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Where is the grass greener these days?

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Old 4th Aug 2004, 06:28
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Arrow Where is the grass greener these days?

Greeting aviators!

I have recently joined PPRuNe and the experience has greatly been possitive so far... however (!!!), this morning I was happily browsing through different posting when I came accross a particular one that made me shiver... my day was completely ruined. Here is the quote:

Flying great big aircraft awesome fun, through the night, to major time zone changes, stuck in a tube for 15hrs, straight to bed because your'e knackered, 27hrs later back in the tube 15hrs, home for 2 days totally knackered, off in the other direction for 15hrs, same heavily fat fortified aircraft food to get some taste out of it, sim very 6 months on 3 aircraft types, only a job for the next 6 months again, doctors complaining I'm not looking like superman any more, the pay and conditions constantly being pushed down and erroded.......it goes on. Tell your wife to sit on the loo in the bathroom from dinnertime to lunchtime the next day, as it gets dark read a paper with a torch light only, put the hair dryer on outside the bathroom door for the noise effect, only get up out of your seat for 5 mins every 3 hrs or so and talk to hardly anyone else for the 15 hrs, except of course to a foreign controller who you cannot understand or Bombay on HF, live out of the suitcase when she gets to the bedroom and do it all over again the following night. She will admit you are lucky to have such a glamorous job no doubt.

Don't know about you guys, but for me to say that i am sad and very surprised by this attitude, is not to say anything at all...

Unfortunately, aviation is not my current area of employement (yes, UNFORTUNATELY), and from a personal experience I can say that the quotation above is more likely to apply to a routing office work, than to a career as a pilot... I can see a clear association link between "sitting on the loo" for the whole day and sitting on your chair in your claustrafobic cubical "office" for the whole day. Papers, papers and more dusty papers... and let me assure you, spectacular views, sunsets and sunrises do not usually come as a part of the package with your cubical... And what do you get when you get off this "loo sit" at the end of the day? well... its usually a stuffy elevator to the ground floor and a "fabulous" ride home in a completely packed train/bus... unfortunately the night lights of the world's capital cities do not come as a part of the package either...

So what I cant understand is what happened to this pride and glory of being a pilot??? Where did it go?

Perhaps someone knows hidden areas of employement where the grass is sparkling green? would love to know your oppinion...

Last edited by splannie; 4th Aug 2004 at 06:46.
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Old 4th Aug 2004, 07:05
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splannie,

I'm paid to go to work and have a good time, and I do.


That said, I can commiserate with:
  • fat fortified aircraft food
  • sim very 6 months
  • only get up out of your seat for 5 mins every .....
  • live out of the suitcase
The tone might be some what jaded but I think the sentiments are real. Living out of a suitcase in hotels quickly loses its allure. Always thinking forward to the next sim and the potential to stuff up, and the consequent affect that will have on one's career also takes a toll.

I think the writer was trying to say that the job's not as glamorous as most lay people think.
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Old 4th Aug 2004, 08:35
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Yep. If ever there was a saying more true, it is "the grass is always greener on the other side".

There are pilots who fly for a living who say to me "geez I've got to get out of this game, I wish I was doing what you're doing". They think I lead a glamourous life.

I am a lawyer. I have a nice office overlooking Sydney Harbour, high up in a tall building. I get paid lots of money, drive an expensive European car and have a nice place in Double Bay.

The funny thing is, I sit there looking out and watching aircraft fly past (or over) and say "I wish I was doing that for a living". That's because I also have lots of debt and work lots of hours (I think they ought to introduce a "flight and duty time" restriction for us too ).

I guess we all want what we don't have...all that glitters is not gold after all!
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Old 4th Aug 2004, 09:04
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NAMPS,
And if you play your cards right, and say the right things at the right time and the right place, all those debts will be gone and you can have an expensive American? aeroplane to do with as you will, what then will be missing. Perhaps nothing, but more probably something, maybe just the glitter.

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Old 5th Aug 2004, 04:47
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Also NAMPS its hardly likely something is going to fall off your office and send it spinning out of control into the harbour.

Stay with the shystering, buy a plane.
 
Old 5th Aug 2004, 14:02
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Hey NAMPS, you should get in touch with HA, he'll need the likes of you overthe next few months
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Old 5th Aug 2004, 20:59
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Talking

splannie, the post you have above is the negative side.

In the old "is the glass half full or half empty debate", there are those who look at things differently. Some should not fly in the industry, especially long-haul, but there're in the minority.

I could wax lyrical about beautiful sunrises, huge icebergs in the Southern latitudes, but there is a balance. You certainly get more tired as you get older, but ask if, despite the very true areas in your quote, anybody wishes to quit.

Hang in there!!

G'day
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Old 5th Aug 2004, 23:38
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All I can say is go back to domestic ops then. Yes you will work harder for less money, BUT you will be home every night and you get more of the hands on stuff. (T/O & Landings)

Life is never as bad as we see it, look through the cr p and see that we do what we love. If you don't see that then quit so somebody else can have your job



splat
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Old 6th Aug 2004, 04:55
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I say, the italicised text in the first post seems to be very descriptive and factual.
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Old 6th Aug 2004, 06:03
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Bombay HF is no more difficult,than nadi,oakland or shanwick once you,ve done it a couple of times but as for the greek controllers--good bloody luck!
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Old 9th Aug 2004, 12:09
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Splannie,

Your disapointment at the "attitude" expressed by the poster is typical of someone new to the industry - the job seems perfect right ?....how could anyone ever have a problem with any aspect of being a professional pilot ?..........ect ect

The truth is, for you to succeed you to need to actualise, very quickly, that significant parts of your working life will not be a bed of roses.

In GA you will most likely end up in some $hithole in the outback, flying people around who you normally would not associate with as part your present life as a middle class univeristy student.

Many of the people I did flying training with never became professional pilots. There was no work, they ran out of money, some were killed along the way......many lost jobs in the dispute and never flew again.

Many are flying o/s and are desperately trying to get home. Hence why the wages of professional pilots in this country have been subject to decline for the past 10 years or so. Because of this, ineveitably the job will become unattractive and unviable for many aspirants, particularly given the cost of initial and subsequent flying training.

Just be realistic about the job, and you will make it.

Keep your economics and law credentials in your back pocket though because it is likely that at some point you will need them.

good luck
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Old 9th Aug 2004, 12:39
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Pollution is right on the money there - I too Splannie thought exactly the same as you a while ago.......but realised that the gold at the end of the rainbow really wasn't what it was made out to be at the start of it all. To get to what you want to be.....an airline captain earning heaps of $$$ (I assume), you've gotta either get into cadets (hard) or do it like most people and go outback and survive out there in GA for a few years.

But don't be put of that - I know of a few people that have been there and done that and some say they hated it and some say that they liked but all said - it was an experience that they will look back upon with fond memories. Like pollution has said, I know of a few people that were like you - full of ambition, that have dropped out and others have made it and others still are and all these people are very smart, decent and likable people.

There is not one quality that sets them apart as far as their potential for a pro airline career goes. Its all up to the individual in a lot of ways and I would highly recommend that you do continue with no aviation training as well because one day you might need it and you will be pleased that you can have your other qualification to fall back onto. Yeah yeah - you might not need you say, but what if you did and you were say 35-40 with kids and a fat mortgage - At least you could go practice law, medicine whatever you did at uni/tafe after some initial re-training....sure beats the wages say a waitering job may give.....just some food for thought for you.

Anyway - all the best with it all and keep at it, at least you have an ambition and thats whats important in life...keeps you going.


Big Kev
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Old 9th Aug 2004, 23:03
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You must ask yourself, "Why do I go to work?"

Other than to occupy your time, pay for the kids, mortgage etc, it should be to give you money to do things you enjoy more. What good is $250,000 / year if you have no passion in life to spend it on. Even worse would be if you had no one to spend it with.

The answer is only right for you. These are my views and they work for me. I chose, thats right, chose a job that gives me more time at home with the wife. It is not a 747, but it is good enough for me. The money is not your $250,000 per year but with the wifes income from her carreer, don't forget she/he may have a carreer goal too, we have enough to provide ourselves with security, comfort and toys.

Do what is right for you, but don't forget your partner, and yourself. If you have a passion in life outside of flying, don't ignore it. It is part of who you are........

Enough of this deep emotional nonsense ...back to looking at porn on the net.

Capt Stoobing. ( am I the only one that used to enjoy watching "The Love Boat"?????)
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Old 10th Aug 2004, 00:04
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After chatting with a chippie and a plumber the other day I reckon I should of listened to my dad and did a trade. These guys were both earning over 100k and home every night to put the kids to bed. And these guys have no medicals, no overnighters, don't work public hols and don't have their position on the line four times a year. Not a bad life by the sounds of it.
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Old 10th Aug 2004, 06:27
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Splannie...the poster you quote is a classic glass 1/2 empty view.

How you cope with this, or any, profession is a product of motivation, experience and an ability to view things realistically.

Many (it often seems most) young aspiring pilots these days seem to be interested in one thing only...the left seat of a big shiny jet. If they can't achieve that in record time they view aviation as a waste of their 'precious' time. Most young pilots these days view GA as an unavoidable nightmare rather than the school of life that it is.

When I was growing up aviation was ALL i thought about as far as career is concerned. There was and is nothing else I could even begin to comprehend doing for a living...and for fun too...I'm one of those airline pilots who also owns a light aircraft.

I did 10 years in GA (PNG) and had an absolute ball...mind you I accept that the GA of the 80s was a vastly different game than the sick GA of the present....both in Oz and PNG.

I always figured I'd end up flying jets eventually but was in no busta gut rush...I was having too much fun flying whatever I was flying at the time...from C185s and Helio Couriers through Islanders, C402/404s, Twin Otters, Banderante and a bunch of other types. I had in excess of 7000 hrs when I first sat in a jet and I LOVE flying jets...but I would not swap one minute of the first 7000+ hrs.

I fly with guys now who have never flown anything smaller than a Boeing 757 since they had 500 hrs TT...I don't envy them, far from it...I think they have missed out on something very worthwhile...some of them admit that too..not many though

It is a fact of life that very few of the people who begin learning to fly with the intention of making it a career end up in the left seat (or any seat) of a jet. It's not a lot different to other professions..how many Med students make heart surgeon, how many Law students end up doing anything more rewarding than proof reading contracts?

This is a fundamental flaw in the thinking of todays youth. They have a very skewed idea of the realities of life. They believe that what they see on TV is real...that if they become a doctor they can live the ER script..if they become a Lawyer it will be just like Ally Macbeal or The Practise.

When life fails to imitate art they get very depressed and angry...hence the negativity you see on PPrune towards any job that doesn't pay huge money to fly a jet (percieved as being easy)

They have NO concept of the work and dedication it takes to make it to the top of any profession....perhaps that's a good thing in some respects, why be anything other than 21 when you're 21, but a dose of reality must enter the picture some where.

To those posters who believe, as one poster up the page said, fly domestic and be home every night! Dream on!!!! VB pilots are away from home as much as Long Haul as are NJS pilots...when I flew domestic jets in Oz I was away from home 18 nights a month, on my next block I will be away 21, last block was 14. Only difference is instead of min rest overnights in Perth, Melbourne or Sydney in between multi sector days I will be having 48hrs in Bangkok on the way to 48 hrs off in Frankfurt and another 36 hrs off in Bangkok on the way home. 48 hrs off in London, 96 hrs off in Dubai....etc. And I have mates in all those places to have a few beers with...went out and spent last friday at Duxford watching Spitfires fly. An ex PNG mate living just out of London has a C180 I last flew in PNG 15 years ago..when next I overnight in London we're going to take her out and run around southern UK...beats the **** outa 12hrs off in Melbourne.

Is long haul tiring...yup!

Are 8 hr sectors boring...yup! Except when you see the Austrian Alps on a clear day...or the snow covered Himalayas bathed in moonlight only 12000' or so below you...or like a week or so ago over India we saw, what we think was, the International Space station track right across our field of view. Saturday morning we departed London on a crystal clear day and tracked right across Kent on climb...passed between Manston and Dover climbing through 20000' and looked across the Channel to Calais just 24nm away...really makes you think about the young pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain. Sunday night flew Dubai - home (asia based) backside of the clock arriving about 0930 local..saw nothing of particular interest...had a snooze in my seat between India and Thailand...to cloudy to see much of Vietnam as we flew across...arrived home feeling a little tired, had a short snooze yeaterday afternoon and a solid 10 hrs last night...feel normal today.

6 monthly sim checks a drag?...well yeah except I actually enjoy sim...I enjoy learning and being a little better after the sim than before. I do acknowledge I must therefore be a little strange as some people hate sim recurrent and some fear sim recurrent. Most grownups accept sim recurrent rather than the quoted poster who believes it's a major impediment to a happy year.

Medicals? If your Doctor is a fanatic who can't accept you are getting older change Doctors!!!

So to those pilots who give up because it's all to hard blah blah...tough ****!!!

To those who along the way lose the drive a little (or through circumstances beyond their control) and settle for regionals and being home a lot but get paid less but who are still happy enough..more power to your arms.

To those who make it to a jet through hard work and a chunk of luck well you've made it to what most people believe is the top of your profession...enjoy but remember your job satisfaction is up to you not your employer.

Is the grass greener anywhere? I don't believe so...just shades of brown (management) and patches of green (flying)...you wanna be a plumber be a plumber..wanna be a sparky be a sparky...wanna be a pilot be a pilot, and if you end up being a successfull one consider yourself fortunate.

Chuck.
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Old 10th Aug 2004, 07:57
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Thumbs up half full or half empty?

I like the cut of your jib Chimbu, I could not have put it any better. Your comments on young pilots coming through the system now is accurate (and I know a lot of them).

I still remember one of my first commercial jobs in a C172, taking off early morning in winter, no cloud, no wind about 4 deg. Climb out to 4000 not having to touch the controls, 'this is a great job'.

First big airline job; one flight low level VFR down the coast in a Fokker; 38 POB and a cuppa, 'this is a great job'

Daylight departure off the reef runway at PHNL, Cool

First Jet command, 'and they pay me to do this!'

Now ten years on from the first jet command I still get days of disbelief that they pay me to fly the beast. Plus some days they dont pay me enough, to deal with the cr*p of airline work.

Saw a car bumper sticker last year that sums it well "even the worst day fishing is better than the best day in the office"

Have a great day in the 180, best aircraft ever built.
Pionty
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Old 10th Aug 2004, 09:19
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Chimbu,

Good comments...................agree with all

"Fly domestic and be home every night"

Was me and its funny because I seem to be home every night

I was simply meaning find a job which allows you to be home more often, chances are that means driving props and not jets but if thats what it takes to keep you happy. so be it.

splat

happy flying all!
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Old 10th Aug 2004, 10:06
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Thumbs up

Chuckles; Your post should be required reading for anyone even thinking of a career in aviation.
Whilst I have not come across anyone whom I considered to have any illusions about aviation in general I have no doubt whatsoever that such people exist. Guess I've been lucky in that regard.

You only live twice. Once when
you're born. Once when
you've looked death in the face.
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Old 11th Aug 2004, 22:59
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Chimbu, you are spot on....... All true. Boring as bat**** nights, but sometimes, you get those days where it's all dark and dull under that overcast. And as you climb through 8 or 9000, you break out into that bright sunshine........ Or that just beginning sunrise. Never get tired of that. Those are the days that remind me why I fly really, cause I sure don't do it for the money

One other thing splannie, get yourself a decent digital camera and take it with you. I regret not doing that years ago. So many interesting places and people, that I now have very little evidence of, except for a logbook entry...........
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Old 12th Aug 2004, 07:30
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Tru tok Chuck, tru tok.

Some people are just never gonna be happy, whatever they do. I will always fly aeroplanes, and if that means going back to a Cherokee or going bush again, so be it. I'd rather do that than paint houses or try and fix leaky pipes.
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