[Leardriver]

OK..I just can't keep my mouth shut any longer! Do yourself a HUGE favor.....be a doctor, lawyer, ...sewer inspector! Anything but be a pilot for a career! I am a 6000hr 37 year old Professional Pilot and if I had it to do over again there is NO WAY IN HELL I would consider this as a career option! I still love airplanes..no doubt. But the people that are in positions to pay you to fly for them (airlines, corporations, charter outfits, ect) view you as no more than a piece of meat. You are just a tool for THEM to try to make money in an industry that historically can't!

I have about 10 friends that were employed with various airlines....guess how many still have their job? Try 1! And SHE (read that last word again) had enough seniority with American to escape the furloughs...but still took a 23% paycut (I think that was the figure). Many of her fellow pilots can no longer hold a line...many are sitting in god knows where on reserve. If you are already there and have enough seniority with one of maybe 3 airlines you "might" be ok...for now. But probably not for your entire carreer.

I know so many guys that were with Eastern, United, TWA, Pan Am, Peoples, Kiwi, Braniff.......starting to see a pattern here......that are just financially screwed. They got close to retirement and had the airline go belly up, had their pensions yanked after 30 years of service, or simply had to start all over at the bottom of the aviation food chain in their mid 50's. Don't forget you have a mandatory retirement at age 60 but the goverment says you have to work until 65! How's that for sticking it to ya! Seems pretty far away for a young person but you better think about it all!

As for corporate..there are a few good flight departments out there, but good luck trying to get in. I can't think of a more political, ego filled, industry than aviation. And charter..part 135...if you don't have any other aspirations (like ever seeing home and actually having a day off)..than go for it. They always need new meat for the grinder. But you better know your regs inside and out because there is not a charter outfit that won't put YOUR license on the line for them to make money! That is a simply fact of aviation. You will constantly be pushed to the limit of duty time, minimum rest, taking airplanes that have no business flying (you are fooling yourself if you think that doesn't happen...it does every day!).

Going back to the airline thing...a girl that worked in the office got married to a newly hired Continental Express pilot. After 4 years sitting in the right seat of an RG (Reg Jet) he was making a whopping $28k a year with no honest hope of upgrading. Another person from the company got hired at Express and started at $17k a year. You can more than that pumping gas! There is no longer respect for pilots..again you are just tools who basically have to "pay" for the priviledge of flying a plane.

Did I mention that basically eveywhere you go with the exception on an airline job you get to load the bags, deal with the pax, in some cases wash the plane, do all your own flight plans , wx, customs arrangements (don;t screw that up...it will cost the pilot $10k out of his own pocket)......doesn't all that sound great! Did I mention the phone call at 1am sayng get to the airport now because we have a "pop up" trip! And the regular 3am wake ups with 14hr duty days? And let me tell you about those days......fly for 2 hours......sit for 1o hours in some roach filled FBO with a couple plastic chairs in either -10 deg or 100 deg than fly home the 2 hours. Than you have 10 hours to get home (if you get to go home) eat, do the lawn (or whatever), pack for thre next trip, sleep, get to the airport to do it all again. You rest period (10 hours req) begins the second you leave the airport...not when you get home! If you think you are not a flying Zombie by the end of a few of those days strung together you are very wrong! And the Charter operators especially don't give a ****. If you work for a corporation is can go either way because there is no minimum rest req by regulations...those guys can work a 20 hour day and I know some that do.

I know I am coming across as bitter..but this is REALITY. There is no disrespect to guys like Matt Chapman, but to start out now vs when he did is simply not even close and he prob had it tough to some degree. Not saying they didn't pay some dues either. The difference is that there was a light at the end of the tunnel...now it's just an oncoming train financially. Oh yea...have you ever looked at the divorce rate of pilots??? It is staggering if you go by percentages. Gee, could it be the fact that you are away from home 15-20 days of the month (don't think I am implying you get those other 10-15 days off either) and make substancially less than what most people need to live on these days. Oh, and these "fun" r/c toys you are playing with...basically say bye bye for quite some time: you won't have the money or the time....or both.

I personally took a job with a training facility recently and am finally home enough to to start enjoying life again. But this job is truly a last effort to continue in the aviation field. If it doesn't work I will walk away from professional avaition and never look back. It simply is not worth it....remember when you take what you love and turn it into a job than it is no lnger what you did out of desire. You do it because you HAVE TO and I gaurantee that it will become something other than what you thought it would be. Your passion for flight will be diminished to nothing more than a job at best.....something you hate worst case. And the sad part is that it has nothing to do with actual flying...it is everything else that goes with it.

LEARDRIVER