13 years as F/O !! I´ve had enough.
Join Date: Aug 2007
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You guys giving up the promotion for lifestyle, family life etc have made the right choices for the right reasons. Good Command decisions and you are worthy of your LHS. Pity it does not fit the overall picture. I bumped into a SFO for a large Yankee company in Paris, years ago. He was on DC10 (I think), based Paris, could write his own roster (years of Seniority & a bidding system). He had just been offered his LHS, finally, but it would be back to a rusty old 727, Based somewhere horrible in the USA, and as a Junior Captain.No bid. He chose to stay in La belle France. Good decision, eh ?
Join Date: Oct 2007
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China is screaming for pilots.
-They hire mainly local people (at least mainland, but HK is on its way too...)
-Many foreigners apply, but most of them fail either the sim interview, either the medical check.
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Artificial Horizon
I totally agree with DANI, 8 years in an airline is nothing and you would be crazy to move if you are happy with the airline in General. Being a Captain is not all it is cracked up to be, honestly I have seriously considered leaving my current gig to go back in the right hand seat for a bigger legacy carrier. Only real reason for the upgrade is better pay, but the responsibility that goes with it is enormous. Don't move purely for the command, the quality of the company is far more important.
I totally agree with DANI, 8 years in an airline is nothing and you would be crazy to move if you are happy with the airline in General. Being a Captain is not all it is cracked up to be, honestly I have seriously considered leaving my current gig to go back in the right hand seat for a bigger legacy carrier. Only real reason for the upgrade is better pay, but the responsibility that goes with it is enormous. Don't move purely for the command, the quality of the company is far more important.
Join Date: Mar 2007
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Slight thread drift - but there is a point to this I promise!
I'm an ice hockey fan and have been watching "HBO NHL 24/7 - the road to the winter classic" which is a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the NY rangers and Philladelphia flyers as they appoach the winter-classic outdoor game in the new year.
One of the rangers has a young son, and was going on a road trip for 5 days to play a couple of away matches. Bear in mind, this is a guy that is the top of his sport, loves to play, has a lifestyle envied by millions, and probably earns a few bob aswell. He was saying how tough it is to be away from his young familiy when he is on the road and how much he misses them.
My point is that no matter who you are, where you go, what you achieve, most peoples priorties are the same - family, friends, lifestyle. Personally I would never look for a 4th stripe if it meant compromsiing my homelife. I don't care about status and what other people think about me, I care about my family and the time and quality of time I spend with them.
I'm an ice hockey fan and have been watching "HBO NHL 24/7 - the road to the winter classic" which is a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the NY rangers and Philladelphia flyers as they appoach the winter-classic outdoor game in the new year.
One of the rangers has a young son, and was going on a road trip for 5 days to play a couple of away matches. Bear in mind, this is a guy that is the top of his sport, loves to play, has a lifestyle envied by millions, and probably earns a few bob aswell. He was saying how tough it is to be away from his young familiy when he is on the road and how much he misses them.
My point is that no matter who you are, where you go, what you achieve, most peoples priorties are the same - family, friends, lifestyle. Personally I would never look for a 4th stripe if it meant compromsiing my homelife. I don't care about status and what other people think about me, I care about my family and the time and quality of time I spend with them.
Join Date: Feb 2004
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'i dont care about status'
757 driver......interesting post. Most pilots have egos the size of planets and, rightly or wrongly their status is important to them. In fact status is important to everyone regardless of occupation. We all need to feel valued . In my experience, career F/O's do not feel valued, they are typically frustrated and bitter, traits which get worse as they get older. Choosing the 'right' seat for lifestyle reasons might suit some for the short term but lets be honest , seeing a 50 year old / 60 year old first officer with 20,000 hours in the log book is a depressing sight.
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Cabbages, your observation is sadly true, at least for those of us who have not reached the stage of self enlightenment where personal advancement has become irrelevant.
Seriously, though, its all very well taking that job in the back of beyond (or further, like NCL) but that pay rise and status are gonna look pretty thin when the divorce lawyers are finished with you. Stay away husband is rarely a sought after by wives, let alone children.
Seriously, though, its all very well taking that job in the back of beyond (or further, like NCL) but that pay rise and status are gonna look pretty thin when the divorce lawyers are finished with you. Stay away husband is rarely a sought after by wives, let alone children.
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I guess its what suits the individual. The caveat to my post about 'not caring about status' is of course, dependent on where you work. some airlines treat their FO's with a lot more respect and trust than others!
And as macdo said about personal enlightenment, how I see myself and my status is far more important than how others see it. If I cared about how others viewed my status I would have become a banker and pasted a 20ft high copy of my bonus cheque on the front of the house, and got me a trophy blonde wife and a porsche!
Having had a previous career and having been in this industry for a while and seen the results of various career decisions that different people made, Personally I would prefer the right hand seat in a stable, career airline, with good t's and c's etc rather than bouncing from left hand seat to left hand seat in a succsession of dodgy here-one-minute-gone-the-next operators.
Some people obviously are in the right place at the right time and get direct entry commands to expanding airlines that turn out to be good bets. But then others jump from decent career airlines to take a command in a smaller less stable operator and then it all goes pete tong. And then what? a succession of short jobs, or back on the bottom of the list at a big airline?
Picking up on macdo's point, my wife is a divorce lawyer, and i'm pretty sure she's never had a client citing 'spouses job status' as grounds for divorce!
'spouse is never home','spouse never has time for me', 'spouse never sees the kids' however are right up there at the top of the list..
And as macdo said about personal enlightenment, how I see myself and my status is far more important than how others see it. If I cared about how others viewed my status I would have become a banker and pasted a 20ft high copy of my bonus cheque on the front of the house, and got me a trophy blonde wife and a porsche!
Having had a previous career and having been in this industry for a while and seen the results of various career decisions that different people made, Personally I would prefer the right hand seat in a stable, career airline, with good t's and c's etc rather than bouncing from left hand seat to left hand seat in a succsession of dodgy here-one-minute-gone-the-next operators.
Some people obviously are in the right place at the right time and get direct entry commands to expanding airlines that turn out to be good bets. But then others jump from decent career airlines to take a command in a smaller less stable operator and then it all goes pete tong. And then what? a succession of short jobs, or back on the bottom of the list at a big airline?
Picking up on macdo's point, my wife is a divorce lawyer, and i'm pretty sure she's never had a client citing 'spouses job status' as grounds for divorce!
'spouse is never home','spouse never has time for me', 'spouse never sees the kids' however are right up there at the top of the list..
Join Date: Feb 1998
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But becoming a captain means an increase in pay - all things
being equal.
If you tripled my current salary and then offered 100% better
conditions than the ones I have right now, I'd be happy as a
pig in
just being a FO on a washing machine.
being equal.
If you tripled my current salary and then offered 100% better
conditions than the ones I have right now, I'd be happy as a
pig in
just being a FO on a washing machine.
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And she says.....
Are you married ? If so, have you discussed this with your wife? Due to economic turndown and furloughs in the US, my husband began applying internationally with the potential that we might be living apart again. We had to do it when he was flying China 1 month on/off. If you love her and family is number 1, and you can afford life as an FO and not trying to move to the left for income potential only, make sure wherever you go, you can go together. Like my husband says.. " If mama ain't happy, no one's happy" A happy wife = a happy life. And when it comes to being married to a 50ish FO, here's my motto " seat and stripes don't matter when you're horizontal " As long as we're together, I could care less where we live. We chose the sand pit. What was important to us was the fact the ME is tax free for us.
It appears that you have a good life where you are but you're looking at what you " could " have. If all we do in life is look at what could be, we never get to enjoy what is already in front of us. Be thankful for now. Tomorrow's interview could be filled with empty promises. Be prepared to risk what you already have for what you may have not. Best of luck
As long as we're together, I could care less where we live. We chose the sand pit. What was important to us was the fact the ME is tax free for us.It appears that you have a good life where you are but you're looking at what you " could " have. If all we do in life is look at what could be, we never get to enjoy what is already in front of us. Be thankful for now. Tomorrow's interview could be filled with empty promises. Be prepared to risk what you already have for what you may have not. Best of luck
