Originally Posted by
what next
Maybe they are just being realistic? Apart from some lucky niches, working conditions for pilots have generally become worse and worse over the 30 years that I have been in this business. Airlines and general aviation alike. There is not much "up" left to compare oneself with.
AFAIK it takes between two and three years to become a fully qualified train driver here. Paid for by the employer and with a salary while you are being trained. Thereafter you must work your way up from small regional train via night freight to shiny high-speed train. It is not entirely unsimilar to a flying career only that you do not have to pay for anything yourself... I know a guy who started as a medical doctor, later became a pilot with a regional airline and is now a train driver in Switzerland. According to him the best life he's ever had and no way he is going back to one of his previous professions.
No, not necessarily realistic at all. Pessimistic and realistic is not the same - in contrast to what some believe. I do feel sorry for a lot of pilots that are left in disbelieve and consequently disgruntled. It's healthy to sometimes breath in an take a good look around and see what around - and not just in one direction.
And this is the beauty of the differences in us humans - and what we as individuals what from life. It's also hard to know what it's like to do something else unless you've actually done it - however parallels can be used while imagining this other "path". It's also often overlooked that the professional pilot profession is a stressful unless you're "cut" for it - it's not an earthbound job, leaving you with (almost always) "an out". So, job satisfaction is very much an individual thing. Now, for the majority of us, we deal with the stress and it's in effect no a negative stress - and a lot of us thrive from it - while those of us lucky enough get a reasonable (relatively speaking) reward for flying these aeroplanes. Each to his own!