Hi All,
I haven't posted here in a LONG time (since before the switchover, I think)....
Anyway, I've been in this game, like Zap, for a long time. Personally, I think his sentiments are pretty much on the mark.
The job IS what you make of it. Sure, flying is fun, but at the end of the day, you DO have to put a roof over your head, feed yourself (even if it's just Ramen) and pay off those student loans.
Even where things are relatively good, there is unplesantness...just look at the current NWA/DAL fallout (of which I'm a part).
It happens, and it's as much a part of the game as the good stuff. I was fortunate, early in my career, for an old timer to point out the pitfalls, and how to avoid them. If you're gonna be a doctor, you're going to see some blood...it's just the way it works.
I understand Mike's frustration...but I also think there has been a fundamental shift in how kids operate today. I just had a 2 year stint in teaching college level chemistry, and I can tell you, kids these days don't do ANYTHING without consensus among their peers (often done, Borg like, without even speaking...just frantic texting). Some take the 'net as gospel, never having ever grown up without it, and there isn't that all important vetting process for the information they get.
If you can't google it or look it up on Wikipedia, it must not exist. I showed them how to make a fire extinguisher out of vinegar and baking soda...you would have thought I was Merlin the Magician by the way they looked at me. I asked one class how many had a chemistry set as a kid....NOT ONE held up their hand. Sad...today everything has to be virtual, I guess.
But I digress. My point is, kids these days want INSTANT gratification. Anything long, requiring study, application or has a delayed payout (which I think we can all agree aviation has loads of) is not going to spin their top.
Will there still be folks that do it? Sure, but those "on the cusp", who would have been those who got their private, never to be seen again, are weeded out earlier in the process.
Such are the pitfalls of "perfect knowledge"...
Richman