the sooner the real airline pilots are willing to lose their jobs forever, to roll the dice, bet the farm etc, we can reclaim a once proud profession.
15 years ago I spoke with an engineer who held the Boeing chair at MIT...he proudly said that the need for highly skilled airline pilots was gone and that automation would allow a 200 hour pilot to do the same things a 20,000 hour pilot could.
Welcome to the land of the living friend! I've been out 5 years on medical leave and due to the complete weirdness in the industry, I make almost as much as if I were flying the line...but my costs are lower so it is a wash.
good luck at Sears, keep your standards high there too
and plumbers make that much? wow, a future in pipes!