The life of an airline pilot! Is it worth it?

M

Mushrooms

New Member
I made this thread to get the “real deal” on the life of an airline pilot. I want honest answers.

I know for a fact becoming an airline pilot can have many, many benefits. Let’s see, well you get a high salary, you could find yourself spending the night in Paris, you can go places and see places that people have to pay for and sometimes don’t have enough time to see. I know the benefits but I also know some downfalls.

First off I know it’s very expensive to become a pilot….anywhere! Lots of other things like actually getting the job, seeing your family rarely, etc.

Here are some questions I have….

- Is it really a dangerous career?

I know the statistics but what if something goes wrong? What are the chances of an engine failing, because on an airplane if something goes wrong that takes time to fix, you may not have all that time. It’s also hard convincing my parents that I want to become a pilot when it’s usually rated one of the top 10 dangerous careers almost everywhere? How can I convince them it isn’t (if possible)?


- What are the chances of being hired by an airplane and getting that paycheck to live on?

One thing I read almost everywhere is the “getting in” part. What if you don’t get in? Then what? Airlines can’t hire millions of people and I’m guessing tons and tons of qualified people are applying every year, which makes it that much more difficult. I don’t want to be a 38 year old just getting into a company like Delta and wait 12 more years on top of that become a captain at 50. Then I have only a couple years before retirement. Do you really have to have grey hairs before you get to become a captian? If ever?


- The schedule?

It’s always nice to explore the world but without your family it can take a toll. How long do you spend living in the air? How often do you get to see your family.


- Relocation relocation relocation?

Say I live in Toronto and my dream job lives in Orlando, do I have to move. Do airlines really have people relocate everywhere or else they don’t get the job?

These are questions I’m itching to have answered and I want the real deal as I want to make my decision soon. I love flying but I also love a lot of other things, like seeing my family often and not having to live in an unknown city just to put food on the table. Thanks once again……..
 
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I know for a fact becoming an airline pilot can have many, many benefits. Let’s see, well you get a
high salary

[/ QUOTE ]

Go ahead and add the salary to the downfall part of your post.
 
I cant tell you how many nights Ive spent in paris with a Vuluptuous flight attendant, or 2. This job is great. and check out the cool uniform!
 
Why don't you ask the guys here how many times they've had a long layover in Paris.

Let's put it this way. I've probably got more company paid trips to Paris than most of the airline pilots here. Know how many I've got?

One.
 
I'd say it all depends on what you want out of a career.

Know that its gonna be a long road to the top,
Know the pay is gonna be below poverty level for a while
Know your gonna be away from home
Will you have to move...probably at least at first.


Is it dangerous well they say the drive to the airport is more dangerous. However handling emergencies is what pilots are for you recieve the training for it and handle it when it happens. Have I been scared....hell yah...have I died? no

On the upside its a unique career that gives you the chance to see the world and places many people havent. I figure in the end its all about the stories you can tell anyhow. I haven't been home for 8 months and though I miss it, I've seen allot of things that I never would have seen had I not chosen to become a pilot. I dont have a house, I got an old crappy car, and I got friends around the country.

Its been pretty good so far, sometimes the 50K a year and a house and wife sound pretty good like so many of my friends have already but....then again how many of them went surfing tell noon and then went and looked down on LA for the entire afternoon.

I'd say read as much as you can the good and bad and see if for yourself and what you really want.
 
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and check out the cool uniform!

[/ QUOTE ]

grin.gif
You've gotta stop it, man!
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I made this thread to get the “real deal” on the life of an airline pilot. I want honest answers.

I know for a fact becoming an airline pilot can have many, many benefits. Let’s see, well you get a high salary, you could find yourself spending the night in Paris, you can go places and see places that people have to pay for and sometimes don’t have enough time to see. I know the benefits but I also know some downfalls.

First off I know it’s very expensive to become a pilot….anywhere! Lots of other things like actually getting the job, seeing your family rarely, etc.

Here are some questions I have….

- Is it really a dangerous career?

I know the statistics but what if something goes wrong? What are the chances of an engine failing, because on an airplane if something goes wrong that takes time to fix, you may not have all that time. It’s also hard convincing my parents that I want to become a pilot when it’s usually rated one of the top 10 dangerous careers almost everywhere? How can I convince them it isn’t (if possible)?


- What are the chances of being hired by an airplane and getting that paycheck to live on?

One thing I read almost everywhere is the “getting in” part. What if you don’t get in? Then what? Airlines can’t hire millions of people and I’m guessing tons and tons of qualified people are applying every year, which makes it that much more difficult. I don’t want to be a 38 year old just getting into a company like Delta and wait 12 more years on top of that become a captain at 50. Then I have only a couple years before retirement. Do you really have to have grey hairs before you get to become a captian? If ever?


- The schedule?

It’s always nice to explore the world but without your family it can take a toll. How long do you spend living in the air? How often do you get to see your family.


- Relocation relocation relocation?

Say I live in Toronto and my dream job lives in Orlando, do I have to move. Do airlines really have people relocate everywhere or else they don’t get the job?

These are questions I’m itching to have answered and I want the real deal as I want to make my decision soon. I love flying but I also love a lot of other things, like seeing my family often and not having to live in an unknown city just to put food on the table. Thanks once again……..

[/ QUOTE ] How old are ya?
 
Long story short, if the lifestyle of a trucker sounds horrible to you, you're going to loathe being an airline pilot!

It all depends on what you're into.
 
Salary -
Although it is generally higher than average toward the end of your career, it is extreemely below average at the beginning and its not what it used to be, and not what many people think it is.

Danger -
Learning to fly in small airplanes can be a little dangerous. Its about comparable to rock climbing, or motorcycle riding. Its not that bad though and if you take the action to be a safe pilot, your chances are even better. Once you get to the airliner level though, it is more likely that you'll drown in the bathtub than be killed in a plane crash. Yes emergencies do happen, and planes crash and kill everyone on board, but cars also crash and do so much more often. There are earthquakes that topple buildings on top of people, title waves that wash people out to sea, terroroists that blow things up, and all sorts of thing happen, and being killed in an airliner is statistically very low on the list. Being one of the top 10 most dangerous professions is complete bull$hit. Its just not true.


Getting hired -
If you get a degree, get all of your training done and prove that you can learn, stay away from drugs and alcahol, and don't bust any aviation regulation, you will probably be able to find a job flying planes somewhere. You have to be flexible though, and look at all areas and all posibilities of aviation. You may not end up flying for a major airline, but you will fly for sombody. What is it you want? To be a profesional pilot, or to be an airline pilot. If you want to be an airline pilot you may be setting yourself up for disappointment, but if you just want to fly airplanes for a living you have just as good a chance as anybody. Incidentally, 38 is not a bad age to get hired by a major. Most of the military guys that end up at the airlines don't get out of the military until they are about in their mid to late 30s, sometimes even early 40s. I think the average age of new hires is something like 35. At 38 you'd still have plenty of time to make a career out of it. You should be more worried about the airline being in existance until you retire.

Schedule -
Can vary tremendously depending on what type of flying you'll be doing. Plan to spend quite a bit of time away from home, plan not to spend the night in Paris (At least not until the very last years before retirement when you have loads of senority), and again, be flexible.

Relocation -
See schedule, the same thing applies here, be flexible.

Finally, if you don't have a four year degree, get one. It dosn't have to be in anything avaition. In fact decide what you would want to do if flying was not an option, and persue whatever education you'd need for that, because if you ever lose your medical, or decide you just can't deal with the avaiation world, (or the FAA decides that by taking away your licences for whatever reason), you will be in that situation. Don't listen to anyone who says you don't need one. Even though most airlines don't specifically require one, nearly everyone they hire has one. Its something they like to see as it shows that you can be taught. Good for them to know since they are going to spend thousands of dollars training you.

I don't want to sound like I'm telling you not to do this. I'm familiar with the realities and have a good idea of what to expect, and I still want to do it. But don't expect all the glamor that you see in the movies. If you do this its becasue you love to fly, and you can't immagine doing anything else. Not because you'll have a high paying job and layovers in Paris. I'd suggest you get your private and take it from there. You may discover you don't like flying after all, or you may decide to take another step at that point. You don't have to make this decision all at once.
 
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The lifestyle of a trucker?? YeeHAW!!! Does that include the chimp riding shotgun? (There's an FO joke in there somewhere...
grin.gif
)
 
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Why don't you ask the guys here how many times they've had a long layover in Paris.

Let's put it this way. I've probably got more company paid trips to Paris than most of the airline pilots here. Know how many I've got?

One.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's because the majority of the airline pilots we've got here are regional "minor-leagues" pilots!
smile.gif
 
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Is it really a dangerous career? ...It’s also hard convincing my parents that I want to become a pilot when it’s usually rated one of the top 10 dangerous careers almost everywhere? How can I convince them it isn’t (if possible)?

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It's not dangerous. Flying in small, general aviation aircraft during your training is probably the most dangerous phase of your career, and I don't even consider that to be dangerous. A few accidents occur because of unpreventable mechanical failures, but a huge number of accidents occur every year because of pilot errors. Pilots take off into thunderstorms, then crash. Pilots take off with known mechanical problems. Pilots get pressured to do things they shouldn't.

The key is to remember that in aviation you're largely in control of your own destiny. Making good decisions is critical. But that is the best part--it all depends on the pilot. When you're driving on a road, a drunk driver could cross the center line and kill you. Somebody could run a red light and kill you. Somebody could hit a patch of ice, slide out of control, and smash into you. Those sorts of things simply don't happen in the air. The biggest risks come from the pilot themself.

As for convincing your parents? I don't know...try asking them what it would take to convince them. Put it on their heads. Would statistics? Would talking to pilots? Would reading our responses here on JC help?

Of course, some people can't be convinced. My mom never listened to any of the statistics I told her about how safe flying is. Even now she literally won't fly on the same airline flight as my dad because she is afraid that it will crash and I'll be left parentless. That sort of thinking just isn't logical. I don't try to argue with it though. I just say, "Ok Mom, if that's what you want to do, go for it."

Which leads me to my next point. Your parents ought to back you up with whatever you want to do with your life. If you want to become a pilot, I don't understand why good parents wouldn't support that. It's not like you're telling them you plan to make a career out of working at Taco Bell. Being a pilot is a reasonably high ambition, I would say.
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These are questions I’m itching to have answered and I want the real deal as I want to make my decision soon. I love flying but I also love a lot of other things, like seeing my family often and not having to live in an unknown city just to put food on the table. Thanks once again……..

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First, I don't know how old you are, but if you're under 25, I don't see any huge rush to figure out what you want to do in life and set it in stone.

As for balancing life as a pilot with having a family and being home, I don't know what to say. Aviation can be addictive. There are ups and downs with it, but I can't see myself doing anything else. Even on my worst day, I look down at all the folks driving along the freeway, going to their office jobs, and I thank God I'm a pilot. I love it.

If you really love aviation, you'll find a way to work out the balancing act between having a family and working as a pilot. That may or may not include flying for the airlines. I know a guy that quit his job as a training captain and check airman at a large cargo company because he wanted to be home more with his wife and new daughter. He now works as one of the directors of the aviation program at my school. I know another guy who works as a corporate pilot and is able to be home most nights. I know another guy who works as a sales rep for a general aviation aircraft company and gets to be home most nights.

Bottom line is, if you really want to, you can be a pilot and have a decent family life at the same time. It just takes committment to having both.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Long story short, if the lifestyle of a trucker sounds horrible to you, you're going to loathe being an airline pilot!

It all depends on what you're into.

[/ QUOTE ]

Man, you need to drive coast to coast once with a truck driver. You will change that tune!
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Long story short, if the lifestyle of a trucker sounds horrible to you, you're going to loathe being an airline pilot!

It all depends on what you're into.

[/ QUOTE ]

Man, you need to drive coast to coast once with a truck driver. You will change that tune!
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

I've actually thought about getting my truck license and spending a year on the road! I love cross-country driving!!

And now, with Satellite radio!
smile.gif
 
Lloyd's a former Marine!

'Hey gunny, lookit here, I found a half-eaten MRE underneath this rotting cow corpse. Wanna split it?'
smile.gif
 
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