Originally Posted by
KZ Kiwi
2 weeks away at a time from family in the middle of nowhere driving trains.........no thanks.
I actually don't see the difference. These are the same job: Operator, Machinery, One of. Train driving is probably less stressful and more secure.
Any monkey can operate a RPT aircraft or drive a train (and do, I worked with plenty in both industries). Flight crew roles, like most machinery operator jobs, are being automated to the point where the employee's value-add is no longer that critical (hence the QF academy cadets!). This is also driven by the drive to reduce the cost base (and maximise thin margins) by minimising service. Where value add is low, salaries and conditions decline.
Goods railways service industries that have much higher margins and are more economically critical than aviation (as COVID proved). Automating them, like automating ships, is extremely problematic. Regardless, I've done both and moved on so I don't really care. The aviation industry conditions are only going to get worse over time. Don't like it, stop whinging, get educated and find something else to do. Stop being the polar bear on a shrinking iceberg pretending yours was the best choice.