Pilot: a good career choice?

People actually pay me to fly....



Suckers! :p


Seriously, I love my job. If you absolutely love to fly then you have your own answers. If not, buy a kitfox and weekend-warrior it.
 
I would actually enjoy my job, just not the pay.

For the first few years, there's nothing to enjoy about the pay.

In any profession these days, you'll find that people ask if it's a good career choice. Truth is, no profession is safe any more. You have to decide if you'll be happy with the negatives in the industry. When people ask me why I want to fly, I can't answer them. It's just something I've always wanted to do. When they ask about the negatives, I'll give them a laundry list of bad things in aviation. That's why I'm sticking with it- after all the bad things are said and done, there's nothing else I'd rather do than spend an hour and a half getting out to the runway at JFK in order to fly.

You've got to be committed to it just like any other career path. If you aren't, then you'll hate your job and always be looking for another one.
 
Every career I've thought of going in to, someone in it has told me not to do it. It ain't what it used to be, not enough pay, too many hours. Some are happy, but there are always some who wish they'd done it differently.
 
ChrisH said:
My take.

In my opinion, any career, is what you make of it. No career comes with guarantees. No career can guarantee security, a large pay check, or that you will move to the upper tiers of that field. Many like to assume that careers outside of aviation automatically pay more, than being an airline pilot, or that they offer more stability, and less BS, if you will, than the airline industry. That can be true, in some cases, but certainly not the majority. Truth be told, only about 5% of American workers make six figures. While it is possible, no career can guarantee you a large pay check, and realistically, you don't have a better chance of making significantly more money outside of aviation, than being an airline pilot, if six figures is your mark.

I wondered on to a message board yesterday, that was basically just like this one, but a networking site for people going into medical careers, i.e, doctors, nurses, pharmacists. On several occassions I has to stop myself, and make sure I wasn't in an aviation message board. Everything they said, about their careers, their pay, etc., was exactly what gets said in these boards. The grass isn't greener. One guy said it wasn't worth it to become a doctor, because he had spent 10 years in school, near $300K in debt, and was making $35K-$55K as a new resident, and that he wouldn't make over $150K. Many others had the same gripes. They were all talking about the "decline" of the medical profession, overall, it was highly reminiscent of what you read on aviation message boards. It isn't really better, anywhere else.

I think that pay will go back up. It may not reach the level that some people think it should, i.e., counting inflation a wide body captain should be making $500K. But, I do think it will go back up. I think we will see that, in the next few years, as legacy contracts become ammendable. In many ways, regional pay has gone up, and hopefully that will be a trend.

Competition is fierce, in any career. I was looking through Forbe Magazine's top 100 companies to work for, in 2007. Of just the top 10 companies, they had about 140 applicants per job. As far as salary, the most common salaried job held by these companies, was less than six figures, on average, and not an unatainable salary for a regional captain. I am not trying to get into a pay argument here, but I just think too many people assume that outside of aviation, it is easy to make money, when it is not. Of the 2 people I know, making six figures, they worked for MANY years to reach that, and worked VERY hard to reach it. With their increased salary, they have more responsibility, work longer hours, and honestly, do not care for their jobs.

Obviously the life style of being an airline pilot, is not for everybody. It isn't a normal 9-5 job. BUT, I think it is important for people to do what they love. Going into ANY career field, for money, or prestige, is the wrong thing to do, and almost always leads to people being unhappy. Of those 5% of American workers making six figures, I'd be willing to bet that some would gladly give up that sixth figure, to have a job that they liked going to a little more.

I guess what I am saying, is if you want to be a pilot, than be a pilot. Only you can answer for yourself whether or not it is worth it, or is a good career. There will always be at least 10%, or so, of people, in any career, who don't like it. Listen to their advice, but don't allow the nay sayers to make your decision for you. You can have just as a succesful, and prosperous of a career, as an airline pilot, as with any career. All careers have ups, and downs, so just do what you love, and money, etc., will follow.
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That's a great post. It reminded me of something I read about recently that I wanted to bring up.

As far as airline pay goes: according to the US Dept. of Labor Statistics, airline pilots make a mean salary of $140K :eek: (2006). While the average salary in the US across all occupations is $39K. Furthermore, the mean income assigned to airline pilots is higher than that of all but a handful out of the hundreds of other of listed occupations, and the only ones that were higher belonged to specific medical professionals or chief executives!

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes532011.htm
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b53-0000

How does all of that add up? Can it be that for every underpaid regional FO (and we know there are quite a few) making 30k there is a high time captain in his 60s making well over 200k? And if you take into consideration that not every regional FO will make it to right seat in a 747 due to a number of reasons we already mentioned here, then it makes sense to assume that there is a huge number of pilots that make 200k or so. :confused:
 
I've been pondering that question for months now, and I still don't know if it's worth it. Flying is fun, I'm getting my Private for sure. The Regional Pay and time away from home is the ultimate killer, if only we could skip that and get on with a nice major. I'm thinking of just flying for fun and pursuing another career.
 
Doug Taylor said:
Wait until you go to Spain or Italy! :) Hell, even the Parisians at CDG treat you somewhat like royalty. Not that I need that, it's just an interesting observation.
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Yeah, right, whatever you say there Doug.

Try Mexico where "El Capitain" is definitely the king. Tell a catering guy you need more fuel and a few minutes later he'll be down there trying to put gas in your airplane.

They take pretty good care of you in Asia too.
 
Well. I am headed down this path. I am excited to do it. My wife is excited for me, as for herself. We are in our mid 20s, and because of my dream to fly, she is realizing the potential in her career(Occupational Therapy). Were from Michigan, economy is crap. I could take a position locally, but make a whole whopping 25k-30k a year.

So as for the regionals, and how little pay. I guess that is one of the hurdles that I think scares alot of the new dreamers. But like anything, I realize that its part of getting the experience. My wife understands I will be gone a big chunk of the time, but we make up for it in other ways, :) . I just hope that within five years of so flying for regionals, etc I can be home for some holidays, as thats when I will begin having kids.

Anyways. Looking forward to finishing up my training by the end of summer.
 
Same experience I have had. When I start telling people about the negatives of being an airline pilot, they almost always respond with, "it is the same here". I know people who are happy in their careers, but in the end, many wish that they had done something else.

I think Doug said it best, in another thread.. I am paraphrasing, this isn't an exact quote; The pay in the airline industy, isn't the best, but it isn't the worst. I believe it could be better, but in the end, even a regional captain is doing better than the average American. That is not to say they do not deserve more!

Many people have to start off with a low salary, in the beginning. It isn't just pilots. The doctor I was referring to, in my original thread, had gone through 10 years of school, had near 300k in debt, and was making between 35-55k, as a new resident. I know many who fall into the same category, in other fields. Go to payscale.com, and look at the average/median salaries of any career. They aren't as high as some people like to assume. I can make $70K as an rj captain, doing something I love, or that same salary, sitting behind a desk, for 8-10+ hours per day, with boss' breathing down my neck for reports.

I know things aren't all good in the airline industry. Things aren't all good anywhere else, either. My intent is not to get into a pay debate, because I believe pay needs to improve. My point, is that things aren't all that much better in other careers. All careers have the same thing; people who are highly paid (a very few), people who are at the bottom (usually people who are new), and the vast majority fall in the middle (i.e, regional captain, and those making a similiar salary). Things are not skewed toward the top, in other careers, any more than every pilot making the same as a wide body major captain, in the airline industry.

Wolfy said:
Every career I've thought of going in to, someone in it has told me not to do it. It ain't what it used to be, not enough pay, too many hours. Some are happy, but there are always some who wish they'd done it differently.
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Flying was once a very prestigious thing do to. It was a big deal and people dressed up for it, so naturally the captain was held in very high esteem. Now, anyone flies, and they fly in first class wearing T-shirts and flip flops, just like getting on a bus. That's where the prestige went and it'll never be back again. So, if you love flying like I do, then perhaps it's worth it. It's a great thing to be paid to do, but the days are long and you assume alot of liability. If you're looking for a "prestigious" career, look elsewhere. Ok, I'm off to watch the Superbowl now.
 
I've been pondering this for a while now too, and I'm still looking to finally start lessons this month. I've been flying a desk for a year now out of college and I'd rather slam my hand in a car door than do this for another 20 years. I'm making decent money (for Houston) and the outlook looks good for the company, but I can not for the life of me not look up and smile when I hear an airplane, I know it's not all going to be roses, but nothing ever is. It just looks like a job I will still at least appreciate 20 years down the road. I bet once you get past 1st and 2nd year pay, everything gets better.
 
deek said:
I've been pondering this for a while now too, and I'm still looking to finally start lessons this month. I've been flying a desk for a year now out of college and I'd rather slam my hand in a car door than do this for another 20 years. I'm making decent money (for Houston) and the outlook looks good for the company, but I can not for the life of me not look up and smile when I hear an airplane, I know it's not all going to be roses, but nothing ever is. It just looks like a job I will still at least appreciate 20 years down the road. I bet once you get past 1st and 2nd year pay, everything gets better.
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man, I was like that too. In my opinion your better off flying for fun. Buy a Cirrus SR22 and fly around the world. If you have a good job now, it's not worth to pay 60k for a job that pays 20k. I can fly shiny Jets on flight simulator anytime. :D
 
Hello,

There are alot of careers that require 60K investment in education(It doesn't have to cost you 60K either) that start at 20K. It is also only for a couple years granted nothing happens. If flying is what you want to do then do it. You only live once.
 
Or you could be a doctor. Pay ~200k for 4 years, then become a resident and make under 50k. There'll always be downsides to whatever profession you pick. The question is, will you still be happy even with all the negatives?
 
Ah, I love the pilot vs. doctor analogies.

I don't know guys, but I don't see a lot of doctors out there trying to underbid their fellow doctors. .
 
Alright, thanks guys... You literally have saved my ass... Off to UTK to major in Supply Chain Management or finance... 100K+/yr is pretty comfortable; I will just buy an aerobatic plane or do AFROTC and try for a slot. Haha, I'd rather fly jets/cargo for 10 years, and get myself a join in the majors. :)

Haha, so are you sure ATC is pretty much screwed? Will it be better in 8 yrs, you think? any hope?:banghead: I heard MTSU's AT-CTI program is a waste...
 
RickRoss747, I am curious if you fly the F/A 18 or not based on the questions and intentions in this thread.

Is there not only one type of F/A 18 which is the fighter jet? That it says you fly that in your profile but you write that you intend to do ROTC is quite confusing. :confused:
 
KC Jake said:
I literally laughed out loud when I watched that. Good form. I love the dry unemotional narrator.

EDIT: I didn't know that plane had people on board...not funny in that respect. I thought it was a test plane.
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Was that Tonyw in the background saying "oh, no..oh, no!"

:D
 
Nick said:
RickRoss747, I am curious if you fly the F/A 18 or not based on the questions and intentions in this thread.

Is there not only one type of F/A 18 which is the fighter jet? That it says you fly that in your profile but you write that you intend to do ROTC is quite confusing. :confused:
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Yeah, I was being a smartass; I guess. When I registered, it requies you to enter the info, so I typed in the first thing that comes to mind... I'm just a jr in hs...
 
Okay, I kinda figured it was put in as a joke or future intention because it just didn't make sense with the rest!
 
RickRoss747 said:
Yeah, I was being a smartass; I guess. When I registered, it requies you to enter the info, so I typed in the first thing that comes to mind... I'm just a jr in hs...
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Might be a great time to adjust that!
 
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