Maybe if you flew a very small jet like a Gulfstream, you might have a different opinion :):)

Christ Alive!

I shudder to think what these 'milky bar kids' (CTC / Ryan Loser etc etc) would make of my CJ3.:eek:

Are we really such under achievers or is pprune populated by clueless noodles?

I do not remember seeing CJ's ( or the stunning Gulfstream range ) described with such distain in the marketing literature. Perhaps we have all been fooled?

Or; perhaps not/.:E

Mutt,

I've flown very small, very fast jets (single&dual seat), slightly bigger multi engine jets, multiple helicopter types and medium and large passenger jets.

Medium and Large passenger jets are boring but pay for my retirement.

Would I recommend it to my kids these days? Nope, not worth it.

As the meerkat says 'Simples'.

Blimey; you're the man!

Whats types have you flown then?

The same old story... the rockstar who says "nevermore", the DJ who says "never for my children", the engineer that claims "it is not worth it", and then comes the coolest of top-guns who goes "I did the silliest thing in my life".
I hate all these lies from successful people who likes to play modesty aligning with the rest of us mortal souls. Come on, you're cool, you're a star among the gods, so cut this crap of regreting what you did in your life... otherwise I would think that the old motive "who has bread has no teeth" suits you very well. :suspect:

It's usually the guys who join airlines direct from the military or straight from school/university who hold this view. Most people who have done a "proper" job before aviation and seen what the alternative really entails usually think differently.

This made me chuckle.

What makes you think I regret anything I have done? The OP asked the question as to wether it is worth getting in to aviation in the current environment. In my opinion, under the current accountants attacks on T's & C's, no it isn't. What I have done previously under different terms, which also included various flying jobs prior to the airlines for various flying types, is irrelevant. Mutt just alluded to flying smaller jets, been there, done that.

There is no 'cool', no 'super star' just right place, right time in my case, I consider myself to be a perfectly average pilot, occasionally lucky!

The military is contracting, the fast jets getting ever more automated, GA is becoming ever more expensive and Airlines are being taxed out of existance by a 'pro business' Government.

Personally, I really couldn't care what you think of me, I would NOT recommend my kids getting into aviation. The changes I have seen over more than a quarter of a century of professional flying have left me with one impression, that which sees the profession being driven into the dust by the public demanding ever cheaper tickets, the accountants demanding ever greater productivity and the Government seeing Aviation as a 'Green' tax cash cow.

But then I retire fairly soon so it will be your trainset to mess around with. Just don't screw up the training as I might well be in the back but, trust me, I won't be to one shouting about it. It's just a job.

Enjoy Easter. :E

worth to join an airline and airline pay for everything?yes
worth to join the air force and they pay for everything?yes
worth to join a flight school and you pay for EVERYTHING(line training, type rating, CPL,...)? NOOOO !!!

Worth listening to a person who thinks that flight schools offer line training?
Worth listening to a person who appears not to recognise anything between full sponsorship and pay-to-fly through line training?

wingreencard

A more balanced, reasoned approach would be far more helpful than your hysteria. There are plenty of people for whom in some circumstances this is worth it. I know many of them who with little risk and without terrible financial strain have found themselves in jobs they love.

Of the many trainee pilots I knew years back I only know of two that never really got into flying jobs, and I could have predicted both would have difficulty within 5 minutes of meeting them - and one of those nearly surprised me, being very unlucky to have lost a job at the line-training stage. I am no longer in touch with the other, so maybe I misjudge him too.

It has taken a while for some of them, but with certain abilities, certain character and the willingness to work hard and invest the chances are very good indeed. To you that hard work and investment might not be worth the rewards. Your path might have been harder, risks higher and so you struggle to get a job you enjoy. That is personal.

Interestingly, I flew with an FO yesterday who started training in 2010. I asked him how the rest of his course had done, was he one of the lucky few to find paid employment? "No", he answered, he was one of the last to find a paying job.

Is it worth it?

Only the individual asking asking the question can answer that.

I am amazed at the number of people who loiter on these forums simply to wring their hands with tales of woe. This has never been an easy profession to embark on, and in that respect it is little different now. As with almost every industry there has been an evolution, and success (or survival) often depends on an ability to adapt to that evolution.

Trainee pilots are still gaining employment even in these difficult economic times. I know, because I see it happening. The process by which success is likely has most definetaly evolved, and a great many people wallow in their own denial for whatever reason, but I would say for those with resource, ability, maturity, and luck, then yes it is most certainly "worth it."

I have been very lucky, in that aviation has provided me with a continuous, well paid, interesting, and structured career for the last three and a half decades. I am far from unique in that respect. I see no reason for aviation not to continue to do that for people starting off on a similar path today. Certainly, many aspects of the industry have changed but that is equally true in most other industries.

The risks and challenges are not for the faint hearted, nor are they for the daydreamers, lazy, or the under researched. Forums such as this one invite many of the latter groups to take up residence and that is the nature of the beast. However for those with the real determination and ability and resource, I would say it is most definetaly worth it.

and you flaymy, do you have a flying job? how much you make and what plane are you on right now?