Why I Left an Airline Pilot Career

SlumTodd_Millionaire said:
Being "happy" while your life is complete trash is called delusion.

Not saying that there isn't value to a positive outlook in the face of difficulty. But it's pure BS to claim that someone is personally at fault if they aren't happy with their life regardless of circumstances. That's the kind of thing I'd expect to be said by someone who is pretty damned privileged and lacking in empathy. Not a typical SteveC kinda comment. Just sayin'.
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Unfortunately I think we’re talking past each other. I apologize that I’m not explaining my perspective about this well, but it’s probably easier to talk about personal priorities versus “fault” in a face to face environment. Maybe we’ll have that opportunity some day.

Bowing out, for now.
 
Fresh from Airways...

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Soku39 said:
I both agree and disagree, it is partly a decision, but that decision is harder to make if say you're commuting to a crash pad in NY while you're missing every important moment in your kids life. Some things just suck and if you're life is nothing but suck, I do not fault a person for not being "happy".



Hey again, not hating you at all, again I was extremely fortunate in that the Air Force shielded me from basically all of the negative aspects of building an aviation career all through my 20s. For me, up until now it has been worth it. I want for nothing and at least in Ohio, I'm doin a-ok. I reflect every day on the 40 year old dishing food out at Chipotle, changing bed pans as a nurses aid. There are a million worse things I could be doing all of which make 40k a year or less.
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Glad to hear you're kicking ass, man. Haven't heard from you in a while!
 
Twenty four years into my aviation career, corporate, regional, 91k/135, and a wanna be major, if I could do it again I wouldn’t go near aviation again.
 
Man, some of you guys are wet blankets. Are there things about this industry that suck? Lots! Is the flying part stale? Sure. But at the end of the day, what other job can give you the schedule flexibility and time off for hundreds of thousands of dollars per year?
 
amichael said:
Man, some of you guys are wet blankets. Are there things about this industry that suck? Lots! Is the flying part stale? Sure. But at the end of the day, what other job can give you the schedule flexibility and time off for hundreds of thousands of dollars per year?
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Agreed.

Even more baffling, whining about it and yet not doing anything about it.

Lots of opportunities out there, particularly in tech. Work from home, good money, job security, etc. Anyone under 50 that wants a career change needs to get off their butt and make it happen.

My dad blew out his knee laying carpet when he was in his 40s. He went to college and became a software developer while also raising two kids. If he can do it, anyone here can do it.
 
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.
 
jtrain609 said:
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.
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Yep. It’s always extremely obvious who has had a career outside aviation vs the straight from college to pro pilot guys.

I really hated my five years of office job out of college, and was so jealous of those that didn’t have to do that before embarking on their aviation career. However, it didn’t take me long to realize how fortunate I am to have that perspective. It has provided a lot of happy days for me while the guy next to me was dealing with self imposed misery over something pretty trivial.
 
So is it a mystery what jobs are out there that pay well? Was I really being non specific about them and they don’t exist? Or are they super easy to find any anyone can do it? Are they abject misery or super amazing?

Can’t really tell from reading this thread. It seems like the reality of the issue unclear. Mostly due to whatever tack someone decides to take when they are being overly defensive about a career in aviation.


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Employment as a pilot at a major or legacy is probably one of the few jobs where you can make good money while still being miserable at work. You have a seniority number and that number inevitably gets smaller. In almost every other line of work just doing the minimum is not a ticket to success or large paychecks. You have to want to wear more than 15 pieces of flair to advance in the rest of the world, and that drive comes from an interest and dedication to what you do.
 
amichael said:
Man, some of you guys are wet blankets. Are there things about this industry that suck? Lots! Is the flying part stale? Sure. But at the end of the day, what other job can give you the schedule flexibility and time off for hundreds of thousands of dollars per year?
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Yup, the amount of money I’m fortunate enough to make right now and to think of the amount I will make in the future, that is money that would come with a crap ton of stress in any other job.

I’ve flown maybe three legs in the last month, other than that I get paid to just wait around for a call and not drink beer. That’s a damn easy paycheck
 
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