dojetdriver

Medical, legal, and anything involved with the commercial aspect of alcohol.

Medical; sadly there are always people who are sick as well as on their way out. They will always need to be treated.

Legal, not really an "industry" per se; There are always people committing crimes. There will always be a need to defend/prosecute them.

Alcohol; Economy good, people will ALWAYS want to drink and celebrate. Economy bad, people are always depressed.

saabguy493

Aboslutely right!!! We all know who started what lead up to this thread. There are always going to be people who aren't cut out or willing do live this lifestyle. I believe you know is one of those type of people. We all start at the bottom and pay are dues, which does lead to some hard times due to the low pay and not being at home as some of us might like. When I left Colgan in particular because you know who seems to hate the place so much, I lived 3 miles from work, had 3 to 4 days off a week which included all weekends, and wasn't making bad money; as defined by regional airline pay. This is supposed to be a forum to help share info and help people to make informed decisions on what company may or may not suit a certain individual. Yes, I believe knowing how a person of persons feels about a certain place is important. The people who sicken me are the ones who spend all there time pointing out the negative and never reference the positive. We all work in the same industry and all know what goes on. The point is, we all are not going to have the same experience. I know guys at Mesa, which is a hot topic for a lot of people here, who actually are happy to work for them and go to work knowing what struggles have taken place there. Anyway, it is just my belief that we should be careful about some of the things we post here. Not just because some of it may be just a way to get back at where they work, but becuase there are people on here who aren't yet joining us in the industry but may be many years down the road and there is no point leaving a sour taste in their mouth that may scare them for going to an airline that really is not that bad. Anyway, I just wanted to take time to vent because I am sick of people that have to stand up for the good because too many people only want to see the bad.

FlyerJosh

They may be stable, but that doesn't mean that they are good career choices for long term income potential.

I know plenty of lawyers and doctors that have no personal/family life due to long hours worked. Many of them are struggling to keep their heads above water with rising insurance costs and high debt to income loads (particularly in the first 3 years after graduation).

emsgoof

Over 10 years of firefighting / EMS. I can always look at the patient in my ambulance, or person who we're cutting out of a car, or the homeowner who's house just burned down, and say "Damn, glad that's not me". But, I'm switching careers. Over 10 years of busting my butt (physically, emotionally, financially - talk about low pay!) and what do I get? "Sorry you got hurt, don't let the door hit you on the way out". That was from my "dream job" in firefighting. It wasn't a great job- low pay, no raises, long hours, nights away from my own bed, occasionally wondering if I'd gotten off the fire engine one too many times... but I enjoyed it.
I know aviation is similar, but it's another thing that I've always wanted to do. I've known it since I was 8 years old, first doing a FOD run down the Concorde departure runway with my uncle (airport manager), then zipping down the taxiway next to the Concorde as it took off. That was the day I decided I wanted to do aviation, and I've never doubted the choice. Even after lots of research (family members who are in aviation, working at the small airport talking to the staff and pilots, I still talk on occasion with my private instructor), I still know I'm making the right decision, and not all of the SkyHigh's in the world will change it. I think being 30 I'm old enough to make my own decisions Sky, but thanks for the doom and gloom you always predict.

dojetdriver

Agreed, but ALL we were talking about was stability. Not QOL or anything else. Those jobs will ALWAYS have demand for that segment of sklled labor. Although the alcohol segment doesn't really take the same skill level as the others.

And good grief, I don't want to take this thread into that direction of what career is better, what career takes more training, or what career should pay what.

But in the example that you used, the first three years can be VERY ugly in said jobs. In our career, that compensation catch up point can extend WAY longer than that.

FlyJSH

First off, I want to thank you for the time you did spend in EMS/Firefighting. I have neither the courage nor the stomach for that work.

I can, in small part, relate. There was I time when I flew an air ambulance. (For those who don't know what that is like, I often sat for hours on an empty ramp, in the middle of the night, while the nurses tried to stabilize a dieing patient enough to make a transport.) Terminally ill patients, burn victims, transplant patients (ironically, the ones I liked the most since they were getting a second chance). I hauled motorcyclists who had just lost a leg. I too am a motorcyclist, and I felt for them, but that is the risk we take riding. I just couldn't take the kids. I got so I didn't want to know names, age, or even sex of the patients: treat 'em like cargo.

Going to the regionals cut my pay by much more than half. And I don't much care for the times when i get extended after a stand up. But listening to pax complain "you were late and I missed my connection" is nothing compared to having the nurse say, "take your time. he isn't going to make it."

Do the work you love. Remember the quote from Field of Dreams, "Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money." Sure, fight to make working conditions better, but enjoy it. And if you don't enjoy it, please don't p@ss in my corn flakes

DYNASTY HVY

FWIW I like my work and love my wife as the wifey comes first then family then the job and not the other way around.




The customer is not always right!HK

SkyHigh

There is an opportunity cost to every career. Plumbers in my home town can hire on as an apprentice right out of high school and can be making 80K 5 years later.

Pilots spend at least four years in college then a small fortune on flight training. Some here have already mentioned that their student loan payments are around 1000K per month for the next 15 to 20 years. I have a friend who is still 80K in the hole to student loans at 44. In order for this career to make any financial sense you would have to expect to get hired at SWA within 5 years of graduating when carrying those kinds of financial burdens.

The opportunity cost is the opportunity lost. If you are not making enough to overcome the 150K to 200K (todays prices) that will be spent on college, lost wages while in college, plus flight training then you are working at a financially loosing proposition. Occupations that cost more than they bring in are called hobbies.

When compared to the opportunity lost; being a plumber and paying cash with the money spent on college and training, a flying career will never be able to catch up to the plumber.

SkyHigh

SkyHigh

You are proposing to start a flying career right into the perfect storm of the airline industry meltdown? Everyone can make their own assessment of the future but even the most conservative here must agree that it will be hard times for years to come.

Why not consider becoming a Physicians Assistant or Nurse? I have a friend who just completed 9 months pf PA school after a 10 year run as a Paramedic. His first job out of school paid him 85K last year. Now he is leaving after one year to work at a hospital making over 100K.

All you will be doing is filling the logbook of a flight instructor who will also be underemployed for a long long time and creating a bunch of worthless debt for yourself.

If I can't talk you out of it hopefully my words will not haunt you for the next 10 years or so.

SkyHigh

PS Besides all that; if you have known it since I was 8 years old, first doing a FOD run down the Concorde departure runway with my uncle (airport manager), then zipping down the taxiway next to the Concorde as it took off. That was the day I decided I wanted to do aviation, and I've never doubted the choice.. Why did it take you 10 years of working as an EMT to get here?

POPA

Sky, you are one sad little man.