There has been thread drift indeed! Funny how it often returns to pay
It is interesting that, in my experience, few offshore pilots wish to leave the cockpit and help manage a company. Despite the management's higher salaries and wonderful bonuses discussed above - there are few takers. The lure of 'equal time off' and the fact that one's responsibilities can usually end when the Tech Log is filled in are more compelling.
Whilst amply rewarded, the commitment by individuals, such as the three mentioned at the top of the thread is in, my personal experience, extremely high. I will venture to say it is 365 On and none Off. I know, I worked alongside them in Houston and elsewhere.
They have plenty of time off now !
Shareholders of course get rewarded when things go well - those of us with ISA's, pension funds etc know what it is like to follow the markets and hope that we get some good return. If you do not believe in that, then remain a follower of Karl Marx.
Some of you, please try a management role for a while (if you dare) and then come back and comment. When flying a desk for many years, but remaining current, my biggest fear was losing my licence due to medical reasons. That would mean that my "escape route" from the madness would close and I would only have my critics for company.
What disappointed me more than anything was, when I carried out a Proficiency Check on some pilots alongside my dreary day job at the desk and they did not know, or had made no attempt to know, some of the most fundamental subjects on the aircraft. Sometimes they were the most vociferous on how to run the company.
These are the worst times I have known for oil and gas side of aviation and it's not over yet.
Must dash and get my head back in the books, to 'beast' another candidate and when I climb into the S76 at aged 66 I can reflect on the wonderful times doing underslung loads in the S61N, shuttling in the Bell 212, gas pipeline in Bell 47's, fish farming with the Lama, police flying in the AS355 and forget about the thankless tasks I had when I was a manager.
