jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
Good point - except both parties are funded by corporate interests and greed. Not voting seems like the only way to protect yourself.
Vote third party
Good point - except both parties are funded by corporate interests and greed. Not voting seems like the only way to protect yourself.
But what I'm REALLY looking forward to is being able to do that on the side while not paying my bills by flying airplanes for a living. I think that might be the ticket right there, I'll let you know in a few years.
You know, a wise man once told me to go get a real job, like doctor, lawyer, accountant, and fly for fun. Don't do it for a living, and chase flying jobs like him.
But seriously, how many sons really listen to their father's before it's too late!
I hear everyone in this thread. I graduated last summer, found a good job at a flight school. Was working in the office while I finished my CFI. Had my checkride scheduled, but the week before, the school goes belly up. No plane, no checkride, no job, no $$$.
Fast forward 5 months...I'm working part time at a hardware store with no way to finish that CFI. You'd think having a bachelor's degree could get you a full time job somewhere, outside aviation or part of it, but I just have a lot of rejection letters. Tough world out there right now.
Where in NC?
On a side note I'll be honest, I don't think I would drive 5000 miles for a job interview. Also I don't know of any regionals that furloughed enough to have Captains on the street, so you might want to check that info.
I'm sorry someone from my home state would do that.
The most gut wrenching and soul searching time in the life if a pilot is when you need work and the industry is on it's ass with nobody hiring - in other words NOW. It is during these difficult and challenging times that many will leave the industry. It happens every cycle and will happen again and again and again. Perhaps this industry is not for everybody despite some thinking it is. It is a difficult world to break into as we all know. What I can tell you is that those who stick it out and continue to fly and train, are typically the ones who stand ready when the hiring gates re-open, which they inevitably will. In some ways it is almost better that jobs are slow if you are not 100 percent qualified to get on somewhere. That way, nobody is getting hired ahead of you while you gain experience and time. The only way to look at this in my humble opinion is to take advantage of the slow times to sharpen interview skills, study company data, attend networking functions and of course continue to fly in any capacity you can. It's damn hard and miserable going to reach the top of this industry - I know that. I have incredible amounts of sympathy and empathy for what you guys are going through and I truly wish I could swoop up all the young guns on this site and put them to work in a cockpit. Of course I can't do that but what I can do is to tell you guys that the payoff is real, at least for me. I have done some of the most crazy ass things that you can imagine, and some you can't to get a major airline job. No really.....You have no idea how crazy:crazy::crazy:.
The thing that really put me in a position to get in the door was maintaining a positive attitude and keeping a clear and precise focus on where I wanted to be. I tracked every single detail and left no stone unturned on my journey that seemed to take forever. And then it happened, one day the door opened and I walked through it - just as it will happen to you guys. The excitement and satisfaction of being in command of an airliner full of passengers is beyond description. Looking back, the high price I paid for getting here seems small now when I take stock of the richly rewarding world I work in. I would do it again in an instant.
I will look forward to reading the success stories in a few years right here on JC for those who stuck it out and hung on. Perhaps some of you will even have the good fortune to fly with me or Velo someday. anic:
If that doesn't scare you off, nothing else should. :laff:
I used to think it was hard work, honesty, integrity, and dedication that got you a job. Sorry to break it to you folks, but that's not how you get the job anymore. It's more about knowing the right people and/or being in the right place at the right time.
Umm what were you expecting?I feel like quitting too, and I'm still employed in the airlines. I don't love flying for $31,000/yr that much to want to go through this bull----. I value my retirement and the airlines aren't going to provide me with a healthy retirement fund.
I feel like quitting too, and I'm still employed in the airlines. I don't love flying for $31,000/yr that much to want to go through this bull----. I value my retirement and the airlines aren't going to provide me with a healthy retirement fund.
I feel like quitting too, and I'm still employed in the airlines. I don't love flying for $31,000/yr that much to want to go through this bull----. I value my retirement and the airlines aren't going to provide me with a healthy retirement fund.
I feel like quitting too, and I'm still employed in the airlines. I don't love flying for $31,000/yr that much to want to go through this bull----. I value my retirement and the airlines aren't going to provide me with a healthy retirement fund.
If I were a bit younger, a bit less heavily invested in this industry, or had ahem, any other salable skills, I would be thinking real hard about how to get out.
Guys,
If you really feel this way, do yourselves a favor and start working on that plan to get out and change your career. I've done it after investing heavily in another career, when I felt too old, etc. If there's a will, there is most certainly a way. Heck my Dad went back to college for computer science when he was in his mid-40s, when at the time he was an unemployed carpet installer...
As somebody that has been stuck doing something I hated, I've been there and will not put myself in that position ever again. It's not worth the damage to your mental and physical well being.
As somebody that has been stuck doing something I hated, I've been there and will not put myself in that position ever again. It's not worth the damage to your mental and physical well being.