pretty bad career stagnation.

Thanks. Are you flying 121? All the anecdotal graphs and stats I see show the career and salary boosts really begin to happen more significantly around year 10 (which I'm sure varies case to case).

Similar to your story, I'm considering a career change except I've been 10 years in my non-pilot gig. If I were to answer my own poll, it'd be "obsession" over flying. Trying to get all the way to CFI in my "free time" outside of work but I have a job where I regularly "take work home", can't just clock out. Tough therefore to find the time to build my hours and get the ratings.

 

[GypsyPilot]

Thanks. Are you flying 121? All the anecdotal graphs and stats I see show the career and salary boosts really begin to happen more significantly around year 10 (which I'm sure varies case to case).

Similar to your story, I'm considering a career change except I've been 10 years in my non-pilot gig. If I were to answer my own poll, it'd be "obsession" over flying. Trying to get all the way to CFI in my "free time" outside of work but I have a job where I regularly "take work home", can't just clock out. Tough therefore to find the time to build my hours and get the ratings.

I am now flying 121, and have been for approximately five years. After instructing, I also flew charter and then corporate. The corporate gig was very enjoyable in a lot of ways, but overall I've been better off in 121 as far as having control over my schedule, job stability, growth, etc.

It's definitely challenging to work toward an aviation career while also dealing with a full time job. My engineering gig involved taking work home at times, and occasionally working evenings/weekends. But I was also single/no kids and in my 20s, which made it a lot easier than somebody with a family (not sure if that's your situation).

 

[Roger Roger]

Does that suggest you aren't logging many flight hours in your pro pilot gig or that the "flying" isn't really flying (i.e. autopilot management vs. handflying a Piper Cub sort of thing)?

135 DM. Fly a trip every week to stay current and give a check ride once in a while.

 

[AirmetTango]

I mostly love my career - like everything, it has it's moments of hatred, but the love far outweighs the hate!

My story is similar to GypsyPilot's. I had a 9 year career in environmental engineering when I took my first flying lesson. I didn't intend to change careers initially; I was just going to get my Private cert, maybe buy an airplane to tool around in. As the training progressed, my passion went from "amusement" and "enjoyment" to "obsession" pretty quickly, and the next thing I knew, I was making plans to switch careers. I've been flying professionally for about 13 years now, with the last 7 at the same company in Part 91 corporate aviation.

 

[bike21]

Dig this airline gig and love having weekdays off plus up to half the month off (or more) on a regular basis. Not many jobs out there that allow this kind of flexibility, pay and of course travel benefits. Now, the pay could certainly better and will be at the next step (currently regional) but as a 10 year captain I'm not doing too shabby.

Passion? Don't quite consider myself an airplane geek as those things go but aviation has been my one and only career (started flying when I was 15) so I really do like flying. Though it is quite nice to leave the job at the gate on the last leg and forget about it until the next trip.

The career doesn't come without it's frustrations of course but once the wheels leave the ground I doubt there are many 'better' jobs out there.