Why I Left an Airline Pilot Career

[Crockrocket94]

*looks at wallet...

(Best Milton voice...) I was told there would be thousands of dollars... but I went to work and I haven't seen thousands of dollars... then I went to payroll and they told me to call scheduling, but then scheduling sent me back to payroll....

 

[Autothrust Blue]

*looks at wallet...

(Best Milton voice...) I was told there would be thousands of dollars... but I went to work and I haven't seen thousands of dollars... then I went to payroll and they told me to call scheduling, but then scheduling sent me back to payroll....

Thank you for calling Crew Pay. Business hours are every Tuesday, 10:00 to 10:15 Fort Miami North time. Leave a message.

 

[Dexter]

At the mainline level, we make heart surgeon money and the only requirement is to stay alive at work.

That's it.

Just don't crash.

Honestly all y'all that think this sucks haven't had to work for a living before. And I was one of you! I thought this was terrible.

It took getting my ass kicked in the real world to understand how good we have it.

Damn. Jetblue must have some crazy work rules to pull down these numbers.

 

[Skåning]

Damn. Jetblue must have some crazy work rules to pull down these numbers.

View attachment 56250

Virgin had some guys in the 400k club. They worked a ton and the rules and soft time made it possible. No más with the eskimo work rules

 

[jtrain609]

Damn. Jetblue must have some crazy work rules to pull down these numbers.

View attachment 56250

Every contract has a scam, it's just a matter of knowing them and being senior enough to take advantage.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

Every pilot group has a legend. Every single one. But like averages...

Just like how every corporate pilot knows about a unicorn.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Every contract has a scam, it's just a matter of knowing them and being senior enough to take advantage.

So in other words, claiming that a mainline captain makes cardiac surgeon money is BS.

 

[Dexter]

Every pilot group has a legend. Every single one. But like averages...

Just like how every corporate pilot knows about a unicorn.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly. My point being, your average mainline pilot does not make what your average heart surgeon does.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Exactly. My point being, your average mainline pilot does not make what your average heart surgeon does.

It's also worth noting that you'd be a cardiac surgeon by the age of about 33. Not many people make Delta captain by that age. Even during good times.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

It's also worth noting that you'd be a cardiac surgeon by the age of about 33. Not many people make Delta captain by that age. Even during good times.

LOL at this rate I'd be lucky to make captain at all. I turn 43 next year. I'd just feel extremely lucky if my airline doesn't go bankrupt.

 

[ajm757]

Maybe a better comparison is a mainline captain to a lower paying specialty: family medicine, pediatrics, internists

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Maybe a better comparison is a mainline captain to a lower paying specialty: family medicine, pediatrics, internists

Something that you can achieve in your late 20s...

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

LOL at this rate I'd be lucky to make captain at all. I turn 43 next year. I'd just feel extremely lucky if my airline doesn't go bankrupt.

Yeah, I started flying at the airlines at 18 years old, upgraded to regional captain at 23, and was hired at a mainline carrier at 24. Despite that early start, after the merger, if I had remained in Atlanta, I probably would have been looking at an upgrade in my mid-40s. I could have upgraded on the west coast at around 36 or so. But not a chance I would have done that.

 

[ajm757]

Yeah, I started flying at the airlines at 18 years old, upgraded to regional captain at 23, and was hired at a mainline carrier at 24. Despite that early start, after the merger, if I had remained in Atlanta, I probably would have been looking at an upgrade in my mid-40s. I could have upgraded on the west coast at around 36 or so. But not a chance I would have done that.

When I read something like this, I get depressed thinking about my career choice, and that I should just leave for something else. You can do everything right (start young, perform, upgrade early), and everything can still turns out terrible.

 

[Skåning]

LOL at this rate I'd be lucky to make captain at all. I turn 43 next year. I'd just feel extremely lucky if my airline doesn't go bankrupt.

Hopefully we’d get bought by then. Upgrade def seems like a pipe dream. I was close on the last bid before covid, but now it’s budget life for FO min guarantee money.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

When I read something like this, I get depressed thinking about my career choice, and that I should just leave for something else. You can do everything right (start young, perform, upgrade early), and everything can still turns out terrible.

I mean, it's still a good income. I would have been making somewhere around $200k as a copilot being relatively lazy. I'm just dispelling this crazy notion that being a pilot is the same kind of career as being a surgeon. That's an asinine assertion, and he should have known better.

 

[Skåning]

I mean, it's still a good income. I would have been making somewhere around $200k as a copilot being relatively lazy. I'm just dispelling this crazy notion that being a pilot is the same kind of career as being a surgeon. That's an asinine assertion, and he should have known better.

I think we’re (in this profession) more on par with moderately successful lawyers than doctors

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

I think we’re (in this profession) more on par with moderately successful lawyers than doctors

Yep, that's a fair comparison. Not the really successful lawyers, mind you, but the average one who is doing pretty well for himself. My attorneys generally make around $350/hr on average, of which they get to keep around a third, so they're making around $250k-$300k, depending upon how many billable hours they're managing per week.

Now, the really successful guys? Different story. I had to hire a class action attorney a couple of years ago to fight off a frivolous claim in Florida, and those guys were making $700/hr. And they were hardly the best attorneys in that area of practice. There are attorneys making well over $1k/hr. The checks I used to approve to pay our merger attorneys at ALPA would make your eyes bleed.

 

[amichael]

Doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, scientist...who cares? You guys get hung up on arguing over irrelevant things in an attempt to dunk on one another and just ignore the original point. That the ratio of pay to time off is unmatched by most professions. An airline pilot gets paid a lot and gets a lot of time off and leaves most of their work at the airport.

 

[Maximilian_Jenius]

LOL at this rate I'd be lucky to make captain at all. I turn 43 next year. I'd just feel extremely lucky if my airline doesn't go bankrupt.

Still better than my current situation. I'm still trying to summon a red eyes crossroads demon to sell my soul and make a deal.