Unfortunately in the past passengers have visited us in the cruise which is "as it may look" our quiet period. They seem to have this perception that we are not doing anything, but we are. We are monitoring the equipment on a 35k ton aircraft carrying 300 people to ensure nothing goes wrong and in the event that it does go wrong we are ready and skilled enough to handle the situation. What visitors do not see is the workload before and during departure also the workload on arrival and after landing. They do not see our attention to detail nor our ability to carry out many tasks at one time using our brains and manual dexterity. I studied very hard for my profession and I also have a degree in physics. Believe me it is harder to be a pilot.
The reason why the profession (including controllers) is being belittled is due to air transport being safer, more people use it as a frequent way of travelling and the management see us as expendable staff. I hope one day that my bosses will be on board when we have a decompression over the pond with a subsequent engine failure and divert. I'm sure then they will value my profession then. For those of you who do not value our profession, then why do you fly? Could you deal with one of the revers thrusters deploying after take off? We can because we are highly trained professionals. Our profession is compared to other high ranking professions due to responsibility not qualifications. Look up the defination of "professional". One definition is "engaging in an activity as a means of livelehood" Profession means "an occupation requiring special training".
Our job as professional pilots is to get safely from a to b, our special training allows us to do this and deal with any unusual situation which may arise during our trip.
I would not advise any young person to come into the aviation business due to the way we are treated. 30 years ago when I first joined it was great, highly admired and a great way of dating the girls. Not any more.
Rgds
ILS 119.5